Quick Curve Winner

Thank you to everyone who participated in the giveaway!  I'm sorry the comments weren't working for everyone...I'm working on getting that fixed. 

The winner of the quick-curve ruler is...

Lucky #1, heartsease54!
Her winning comment was:
I really like her #101 Urban Birthday. Her tutorials make it look very easy to sew the curves. Very good videos.
Congratulations! Your ruler will be on it's way as soon as it arrives :)
Even if you didn't win this time you can still get in on the fun! Rulers and patterns are on their way from Sew Kind of Wonderful and will be available at TopsandBobbins.com soon! Have a great day everyone! ~Denise

Quilt along and a Giveaway!

****GIVEAWAY CLOSED****

Love is in the air…February is here!

Can you believe how fast this year is going already?! I feel like it is flying by and I need to just stop and take a few minutes to enjoy some simple things… I think for starters, I’m going to make a quilt. Okay, maybe that doesn’t sound like a big deal but there is a difference; I’m going to make a quilt for me!

Well okay, maybe it won't be for me exactly, maybe it’ll be for one of my kids but the point is that it is going to live at my house when it’s done!!!

I’ve found the perfect, fun quilt to make! I've been following Jenny Pedigo’s blog and she is starting a wonderful quilt-along with her fantastic quick-curve ruler! (I’m ordering some for the shop so there will be plenty to go around :)

Check out her site… she is one talented lady! Jenny designs amazing patterns and she is also a fantastic quilter. Oh, and she’s also super nice! She even has tutorials on her blog to demonstrate how easy it is to use her ruler. I’ve been throwing her a ton of questions lately and she’s also very helpful :)  

To help get this quilt-along in high gear, I’m going to giveaway one of her fantastic rulers! (*ahem* I’ll ship to the winner as soon as they arrive because I haven’t actually placed the order yet…  Order's placed & they'll be here next week!)

So the giveaway is open as of right now! All you have to do is visit Jenny’s blog and see what the fuss is all about. Then come back here and tell me which design # is your favorite. The giveaway will be open until February 8 so that gives you a whole week to figure out what your favorite design is. I’m having a hard time choosing between #1 and #4 so it's okay if you pick more than one!


For a second chance to win, make sure you also visit my website and sign up for my newsletter (just leave me a second comment saying that you signed up or already receive my newsletter.) The newsletter is the best way to know what's going on @ Tops and Bobbins! This month I'm going to be celebrating a fabulous February Fondness for Fabric event in honor of Valentine's Day! The newsletter will have coupon codes to use for fantastic deals so make sure you don't miss out!


Third chance...share the quilt along and giveaway on your blog or Facebook for another chance to win! Leave me a third comment telling me you shared :) Good Luck!

Road to California

Disclaimer: The following post contains an incalculable amount of adjectives and exclamations...you've been warned...


Had an AMAZING time at the annual Road to California quilt show this weekend!!! The Ontario Convention Center is the perfect venue for such a fantastic event; I walked countless miles admiring all of the fabulous quilts on display. Of course there were tons of fantastic vendors there and I played with design software (check out artistich.com, simply amazing!) and drooled over gorgeous fabrics and amazing new quilting notions. The fabric theme of the show seemed to be batiks (Hoffman was the main show sponsor)...they were everywhere! So of course I bought some ;)
I got to meet some quilting royalty, too! Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims were there as was Eleanor Burns. All just as nice as can be and so down-to-earth; just like you see them on their shows :)
My favorite part of the show was admiring the incredible quilts; award winning as well as all of the entries that were displayed. Every one of them should have had a ribbon in my opinion; I could never be a judge! 

I got to speak with Sherry Reynolds, the quilter who won "Judge's Choice" (I got a picture of her quilt but not one of her, sorry... I was a little distracted by her quilt!) and she explained the process of how she designed and made her quilt, "America, Let It Shine". She designed it all on graph paper and from start to finish it took her just 9 months; so inspiring!  (The pics don't begin to do justice...I had to use my phone.)

Stunning applique

A shout out to "Jack"...

The quilting and trapunto in this quilt were breathtaking...

I picked up this kit with luscious batiks and I would have posted sooner but I was busy diving into this Bali Pop! The colors are dazzling! I also picked up this new strip tube ruler from Daniela @ Cozy Quilt Designs and I'm pretty impressed with it...I can't believe how fast my blocks are going together! I'm going to order some rulers to share...
I also picked up a few Quilts of Valor and brought them home with me to quilt. If you ever see one of their booths at a quilt show, stop and visit with them. They are the nicest bunch of people and their organization allows us such a sweet way to pay tribute to our service men and women.
I'm feeling all inspired so now's the perfect time to get back to work!!!

Piece and quiet...

Well, the Holidays are over so it's back to work and back to routines. The kids are back in school and the house is quiet during the day so some new projects are getting started...and a few are even getting finished! 
So out with the old and in with the new! I have all of my Holiday section on sale @ my Etsy shop for 20% off! If you wanted some new stockings and didn't think there would be enough time to have names embroidered on them and shipped, you're just in time for next year ;)
For a limited time, I also have a deal on longarm quilting. Now that the crazy Holiday rush is over my turn-around-time on quilting service is down to two weeks!  Having a computerized machine is great; I can quilt  amazing designs in no time at all! So get all of those UFO's together and let's get them quilted!!!

Well, I better get back to work...I wonder how much I can get done today and if I can manage to stay off of Pinterest...
Denise

Springtime Dreamin'

Just when I'm dreaming of springtime, look what shows up!

Summer Breeze II is here just begging to be a part of your next quilt! This gorgeous collection of yellows and blues is sure to bring sunshine to your day! We have layer cakes, fat eighth bundles, jelly rolls and yardage so you are sure to find what you need for your next project :)

                     
Happy Quilting!
Denise

Happy New Year!!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and is looking forward to 2012! 

 I'm looking forward to a new year full of new friends and new experiences as this little business continues to grow! Thank you to all of you for your continuing support and encouragement! 

  

Kicking off the new year with a sale to share the love! Get a 12% discount off of your ENTIRE order when you use coupon code HAPPYNEWYEAR2012 during checkout! (Coupon's only good thru 01/07/12 so hurry, don't miss out!)

Happy 2012!

Denise

Feeling Merry!

Feeling Merry today even though it's not quite Christmas yet. Why you may ask? Well I just got an early Christmas present! I'm usually more into the giving part of Christmas than the receiving, but this gift may have me rethinking that idea a little ;)

My husband surprised me with EQ7! When I grabbed saw the box he generously let me have it early!

I'm super excited to play with this awesome design software! I've attempted to put some of my original patterns onto paper but I find it quite challenging to "reverse engineer" the quilt instructions. Math isn't my strongest skill (I have been known to make an emergency run to the fabric store in the middle of a quilt because someone may have miscalculated the yardage needed) but this software handles all of that pesky math stuff. I usually just make it up as I go along...now I can actually design it first!!!

I'm also excited about some fabric additions...Etchings yardage!

I bought three bolts to go with the Etchings Fat Eighth bundles in my shop. The bundles include a darling pattern made up of flying geese units. The bundles already include the free pattern and until December 31st,  I'll throw in a free Fit to be Geese ruler on all orders of Etchings Fat Eighth bundles! Only while supplies last, tho...

The pattern is made up of flying geese units and this handy ruler from Open Gate makes them so easy!

I also have some fun deals going on in the shop right now! Christmas kits are on sale, a great Deal of the Day and don't forget to check out our longarm quilting service! We have the quilting service set up like an a la cart menu so you can easily pick out your quilt top size, quilting pattern, thread and batting. Pretty easy!

Hope you're feeling Merry now, too!

Denise

PS...the finished quilt dimensions for the free quilt pattern are 56"x62". To make the top and binding, you'll need the Etchings Fat Eighth bundles and some yardage. For the inner border and binding, you'll need to order 1 yard of rosewood. For the outer border, you'll need 2 yards of the aqua or slate that will be cut the length of the fabric. If you don't mind piecing the outer border width of the fabric, you'll only need 1 1/2 yards :)