Hello friends!!

The final post that you have all been waiting for... the FINAL GIVEAWAY announcement!!

Our amazing sponsors offered some pretty fantastic prizes, so I will be drawing FIVE lucky winners.

I will draw the winners on January 31st, 2019, and the way to share the picture is as usual (either in the linky or email it to me directly). Note that ALL 700+ entries will count in the final giveaway, because I want to thank you all from the first block shared to the last!!!

THESE ARE THE PRIZES...

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PRIZE # 1: 20 SMALL SPOOLS COTTON 12WT

GLORIOUS KANTHA by Kaffe Fassett & Liza Lucy offered by Aurifil!

PRIZE # 2: $50 gift certificate offered by Mad About Patchwork

PRIZE # 3: One Quilty Box

PRIZE # 4: a $35 gift card offered by Fat quarter shop

PRIZE # 5: Medium flat rate Box full of fabric (shipped by me, US shipping only... if we have an international winner, I will offer a $15 gift card to whatever fabric shop is local to the winner).

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Remember that in addition to all the blocks you shared over the year, you can share a single picture with all the blocks you created for your own quilt, and get an extra entry for the final giveaway!! 

Note that you don't need to have 11 blocks... if you made just 2 or 3, that's fine too... as long as there are multiple blocks in one picture!

The blocks do NOT have to be stitched together, but if they are stitched in a top, you get an extra entry...

and if they are in a finished quilt, you get another extra entry!! :)

So:

• (1 entry) picture with multiple blocks (two or more!) 
• (2 entries) picture with multiple blocks stitched together
• (3 entries) picture with multiple blocks in a finished quilt!

I wish you all a fantastic new year!

Until next time,

Happy Stitching!!

An InLinkz Link-up

Hello friends!!

Sorry for the long silence but since all the patterns for the QAL were shared, I felt there was no need to keep flooding your inbox with messages and reminders :)

I mentioned that I wanted to run a final giveaway, and I am planning to do it at the end of January, so read more info below!

Before that, however, I want to share few additional pieces of information that may be of interest:

• I cannot announce what the prizes for the final giveaway will be (or how many) because I contacted several companies to sponsor this giveaway and only one answered until now :( Probably is the excessive email exchanges over the holidays, so I will keep trying. I want the final giveaway to be as interesting as possible, so I hope that by the time I draw the winners, other sponsors would reply!!
  
• I will not run a QAL for next year, for two main reasons: 

1.   I lost my sewing/quilting mojo (QAL fatique? too many WIPs?)
2.  it takes too much time and monetary investment from my side to run a QAL... as a scientist I am putting together a full post that will disclose all the data and information from the 2018 QAL event... from what I earned in patterns sold, to what I spent in mailing prizes, from the time I spent creating the pdf patterns, to the time spent linking up pictures on the blog. Full disclosure to whatever I can trace and remember! I want to share this not to discourage people to run events like this, but to show that while they are "free" they are not "free" to run! They are extremely fun and inspiring, but I had my fair share of people criticizing the rule of having to share the finished picture to get the next pattern for free, or complaining about having to buy a pattern to get back in the free run. While these are just a minority of comments, if in the future I run an event and get the complains, I will be able to redirect people to a fully detailed post so maybe the will understand what goes on behind the scenes of a free event. So stay tuned if you are curious to learn more about the behind the scenes!!

  

It has been extra fun and inspiring seeing the more than 700 (SEVEN...HUNDRED!!!!) blocks created by all of you...

So share a single picture with all the blocks you created for your own quilt, and get an extra entry for the final giveaway!! 

Note that you don't need to have 11 blocks... if you made just 2 or 3, that's fine too... as long as there are multiple blocks in one picture!

The blocks do NOT have to be stitched together, but if they are stitched in a top, you get an extra entry...

and if they are in a finished quilt, you get another extra entry!! :)

So:

• (1 entry) picture with multiple blocks (two or more!) 
• (2 entries) picture with multiple blocks stitched together
• (3 entries) picture with multiple blocks in a finished quilt!

I will draw the winners on January 31st, 2019, and the way to share the picture is as usual (either in the linky or email it to me directly). Note that ALL 700+ entries will count in the final giveaway, because I want to thank you all from the first block shared to the last!!!

I wish you all happy holidays, and talk to you next year (with some reminders and hopefully announcements for exciting prizes :)

Until next week,

Happy Stitching!!

An InLinkz Link-up

Last week I announced the Starry Bright Sky QAL and many people subscribed to the mailing list and they seem to be excited about this event!!

Even if the QAL will start in 2018, I decided to start a series of post (every 2 weeks, on Sunday) to reveal bits and pieces of the events, so that I can get your feedback and we can get more excited about it!!

I will announce sponsors, featured techniques, color scheme options, layouts, and much much more! There are several special things that I've never seen in other QALs before so I hope you will find them intriguing, inspiring and a learning experience!!

I am working on different layouts, different colorways, sponsors and giveaways, etc. It is going to be extra fun!

If you are interested in learning more about this QAL and join the fun, leave your email address in the Google Form in the QAL page at this link.

And now, for today post...

My inspiration for the event is this famous painting by Vincent Van Gogh - The Starry Night

I loved this painting since the first time I saw it in highschool...

• it was part of my exam at the end of highschool (the professor asked me to comment and describe this painting... he said that to him it looked like "the stars are dancing", which I think it's a good description of the look and feeling that this painting create)
• I have an umbrella with the painting as the main motif
• I have a pair of socks depicting that painting
• I have a laptop cover with that painting
• I created a mini quilt (Vincent) that travelled all around US in the AMB Tiny Quilt Challenge Exhibition and it depicted a reinterpretation of this painting

So... I guess that you can understand that I absolutely love this painting :)

The interesting thing is that stars are a very traditional quilt block too... and there are so many styles and variationss and techniques to make them... and so many people love star blocks... so I am surprised that the idea for this QAL came to me only now :) :)

While I will share different color schemes, to show how versatile the blocks of the QAL can be, I will make mine in blue and yellow... it will be super scrappy and with extra "surprises" that will embody the spirit of the painting in ways that I hope you will all enjoy. Sorry, I cannot share more than this for now :)

Remember to join the mailing list in the Google Form if you don't want to miss out on future posts!

Until next time,

Happy Stitching!!

Remember: all the details about the series are collected in the QAL web page.

I know that we have still 4 months to finish the Growing Up QAL, but I have to be honest with you... I already completed all my future blocks so I had to start designing the 2018 QAL! :) :)

So let me ANNOUNCE the Starry Bright Sky QAL (2018)!!!

I have designed 22 unique star blocks, with 11 different techniques and few techniques are completely new and never used in any of my previous QALs!!!

Intrigued? Interested?

I will share more on this event as the year goes by, so if you don't want to miss out on any of the future announcements, just subscribe to this new QAL mailing list using the form below.

I am working on different layouts, different colorways, sponsors and giveaways, etc. It is going to be extra fun!

** IMPORTANT NOTE **

If you are participating in the 2017 QAL or you participated in previous years, I will NOT automatically send you information about the 2018 QAL. I want to send out notification only to people that are really interested in following along in 2018. You can always unsubscribe later on, so if you think you may be interested, just drop your email in the Google Form below!!

Feel free to share this post with friends that may be interested in joining!!

Let's share our blocks, cheer each other up and inspire the quilting community!
And I have a FUN ANNOUNCEMENT, read more below!!

If you didn't hear about the QAL before, please visit the Growing up QAL page! 

Visit the QAL page to find all information about the quilt layout, all the future blocks and the rules to participate.

I recommend you to subscribe to the QAL announcements via email, so you don't miss out on future posts! You find the subscription form on the same QAL page (at the bottom).

This month technique is Hand Embroidery
We have two different blocks to practise!

Remember that the pattern for the blocks is shared for free via email.
If you shared a picture of last month finished block (in the linky or via email directly with me), you will get this month pattern by the end of today (or maybe you already got it)!
For the full list of rules and explanation on how/where to share your projects, please refer to the post listing all the QAL rules and to the post with my self-interview.

If you shared a picture but you don't get this month pattern by Tuesday, please send me an email at tweloq(at)gmail(dot)com. I will send you the pattern.

If you were not able to share the picture of the previous pattern, don't worry!
This month's pattern is available in my shop for a very small price: if you buy the pattern, make the block and share it before the deadline, you will get future patterns for free again!

If you are new here, you can get this month pattern for free, but you will have to pay for previous month patterns, if you want those blocks too.

And if you need an extra incentive, we are going to have THREE winners for this month. 

So this what you are playing for:

Winner 1

Mad About Patchwork: $40 gift certificate!!

Winner 2

Small spools from Aurifil, sent by me, anywhere in the world! Small Kennel Quilt Thread kit benefiting Petfinder

Winner 3 (and ANNOUNCEMENT)

Have you ever heard about weaving fabric? I head about this idea a while ago but never really looked into that because I had already so many other projects and crafts going on in my life... you know how it is...

Then, one day, I was listening to Sandi Hazlewood's Crafty Planner Podcast (which is fantastic by the way... if you are not listening to this you SHOULD) and a creator mentioned a tool to weave fabric... then few months later I was listening to Sit&Sew Radio Podcast  (another fantastic podcast) and I listened to Tara Curtis, Inventor of the WEFTY needles and then again on the Modern Sewciety Podcast  (another great podcast) :) 

Ok... so this was a message from the Universe that I actually have to try weaving fabric... 

I contacted Tara and I asked if she would like to sponsor a prize for this QAL because I want to design a bonus block for all of YOU using this technique!!! So, while I bought my set of WEFTY needles, I want one of you to win it!! Everyone else can buy it from Tara's Etsy shop!

WEFTY needles

Etsy shop

Since this QAL is a skill builder, wouldn't it be wonderful to add this other skill to your list?

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Note that the bonus block designed by me for the QAL will be released some time in the summer, but it won't be mandatory to make it to get the next pattern(s) for free. This block requires a special tool, so I know that not everyone can get it... however I really encourage you to buy it and try it out: it's fun, different, and it's very easy to create stunningly beautiful creations!

Plus in this way you would get 12 different techniques in a single quilt (instead of the current 11)

**

I will draw the random winners between all the people entering a picture of one block from April. Multiple blocks will give you multiple entries, as long as they are in separate picture in a separate link in the linky :).

I will announce the winners when I share the next month pattern.

So, let's link up our fun block, friends!

An InLinkz Link-up

Next week I will give you some sashing ideas for alternate final layouts, and the following week we are going to see some extra inspiration from quilters on the web using this month technique to do amazing things!!

So are you excited about this QAL?

I surely am!! Grab my button and share the love (button on the side bar)!
The more people join in, the more fun it will be!!

Until next week,

Happy Stitching!!

Remember: all the details about the series are collected in the QAL web page.