The party starts on Thursday!

Are you ready?

Have you snapped your pictures and prepared your description?

Choose carefully -- you might win one of the viewers' choice awards! Or you might win one of the random drawings!

Are you ready for the linky party?

I can't wait!!

Be sure to look at our previous posts for rules and tips, and to see our fabulous sponsors!

Join me here on Thursday, OK??

You won't be sorry! It's the funnest party on the interwebs!!

Love,

Linky Party rules....for August 10th!

I don't know about you, but our crew here at the Lilypad looks forward to this party every year! That is, when they're not diving into the button box....

Padsworth and DragonDrop (our mascots) love to see all the cats, dogs, hedgehogs, horses, ducks, and other fabulous animals!

This linky party is to celebrate two things we love -- our pets, and our quilts! Having a pet is NOT mandatory! You can grab someone else's pet to pose for you on a quilted project! (Grin)

Another possibility is to post a pet-themed project!

Every great event has some guidelines, okay, let's call 'em rules..... this party is no exception. I'm posting a link here that will take you to last year's blog post with the rules. 

                                                 CLICK HERE!

I'm not a social media wizard, so if I'm wrong, y'all will need to correct me....If you post your entry on Facebook, Instagram, or Google Plus, I believe peeps need to already be a part of that community to comment.....that causes us some trouble, since an important part of our party is leaving comment love for the beautiful entries. Flickr may be that way too, but I think it's a little more accessible than the others.

If you can, use a blog or Flickr, so that all of our party-goers can give you feedback! If not, I'm sure that everyone will see and love your entry, but you might not hear as many nice things about it!

Anyway, we have some great sponsors again this year, so get ready! August 10th will be here before you know it!!

Love,

Another new sponsor - Eagles' Wings Quilts!

I want to introduce you to a new sponsor for our Pets on Quilts Show later this month!

Everyone put their scissors and needles down and give a round of applause for Eagle's Wings Quilts!
Here is a link to their site....if you want to, go and check it out! Or just read on, and I'll tell you about them!

Eagles Wings Quilts is the Canadian home for English paper piecing! They sell to their friends in Canada, and to their neighbors in the United States (their prices are in Canadian dollars, so sometimes that helps us out, here in the US!).

Cathy is a long-time nurse and also a long-time long arm quilter. Some of her happiest moments are spent quilting, when a client has turned her loose to express her creativity on a quilt! (Grin) Some of her other happy times are camping and playing with her grand-kids! She is extremely creative and enjoys pushing herself, trying new techniques and skills. 

Two years ago, she and her friends were constructing their own unique versions of Willyne Hammerstein's La Passacaglia -- I can't pronounce it, but I watched the process as Cathy showed it on her blog! It was a challenging and beautiful project, but it was a frustrating process: it was difficult to source the needed paper piecing shapes affordably in Canada. 

So, "Little Bits" was born . . . a line of Canadian made (card-stock weight) paper piecing shapes, and the coordinating acrylic templates. 

Cathy has now retired from nursing and her whole family is joining her in her design and retail business, Eagles Wings Quilts. Don't ya love it when a quilter "spreads her wings"? (Sorry, had to put that pun in there...)

Cathy and the whole crew at Eagles Wings will be sponsoring a prize for one lucky winner in our August drawings! Among her own designs on her site is a pattern called Castor and Pollux. This is a pattern first published in the 1920s, and attributed to Nancy Cabot, a quilter/writer at the Chicago Tribune. Cathy has written up awesome and clear instructions for this old design, and has offered a complete package for one of our winners!

The pattern and the instructions....

The acrylic templates.....

And the paper pieces for piecing....look at all those shapes!

The complete package is a $50 value in Canadian funds....wow! Just think of busting your scrap stash with this package! (Or maybe you have a collection that would work well with it!)

Thank you to Cathy, hubby Scott, and Rebecca, Matt, and Noel! What a wonderful prize for one of our winners!

Our Pet Show is coming soon.....hope you are snapping pictures and getting ready for the linky party!

We'll re-publish our rules soon, for rookies and veterans alike!

Love,

We interrupt our usual programming.....

..........for this announcement!

You simply must go and check out Lori Holt's new book over at the Fat Quarter Shop!

I was sent a copy for review, and I must say, there's a lot packed into it! 

If you have enjoyed Lori's first three books, then you will love this one -- and if you've not looked at her books before, get this one and start some projects!

 Look at all the inspiring projects that you will see -- mug rugs, banners, wall-hangings, and more!

You'll see great examples of how to incorporate letters and words (and numbers, too!) into your quilted projects.

With over 190 pages of complete instructions, color photos, and great tips, this is a book that you will truly enjoy.

All of Lori's blocks have instructions so that you can create them in two sizes, for a wealth of options in your quilting. Eighteen different projects are pictured.

Here is a link to check it out!

I'll just bet there's a bee in your bonnet to hop over there and see Lori Holt's newest Bee in My Bonnet book!

See you again soon!
Love,

A first-time sponsor: Aiming for Accuracy!

I bet that many of you already know our special sponsor today! Michele Foster (aka Mishka) is a long time supporter of the quilting community, with her Quilting Gallery.

She specializes in designing quilting pattern and skill building booklets that are easy to understand and follow. Michele has something for everyone: pieced patterns, applique, and paper pieced, too! Aiming for Accuracy is the name of her company, and I hope you will click on the link to see all the inspiring designs!

Aiming For Accuracy is offering a wonderful Quilt Along opportunity that you will want to click through and see.....it may be that you'd like to join in! Here is what Michele says about the quilt:

Each block in the quilt has been chosen for it’s learning potential. Blocks range both in size and complexity. At the end of the quilt-along, you’ll be confident in your ability to make half-square, quarter-square and split-quarter-square triangles, as well as, square-in-a-square, flying geese, fusible appliqué and English paper pieced units.

What else will you learn as you quilt along?  How to quilt in stages, so that you can easily complete the quilting on your domestic machine, how to avoid chopping off your triangle points when applying sashings or joining blocks. Been there, done that, need this instruction! (Grin)

Loads of free quilt block tutorials can be found on her site, like this lovely one that she just released:

Another free tutorial is called "Milo's Star."

And here is Milo! (In his before and after photos!) Isn't he adorable? Looks like he is all dolled up and ready for our Pets Show!

Something that I really appreciate on her site is that all of her patterns are labeled as to their complexity....in other words, how "veteran" a quilter you should be for each one! Patterns carry suggestions such as "Beginner," "Confident Beginner," "Intermediate," and more.

I'm excited about her newest online venture: I Love Buttons, Etc! And I mean fun and unusual buttons! And thread clips, and scissors, and quilting-themed charms, and more cool buttons!

Check these out!

I really like these cute owl cases....I think they would make great business card holders for those of us who still need to have "that other life" that makes money for our quilting addiction, er, hobby!

Michele would love for you to stop by at all of her interwebs homes: just click on these links to be whisked away through cyberspace to say "hello!"
Aiming for Accuracy Pattern Co. - quilting designs
I Love Buttons, Etc. - buttons, charms, ribbons and more
Quilting Gallery - a community for quilters
Facebook Community - chat and friendship

Michele is sponsoring a wonderful prize for one of our lucky winners in August! (Ya know, that Pets on Quilts show is coming up fast! Hope you are getting ready!)

One lucky winner in our drawings will be able to choose FIVE button packs to receive from Michele's online store! So much fun!! This winner will need to reside in the US or Canada.

Thanks, Michele, for sponsoring a prize!

Love,