It's time to vote!

American Patchwork & Quilting's One Million Pillowcase Challenge has passed the halfway mark! 

Stop and think about that for a second--more than 500,000 pillowcases have been stitched and donated to charity through this initiative. That's impressive. 

During the month of July, AP&Q is holding a contest on Pinterest. They've picked 20 of their favorite pillowcases and pinned them. The pillowcase with the most repins at the end of the month will be declared the winner and featured in a special hop. We are proud to be a sponsor of the Pillowcase Challenge, and we'll be participating in the hop in August.

How can you be part of this? Head over to their Pinterest page and repin your favorite pillowcase. 

(And keep reading below to be part of our contest here!)

By the way, did we mention that TWO of our pillowcases made it into the top 20? That's right! We wouldn't want to sway your vote or anything, but we did want to show them off:

Calypso by Ro Gregg

Lady in Red by Ro Gregg

We'd also encourage you to make a pillowcase (or more!) to donate. It's a quick and easy project, and you can make a difference for someone in your own community. You can find a huge variety of pillowcase patterns (including for all the pillowcases you see on this blog page) here.

In the meantime, we're holding our own contest right here, just for fun. Below you'll see all of our pillowcase samples from the Pillowcase Challenge from 2012 and 2013 (photos courtesy of American Patchwork & Quilting). Which one do you like best? And why? Leave us a comment letting us know!

Log cabin pattern using Marblehead 

Uneven hourglass pattern using Fall Tapestry

Churn dash pattern using Garden Whimsy

Cottage in the forest applique pattern using Garden Whimsy

Crazy rail fence pattern using Pretty in Pink

Snowball pattern using Marblehead Pleasing Pastels

Precut strips pattern using Focus

Train pattern using Calypso Frogs

Chevron band pattern using Tribal Council

Spools pattern using Lady in Red

X block band pattern using Flutter

Bubbles applique pattern featuring Calypso

Rick rack pattern using Cambridge Flannel

Small-Scale High Fashion

If you're a follower of this blog, you've seen Judy Hansen's two most recent lines, Garden Whimsy and Cook's Helper in quilts, aprons, bags, and more, but we bet you've never seen these fabrics on Barbie dolls!

Until today.

Rita Nussbaumer, a sewer who shops at Judy Hansen's store, Quilt Shop of Deland, shared her story with us. Through a pastor friend, Rita contributes shoeboxes of basic hygiene items and toys that are sent on mission trips for needy children.

The boxes are supposed to include a toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, bar of soap and a facecloth (which Rita knits), then she adds a coloring book, crayons, balloons – ''whatever other little treasures I find on clearance,'' she says, as well as pencils and a pencil sharpener.

Last year, Rita began buying used Barbies and making clothes for the dolls to go in the little girls' boxes, many of whom have never had a doll. Enter Judy's fabric. ''I saw Judy's main print [from the Garden Whimsy line)—it's small but it has so much color that you can put anything together with it. It was just perfect!" She uses old patterns from when her daughters were young, and aims for finger-friendly clothing for easy wardrobe changes.

From August through November last year, Rita stitched clothes and hunted down/received used Barbies for 40 boxes. This year, she started right after winter, and has 5 big boxes of clothes already made. A gift certificate she received for Christmas went toward more of Judy's Garden Whimsy fabrics, as well as some from Cook's Helper.

Friends scout yard sales for used Barbies, buying them for $1-$2 each, and Rita cleans them up, combs their hair, dresses them. ''I usually put one robe in the box with a nightie with a long and short bottom, a jumpsuit, a dress, jumper, undies, and a variety of blouses with shorts, slacks, culottes, knickers and skirts - all mix and match to make more outfits,'' Rita says.

''The kids carry those shoeboxes around for years because that's all they have what's in that box. I can sew some scraps together and give them something special," Rita says.

Rita, thanks so much for sharing your story!  

How a booth at Quilt Market comes together...

We are back with a post-Quilt Market report! (You can read about getting ready for Quilt Market here.)

The booth is our opportunity to show off our new fabric lines and offer inspiration as to what those fabrics can become: quilts, aprons, placemats, wall hangings, etc...

Let's start the tour! 

Here are two overall shots of the booth, toward the end of set up. (After everyone's booths have been set up, the exhibit hall crews come back and carpet the aisles.)

This section showcases Peggy Sue, Dancing Cranes, Folk Heart, and Pretty in Pink.

This section showcases Cook's Helper, Marblehead, Budding Beauties and Sorrento.

Backing up to set-up, our assigned area started out looking like this:

And ended up like this:

Pretty impressive transformation in a day, isn't it? We have a great team.

Now, onto some close-ups!

The Budding Beauties sample quilt and pouf in the background, a table with a Garden Whimsy placemat in the foreground. All of the chair covers you see in these photos are made from Marblehead prints.

A couple quilts that you're recognize: Marblehead Northern Woods and Joan Shay's Harvest Home, using Marblehead.

Cook's Helper, a Judy Hansen collection that we'll be sharing with you later this week, and a little Garden Whimsy.

A wall hanging and jacket made from Dancing Cranes, as well as the Peggy Sue At the Hop quilt off to the left.

Sara Trail's Folk Heart, shown in an apron, quilt and bag.

Do you remember the Hopi Opportunity quilt? We brought it to Market to hang in the booth, where it received many compliments. You can still buy raffle tickets to win it--click here for contact information. Off to the right, the free pattern quilt for Pretty in Pink.

A unique tote bag by Cathy Miles, made from Marblehead Global Brights.

Who needs fresh flowers when you can have gorgeous blooms by Kim Denault made from Marblehead prints that will last all year long?!

 A close-up of the Pretty in Pink quilt.

Kitchen items made from the Sorrento collection.

Whew! How's that for inspiration? We were thrilled to be able to show off so many different fabric lines and quilting/sewing ideas in our space. 

p.s. Don't forget that you can find free patterns for the QUILTS shown in these photos on our website!

Feelin' Whimsical?

Meet Judy Hansen's cheery and versatile new line!

Before designing this line, Judy took a vacation with sketchbook in hand. "Everywhere I went, I saw dragonflies and butterflies. They were so cute and happy!" Inspired by the bright, cheerful colors and imagery of summer, Judy designed this line. "In art school, you're taught to draw the real thing first and then make a caricature," she explains. Realistic butterflies, dragonflies, and blooms transformed into these airy sketches. And, as you might expect, the line includes a stripe.
"My favorite part is the cheery colors. This is such a happy line!"

Download this free pattern to use with Judy's Garden Whimsy line at Fabri-quilt.com.