My Solo Blog Hop WINNERS!

First, I want to thank everyone who visited -- I really enjoyed reading about your quilting inspirations.  Quilters are extraordinary people and if every person in the world had a quilt -- it would be a better world. 


 Here are our lucky winners:

Janet from California won a copy of my book, I Love Precut Quilts!  Congrats to you, Janet!

 

Pat from Michigan won a copy of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 15.  Yay, Pat! 

 

I was so very pleased with your responses that I added another copy of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 15.  

 Joy from California won that copy.  Hooray, Joy!

What fun -- I think I'll have to do this again soon.  Anyone want to do another blog hop this summer?  Let me know -- I'm in!!!

 

Quiltmaker Magazine 100 Quilt Blocks Volume 15 + Giveaway

Hello and Welcome to my Blog!

Today I discovered that the Quiltmaker Magazine 100 Quilt Blocks Volume 15 Blog Hop started on Monday and today -- Thursday -- is actually day 4.  Somehow, I missed the Blog Hop boat and I have no idea how that happened.  I emailed Quiltmaker today to find out what was going on, but they didn't reply....

I'm pretty disappointed that I did not get to participate because Blog Hops are SEW MUCH FUN.  I decided that I would do my own Blog Hop GIVEAWAY since I didn't get the opportunity to participate in the official blog hop.

So....WELCOME to my very own solo Blog Hop!

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My block is called CITY BLOCK and it is #1476, on page 48.

Isn't it fun?  I chose a selection of modern fabrics by Cotton+Steel.   This block uses 2 1/2" strips so you can use jelly roll strips, too.

Here it is, replacing the printed fabrics with solids.  Striking, isn't it?

Look what happens when I use a black solid background in my favorite red, black, grey (or white) colorway!  Isn't it really sharp?

Now that we've played around with the block a little bit, let's see what it looks like in a project.  Here's a very mellow beachy table runner design using 5 blocks.  

How about a couple of trendy place mats?

 

I hope you've enjoyed playing around with my block a little bit.  I hope you'll look for the magazine at your favorite quilt shop or newsstand.  

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

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

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Ever since my new quilt book, I LOVE PRECUT QUILTS! came out, I definitely have precuts on my brain (oh no -- I hope it's not contagious!).  Just look at my City Block block (sorry about the repetition here......).  You can make this block from Jelly Roll strips, fat quarters, or even out of your stash.  Just about every quilt that I make now,  I find some way to incorporate precuts.  I'm even starting to challenge myself to make small projects out of my leftover precut bits and  pieces....

If you're new to my blog, let me tell you a little bit about my latest book.

 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.  

Here are some of projects from my book:

I'm really excited right now because I'm heading to Spring Quilt Market in St. Louis in 2 weeks for my book's official debut.  I will be participating in a Schoolhouse lecture and doing a book signing at the C&T Booth.  So if you're headed to Market, stop by -- I'd love to meet you and show you my new book.

Want your own copy??????

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

C&T Publishing

Amazon

Barnes and Noble 

 

I  also have SIGNED copies available on my website:

orphanquilter.com

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

SURPRISE!  I'm also giving a copy of I Love Precut Quilts! away, see below. 

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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:

  A  copy of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 15

 A copy of my latest book, I Love Precut Quilts!

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 inspires you as a quilter.

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 Thursday, May 4th through Sunday, May 7th to participate.

 Winners will be selected randomly on Monday, May 8th.

PLEASE MAKE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS 

SO THAT I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOU WIN!

 

And the Winners Are.......

Well, folks, the winners have been notified, and all six of the prizes have been claimed and shipped.

I want to thank everyone for joining us on the Blog Tour.  It was tons of fun, wasn't it?  Although I was on the Blog Tour, I really enjoyed reading the designer blogs every day too.  What a lot of talented people there are!

Our Quilt With a View lucky winners were from all over the United States:

Marie from Texas

Vivian from North Carolina

Wanda from Iowa

Sue from Ohio

Brenda from Wisconsin

Nicole from Washinton


I have submitted blocks to volumes 15 and 16, so keep your fingers crossed that my blocks will be selected and we'll get to Blog Hop again in the spring.

In the meantime, keep on quiltin'!

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.........................................

Finally......Something Fun for ME!

For a long time now, I've been in professional mode when it's come to making quilts.  It seems like it's been a long long time since I had a little time to explore the concept of F-U-N in my studio.  So, this past week, I finally felt caught up enough to play a little bit.

First up on my play-cation was to make myself a new purse.  I got most of it completed last Sunday, but was lacking the plastic clasp so I didn't get it completely done until Thursday morning.

I used some leftovers from a Church Ladies Aprons FQ collection by Riley Blake.  I added a base of denim......and PRESTO!  One new bag ready for  -- can it possibly be?   ME!

 

Well, what do you think?  Isn't it fun?  AND as you can see there are pockets galore, inside and out, to keep my stuff organized.  Of course, my bag isn't really a traditional purse -- it's more like a smaller messenger bag -- there's even enough room for my iPad inside.  This is probably the fourth or fifth one I've made for myself.

Below is the one I made for my sister for Christmas this past year.  The strap was shorter for her, though, because she's not into cross-body bags and she's not very tall, only about 4'11''.

I fell in love with this design, called the Birdwatcher Bag in Cassie Barden's wonderful book, The New Handmade.

 I had the opportunity to meet Cassie Barden at Quilt Market in Houston a couple years ago.  She was so very nice and I was thrilled to show her my first bag.

Do you make you own bags and purses?  Ever since I made my first bags years and years ago, I discovered that I could make something better than anything I could find in a store.  Whether it was a design that I created or from a favorite pattern, my bag was just better.  I love how I can take a basic design and change it up with different fabrics, buttons, pockets, etc. 

Now that I've got the new bag out of the way, I'm taking on some scrappy projects using leftovers from some of the projects for my upcoming book.

Please stop by my blog on Thursday, May 5th, for my 100 Quilt Blocks From Quiltmaker Magazine Blog Hop Entry!  I'm going to give away a couple goodies, so come by for the fun!