Saturday, December 29, 2012

Newsletter Mini BOM offered by TQPM!

Mini Block of the Month



Starting in January The Quilt Pattern magazine has a surprise for you!

They are going to make a Mini Block of the Month designed by Nancy Richoux owner of Spring Creek NeedleArt!

Each month they will post a new block. These are easy blocks, so jump in and have fun with TQPM.
The Snowflake block starts in January!

Sign up for the newsletter to get your block instructions.

Tell all your quilty friends to sign up for the newsletter so they can make this cute BOM as well.
  Email all your family, friends, guild members, and coworkers.
  Post a comment on all the social networks you belong to (examples are Facebook and Twitter).
  Post it on your website, your blog and in your newsletters.
  Post a comment on email lists like Yahoo Groups and Google Groups. It is very important that you first ask permission of the group owner.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

The Perfect Christmas or Holiday Gift for Quilters!


Give both yourself and a quilting friend the perfect gift this Holiday Season -
a gift subscription to
Purchase or renew a subscription, and get another  Free  gift subscription to give!
You will both receive patterns, BOMs, mysteries and access to live workshops at
Pattern Pastiche.
This is especially handy as a last-minute gift because it is delivered quickly via email.
Hurry! This offer expires on December 31st, 2012.
Visit www.quiltpatternmagazine.com to subscribe or renew now!

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Purrfect Spots: Congratulations - We have winners!

Purrfect Spots: Congratulations - We have winners!: I want to thank each and every one of you for stopping by and visiting my blog during the Glorious Autumn Block Party! I hope you enjoyed ...

Congratulations - We have winners!

I want to thank each and every one of you for stopping by and visiting my blog during the Glorious Autumn Block Party! I hope you enjoyed it and I know you have lots of lovely blocks from all the  45 different designers who participated. Now with these blocks, you can choose to make a quilt or placemat or even a Kennel Quilt. Yes, the shelters in the northeast affected by Hurricane Sandy in late October still need our help! Please consider helping with this effort. If you do, please send me a picture of your quilts and I will feature them on my blog!

For all the information you can go to the The Quilt Pattern Magazine and download free quilt patterns. The quilts are 12" x 18" and are very easy to make. Why don't you consider making one in someone's honor for a "purrfect" Christmas gift. Take a picture and add it to a card, then send your quilt to one of the shelters on the list!

If you don't have time to make a quilt, you can always give a monetary donation to Petfinderfoundation.com
Whatever you choose, remember the animals need and will continue to need our help in the long recovery effort. Thank you.

Now I know you are all waiting to see who won. The drawing was done by Random.org and the winners are:

Rachelle - wins the subscription to The Quilt Pattern Magazine.





Susan  - wins the pattern - Denny's Hopscotch Quilt.





Jenelle - wins the three fat quarters.


To the winners, if you have not already contacted me with your information, please do, so I may send you your gifts. 

Congratulations again and I wish everyone the Happiest of Holidays! 
Merry Christmas!

Nan

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Glorious Autumn Block Party


Welcome!

Glorious Autumn Block Party and Super Deals for Quilters


Today is the day that I am the featured designer on the Quilting Gallery's Glorious Autumn Block Party!

Starting the first week of September, 45 designers have been creating 12" blocks for this event. There are three blocks  featured per week on the Quilting Gallery site. There are also Super Deals for Quilters from our favorite online retailers. Be sure to check each designer's post, as many are offering give-aways on their own site. So let's party by starting with my block!



Just Plain Nuts!

The Quilting Gallery is the host of this party and you can find my designer profile here as well as some of the Super Deals for Quilters!  The tutorial for my block can be found here.


The block started out as just a block, but I wanted more than a block, so it turned into a placemat!



I decided to make two for a present for some dear friends, but all of that changed when Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast in late October. As you know I am an animal lover and was a disaster responder for The Humane Society of the United States. I have worked fires, floods, tornadoes and hurricanes. So when I saw  all the devastation, I knew I had to do something to help. Suddenly my placemat became a Kennel Quilt without the acorn buttons and the Kreinik Iron-on Ribbons!


I contacted The Quilt Pattern Magazine and the Petfinderfoundation.com and we joined together to help the animal victims of Sandy. There are free downloadable quilt patterns for small quilts which is the "purrfect" size for most kennels and also shelter cage facilities for kitties. The quilts measure 12" x 18" and are so easy to make. You can download the directions here. If you don't have time to make a quilt, you can always give a monetary donation to Petfinderfoundation.com. Whatever you choose, remember the animals need and will continue to need our help in the long recovery effort.

So having said that, it is time for my giveaway! And I have three lovely gifts! Please subscribe to my blog and Facebook page and leave a comment for me. You will be included in the drawing if you do.  If you are already a subscriber, please leave a comment here to be included as well.  The giveaway will stay open for a whole week until Wednesday December 5.

The first prize is a year's subscription to The Quilt Pattern Magazine. 
This is an online magazine that has been dubbed "awesome" by subscribers!
Click on the magazine to learn more.


 


The  second prize is a pattern of my favorite quilt - the one I talked about in my designer profile.

Denny's Hopscotch Quilt

And the third prize is 3 fat quarters. If you win these, I hope you will consider making a Kennel Kitty Quilt to help the animal victims of Sandy! Thank you.



Now there are two other great designer's that are being featured this week and I hope you will take a look at their blocks.




If you wish to take a peek at some of the other blocks on Flickr  - click here

Thank you for stopping by. Please consider helping the animal victims of Hurricane Sandy.
Wishing you the Happiest of Holidays!

Thursday, November 15, 2012

"Cool Yule" now published!

I am so pleased that my latest pattern featuring the art work of Will Bullas is published in the November issue of The Quilt Pattern Magazine. It is so much fun and there will be more to come early next year! This will make a great Christmas present or keepsake!




Saturday, November 10, 2012

Storm Relief for Pets – Help Out by Sending Quilts




Hurricane Sandy has caused the evacuation of many pet shelters and the loss of pets. They need all the help they can get.
Petfinder's
shelter outreach team has been busy assessing the damage and help that's needed.They need Small Kennel Quilts to help keep kittens and other pets keep warm in their shelters.
The Quilt Pattern Magazine is helping the Petfinder Foundation by providing the free, downloadable patterns for Small Kennel Quilts shown.
Click here to view and download them. These quick-and-easy-to-make quilts are
12" x 18" and fit most standard kennels, as well as shelter housing. Help by making one, or more, and sending them to one of the following shelters.
Animal Friends of Barbour County
23 Valley Bend Road
Belington WV 26250
Animal Haven
251 Centre Street
New York, NY 10013
Humane Society of Ocean City
1 Shelter Rd
Ocean City, NJ 08226
New Rochelle Humane Society
70 Portman Rd.New Rochelle, NY 10801Pets Alive
363 Derby Road
Middletown NY 10940
Somerset Regional Animal Shelter
100 Commons Way
Bridgewater, NJ 08807
St. Huberts Animal Welfare Center- Madison
575 Woodland Ave, PO Box 159
Madison, NJ 07940 US
If you can't supply a quilt, send a monetary donation. They need those, too. Donate at www.petfinderfoundation.com.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Here is a way to help the animal victims of Sandy!

The Quilt Pattern Magazine is working with Petfinder.com to help animal victims of Hurricane Sandy.  They are asking you to make small quilts that will fit into kennels and shelter facilities for kitties. There are free downloadable patterns and a list of some of the shelters that need help. Check it out here!
Please share this post  and get the word out to your friends. The kitties need our help. Thank you.

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Quilting Gallery - Autumn Block Party

I am so excited to be participating in the Autumn Block Party being hosted by the Quilting Gallery. Starting the first week of September, 45 designers will create 12" blocks for the Glorious Autumn Block Party. These blocks will be featured, three per week, on the Quilting Gallery site. In addition to the blocks, there will be Super Deals for Quilters from our favorite online retailers. Also, be sure to check each designer's post, as many will be offering give-aways on their own site that everyone can participate in.

I will be posting my block on November 29th plus giving away some prizes and I know you don't want to miss that!!! So please come join in the fun.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

We have some Winners!

The Back to School Blog Hop Party is over and we have some winners!!

First of all, thank you  to all who stopped by to visit and let me know your favorite seasons. I thank all the new followers and hope you will enjoy reading my blog.

So far as the favorite seasons  - here is how that worked out:

Fall is definitely the favorite season, but Spring wasn't too far behind! A few actually liked Winter (that is one of the reasons I live in FL as I don't like the cold ) so it is hard to relate to someone liking cold weather and snow (other than the holidays). And we did have one vote for Summer! So you never know. I am sure it has a lot to do with where one lives. But thank you all so much for sharing.

Ok - enough talk  - it is now time to announce the winners. I will contact you off list, but I do want share!

I chose the winners by www.random.org and here is out it turned out...

Bizy Stitches

Barbara Woods

Farm Quilter

Congratulations to you all. Please let me know your contact information.

Thank you all again and have a great Fall!!!

Friday, August 24, 2012

Welcome to the "Quilting Gallery Back to School Blog Hop Party "!

 It is almost September and I have always loved September as it represents new beginnings. School starts, fall is coming and with that, the onslaught of all the wonderful holidays we celebrate with this season and then into the winter season. September is like anticipation and the excitement is just beginning!



I know many kids are happy to get back into the routine and be with their friends. I know many moms are glad to have some time to themselves. Maybe they can use that time to quilt or do more quilting! So,  I am offering 3 patterns as a giveaway for the Quilting Gallery Back to School Blog Hop Party. Since we are now talking about the fall season - all 3 of these patterns go with that theme. The first is called Indian Summer.This is made with dark greens, rusts, browns and golds (just like the leaves in the picture.)

The next quilt has lots of browns with occasional splashes of color and this is a great lap quilt for some of those cool fall nights. It is called Denny's Hopscotch Quilt. (My little cat, Denny, who is now at the Rainbow Bridge, loved this quilt and spent many hours taking naps on his quilt.) Needless to say, it is one of my favorites.

  And last but not least in keeping with the fall theme, I offer my latest pattern - Light Frost. It will take you easily from November into December. This has all the colors of fall with just a hint of winter. Don't you feel a chill in the air?

You can tell how much I like fall, especially the colors!!! To have a chance to win one of these patterns, I need you to do two things! One - Please leave me a comment and let me know what your favorite season is and Two - become a follower of the Purrfect Spots Blog. That is all there is to it!

Thank you for stopping by and I wish you good luck. Now go check out all the other bloggers at the Quilting Gallery Blog Hop Party. Happy September and I wish you many new great beginnings!




Wednesday, August 22, 2012


"The Quilt Pattern Magazine" is proud to announce the 2nd annual "TQPM Quilt Kitties Photo Contest" will begin September 1. We are pleased that the Petfinderfoundation.com is helping to sponsor this event to help homeless kitties. We also have our Sponsor Kitty Miss Piggy of Kona Bay Fabrics joining us again as well as Olfa, YLI, ElectricQuilt, The Quilted Kitty, ChristaQuilts.com and Fort Worth Fabric Studio. For all the details, click here.





Monday, August 20, 2012

Quilting Gallery Blog Hop Party starts August 26!

It is back to school time for many and to celebrate we are going to have a party! The celebration starts August 26. So come join the party. And remember what's a party without presents, particularly when they are for you! Check back later this week for more details!

Monday, August 6, 2012

My Own Personal "Firewall"!

July 31st started out as a cloudy day. But that soon changed. There were high winds with  thunder rumbling in the distance. Not long after that the rain started hitting very hard against the windows. I decided to go sit with my kitties downstairs and do some hand quilting! Not a bad thing for a rainy day - Kitties & Quilting.

                                                                                    

 However, things soon turned ugly. The wind continued to increase and so did the rain. Lightning began flashing every few seconds. It was definitely time to move to an inside room. So I gathered kitties and we headed into the guest room. Sage and Bamboo made themselves right at home on the bed while Baby D did some exploring. (More about the quilts on the bed in another blog.)





I took out my stitching and began piecing my blocks together. About that time there was a loud pop and the lights flickered. The cats dove under the bed and I tried to do the same thing! We huddled there for a few minutes staring at each other. They couldn't figure out why I wasn't completely under the bed with them. I didn't fit!!

The storm seemed very close and very loud, so I gathered them up and we all went inside the guest bathroom which is the door behind the bed in the picture. I closed the door and we hunkered down for quite awhile. Needless to say I had left my stitching in the other room. I think I threw it up in the air when I did the nose dive.

We stayed there until things quieted down. At last the thunder and lightning was over, but there was very heavy rain and it sounded like it was raining in my house. Leaving the kitties behind, I peeked out the door and then headed upstairs. The rain was getting louder and louder. When I got to the top of the stairs, I saw that my front door had blown open and it was raining in my house. I slammed the door and threw some towels on the floor. Fortunately it is a tile floor, so no harm done.

However, when I turned around and looked at my living room wall, it looked as if someone had used a black can of spray paint to decorate. Well not exactly. The lightning had struck a temperature gauge on our roof which was connected to a weather station in the living room. (Little black box on desk below.) It traveled down the wire and left its mark. There it was - my own personal firewall.


I called the fire department to make sure nothing was smoldering anywhere. After several hours, they found that everything was ok. The firefighters couldn't believe how fortunate we were as they had already responded to two houses with similar lightning strikes that morning. One house was completed gutted and the other house was not much better after the strike.We are indeed fortunate.

We have been checked out by electricians, claim adjustors and are now waiting on roofers. It seems to be quite an ordeal.

 But life goes on despite the thunder and lightning and the falling rain. Some of my "neighbors" really don't mind the rain. They like to watch it from their doorway!





Sunday, May 6, 2012

Inklingo is Having a Give Away!



Wouldn't you love to make this Double Wedding Ring Quilt?
Well You can with Inklingo.
All you have to do is print the pattern on fabric, then cut and sew! It is as easy as that.
If you are new to Inklingo, please click here to learn how. You won't believe how easy and how much fun it is!
Now for the best part - you have an opportunity to win Double Wedding Ring Shapes from Inklingo. But hurry - this offer is only good until May 12, 2012!
Just visit the Inklingo Blog and leave a comment by May 12, 2012! It is as easy as that.
Also be sure to visit the Inklingo website to learn more about this great tool for quilters and there are lots of shapes. It is even patented.
Oh and one other thing - you will love Monkey! He is very helpful and will steal your heart!

Monday, April 16, 2012

I am a Guest Blogger!

Please join me as I am a guest blogger on Quilting Hottie Haven the blog of Eva Paige Quilt Designs.
I am talking about UFO's and have shared some completed ones. I hope you will join me there.

I welcome your comments and would love to see your projects, so please let me hear from you!

Friday, April 6, 2012

Having fun with Fabrics!

                                                                                                                                                                       


Several years ago I found a fabric with dalmatian dogs (are you surprised) that I thought was great fun! I got it and used it on a cigar box for a purse!

Well I forgot about the fabric until I was going through my stash and there it was. I had just finished reading Kay Nickols book - Wonderful 1 Fabric Quilts. I was very anxious to try this as it looked like a lot of fun, not too difficult and great results! I thought - why not! So I have started and here is what I have so far.............

Here is the original block and it is a repeat. Following her directions carefully I started the construction of some blocks! See what happens next.


Here is one block. The big dogs are in the middle and you see their heads.


Here is another block. The big dogs are in the middle again, but this time you see the waggin' tails! How cool is that.


I am working on another block and then I will put it together. I will post it when it is finished. This is a lot of fun! A "purrfect" project for a day off!

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Introducing "Beauty Among Thorns"

Here is my latest design - Beauty Among Thorns!

It has been a journey for me to make it as I had to create some beauty from all the thorns in my life the last few months!

Have you had to make some beauty from the thorns in your life? Would love to hear your comments.

It is available at Quiltwoman.com.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

The Quilt Pattern Magazine story........

The Quilt Pattern Magazine  (TQPM)                     
TQPM started quite like most great things do – with a conversation between two people who had opinions on what a great quilt magazine should include and ended with one of them saying, “Well, you should do it!” That conversation took place between our Publisher, Cindy Mccoy and our Editor-in-Chief Maria Hrabovsky. Maria made the suggestion and together, they ran with it.
After 15 issues now (one each month) the staff now includes a Pattern Editor-Carol Dockery, a PR person-Nan Baker, 2 Copy Editors – Sharon Kilpatrick and Maria (who is filling in for a while), and Karen – the new Editor! Meet our Staff here.

Each issue contains a variety of quilt patterns – patchwork, applique and others. Others? Like Penny Rugs, or English Paper Piecing – things like that. Meet our Designers here.
Some people say they don’t care to read a magazine online and I totally understand that, I really don’t either. But TQPM is formatted a little differently, to make it easy to print out, using as little ink as possible. It’s also available in PDF format, so that you can download it to your own computer and read it when you have the time.

We also have our own little social group at Pattern Pastiche. Every subscriber is invited to join. There, we have groups for every BOM and Workshop that’s going on, so you can share your progress and ask questions. It’s like a great Quilting Bee that never closes down, so you can go any time it’s convenient for you to go!
And while it is mainly a magazine for Quilt Patterns, we do have some monthly articles. Chris Hammacott writes about her quilting/teaching experiences from ‘across the pond’, Anna Branch shares her adventures in moving to the Canadian wilderness and Kirk and Karen Whiteside both share their lives with us. Karen, as the techy quilter, teaching us how to use our iPads to best advantage when quilting and Kirk as ‘the quilters husband’. They both have a great sense of humour. There is also a Book Review of a new quilt book in every issue. Meet our Contributors here.

OMG! I love this one!!! SO much!!!!!
And in addition to all of that (yes there’s more) There are also Bonus Patterns that come out pretty much every month. And now you can visit us on our Blog, you can Tweet with us and Like us on Facebook. We are EVERYWHERE!!! That’s a ton of value for $14.99 a year! It’s less than a half a penny a day! And not only that (YES – there is more!!!) your satisfaction with TQPM is guaranteed. If you don’t like it, you get your money back. Now, who does that????? Only TQPM. :)
If you’re a quilter, and you’re not subscribed – you are missing out! If you know a quilter, this is the perfect gift for them.

Prrrrrrrrrrrretty!
I’ve only included 3 pictures of projects that have been featured in the magazine, but there are MUCH MORE, believe me. Let’s see, 12 issues a year, a minimum of 6 quilt patterns per issue (sometimes more and the Bonus patterns)…. hold on…. carry the 2… ok, that’s 72 Quilt Patterns per year. Where could you buy 72 Quilt Patterns for fifteen bucks? TQPM :)
All the patterns are tested by our testing staff – they make the quilt completely. They don’t just make a block or two, they make the whole darn thing! Each pattern and article goes through a rigorous editing process to make absolutely sure everything is correct. Visit our Gallery here.
Wanna know what our subscribers have to say about us? Visit our Testimonial page here.
I hope to see you soon at Pattern Pastiche and if you subscribe after reading this, tell them Karen & Nan sent you :)
If you are an artist, or know of an artist that would like to be featured on a blog, please email Karen at SlaveToMyNeedles@comcast.net. I would also recommend that you check out the upcoming artists in the calendar on the Indie Mosaic board!

Friday, March 2, 2012

Good bye to Denny.

                                                                                                                                                                            

My heart is heavy as I tell you that we had to say good bye to Denny earlier this week. He was a feral cat that we rescued in 1999.  Oh the stories I could tell about this little guy! My cross stitch pattern adaptation of "The Cat Burglar" by artist Will Bullas was done during the time that he came into our life. It suited him "purrfectly" as he literally stole my heart! His life was not easy before we rescued him as his right back leg had been broken in 2 places and he walked with a limp. But he was a strong little guy. Two years ago to the day he died, he was diagnosed with diabetes and  had insulin shots twice a day from then on.


Many of you know him from his Hopscotch quilt which became "Denny's Hopscotch Quilt" so I wanted to share this news with you. He is missed greatly!



Good bye Denny! We love you!