It's a ROAD RALLY! 100 Quilt Block Tour November 2017

Hi!  Sew glad you stopped by. 

I hope the traffic wasn't too bad.

Come on in and make yourself comfortable.

A cup of tea, perhaps?

I'm very excited to be part of Quiltmaker Magazine's 100 Quilt Blocks Volume 16 Road Rally Blog Tour.  My block, Tortoise Love, is Block #1540.

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Let me tell you a little bit about myself.  My name is Tricia Maloney and I'm a quilt designer, author, and teacher.  I've written three books and my designs have been published in many of your favorite quilt magazines.  I also teach at my local quilt shops here in lovely northwestern Pennsylvania and design/make quilts for fabric companies on occasion.

 One of my latest fun adventures is designing Rose Cards for Villa Rosa Designs.  Here are my first two designs.

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I had a lot of fun coming up with my Tortoise Love quilt block.  You'll have to keep reading to find out about my inspiration for this cute block.  I love that it is a multi-technique block featuring 4 pieced Drunkard's Path blocks and a little bit of applique for the head and tail.

I decided to play a little bit with my Tortoise Love block to see what I could come up with using my Electric Quilt 7 software.  (Did you know that EQ8 is out now?  I just found that out.)

Here's a fun throw quilt I'm calling "Tossed Tortoise."

Isn't this fun?  Can't you see yourself making this cutie for your favorite tortoise (or turtle) lover?  You could make the tortoises all the same fabric or even lots of different fabrics. The squares in the chain could all be different fabrics, too. This would be a great scrap-buster quilt.

I thought about playing around with a table runner design, but I wasn't sure that I would want tortoises on the table at dinner time.  LOL! 

So instead, I went totally crazy and came up with the following design, "Rainbow Tortoises."

What do you think of this one?  I'm not quite sure I love the rainbow tortoises concept, but I do like the movement that's created by the tortoises holding hands (or paws? or feet?).

But if you're not a tortoise lover, you might like this version instead:

Cool, huh?  Interesting shapes that connect add a lot of interest to this version of the design.  Here it is as a big bed quilt:

Isn't this version interesting?  By limiting the fabric choices, you get a bold unique repeating design.

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Okay, now let me tell you about the inspiration for this fun and versatile quilt block.

Meet Carl.

Isn't he just too cute for words????  Carl is a 2 year old African Sulcata tortoise.  When my niece, Morgan, adopted him, he was about the size of a toy car.  He's really grown.  Of course, he loves to eat.  Strawberries are one of his favorite treats.

He'll grow to be gigantic and will outlive Morgan, so she will have to make plans for his distant future.  But in the meantime, Carl loves to go on family vacations, walks, and meet new friends.

There's nothing better than a tortoise and his girl!

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NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY!

The Prizes:

1. One lucky winner will win a copy of Quiltmaker's 100 Quilt Blocks volume 16.  YAY!

        2.  Another winner will receive my first 2 Rose Card patterns and a mystery surprise.  WOW!

        3.  The final winner will win a copy of my new pattern, Basket Weave. SUPER DUPER!

And who knows?  I might add a few other prizes if I get lots of encouragement!!!!

 Here's how it works:

 You have up to 3 chances to win.  Lucky you!

1.  Leave a comment on this blog and tell me what you would name your pet tortoise if you had one.

2.  Become a blog follower and leave a comment on this blog telling me you that you're a blog follower.

3. Follow me on Instagram @tricia.maloney and leave a comment on this blog telling me you're an Instagram follower.

Ready!  Set!  GO!

You have from Monday, November 13th until Saturday, November 18th to participate. 

 Winners will be selected randomly on Sunday, November 19th.

PLEASE MAKE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS 

SO THAT I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOU WIN!

Are You Ready? Quiltmaker 100 Quilt Block Volume 16 ROAD RALLY Starts Monday, November 13th

I'm getting pretty excited to share my latest 100 Quilt Blocks Volume 16 block with you!  The Road Rally Blog Hop starts this Monday, November 13th.  Stop by the Quiltmaker website every day to see the blocks and visit the designers' blogs for a chance to win great prizes!

Stop back here at my blog on MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13th to see my block, here about my really cool inspiration, and to sign up to win prizes!!!!!

It's guaranteed to be a lot of fun!!!!

See you on MONDAY!!!!!

Returning to the Land of Quilt Blogging!

Hi There!

I am finally resurfacing after a long time away from blogging.

What have I been up to?

Well, I've been quilting, quilting, quilting......with little time for anything else right now except more quilting, writing instructions, and shipping quilts as fast as I can make them.  Oh, and my "day job" too, of course.  :)

So I thought I'd take a little time to catch up.

I've been making quilts for a lot of different publications recently and I'm also looking forward to Spring Quilt Market next month in St. Louis.  My book, I LOVE PRECUT QUILTS! will be officially debuting there so I'll be participating in Schoolhouse and doing a book signing at the C&T booth.

Here are some of the other publications that you can find me in right now:

Stash Busting Quilts by Annie's Quilting

My adorable scrappy strippy quilt, CAKES, can be found in Stash Busting Quilts.

 

Quilter's World Magazine Summer 2017

 

 

 

My quilt, FLUTTER, featured in QW Summer 2017.

BIG BLUE OCEAN, also featured in QW Summer 2017.

Quilting Quickly May/June 2017 issue

My super fast jelly roll quilt, JELLY SANDWICH, can be found in Quilting Quickly May/June 2017.

Quiltmaker's 100 Quilt Blocks vol. 15

Here's my block, #1476, CITY BLOCK.  

 Stay tuned in the next couple weeks for the Quiltmaker's 100 Block Volume 15 Blog Hop.  It's sure to be lots of fun with great quilt blocks and quilt ideas......and super prizes, too!

WINNERS

AND WE HAVE WINNERS! 

6 OF THEM, ACTUALLY.

I DID ADD A COUPLE OF MORE PRIZES SINCE I HAD SUCH AN AMAZING RESPONSE!

THANKS EVERYONE WHO RESPONDED, IT WAS SEW FUN!

I WILL POST THE WINNERS AS SOON AS THEY'VE RESPONDED WITH THEIR SHIPPING ADDRESSES AND THEIR PRIZES ARE ON THE WAY.

Quiltmaker's 100 Quilt Block Volume 14 BLOG TOUR

Hello and Welcome to my Blog!

YAY!  I'm sew excited to be participating in the Volume 14 Blog Tour -- it's like a quilt party with all my friends -- both old AND new.

My block is called SLIDER and is #1383 in Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 14.

A lot of people ask me how I come up with my designs.  Let me tell you that it definitely isn't rocket science.  LOL!  I like to start with something familiar like a favorite block, an inspiration piece of fabric, or maybe even an idea.  Then I usually sit down in front of my computer to use my Electric Quilt 7 software.  Do you EQ?  If not, then I really suggest that you try it out because it can take your quilting and designing to new levels. 

When I started playing around with ideas for the 100 Block project, I first decided that I wanted to use red, black, grey, and white fabrics in the block.  That made me determine that my block had to have enough pieces so that I could use 4 fabrics.

 

This was my first block attempt.  Ugh.  Pretty ugly, isn't it? 

 I was trying out some asymmetrical qualities here.

Oh well.  Back to the drawing board.

This was my second try.  Hmm.  Much better, I think.  But too busy.
Maybe I should reduce the number of pieces in the block.

This thinking led me to the actual Slider block that I submitted.

Voila!  There you have it!  A peek inside my design process.

Now let's play with the Slider block a little bit.

 Five blocks and a border makes a fun table runner, doesn't it?

Maybe we should add some printed fabrics instead of just solids?

Here it is in Moda's For You fabrics.

 

 

Now let's try it in Riley Blake's new Crayola fabrics.  Fun and cute!

Here we have fabric from Benartex's Kitchen Love line.  Yum yum yummy!

That was fun, wasn't it? 

Auditioning blocks, layouts, and fabrics is all part of the quilt design process. 

 Thanks for coming along for the ride.

BUT WAIT....................DON'T GO.....................THERE'S STILL MORE!  

KEEP READING......YOU'LL GET TO THE GIVEAWAYS SOON, I PROMISE!!!

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LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT MY NEW BOOK --

IT'S LITERALLY JUST HOT OFF THE PRESS!!!

I'm really really hyped about my third and newest quilt book. 

 I mean, who doesn't love precuts, right?

If you're anything like me, you buy them but never seem to use them.  Yes, I am guilty of precut hoarding and I keep adding more to my sagging shelves.
What about you?

That's where my new book, I Love Precut Quilts! , comes in.  My book has 16 go-to projects ranging from place mats and table runners to wall quilts, throws, and YES! even big bed quilts.

The projects are easy enough for beginners but interesting enough for more advanced quilters, too.   It  has a fun fresh contemporary feel that is light and airy and all of the projects feature traditionally-pieced blocks.  

Time to get your own copy, isn't it?????

Sew.....where can you find my new book?  

Well, read to the bottom to the Giveaway section and you just might win
your very own SIGNED copy.  

You can also find my book (ebooks are also available!) at these locations online:

C&T Publishing

Amazon

Barnes and Noble 

AND it's coming to your local quilt shop soon 

(Psst!  Don't forget to ask your favorite quilt shop owner to order it). 

I will also have copies available soon on my website:

orphanquilter.com

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NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY

 You've all been very patient, reading through my entire blog, so I promise that it'll be worth it!

I will be giving away the following:

1.  A copy of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 14

2.  A copy of my new book, I Love Precut Quilts! (Yippee!)

3.  A  Riley Blake Crayola 2 1/2'' strip roll

4.  A Mystery Prize donated by my local quilt shop owner, Gail, who owns Homespun Treasures.

Who knows?

 I might just add some more prizes along the way if I get
lots and lots of encouragement.

(Wink!  Wink!)

Here's how it works:

You have up to 3 chances to win the prizes listed above.

1.  Leave a comment and tell me what your favorite precut is.  

2.  Become a blog follower and leave a comment telling me you that you're a blog follower.

3. Follow me on Instagram @tricia.maloney and leave a comment telling me you're an Instagram follower.

Ready!  Set!  GO!

You have from Tuesday, November 15th until Saturday, November 19th to participate. 

 Winners will be selected randomly on Saturday, November 19th.

PLEASE MAKE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS 

SO THAT I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOU WIN!

 

And the Winners Are......

WOW!  What a super fun Blog Hop, wouldn't you agree?  I had such a great time!

Thanks to everyone who participated AND stopped by my blog.  I hope that you'll stop back from time to time to see what quilt mischief I've gotten myself into (wink, wink).

I'm sew excited, too, because I gathered lots and lots of new ideas for future blog posts.  THANK YOU BUNCHES!

Okay, here are our Lucky Blog Hop Giveaway Winners:

Summer in Texas wins a copy of 100 Blocks vol. 13

Cecelia in Florida winds a copy of Orphan Block Quilts

AND I decided since sew many quilters visited and left messages that I'd give away a second copy of my book, Orphan Block Quilts.

So, our third winner is Jamie in New York.

Yay!  WAHOO!  Cool Beans!  Cue the confetti!  Let loose the balloons!  Let's blow our party horns!  Congratulations, winners!  Your prizes will be there soon!

100 Quilt Block Blog Hop

Greetings and welcome to my blog!  I'm sew glad that you're here.

If you stopped by early this morning and my Blog Tour post wasn't up yet, I am sew sorry.  Somehow it didn't launch when it was supposed to.  Probably human error.......Thanks for checking back in.

Did you know that there's a BLOG TOUR going on right now from May 2nd until May 6th?  Did you know you can win fun quilty prizes?  Visit Quiltmaker magazine's blog, Quilty Pleasures to learn more, register for prizes, or to see the featured designers.

What fun!  It's my turn to host a block party as part of the Volume 13 Blog Tour on my blog!  WAHOO!  1....2...3.....Let's all blow our party horns!    Whoosh.....I'll throw the confetti.  Hey! Turn up the music -- loud!   Okay.......that's more like it!  Let's get the party started!  Yeah!

I am sew sew excited to be part of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 13.  This is my first time in the magazine, although my designs have been featured in many other magazines and publications and I've authored 2 books.  I have a new book -- my third book -- coming out in November.
 Read on to find out more about it.  :)

But first......on to my block.

This is my quilt block, Cotillion, featured in Quiltmaker's 100 Quilt Blocks Volume 13.  It's block #1284 on page 51.  Additionally, it's on the front cover of the magazine.  

Can you find my block, below?

 

Aha!  There it is!  Second row down, fourth block from the left.

  Let me show you how I came up with the design for my Cotillion block.

When I first decided to challenge myself to create a block, I decided to start with my favorite 

quilt block, Shoofly.  I sat down with my computer and Electric Quilt 7 software to play and 

had a little fun with my Shoofly block, but one big Shoofly block wasn't very interesting. 

 Hmm.  Now what?

Then I decided to put four Shoofly blocks together to see what would happen.  Since the block would finish at 12", I made my little Shoofly blocks 6".

I knew I was on the right track, but it definitely needed a little tweaking.

What if I featured a different fabric in the center instead of the background fabric?

Better....What if I made the white squares into rectangles and the center triangles into a solid square?  This would make it easier to cut.

I was really getting excited at this point because the block was starting to come together, but it wasn't quite there yet.  Hmmm.  Maybe I should take away the triangle squares in the four corners?

Now that's what I'm talking about!  Here is my original design.  But wait -- I need to add some fabric, don't I?   I decided to use fabric from the Samantha line by Carrie Quinn for Penny Rose Fabrics.
I had recently made a quilt using this lovely pink and brown collection and was happy to use the
leftovers for Cotillion.

Aha!  There it is!  Done!

Now that I've shown you my step-by-step process for creating my Cotillion block,
 look what happens when you put them into a quilt:

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Here's a very traditional setting with sashing.

This is what happens when I put the blocks on-point with no sashing.  Interesting....

NEW BOOK     NEW BOOK!!!

Okay, since you're kind of a captive audience, I just wanted to take a moment and tell you about my new quilt book with C&T!  My new book is all about PRECUTS and will be out in November 2016.  There are 16+ projects ranging from table runners and place mats all the way up to big bed quilts. Shhh!  Don't tell, but you're the first to officially hear about my upcoming book -- it's called I LOVE PRECUT QUILTS!.  Great title, huh?  So ask for it at your local quilt shop in November.

 

  NOW FOR A GIVEAWAY!

Leave a comment on my blog anytime from May 5th until May 9th and tell me what your favorite quilt block is.  You might just win a copy of Quiltmaker's 100 Quilt Blocks Vol. 13!  Woot!  Woot! 

Now if you want a chance to win a copy of my first book, Orphan Block Quilts, become a follower and leave me a another comment letting me know that you're a follower.  

Winners will be drawn randomly on Monday, May 9th.  Please don't forget to include your email address so I can let you know that you're a winner!  YAY!  GO YOU!

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.........................................