A Quilt Block a Day: 3000 "Likes" Giveaway

It's a pain to host a giveaway on Facebook, so the "A Quilt Block a Day" Facebook page giveaway will be on this blog.

We're celebrating 3000 (plus!) "Likes" on the page.

Here's what "A Quilt Block a Day" is all about:

Can't find time to make a quilt? How about a block each day! Every season I'll showcase a new block and post a tutorial on my blog 52quilts.com.

No, you don't have to follow "52 Quilts" to win the giveaway! And you don't even have to "Like" the "A Quilt Block a Day" page on Facebook! In fact, you don't even have to use Facebook!

Here's the prize:

It's a jelly roll of Bonnie & Camille's new line, "Daysail." It's what I'm using to make the May Jelly Roll Party sample. 

Here is a look at the prints included in the jelly roll:

Of course, I'll include some extra goodies in the prize package -- but that will be a surprise!

Want to win? All you have to do is:

1. Comment on this blog post. Tell me if you've visited "A Quilt Block a Day" on Facebook.
2. If you're a no-reply blogger, please include contact info. If I can't find you, I can't send you the prize.
3. My blog is set not to allow anonymous comments so that the robots cannot find me. If you do not have an ID, you can still enter by email at the address listed under "About Aunt Marti" in the right-hand column of this page and I will post your comment for you so you have a chance to win. 
4. International entries welcome, of course!
5. Giveaway ends Saturday, March 7 at midnight Mountain Standard Time. The winner will be announced on Sunday, March 8.

I hope you'll come back tomorrow for the UFO Parade!

From the desk of your

A Color Study

Remember this photo on Monday's post?

It was taken by the Younger Son while he was out to sea on the USS George Washington.

Gill in England commented that she would love to see what Kona Cotton colors would be assigned to this photo. So I went to Palette Builder 2.1 and uploaded this portion of the photo. I didn't want the black to be included in the color assignments.

And here's what I got:

Here are a few more colors in Moda Bella Solids:

You can load Palette Builder for free from the Play Crafts site.

Thanks for the great idea, Gill!

From the desk of your

Tuesday Tool: A New Way to Make Sew and Flip Triangles

I admit it: I'm lazy when it comes to marking sew-and-flip triangle corners.

Bonnie Hunter carefully draws a diagonal line before stitching to make triangle corners on squares or rectangles. I use a line drawn on my sewing machine bed to line up the corners, and hope for the best.

Until now . . . .

I came across the "Folded Corner Clipper" while at Quilt Wyoming last summer. I didn't really use it until I started my next Jelly Roll Party quilt, Drop Diamonds (see yesterday's Design Wall Monday). It requires lots of sew-and-flip corners, so I pulled out this little tool and tested it out.

I am pleased to report, this is a tool that is absolutely worth the $14 price tag!

To use the tool, you simply place the tool on the corner, and trim.The marks line up with the width of the strip or square being sewn. I'm using 2.5" strips for this quilt.

Line up two sides of the tool and cut:

The only trick is to be sure you're trimming the correct direction. The Drop Diamonds pattern has illustrations that make it clear which direction the seam needs to be sewn.

I'll be using this tool for sew-and-flip triangles from now on! I bought my Folded Corner Clipper from Two Sisters Quilting. You may also view a video on how to use the tool here. Prairie Sky Quilting has online instruction here. The tool is also available from Prairie Sky Quilting.

It's always nice to be able to recommend a new tool. This is one I can recommend.

So can Samosa:

The finished quilt will be featured on the March 6 blog post. Come back to see! 

From the desk of your

Design Wall Monday

Snowbound Day 3. Starting to get cabin fever. Dogs don't want to go outside. Cats do. I do. 

The DH has shoveled off the driveway three or four times. One of our neighbors owns a snowblower, and loves to use it. Lucky for us! He clears the sidewalk all around our cul de sac.

The good thing about snow days is that I get a lot of sewing done! The blocks for the next Jelly Roll Party sample are complete and hanging on the design wall.

I used a new tool for the sew-and-flip corners, tutorial tomorrow. The white corners are not pressed, because I want to press them such that the seams nestle. So I had to lay out the blocks before I pressed the corners.

The pattern is "Drop Diamonds," from Cozy Quilt Designs. The fabric is April Showers from Bonnie and Camille for Moda.

Just in case you're tired of snow also, here's a photo taken by My Little Sailor while on the USS George Washington. Doesn't this make you want to run away to sea?

New tool, new tutorial  tomorrow. Keep warm!

From the desk of your

Stash Report: All Low Volume, All the Time

Interestingly, my "low volume" addiction isn't lessening at all. Even though I have a pretty good stash of low volume fabrics, every time I see a lv bundle, I just have to buy it!

I guess I could have worse addictions.

This bundle is from The Intrepid Thread. They're all Art Gallery, whose fabrics I think have the smoothest hand in the quilt fabric world.

Two of the prints are so fun, I had to pull them out for an individual photo. First, Belles Parisiennes from the Cherie collection by Frances Newcombe.

 And Jungle Avenue by Sara Lawson.

This is my "personally curated" bundle from Bobbie Lou's Fabric Factory.

Here is "Word Up" from Pink Castle Fabrics.

My 2015 "treat" is the Low Volume Club from Sew Lux Fabric. A sweet little bundle like this, every month? Yes, please!

Looks like I'm going to have to plan another low volume quilt!


From the desk of your

600 Posts Giveaway Winner

I'll share some Stash enhancement with you later today. But, just so you don't have to wait, here is the winner of the 600 Posts Celebration Giveaway.

There were 173 comments on this giveaway! That does include several where I replied to comments on the blog, because the comments were from "no reply commenters." Thank you, no reply commenters who included your email address!  I tried to hunt down everyone who commented. I answered via Google+, I searched on blogs for email addresses (surprising how many bloggers have no way to contact them posted on their blogs!) and finally, I answered via comments on my own blog.

In the end, the pink random number generator chose:

Which is Becky H, who wrote:

I think a bargello quilt is an excellent idea for this bundle of strips, Becky! Please send me you postal address and I'll ship off the strips, plus some other goodies I've collected for you.  

As soon as I dig out of the 10" of snow that fell yesterday!


From the desk of your