Happy Holidays Giveaway!

Because one of my favorite things about the holiday season is the spirit of giving, I've decided to have a "give-away" once a week until Christmas.

This week's give-away is the kit for the miniature version of my "Patriot's Home" quilt that is featured in the current issue of McCall's Quilting.

The kit includes all of the fabric for the top, backing and binding, the instructions and the paper pieces for this 16" x 16" project. (The English paper pieced blocks are easily made using "Strip-It" fabric from the American Patriot collection by Marcus Fabrics.)

Leave a comment and your name will be entered in the drawing. The winner (or winners!!!) will be drawn next Sunday morning, and another give-away will be announced on that day as well.

A very happy and safe holiday season to all of you!

Vicki

Happy Turkey Day!

With early morning turkey preparations about to begin, I wanted to take some time to wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving! It's hard to believe that tomorrow the craziness of the holiday season will be underway. Where did this year go?!?!

I was fortunate to have a feature, "Patriot's Home", in the 100th issue of McCall's Quilting, which should be out on newsstands or in your local quilt shop right about now.

This quilt was a sheer joy to design. The fact that McCall's requested I do another English paper pieced quilt was an added bonus! I chose fabrics from the "American Patriot" collection, designed by Faye Burgos for Marcus Fabrics, which was a perfect fit for what I had in mind for this project.

If you've never tried English paper piecing, purchase the Jan/Feb 2010 issue and you'll find a great step-by-step photo tutorial that the great staff at McCall's put together for this article!

As an added bonus, a miniature version of this quilt that measures 16" x 16" is available as a free download on McCall's web site.

Kits are available on my website, and include the fabric and pre-cut paper pieces for both the quilt and miniature version of the quilt. These are going fast, which I believe demonstrates there is a bit of patriotism in all of us!

Enjoy this holiday and take a moment not only today, but every day, to reflect on what you are thankful for.

Vicki

Bloom Creek Down Under

How exciting to be featured in Australian Homespun! If you've never had the opportunity to read this magazine, I would highly recommend it! It's beautiful from cover to cover, and I'm so honored to have my quilt shown on the cover of their "Red Issue", Volume 10.11. I was asked last April if I would be willing to do a project for this issue, with a request to design a project based on my Blooms for Annabelle pattern and choosing a fabric line with a hint of "red". That was an easy decision for me. . . "Snippets", designed by Sandy Klop of American Jane (for Moda) was the perfect choice for my "Patches and Posies" design. I don't believe the magazine will be available in the United States until December, so I thought I'd share a few photos with you here.

I had so much fun quilting this, and of course, had to add a personal touch with a quilt label on the back of the quilt that mimics the applique used in the quilt.

A very special thanks to Catherine Sanchez and Elizabeth Newton at Homespun, who were wonderful to work with on this project!

Cheers!. . . Vicki

And the winner is. . .

Thank you all for your nice comments on my block. I hope you are enjoying the blog tour!

Using random.org, a winner has been chosen to receive a copy of the Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks from Today's Top Designers, and the winner is. . . #33, Pat.

Please e-mail me at vickibellino@charter.net with your contact information so that the issue can be sent to you.

Congratulations!

Quiltmaker's Blog Tour

A special greeting to all of you who are on the blog tour associated with Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks from Today's Top Designers. Look for this special magazine edition in your local quilt shop or on newsstands by November 17th! This is one you won't want to miss! If you haven't heard about this fantastic blog tour, you can read all about it on Quiltmaker's' blog and be a part of the fun!


At about the same time I was asked to design a block for the Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks edition, I had just received a beautiful new fabric line of red and cream prints called "Gallery in Red", by Faye Burgos for Marcus Fabrics. My immediate thought was to use this fabric to design a block with a Valentine's Day theme . Here is a sneak peak at the end result.

Before you continue on your tour, we invite you to check out our website, as well as leave a comment on this post to be entered in a drawing to win a copy of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks from Today's Top Designers. A winner will be drawn and posted on our blog Tuesday morning!!

Happy blog hopping!!

Vicki

A Perfect Week

The past week was fun-filled for me and I thought I would share it with all of you. I was able to have a full "sew day" with my 8-year-old granddaughter, Lexi. While the two oldest granddaughters have made several quilts, Lexi has recently demonstrated that she has been bit by the quilting bug!


I took her with me to a nearby quilt shop to look for backing fabric for a quilt she had nearly finished. While I was chatting with the owner, Lexi was shopping. She said she had found fabric she wanted to use for her next quilt. My first reaction was to say "Don't you think you should finish the one you're working on first?" Then, it hit me. . . she's becoming a true quilter. Who was I to discourage her thinking ahead, so of course, we left with an assortment of yellow, black and white prints that she had so thoughtfully put together. When I asked her what she wanted to do with the fabric, her only requirement was that it have triangles.


So, home we went and immediately got started. I taught her to draw diagonal lines on each square, then arrange her fabrics on the design wall. . .






















and before I knew it, she was at the machine and sewing like a crazed quilter!



As we both sewed, sang songs and talked, I realized there should be more of these days.

To top the week off, my husband and I spent three days in Monterey and had a great time spending some quality time together. It was a 5 hour drive each way, so I was able to get a ton of English paper piecing finished by the time we returned home. (I always find a way to sneak in some paper piecing!)

This weekend proves to be fun-filled also! I'll be picking up two of my granddaughters in Oregon and driving them back to our house for a three-day weekend. I've decided it would be so much fun to have all four granddaughters over for a slumber party, followed by a day of baking, movies and shopping. With these four, how can I go wrong?

Until next time. . . . Vicki

Getting Back in the Groove!

I can't believe it's been two months since I posted last! I've really been out of the blogging loop, but plan to get back in the groove now! I'm am happy to say that I have finished the manuscript and the projects for the book I'm authoring for Martingale & Company. I'm definitely doing the happy dance!! As I was packing the box to ship, I realized that inside this 20 x 20 x 20 box is my life in a nutshell for the past 2 1/2 months!

I'm not sure how, but I did manage to get three new patterns out for fall, with the others coming out most likely in November. It seems no matter how busy I am, I can always find time for a little English paper piecing. I've incorporated that technique in two of my new patterns.

The first one, "Spinagons", uses a quick strip method to make 2" hexagons. They might look like half-hexagons, but they're not!

The second is "Suitable for Framing". This is a bigger project, but quick and fun to make. I've included all of the pre-cut paper pieces inside each of these two patterns, so all you will need is fabric and you're ready to get started!

Last, but certainly not least, is "Geese in the Posie Patch". I used fabrics from Sandy Klop's "Happy Campers" fabric line, resulting in a very cheerful table runner. Her fabrics always make me happy. I'm working on a quilt with the same fabric right now and can't wait to see the end result! That's it for now. I've got to go check out some of my favorite blogs and see what's been going on for the past couple of months!

Vicki