Gudrun´s World

Quiltmaker's 100 blocks Vol. 10!

It's hard to believe that this week celebrates the release of the 10th issue of Quiltmaker's 100 blocks magazine. That means that we have ONE THOUSAND quilt blocks so far through the magazine! I have been so fortunate to be a part of most of the issues, I think I am only missing in 2 of them. 

 

My block in this issue is called Fast Track and I was so excited to see it featured on the cover of the magazine!

 

I used my Victory fabric line by Red Rooster fabrics for my block. The pinwheel in the center gives the block some movement and makes the colored squares kind of dance around it.

The colored squares can each be cut out of a charm square so it is a great block to use up some orphan charms. 

Make sure to follow the 100 Blocks Blog Tour every day this week Nov. 17.-21. at the Quiltmaker Blog, Quilty Pleasures for lots of inspiration, ideas and of course some great giveaways.

I will be drawing 2 winners who will receive their own copy of the new Magazine and a set of the newest GE Designs patterns. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The winners will also each get their own copy of my new book Stripology.

All you have to do is tell me what you are most excited about eating or cooking for Thanksgiving next week:)

Winners will be posted here on Saturday Nov. 22nd.

Parade of Homes

I was so excited when the Quiltmaker Staff contacted me to invite me to make a house block from Lori Holt´s block in one of the 100 blocks issues.

I was one of 12 designers that got the invite and we could do whatever we wanted to the block to create our dreamhouse.

The 12 blocks are featured in the latest Quiltmaker issue and on top of that, you can win our original blocks by visiting the Quiltmaker blog this month!

I loved the cottage look of the house right away and who doesn't want to make a house that is all yours, your favorite colors and made out of fabric!

I first started digging for fabrics that I wanted to use.

I have always dreamed of having a red house so I knew right away it´s gonna have to be red! One of the reds in my new fabric line Victory was the perfect shade. Then I added a dark grey from my Nordic Visions fabric line for the roof, another white from victory and then a light blue and green from my scraps. 

Here is the original block, designed and made by Lori Holt. Such a cute house and so much like Lori:)

So, what would I want in a house that was just for me? Well, since the house is 2 stories, the whole top floor would have to be my sewing studio for sure! Vaulted ceilings and lots of natural light so I pieced Skylights into my house block!

I love big trim on windows too so I added some fusible trim to all the windows and made them french on the downstairs big windows. 

I love unique front doors on houses and I feel like it should be a representation of you as people enter. So I fussy cut one of my Victory prints for the door and I love it. 

I could go on and on about this little cottage of mine.....should we talk about the gourmet kitchen, outdoor living area and the fact that it is just steps from the beach in a year round 80 degree climate! Now I just gotta find it so I can secure it for my retirement right!

Go check out the magazine to see all the other house blocks and make sure to go on the Quiltmaker blog and comment to be able to win my house!

What you will also find in the magazine is answers from all of us designers to the question: Which famous person would you like to have as a neighbor and why?

I had to think about this for a while before I answered because there are so many famous people I'd love to meet and mingle with. But in the end, this was my answer:

I would like Oprah to be my neighbor. Not only is she a fantastic person herself, but she knows everybody you could ever admire so there would be great chances to have celebrity sightings in the neighborhood! I bet she'd have great parties ... too!

Well, notice the 3 dots I inserted in my answer there. Thing is, Quiltmaker edited my answer a little bit and left out two very important words. Can you guess what they are? If you know me, you would have no problem with this :)

The two words are "To Crash"

Wouldn't you at least attempt to crash a party full of famous people if it was happening next door?

Anyways....I have a copy of the magazine to give away here on this blog along with a few fat quarters from my new fabric line, Victory. 

Just tell me what famous neighbor you would like to have and why in the comments to enter the giveaway!

100 blocks blog tour winners!

Thank you so much for all of the comments on the Blog Tour. I loved seeing how many of you are working on quilts or quilted items for gifts. 

The winner of a the magazine and my two new patterns is:

Cheri who said:

Right now... today I am blessed with my 7 yo grand daughter and teaching her how to make a pillow case of her favorite bear..Cordoroy! Tomorrow I go back to my own stuff.. and finish a Civil war top and then start on my christmas theme quilt..hopefully done by day after thanksgiving as it will be my only decoration this year!

The winner of the second copy of the magazine is:

Giddy99 who said:

I love how this block would feature some of my most favorite fabrics! The top of my To-Do is now whipping up a toddler quilt for my nephew, since I did one for a baby cousin first (and really should have done the nephew's first)... oops.

I have sent you an email so look for it in your inbox:)

I have been showing off some of the quilts my assistant Yvonne has made for her family from my parents and these two have been getting a lot of attention on the GE Designs Facebook Page:

This is Steamy Windows from my book Strip On. She used up a lot of her 2-1/2" strip scraps.

This is Teen Spirit from my Big Blocks - Big Style book. The quilt is made from fat quarters and she used the Little black dress fabric line by Moda and added two borders to her quilt. Love it!

Be sure to check back here on Monday, I have a fantastic story to share with you. It involves these 3 fantastic designers,Terry Atkinson (Atkinson Designs), Kari Carr (New Leaf Stitches) and Terri Degenkolb (Whimsicals). Check out our adventure that ended with a road trip to Iowa this summer! 

Here is a hint:

#RoundRobinRebels

100 Blocks vol 8 - Blog Hop

Welcome to my post in Quiltmaker's 100 blocks blog tour! I am very honored to be included in yet another fantastic issue of 100 blocks. 

My block in this issue is called Nordic Garden

I used my Nordic Visions fabric line by Red Rooster fabrics for my block. It is a lot of fun to use a focus print for the center square or even fussy cut a cool fabric to fit the 4" center.

When the blocks are put together, the connecting patches create a little 3D effect.

For a more interesting take on the same layout, make 2 colorations of the block and alternate them.

  

For a totally different look, You can stagger the blocks and add more black to frame everything. 

Make sure to follow the 100 Blocks Blog Tour every day this week Nov. 11.-15. at the Quiltmaker Blog, Quilty Pleasures for lots of inspiration, ideas and of course some great giveaways.

I will be drawing a winner who will receive their own copy of the new Magazine and a set of the newest GE Designs patterns (seen in the previous post). 

All you have to do is tell me what is at the top of your sewing To Do list right now in the comments.

Winners will be posted here on Saturday Nov. 16th.

Winners....and lots of them!

It's time to reveal all the winners from all the blogs that participated in the 10 year party. It was truly overwhelming to read all of your comments and kind words. They will be my driving force as I continue my journey.

Here are the winners from each of the guest blogs:

Terry Degenkolb whimsicals.typepad.com

Angele Robichaud

Bonnie Hunter quiltville.blogspot.com

Joanna Perry

Quiltmaker quiltmaker.com/blogs/quiltypleasures

Charleen DiSante

Carrie Nelson lavieenrosie.typepad.com

Mary Ellen Honan

Tami Chaulk

Jodie Davis itsarubberduckieworld.com

Susan Kett

Fat Quarter Shop fatquartershop.blogspot.com

Julie Naatz

Pat Sloan blog.patsloan.com

Brandy Pettit

Lissa Alexander modalissa.blogspot.com

Linda Douglas

Julie Herman jaybirdquilts.com

Barbara Corbitt

Quilting Gallery quiltinggallery.com

Pala

Sharon Sehorn

We also have winners from my blog on each of the days. Here are those winners:

Aug. 5th

Patricia Dawe

Aug. 6th

Julie Naatz

Aug. 7th

Verna A

Aug. 8th

Jessie

Aug. 9th

Erin Breth

Aug. 10th

Sandi Timmons

Aug. 11th

Kristine

Aug. 12th

Sandi Scarlett

Aug. 13th

Kathleen O'Grady

Aug. 14th

Katie Bowers

And now for the big prize.....

The lucky winner posted a comment on Facebook:

Jeannette Smith Wertz

All of the winners have been contacted through e-mail and as soon as I have all of the snail mail adresses, I will send out the prizes. Hopefully that will be early next week. If you are a winner and haven't seen a letter from me, either check your spam folder or shoot me an e-mail with your address.(gudrun at gequiltdesigns.com) Congratulations and hopefully you will enjoy your prizes.

10 year Party - day 10 finally!

It's our last day to party, last giveaway day people. Some of the guest drawings will be left open through the weekend so if you haven't gotten a chance to check them out, here is the blog list for you.

 

Aug. 5th-14th Gudrun Erla gudrun.typepad.com

Aug. 5th Terry Degenkolb whimsicals.typepad.com

Aug. 6th Bonnie Hunter quiltville.blogspot.com

Aug. 7th Quiltmaker quiltmaker.com/blogs/quiltypleasures

Aug. 8th Carrie Nelson lavieenrosie.typepad.com

Aug. 9th Jodie Davis itsarubberduckieworld.com

Aug. 10th Fat Quarter Shop fatquartershop.blogspot.com

Aug. 11th Pat Sloan blog.patsloan.com

Aug. 12th Lissa Alexander modalissa.blogspot.com

Aug. 13th Julie Herman jaybirdquilts.com

Aug. 14th Quilting Gallery quiltinggallery.com

 

I was so happy to read your comments yesterday about balancing your life. I am so happy to hear that I have in some way inspired you to pursue a better balance or to get more exercise in your life. That makes my world go round, whether it is inspiring your quilting or a better quality of life....and therefore better quilting! 

The winner of the 4-pack of patterns was.

Kathleen O'Grady.......she said:

"I wish I had more balance in my life but too much time at work and everything else seems to be a rush. I worry to much about having a perfect tidy house when it wouldn't really make a difference. I don't get enough time to do the things I love, sew, run, exercise, read, gardening. I hope that this will change soon. Congrats to you for finding that balance in life."

Congratulations Kathleen, and forget about that house! Haven't we all been there. Just start to take time for those things little by little and you will get there. Wonderful things happen when you start feeling better by doing the things you love. Pieces of your soul just fall into place and then you wonder why you worried about that dust on the top shelf!  

Today's guest blogger is Michelle Foster of Quilting Gallery. If you are not familiar with the Quilting Gallery, it is a website that Michelle has been running since 2007from her home country of Canada, which has an active blog, hundreds of free quilting projects and tutorials, tips and tricks, videos, guest bloggers, etc. She sends out a fantastic newsletter with contests, deals, show and tell and I could go on and on. It's just a fantastic fun place for quilters.

Go over and check it out, remember to get your comment in because she has some goods to give away!

Today's giveaway on this blog is a stack of 20 Fat Quarters, yes 5 yards of fabric total. The interesting part is that it's gonna be an assortment from all of the collections I have designed for Red Rooster since I started, 12 collections in total! I just snapped a quick picture when I got the idea so the assortment might be quite different from the photo. But thats only because I'm gonna make it all look good together:) 

All you have to do is answer this question in the comments: Did you discover or learn anything during this 10 day party by hopping between blogs or reading my rants?

Thank you for following me on this journey...thank you for the fantastic 10 years because without you dedicated quilters that support and appreciate designers like me, I wouldn't have lasted very long. I am truly blessed and overwhelmed by some of your kind words but they have also ignited my spirit and creativity so I've got some years in me for sure:)

 

10 year Party - day 9.

We are getting close to the end of the big party and I hope you have enjoyed hopping along with me. I sure have enjoyed reading all of your posts on this blog and the guest blogs. It's given me such a wind in my sails that my brain is going overtime! I have two more great bloggers to go so be sure to check them out. 

I loved reading what inspires you to get quilting yesterday and hope that this book will inspire some quilts for the winner...which is.......

Sandi Scarlett.......she said:

"Sometimes its the pattern that inspires me and other times its the fabric. I never leave the quilt shops empty handed."

Congratulations Sandi, oh I think we can all relate. At least I speak for myself and admit to never leaving a quilt shop empty handed....it's a sin! I will be in touch for your snail mail address.

Today's guest blogger is designer extraordinaire Julie Herman of Jaybird Quilts. 

Julie started off in the quilting world  as an awesome blogger (well she still blogs, duh!) and has really taken off for the stars once she started designing and publishing her own patterns. She has just now designed her second ruler (her first one Hex N' More has been a big hit) called the Sidekick ruler and tons of new patterns.

I met Julie when she first came to quilt market after just knowing her through e-mail. Then I really got a chance to get to know her when we both taught at Quiltmaker's Block Party in Portland this spring. She is a ball of adorable fun and I can't wait to hang out with her again.

Make sure you stop by and say hi to Julie, she's got some goodies for you on her blog today.

Today's giveaway on this blog is a quilt as you go pattern foursome, Slivers, Peek A Boo, Which Way and Abundance. They are all quick and fun, can be done with precuts, scraps or fat quarters, perfect for a little instant gratification.

Balance is a word that has been high on my priority list of life goals lately. I haven't been very good at that for the biggest part of my life.

As you might have seen on Bonnie's and Pat's blog, I do work out regularly and run some crazy races for fun. I actually do various workouts, not just run. I like to get my yoga in at least once a week because nothing balances me and makes my body feel as good as yoga....as I get older hmm. I need to get some strength training in every week, because my upper body feels like mush if I neglect that. Running comes naturally to me as I was a runner all through high school and college but like everything, my exercise needs it's balance too.

I feel a lot better when I eat healthier meals and cook from fresh ingredients so it's not that I never eat anything bad (because I do Pat:-), it's just I know how I will feel afterwards, so either I go for it if it's really worth it or am just perfectly happy having a gourmet, healthy meal:) YES, healthy does not mean wheatgrass and granola! I make some tasty food :)

On the total flip side, I am a chocolate freak. I love to have my little chocolate every day or a nice treat (like pumpkin bars or salted caramel gelato OMG). I also like to have a glass of wine every once in a while and there is nothing better than hunkering down in my sewing chair by my machine for a day or two...or a week! But that's exactly what my point is. I have these two flip sides to my life and have found the perfect balance. At least most of the time;-) The indulgent things aren't as enjoyable if I don't feel strong, healthy and in balance. So my philosophy is:  Do what you love and makes you feel good, don't deprive yourself but strive for that balance so you can enjoy a healthier relationship with your sewing machine....and the other members of your family:-)

So my question to you is, how do you find your balance in your life? Is there anything you feel you need to balance better or would like to increase/decrease in your life to feel more balanced? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Winner will be drawn at midnight so get your comments in:)

 

10 year Party - day 8.

Wow, what great stories you shared with me yesterday. I loved reading all of your comments and some really heartfelt stories about your special quilts. And how fun to see that a lot of you are just working your way to that first quilt. My advice to you is just dive in because once you are there it is total bliss. The dive might not be perfect at first but with each time you go for it, the better and more enjoyable it gets. 

The winner of the Nordic Christmas Pattern and fabrics on my blog was....

Kristine.......she said:

"I've made quite a few quilts while growing up and have multiple projects happening now, but.... The quilt that means a lot to me would be the Double Irish Chain that my mom and I made together for my bedroom when I was a kid. It took us forever because it was our first "big" quilt (twin size) with pink, white, and green flower prints. I still have that quilt and on the back, my mom and I had signed it. I'm now pregnant and I'm hoping it is a girl so I can pass the quilt on to her. (I already have a son). Thanks, It is great to be able to reflect on quilts we've made. Especially since my mom and I still team up from time to time to make projects together."

Congratulations Kristine. How special to have been sewing and making quilts with your mom while growing up. I can only hope my daughter will cherish the projects we have done together as she gets older. I will be in touch for your snail mail address.

Today's guest blogger is the master marketguru of Moda Fabrics, quilter and designer extraordinaire and an overall fantastic person Lissa Alexander.

My love affair with fabric has been going on for a lot longer than the decade I've been in business. From the time I started quilting, I started hoarding fabric to no end. When I moved to the states, we really had to downsize our whole life inventory and decide what to bring because of the cost of shipping. It is quite the life changing and freeing experience when you really have to evaluate what is important to you and what can easily be replaced. To make a long story short, our whole life was able to fit on a pallet and a half! But I have to say, not one piece of glass, clay or porcelain was packed in newspaper on that pallet and a half! I used my fabric stash to wrap every single thing. YES, my stash was important enough to bring with me above a lot of other things.

The thing is, many times a piece of fabric inspires a new design for me. So I like to include many different fabric collections into my books. Not only does it keep me inspired and on my toes as a designer, I hope it gives my books variety and my readers some different options and viewpoints on my designs.

That's where the awesome "Moda Lissa" comes in. She and the whole Moda/United Notions crew have been so supportive of me throughout my career and I appreciate our relationship so much not only on a business level, but a personal one as well. I get the most wonderful surprise shipments of Moda goodness from her that hasn't even been seen yet. And what's most exciting is that she knows exactly what collections I am gonna like! It's pretty great.

Here are some of my favorite quilts from my books where I have used Lissa's great packages:

Steamy Windows from Strip On book

Easy Hex from Big Blocks, Big Style book

Strip To Be Square, single pattern.

Homebound, from Just your Style book.

Twirl me too from Strip On book

Brick House from Fast & Furious Home

And of course the grand prize quilt is made with Moda!

Lissa has a super giveaway on her blog so make sure you go visit and add your comment.

Today's giveaway on this blog is another copy of my Strip On book. 

All you have to do to get your name in the pot is tell me what inspires you to make a quilt? Is it a pattern that you find in a book or a store? Is it a certain fabric line that makes you want to make something out of it? Is it an occasion or a gift idea that gets you going or do you just start playing? 

Winner will be drawn at midnight so get your comments in:)

Happy MONDAY!

 

10 year Party - day 7.

The majority of you said that Christmas was your favorite holiday. It's mine too. And to be honest, it's the days building up to Christmas that I love, decorating, baking, getting together with friends and enjoying the month of December in general. I am born in December so I think that has a lot to do with it:) 

The winner of the Fast & Furious Holiday book on my blog was....

Sandi Timmons.......she said:

"That would be Christmas. I just love this holiday - food; lights and trimmings; hugs from loved ones; even opening presents. Fast and Furious sure would come in handy for making projects for presents. I would just love to win your book. This would mean so much because it would come from you. Thank you for being so generous. I enjoy your newsletters and your recipes."

Congratulations Sandi. I hope you enjoy it. I am so glad you are enjoying my newsletters and recipes. I never know if anyone even sees them. I will be in touch for your snail mail address.

Today's guest blogger is the voice of quilting, Pat Sloan. This woman is incredible. The things that she gets done in a day makes my knees weak. She has a weekly radio show on quilting, writes books, designs fabric, teaches and lectures all over the place and then writes a fantastic blog along with all the other social media. I aspire to be her when I grow up, that's for sure! Pat is a ball of energy as well and we always have some great laughs when whe see each other (for the 5 minutes she can stop:-)

On opening day of Quilt market this spring, we had a chuckle because our outfits totally matched. Just like our personalities do. 

Being that she does interviews all the time, Pat of course asked me some very unique questions for her blog day. One of them was if I had a special quilt I had made for a person, a special occasion and the story behind it. I am sure we all have a bunch of stories like that, but I chose to mention this quilt:

This is my oldest sons graduation quilt. He is a soccer player as you can see and so I used his soccer t-shirts and even socks to put it together. I also wanted to do something different than just cut all the shirts the same size so I put together these scrapbooking like blocks from smaller pieces and added some fabrics in with it for pop. His school colors are navy and vegas gold so this background worked great along with the fabric in the stars. It just so happened that I designed both those fabrics myself so it makes the quilt extra special for him.

Make sure to go check Pat's blog to see what other questions she asked me and to add your comment in for the giveaway. 

Since so many of you like Christmas, I decided that today's drawing here on this blog should be my Nordic Christmas pattern. This would definitely count as one of the most special quilts I have designed and put into a pattern. I designed this quilt using my Nordic Vision fabrics and mindful of all the things  I grew up with around the Christmas season. If you hav a Scandinavian background, you will also recognize the 4 advent candles, folded paper hearts we used to make and the very traditional scandinavian snowflake found in knitting and embroidery. Even though the fabric line is not a Christmas line the reds, greys, blacks and whites with a touch of green and gold give the quilt a perfect modern look.

The quilt measures 58" x 72", perfect to use as a lap quilt or a nice sized wall quilt. 

 

To help you get started on the quilt, I am adding a few fat quarters of the fabric to the prize package.

To add your name into the drawing, tell me about a special quilt you have made either for yourself or someone in your life. 

10 year Party - day 6.

I am so happy that you share my love for leftovers and I'll be sure to continue including some good projects using them in my books.

The winner of the Table Talk book on my blog was....

Erin Breth.......she said:

"Left overs kept most definitely! I have made some cute things with them. I absolutely love the countdown runner quilt as you go . It looks so fabulous! I love all your ideas and ideas in your pattern books. Keep them coming! Thats how I learn!"

Congratulations Erin. I hope you enjoy the book. Send me a photo when you get that Countdown runner done because it will only take you a few hours, it's so quick. I will be in touch for your snail mail address.

 

Keep adding comments to all the guest blogs. We will draw those winners later and announce them all at the end of the hop.

Today's guest blogger is the fantastic team over at Fat Quarter Shop, lead by the fabulous Kimberly Jolly. The Jolly Jabber is their blog. Kimberly has been a big supporter of me and my designs from the get go and I really love seeing her and her crew every quilt market. They came to my booth this past spring market and recorded a Booth Tour. Check it out!

 

They also did a really funny collaboration video of a bunch of designers, putting us in the "Hot Seat".

 

See if you can spot me in there:) This was so fun, but they literally asked like 30 questions so I would love to see all the other answers from these designers. We could start a weekly sitcom!

Please hop on over to the Jolly Jabber to get your name in for a drawing. Then go and check out their top notch store for the best of the best quilting goods there are out there. 

Todays drawing here on my blog is my book Fast & Furious Holiday. Yes, it's time to get sewing on some holiday projects. I just got a Halloween catalog in the mail so that's why I decided on this book today:) The book has 16 projects for all the different holidays so it really will be useful throughout the year. All the projects are Quilt As You Go so they go together fast....no excuses to not have a holiday themed quilt in the house:)

Let me give you some suggestions of what you can get done quickly for fall or Christmas:

Pumpkin Patch

Trick or Treat

Spruce Lane

Roly Poly Tree Skirt

All you have to do to be entered into the drawing for the Fast & Furious Holiday book, is tell me what is your favorite holiday and why in the comments.

Now get to sewing:)