Winner for week 12
Here is a lovely take on Fluffy Stars by Donna called "Paisley Stars" and a well deserved winner for this week. A inspirational contrast using a variety of different designers in red, green and cream. Great work Donna! I love how the star blocks punch out the red against the cream. Could this be a Xmas quilt? Damian:)
Last weeks winner was totaly thrilled...
"Hi Damian!
WoW! What a treat to be chosen! It’s even my birthday today, which makes it better! I am completely enamored with your site. I just recently discovered it from a link on quiltersbuzz.com and have treated myself to many hours of “fixes” already. Yes, my name is Gina and I am a fabriholic. Even though I have been sewing for twenty-five or sew years, I just discovered quilting in the last year and am hopelessly hooked. When I start a project it is always with a person in mind. Sometimes I see a fabric and it reminds me of a friend or loved one. Other times, like this one, I start out with the person in mind, and then go on a fabric hunt. This quilt is for a very dear friend who will be having her first baby in October and likes the sailor/beach theme. I thought this pattern was very clever, with its combination of squares and half-square triangles. It will be a breeze to strip-piece and get those match-points perfect. The sails are especially cleverly designed. For this quilt there seems to be no need for specialty rulers or templates, and yet it is so elegant. VERY nicely designed! I have found that design inspiration for me is really a loop….sometimes it starts with a single fabric that I adore, then I look for a pattern that will optimize what the fabric offers. Other times I spot a quilt pattern that I’m crazy about or that challenges me with its technique, then I ferret out the perfect fabric for that pattern. Whichever way I start designing a quilt idea, I find that I usually “loop” around that design circle, often more than once. For example: If you start designing with the “star” fabric, then choose a pattern, you go from there to choose “supporting” fabric. Many times you get the whole “cast” together and then decide to change one of the first decisions, such as the pattern (“script”) or the “star”. The whole process seems to be like a loop that I travel around at least a couple of times. Ultimately, I have to just pick a cut-off point and start cutting. Having a deadline helps. I have learned that the “loop” will be never-ending….just like the availability of incredible fabrics! Your site has helped with that. It is easier to “finalize” an idea and get to the cutting when you can see the whole quilt in its final state. I often find that putting together one quilt will spark ideas for many other quilts based on the original design. I have to remind myself often that there will always be other “star” pieces and it really is ok to cut into that “perfect” fabric because there WILL be others that I will love as much. If only I could actually produce quilts from all the ideas I have! I guess I don’t really think I have a specific design style……just a love affair with fabric and sewing!
Thank you again, so very much, for selecting my quilt design. I am honored and encouraged. To get the kit in addition to the compliment is just delightful. I certainly can’t wait to start stitching it. I just love the pattern! I will probably have a very hard time giving it away to the baby I designed it for.
Oh, and you are so right about the dress patterns, too. I’m crazy about whimsical garments and am having a blast with putting together fun fabrics with the patterns. I remember the dress I made from the red/white tablecloth plaid with the ants marching all over it….and the blue/white with yellow bananas jumper that turned so many heads. I’m looking forward to more garment patterns to play with, too. I’m glad you’re feeling better, all the best to you. Happy Stitching." GGSews
And the winner hit week..
..had done a lovely soft floral interpretation of Summer Sunshine called "Floral Fantasy" by BeesonBs. My wife made this quilt and it has always been a favorite of many of their customers. A nice mix of 3 Sister, Benartex, Figtree and Kona Cotton as the base. It really shows how easy it is to use a mix of designers to achieve a great quilt! Congratulations. I will be in contact soon to fulfill the prize.
Last week was washed away as I was sick with the flu in bed but now back into it and here is this weeks winner. A loverly simple kids quilt called "Smooth Sailing" using a pattern made by the chief editor of Down Under Quilts, Deborah Segaert, with some lovely Moda fabrics to make it all come alive. Congralutation GGsews! I must also commend you on your kits with dresses. It looks like you are having so much fun with the dress patterns as well!
I must also include comments from some previous winners:
"G'day Damien
Thank you so much for this, I cannot tell you how STOKED I am to win! My philosophy around this pattern.. I picked the pattern as it was out of my confort zone, the 'wonky' nine patches that is, I have never made a quilt with anything that wasn't perfectly square, and I LOVED this pattern.... I picked the fabric range, as I just love Black Bird Designs fabrics and I LOVE LOVE LOVE their patterns, but I am also aware that I'll never applique one of them, as I dont have enough time... so next best thing to a Black Bird Design pattern is their fabric. I also LOVE Moda fabric, the quality is always there.. I also like to have quilts out for Christmas, but be able to use them year round.. can't see the point in slaving over a hot sewing machine to only have the finish product on show for a week! I love fiddling on your site Damien.. its a ripper idea, and its fun! and much cheaper than surfing the net or ebay (when I am bored), so you have saved me some $$$'s..." Lissajane
and
"Thanks, Damien.
How exciting to win a quilt! I have been having enormous fun playing with all the lovely fabrics online. It’s true I am a Heather Bailey fan, ever since reading about the birth of ‘Freshcut’ via her blog. When it comes to fabrics, anything in shades of mint, aqua, duck egg blue or jade green always seems to catch my eye first. I also love big florals, especially roses. It wasn’t until I took another look at ‘Starflower’ that I realised how much it reminded me of one of my favourite places: a beautiful National Trust historic house where I used to work. The main bedroom was restored to all it’s 1930s glory, with soft duck egg blue walls, cream lacquered furniture and beautiful soft furnishings, including a quilted comforter, all made from a big, rose-covered Sanderson print fabric. I was a bit worried that the pistachio/pink colourway of the sashing fabric might have looked better against the paisley print, but thinking of that lovely old bedroom, the deep coral and buttery yellow are more in keeping with 1930s style. I already have a half-yard of the big floral ‘Freshcut’ fabric used on the top and bottom borders – enough now to make 2 matching cushion covers! The quilt will look lovely on my fiancé’s treasured dark green leather sofa, but it might be a while before I can send you a picture of the finished quilt top – this will be my first quilt, so I want to take my time to get it just right." from Bluquilt
I see there are some new public stashes - great work and look out for new winners weekly...
Damian :)
A special offer from Down Under Quilts
Hi Damian,
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What a great offer for you all. Go to their website ans check it out.
This weeks quilt kit winner is looking at the coming season
Lissajane has made a loverly Xmas interpretation of the Skew-Wiff design from Material Obsession, called "Christmas Square". I guess she is looking to complete by Xmas for a friend! She has used red and green fabrics from the Blackbird Design fabrics. Great work Lissajane and enjoy making this one!
And another innovation from fabricmatcher.com
go to this link and find a test for matching color palletes to fabrics. http://www.colourlovers.com/forums/1,1,306/Matching_Fabric_Colors
We will be developing a full linking sytem between our sites so you can go and make up color palletes of your choice and then view fabrics in these colors. Another way to help you design better with color.
Enjoy.
Damian:)
Comparison of fabric pics and real quilt!
I have had a few emails last week after people viewed the first top made from week 1. They were very complimentary about the quality of the color images of fabric in fabricmatcher and the real ones in the quilt. Have a look below. It is great to see that the comparison is so good. The images from the fabric manufacturers are getting better and better and this helps us give you the best possible interpretation of the real fabrics on the site....
A lovely note from last weeks winner!
A inspiring note from our winner last week - Lindi, from Sydney "Hi Damian! I am so excited! Not just because I've won a kit, but also because of the recognition of my inspirations. For me, a quilt starts with seeing a fabric that inspires me. I then start looking for co-ordinating fabrics and prints and then choose a design. Most of my quilts have a complimentary colour included in the fabric selection, to give the quilt some "pizzazz".
My usual choices are rather bright (as you would probably have noticed), but the Mahjong fabric appealed because, even though I don't play (except as a computer game) I love the look and feel of the tiles and the intricacies of the game. The fabric is already detailed, so I decided it needed something less dramatic in its treatment than my usual approach. When you watch Mahjong players, they are quiet, and concentrating, so I decided this pattern would be ideal... the mahjong tile fabric would be the feature, with borders that set it off without competing for attention. I kept to the oriental theme by selecting oriental fabrics as the borders. I wanted a quilt that would be suitable for a male, but equally at home draped over a lounge for any one to use. The fan patterned fabric seemed ideal, as in the old courts, men also used fans as part of their formal dress. I am really looking forward to making this quilt. I will have to start thinking about the quilting design now!" Wow...great work and have fun with the quilt.
And the winner this week..
I mentioned Bluquilts work before for Lotus Dreaming in week 4 - a lovely use of Amy Butler in a Material Obsession design. The Material Obsession girls are well known for their use and matching of color in their quilts and it is great to see another quilter giving it a go. But I think the work she has done in this quilt, Starflower, is even more fun using Heather Bailey (Are you a Heather Bailey fan?) We are here and love this interpretation of the Fluffy Stars pattern giving it a fresh new spin. We love how you have showcased the large florals across the quilt. You will have great fun making this one and it will ge a great addition to your house. Congratulation! Damian :)
A quilt top from Week 1 already!
Remember the winner from week 1. Well here is a finishd quilt top and a note from Glenda, the winner:
"Hi, Damian. I was so glad to receive the quilt kit in the mail. The Tokyo Rose pattern came together well. Thanks to the numbered diagram that came with the pattern, I was able to put it together rather quickly. Here is a picture of the pieced top. It is not yet quilted, but I am very pleased with both the pattern and the batik colors. Thanks again, Glenda"
Here is her fabricmatcher.com creation...
....and her quilt top. Great work! Can't wait to see if finally finished!
Note from our winner last week! - "Red & Blue Cockledoodledoo"
"Thank you!Right now, my design philosophy is all about color. My husband and
I have been renovating a house we bought last year and everything is beige or
off-white. So I am always looking for ways to add color and interesting
patterns without overloading the small space. Adding a wall-hanging quilt is
the just the way to make the place look less like a construction site and more
like home!" Kirsty, New York.
Week 6 winner!
But the one which I loved was with Oriental fabrics called "Mahjong Framed" - a subtle blends of reds, creams and browns in a simple pattern from Gina Halladay's design from Threaded Pear Studio. It would be a lovely addition to any house. Congratulations! Damian:)
Last Weeks Winner
Here is a note from last weeks winner, Isabelle, all the way from Paris (we have a real international flavor to our stash)and now married (congratulations)! I was really interested in how she came up with her idea.
"I am simply thrilled about this!! This is so incredibly well timed, too. Believe it or not - I am getting married this Saturday (August 4), and all our wedding revolves around blue! Even my wedding dress, which I made, is pale blue. Isn't this just the perfect wedding gift - a blue quilt. Thank you so very much. My husband-to-be is as excited as I am - blue has always been "our" colour.
I've been enjoying very much using your website to imagine quilts - it has been so inspiring. "Windmills in the rain" came to me because, although I've now lived in Paris for 7 years, I am originally from Northern France, in the French Flanders (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nord-Pas_de_Calais). As in Belgium and Holland, you often encounter windmills across the landscape - and rain is also frequently part and parcel of the atmosphere. The initial inspiration really came from seeing the simple lines of the pattern - windmills immediately jumped to my mind. Then, when I chose the fabrics, it was pouring with rain in Paris, and this reminded me of the atmosphere in my native place and of the peculiar beauty of the vertical rain falling over the flat countryside.
I'm not exactly a quilter in the sense that I do not exclusively quilt - I am fond of quilting, but more generally, I simply love creating with fabric and thread: garment sewing, embroidery, and indeed, quilting."
Being bold in week 5!
And the winner for week 5. This week we looked at some of the bolder color choices in the group as our measure to see how people were trying to mix and match different designers. Here is a bold choice of greens and blues offset with yellow from Lindijanej's stash called "Urban fiddle sticks" - a very different take on a Piece o Cake design that used soft yellow colors.
.....and a great use of pinkm blue and some Kaffe fabric from melinda.skrapz's stash called "star 1". Once again a bold use of colorful fabrics in a simple design but very different on the color palette to the one above. Compare it to the original Fluffy Stars design from Sarah Fielke at Material Obsession!
But there can be only one winner and this week it is a bold colorful take on the Cockadoodledoo quilt design called "Red & Blue Cockledoodledoo" from katyopolis's stash! What a strong color use and alot of fun. This will make a great colorful contrast as a throw on a couch. Congratulations we will be in contact soon to send you your prize. It is now coming alot of fun to see how our stash's are mixing and matching designers and styles of fabrics. Keep it up! Damian:) 
Last Weeks Winner
We had a beautiful email from last weeks winner! Roberta from up in North Queensland Australia. Now I had to look on the map to find where she lived and here it is....
A note from Roberta "What a wonderful surprise,winning the quilt kit,I just love quilting and I love colour,I nursed and lost my husband 3 years ago-after a battle for 5years Quilting helped me through all the tramur,our home was filled wth colourfil quilts,now I have 5 beautiful coloured fostered grand kids,this has expanded my quilt making they have one each and two hertrage quilts ,they are aborignal,will enclose a photo of the quilts I have designed + an Australian quilt of Australian animals for the youngst baby Bob named for my husband Robert"
And here is an example of one of her own quilts in very Aboriginal inspired colors and fabric.
Ok - I know you want to know who won this week....
Our judge was meant to be Terry from www.quiltsbydesign.com but he has taken ill and will be a guest judge when he gets better...so I have chosen the winner this week. Once again there have been new additions with some fabulous creative use of fabric and color. Just look at these two - in katyopolis's stash, I found Pink Apple, a fresh interpretation from a classic Piece O Cake design and in Bluquilts stash , a colorful Lotus Dreaming using a Strawberry Fields pattern with Urban Chicks and Kaffe Fassett.
But this weeks winner, is a simple interpretation of the classic simple design for KISS. It is called "Windmills in the Rain". Not only did I like the clever use of color but more importantly how the fabric patterns were used to re-define the concept. (The original KISS was Keep it Simple Stupid since you don't need fancy patchwork to create your own idea.) This has changed the idea all together. Which is what I want fabricmatcher to do - insoire you all to challenge color and design with fabrics. Congratulations Isabelle for "Windmills in the rain" I will be in contact to sort out your prize. Keep the entries rolling in!And don't forget to get all your friends to enter... Damian :)
Our winner last week was so suprised by the win but we weren't! She did a great design job. Here are a few comments from Alison on her design:
"I've been drawn to the Uptown line of fabric from Erin Michael and Moda since it came out. I especially love the paint-by-numbers design with the birds. So I started with that fabric in the full circles on the quilt to sort of frame/highlight it and started pulling the rest of the fabrics from the colors in that pattern. In recent weeks I have been setting up a studio in my home and picked a wall color similar to the background color in the quilt. I think that weeks of being immersed in paint chips of that color range spilled over into my quilt design! As a new quilter, this pattern will definitely be a challenge for me! Thanks again! I'm so excited!" Allison
Well the kit has been ordered Allison. Look out for it in the post.
A Quick Design Tip: There have been some runnouts on fabric at Hancocks in the past week so it is good for everyone to check their designs. All you need to do is "add your project to your shopping cart" and it will show you which fabrics are out of stock. You can then update your fabrics in your project.
And on to this week's winner - thanks again to Gina and Stephanie (from www.quiltersbuzz.com and Threaded Pear Studio - some of their patterns are on the website) for their judging.
"Gina Halladay, from QuiltersBuzz.com, judging from Dallas Texas, home of Moda Fabrics.
I am here with my Threaded Pear Studio design partner, Stephanie Goudzwaard attending a retreat sponsored my Moda.Stephanie has agreed to help me with the judging.
First, off we must say that we am most impressed with designs and with the names you gave our quilts. Sometimes coming up with a name for a pattern is the hardest part.We viewed each and every quilt and we have a blast clicking on each on to see what was going to pop up.Of course, we were most interested in seeing how some of you used our own designs from our studio--so, we will admit we looked at those first!
Our top three overall quilt designs are: We really like "All Tan All the Time" and the use of our Madeline pattern by prkrgrmr's stash. The tan collection of fabrics was outstanding.
Prkrgrmr's design displayed a great use of contrast even with a neutral collection.Katyopolis' "Black and White Strawberry Fields" was stunning and had wonderful green accents.
But, our most favorite and the winning selection goes to Roberta 45's Spinning Flowers. Roberta 45 had great placement of color among the black and white selection of fabric.
The quilt had a feeling of motion and excitement. It is a striking quilt and would love to see it in person...So, Roberta congrats winning a kit...send us a picture when you get it made. Tata for now.
Gina and Stephanie."
Congrats Roberta45! I will be in contact shortly to sort out your prize! Keep the designs rolling in!
Damian:)
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