Monday, January 29, 2018

This Week!

Is going to be a whirlwind!

Here's what is coming up:

1.  The Benartex Blog Hop featuring Wonderlust by Paula Nadelstern starts today with an interview with Paula and closer look at these fabulous fabrics, and runs this week with projects using this incredibly gorgeous fabric. This is fabric I want to lick, quite literally. My turn is Wednesday.


2.  Thursday is the opening day to sign up for the New Quilt Bloggers Hop, and, as you may recall, I agreed to be one of the four co-hosts...who knew all these events would come together this week! If your quilt blog is more than 2 months, but less than 3 years old, then I would strongly encourage you to sign up for this enriching experience. It sounds cliché, but it truly changed my life, not just my quilt blog life, but also my quilting life, and unexpectedly and most rewardingly, my IRL friends life. 😊


3.  Thursday was scheduled to be Throwback Thursday, a linky I am hosting where we photograph and tell the story, because every quilt has one, behind quilts from our quilty past, pre-blogging ones. If you want to revisit an old blog post, then Val at Val's Quilting Studio has a great linky party called Tuesday Archives, for that. Because Thursday is the opening of the NQBH, I am moving TBT, Throwback Thursday, to Friday this month.

4.  Thursday was also my planned date (without properly consulting my planner, I have since realized), to begin the second annual 30 Quilt Designs Challenge. Like how could three major events all fall on the same day?! So this is being started on Saturday, Feb. 3! Instead of ending April 15, it will now end April 17. That allows 10.5 weeks so roughly three designs per week, a nice pace. There are prizes!
I am excited to announce that Melody, owner of The Red Hen Shop, who sponsored the challenge last year; such a lovely surprise for her to email me about it, is again sponsoring this year's challenge. She is offering three prizes which will be drawn around the 10, 20, and final 30 designs marks. The first two are $15 gift certificates and the grand prize is a $50 gift certificate! Sweet! Melody's brick and mortar store is in Iowa, USA.

I am also excited that I have a second sponsor for this year's challenge. Darla at Clinton Modern Creative a Saskatchewan, Canada, online store, contacted me about being a sponsor for the New Quilt Bloggers Hop. I later asked her if she'd like to sponsor this challenge as well, and she said yes! Cool!

She'll be offering a $25 prize as another one of the grand prize draws. I'll post more details about the stores and about the challenge which runs on Instagram on Saturday when the challenge begins, but basically it's where you design a block or a quilt, (if it's a block then you put a few together so we see what a quilt may look like). You add it to the hashtag which I'll set up for this year's challenge, on Instagram. More details, as I said, on Saturday.

I hope you'll check out these two fabulous stores, and maybe show them some quilty love; note that I am not affiliated with either.

5. I finally hit upon a project for the RSC2018 Challenge with Angela at soscrappy. My 2.5" squares tray has been getting rather full, so I wanted to do something with those. I saw Ariane's quilt top all finished on Instagram and knew that was IT! Between piecing my project for Wonderlust, I made my two January blocks.

6. One other note is a follow-up to a previous announcement about Postcard from Sweden, which begins February 14. I am blown away by the interest that has ensued! I got an email from Tayva at StitchStashDiva, saying she'd tracked me down, because she'd sold five kits for the quilt that day alone, so she knew someone must be hosting a QAL. 😀 Well, I am ecstatic to announce that I am now going to have a grand prize for this QAL!! She is offering a quilt backing and binding set to one lucky winner of a finished quilt, free shipping! I am tickled all kinds of pink, well all those in the Postcard quilt for sure!! If you are now caving, and thinking of joining in, go here to snag a kit from Tayva's shop. The price is just excellent, and note that you'll qualify for free shipping if your order is $60 or over... I know, I'm a baaaad enabler... If her kits run out, I got several half yard cuts from Missouri Star (no affiliation) and split them with my good friend Helen of Midget Gem Quilts. They arrived very quickly too.

All right that's it for today. I apologize in advance, but I will not be on top of responding to comments unless it is of a more urgent nature, as I have the Wonderlust quilt to finish and write up for Wednesday.😉 As Beth says, I am crushing on these fabrics, hard, and hoping to do them justice. I am also crushing on having all these wonderful sponsors, woo hoo!

Linking up with
soscrappy
Cooking Up Quilts

20 comments:

  1. Busy week indeed! I know it isn't on my account, but delaying the TBT post ups my chances of getting my post written! I was also inspired by Ariane's RSC 2017 quilt, but I decided I had to pass on RSC this year so I'll just enjoy watching yours take shape.

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  2. Wow congrats on the success of your quilt along!! So cool for the Tayva to track you down and offer a prize like that. I love throwback Thursdays.....and thanks for the shout out!

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  3. Oh my goodness Sandra! Your list is making my head spin! What a lot of momentum you have this week. I'm looking forward to the new quilt bloggers hop. Don't worry about comment replies - we understand. And congrats on all the sponsors descending on you, how wonderful.

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  4. Wow. You're going to need a nap at the end of the week. But congrats on all the great things happening. I've ordered from Clinton Modern. Service is great.

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  5. I am surprised you have time to Eat Breathe or Sleep this week, to borrow a book title. I thinkyou are going to need a PA at this rate, and I might apply and live through you gratuitously! All your goings on this week sound tremendous. And I look forward to watching as the week progresses.

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  6. Sandra you are crazy busy this week! Please remember to take time for yourself too. I've been meaning to look through my baggie of triangle scraps (including bonus HST (yes they have a separate storage) to see if I have enough blues for a block, love yours!

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  7. My head is spinning reading all you have going on! Take a little time to breathe.

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  8. My head would be spinning off my shoulders with all that on my plate-holy cow girl-don't burn out!

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  9. I love your choice of block for the RSC18, it always makes such beautiful quilts. I am tempted by your Postcards SAL, but will try to look away...lol, we'll see!

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  10. Well, what fun! You are one busy lady, but it's all going to be good! Cannot wait to read all your upcoming posts and see the projects!

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  11. So many wonderful things happening for you this week. Can't wait to read all about them. Wish my blog could be in the new blogger's hop. Woke up today to four less followers. Weirdly, when I don't write, more people join my blog... Pugs and kisses, Nancy, Elvis, LarryPug and Caesar

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  12. I’m breathless reading this. Your blog is exploding—in a good way!

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  13. You ARE a busy lady! Looking forward to all your upcoming fun events and posts!

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  14. Wow, that's a lot for a week ;) Can't wait to see your 30 Quilt Designs!

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  15. This will be a super busy week for you. Looking forward to all of it.

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  16. Wow That is a very busy week. I agree with Billie love the blue blocks.

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  17. Perfect block for RSC. I might have to add that one to the list for later. I've got a nice stack of 16 patches that might work...

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  18. Wowsers... Such a lot of things for my little brain to take in..where do I start😁 and how are you cooing..rememb re to breathe, smile and look serene..on the surface anyway..paddle those legs underneath 😘😘 love and hugs from across the water xx

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  19. That's quite the week! Enjoy it!

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