WINNERS!

First I want to say that the response to my book and giveaway was amazing!  I had a lot of wonderful responses to my blog and I thank all of you who participated. I will be emailing each of you, (who left me an email address), individually to get your mailing address so I can mail you your seam guide. When I promised to send a seam guide to everyone who responded I didn't know what I got myself into! Everyone who did respond will get a seam guide along with a $5 gift certificate good for purchasing either my Kaleidostars book or the 13" or 17" templates that go with it. (The 6-1/2" set is not used in the book and the $5 will not go towards the purchase of that one.) If you responded to my blog but did not leave me an email address to contact you, you can still contact me with your address by using the Contact Form on the right side of the screen. No one sees that message but me.

The winners were chosen by a random number generator to make it fair. Here are the winners:

The first place winner is Vicki (she didn't leave her last name). She said, "I'd love to see your book! The block is amazing! I really like to make different and beautiful items. Your designs are right up my alley."

You can purchase the book here: Kaleidostar book

Second place is Kathy Stack. Since she took my Northern Lights workshop and already has my 13" template set, she wins a 17" set. She said, "Can't wait to get your book. BTW my Kaleidostar is hanging on my living room wall. I am enjoying your 1/4" gauge. I am trying to figure out how to hang it on my machine so I will always have (it). I want to get another so that I will have one with both of my machines." I hope Kathy sends me a photo of her quilt so I can share it with everyone.

The templates can be purchased here: Kaleidostar templates

Third place is Ann McNew. She wins the 13" template set. She quilted one of the quilts in my book (Northern Lights). She said, "Your quilts are always breathtaking with those perfect points! And a dream to quilt!" She is an award winning longarm quilter and teacher. If you ever get a chance you should take one of her classes. I hope she doesn't mind me sharing one of her quilting samples. She will be teaching quilting at the MQX show in New England in April.

 
Actually all of you are winners! I received some responses out of the U.S. and I would love to have sent them a seam guide but the postage is prohibitive for something free. I will email them a $5 gift certificate though.

I do have a limited time special that the first 25 people who purchase my book will also receive the seam guide. So those of you who will have already gotten one, and purchase the book, you will get a second one. If you are like me and misplace things, an extra one will come in handy!

I wanted to share some blocks that some students have made from my Kaleidostar workshop. You can see how everyone of them is so different. Everyone had such a good time playing with their fabrics and creating their own unique quilt.

 

I will be teaching my Northern Lights workshop at the AQS show in Paducah, KY at the end of April. I still have openings for it so if you would like to learn how to make this interesting (but not complicated) block, please consider signing up for it. I also travel and teach this to guilds around the country, so if you belong to a quilt quild in your area I would appreciate if you would share my information with them.

You can sign up for it here:
Northern Lights workshop  

As always; Do what you love and love what you do. Thank you for reading, Toby. 

MY BOOK AND VALENTINES GIVEAWAYS!

So much has happened since the beginning of the year! Where do I begin? (Click on any of the highlighted links to take you to the web page.)

In January I was busily prepping for my video production with iQuilt, a new online production by AQS (American Quilter's Society) and sponsored by Bernina. They have started on-line classes similar to Craftsy and Fons & Porter. I have to say it is better because I will have one with them! They already have lots of wonderful workshops to pick from. I hope you will pick mine when it is released. If you are a member of American Quilter's Society you will get a discount.

I had frequent video conferences with my producer. A very new experience for me. I felt like a dinosaur to my very young producer, Cara.  I had to quickly make my sample and get pieces ready for filming. I called it Explosive! It is a class that will demonstrate how to make the stars in my new book Kaleidostars.

Finally the day came to film. They flew me to Denver, Colorado on Sunday January 24 and I was whisked to a hotel in Littleton. This is the view out of my hotel window. It just looks surreal!

Production started Monday morning. I had terrible butterflies in my stomach that morning, but the production crew was so nice and really put me at ease. It went a lot easier than I had thought. Luckily I did not have to memorize a script (at my age I'm lucky to remember what I did yesterday)! I have taught this class many times and I was comfortable with the process. Here I am with my producer Cara. We are rehearsing for the next taping.

 

Every morning I had a make up artist work her best to make me beautiful for filming!

We taped 6 sessions: An introduction; choosing fabrics; finding designs with mirrors; cutting instructions, including how to get perfect fussy-cut pieces; piecing the blocks; and finishing the quilt, including sewing on a mitered border. Here I am piecing the blocks. The Bernina 570 QE sewing machine I worked on was a dream!

 

Now to the giveaway! Since it is Valentine's Day and I love all of the wonderful quilters that I have met along the way, I am giving away a copy of my new book to one winner. In addition to that, I will be giving away a 17" or 13" set of Kaleidostars templates to two lucky winners. For anyone who leaves a comment I will send them my newest 1/4" seam gauge used to get those perfect 1/4" seams every time. The secret to my accurate piecing! Be sure to LEAVE A COMMENT TO TELL ME WHY YOU WOULD LIKE A COPY OF MY NEW BOOK AND LEAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS SO THAT I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOU WIN. I CAN'T CONTACT YOU IF YOU DO NOT LEAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS.

The video class is expected to be released at the end of March. Just in time for my birthday! What a wonderful birthday present it will be! I will be posting more information about it as it gets nearer. I will also be blogging along with Electric Quilt about how I designed my quilts in EQ7 and will have more giveaways then too. DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE A COMMENT.

As always; Do what you love and love what you do. Thanks for reading, Toby.