KI-COO GARDENS Giveaway from OkanArts

Have you seen the gorgeous KI-COO GARDENS collection by Laura Berringer? It’s arriving in quilt shops now, and you might even be lucky enough to WIN a free FQ bundle of these pretty Asian -influenced motifs from our friend Patricia Belyea of Okan Arts.  You’ll find all of the July giveaway details on her recent blog post – just follow the simple instructions for your chance to win. 

(Photos: Okan Arts)

When the giveaway closes on July 31, whether you win or not, we’ve got two great free projects you’ll want to get started on right away… So, be sure to visit the Okan Arts blog post now to enter.  And follow us all on Instagram:  @okanarts, @laurasewmodern, @studio37fabrics, @marcusfabrics

Good Luck to all!

              

Laura’s Back, with Great Flannel Tips!

Laura Coia/Marcus FlannelWe’re thrilled announce another wonderful video by Sew Very Easy’s Laura Coia!  This time, she shares her best tips for working with our Primo Plaid Flannels, while recreating our free quilt pattern. From pre-treating your flannels to cutting tips and more, you’ll love how Laura goes about her creative projects.

This particular palette of neutral greys and browns is perfect for the guys on your holiday list, and remember our Primo Plaid Flannels come in an ever-growing assortment, from Color Crush II brights to Twilight Tones jewel tones to Harvest and Christmas colorways!  And as Laura shows us, the quilt goes together so quickly, you have plenty of time whip out several gifts, assembly-line style.  Sewing daytime blankets for babies or children?  Simply reduce the number of blocks, which will go even faster  ; )

Thanks to Laura for another fun & easy sewing adventure, and Happy Flannel Sewing to all!  If you haven’t subscribed to her YouTube channel yet, be sure to sign up to enjoy all of her great tips and tricks…Videos are posted each Tuesday & Thursday at 2:00 p.m.

Feeling Lucky? Guess This Pumpkin’s Weight and Win!

Our friends at Indygo Junction have a really fun giveaway going on right now!  If you’re good at guessing weights, check out their blog post and make your best guess on the weight of this pumpkin (the real one, not the fabric ones ; )

You could win Indygo Junction’s Pumpkin Trio Pattern and a bundle of their fall favorites!  You’ll also pick up a few fall crafting tips, and see how they’ve used some of their favorite PRIMO PLAID FLANNELS.  Like many of you, they’ve used our Primo Plaid Flannels for years, enjoying its plush hand, yarn-dyed quality and ever-growing variety of colors and designs. Hurry…the contest ends on October 15! BE SURE TO ENTER YOUR GUESS ON INDYGO’S BLOG POST!  We don’t want you to miss your chance to win  ; )

Order the #HealingHeartsQuilt Pattern for Houston Relief

Our thoughts remain with everyone affected by the recent natural disasters around the country, and the world.  And because so many of us turn to our quilting to help and heal in times like this, we want to share the news that our friends at Fat Quarter Shop will be releasing a new, exclusive PDF pattern called Healing Hearts, and will be donating 100% of the proceeds to the JJ Watt Foundation Houston Flood Relief Fund.

This PDF pattern retails for just $9.00, and every cent of the proceeds will go to the Foundation.  It will be available here until October 31.  Fat Quarter Shop will also be auctioning a sample quilt made from this pattern, and those proceeds will go to the Rebuild Texas Fund.

In addition, Quarter Shop prepared the same beautiful quilt design above in an alternate colorway, using prints from Pam Buda’s PRAIRIE BASICS collection.  Whichever you choose, be sure to share your healing with #healingheartsquilt. Thanks for everything you do!

Follow Pam Buda’s Quilting Essentials

Guess what, Pam Buda fans: she’s started a new continuing series entitled “Quilting Essentials.”  Here, she’ll share her expert tips and techniques, prompted in part by your questions and topic suggestions!   We think it’s a great idea, and it’s simple to follow along since the’ll be a part of Pam’s regular Heartspun Quilts blog, but these posts will be titled “Quilting Essentials” for easy reference. (Be sure to subscribe to her blog so you won’t miss anything  ; )   Check out the first installment here, where Pam discusses the importance of an accurate 1/4″ seam, and how to achieve it.

Speaking of “quilting essentials”, watch the Marcus website in August for Pam’s “Tall Grass” a great new group of greens.  If you love her previous color-themed collections as much as we do, you’re sure to love this one, too!

Sarah Maxwell – Time for a Colorful Giveaway!!

Join us and our friends at Aurifil as we highlight the design talents of Sarah J Maxwell of Designs by Sarah J.  She’s featured on the Aurifil blog today, so we’ve all joined forces to create a fun and easy giveaway for you.  The prize pack includes fabric, threads and patterns!

Want a chance to win in just 2 easy steps?

  1. Simply FOLLOW all three of us on Instagram (@studio37fabrics, @aurifilthread, and @sjmax105), if you don’t already!
  2. Visit the Aurifil blog post now thru Wed, August 2 to enter, and to learn more about Sarah’s fabric, threads and patterns.

Of course, we’d love for you to share your comments here too, as always, but remember that only entries from the Aurifil blog will be entered into the drawing… Good luck to all!

“Come Together” to Support the Fight Against ALS!

If you subscribe to this blog, you might remember our project with Victoria Findlay Wolfe, and our many quilter friends at QuiltCon back in 2015… We asked booth visitors to stitch a simple Drunkard’s Path block with Victoria’s Mostly Manor collection.  Well, with those blocks, Victoria created this gorgeous design, which was then quilted by Sarabeth Rebe. It was donated to the Hopes & Dreams Challenge, an ongoing effort spearheaded by Quilters Dream Batting.

“Come Together” by Victoria Findlay Wolfe with blocks by attendees of QuiltCon 2015. Quilted by Sarabeth Rebe. 83′ x 71′

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And NOW, you can support ALS families and research by purchasing raffle tickets to win this designer masterpeice!  Tickets are only $5 per chance (or 5 chances for $20) and can be purchased online now through the drawing date of June 19, 2017.  A fulll 100% of the raffle proceeds will be split between family support and research funding. (NOTE: If you’re attending Spring Quilt Market in St. Louis this weekend, you can also purchase your tickets at the Quilters Dream booth # 2240)

—  Grand Prize:  Win the “Come Together” Quilt by Victoria Findlay Wolfe, plus a Case of Quilters Dream Batting

—  1st and 2nd Prizes:  Deluxe Quilter’s Gift Baskets will also be awarded to two lucky winners.

Thanks to our raffle co-sponsors;  Quilters Dream Batting, Aurifil, and Juki America, and thank you again to the many quilters who “came together” as quilters often do, to stitch blocks for inclusion in this quilt!

Sneak Peek: Join Carol Hopkins’ New Club!

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It’s a rare occurrence in the quilt world to introduce a coordinated effort, where the book and the fabric are released together — It’s Not a Square is a new club designed by repro expert Carol Hopkins, with the AMERICAN SWATCH BOOK collection by Judie Rothermel! It ensures quilters will have the fabrics AND the inspiration at the same time, for maximum enjoyment.

“The unique feature of these blocks is that they aren’t square – they finish at 4″ x 5″. We recreated some classic blocks and also designed more than 50 original blocks that no one has ever seen before, ending up with 182 different blocks.” Carol says about her new book for Martingale (co-authored by Linda Koenig). “The 4″ x 5″ Quilt Block Anthology: 182 Blocks for Reproduction Fabrics” contains instructions for making all of the blocks!

We’ll unveil these gorgeous fabrics online soon*, but we couldn’t wait to partner with our friends at Martingale for the first of TWO joint book-and-fabric giveaways!  Enter the first giveaway now at Martingale, then watch this blog for the Marcus giveaway to follow.  And be sure to add It’s Not a Square to your creative schedule – the 12-month Club begins  August 2017!

(*Retailer-Only – log-in now to preview the collection and Club details)

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See What Danyella Did with Meadow Storm!

Today we welcome a guest post from Danyella Nava of Made Sew Modern – enjoy!

vfw-danyellaI first met Victoria (Findlay Wolfe) when she came to Albuquerque, NM to teach a workshop that my local guild had organized back in June of 2016. I took her Double Wedding Ring workshop and totally fell in love with a classic technique! My first impression of Victoria was that she was such a fun, creative being, and I was so very excited to learn from her. 

My experience with Victoria did not stop there. I also joined her for a dinner and a lecture, and her deep love and passion for quilting continued to shine. I found that Victoria was incredibly humble. She was excited to share her knowledge with everyone and was open to conversation. I felt that she really took the time to get to know me by listening so intently over the few days I got to spend with her.

 Around the same time, Victoria’s fabric line, MOSTLY MANOR, had come out a few months before, and the quilt shop I work for had carried a few of the pieces from that line. The first thing I noticed about Mostly Manor was the bright and bold colors and how playful the prints were. It was one of my most favorite fabrics that we were carrying by Marcus, and I immediately knew I had to have some in my stash. 
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When MEADOW STORM came out, it was no different. When I received a fat quarter bundle of the fabric, I just couldn’t wait to open it up and get started on something. I decided to give my first try at designing a quilt, and use this fabric for it. It definitely did not disappoint. I appreciated the quality of the fabric that Marcus Fabrics produces, it makes working with a new pattern very easy. In my opinion, it is always much more difficult when working with a poor quality of fabric. It was also so tough to choose a favorite! It was a tie between the black and white Manor Stripe I used in the border or the Sun Shower dots in orchid. I just absolutely love the boldness and richness of that orchid color! I have also found that it can be tough to find a really good black and white stripe, so I was jumping with joy when I got my hands on that piece. I even ordered extra just so I could keep a piece for myself!
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One thing that stands out to me about Victoria’s fabric lines is how well they play with each other. The quilt shop I work for also swooned over her fabric, so naturally we had to use her fabric lines to create kits that people could purchase. It was so incredibly easy to mix and match her prints between both Mostly Manor and Meadow Storm! I just love when fabric lines can be versatile with one another.
I just can’t wait to get my hands on her newest line, LIGHT WORK, coming to shops this month! 
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 Danyella Nava / MadeSewModern

A Quick Q&A on CLARET, with Paula Barnes

claretcompWe caught up with Paula to chat about her new CLARET collection. Here’s what she shared with us:

Q. The line is inspired by quilts of the 1800s.  What made Claret such a popular color during that time??

A. Claret became popular in the 1800’s to some extent because the synthetic dye used to produce the color was a stable dye.  This made the color more available, and more affordable, which of course, contributed to its wide appeal.

Q.  And how was it commonly used at the time?PaulaBarnes-SP15

A.  You’d often find the Claret color paired with shirting in quilts. Many quilts were made with Claret, Indigo and Cadet blue (blues included in my INDIGO line).  Red and Grey were popular for the time period.

Q.  The depth of the color is striking, definitely a stashworthy choice for all red lovers.

A.  Yes, it is definitely a darker red color, similar to the French red wine from the Bordeaux region thus giving it is name.

We can only imagine the joys of stitching a Claret quilt while sipping a fine Claret wine!  Paula introduced her INDIGO line a few months ago, then followed up with CLARET.  You’ll find that they work beautifully together now, just as they did in the 1800s. Look for the collection in your favorite quilt shops beginning February 2017!