Quiltsy Scrappy Challenge

Here we go again! No one likes a challenge more than Quiltsy.

How many of you have piles and boxes of scrapes from all the projects and quilted items you have made? I know, some day you are going to organize and finally make something using those scraps and left over remnants of projects past. But what if you were actually challenged to make something?

That's actually happened in June. Quiltsy Team challenged it's members to use their scrapes and left over pieces of fabric to create a table runner, table topper or a wall hanging. The only thing that could be new or purchased was the border and backing fabric. The middle and rest of the quilt top had to be made from only their scraps.

Thirty six members rose to the challenge and made exceptional quilted items from their scraps. Most used just their scraps only to make a quilted item. And looking at them you will be amazed that they were made from scraps. Might make you want to dig into your own scraps and see what you can come up with.

So on to the voting of which 3 you like the best. To vote, please leave a comment and include the numbers of your 3 favorites in your comments. On July 19th we will announce the 3 top ones that got your votes and which was was the over all favorite.

***Please note that the submissions for the challenge are closed only. Do not click onto the "visitor" link. Just leave your 3 choices in a comment below.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Quiltsy Black, White And Challenge Time to Vote!

Are you ready to vote on your favorite Quiltsy Black/White/and one color challenge? 

So we now have all the challenge quilts finished. Some went right to the wire to get finished and listed, but now we have 20 amazing quilts and quilted items ready for your vote. There is a lot of diversity between quilts, baby quilts, table runners and wall hangings. One member even made a basket for her challenge. Because it was so hard choosing just one last time for the Lew the Ewe contest, you are now able to vote for your favorite 3 items.

An InLinkz Link-up

Here are larger pictures of the quilts and the shop that made them.

JackieSewingStudio

homesewnbychristine

MaryMackMadeMine

IsewTotes

SalllyManke

ForQuiltsSake

KathyKinsella

QuiltingGranny

CuddleCatQuiltWorks

VikllageQuilts

MulberryPatchQuilts

HollysHutch

QuiltSewPeaceful

TexasQuiltsforYou

MoranArtandQuilts

MonkeyMuffin

ClubAloha

PatsPassionQuilteds

SweetLeafQuiltShop

anotherghostquilts

Happy Mother's Day

Mother's Day is only a week away (May 13th). Is there something special you do, or have planned? Maybe flowers or a plant? Maybe a nice dinner? You know that we celebrate our Mother's on this day, but do you know why or how it all started?

Mother's day is now celebrated in 40+ countries worldwide in honor or mothers and motherhood. The actual date varies by country, but is celebrated annually. The modern holiday of  Mother's Day was first celebrated in 1908, when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother at St Andrews Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia. Her campaign to make Mother's Day a recognized holiday in the United States began in 1905, the year her mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, died. Ann Jarvis had been a peace activist who cared for wounded soldiers on both sides of the American Civil War, and created Mother's Day Work Clubs to address public health issues. Anna Jarvis wanted to honor her mother by continuing the work she started and to set aside a day to honor all mothers because she believed a mother is "the person who has done more for you than anyone in the world"

In 1908, the U.S. Congress rejected a proposal to make Mother's Day an official holiday, joking that they would also have to proclaim a "Mothers-in-Laws Day". However, owing to the efforts of Anna Jarvis, by 1911 all of the U.S. states observed the holiday with some of them officially recognizing Mother's Day as a local holiday (the first being Jarvis' home state of West Virginia in 1910). In 1914 Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation designating Mother's Day, held on the second Sunday in May, as a national holiday to honor mothers.

So this year, put a little extra into celebrating not only your own mom, but also the generations of mothers who came before (like your grandmother, great-grandmother). Maybe look for a unique gift, make a nice dinner or desert, or get a little creative and make her a card. And as always, the Quiltsy Team is here to help. Check out our team pages for one-of-a-kind gifts that are ready to ship.

Written by Pat Young of PatsPassionQuilteds, Quiltsy Team member since May 2011.

shop

Facebook

April Showers

I'm sure everyone has heard the old adage "April showers bring May flowers". Well...maybe Mother Nature hasn't quite co-operated with this saying with some of our Quiltsy members in the north who are still seeing winter weather. But April will prevail, and we will see plants starting to peak out of the ground, buds coming out on the trees, and green grass. Eventually we will see flowers blooming everywhere. What's your favorite flower? Spring tulips, daffodils or crocus? Or maybe more Summer ones like roses, daisies or dahlias? There is something wonderful about sitting outside on a nice, warm sunny day surrounded by a gorgeous flower garden.

Of course there are other kinds of showers that come with April. There are the baby showers, bridal showers and wedding showers that invitations are starting to come in for. It's time to start thinking about what unique item to give to the newlyweds, or that something special for the new bundle of joy. Maybe a Wedding Guest Book quilt where quests sign and leave a special message for the bride and groom on a fabric square that is made into a Keepsake quilt? Or a custom baby quilt that will be cherished for years?

Here in Quiltsyland, we are into full swing with our next big challenge.

This month we have 23 members who have signed up for a Baby Quilt Challenge. We have an adorable focus fabric called Lewe the Ewe by Susy Bleasby for Hamil Textiles. Our challenge is to design, then make, a baby quilt using this fabric as the main focus. We are limited only by our imaginations. Our deadline to have them finished is between May 18-24 where they must be listed in our shops. We might even be planning a "Which one do you like the best?" challenge, so stay tuned to find out more about that.


So as we continue through the month of April, enjoy the days getting longer and warmer, flower gardens coming to life, and the promise of new beginnings. Soon it will be May, and that is a whole new adventure.

Written by Pat Young of PatsPassionQuilteds, Quiltsy Team member since May 2011.

shop

Facebook

Quiltsy Cares March 31-Lynn Meadows

Our final Quiltsy Cares donation comes from Lynn Meadows of lynndalou. Lynn is from Nashville, Tennessee.

Lynn's Charity is the Tennessee Chapter of Project Linus which is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide homemade blankets and quilts to children in need. This charity is special to her because she feels it is important to give back to the community and she loves being able to use her talent for quilting to gift the comfort a handmade quilt provides to the community of children Project Linus serves.

Lynn donated a quilt made of bright multiple colors in a modern design by Hunter's Design Studio and hid some swirly hearts in the quilting (see second picture).

Written by Pat Young of PatsPassionQuilteds, Quiltsy Team member since May 2011.

shop

Facebook

Quiltsy Cares March 20-Adele Mogavero

Our Quiltsy Cares donation is from Adele Mogavero of DelLillians. Adele's charity was Project Linus. Adele lives in the beautiful state of New Hampshire. She is blessed with the time and talent to make quilts for others. Being able to use hergift for such a worthy cause is the icing on the cake.

Adele told us that when she began looking for a worthy cause to donate her quilts, Project Linus struck a cord with her. Project Linus' mission is to provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets and afghans, lovingly created by volunteers called "blanketeers", Adele is honored to be a blanketeer for Project Linus.

A little about the quilt:

The baby quilt I made is approximately 40” square and one of my original designs. It’s called the safari star quilt - the original was designed as a gift for my niece.

Written by Pat Young of PatsPassionQuilteds, Quiltsy Team member since May 2011.

shop

Facebook

Quiltlsy Cares March 19-Mary Swinton

Our Quiltsy Cares donation for today is from Mary Swinton of QuiltingGranny. Mary is from Lincoln Nebraska and donated 9 pillow cases to a church camp.

A quilting friend announced that her church was collecting pillow cases for the summer camp for under privileged children, and that they wanted enough pillow cases so that each child could take one home. Children in need always touched her heart, so she made as many as time allotted.

Mary also donated fabric and money to the quilters in the fire and mudslide areas of California, as well as Quilts of Valor. She also participated in making quilts for her City Mission.

Written by Pat Young of PatsPassionQuilteds, Quiltsy Team member since May 2011.

shop

Facebook

Quiltsy Cares March 17-Audrey Lynn

Today's Quiltsy Cares charity donation is fro Audrey Lynn of itsaAWLgood. Audrey also has the honor of having her day on World Wide Quilt Day.

Audrey donated a quilt to Quilt Guild of Greater Houston. QGGH is a non-profit organization dedicated to the are of quilting. It is comprised of a group of quilter and quilt lovers, over 300 strong, who meet to share their love of this art form. You don't need to be a quilter to join, Anyone with a love of quilts are welcome to join.

The Guild participates in many community projects. Quilts are donated to various organizations around Houston, including The Center for Abused Women, Camp for All, the Star of Hope, and others. Donated quilts are often auctioned as fund-raisers by charitable groups, such as the Ronald McDonald House,

Written by Pat Young of PatsPassionQuilteds, Quiltsy Team member since May 2011.

shop

Facebook

Quiltlsy Cares March 16-Ilse Daehler

Today's Quiltsy Cares donation comes form Ilse Daehler of ISewTotes. Ilse lives in Silver Spring MD and her donation was for House of Ruth Maryland. House of Ruth provides a safe haven for victims of domestic violence and there children. Their goal is to help women and their children not only by providing shelter, but also helping them to rebuild their lives.

The House of Ruth has a group (B-More Bags) that regularly meets and makes bags to sell. The proceeds support the House of Ruth Maryland. Unfortunately it is too far for Ilse to participate in the meetings so she donated the two bag shown below.

tote has a waterproof lining

purse has a silk lining

Ilse also made 3 pillowcases and some blocks for the Thomas Fire victims.

Written by Pat Young of PatsPassionQuilteds, Quiltsy Team member since May 2011.

shop

Facebook

Quiltsy Cares March 15-Sally Manke

Today's Quiltsy Cares donation comes from Sally Manke of SallyManke. Sally lives on the snowy banks of Lake Michigan. Her donation is lap quilts to the Oncology Dept at a local hospital to give a bit of comfort to those undergoing treatment. Sally and a friend team up to complete the lap quilts. The friend pieces the tops and while she provides the long arm quilting, batting and backing. The take turns binding the quilts.

Checkout more from Sally Manke at:

http://www.pinterest.com/sallymanke/

http://www.facebook.com/sally.manke.fiber.artist

Written by Pat Young of PatsPassionQuilteds, Quiltsy Team member since May 2011.

shop

Facebook