Inspirations for quilts often come from other art forms. A couple of years ago, my husband whisked me away to Santa Fe. A wonderful art show was going on that same week. I love art shows! Enjoying all the beautiful colors and designs in the native American art was the most thrilling part of the week for me. A few simple designs have been in the back of my mind ever since.

As I was contemplating a design for our 100 Blocks issue, I thought about what I could make with 2 1/2″ strips. Thinking back on the Santa Fe art inspirations, I realized that 2 1/2″ strips would work perfectly in one of the designs. My block, Navajo Nights, was born. I’m partial to batiks and I found Timeless Treasure’s Tonga Batiks Ice collection had just the cool blues and purples I was looking for.

I played with a couple of layouts in Electric Quilt 6 to see what multiple blocks would look like. In a straight set, the background fabric mimics the gray and purple design in the original block.

76" x 76"

Using an on point setting (blending the same background fabric into the setting blocks and setting triangles), the block is tilted and looks less busy. Maybe it needs a more interesting pieced border.

70" x 70"

Help me decide between these settings. Leave me a comment about which setting appeals to you more and why. After 10 a.m. MST on Wednesday, November 11th, I’ll randomly pick a winner from the comments to win a 100 Blocks issue.

Wow! I still can’t decide which setting to use. You are all pretty equally divided about which you like better. Thanks for all your feedback. Perhaps I’ll play a little more in EQ to create some interesting borders for the on-point setting. Then I’ll gather all my 2 1/2″ strips and make both.

In the meantime, #38 Beth Patrick was randomly picked as the winner of another 100 Blocks issue. Congratulations Beth!

Yes, our first 2010 issue is at the printer now (where has 2009 gone?) so I thought I’d give you a little sneak peek of what’s coming:

We’re kicking off 2010 with a  new column, Addicted to Scraps, by one of my favorite scrap quilters, Bonnie Hunter. Bonnie sent me a funny screen capture recently after her son posted about his “famous” quilting mom on Facebook:

Have you seen French General’s fabric line Rouenneries for Moda? It got a lot of buzz at Spring Market ‘09 and now it’s showing up in quilts and stores. Carolyn Beam, QM’s Creative Editor, designed a fantastic pair of quilts with a twin size and bonus doll quilt. (QM Kits of Duette will be available in early December.)

Our 11th pattern designed with Project Linus in mind will be flying high in this issue with Kite ‘n Kaboodle, designed by me with fabric from P&B Textiles.

Leave a comment and tell me what quiltmaking skill you’re looking forward to improving in 2010 by 3 pm MST on Tuesday and I’ll give away this color option + binding fabric from Courtyard made from Maywood Studio fabric in Quiltmaker’s Favorites, Spring ‘09 issue.

And the winner is #24, Sarah Vee! Congratulations!

So the giveaway is over, but we’re finding these answers fascinating as we plan content for 2010. I’d love to see more answers–who knows you may influence what goes into Quiltmaker next year!

I’ve just created two new flickr groups:

1. Share the projects you make using a block from 100 Blocks at www.flickr.com/groups/100blocks2009/
2. Share your Christmas Lights Mystery quilts (or tops) at www.flickr.com/groups/christmaslightsmysteryquilt/ (Christmas Lights is a 3-part mystery series from Bonnie Hunter in Quiltmaker’s July/August ‘09, September/October ‘09 and November/December ‘09 issues.)

I don’t know what yet, but I’ll give a prize to someone (randomly selected) who posts a Christmas Lights photo by 2 pm MST on  Friday, November 13 (it could be your lucky Friday the 13th)! I’ll do flickr prizes for 100 blocks when more people have had a chance to get the magazine.

Claudianne is the winner of 100 Blocks and some scrumptious batiks from Hoffman for posting her Christmas Lights Mystery quilt in our flickr group. Congratulations!

(Updated to answer Bingo Bonnie–post tops or quilts in the Christmas Lights Mystery flickr group–if  you’ve got your blocks sewn together, you’re much further along than me!)

To celebrate the appearance of our latest newsstand special, 100 Blocks from Today’s Top Designers, we’re hosting a blog tour all week long.

Each day we’ll list about a dozen blogs from folks who designed something for this issue or contributed in some way. Visit all of the blogs for chances to win a free copy of 100 Blocks and for additional surprise giveaways! Come back to Quilty Pleasures daily for great giveaways here, too. We promise you won’t be disappointed!

You could win this block by Pam Buda!

BLOCK GIVEAWAY!

Another chance for you to win is our Block Giveaway. We’re giving each of the blocks away to a lucky winner! One hundred blocks, one hundred winners. You could be the owner of a block made by one of these talented designers.

You could win this block by Kim Brackett!

It’s like getting a head start on your next project. See 100 Blocks from Today’s Top Designers for details on how to enter.

TODAY’S FEATURED DESIGNERS

1. Lynette Anderson: lynetteandersondesigns.typepad.com
2. Vicki Bellino: bloomcreek.blogspot.com
3. Kim Brackett: magnoliabayquilts.blogspot.com
4. Cheryl Brown: quilterchic.com
5. Lynn Roddy Brown: lynnroddybrown.com
6. Pam Buda: heartspunquilts.com
7. Karen Combs: karencombs.wordpress.com
8. Evonne Cook: clotheslinequilts.com
9. Paula Barnes: bonniebluequilts.wordpress.com
10. Martha Walker is collaborating with her local quilt shop 3 Dudes Quilting in the Phoenix area. What a great idea! If you live there, be sure to stop by 3 Dudes Quilting.

Quilt-related businesses participating today:

1. Martingale & Company: martingale-pub.com
2. Lissa Alexander, Director of Marketing for Moda Fabrics: modalissa.blogspot.com

You could win this block by Evonne Cook!

So many blocks, so many ideas, so much fun!

The prizes are arriving and the boxes of 100 Blocks from Today’s Top Designers are here!

Please visit us daily next week for the 100 Blocks Blog Tour. Each day we’ll list the blogs of about 10 designers. Visit the blogs for ideas and inspiration and prizes, prizes, prizes!

Fabric giveaways from Maywood Studio and Windham Fabrics! Just a hint of what's to come!

We’ll have numerous giveaways here on Quilty Pleasures, too. And at the end of the week, we’ll draw for a Big Bundle Giveaway—a grand prize that will thrill the heart of any quilter!

Several Quilt Markets ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Jacqueline de Jonge, the amazing designer of the Be Colourful patterns. Her foundation-pieced designs are full of rich, vibrant colors. I caught up with her in Houston at Quilt Market and asked her to be a guest blogger for us. She also gave me some of her patterns and a set of note cards to give away on this blog. Leave a comment telling us your favorite color combinations to work with in a quilt, and I’ll randomly draw 5 names on Tuesday, November 10th around noon. Each winner will receive one of Jacqueline’s patterns or the set of note cards.

Quilts are beautiful!

Everyone who is making a quilt finds his or her piece really unique and special! Perhaps it has something to do with the purpose for which the quilt is made or the event where the quilt is received or given as a present. Nevertheless, each quilt is a piece of art where the maker spends a lot of love, enthusiasm and fun in making it!

With that consideration in mind I started to publish my own pattern line under the name Be Colourful. My  patterns are now sold worldwide. It is my goal to inspire quilters all over the world with my colorful patterns. No, it is better to say that it has become my passion and my main importance. It has come from the talent I have received from God. I feel myself rich and blessed by Him that I can do this.

How do I start with a design, where do I get my inspiration from, how do I put all the different fabrics together…every day I receive these kind of questions. Inspiration for a design happens in a single moment during the day. Whether it is in a meeting at work, or a sign on a truck, an advertisement in the newspaper or a magazine, a wheel on a car, a flower…it can be anything. You can see that the shapes I use are traditional and therefore very accessible. But my use of color is maybe not so very common, it is different.

Some of Jacqueline's quilts in her booth at Quilt Market.

I love to experiment with fabrics and colors and to come up with unique combinations. A design is never steady with me. I can always adjust my drawing as a quarter of the design is always beside me in my studio. Sometimes I have great expectations for a new design along with the colors and fabrics that I planned to use in the design. But once I start to assemble the quilt, it is sometimes not exactly what I expected it to be. Yes this also happens! Because I work on one design at a time, I am able to adjust the pattern at any time. Once the quilt is finished and the pattern descriptions are written, I can leave it and start on another design. 

It often happens that ideas pop up in my head when I am quilting. Then I go to my fabric stash to gather different fabrics and colors. This also inspires me to come up with a new design. And those designs ultimately lead to a new pattern which you can find in your own quilt store in Dutch, English and German.

More quilts in Jacqueline's booth.

I have started teaching classes in the US and I really enjoy that! We are now working on a schedule for April 2010, starting in Texas, then to Colorado, Nevada and Ontario. As soon as we have the dates set, we will mention them on our website.

May I invite you to enter my website so that I can inspire you. I really hope that you will enjoy the Be Colourful designs! 

Jacqueline de Jonge
Becolourful!

Ever since Executive Editor June Dudley mentioned Jan Morin in her last edit letter, readers have been asking us for more information. Seems like a perfect topic for a blog post. Jan lives in Pine Grove, California and has found a way to be green with her quilting scraps and contribute to a worthwhile cause at the same time.

Jan makes pet pillows and donates them to her local SPCA. Here’s how:

Using stash fabric, cut two squares or rectangles of the same size. They can be any size that is roughly appropriate for a pet to lounge on. Place the pieces right sides together and sew around the edges, leaving an opening on one side for turning. Turn the pillow right sides out.

Use your fabric scraps and thread clippings to stuff the pillow.

Jan says the scraps don’t have to be extremely small, just not extremely large. After stuffing, sew the opening closed.

Jan says the pillows are used for dogs and cats, who love them! The SPCA loves them, too, and even gives them to new pet owners for their newly adopted pets.

To find an animal shelter in your area, visit aspca.org. If you’ve read this far, please leave a comment about something you’ve sewn for a good cause and we’ll have a giveaway! The winner is Prairie Quilter, comment #18 and she has been notified. Congratulations!

This beautiful bundle holds nine fat quarters of brand new Benartex fabrics in a line called Playful Pups. It’s so new, stores don’t have it yet. We’ll draw for a winner on Friday, Oct. 30 about noon MST.

Another view of the fabrics included:

How cute are these?! Our thanks to Jan for sharing her good cause with QM readers.

Edyta Sitar (Laundry Basket Quilts), fabric designer for Moda Fabrics and author of the new book Friendship Triangles, organized a fun exchange with other Moda designers. Each of the different designers made triangle-squares that they shared with each other plus more to give away at market.  I collected autographed triangle-squares from the different designers along with a copy of Edyta’s book, published by Landauer Publishing that we’ll be giving away.

autographed triangle-squares

Here are a few of the designers whose triangle-squares we’ll be giving away.

Edyta Sitar

Karla Eisenach of Sweetwater

Sandy Klop

Jan Patek

Just leave a comment and tell us your favorite way to make triangle-squares and we’ll randomly draw a winner on Friday, October 16th.

Update 10/15/09: Carolyn won’t be in the office on 10/16 to pick a winner–she’s extending this giveaway to next Friday 10/23. Leave your comment by noon MST!

One very enjoyable part of my job at Quiltmaker is the area of product reviews. In the most recent issue (Nov/Dec 2009, No. 130), we reviewed some interesting thread stands called Coneflowers, so named because they look like coneflowers, of course.

These beauties are made by Paul Boyum way up in Battle Lake, Minnesota through his business paulsmetalpetals.com. They’re meant to hold cones of thread and they have an additional spindle for storage of extra bobbins. They’re so pretty, they’d add a nice decorative touch to your sewing space. I have two Coneflowers to give away. One is shown above, it’s the Sara, double (meaning there are two flowers). The other is the Laura, single.

To enter, leave a comment telling us about your favorite thread: what it is and why you like it. We’ll randomly select a winner on Friday, Oct. 16 around noon Mountain time. Good luck!

. . . #126 Vickie who likes Winding Road. Congratulations Vickie–I’ve sent you an email to get your mailing address.

And thanks to all who entered–it’s sure been fun to see what your favorite patterns are in that issue. Please remember to send us your photos when you make a Quiltmaker pattern–we love to see what you create and you could end up in Sew to Speak or Spotlight! Send your photos to sewtospeak at quiltmaker.com.

Diane will be bringing you our next blog giveaway on Monday. Enjoy your weekend!