That’s right, our newest McCall’s Quilting contest, Quilt Design Star™ is off and running. We want to encourage you to participate! Just click on the Quilt Design Star™ link at right, under “Contests”.

There are 2 parts to this contest.

The first part is the finalist selection. We invite anybody who has ever designed an original quilt project, including pieceing, appliqué, folk art, or art quilting to enter a project that they’ve designed. The entry period is now through June 24, 2010. Starting July 1, 2010, the public will vote on the entries to decide who might be selected as a finalist.

The second part of the contest is the challenge portion. Each of the finalists will be asked to perform up to 3 challenges. After each challenge, the public will vote and finalists may be eliminated.

The winner of the 3rd (Grand Finale) challenge will receive a BERNINA aurora 440QE sewing machine!

We are very excited to see your entries. To thank you for participating in the first (finalist selection) portion of the contest, every entrant will be sent a link to download McCall’s Quilting Quilt Designers’ Easy Patterning Guide. This one-page cheat sheet is a must have for quilters. It includes information on Mattresses & Batting  and common pre-cut shapes, among others!

So, enter to become a finalist and participate in our challenges!

Good Luck!

Kathy

If the answer is yes, make sure that you enter McCall’s Quilting Quilt Design Star™ contest. Whether you piece or appliqué your quilts, or if your style is folk art or art quilting, we want to see your projects!

Here’s how it works:

- First, you go to McCall’s Quilting Design Star™ page and read about the contest and official rules.

- Second, starting May 24, 2010 through June 24, 2010, you go to the same page, fill out our design questionnaire, and upload a photo of a project that you feel represents your quilt design “style”.

- Then, on July 1, 2010, the voting begins to select the finalists for our Quilt Design Star™ contest.

Don’t be shy! I know how hard it is to show your work to others, so I’m going to start the ball rolling. Below is a picture of my first original project. I call it Wildflower Walk. It’s a very simple design, but I wanted to showcase the large prints.

It’s not quilted yet, and it’s a very simple pattern, but I love it.

Now it’s your turn!

Don’t forget to participate in the McCall’s Quilting Quilt Design Star™ contest. You might just win a new BERNINA aurora 440QE sewing machine!

Happy Quilting,

Kathy

It’s not too late! You can still enter to win at 6 inspiring stores across the US. We’ve had 30 lucky quilters win prizes already, and there are still 18 more of you out there.

Just click on the following link to go to our Hometown Favorites Online Shop Hop page. You can then go to each of the shops’ websites and enter to win!

Happy Hopping!

Kathy

Hello all,

We’ve just chosen the quilt kit and other quilting prize winners from the first 4 shops on our Online Shop Hop! Don’t worry, if you didn’t participate in Monday’s contests, you still have 12 chances to win. All winners are notified by e-mail the next business day after the shop’s assigned day.

Just click on the Hometown Favorites Online Shop Hop link, go to each of the shop’s websites on their assigned day, and enter to win!

Good Luck!

Kathy

How would you like to win a stack of Moda fat quarters – just like this?

Just participate in our Hometown Favorites Shop Hop starting Monday, May 10 (in 3 days) and running through Friday, May 14, 2010. Each day, we feature 3 – 4 shops from our America Quilts Hometown Favorites Special Issue. If you visit each of the 16 shops’ websites on their identified day (see Hometown Favorites Online Shop Hop link, right), you can enter to win a FREE QUILT KIT from that shop as well as other fun quilting prizes. If you enter in all 16 drawings, you are automatically entered in the drawing for a grand prize (Moda Fat Quarter Pack, above)!

So, mark your calenders, and don’t forget to enter. Of course, it will be painful to have to go shopping on 16 fabulous quilting websites – NOT! Make sure you have your credit card at hand, and we’ll see you next week!

Kathy

For a limited-time, you can Subscribe to Quick Quilts at our special low rate and give a 1-year Gift Subscription to Quick Quilts for FREE! That’s two subscriptions for the price of one! Act now and you’ll also receive a FREE Instant Gift just for ordering. But hurry… this Mother’s Day Special ends May 9th. Just click on the link at right!

Offer valid in the U.S. only.

Hello all,

We’ve had an exciting couple of weeks. We just received the first copies of America Quilts Hometown Favorites. This special issue is packed with great quilt patterns and fun information about our 16 inspiring shops. These shops are located from Idaho to Massachusetts to Florida to California; all over the country!

To celebrate this issue, we are having an Online Shop Hop. Just go to each of our shops’ websites on their designated day and enter to win their free quilt kit. If you enter at all 16 shops, you’ll be automatically entered to win one of our two grand prizes (fabulous Moda fat quarter packs!). Click on the link at right to go to the Online Shop Hop page and read more about it.

We look forward to seeing you hopping and entering to win all of the free prizes!

Kathy Hannah

My first few blocks

I’m so glad it’s Friday! Weekends mean more time for personal quilting, and I have a new project waiting for me when I get home tonight. Last weekend, I made the first few blocks for my niece’s wedding quilt. She’s getting married in August, and I need to get about 150 of these babies made in time for the big day, when her guests will be signing blocks instead of a guest book. After the wedding, I’ll turn the blocks into a memory quilt. So, the photo above shows my first 12 blocks. When I got them up on the design wall, I realized the white backgrounds are going to have to be mostly white, or I’m going to lose the diagonal lines the blocks should make when set together. When I took the blocks with the busy backgrounds away, here’s how it looked:

Much better, I think. So, this weekend, more blocks, no busy backgrounds, and lots more fun. If you like quilt patterns with straight-set blocks that create diagonal interest when assembled, we have a cute pattern in our free index for you here http://www.mccallsquilting.com/articles/cactus_flower. Check it out!

What are YOU stitching this weekend? Let us know by posting a comment!

Hello all,

Just a note to tell you about our upcoming special issue, America Quilts Hometown Favorites, and the online shop hop we are holding to celebrate. This special issue is amazing! It features 16 shops from around the country, giving you details and pictures of the shop, and an exclusive quilt pattern from each shop.

The week of May 10 – 14, 2010, we are holding an Online Shop Hop to celebrate the launch of this issue. Every day, we will feature 3 – 4 shops. If you go to each shop’s website on their specified day, you may enter to win a free quilt kit (of their featured quilt), plus two other prizes provided by McCall’s Quilting and many different vendors.

To preview the shops that are participating, click on the Hometown Favorites Online Shop Hop at right; you’ll also see our 2 Grand Prizes! To be eligible for the Grand Prizes, you must enter the drawings for all 16 shops.

So, there are 2 reasons to participate. One, you might win cool prizes, and two, you get to shop at all these different shops. Who doesn’t love to shop for quilting notions, quilt kits and fabrics? Enjoy the ride and have your credit card ready!

Many of you have been following my story about my daughter Sarah, who has joined the Air Force at the age of 18. She will not be deployed overseas (Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea) immediately, but I know that it is likely sometime in the next 2 – 3 years. Some of the staff at McCall’s Quilting have taken a personal interest in supporting our troops and have discovered that many soldiers do not have access to necessities for personal hygiene and do not have anybody to send them mail and/or e-mail from home. We have discovered an organization, Adopt A US Soldier (http://www.adoptaussoldier.org/), and we are actively participating. One of our ladies, Tricia, has written the following:

I heard stories about soldiers not having basic necessities.  I heard stories that there are many who have no one at home, receive no letters or care packages, and it struck me this is Christmas and how alone I would feel in a strange place in the middle so much tension. I simply had to sign up to adopt a soldier!

Oh, I did debate whether or not I could actually commit to sending care packages and letters.  Not really could I, but would I?

I took the step, signed up really late on a Tuesday night, and waited for the email on my assigned soldier.  The website said it could be three days before they would make a match. I was most concerned that I wouldn’t get the information until it was too late to get packages to him/her by Christmas.  On Thursday morning, I woke up with the information sitting in my email.  I was so excited, I was giddy!

My soldier is in Afghanistan. His name is Miguel. He’s in a new compound with no access to purchase necessities except through the local shops. He asked for personal hygiene items and snacks, but most of all some distractions for when they are off duty… for his squad of 15 men.

I’m lucky.  He has intermittent access to email and it is his preferred means of communication. I hear from him every few days, a quick sentence or paragraph. I feel like half the time I just blither on about my day, my cats and dog, the weather. I don’t think it matters. But I know how much it brightens up my day to see a message from him in the in-box.  He begins or ends almost every email with a thank-you, but I wonder if he understands that I should be thanking him.  He’s in a foreign country, away from his family, fighting for me and my freedom. He’s there to make a difference. He gives me the chance to feel like I’m doing something too.

I do not know what he does, where he goes, what he sees, who he interacts with, or if he is in any danger.  I do know that he cares a great deal about the men in his unit, he calls them his friends, and he lets me know if there is something special they’d like.  I’ve only been in the program for 10 days.

The Adopt a US Soldier program needs people.  The website gives a lot of good information and very realistic expectations for its sponsors.  It offers a way to communicate with others, a place to ask questions, and to get answers from someone who has experienced the same concerns. It offers support on subjects I hadn’t even thought about before I signed up from people that have firsthand knowledge. It offers tips and examples of things to send and how to fill out the shipping forms.  It’s been operating for about 5 years, and hopes to continue until there’s no longer need.  They are a 501c3 organization and they could use your support, because right now, they have more soldier requests than they have sponsors.  www.adoptaussoldier.org (See picture below of Tricia’s adopted soldier.)

Miguel

*****

Thanks for listening -

Kathy