Wow, this week’s Little Boys quilt contest has been very popular. You’re going to want to grab a cup of coffee and sit a spell to check out all of these fabulous quilts. Remember, you can click the smaller thumbnail to view a larger version of the quilt. Thanks to everyone that entered their fabulous quilts for this week’s Weekly Themed Quilt Contest.

Now it’s time for you to vote for your favourite!! The lucky winner with the most votes will receive a $30.00 gift certificated donated by Jojo’s Quilt and Gift Shoppe. Be sure to check out Jojo’s Shopping Spree for your chance to win a $25 or $50 gift certificate too.

• Voting is open Friday – Sunday @ 11:59 p.m.
• One vote per IP address (NOT email address), so have your family and friends cast a ballot for your favourite quilt (from home if you send it to coworkers)
• Winner announced Monday!

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P.S. Next week’s theme is Little Girls. Get your cameras out!

Facebook readers: You need to visit the Quilting Gallery blog to vote: CLICK HERE.

I have a confession to make … I’ve never participated in a block of the month (or similar type) quilt project. I know, shock, and I call myself a quilter. Well, that’s about to change, as I’ve committed to two that I’m really excited about. These are both block of the weeks.

First up is Rachel’s Pinwheel Sampler Quilt Along. The instructions will be posted once a week, for 12 or so weeks.

I’ve decided to make mine with 1930s reproduction fabrics with solid white as my background.

Instructions for the first block have been posted already. You’ll also want to check out Rachel’s half square triangle tutorial. There’s also a Flickr group where you can follow along too.

Next up is Anina’s Pinwheel Party. This will be a weekly project starting March 1st and last 13 weeks.

I’ll be using solid bright fabrics with a black background.

I’ve done very little applique, so have not committing myself to these fabulous projects (yet!).

Erin’s Florabunda Block of the Month is absolutely beyond gorgeous.

Block 1 and Block 2 have been posted already. But really, Erin has so many fabulous tutorials, I highly recommend starting at the beginning of her site with a pot of coffee. You won’t be disappointed.

My good friend Anita from the Netherlands is doing this project. Here are her first two blocks. Aren’t they beautiful.

Over on the Aurifil Buzz blog, Pat Sloan is doing a Meadow Breeze block of the month. The first block has been posted already.

Reeze is doing a Tulip Tiles block of the month. I just love this one too. Hurry and download the instructions for the first two blocks, as they will not be available forever.

What about you? Are you currently working on any Block of the Month/Week projects? What have you done in the past? Do you love them or hate them. What I find so amazing about the ones I’ve featured above, is the fabulous tutorials that go along with the projects.

Join us at the new Quilter’s Daily Blog Along. The idea is that each day a new prompt will be posted, to give you inspiration for your next blog post. On your blog, write a post using the daily prompt as a guide. Then head over to the blog along site and add a link to your post in the comments for the specific day.

Today’s prompt, from me, is Block of the Month (or Week) Quilt Alongs.

From Daphne Greig, Patchworks Studio, Victoria, BC

I’ve been watching the Olympics for the past week and a half. I knew they were coming, I knew I would want TV for the whole 17 days, I knew I would have to DO something while watching. I am very lucky to live in Canada, near the host city of Vancouver; we have 3 TV channels showing wall-to-wall coverage. My thumb is getting a workout on the remote control!

So, like a good little quilter, I planned, prepared and plotted. I would have hand work projects so I would have no guilt sitting around watching TV in the middle of the day! When I travel I find a hand work project to take with me. Should be no problem, right?

Well, the first project I planned was the redwork sampler to be made for the Quilt Cruise to Alaska I am doing in September. I will be teaching the class with Cathy Miller, the Singing Quilter and she will be working on her blocks on her upcoming tour of the United States and Canada. She will be singing and teaching in California, then across the southern states, up the East Coast, into Eastern Canada, back into the US and home at the end of June! Now that’s someone who has lots of hand work prepared.

I flitted back and forth to the computer to design my floral blocks, printed out the patterns, hunted for just the right white fabric in my stash and decided which colour of embroidery floss to use.

Continue reading »

An important factor to consider when learning how to embroider is your choice of embroidery thread.

If you are new to hand embroidery I would recommend that you choose a stranded embroidery cotton, such as DMC. There are lots of different threads on the market and the choice can be overwhelming. Stranded embroidery cotton is easy to work with and comes in a huge range of colors. It is purchased in hanks.

DMC stranded cotton is made up of 6 finer strands. Your embroidery pattern will normally tell you how many starnds to use, two being the most common. It is important to match the number of strands with the right size needle. If you are having difficulty pulling the needle through your fabric, chances are you are using too many threads for the size of your needle.

Keeping your threads clean and tidy is important. Getting into good habits from the start will help to reduce tangles. It is good idea to purchase a thread box. A thread box is made up of small compartments and bobbins which are normally plastic or cardboard. Wind the embroidery thread onto a bobbin and label the bobbin with the brand of thread and the number.

This is a must. There is nothing more annoying than running out of a thread and then trying to match it.

My other tip for embroidery thread is to resist the temptation of cutting the length too long. Whilst this reduces the number of times you need to thread your needle it will increase tangles when you are working. A good rule of thumb is to measure from the tip of your fingers to your elbow.

Warmly,
Lenna
www.stitchingcow.com

Canada wins gold, silver and ties for bronze in last week’s themed quilt contest Sports/Olympics. Congratulations to Rhonda Duncan of Alberta, Canada for winning with her great NHL SuperStar quilt. Rhonda wins a $30 gift certificate donated by Fabric.com.

This week’s theme is Little Boys. I’m really looking forward to seeing the quilts you’ve made for your sons, grandsons, nephews and other special little boys in your life. (Yes, next week will be dedicated to Little Girls.) To enter, read the rules and guidelines, then submit your quilt photo. Voting will start on Friday and last until Sunday night.

This week’s contest is sponsored by Jojo’s Quilt and Gift Shoppe. They are donating a $30 gift certificate that the winner can use as they wish. Here are a couple of the fabrics they have available in various pre-cuts sizes:

Jojo’s Quilt and Gift Shoppe is dedicated to providing top-quality quilt shoppe fabric to quilters worldwide. We are an online quilt fabric shop offering quality 100% cotton quilting fabric, quilting and sewing patterns, heirloom batting, books and magazines. Most of our fabrics are from Moda Fabrics which include quilt designers such as 3 Sisters (Three Sisters Fabrics), Sandy Gervais, April Cornell, Fig Tree Quilts, Brannock & Patek, Blackbird Designs, Minnick and Simpson, Kansas Troubles, Mary Engelbreit, Tula Pink, Tanya Whelan and much more.

Be sure to look at our quilt fabrics on sale when you need a Fat Quarter Bundle, Jelly Roll, Layer Cake, Charm Packs, Turnover or any other pre-cut fabric at a low price. We offer Layer Cakes and Jelly Rolls for $17.50 and $19.99 as well as low priced quilt kits in our Moda Fabric Sale section. We have many free quilting and sewing pattern links on our web site.

Remember to visit us first for the best selection of Online Quilt Fabric from an affordable Online Quilt Shoppe. 20% off all New Arrivals daily.

Don’t Miss Out on the opportunity to Win a $25 or $50 Shopping Spree! Click here for details.

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