HOORAY! Time For the 2024 Villa Rosa Designs Fast & More Fun Blog Hop -- Today is My Blog Day!

 

Hello There Friends! 

Welcome to you, both old and new friends!  

I'm sew glad that you are here.  Today is my day on the 2024 VRD Fast & More Fun Blog Hop and I'm thrilled to be part of the 2nd Villa Rosa Designs Blog Hop.  

If you've come for the prizes -- I'm happy to tell you that you will be able to register for prizes at the bottom of this post.  But before I give you all the prize info, please read on and enjoy my post celebrating Villa Rosa Designs.

A Little Bit About Me

If you've already recognized the writing style, you're not imagining things -- I am also the blog writer over at the Villa Rosa Designs (VRD) blog, Villa Rosa Quilts. Yep, it's me Tricia @ VRD.  LOL!

I met Pat Fryer, the owner and Rose Queen at VRD when I attended my very first Fall Quilt Market in 2010 (which, incidentally, was Pat's second Quilt Market promoting her new company, Villa Rosa Designs -- kismet, I think) in order to promote my first quilting book, Orphan Block Quilts.

                                                      
 

Sheesh!  2010 -- that seems like ages ago now.  Pat and I met up at every Market I attended after that and in 2017, I became part of the VRD family of designers.  Mostly I design the table runner patterns, but I also create patterns for baby quilts, throws, large quilts, and some smaller accessory patterns, too.  You can check out all my VRD Rose Card patterns HERE.

In 2021, I started a new life-changing position working for VRD as a virtual assistant -- virtual because we are located on opposite sides of the US -- Pat and VRD in California and me here in Pennsylvania.  Writing the weekly VRD blog, Villa Rosa Quilts, is just one of the fun and cool things I get to do.  I also write patterns, do graphics, work closely with fabric companies for cross-promotional purposes, and whatever else I can do to help Pat and VRD.  BEST.  JOB.  EVER.

VRD Fast & More Fun Blog Hop 

Now that you know a little bit about me, let me tell you all about the Blog Hop.  I hope you are having fun hopping from blog to blog to see all of these amazing quilts, meet the cool quilt bloggers, and to register for awesome prizes which were donated just for you by our wonderful sponsors (see below). 

Today is Day 5 on the Hop, so if you haven't visited blogs for the first 4 days, here's the schedule so you can.  Go for it -- the more blogs you visit and register for at, the more chances you have to win.

Blog Hop Schedule:

Thursday, March 14
Villa Rosa Quilts — https://villarosaquilts.com/ 

Friday, March 15
Kathleen McMusings — https://kathleenmcmusing.com/
The Morning Latte — http://livelylatte.blogspot.com/
Homesewn By Us — https://www.homesewnbyus.com
Pieceful Thoughts — https://www.piecefulthoughts.com/
C & T Publishing — https://www.ctpub.com/blog/

Saturday March 16 — National Quilting Day!
Needle and Foot — https://needleandfoot.com/
MMM Quilts — https://www.mmmquilts.com/
Texas Quilt Gal — https://www.texasquiltgal.com/
Time 4 Stitchn — http://time4stitchn.blogspot.com/
SIY (Sew It Yourself) — https://blog.siysewityourself.com/

Sunday, March 17 — Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Quarter Inch Capers — https://quarterinchcapers.blogspot.com/
Norton House Quilting — https://www.nortonhousequilting.com/blogs/news
Quilting Gail — https://quiltinggail.com/

Wazoo! Newsbits — http://wazoonewsbits.blogspot.com/

Monday, March 18
With Strings Attached — https://withstringsattached.blogspot.com/
Jaftex/Scott Fortunoff — https://scottfortunoff.com/
Cocoa Quilts — https://www.cocoaquilts.com/ 

Quilt With a View — http://quiltwithaview.blogspot.com/ (YOU ARE HERE)

Tuesday, March 19
Shout 4 Joy — https://shout4joy-shouting.blogspot.com/
The Darling Dogwood — http://thedarlingdogwood.blogspot.com/
Vicki’s Crafts and Quilting — www.knitbug2.blogspot.com
Something Rosemade — https://somethingrosemade14.blogspot.com/
Quilts of Valor Foundation — https://www.qovf.org/

Wednesday, March 20 — First Day of Spring!

Grace and Peace Quilting — https://www.graceandpeacequilting.com/
Happy Cottage Quilter — https://happycottagequilter.blogspot.com/
Joyfully Tracie — https://joyfullytracie.com/
Patchouli Moon Studio — https://patchouli-moon-studio.blogspot.com/
Electric Quilt Company — https://doyoueq.com/blog/

Thursday, March 21
Villa Rosa Quilts — villarosaquilts.com 

The VRd Blog Hop couldn't even happen without the amazing support from our sponsors.  Thank you Sponsors!

https://hoffmancaliforniafabrics.net

https://modafabrics.com

https://www.ttfabrics.com

http://jaftex.com

https://electricquilt.com

https://www.northcott.com/home.aspx

http://benartex.com

https://www.hancocks-paducah.com

https://foxchapelpublishing.com

https://www.ctpub.com

https://www.pbtex.com

I am honored that 2 of my Villa Rosa Designs Rose Card patterns made it into the 5 patterns selected for the Hop:  Clover and Twinkle.  Did you know that you can purchase a set of the Blog Hop patterns???  You can go HERE to get your own set.  Or maybe you'll win a set....

 

 Okay, now that we've got all that out of the way, wanna see my quilt???

Twinkle, My Blog Hop Quilt

When I designed Twinkle in 2019, I was torn about what fabrics and colors I should choose.  I decided to use a white background and some fun bright 5" squares.  It turned out really fun and flirty so I went with it.

 

In the back of my mind, though, I always wondered what it would look like with a black background.

Fast forward 5 years and I decided to answer that "what if" question for my Blog Hop post by creating a brand new Twinkle quilt featuring a solid black background paired with a great selection of 5" squares of Batiks.  

I am really pleased with how it turned out!  The Batiks shimmer and really pop on the black background, don't they?

 When I went outside to photograph the Twinkle top (not Toes -- LOL!), it was really nasty -- the temperature dropped, it was very windy, and then snowflakes were swirling around as I was trying to catch a quick photo when the wind stopped blowing for a second.  Just one teeny second was all I needed. It took me several tries as you can see below in my "windy" photos, but I finally managed to get a decent photo. 

What was really cool while I was taking photos is that way up high soaring on the wind was our neighborhood eagle!  Sure I was freezing, but it never fails to take my breath away to see our eagle (or eagles, last year we had 4 -- 2 parents and 2 youngsters), no matter how many times I see him/her (not sure which one it was today). I hope we get eaglets again this year!

Here are my "windy" photos. Seriously, I wouldn't have gone outside today to do photography if I hadn't wanted to get a good clean image for my blog post.  If I hadn't gone outside, though, I wouldn't have seen the eagle soaring on the wind up above.  Simply beautiful....

 

Maybe you noticed that I didn't add a border....yet.   I'm not entirely sure what I want to do about the border.  It needs something, but I'm not sure exactly what.  

I will say I was really inspired by Cheree over at The Morning Latte last Friday with her gorgeous pieced border for her version of Gypsy, so maybe I will go that route.  I just don't know.  What do you think?  Aha!  I think this question will be my question for the prizes, below.  I am SEW open to ideas!

Now, how about some PRIZES??!!

Blog Hop GIVEAWAYS

I know you've all been waiting for this!  Here's your reward for reading all the way down my blog post -- thank you!

And thanks to our Sponsors, we have some really awesome prizes up for grabs!  Here they are:

1)  1 set of the Blog Hop patterns, donated by Villa Rosa Designs (each blogger will give away a set)

2)  3  chances at 3 of the Grand Prizes (you will need to register to win the EQ8 download on the Electric Quilt blog, beginning on Wednesday, March 20th) donated by our rockin' Blog Hop Sponsors (each blogger will choose 3 people to go into the Grand Prize drawings)

3)  3 Individual Sponsored Prizes (each blogger will choose 3 winners)

But wait!  There's more!

I'm adding some fun prizes to give away here on my blog too!

4)  A signed copy of my first book, Orphan Block Quilts 

5) A mystery set of my Villa Rosa Designs Rose Card patterns

You have up to 2 chances to win the above prizes here on my blog!  International Friends are welcome to register for prizes, too, as some of the Sponsors are able to ship internationally.  Winners will be randomly selected following the Blog Hop.  Winners will be announced after all winners have been contacted.

Here's what you need to do to be registered for prizes here on my blog:

1)  Leave a comment on this blog post and tell me what you think I should do for borders on my Twinkle quilt.

2)  Become a blog follower/subscriber and leave a comment on this blog post telling me you are a follower/subscriber (if you are already a subscriber/follower -- thank you -- please leave a comment letting me know).   PSST!  The Blue "Follow" button is at the bottom of the Followers box on the top right side of the blog.  You can also Subscribe with Netblogs, My Yahoo!, and Atom.  I think I'm on Bloglovin, too.

 Please make sure to leave an email address so I can contact you if you win! If there isn't an email address, I will move on to the next commenter.

Remember, you have until Sunday, March 24th to leave a comment to register for the prizes above.

That's it!  Really!  Easy Peasy!

Good luck to each and every one of you!  

Enjoy the Hop (socks are optional)!

                    Best,

Tricia 

P.S.  Please stop back soon to see what I'm up to....

 

 

Let's Have a Blog Hop!

 Hello Friends!

I'm SEW excited to announce that I am participating in the Villa Rosa Designs Fast & More Fun Blog Hop March 14-21. 

This is the 2nd year for the Hop and I'm thrilled to be part of it again this year.  Do you remember the Hop last year?  It was awesome!  Each of the bloggers created a VRD quilt and revealed them on their blog posts for the Hop.  There will be tons of prizes, too!  And 4 Grand Prize drawings this year -- wow!

The Hop kicks off this Thursday, March 14th, on the VRD blog -- villarosaquilts.com

Make sure you stop by the VRD blog on Thursday to  find out how everything works and how to register for prizes.

The time is perfect!  National Quilting Day is Saturday, March 16th -- what better way to celebrate quilting than to go on a Blog Hop adventure from the comfort of your home.  You can even wear your jammies!

More info to follow.......

                            Best,

                                     Tricia

My Villa Rosa Rose Cards Are Popping Up in the Most Unexpected Places!

Well, hello again!  No, I haven't forgotten about you.  Honest.  Things have just been super busy around here.  I'm sure you can relate.  :)

I missed 2 weeks in a row this time, but I do actually have a very legitimate reason -- my family had a giant garage sale (no we weren't selling the actual garage, you silly goose!) over Memorial week end.  Whew!  I am so glad that it is over.  I had forgotten how much work went into preparing for a garage sale.  I think we spent 2 weeks (or was it 5 years???) getting everything cleaned, priced, arranged, etc.  It wasn't one of our best sales, but I guess it wasn't our worst either, either.

Anyway, while I was getting ready for the garage sale, my friend Cathey Laird skipped off to Spring Market in Kansas City, MO.  Lucky girl!  She sent me the following advertisement image in a message:

This is an ad for the Top 25 Patterns at Moda.  Check out the third pattern down on the left side -- YES!  It is my Salt Water Taffy Rose Card pattern for Villa Rosa!  YIPPEE!  Wow, was I surprised when she messaged it to me -- she really made my day.

Out of curiosity, I went to Moda's website and looked under their books and patterns section.  Again, I was surprised to find most, if not all, of our Villa Rosa Rose Cards, including ALL of my designs.  This is so mind-boggling and exciting.  (You can't see me right now, but I am doing my happy dance as I write this post.)

I never know where my designs and patterns are going to show up next.

Villa Rosa -- My Quilt Designs are Popping Up All Over!

You may already know that I've been designing easy and fun (and usually precut-friendly) quilt designs for Villa Rosa Designs for over a year now.

I met Pat, the owner of Villa Rosa, completely by happenstance at my very first International Quilt Market in 2010.  We hit it off and got to know each other through the years at Quilt Markets we both attended.  Then in 2017, things were ready for me to begin designing quilts for Villa Rosa.

Are you familiar with the Villa Rosa Rose Cards?  I was so impressed with the postcard-sized patterns when I first saw them in 2010 -- I knew then that I wanted to be part of Villa Rosa.

What makes a Rose Card so special?

A Rose card is the size of a post-card with a beautiful full-color photo of the project on the front and simple easy-to-follow instructions to make the project on the back.  That's it.  ONE POSTCARD.

Fast-forward to today....

I currently have 14 Rose Card patterns available and I have several more in the works right now.

Here are my Rose Cards (go HERE to shop my Rose Cards):

 

                                      

                                      

If you're a shop owner, you love Rose Cards because:

1)  they are small and easy to display, particularly near registers and check out counters
2)  they are perfect for kitting up with your own fabric in your shop
3)  the projects are fast and easy (and usually precut-friendly) so they are great for new quilters and experienced quilters alike
4)  the retail price is inexpensive
5)  they make great class projects because students do not have to buy expensive books in addition to all of their supplies
6)  most of the patterns utilize precuts and quilters LOVE precuts!

If you're a quilter, you love Rose Cards because:

1)  Rose Cards are like candy, you can't choose just one
2)  Rose Cards are inexpensive
3)  they are small and take up very little space in your sewing room
4)  there are Rose Card designs to fit any style from modern to traditional
5)  there are a lot of different types of projects to choose from -- table runners, baby quilts, throws, and more
6)  they are mostly geared for beginning quilters, yet the designs appeal to quilters of all skill levels and interests
7)  they are perfect for charity quilts
8)  most of the Rose Cards use precuts, but you can easily use your own stash or scraps, too
9)  they make great little gifts for your quilting friends or yourself


Rose Cards are now available wholesale to quilt shops through Checker Distributor and EE Schenck or through Villa Rosa Wholesale.

Quilters, you can find Rose Cards at your local quilt shop or  here on the Villa Rosa website.
 

International Quilt Market Schoolhouse.....Wish I Was There

It's time for International Quilt Market in Houston, Texas. 

All day yesterday I kept thinking to myself  "Well, if I was going to Market, I'd be flying to Houston today."  It made me a little sad.  But then I reminded myself that I went to Houston last October AND St. Louis in the spring. 

So, I wonder what new and exciting stuff will be debuted at Market and will find its way into our local quilt shops? 

Today would be Schoolhouse Day.  Schoolhouse is a day filled with choices of mini programs all about what's new and exciting from fabric collections, books and patterns, tools and gadgets, to techniques and information.  It's a nutty day where you run back and forth between classrooms every 15 minutes or 30 minutes depending on which session.  There are usually a lot of different choices during each session and sometimes it's hard to chose just one.  By the end of the day, you're usually totally wiped out and ready for some down time.

How about Guadalahara?  The best Mexican restaurant in Houston.  A great place to kick back and chill.

Although I'm not there, I am there in spirit and in quilts.  I am a new designer for Villa Rosa Designs.

Pat is doing a schoolhouse today about new Rose Card patterns, mine included!  She will also be showing my two table runners at her Schoolhouse and will have them on display at  her booth.

Here are my first two Rose Card Patterns:

Soon, I hope to have them to sell, but for right now, you can order them on the Villa Rosa website or perhaps you'll find them at your local quilt shop. 

Tomorrow the floor will be open and hoards -- literally hoards -- of eager people will rush onto the floor to look over every vendor's booth.  It's an amazing and mind-numbing experience.  Oh!  And the quilt show -- now that's worth spending time at, just drinking in all of the amazing quilts.

Wish I was there....