12 Days of Best Christmas Quilts Blog Tour

I am thrilled to be participating in the 12 Days of Best Christmas Quilts Blog Tour. If you are new to my blog – Welcome!  

I was lucky enough to have my quilt Winter Stars  featured in this special issue published by the staff of Quilter's Newsletter. The issue is available through Quilt and Show shop and your local quilt shop and bookstores. This is what it looks like in the magazine.

I love stars of every kind. I am always looking for new ways to make them. This one is foundation pieced. It is a 15" block. I used RJR Fabrics Holiday Accent Collection. (Sorry about the color, it is the blue in the photo above).

 

Here is what the collection looks like.

You can find lots of other star patterns on my website Gateway Quilts & Stuff including my book St. Louis Stars to see how much I like stars! You will also find a kit to make this beautiful table runner. It includes all the fabrics needed to create the top and binding or you can purchase it with the backing.

Would you like to win a copy of the magazine and this wonderful fabric bundle? Just leave a comment on this blog post before 11:59 p.m. MDT tonight August 28, for a chance to win the Holiday Accents fabric bundle and a copy of Best Christmas Quilts. Tell me how much you like stars and your name will go into a drawing. Get an early start on those holiday gifts. Anyone would be thrilled to receive this wonderful table runner! One comment per person please. Open to those who haven't won something from Quilters Newsletter in the last 90 days. And please leave me some means of contacting you if you do win.

Come back next week and I will show you my newest template set called North Star. It is used to create a fast easy star to make a place mat, table runner or table topper using a stripe or with simple strip piecing.

Thank you for visiting my blog and good luck.

In closing, always do what you love and love what you do. Toby

Is it February already?

I can't believe how fast January went. 2012!!! When I was a kid, I imagined we would have flying cars like in the Jetsons, by the year 2012! (Well that ages me!)

I have been so busy the months of January and February. Just to give you a glimpse: I finished a quilt for Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting; hosted two groups at the St. Louis Star Inn, designed quilts for Timeless Treasures, P&B, and Hoffman; wrote a pattern; started working on the quilts I designed for Timeless Treasures; had three quilts published: McCall's Quilting, Quilter's Newsletter, and The Quilter, all of which I am selling kits for; had a clearance sale in my shop; wrote an article and free pattern for Onlinequiltmagazine (anyone can go and sign up for free monthly issues); AND FINISHED MY TAXES!!!

Rose de Provence featured in the Feb./March 2012 issue.

South Seas Sky featured in McCall's Quilting March/April 2012 issue.

Canterbury Table setting featured in The Quilter Feb./March 2012

Jasmine, free quilt pattern featured on the Onlinequiltmagazine February 2012 issue. 

Jody Anderson has a wonderful online web magazine. Be sure to check it out Jody Anderson's online quilt magazine at www.onlinequiltmagazine.com. She has lots of wonderful articles, free patterns, blocks of the month, and lots of other goodies.

Izumi Pond, free quilt pattern soon on Hoffman Fabric's website.

June/July 2012 future issue of Fons and Porter using the Patternista collection by Paula Nadelstern.

Whew! I'm exhausted. But I'm not finished yet. I still have to finish the two quilts for Timeless Treasures, start on the quilt for P&B, make quilts for Quilter's Newsletter special edition and The Quilter, and try to find time to make a block for the next Quiltmaker's 100 blocks, all by April 1. PLUS I will be hosting a group from Wichita, Kansas mid March and travel to Springfield, MO to present and teach to a guild at the end of March. There just are not enough hours in the day! If my husband didn't help me with the household things, I don't know what I would do. (I love you honey!)

I will be having a big celebration during the month of March on my website, Gateway Quilts n Stuff. Those of you that have visited there in March know that it is my birthday month and I have a huge special on my birthday which happens to be the last day of the month (31st).  So please stop by and say hi.

Well, I have GOT to get back to quilting. As always, do what you love and love what you do. Toby

Blog Hop Party continues

Congratulations to Bev! She won a copy of my book St. Louis Stars. She said she has lived in New England and loves my Autumn in New England Quilt. Bev, send me your information via my website and I will mail you my book.

For today and Friday I will give away some more fat quarters and patterns. Be sure to go to my website Gateway Quilts & Stuff to check out my patterns and sales and tell me your favorite fabric or pattern.

Good luck and thank you for participating. I hope all of the previous winners will be sure to contact me so I can send their prizes. Check on my previous posts to check if you are a winner.

As always, do what you love and love what you do.  Toby

Blog Hop Party days 3 and 4

I seem to have gotten behind in my posts! As usual there are not enough hours in the day!

So I need to pick winners from both Sunday (day 2) and Monday (day 3).

Sunday's winners are: Tina who loves my Liberty Square pattern so she wins it and Janet who said her favorite fabric was a Hoffman black pearl. So she wins a fat quarter of it! Ladies please contact me with your information so I can send you your prizes. You can do it on my contact me page so you can do it privately.

Monday's winners are: Laura who says she is a beginning quilter and would like anything to add to her stash. I will send her 2 fat quarters to build it up for her. If you have a preference, Laura to the colors please let me know. Sheila Marie is the second winner. She said she just moved to the St. Louis area (not too far from me) and really likes my St. Louis Star pattern. One is on the way. Don't forget to contact me.

Congrats to the winners!


For day 4 (Tuesday), please take a look at my gallery pages with the quilts in my book St. Louis Stars. Leave me a comment on which quilt you like the best and why and you might win a copy of my book!

Be sure to come back tomorrow to see if you are a winner.

Remember, always do what you love and love what you do. Toby

Blog Hop party day 2

Continue to join me and over 200 other bloggers around the world in the Blog Hop Party sponsored by Quilting Gallery.

Such wonderful comments about my patterns. So yesterday's winner of a pattern is Michell. She is from New Zealand. I love how with the magic of the internet we can communicate with people all over the world! She said she loved my Natasha pattern so she will receive one.

Lisa said she loved all of my fabrics so she will receive fat quarters of the color of her choice. She is from my own state of Missouri.

Today I will be giving away more fat quarters and a pattern, so be sure to leave a comment about what you see on my website Gateway Quilts & Stuff and you may be a winner too!

Thanks to Michele for arranging it. It is wonderful to see how many people from around the world love to quilt just like me!

Don't forget to come back tomorrow to see if you are a winner and so I can get your information to mail your prize to you.

Remember, always do what you love and love what you do. Toby

Blog Hop party!!!!

Join me and over 200 other bloggers around the world in the Blog Hop Party sponsored by Quilting Gallery.



There will be lots of giveaways. Since it is the end of the year (boy did this year fly by fast) I will be having a drawing for fat quarters, to participants who leave comments about my website, patterns, and/or quilts. Tell me your favorite pattern. You may just win it! The more I give away the less I have to count for end-of-the-year inventory. While you are visiting my website you might find just the fabric you were looking for on sale. Be sure to visit Gateway Quilts & Stuff for lots of good bargains!

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Remember, always do what you love and love what you do. Toby

Another winner

Good news for those of you that wished you had won a copy of the Quiltmaker's 100 Block Vol.4! One of the winners I picked was lucky enough to have her name drawn by one of the other bloggers and was nice enough to tell me to let someone else be lucky like her.

So... I picked another winner. Quilting queen won a copy! She said, "I love your tablerunner". Congratulations! I will be emailing her to give her the good news.

I want to show you some of my newest patterns. The first one is done in two different colorways. It is for all of those people who love oriental prints and do not know what to do with them. The collection I used is called Wind Symphony by RJR. (There must be an optical illusion because of the colors! They are suppose to be the same size.) The pattern is called Symphony of Lights.

The second pattern uses a wonderful collection called Bold and Beautiful by Benartex. It is called Star Gazing and has LOTS of stars (of course).
 These two new patterns will be available on my website by the end of the week. so be sure to stop by and check them out.

I also have two new free web patterns on Hoffman's website called Jakarta and Royal Fans. Jakarta comes in two colorways. One is a wonderful royal blue combination and the other is very bright!

I also will have a free web pattern on Timeless Treasures website that also comes in two colorways. It is currently being proofed, so as soon as it is ready I will let you know.

Well it is getting late and I have to go so remember... Always do what you love and love what you do.

New news. I just found out another of my winners already got her magazine. So I picked another winner, Scottylover; she said "Fun block! Love all the colors and that you used up the "extras that you have. I will be sending her an email too. Congrats to both new winners.