Block Five Winners

My computer isn't working well, so right to the winners. . .

First, rockydog4!

Second, kimmyb7!

Email me your info.  Thanks everyone!

Block Six with Toby Lischko

This is one of those weeks where I say, "Thank heavens for a quilt along!"  I say this because the only time I made it to my sewing machine in the last two weeks is to make this quilt block.  So sad!  I got fabric in the mail yesterday for some of the quilts for my next book so I hope to spend some quality time with my sewing machine today. 

Oh, but you want to see block six!  Okay, here goes. . .

Block six is brought to us by Toby Lischko.  Toby made a block for our Jelly Roll Sampler and then came back for another round!  If you have picked up a quilt magazine in the last few years, you have seen Toby's work, but I'll let Toby introduce herself. 

Here's Toby!

Hi, I’m Toby Lischko. Konda was nice enough to let me participate in both the Jelly Roll Sampler and the Layer Cakes Sampler! For those of you that don’t know me, I have been quilting since 1985 and designing quilts and teaching since 1995. You may have seen some of my designs in the major quilt magazines. I didn’t pay much attention to who made the quilts in the magazines until I started getting published and now I always make a point to see who the quilt artist is (and anyone who makes a quilt is an artist!)

I come from a long line of sewers; my mother and her father both did tailor work (lots of hand work) but I am the first quilter in my family. Always a crafter; I have been doing some type of craft since I was 7 or 8 years old. You name the craft and I have tried it. Quilting is the one craft that I have stuck to the longest and find the most rewarding. It never gets boring, and I love to design quilts!

My block is a part of a design that is in a free pattern on Timeless Treasures website http://www.ttfabrics.com/ called Pointing the way. You can download the pattern from there. The block is very easy to construct and is purposely made a little larger so you can cut it to size. You also have the option of using my Cutting Corners template set to eliminate the need to draw a diagonal sewing line.

I started my website http://www.gatewayquiltsnstuff.com/ 2 years ago and my blog http://gatewayquiltsnstuff.blogspot.com/ 1 year ago. I do not post often but try to incorporate some lesson in each blog. You can find basic lessons on accurate piecing and my favorite and specialty, curved piecing. If you like samplers I have a new published one in Fons & Porters Love of Quilting called Civil War Sampler. Great for those who love Civil War reproduction fabrics. The collection is by Pat Nickols for RJR called Civil War Ladies. Both Fons & Porter and I carry the kits for it.

Enjoy making the blocks in this sampler. Thank you Konda for including me again. I loved seeing the blocks people created with my Jelly Roll design. There are a lot of very creative quilters out there! As I say in my blog “Always do what you love and love what you do”.

Toby


 Thanks Toby!

CLICK HERE for the instructions to Block Six.

Here's a picture of my block.  I know some of you are getting nervous about having enough material to finish the quilt.  I think will be alright.  I used this block to illustrate what I mean.  In this block, I picked fabrics that aren't my favorite -- the small pink flowers and the stripe.  There was just enough left from cutting the inside pieces to cut the corner squares.  Then the blue pieces are scraps from other blocks.  The green was from a new square, but it left a large piece left for something else.  Since we are halfway now, maybe you have some scraps to start working in. 

Now, if you don't want to use some of your less favorite pieces or want to have more control over colors, there may not be enough for that.  I heard some of you are grabbing a few extra fat quarters.  That is definitely an option.  Up to you.  I like having choices. 

Anyway, here's my block:

In Toby's post, she said she designed this block for Timeless Treasures.  It was a 9" block.  She added the border just for us.  Here is the picture of the quilt:

Isn't that fun to see what a whole quilt looks like using the block!  Also, Toby mentioned her Cutting Corners Template.  Here is a picture of what that looks like.

So what happens next?

Well, any pictures posted in the flickr group by tonight will be entered into the first drawing. About 10 ish tonight (Mountain Time) I will post my Block FIVE. All blocks BEFORE mine are those entered into the first drawing. It doesn't matter which block - just the one's posted before mine. If you post your block AFTER mine, then it will be entered into the next drawing. I will post the winners tomorrow.

What's up for grabs this time?

Toby has donated one of her Cutting Corners Templates as our prize tomorrow!  Thanks Toby! 

What do I have?  Let's see. . . I think I have a layer cake hiding in my sewing room that needs a new home.  Are you back to sewing so you can give my layer cake a good home? 

Happy Quilting!

Block Eight Winners -- and being grateful!

More awesome blocks and more great winners!  I am so glad that so many of us have been able to make time to quilt.  As I snuck down into my sewing room, I was grateful to "have" to make these blocks.  For 20 minutes or so I felt at peace.  I wasn't worried about the laundry or the dishes or kids' quarrels.  I took that time for everything is was worth.  I was sewing as fast as I could because I knew that the busy-ness of the day would soon catch me.  I just sewed and as I sewed, I relaxed.  When I was done, I put my blocks away, took a deep breath, and re-entered my crazy life -- grateful for a few minutes with my sewing machine. 

I hope these blocks have given you some time to breathe in your life too. 

Without further ado (Is that how you spell that?), here are the winners!!!

The winner of the Cutting Corners Template Set from Toby Lishko 

(Toby put a demonstration of it up on her blog for us) --

is kvparham!

And the winner of the jelly roll from me is:

harrispen!

And now for the fine print:
These are the Flickr usernames. I have emailed both winners via Flickr mail. I have also posted their blocks to help identify the winners. Email me (kluckau@moosequilts.com) to claim your prize.


Remember, if you didn't get your block done, no worries. There will be another drawing in two weeks! Any blocks posted between now and then will be entered into the next drawing.

Thanks for playing everyone! Keep on quilting!

Block Nine with Toby Lischko -- and the dog ate my homework!

I must say I was pretty excited when Toby said she would design a block for us.  She is one of those designers whose name you may or may not know, but you have seen her work.  In fact, right after she agreed to join us, I was admiring a quilt in a magazine and I saw this picture:

That's Toby!  If you like quilt magazines even half as much as I do (I have to subscribe to all of them -- well, not quite all -- otherwise I pay full price for them at the store), then you have seen Toby's work.  She has quilts published in quilt magazines on a regular basis. 

Toby has also donated a set of her Cutting Corners Templates for the drawing tonight!  Yeah!!! 

The templates are an option for stitch and flip corners where you normally draw a diagonal stitching line on the back of a square.  Using the templates, you don't have to draw that stitching line.  Where we only have four lines to draw, that isn't too bad.  BUT, I know I sure get tired of drawing those stitching lines when I have hundreds of little squares to draw them on, so I would love to take a closer look at the templates.

Here's Toby!

Hello to all you strippers! I’m so glad that Konda asked me to join this fun group. Let me tell you a little about myself and I will try not to be too wordy (I have a tendency to go on and on when I talk about quilting!) I currently live in Robertsville, Missouri (just west of St. Louis) with my husband of 36 years, 5 cats and 2 dogs. I have two children and 3 grandchildren.

I come from a background of sewers; my mother was a home economics teacher and seamstress and her father was a tailor, so I guess I could say sewing is in my genes! Needless to say, I have been crafting ever since I could read instructions. I taught myself knitting, crocheting, needlepoint, cross-stitch, crewel, English smocking, tatting, macramé, candle-wicking, and sewed my own and my children’s clothes for years. (I don’t think I left anything out.)

I took my first quilting class from Jackie Robinson, who owned the local quilt shop in St. Louis before she became famous, in 1985 with my mom and was hooked (sorry to say my mom wasn’t). I made a few quilts for the house in the next 10 years while raising my kids and working full time as a Special Education teacher. In 1995 I started working and teaching in a new quilt shop and things seemed to blossom from there. My first quilts were published in Miniature Quilt Magazine in 1997 and I won my first prize with the Hoffman Challenge in 1998. I was now officially a “professional quilter”! Every time a new book would come into the shop that intrigued me, I had to learn a new technique. I began to expand my skills and started entering more contests and publishing more quilts.

I started my company Gateway Quilts & Stuff, www.gatewayquiltsnstuff.com along with 2 of my closest friends in 1998 and am currently the sole proprietor of the company. I publish my own patterns, design my own templates, and wrote a book through Kansas City Star Quilts in 2009 called St. Louis Stars.

I began working with P&B Textiles as a quilt designer in 2001 and each year I would try to pick up a new fabric company. I currently design for Hoffman, Timeless Treasures, Clothworks, RJR, and Benartex, and at one time worked with Marcus Brothers and Windham Fabrics. My designs can be found in most of the major quilt magazines and as free web patterns on the fabric company’s websites.

I consider myself a traditional quilter, who likes creating quilts that look difficult but aren’t. I currently designed a new template set called “Cutting Corners” because I got tired of drawing lines on the backs of squares to make Snowball blocks, Flying Geese, etc. and knew that there had to be a better way. It is a multi-purpose tool that can be used to make: a Square-in-a-Square, Flying Geese, Snowball blocks, Bowtie Blocks, diagonal seams and half-square triangles. I used it for making my block, but you can draw the line if you want. I also have a blog http://gatewayquiltsnstuff.blogspot.com/, which I have to admit I do not write in it as much as I would like, but it is a learning blog that I put a lot of my quilting tips on.

One last note: I am available for lectures and workshops and have a new quilt retreat in Beaufort, Missouri, nestled in the woods for small groups of 4-6 quilters. Information regarding both are on my website http://www.gatewayquiltsnstuff.com/. I can be reached at tlischko@yahoo.com.

Have fun making the block. I can’t wait to see what everyone’s quilt looks like!

Click HERE for instructions to Toby's block.

Thanks Toby!

Okay, so you want to see Toby's block?  Me too!  So I really did make Toby's block.  I even took pictures.  Problem is. . . .  Well. . . .  It's like this. . . .  The dog ate my homework! 
 
What!  You've heard that one before.  You're right, I don't even have a dog.  I lost the cord to my camera.  I probably put it in a safe place so it wouldn't get lost.  I haven't looked too hard for it because I just noticed that I couldn't find it this morning.  I didn't want everyone to be waiting on this block because I couldn't find my cord. 
 
Fortunately, my noggin was working enough to capture this picture off Toby's instructions:
 

My blocks turned out really fun too.  I know yours will too.  I also know that there will be some great pictures of this block very shortly on flickr.  So if you want to see real life pictures of this block, head on over to our flickr site in a few minutes. 

REMINDER:  You have two weeks to make these blocks.  There will be a drawing late tonight for BLOCK EIGHT.  Of course, any block that is posted before mine on flickr gets entered in the drawing.  If you are behind, now is a great time to catch up!  With these blocks, it's just as easy to make two as it is to make one! 

Happy Quilting!

Jelly Roll Quilt Along Designers

For inquiring minds, here is the list of our guest bloggers for the Jelly Roll Sampler Quilt Along 2010. They are listed in alphabetical order.

April Mazzoleni -- http://april-makingendsmeet.blogspot.com/
Becky J -- http://patchworkposse.com/blog
Beth Helfter -- http://evapaigequiltdesigns.com/
Debbie Maddy -- http://calicocarriage.com/blog
Emily Herrick -- http://crazyoldladiesquilts.blogspot.com/
Judi Madsen -- http://greenfairyquilts.blogspot.com/
Kari Ramsay-- http://freshcutquilts.blogspot.com/
Kathy Skomp -- http://lavenderlimeinspires.blogspot.com/
Nanette Merrill -- http://fredashive.blogspot.com/
Scott Hansen -- http://bluenickelstudios.com/
Toby Lischko -- http://gatewayquiltsnstuff.blogspot.com/



Check out their blogs and see what we have in store! We have a great group of designers here. I know some of you recognize their names or have seen their work. My fingers are getting itchy to open up my jelly roll. I just may have to get started on my block this week. I have it finished in my mind. Now to get it on paper for you!