Free $25 Gift Certificate for all Pennsylvania Dutch BOM Members

Last chance to register for the Pennsylvania Dutch Block of the Month. With the first month shipping out soon, time is running out! To celebrate the popularity of Pennsylvania Dutch we have an offer for you, everyone signed up for the block of the month will receive a $25 Gift Certificate along with their first month. Who could pass on that!

Artichoke Collection Patterns & Giveaway Winners!

Artichoke Collection is a new pattern designer to the Fat Quarter Shop. These patterns are so fun, we can't wait to see what they come up with next!

Speaking of patterns ... I am pleased to announce the winner from Friday's Simple Abundance pattern giveaway ... Pat!!

The winner of the Birdie prize pack from Tuesday is ... Skippingdaisies!

E-mail Sarah (at) fatquartershop (dot) com to claim your prize :)

We've been long-time customers and fans of the Fat Quarter Shop, and we're thrilled that our patterns are now available here.

My friend and business partner, Christie Batterman, and I started Artichoke Collection a couple of years back as a way to take our love of quilting to a new level. Why "artichoke"? The answer is quite simple: we love them! When I think of artichokes, though, I don't just think of them on a plate. I think that the green and purple thistle that is the artichoke is a wonderful expression of natural grace and symmetry, and every time I see our logo I'm reminded of the beauty of simple natural forms. And anyway, we were pretty confident that Artichoke Collection would be a name that wasn't already taken!

We started out with just a couple of patterns (Urban Chic and Table Chic), which we produced on our home computers, copied at the local copy center, and marketed to quilt shops in the Bay Area. Over the past couple of years we've built our catalog to a total of nine patterns, and our distribution has grown, through word of mouth and the occasional road trip, to include much of the West and even a few shops in other parts of the country.

Our ideas come from our lives and our surroundings. Our newest design, for example, which will be available next month, is a whimsical tribute to giraffes that was inspired by the birth of my first grandchild this past June. Christie and I have a lot of fun working together and over the years, our working styles and creative products have come to complement each other. While each of our patterns has a single principal creator, we each contribute to the other's creations and ideas to give each pattern that distinctive Artichoke Collection feel. Our working styles, however, have remained quite different through the years: I tend to be the type of person who jumps on an idea and comes to a conclusion well in advance of its due date, while Christie does her best work when faced with a deadline (one of her favorite books is "Goddess of the Last Minute")! We are very proud of what we have created, and we have a lot of fun doing what we do.

We hope you will visit our website, which displays a variety of samples for each of our patterns. We've been delighted to see our designs creatively adapted by quilters with very different styles and levels of expertise, and we can't wait to see what Fat Quarter Shop customers do with our patterns!

Mary Jane Kelly
Artichoke Collection

Simple Abundance for Moda + New Patterns!

** This giveaway is now closed! Thanks :) **

Simple Abundance is the long-awaited second fabric line by Bonnie Olaveson (Cotton Way) and Camille Roskelley (Thimble Blossoms). If their debut, Cotton Blossoms, struck a chord with you last year, so will Simple Abundance!! I might be wrong, but I think one of those girls might have an infatuation with aqua & red...and it's perfect paired with autumn browns and oranges. The variety of prints are awesome, from the big, fluffy camellia blossoms to the ditsy medallions, stripes and paisleys.

To celebrate their second line, we're giving away a set of each of their new patterns! Comment with what YOU feel like you have in "simple abundance", and we'll randomly pick one winner!

Camille
Hello again! Things are busy as ever over here at Thimble Blossoms. In a good way, of course. I've got four new patterns all ready to go, and Simple Abundance is hitting the shelves as we... write. ;-)

So I'm so excited to show you what's new! A la Mode is the first of the four new patterns, and just might be my favorite of the bunch. Made from a Simple Abundance Layer Cake, it is so much fun to put together!

Second up is Double Dip, as in one Simple Abundance Layer Cake that yields two quick and easy lap quilts. I still haven't decided which one is my favorite, can I say both?

Definitely the sweetest photo of the four, the third new pattern is Little Bitty. (That sweet little man on the cover is my handsome little nephew. Isn't he just the cutest little thing?!) This pattern includes instructions to make four different bibs, featuring pearls, ties, monograms and cupcakes. I'm thinking that a number 1 (or 2 or 3 or...) on that little cupcake would just about be the cutest thing for a birthday bib... hmm...

Sorry, what was I saying? Oh yeah, last but not least, the perfect way to use your favorite Layer Cake: Red Velvet. I absolutely loved making this quilt and just can't get enough of the gorgeous new Moda line Rouenerries by French General. This quilt was inspired by a red velvet cake we devoured a couple months ago that I just couldn't stop thinking about. (Neither could Jocelyn, it turns out!) YUM.

[Jocelyn's note: I did wind up having a red velvet birthday cake that very week.]

That about sums it up for me! And to tell you about her new patterns, here's my mom...

Bonnie
It is always so fun after the long hours of thinking and planning, cutting and stitching to see the project on the pattern cover all nice and neat, quilted and bound. I have been designing these pillowcases in my head now for several months and am so excited about Patchwork Pillowcases. They are so much fun, fast and easy. Wouldn't they be great for Christmas or birthday gifts? I may even stitch up a couple for my newly redecorated guest room.

Now Limeade - Who doesn't love the new Authentic line from Moda? I couldn't wait to make something out of it.

I was in the mood to make something a little less traditional and a little more funky, simple and fast. When I started cutting and sewing it truly was that. The rick-rack edge adds that extra touch on the edge of each dot. Wouldn't this be fun in a pastel colorway, snowmen or holiday, even brights for a kids room. The possibilities are endless.

And last, but not least Slice of Charm. This pattern is made with two charm packs, Simple Abundance of course, and has soft edge applique around each circle. Don't be intimidated by the edges! This is the fastest, easiest way to do a Dresden plate project ever, so if you haven't attempted one yet, you will certainly want to give it a try.

The timing works out well, because along with all these new patterns comes this newest line, Simple Abundance. To me it's a charming mix of simple, vintage and modern, sure to inspire creative living. It is full of florals, stripes, paisleys and tonals, in rich aquas, lush reds, chocolate brown and the sweetest pink.

We have had so much fun sewing with Simple Abundance fabric, and we hope you love it as much as we do!


Bonnie & Camille
Bonnie's blog www.cottonway.blogspot.com
Camille's blog www.camilleroskelley.typepad.com

Birdie by Me and My Sister Designs for Moda

** This giveaway is now closed! Thanks :) **

Hey all! The two sisters from Moda who give us eye-popping colors and super graphic prints about twice a year, are back with Birdie! We (them and us...hope no English teachers are reading this) have been waiting for what feels like FOREEEEVER for this to finally ship! We put together double the cute kits for this line, so doesn't that double the anticipation? The teal, pink, lemon, lime + cocoa creates explosive cuteness! Add in little birdies, and presto! Anyhoo, we'll let Barb & Mary take it from here...and read for a sweet little prize...

Hi Jolly Jabberettes!

It's great being back at the Jolly Jabber and blogging about our newest fabric group for Moda…Birdie.

A few quilt markets ago we were sitting around talking with a few of our designer friends and they were all talking about how they decide on colors for their fabric groups. They talked about all the rich tones they relied on from nature. Well that conversation went way over our heads and we were completely speechless for a change!

When we got home we decided that we needed to bring a little more nature into our color palette in the form of brown. But not just any brown, it had to have some personality like COCOA brown and it had to be a brown that would look fabulous with bubblegum pink!

Now we can use brown, and that’s how Birdie was born!

It’s actually the second time that we have used brown. The first time was with one of our older group, Smores. I don’t really think that it counts as using brown because it was just for chocolate squares. This time we used BIG pieces of brown and I must say it was kinda fun! Especially when we added our signature bright colors to it.

It was great fun stepping out of the box and using more brown! Brown is now our friend.

We hope you enjoy our version of dark and dreary old brown and let some new and exciting colors into your life. We feel so liberated!

I wonder how many times I have said brown in this post???

Barb & Mary
Me and My Sister Designs

Answer that question in your comment (easy, right?), and someone's going to win a special prize pack from Me and My Sister! G'luck! And thanks again to Barb & Mary!

And the Winners are...

Hey all! Happy Friday! We got a little behind in announcing our BOM giveaway winners, but here's ALL the winners combined in one post!

The Pennsylvania Dutch BOM winner is Sandy!
The Thimbleberries BOM winner is Kim!
The Green Piece BOM winner is Teresa P!
The Bespoke Blooms BOM winner is Bree from Calgary!
The Civil War Tribute BOM winner is Ms Jan!
Aaaand, the Fig Tree Club winner is Christy aka SewPlain!

If you haven't already, e-mail Jocelyn at jocelyn (at) fatquartershop (dot) com to claim your prize...or she will hunt you down (nicely) :D

Have a great evening and an even better weekend!

Girly Girl by Art Gallery Fabrics

We are beyond excited to share with you the first line from Art Gallery Fabrics we've ever carried. We think it's a spectacular first buy from them, Girly Girl by Patricia Bravo (owner/designer of Art Gallery Fabrics).

It is a 19-piece line (yep, we have 'em all) that will stop you in your tracks. That's what it did to me, at least, seeing the beautiful bolts stacked all the way up on our cutting table!! Patricia got it all right with this collection -- the colors are a mix of energetic hots and sunny pastels (just love the turquoise + fuchsia!!!). The prints show an amazing variety of contemporary and retro motifs, from luscious flowers and flourishes to dangling beads and tiles. It is so unique and so good. Like, really girly good.

In Patricia's words... "I designed GIRLY GIRL with a lot of passion and love for the daughter I never had. It’s dedicated to all the mommies, mommies to be and grandmas that want to dress their girls girly, fun and fashionable."

She designed a great free pattern to go with the line called Cotton Candy so be sure and check that out too!

Patricia has a great giveaway for the line going on at her blog over here, and some amazing photos of the line in use as well!

** photos borrowed from her blog **

Here are a few more project ideas for some Girly Girl fun!

Thanks to Patricia for this beautiful line!!! Can't wait to dig into it...

Old Primrose Inn Preview by Blackbird Designs

We are excited to have Alma Allen & Barb Adams of Blackbird Designs with us today to give us a sneak peak into their upcoming collection, Old Primrose Inn. It's a great line of nostalgic memories of a simpler era, with old world hues of teal, rose, chocolate, and weathered cream.

(Before we go any further, we must announce the winners for the 2010 Thimbleberries Club giveaway and Moda Green Piece giveaway! Congratulations Kim, you have won a $100 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop. And Teresa P, you are the Green Piece winner! Email Jocelyn (at) fatquartershop (dot) com to claim your prizes! Now back to the story...)


When Barb and I begin to design a fabric line we find it helpful to come up with the name first. Hopefully the name is evocative and we can begin to see the fabrics that reflect the title.

Our newest line, Old Primrose Inn, brought up images of an old inn along the coast. The light and airy rooms filled with nooks and crannies. Quiet places to relax and enjoy. Can you begin to see how the image of the inn help us develop this line of fabrics? Many of these prints are influenced by the older, faded prints we love.

Our last quilt book, "When The Cold Wind Blows," features a quilt of large applique blocks designed by Barb. We decided to each do a different color version of this quilt. Usually when we get a chance to do two versions of a quilt I like to try something new. To break out and experiment a bit.

With this quilt I did all of the leaves and stems in blue. It was so fun and liberating for me. Not a green leaf in sight! With this line we repeated that idea . . . not a green print here either. (When we find something fun we like to pass it to you too!)

This is a picture of my quilt titled "Love Letters." This photograph was taken in Nantes, France at the Pour l’Amour du fil exhibition sponsored by Quilt Mania. I love the fresh look of the blue foliage.

We hope you enjoyed your visit to "Old Primrose Inn." Our fabric will be available in November. You can visit us on our blog too, and read about our lovely adventures. We are always glad to "see" you!




Alma Allen & Barb Adams
Blackbird Designs
Blackbird-Designs.blogspot.com

Meet Me in the Meadow by Jill Finley

Meet Me in the Meadow is the debut of Jill Finley of Jillily Studio for Henry Glass Fabrics. Fantastically bright hues (black, red, yellow, blue, green and cream) dominate the hand-drawn florals, paisleys, dots, vines and checks, for a really striking, yet still soft, line. Also be sure to check out the free quilt pattern available for Meet Me in the Meadow! This appliquéd quilt is designed to showcase the soft or bright sides of the collection, whichever you like (need) more!

Hello Quilters!

I am so excited to post on this blog. I have been a big fan of the Fat Quarter Shop since the beginning.

Let me introduce myself. My name is Jill Finley, I am the owner/designer/creative director (and head janitor) at Jillily Studio. I have been in business for about two years now. I love putting fabrics together to create new projects and designing patterns for quilts.

I am so excited about my newest fabric collection for Henry Glass Fabrics. I have been busy creating new projects for Meet Me in the Meadow. There is nothing better than being in my sewing room with new fabric, a rotary cutter and a little bit of time! I love the saturated colors and especially the black and cream. Bold reds and yellows with soft greens and blues . . . it really is yummy.

When my kids were little they would call their friends in the neighborhood to play. The standard line was, "Meet me in the meadow." So the kids would gather to explore in the nearby fields and groves. Sometimes they wouldn't come in for hours. When I was designing this line, I initially called it "Meadow." The kids had a flood of memories, and dubbed it "Meet Me in the Meadow" and it stuck.

I am currently working on my next line, which I will introduce at Fall Market. It should be out next spring. I also have several patterns in the works, and I am doing a book for Kansas City Star. More about that later . . .

Please visit me at my Jillily Studio website to see all my new patterns and Appli-Glue, which I love for my appliqué projects!

I'd love to hear from quilters about what you are doing. Did you have time to quilt this summer? (Can you believe it is almost over?!) Let's get ready for Fall by choosing a new pattern and fabric to spark your creative genius!

Happy Quilting!
Jill Finley
Jillily Studio
Jillily Studio Blog

Hushabye by Tula Pink

Well guys, so ends our Fat Quarter Shop Bom Mini-series. The giveaways are still on for all but the 1st post (winner will be announced...right now!) but it's time to go back to what we're really about -- showcasing beautiful collections and the creative masterminds behind them. Tula Pink is no exception. If you ever hop over to her blog (she has her next line up already)...just prepare to be amazed, k? The girl makes her intricate art look as easy as breathing.

Today we're showing off her line Hushabye for Moda Fabrics. Along with this baby chic line, she's released her first 2 patterns under the Tula Pink Pattern Co. name. That's right y'all, Tula P. is doing patterns!

P.S. Our Pennsylvania Dutch BOM giveaway winner is Sandy! Sandy, e-mail jocelyn (at) fatquartershop (dot) com for your prize!


Well, FQS-ers, it's here! Instead of telling you how excited I am about the release of my newest fabric line (which is true albeit less entertaining) I thought I might share a little bit about why and where it came from.

Hushabye came about for two reasons. The first is that I am finally getting to that age when everyone around me is having babies. Hushabye is my answer to the mounting pressure to make mini-quilts for all of my friends that are fast becoming new moms. I set out to try and make something chic and sophisticated but still soft and sweet.

I don't run in the kind of circles that would allow teddy bears and cartoon characters for this sort of event, so I took the challenge head on. I really wanted to design something that could last past the early drooling days and still be loved long after the diapers disappeared.

The second reason is that I have received nearly 200 emails from fabric lovers asking where they could find the ever elusive Owl print from Full Moon Forest. That print, sadly, is long gone. I spent a lot of time and worry trying to make the new owls even better to give people a second chance at those wise little creatures. So I offer you Hushabye, in which I have crammed all the cuteness and warm fuzzies I could muster.



One or two of my more popular prints are back in luscious new colors and a whole gaggle of new prints have risen from the fury of repeat and color that I like to call my "studio" (which means the space that probably should have been a living room or possibly a dining room, who knows).


I can't tell you how honored and lucky I feel to be designing fabric in the first place, but then to think that some of you actually buy it too?!? That is just to much for me to absorb.






Before I get all sappy here I will depart with my utmost gratitude. Thank you for reading, thank you for making and thank you for sharing all of your amazing talents.

Love,
Tula P.
Tula Pink blog

Debbie's Recipe Box: Cool as a Cucumber Salad

The kids may be back in school, but it is still summer and high temperatures here in Texas. This is a great way to cool off, especially for this weekend's Labor Day picnic!
Click on the image for a printable PDF!

BOM Mini-series Part 6: Fig Tree Club

Today is the LAST installment of our BOM Mini-series! (No tears now.)

So...why are we showing you this Fig Tree goodness that is Mill House Inn? Well, TECHnically it's not a Block of the Month, but it IS a fabulous club that starts next month! (Sheesh, September sure was sneaky.)

This is the Fig Tree Club, created by Joanna F. over at Fig Tree Quilts, and we are big Fig Tree fans here. HUGE.

So of course, when Joanna told us about her new brainchild that is this club, we had to jump on the bandwagon and be proud, card-carrying members of the 1st annual Fig Tree Club! (Minus the card-carrying.)

Each quarter, Fig Tree Club members will receive a Fig Tree pattern and quilt kit of Fig Tree Quilts fabric, designed exclusively for club members. These projects will be simple, such as include lap quilts, bags, table toppers and home-decor projects. The club will begin in October, starting off with a Mill House Inn lap quilt.

Don't miss out, you Fig Tree lovers! There's still plenty of time & spots for you, so sign up soon! Or if it's just not in the cards for you right now, feel free to join at any time!

For today's giveaway, you can win a Mill House precut combo of a Jelly Roll, Honey Bun and Turnover!

Here's how:

1) Comment on this post for 1 entry.

2) Mention the Fig Tree Club on your blog and link to this post and/or the Fig Tree Club link on our website for 3 entries: http://www.fatquartershop.com/Fig-Tree-Quilts-Fabric-Moda-Fabrics.asp

3) Sign up and tell us in your comment for 5 entries!

The winner will be announced in two weeks. Good luck, and have a good, safe Labor Day weekend!!

BOM Mini-series Part 5: Civil War Tribute BOM

Here we are, at Part 5 of our Block-of-the-Month Mini-series. (Already??) I read in somebody's comment that they were waiting for us to show THIS one. Wish granted! Today's BOM is also the feature of the week on our home page, Civil War Tribute BOM, a 12 month program running from January 2010 to December 2010.

In honor of the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War, Marcus Fabrics (whom we love mainly for their gorgeous 19th century reproduction fabrics) uses Judie Rothermel's Civil War Tribute collection (due in November) to create an intricate 100" x 112" quilt designed by Homestead Hearth, commemorating the birth of our present-day America.

Each of the quilt blocks signifies a major battle fought in the Civil War, and historical notes and references are included in the corresponding patterns. As a member, you will receive generous fabric cuts, a detailed fabric reference guide, and triple-checked instructions for each month's blocks and binding. Additionally, you also have the option of reserving the backing set for Civil War Tribute.

Overall, you don't have to be a Civil War buff to appreciate these fabrics and quilt. When historical remembrance and beautiful fabric meet...well, we're just really excited to be able to participate in this program with you. :)

Once again, since this line has not yet hit stores, we are offering a $100 Gift Certificate prize!

To win, you can...

1) Comment on this post for 1 entry.

2) Mention this BOM or giveaway on your blog using these links:
http://www.fatquartershop.com/Civil-War-Tribute-Judie-Rothermel-Marcus-Brothers-Fabric.asp

3) Sign up for this BOM and let us know in your comment for 5 entries!

We will announce the winner in 2 weeks! Thanks, and see you again on Friday!