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

How to Showcase Your Favorite Prints

Have you seen Heidi Pridemore's latest design in the spring 2013 issue of Quilt Trends magazine? We love it and are excited to share it with you!

Tribal Modern designed by Heidi Pridemore
for Quilt Trends spring 2013

Heidi used the bright colorway of Ro Gregg's Tribal Council line to a modern design. We love how she contrasted the vibrant prints (don't you love the giraffes?!) with the solid white narrow sashing so that the block components really pop. Here's the skinny on easy-to-make strip-pieced quilt, straight from Heidi.

Q. How did you come up with the idea for this design?           

Heidi: I wanted to play with rectangles and create a clean look that was easy to make.

Q. What prompted you to use white for the sashing?                       

Heidi: For the longest time I did not like to use white in my quilts, but now I can see the value in the crisp, clean look you get when using white, especially with bright and busy prints. It is like putting a spotlight on each fabric and letting them shine.

Q. What attracted you to the Tribal Council line?                                                           

Heidi: The colors: it is always about the colors for me. The brighter, the better!

                                               

Q. What do you like best about the quilt?                                               

Heidi: I really like the giraffes! They look like they are peeking out from their world into ours, It is almost like a scrapbook page with photos.

Q. How did you choose to machine quilt this?

Heidi: We kept the quilting very simple to accent the look of the quilt. It is all anchored with stitch in the ditch, and then there are doodle vines and leaves in the blocks for added interest.

Q. What's one thing you'd like quilters to know about this design?

Heidi: It is such a wonderful pattern to showcase any collection. Many times my patterns can be fabric specific, but this gem can be made with anything.

Find out more about Heidi here.
Find the kit for this project here.
Click here to find QuiltTrends.

Even More Photo Inspiration

Here are some additional photos we've received. 

Diane sent in two photos, as well as her fabric picks. Gorgeous!

Here's what she used:

1. Marblehead

2. Marblehead

3. Marblehead

4. Focus

5. Marblehead

Here's what she used:

1. Marblehead

2. Marblehead

3. Marblehead

4. Marblehead

And Whiskers sent in this beautiful fall photo, which we matched up with some of our favorite prints.

1. Tribal Council

2. Marblehead

3. Farmer John's Garden

4. Marblehead

5. Marblehead

Thanks to everyone who sent in a photo! It's been fun showing these off.

More Photo Inspiration

Have you sent us a photo yet? Tuesday is the deadline! You can either send a photo and we'll match fabric swatches to it, or choose your own swatches and send us your pairings. Either way, we'll choose several to show off on the blog. Read more here.

Here are two gorgeous photos we've received, complete with coordinating swatches. Enjoy!

From Erin:

1. Tribal Council

2. Dancing Cranes

3. Celebrate the Season

4. Calypso Frogs

5. Marblehead

From Jennifer:

1. Dancing Cranes

2. Tribal Council

3. Marblehead

4. Marblehead

5. Woodblock

Share the Love

Valentine's Day is all about the chocolate sharing the love. You may have sent valentines to friends and family, but why not share the love one step further? Reach out and sew something for someone in need. Perhaps a pillowcase?

Fabric: Tribal Council. Photo from APQ.com

Fabric: Pretty in Pink. Photo from APQ.com

American Patchwork & Quilting is starting the fourth year of the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge. Each quarter, AllPeopleQuilt.com features four new pillowcase designs, showcasing them in new fabrics from sponsors. We are proud to be a sponsor, and love the look our fabrics in the Chevron band pattern and the Crazy Rail Fence pattern.
Find out more about the Challenge here.
Download the free patterns to make these two pillowcases (and two others) here.

Happy Valentine's Day!

New Friday Fabrics

We'll be showing photos of our booth and talking about Quilt Market soon (so much to unpack!), but in the meantime, here's a peek at two new lines by Ro Gregg that were very popular at the show and, even better, are available in quilt shops this month.

First up, Tribal Council:

It's hard to pick a favorite here. The giraffes have a gorgeous watercolor feel to them, but the square spirals are such a great small print. We also love the bright colorway--not your typical giraffe or safari palette, but so versatile! 

Visit our website for a free pattern to make the quilt below (in either colorway!), designed by Sue Harvey and Sandy Boobar of Pine Tree Country Quilts.

Next, a much more whimsical and girly line, the aptly named Pretty in Pink:

You can find a free pattern for this collection here (also designed by Pine Tree Country Quilts), and stay tuned, because in the next few weeks, we'll be offering a tutorial for a small sewing project using this fabric from one of our Blogging Design Ring members.