Day 5 Chanukah specials Kits 20% off

Boy, writing a blog a day is really not an easy thing! I don't know how some quilters do it. 

I was busy this morning trying to get a pattern done for Washington Street Studio fabric company. It will be a free pattern on their website and I will be sure to share it with you as soon as they post it. I don't think they will mind if I post an image of it here.

It features a beautiful fabric collection called Savannah Classics. These are just a couple samples. I'm not sure when the fabrics will be available but I will let you know that too. I don't know if I will be carrying them in my shop as my room is limited but if I find there is an interest, I will carry them. There are 10 fabrics in the quilt.

I do have a Block of the Month pattern using a Washington Street Studio fabric collection called Southern Vintage. It is a similar looking collection. If you live close to my studio I would love for you to participate. It will be held the second Tuesday of the month morning and afternoon sessions. It is a nine session pattern. The first eight have two blocks per week. The last one is putting the quilt together. If you want more information about the program just email me or leave a comment at the bottom. Here is what the pattern looks like. It is available for purchase also on my website if you just want to do a sampler quilt on your own. Click on the caption under the image to take you to the pattern.

Southern Vintage pattern

 

 

Here are a couple pieces in the collection. I'm holding off purchasing the collection until I get enough people to participate because there are 16 different fabrics in the quilt! The fabric looks so much yummier in person!

For today's special I will be selling my kits at 20% off. That includes any sale kits that I have. So you would get 20% off the sale price if applicable. That would make some quilts at more than 50% off total! It will be refunded to your account after purchase. I have two beautiful quilt kits that make my Eden pattern. They both have beautiful Timeless Treasures fabrics designed by Chong A Whang. I just LOVE the fabrics she designs.

Eden blue kit

Eden Marigold kit

I hope you find something you like. Please feel free to forward this blog to any of your quilting friends. I would also like you to consider "liking" my Gateway Quilts & Stuff Facebook page. I'm trying to get to 2,000 likes by the end of the year. Gateway Quilts & Stuff Facebook page.

That's all for now. As always: Do what you love and love what you do. Thanks for reading. Toby Lischko DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE A COMMENT AND EMAIL ADDRESS TO BE IN A DRAWING FOR A PRIZE ON MONDAY.

Chanuka Special Day 4

I thought I'd get an early start this time to give people more time to shop! 

I consider myself a traditional quilter, but every once in a while I do try to step out of my comfort zone and do something different. I'm very critical of my quilting and when I finish piecing a quilt I worry that my quilting is going to ruin it. I watched a You tube video of Angela Walters and she said we need to stop being so critical of ourselves. That if someone gives you a compliment about your work, don't point out your mistakes! She lists two other things that quilters should never do. You can see her video here: Angela Walters

 
With that in mind, I decided to enter a miniature quilt in the QuiltCon show in California. QuiltCon is a show for modern quilters. I work better under pressure and the deadline was last Monday at midnight. I got my form filled out and images sent by 11:55 p.m. Talk about close call! Here is the quilt. Like I said this is way out of my comfort zone as I usually on do quilts that are symmetrical or very balanced. This is far from that. I called it Dots and Dashes. I had to use a Michael Miller fabric for the challenge which is the fabric with the dots. All it is, is a simple Rail Fence pattern. It is 21" square.

  Here are some close ups of the quilting. I did the straight line and circle quilting on my regular sewing machine and the fill in work on my longarm machine. I will find out at the end of December if it is chosen to be in the show.

For today's special I am putting my P&B Mykonos fabrics at 20% off. They are more of a modern type design, very linear. They were regularly $11.50 a yard and are on sale for $9.00. I will refund 20% of your purchase on these fabrics. These are some of them and you can find them here: P&B Mykonos.

    

Well, gotta go to bed. I will post this first thing in the morning. As always: Do what you love and love what you do. Thank you for reading, Toby (BE SURE TO LEAVE A COMMENT AND YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS TO BE IN THE DRAWING ON MONDAY.)

Chanukah Special Day 3

Sorry for the late post. I had to check out a quilt shop in St. Louis that just carries batiks. It is a huge warehouse with every piece of Hoffman batiks that they make!!! It was overwhelming. Luckily I had just gone to the bank and cashed in all my coins so I had money to spend! Of course I spent it (well not all of it, I had to save some for dinner that I picked up on the way home). I could have spent all day there but then I wouldn't have any money left at all.

So since I went to the shop I decided that today's special will be the Hoffman Challenge 2016 fabric (which just came in yesterday). It is made with a new digital process (that I don't understand). Your regular quilt shop fabrics can have up to 18 colors printed on them in the factory. With the digital process the number of colors is infinite!! The colors on these type of fabrics is unbelievably beautiful. The first two are the challenge fabrics. You can use one or both but they have to be used in the quilt. The other two fabrics are coordinating prints. They do not have to be used in the challenge quilt (but they certainly are pretty). Click on the caption under the fabric to find it on my website.

Challenge fabric dark

Challenge fabric light

Crystalia 4242 Rainbow

 

Crystalia 4242 Opal

I decided that just for today I would have this fabric on sale for $12.00. I know that sounds like a lot. Due to the new process of printing these fabrics they usually sell for $13.50. So if you would like to participate in the challenge or just purchase them because they are so pretty, in order to get this price you need to purchase it before midnight tonight. These fabrics are very soft to the touch.

If you want more information regarding the challenge you can find it here: Hoffman Challenge

Gotta go....as always: Do what you love and love what you do.

Be sure to leave a comment (and include your email address) at the bottom of this blog so you can be eligible to win a prize on the last day of Chanukah. Thank you for reading. Toby

Chanukah Special Day 2

I have a special friend who every year she mails me a package right before Chanukah. She is not Jewish but she always seems to know when it is (sometimes before me)! In it she puts 8 small gifts and labels them Day 1, Day 2, etc. and then some nice saying on the label. I'm just like a kid when I get to open a gift a night just like when I was young and when I did the same for my children! It might be a box of nuts, some lip balm, or even a pair of socks but she is so thoughtful to take the time to do it. I hope each of you have a special friend like I do.

Day 2's special is 20% off any of my templates. That includes my new Kaleidostar or Helix sets. If you purchase the templates it includes the pattern free. 

Take for example my Hourglass template set. (Click on the caption to take you to the webpage.) This easy pattern is made with 2-1/2" strips.

Hourglass

How about my Northstar template? This one template makes a fast easy placemat, table topper, or table runner.

North Star

 I hope you find something that you want to make.  If you leave a comment (and your email) I will put you in a drawing on the last day of Chanukah for a special prize.

I'm enjoying this unusually warm weather for December. It will be 60º today! I hope you are enjoying your day too. Thanks for reading. As always: Do what you love and love what you do. Toby Lischko

Where did the time go?

Where do I begin? So much has happened since my last post.

First I want to get business out of the way. I will be having an "8 Days of Chanukah sale, starting today. Each day will be a different special. Today's (Monday) special is buy one pattern get one half off. That includes pdfs. After purchasing I will refund the half off to your account and any shipping charges if you purchase a pdf. This includes my newest patterns. (Click on the caption under the images to go to the webpage.)

Helix red

Helix Blue

Redwork meets Bluework

 The first two quilts use my 8" Helix templates which are similar to my 7" Geese on the Loose templates. The second one uses my New York Beauty templates, so if you already have them then you are set to go! You can make your own if you wish as the template images are included in the patterns.

Now to the news! I have a new book coming out in February. It is called Kaleidostars and will be published by AQS. If you liked my St. Louis Stars book you will definitely like this book! You can pre-order the book on my website. Stay tuned for special give-aways when the book comes out.

Kaleidostar cover

 I have lots more news, but I will fill you in in the next fews blogs.

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

Summer Waters Blog Hop Winner

This will be a short post.

Thanks to all who participated in the Summer Waters blog hop! I'm glad you were all excited about getting my pattern. I know that those of you that received it will have a great time making it. Please send me your finished quilts when you make them (I didn't say IF) and I will share them on my blog or Pinterest page.

Now to the winners. The winner of the 8 fat quarters is Denise Smith. She told me that this was her first blog hop so I guess it was beginner's luck! I will email her to let her know (unless you are reading this blog). I will need her address.

The winner of my Cutting Corners template set is Allison Church Bird. She is one of my Facebook fans. I'm sure Allison will find lots of ways to use this template set.

Congratulations to both of them. I hope the rest of you that participated will continue to follow my blog or my Facebook page.

I will have more giveaways in the next few weeks. I still have quite a few fat quarter bundles from P&B that I haven't given away yet.

As always: Remember to always do what you love and love what you do. Toby

Quiltwoman.com Summer Waters blog hop

                                             Quiltwoman.com's Summer Waters Blog Hop

 If you have been following the Summer Waters bloggers so far, you know that there is much more in store on Quiltwoman.com 's Summer Waters Blog Hop. I am fourth in the hop and I have a summer treat for you. Not only will you be in the drawing for a fat quarter bundle, but also someone will win my Cutting Corners template set AND ANYONE that emails me at info@gatewayquiltsnstuff.com after reading this blog will receive a free pattern download. If you click on any of the links (blue words) it will take you to Quiltwoman's website or mine, Gateway Quilts & Stuff. Quiltwoman carries many of my patterns.

Summer is more than half over but I'm still thinking of cooling waters and when I think of waters I think of fish! My project for today is my Swimming Downstream quilt pattern. Doesn't it look like fish swimming down stream? This pattern is so easy (made with rectangles and squares) you will want to make one after you see how easy it is to sew!

My quilt has ten fabrics, but if you wanted to, you could just use one dark and one light or make it scrappy. The fabrics used in my quilt are from a P&B collection called Mykonos. These fabrics are available for sale on my website or you can purchase the fabric kit to make the quilt.

Here are the simple steps for making the block. 

1. Start with thin and wide rectangles and squares to match the width of the rectangles.

2. You can take the time to draw a diagonal line down the backs of the squares or you can use my Cutting Corners template set to trim the corners off both the small rectangles and large rectangles. Line up the square on the right end of the rectangles and trim using the template lined up along the left edge and top edge of the square.
 
                                                                                                                                        

   

On the connecting strips place the squares on the left side of the rectangles and cut off the corners.

                          

                                       

3. Sew the triangles using a 1/4" seam allowance (or sew on the drawn line). Press the triangle seams in opposite directions. Then sew the narrow rectangles together, the wide rectangles together, and then sew the two strips together. Press to the larger triangles.

4. Then sew the two sets together and the result is a fast easy block! I made this sample in a half an hour.

The quilt is constructed with the blocks offset by half a block in every other row so that the fish aren't all in the same row across.

Now, anyone who leaves a comment either on my Facebook page or at the end of this blog will be in the drawing for a fat quarter bundle of the Mykonos fabrics.

Or a Cutting Corners template set. Names will be drawn randomly and there is no purchase necessary in order to win. The first name drawn will win the fat quarter bundle.

I hope, if you do visit my Gateway Quilts Facebook page please "like" it. I would love to reach 2,000. I'm soooo close. There is also a link to my newsletter if you would like to sign up to receive it.
 
If you prefer to send a private email to info@gatewayquiltsnstuff.com that is fine too. That way I will have your email address so I can contact you if you win and I will also be able to send you the Swimming Downstream pattern. If you leave a comment at the bottom of this blog, be sure to include your email address. I have had a lot of winners who were unable to get their prize because I had no way of contacting them. Don't be that person! Good luck!

If you haven't visited the previous bloggers, please take the time to do that. They all have special tutorials and drawings also.

Remember: Always do what you love and love what you do. Thank you for reading. Toby

8/5/2015	Carol Steely	funthreads.blogspot.com
8/6/2015	Heidi Pridemore	www.TheWhimsicalWorkshop.com
8/7/2015	Kathie Donahue	http://www.prairiecottagecorner.blogspot.com
8/8/2015	Toby Lischko	gatewayquiltsnstuff.blogspot.com
8/9/2015	Jessica J.E. Smith	www.quiltHacks.com
8/10/2015	Diane McGregor	http://www.castillejacotton.net/blog

8/5/2015	Carol Steely	funthreads.blogspot.com
8/6/2015	Heidi Pridemore	www.TheWhimsicalWorkshop.com
8/7/2015	Kathie Donahue	http://www.prairiecottagecorner.blogspot.com
8/8/2015	Toby Lischko	gatewayquiltsnstuff.blogspot.com
8/9/2015	Jessica J.E. Smith	www.quiltHacks.com
8/10/2015	Diane McGregor	http://www.castillejacotton.net/blog

- See more at: http://www.tamarinis.typepad.com/#sthash.2hue65e3.dpuf

QuiltWoman.com is featuring her first ever blog hop, showcasing seven different designers.  So pour a fresh cuppa, curl up in front of the computer (under the fan - whew, it's been hot out there!), and dive into seven different projects celebrating one of the best things about summer: water fun! - See more at: http://www.tamarinis.typepad.com/#sthash.2hue65e3.dpuf

QuiltWoman.com is featuring her first ever blog hop, showcasing seven different designers.  So pour a fresh cuppa, curl up in front of the computer (under the fan - whew, it's been hot out there!), and dive into seven different projects celebrating one of the best things about summer: water fun! - See more at: http://www.tamarinis.typepad.com/#sthash.2hue65e3.dpuf

QuiltWoman.com is featuring her first ever blog hop, showcasing seven different designers.  So pour a fresh cuppa, curl up in front of the computer (under the fan - whew, it's been hot out there!), and dive into seven different projects celebrating one of the best things about summer: water fun! - See more at: http://www.tamarinis.typepad.com/#sthash.2hue65e3.dpuf

QuiltWoman.com is featuring her first ever blog hop, showcasing seven different designers.  So pour a fresh cuppa, curl up in front of the computer (under the fan - whew, it's been hot out there!), and dive into seven different projects celebrating one of the best things about summer: water fun! - See more at: http://www.tamarinis.typepad.com/#sthash.2hue65e3.dpuf