Welcome to the May Giveaway !

Wow ! Seems as if 2011 just started, but it's the month of May already !  We have five prizes in this Giveaway, instead of the usual four.  Please write us a brief comment below, and we will enter your name as a contestant in the Giveaway. If you win, we will mail out your prize to you free of charge.   All prizes come from a smoke-free, pet-free home and are in excellent condition, free of stains, rips, or tears. The contest ends at midnight on Saturday, May 7. We will draw the winners' names at random and announce them on Monday, May 9.

We'd love to hear from ALL of our readers !

"Luscious Lilacs" fat quarter fabrics from Hoffman California International and other top brands

Purple is one of our favorite colors, so our stash cupboard is overflowing with it ! Here are five fat quarters, for a total of approximately 1.25 yards of fabric. These are clear medium-value violets and grapes, some with touches of aqua green, blue, and metallic gold and silver. There is one batik, one tone-on-tone, and three interesting prints. The 5 fat quarters blend well together, and would look great in either a traditional or contemporary quilt pattern.

$ 10.00 Gift Card from Jo-Ann Crafts

If you love to quilt, you probably know that Jo-Ann is a big-box retailer who carries almost every sewing accessory, notion, and gadget known to mankind ( er... womankind ? ) Jo-Ann is a great source for name brand scissors, rulers, mats, and rotary cutters, among other helpful tools of our trade. If you're in the U.S.A., you can use the gift card for purchases in store, over the phone, or on the internet.

If your name is drawn as a prize winner, and you are outside the U.S.A, please let us know by e-mail.  We'll arrange for you to receive one of the other very cool gifts in this Giveaway.

Color Blend Applique by Jane Townswick

A well-known teacher and designer from Pennsylvania,  Jane Townswick has taught applique and quilt-making around the world, emphasizing new techniques that produce spectacular results. Her color blend concept involves combining many fabrics within a single applique shape to create rich visual depth in quilt blocks.

Color Blend Applique contains 125 pages of fascinating patterns, many full-page color photos, and very clear step-by-step instructions. The directions are easy to follow, and in no time, you'll be able to sew real show-stopper applique blocks. Here's another one of Jane's stunning floral patterns below:

 3 yards of The Elements fabric by Mickey Lawlor of Skydyes

True to her company's namesake, Mickey Lawlor of Skydyes  has created a  lovely handpainted fabric design that looks like a tropical sunrise over an exotic South Seas island.  Purple, golden yellow, magenta, and orange red create a gorgeous palette of contemporary colorways.  Three full yards of this 45 inch wide fabric means that there is enough for a quilt backing, a large border, or an entire quilt top when paired with a neutral background or other solid color.

2011 "Quilt Mania" and  "Quilt" Magazines

Hot off the press, here they are !  This June/July 2011 very latest issue of Quilt Magazine has just been published, featuring some very cute quilts made with the latest fabric designs.  And Quilt Mania , a favorite magazine from France ( written in English) has new and wonderful ideas for this year. All in all, these magazines contain over two dozen quilt patterns, pull-out pages for applique and templates,  plus the usual very helpful tips, tricks, and techniques.  These will provide hours of happy reading about gorgeous quilts, a great take along for a vacation or even a lunch break at work.

Now it's your turn !  Please leave us a comment below, as we are looking forward to hearing from each of you !

Posted in: giveaway,quilt