WINNER of the Julie Herman pattern giveaway

Hi everyone,
It is 12:15 a.m. here in New Brunswick, Canada, on the 5th of April.   I just could not wait until morning to draw the winner.   I used a random number generator to pick a number between 1 and 54 (number of comments).    It picked number 34, so the winner is the 34th comment:   GINETTE OUELLETTE,    from the State of Maine.  
CONGRATULATIONS GINETTE!    I will contact you to get your mailing address so we can send you the pattern!!!
Crazy Quilter Mama

OUR LATEST SCRAP SQUAD PROJECT: THE REVEAL

Hi everyone,
I was always good at keeping secrets, but for some reason, I was itching to come out with this one:    Our latest Scrap Squad project was AWESOME!   What a beautiful, beautiful pattern!   Designed by Julie Herman of Jaybird quilts (http://www.jaybirdquilts.com/), the pattern is called RASPBERRY DESSERT, all in pink hues.   My seven  partners in crime and I,  the Quiltmaker Scrap Squad, were assigned this pattern to be made with our scraps.   The result is just awesome!   Let me show you a picture of mine:

It was a VERY EASY pattern to make.   I used scraps from my fall/autumn bin, then scraps from my neutrals bin and for the cornerstones, an array of scraps from my reds.   While working on this quilt, we Scrap Squad Girls are in constant communication, uploading pictures of our work in progress... asking advice... giving advice and generally motivating each other.   Jane, one of our colleagues, told me this quilt reminded her of tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches we devoured on cold winter days... Such a fitting description!  Warm and cozy!   
The pattern was different from any I had ever made because of the beautiful pieced set-in triangles that improves  the overall effect of the quilt:    Here is a picture of the top BEFORE it was trimmed:   You can see the '' raggedy'' edges.   It is well indicated on the pattern where to trim off and it is actually very easy to do.

Here is a picture of the finished quilt on a bed and then, a closeup picture of the quilting I did on my own HQ16:   not perfect quilting, but I am getting there.

You can find this lovely pattern in the next edition of Quiltmaker Magazine (May/June) which will be out on the newsstands within the next few weeks.

GOOD NEWS:    The designer of this RASPBERRY DESSERT pattern, Julie Herman,  has generously donated one of her latest patterns to each of the Scrap Squad members to give away on her blog.   If you scroll down to my next post, you will read all the details of the giveaway..   You can participate in this contest on my blog or any of the Scrap Squad member`s blog.   We EACH have a pattern to give away.   This is how to connect to their blogs and enter the contest.

Dionne's blog:    http://sewmanyquilts.blogspot.com/
Donna`s blog:   http://www.donnaquilts4u2c.blogspot.com/
Kim`s blog:     http://pokeytown3.blogspot.com/
Linda`s blog:     http://linfer101.blogspot.com/
Carol`s quilting page:    http://quiltwithus.connectingthreads.com/profile/CarolVickers
Jane`s blog:   http://forestjane.blogspot.com/
Ruth's blog:    http://threadsofmine.blogspot.com/


In addition,  Quiltmaker magazine also has a FABRIC giveaway on their blog:

http://www.quiltmaker.com/blogs/quiltypleasures

Now isn`t this a FUN week??????    Anyone want to join me in a NINE-PATCH FRENZY Quiltalong?    Just comment on the said post.   I would love to hear from you!

Keeping you in stitches,
Pat

JULIE HERMAN PATTERN GIVEAWAY CONTEST

Yep:   The cat`s out of the bag.   Julie Herman, from Jaybird Quilts, has generously provided a pattern for each of the scrap squad members to give away.   Her patterns are awesome!   You'll want to win this one.... Which one?   It`s a surprise!    Go to http://www.jaybirdquilts.com/ to see all her patterns from the '' pattern'' tab at the top of her page.  While there, you might as well browse her studio, her shop and everything else she has to offer, including very interesting TUTORIALS.  
Now, if you want to participate in this generous giveaway, just leave a comment on this post telling me what it is you like about Julie's patterns.    You have until the 4th of April to sign up, as on the 5th, I will randomly select a winner of the pattern!   You will have to check in on the 5th to see if YOU are the winner.   If so, you will be asked to give your email adress so I can contact you for your address.   Does this sound fair?
PAT

NINE PATCH FRENZY Quiltalong

Hi, My oh my, I have not written on my blog for quite some time.   But I have been busy!  In the next few days, I will post pictures of all my recent finished quilts ( and there are quite a few).   But for now, I would like to tell you about my new Quiltalong.   I recently tried to do a bit of scrap management and I realized how many 2 1/2'' strips I have!   Pastels,  fall , Christmas, kid`s novelty, bright, dots, stripes, plaids, flowers, tone on tones, batiks, and the list goes on and on... these strips are at least 8'' long, and most of them are from selvadge to selvadge.   Here is the picture of one of my bins of 2 1/2'' strips, the largest one...  I put a measuring tape on top so you could relate to the size of the bin.   I will NEVER sew all of these strips in my entire lifetime.  But I will try to make a dent in it once in a while.

What I do every day that I sew, is that I pick two fabrics and cut three 8in(approx)  strips out of each.

Then I make two strip sets like this:

I subcut the strip sets in 2 1/2'' cuts:

And then I sew them back together to make two nine-patches, one the opposite of the other:

It takes about 10 minutes two make the two, and then I put them aside in a small bin.   I have been doing this for about three weeks now.   I counted them tonight and I already have 42 of these little buggers done!   Now here`s the challenge:   Anyone who wants to join me in making these little patches is more than welcome!   Wouldn`t it be great to see what everyone does with 100 or so of these?   How would you sew them together????   The possibilities are endless:   Here is one way I thought I could set them.    When you put them one above the other, it makes for a nice rectangle that could be set with sashing and a cornerstone:

Or I could always sew them this way with sashing and a cornerstone (or not):

Or how about set on point with a background fabric for the squares and the set-in triangles:

Or I could make it completly scrappy and just sew one nine-patch alongside another randomly.   There would be no need to add yardage...  What would you do with a whole pile of scrappy nine-patches??????
If you care to join me in this little quiltalong, please leave a comment.   I would love to know who is in with me....

GIFTS OF LOVE

Here are pictures of quilts I made for members of my family this past Christmas.   Looking back at all these pictures,  I realize how busy I was, quilting like there was no tomorrow!  And ALL of these quilts are made of scraps!  But it was worth it!   You will notice there are no pictures of my three children, Josee, Lyne and Philippe.... They did not receive a quilt for Xmas because they already have lots!    ... and it was just not their turn!  LOL

This is my 9-year-old (almost ten) granddaughter Roxane who likes to doodle hearts on paper in her spare time.   I thought this would be the perfect quilt for her.   I used the "quilt as you go" technique, and it is of my own design and it is twin size.

This is my 9-year-old grandson Samuel, with his double size quilt.   i had made him a twin size, puzzle themed quilt, but his parents upgraded him to a double bed in September, so I made him this star quilt instead.

My seven-year-old grandson (Roxane's brother) is proudly holding his fish themed quilt.   The applique pattern was taken from a colorig book and the rest of the design is mine.  He lives about 30 minutes from the beach and he loves the water, so it was just what he needed to keep warm in the winter:   a quilt to remind him of summer days to come.

Vincent , my other seven-year-old grandson and Samuel's brother is holding his Xmas gift which I call Stars in the Night.   He proudly put it on top of his bed and is using it as a bedspread.  I hung this quilt in a quilt show last spring and had many compliments on it.

Genevieve, my four-year-old granddaughter, is proudly holding up her first grown-up quilt:  Granddaughter's Garden.  She is the youngest of my five grandchildren, although we received good news this Xmas:  my son and his wife are expecting their first child next August.   My sixth!

The next three pictures are of the quilts I gave the grownups:   all scrappy and all twin size.   They are that size because i don't like to make lap size quilts.   I think grownups need a larger quilt to cuddle up in front of the TV.

My son-in-law Eric, Josee's husband with his scrappy plaid quilt.  It was made with a "quilt as you go" method.

My other son-in-law Frederic, who, according to my daughter Lyne, watches TV every night wrapped in his new scrappy plaid quilt!

And last but not least, my daughter-in-law Chantale, the future mother of number 6 grandchild.   Rumor has it that my son is not allowed to touch the quilt:   It is hers and hers alone!  LOL

WELL BEHAVED WOMEN RARELY MAKE QUILTS

Interested in scrap quilts?

A lot of quilters think scrap quilts are too busy or are not organized... a scrappy quilt can be organized!   This quilt for instance,  which I made for my granddaughter, is strictly made of bright fabric.   You will also notice that if the background square is busy, the flower applique is more tone on tone and vice versa.   Note also that the wavy edge softens the black inner border and binding.   The quilt was especially  made for a 4-year-old.   She loves it by the way!

This one is of my own design.  I was watching a Montreal Canadians hockey game last winter and the coach had this tie that caught my attention.   It looked like layered bricks made with squares instead of rectangles.   I thought wow, wouldn't that look great in a quilt.   And then I thought it would look good scrappy but in order to use up as many scraps as possible, the squares will be made up of nine patches.  I sat down and proceeded to draft  the design idea, (missed the rest of the darn hockey game  and in the next few weeks I made this quilt.

Now I just love this one!  I saw the picture of a similar quilt on the internet and decided I could make this quilt in fall colors.   Autumn is my favorite fabric color.  So last May, two of  my girfriends,  Rejeanne and Pauline, and I got together in Rejeanne's garage and we quilted for two days straight.   It was almost like a retreat... I started sewing this quilt all made out of scrappy fall colored 2 1/2" strips and was really inspired to finish it.   (It is queen size)  But then I had to take a break from quilting because I had carpal tunnel surgery and also, my Mom was in the hopital for 6 months during that time.   (She passed away on July 15th).   When I started to quilt again, this was the quilt I worked on until it was done.   I quilted it on my HQ16.

This one is just a good old-fashioned string quilt.   I sewed on a piece of newspaper with scrap strips in assorted widths and colors and then squared up rectangles and sewed them together.   I thought it would use up a lot of scraps from my scrap baskets... I know this will sound crazy but I think the scrap pile did not shrink... in fact I think the scraps multiplied!   I will probably give this quilt to my son for his camping trips.

This is a beautiful quilt isn't it?   Well, I must admit it is not mine.  It is my sister Suzanne's  but I quilted it!  She used fabric from her scrap stash  and it turned out just beautiful.