Summer Sales

Don'tcha just love it when the stores have their summer sales? Are you a bargain hunter like me?

Well, then, you need to know about another one of our wonderful Pet Show sponsors . . . Abbi Mays Fabric Shop!

Abbi Mays is a repeat sponsor -- by that I mean that Linda has been a gracious sponsor in the past, and has signed on again for 2013! Thanks, Linda!

Abbi Mays is an incredible online resource for us quilters and sewists -- and one thing that I really can appreciate is the great way their site is laid out. It's so easy to find what you are looking for! That takes a lot of thought and planning, much like laying out the shelves and aisles in a real store, and it makes shopping even more fun!

If your cursor hovers over the word "Batik" on the Abbi May's site, you will see an awesome array of different batiks to choose from -- or you can use the drop down menu and search by manufacturer. Are you searching for some Anthology Batiks? She's got those:

 
How about some Henry Glass Hip Happier? Yep, got those too:

Maybe you are searching for Red Rooster's Gaslight line? Here it is:

And here is some good news for us bargain hunters -- Be one of Abbi May's "Special Customers" for secret sales, new product arrivals and a special code in the newsletter to receive $5 off your next order over $25! 
Whoo hooo! Just sign up on the site for the newsletter to appear in your inbox, and you are off to the races, well, ready to go shopping!

Just in time, too, because in their sale department, cottons were an already low price of $6.27 per yard and now they are even lower: $5.02 per yard!  (Excuse me!!)


Ahem. Padsworth here, taking over for Snoodles who is currently salivating over the sale fabrics at Abbi Mays......I sure appreciate Linda at Abbi Mays, and her sponsorship of a $25 gift certificate to her store, for one of our lucky drawing winners at the Pets on Quilts show next month!

Hop on over and check out the store!

Love,

Help me to welcome another sponsor! (Drool alert!)

It's wonderful when sponsors have so much fun and such good results that they sponsor another show! Marcia's Crafty Sewing and Quilting offered prizes last year, and she is doing it again in 2013!

Are you ready? This is definitely a post that needs a drool alert . . . just wait. Grab your cuppa and let's look at some examples of Marcia's long arm quilting craftsmanship:

Are ya ready for more? OK, but don't say I didn't warn you -- there will be some keyboards that need mopping up after this! (Grin)

Marcia is an avid photographer, as well, and has turned some of her great quilting projects into notecards that you can find here.  

She has certified Quilting Inspectors that help her each day:

Marcia will be providing two prizes! Two lucky Pets on Quilts 2013 winners will receive her pattern for the Easy Quilt. (You can click there and take a peek at all of her great patterns.) 

It's incredible how many different looks can be achieved by varying the fabric choices on this pattern:

We're thrilled to have Marcia back again as a sponsor (waving -- "thanks, Marcia!"), and we hope that you will hop over to her site and make yourself at home. Introduce yourself and "set a spell." You'll be glad you got to know her!

Love,

Ya gotta meet these three!

If you are looking for our wonderful giveaway, please click here and go enter to win! Then come back and see us for our final sponsor spotlight for the Pets on Quilts show! You've just got to meet these three!

We appreciate our Show sponsors so very much! This clambake would not be as much fun, if we didn't have all of these wonderful prizes to give away at the end of the show!

Sponsoring the show again this year is a talented designer of quilts and fabrics, Karen Brow. Please put your hands together for Java House Quilts! (Gotta love that name . . . excuse me while I go get my cuppa - that reminded me that I need some of the elixir.)

Karen has been sewing (and then quilting) since she was fourteen! Her quilt patterns have been featured in many magazines, such as McCall's Quick Quilts as well as in the Quiltmakers' 100 Blocks from Today's Top Designers. The banner on her site says that she offers "Whimsical quilt patterns with delightful animals" and it's true! Take a peek here on her site!

You'll find dogs, cats, frogs (Padworth was so pleased) and forest animals, in beautifully designed patterns. Here is what Karen says about her work:

I have a particular love for setting gentle, appliqué curves against the strong lines of pieced blocks, because the sense of movement and the unexpected disruption of an otherwise anticipated pattern repeat. We can use playful, life-size animals or gently twisting vines and the result is dramatic; they just set each other off.  

And if you check out this picture, you can see her magic:

She also designs wearable art, like vests, and there are patterns for comfy pet beds, too! I really hope that you will click on the linkie and visit her site.....she has so many wonderful patterns -- from playful to lovely -- and I want you to get to know her!

Karen is graciously offering her pattern "Cat-Acatemy" to one of our lucky winners!!  Yay! Hoppy froggies! It's an unusual and beautiful BOM with eight patterns. Click on this link to go and see it. And if you don't come back here for a while, I will totally understand: I sat there and gazed at the Cat-Acatemy for a long time!

Thank you, Karen, for your generous sponsorship of our show!

Another returning sponsor is our lovely friend, Jeanette, from Inchworm Fabrics! Give a warm Lilypadquilting welcome to her! I love her fabric shop --- I know, I know, you are thinking to yourself that I probably love all fabric shops. Sigh. I guess I really do. I like to go in and pick some that calls to me, and take it home and pat it and talk to it . . . Ahem. I have digressed yet again. 

Let me tell you what I think is special about Inchworm Fabrics! For one thing, you can find cute project patterns by our friend Barb at Bejeweled Quilts! Look at this page and see them! 
On the Precuts page, you will find lots of variety in charm packs, at great prices....fat quarter bundles, honey buns, and even turnovers! You don't see those everyday! 
She offers lovely batiks, flat folds, books and more. And did I mention that all of these are at really great prices? I did? OK. 
Ever since I saw a quilt that Barb made from Somoan fabrics, I've drooled over those....and Inchworm Fabrics has a lovely jelly roll of them! Yum!

Inchworm Fabrics is providing a wonderful book for one of our lucky Pet Show winners:

It's Pieced Applique Weekend Projects, by Penny Haren! You'll find patterns and instructions for twelve projects! 
Thank you, Jeanette, and Inchworm Fabrics, for your generous sponsorship!!

New to the 2012 Pet Show is our next sponsor --- Heat Press Batting Together!  I did a review of this product about a year ago, and the Harwoods have developed some new products since then! Their family business is located in California, and Jeanne has been a long arm quilter for years.  She worked on many quilts for charity, and was struck by the large amounts of batting that were left over -- many times in odd sizes and shapes. So, she invented Heat Press Batting Together . . .

Personally, I love this stuff. I swear by it. (Note that I said I swear by it, not at it.) It is a wonderful, easy to use product, and I feel so good about the fact that I don't waste left over batting!  Yes, I know, you can join two pieces of batting with a ziggy zaggy stitch or some other way --- but I got tired of trying to do that without having either gaps and spaces, or having thick, overlapped sections. 
Padsworth says the cloth fusion tape is the "best thing since he discovered that Cousin Esmerelda Froggie lived next to a bait shop." And I'm inclined to agree, although I usually say it's the "best stuff since sliced bread"....
This fusing product is made in the USA, and comes in several different widths and your choice of black or white. 

Once applied, it will stretch instead of popping free; and when I hand-quilted a project with fused-together batting, it needled beautifully . . . no stickiness, and no harder to push through than the rest of the quilt!
Jeanne has generously provided rolls of Heat Press Batting Together for several of our lucky winners!! 
Thank you, Jeanne, and Heat Press Batting Together, for your support of our Pet Show!


I want to express my gratitude to all of our sponsors for our show. I hope that all of you will visit them and think of them when you need to purchase items for your quilting.


Our show begins in ONE WEEK!  Eep! I still have a few last-minute things to do....please excuse my dust!


Love,

How about another giveaway?

Thank you for your interest, but this giveaway is closed now!

One of our wonderful sponsors is the fabulous printer of quilting and crafting books, Martingale!! I am grateful that they sent me a copy of  Nature's Beauty in Applique to review and give away.

This is a gorgeous book. Seriously. The projects and the photos in here are sumptuous and inspiring to behold. It's yet another home run from Susan Taylor Propst.

Take a look at a couple of these:

What I really love, is that it's not just about breath-taking applique. Even though that is an incredible part of this book. It's about practical items that you can truly use. Who wouldn't LOVE to carry that tote bag? Or how about this?

 

How elegant would you feel, if you were pulling out this gorgeous case to don your eyeglasses?

Or if you carried this on your next trip?

I believe the most stunning project in the book is this one:

When I grow up, I wanna be able to do applique like that! (Wink)

What I find especially wonderful about the Martingale books is the patterns (full size for the smaller projects) and super-clear instructions. I enjoyed reading the author's section about choosing fabrics, too. She gave some great insights as to how she created these beautiful pieces of art.

If you would like to have your very own copy of this book, just leave me a comment telling me what your favorite breakfast food is . . . the food that cranks your tractor and gets you through the morning!

We'll leave this one open till midnight on Tuesday (June 19th), and announce the winner sometime on Wednesday (if Padsworth oversleeps our announcement will be delayed). 

Good luck!

Love,

Easter Treats and a Word Cloud

Just a quick note: A big Lilypad thank you to all of you that commented yesterday and gave me tips on using spray basting for my projects - I appreciate it very much! I'm going to be getting some and trying it out, and I'll post here and let you know how it works out!


Clearance and Remnants and Kits, oh my!

Just a quick head's up for you Lilypadquilters --- one of our sponsors has some nice sale prices for you:

It's Quilt Kit Market!

Padsworth spotted some charm packs at greatly reduced prices, and jelly rolls, and a layer cake . . .anybody besides me getting hungry? (Grin)

Click here to go to the page where you can find all of these Easter treats!!

Now, I promised you a word cloud . . . have you seen these around? It's kinda fun to make one -- you can do it here at the Tagxedo site. This is what I made:

The only complaint that I have with the Tagxedo site, is that they didn't have a froggie shape to use . . . rhinoceros? Yes. South America? Yes. But no froggie.
Oh, well, Padsworth and I decided to use the kitty instead, in honor of our studio cat. If you make one, leave us a comment and tell us where to look - on your blog, or your Flickr or Facebook page, or wherever you decide to show us!

Love,

Martingale Books -- It's a Happening Place!

Martingale and Company is our newest sponsor at Lilypadquilting, and I’m really impressed with their brand new web site and online store.

They also sent me a book to check out, and I want to show it to you:

It’s called Fast and Fun First Quilts – 18 Projects for Instant Gratification.

Hey, with a title like that, I know two things right off: first, I’m going to like it because I do enjoy a project that can be easily done in my lifetime. (Grin)  Second, the author is a quilter who understands my needs for “instant gratification” . . . blocks that work up quickly, and that are user friendly when it comes time to put them together into a quilt!

This book would be excellent for wantobes and veteran quilters alike; no one is immune to the “make it quick and easy” bug. Wantobes need projects that are simple enough for their skill set, but turn out to be quilts that really look great!  Veterans can always use a easy pattern for a quilt-in-a-rush situation, whether it’s for a birthday you almost forgot, or a call for quilts for a charity. Fast and Fun First Quilts will be your go-to manual for all of the above!

The author, Sara Deipersloot, utilized two techniques to make eighteen projects that all look different – no cookie-cutter quilts here.

First, she shows us projects that utilize large blocks in simple settings – like this one, where pieced sashings alternate with large squares of a focus fabric.

This is a great way to use two coordinating fabrics that you really like together, and with blocks that measure 6 inches by 8 inches, your quilt top is ready in no time flat!

Here's another example of large blocks that will make up a nice-sized top, really quickly:

With a fabulous floral like that one, those large blocks are a super way to focus attention on your lovely fabric! 


The second strategy the author uses is to take a focus fabric and let it shine in a large center section, and then make pieced blocks to go all around it.

Got a novelty fabric that is a large scale print, and you want to use it for your top? Never fear. Try this layout for some instant quilting joy:

Just pull some fabric colors from the center square for your pieced stars, and then add a border and you're done!

I hope you'll forgive my photography skills - kinda hard to get the lighting right, hold the book open, and snap a photo, all at the same time!

Martingale and Company revealed their new web site just recently, and they're celebrating their 35th birthday, too! I hope you will check out their site, and look over on the left-hand side for their blog's RSS feed button . . . you'll be in the know when they have sales (which they do, pretty often) or when they have new releases (they make a habit of doing that, too!). 

The blog, called "Stitch This" is wonderful -- lots of good content and (here's the magic word) giveaways!! As their site says . . . freebies, news, contests and chit-chat. One of the bloggers is Jenny, who is the author of another awesome Martingale book, called Resew --- all about giving thrift store bargains new life as new-to-you pieces of high style apparel. I've been following her personal blog, the Wild Cards, for some time now --- she's very talented, and lots of fun to know!
And . . . if you subscribe to their blog, you will get SIX free E-patterns! (What? Are you still here? Go ahead and click to go over there, already!!)


Padsworth and I are wishing you a "hoppy" sewing day!


Love,

Quilt Kit Market - A Review

Hi there, Lilypadquilters!

Just a quick note....I'm linking up this post because there's a completed project at the end.... linking with Sunni, here:

Now, I'm going to ask you a question, and I want an honest answer, OK?

How many of you have been puzzled with choosing just the right colors and prints and patterns of fabrics, for one particular quilt pattern you wanted to make?  Just a quick show of hands . . .

. . . uh huh.  And how long have the rest of you had this problem with telling the truth?  (Wink)

Seriously, though, sometimes the "right" fabrics just are not in your stash. You struggle and dig through the fat quarters and can't find what you need.

Or, worse, you find exactly what you need, but there is not enough for the purpose . . . just some scraps from another project!

AAAUUUGGGGHHHHH!!  It's OK. (Pat. Pat. Pat.) We've all been there at some point and time. Really.

Well, cheer up! I have just the resource for you! See that cute logo on the left sidebar, with a cart, and an umbrella over it? Yay! That's the Quilt Kit Market, and you are going to love them!

Michele and her team are a new sponsor here at the Lilypad, and she graciously sent a kit for me to try out, and review. The kit that she sent is actually Quilt Kit Market's first venture into publishing their own exclusive patterns, and I think they are onto something --- it's a great one! It is quick and easy, and the instructions and diagrams are very clear.

The kit arrived FAST, and with a flourish --- kinda makes you feel special, like you are having a celebration that you didn't even realize was coming. See?

Pull back the pretty tissue paper and . . .

Just look at this!

Isn't that tulle bag cute?

Now, speaking of cute, just look at what was in that bag. Oh, be still my heart. Somebody hold me down, I think I'm on my way heavenward . . .

So Sophie, in all it's yummy glory!

Also in the bag is a zippy bag, with a picture of the finished quiltie, and all the instructions. On the picture, there's a reminder that you will be following the instructions for (in my case) a full size quilt, and inside, plenteous diagrams for us visual learners (that's me!).

I appreciate the fact that the pattern suggests a technique called "cluster piecing" which the instructions said would yield sections that would require less squaring up --- and the instructions were right! I had very little squaring up to do. I kept track of my time, and the flimsy was completed in "no time flat" (that's a quote from back when I used to tell my mom how long it would take me to get home from a party). Just a smidge over two hours --- including the time it took to cut the fat quarters and the borders! Yay!

Now, I'm going to keep you in suspense on the flimsy for now, and tell you about their bodacious web site. Quilt Kit Market is an extremely user-friendly site. It's set up in a very logical manner, and it is very easy to navigate around and find what you want.

Their mission is to provide what you need, in order to get to the fun part quicker -- sewing up your quilt! Most of their kits have carefully selected Moda fabrics, so that you know you are getting top quality materials for your special project.

Once your quilt top is complete, they have backing fabrics by the yard, and coordinating fabrics if you have spin off projects, like pillows to accompany a quilt, etc.  Quilt Kit Market will also provide their patterns individually, so if you have fabrics that you have already chosen, you can utilize one of their great patterns with your stash.

They also have small projects like wallhangings and tablerunners, so if you are looking for a quick gift for someone, Quilt Kit Market is an awesome resource for you!

They also offer precuts -- jelly rolls, layer cakes, charm packs and .... and.... wow, look at those sale prices!

Their remnant section is a great place to pick up some fabrics that you've been looking for, and perhaps can't locate anywhere else!

Now, I promised to show you the quilt top . . . Voila!

Hmmm, that shot inside just doesn't do the pretty colors justice. Let's try this:

Gack! Love the sunshine, but the wind is not cooperating! Let's try one more idea . . .

There we go! Whatcha think? I love it, and I love the fact that it was so quick and easy, and I didn't spend hours searching and choosing fabrics! Fun!

Be sure to come back in the next day or so . . . we have a fun interview with Michele from the Quilt Kit Market, and she mentioned something about a giveaway! Just sayin' . . .

Love,

PS Our "over 600 followers" giveaway is coming soon, too!