Anita W. from The Netherlands sent me this gorgeous stitched bookmark. I absolutely love it. I adore the fabric too, it’s been washed, ironed and put away in my stash, just waiting for the perfect project.

Thanks Anita for your kindness.

Congratulations to last week’s winner #13 Trish. She won the custom quilted baby quilt from Donna Westerkamp. Thanks Donna for the unique give-away.

This week’s give-away is from Nadine Ruggles of DreamWeaver’s Quilts Studio. Included in the give-away is a copy of her book, Inchie Quilts and the InchieSee & InchieDo Viewer Tool and Ruler Set.

About Nadine:

Nadine Ruggles has been sewing and crafting since childhood, and was caught by the quilting bug in 1990. She wanted to make "just one (large) quilt" for the bed, and, of course, couldn’t stop quilting after that. Being mostly self-taught, Nadine sees each new quilt as a challenge, and she applies her special talents for fabric selection, precision piecing, elegant quilting and unexpected embellishments to traditional blocks to create innovative quilt art pieces.

Nadine lives in Angelbachtal, Germany, where she teaches classes and workshops in a variety of quilting and embellishment techniques. She has been the recipient of numerous awards for her machine quilting and innovative piecing. Her quilts have been exhibited across the United States in quilt shows, galleries and museums, and her newest work and techniques are featured in Inchie Quilts, published by the American Quilter’s Society.

Nadine has an entertaining blog and an online shop. Be sure to also check out The Daily Stitch a favourite morning read of mine.

Inchie Quilts:

Quilted and embellished with beads, crystals, fibers, and found objects, each is a miniature work of art. Inchies can be incorporated into traditional, contemporary, and art quilts as an integral part of the quilt design. They add dimension and interest to quilts both large and small. You can even rearrange the Inchies because they are attached with Velcro® tape!

This is a mixed technique and pattern book that provides complete instructions for those who like to follow a pattern as well as many ideas that will inspire fabric artists to innovate and adapt the Inchie techniques and concepts to their own quilts in new ways.

Check out the Inchie Quilts web site for more information and you can even get daily inspiration with the Daily Inchie delivered to your inbox or RSS reader.

InchieSee & InchieDo Viewer Tool and Ruler Set

Design and make Inchies quickly and easily with the InchieSee & InchieDo Viewer Tool and Ruler Set. The InchieSee & InchieDo Viewer Tool and Ruler Set is just what you need to make planning and cutting Inchies easy!

Use the double-sided InchieSee Viewer Tool with the Inchie-sized window to preview light or dark fabrics for Inchies or to fussy cut motifs. The InchieDo Ruler has very thin lines, open intersections and fussy cut centering marks to make it easy to keep your Inchies on the "straight and square". Great for Inchies, Twinchies, ATC’s and other small scale patchwork and embellishments. Easy to use, and complete instructions and tips included!

To enter the give-away, please leave a comment below. The contest closes September 24, 2009. One winner will be randomly chosen.

Inchie Ornaments – Christmas Swap

Nadine also created the fabulous Inchie Ornaments Tutorial for the first-ever Inchie Ornaments swap hosted by the Quilting Gallery. Come join the fun trying this new technique and make some new friends.

UPDATE: This contest is now closed. Congrats to #45 Laura West Kong on winning the Inchie Quilts Book and ruler/tool set.

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I was very pleased earlier this week to learn that one of the missing mini quilts from the Spring Blooms swap finally arrived from Australia to it’s new home in Kansas, USA.

I know two quilts have officially been lost in the post. One from the UK to France and another from Brazil to the United States. I want to thank both Maggi and Glaucia for generously offering to make new quilts for their partners to replace the lost ones. Maggi’s replacement quilt is the one pictured.

I am still hopeful that mini quilts for Claudine, Holly and Sue will arrive as I have heard back from their partners that they would be sent (or have been sent)… almost 3 months late.

There is one person that I have not been able to reach despite repeated attempts. Robin has offered to be a Swap Angel and make a new quilt for Jay. Thanks Robin!

I have a couple more Swap Angels to call upon if the three missing quilts mentioned above don’t arrive soon.

If there’s anyone else that has not received their Spring quilt, please contact me. I’ve tried to keep track, but it’s possible an email or two fell through the cracks.

I had no idea how time-consuming organizing the swaps would be. Just under 3,000 emails so far for the three swaps: spring, summer and friendship bag.

Despite the few bad apples (swappers), it’s been fabulous to see so many gorgeous creations. You can see them for yourself in the various Flickr groups:

• Spring Blooms
• Good Ol’ Summertime
• Friendship Bag
• Inchie Ornaments – Register here

I will be adding a level of experience question to the next swap registration: beginner, intermediate, and expert. I will be matching partners the best I can based on their experience level.

I’d love to hear any feedback or suggestions from participants. Is there anything I can do to make the swaps better? Has your experience been good, fine, bad? Any suggestions for improvement would be greatly appreciated. You can leave a comment below or send me a private email.

It has been suggested by a few that I charge a small admin fee to help offset the time and costs associated with running these swaps. Ideally, payment would be via PayPal, but other arrangements can be made if that option doesn’t work for you.

I’ve added a poll below. It’s anonymous. I’ll make a decision next weekend if I’ll start charging the admin fee for the Fall swap due to start September 28th. Thanks for your vote!

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I also want to thank those of you that have sent a donation. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Here are the six baby quilts I submitted to my local quilt guild which will be donated to the children’s hospital,

The tops for these quilts were made using the charms received from quilters around the world in the Charms for Charity contest I held last year. Many thanks to my friend Gailene for donating the backing fleece used on three of the quilts.

These were great pieces to practice my free-motion skills. I’m amazed how much I’ve progressed this summer since I did these. Practice, practice, practice really is the key (and Patsy Thompson’s DVDs).

Congratulations to last week’s winner #99 DiahRothman. She won the two gorgeous tote bag patterns donated by Barbara Weiland Talbert.

This week’s give-away is custom quilting from Donna Westerkamp. The quilting will be a free motion design on a baby/crib quilt (approximate size 45″ x 60″). The design could be hearts and loops or just loops. See photos below.

Please note the give-away only includes the quilting and return shipping with insurance in a flat rate box ($9.95). You will be responsible for the quilt top, batting, backing, binding and additional shipping costs (if applicable). Donna is located in Illinois, USA.

Please only enter the give-away if the terms are acceptable to you.

Visit Donna’s web site to find out more about her.

To enter the give-away, please leave a comment below. The contest closes September 17, 2009. One winner will be randomly chosen.

UPDATE: This contest is now closed. Congratulations to #13 Trish who won the custom quilting for a baby quilt.

Spread the Word

Please help promote Friday Give-Aways from the Quilting Gallery by adding the logo to your blog:

P.S. If you’re reading this on Facebook, please click through to the blog post to leave your comment.