Daily Blog

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One of our wonderful sponsors, C&T Publishing is having a giveaway. You can win the Quilts 2011 Calendar, a 12 month full-color calendar and pattern booklet with contributions by:

Kim Schaefer, M'LissRae Hawley, Sue Beevers,Helen Frost, Catherine Skow, Patrick Lose 

The American quilt is a gift from the heart as well as the hand. These 13 vibrant quilts will inspire both the seasoned quilter and the casual fan. Created in contemporary fabrics of brilliant colors, these quilts showcase the art and talents of today's nationally known quilters. With the included step-by-step instructions and patterns, you can recreate these beautiful quilts for your very own.

The contest ends Monday night midnight Pacific Time.

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Night Two 

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As Chanukah has begun, TQS wanted to share a postcard that PnPQuiltGuilder made for her friend in Israel.

Here is what she says about her card, "The blue part of the flame has the Hebrew letters that are found on the dreydel, which since the Diaspora stand for "A great miracle happened there," meaning in Israel. However, dreydels in Israel say "A great miracle happened here," and because I sent this card to a friend in Israel, I substituted the pey (stands for PO which means "here") for the shim (stands for SHAM) which means "there."

PnPQuiltGuilder spent over 20 hours designing and making the card.  Isn't this a wonderful way to share your love for a friend?

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Okay TQS Members, a new dog has joined the mix in the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative December Online Auction. This new dog is a called  Puppus Doggus Dreams and it was made by non-other than Ami Simms herself.  As Ami says "That doesn't happen every day. In fact, I haven't had a quilt in the auction since Priority: Alzheimer's Quilts were in triple digits ---several years ago, in fact."

What are you going to do?  Are you going to let Ami's dog smush her cold nose into Alex and Ricky's business? It's time to put that dog on a leash.

Get out there and bid for Ricky and Alex!

To bid on Ricky's Falling Leaves quilt, click here.

To bid on Alex' Broken Dreams quilt, click here.   If you really want to go to the dogs and vote for Ami's quilt, click here.

Remember any donation will help in the fight against Alzheimer's.  The Auction ends on December 10 at 10pm Central Daylight Time.

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Alex and Ricky are at it again and this time they are going head to head  In Episode 712 - The Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative (Ami Simms) coming up for your viewing pleasure on Monday, December 6, Alex and Ricky gifted Ami and the AAQI with two quilts.  Those two quilts are now up for auction and the battle has begun. Who will own bragging rights this time?

First up is Alex' Broken Dreams (10" x 8") - Quilt #5990 - which she dedicated "To Ami who has taken countless families tragedies and has grown a movement short of a miracle."

The bidding starts at only $40.  This is your chance to own a little bit of Alex' work and to donate to worthy cause.

To bid on Alex' quilt and learn more about the AAQI, click here.  The auction ends December 10.

And of course, not to be outdone, there is Ricky's quilt.  If you missed the opportunity to bid in the World Series Quilt challenge, now is your chance.

Falling Leaves (8.25"  x 7.25") - Quilt #5086 - Your generous bids are appreciated by the artists who made these beautiful quilts and by everyone struggling to end this vile disease.

The bidding starts at only $40.  You could take this opportunity to own quilts by both Alex and Ricky!

To bid on Ricky's quilt, click here.

And there are other Priority Quilts up for auction as well. To see them, click here.

Christmas is coming, who wouldn't like to see these quilts under their tree?

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Paola (left) and Livia (right) Rovaris

Global Tour Part 2:  A Stitcher's Double Delight
As we continue our tour around the globe, let us venture a little bit further south in Europe to the city of Torino, a city Italy that the Rovaris sisters call home.  While working at the Houston Quilt Festival we found their charming booth just around the corner from ours.  Decked out in homespun red and white ticking, the booth exuded a warmth and hospitality amidst the hustle and bustle of the Festival around us.  In an age where so much is made by machine, it was a breath of fresh air to see that everything they design is made by hand, including these monogram pendant necklaces.

 
                                                Monogram Pendant Necklaces by Rovaris

While cross stitch have waned in some areas over the past few years, it is very much alive and well in Europe according to the Rovaris sisters. Their small business, born from their love of cross stitch, has grown over the past ten years by leaps and bounds.  But, as is often the case, the road that lead them to where they are today came from a much different direction. --Lilo Bowman
To read more visit our Articles page here.  

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There was a wonderful booth at the International Quilt Festival in Houston that showcased the One Million Pillowcase Challenge sponsored by American Patchwork & Quilting.

APQ is challenging quilters to join their "efforts to Make a Pillowcase, Make a Difference. Every pillowcase can make a difference in your community. A pillowcase can provide comfort for a cancer patient, hope for a foster child, encouragement for a battered woman, or beauty for a nursing home resident."

At the show, anyone could come in and make a pillowcase to donate. One thousand kits were made up for the show and a counter kept tabs on the progress. These particular pillowcases were going to be given to a local Houston charity.

The program ends in 2010.  Did you make a pillowcase this year?

For more information about the challenge, click here.

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Carol Doak was in the TQS booth in Houston demonstrating these fun-to-make paper-pieced cards. Available from C&T Publishing, Carol Doak's Keepsake Frame Cards come in a pack of 4 premium blank 5" x 7" frame cards with envelopes.  Each package contains a free quilt block pattern.  The card "frames" your paper-pieced block.

What's wonderful about the cards is that you can express your creativity through any block you choose and then you can go wild with stamping, stitching, and stenciling. It's also a great way to use up your tiny scraps, you know, those ones you just can't throw out. Once you have finished having fun, you'll have a beautiful card to send to your friends or family.

To learn more about Carol's methods for paper-piecing, watch Episode 602 - Paper Piece Like a Pro.

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While in Houston, Patricia Eckstrom stopped by the TQS booth to show something to Alex.  This is what she had. It looks sort of familiar, doesn't it?  Any ideas?

It is from a WWI French Sewing Kit and this one is in very pristine condition.  It has spools for thread and the needle is set inside the tool.  On the left is a photo of a similar kit as it might have been given to a soldier.  On the right, after it has had some use in the field.

You just never know what you're going to see at a quilt show.  Thank you Patricia.