And the winner is...

#9! Block number nine is the block that made it into Sharon Pederson's Rose of Sharon book. More exciting {at least to me it was, like jump up and down excitement} is that Sharon herself sent me an email after reading my blog! Yes MY blog!! {eeep!} I don't even know how she found my blog. I asked her if I could post about the contest on my blog and she gave me the go ahead but I don't remember pointing her to my blog {oops.}

I can't believe how unbelievably nice she is! We're going to be like BFF's from now on I just know it! :) She also gave me the inside scoop and let me know that block #9 was the one that made it into the book, but not only did it make it into the book it was also chosen to be on one of the chapter introduction pages. I seriously can't wait to get my hands on the book! I would love to make a quilt like the winning quilt but with some fabrics along the lines of Meadowsweet on Kona Charcoal. mmmm... It is quite lovely in Batiks though. I've never been a huge fan of batiks but Sharon did such a wonderful job on this one and it is absolutely stunning! That project will have to wait though because I promised myself I would not start any other projects until I've checked off a few of those UFO's I've listed over on my sidebar.

I have been working on my Modify Tradition swap quilt (which is #1 on my list.)

I hope my partner likes it!

Bonafide

I recently received some great news that really put a spring in my step and has boosted my confidence as a "real" quilter. I don't know if you had found me way back in October when I posted about this EQ6 design contest.

All entries (over 850) went through two rounds of judging. If your blocks made it through round one then your blocks could possibly be featured in the "Rose of Sharon" book and DVD. Those blocks that made the cut for round one would then be sent to Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims for round two! Alex & Ricky would then select the top 12 designs to be on the cover of the book and made into the Rose of Remembrance quilt to raise awareness of Alzheimer's through the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative. The whole idea was the brain child of Sharon Pederson and she put together this beautiful quilt from the top 12 blocks:

The quilt was quilted by Barbara Shapel

So what's my great news? ... well I didn't make it into the top 12 if that's what you were thinking, but I did make it into the book! *WAHOOOO!* {pardon me I can't contain myself!} The email I received was a generic mass e-mail and it did not say which of my designs or how many where picked. So it will be a surprise when the book and DVD comes out. Here are the 9 designs I submitted:

#4 is my favorite. Which one do you like?

So you want to get your hands on some of these materials and make your own? Well all of the files will be available at some point from EQ as a download-able file library. The DVD can be ordered from Nine Patch Media and will ship June 10th. The book will be published by Martingale and should be at quilt shops in August. Accuquilt has also made a die set!

Rose of Sharon Block 2 & 3

These 2 blocks are pretty similar. In fact the only difference (besides the coloring) is the placement of the middle petal of the flowers.

EQ6 Contest

Lass than a month ago I received my EQ6 program and I promised to write reviews about it.Well I'm happy to report that I have been using it extensively and have even started working on my very first quilt pattern {...coming soon! I'm so excited - in fact the design is done and now I'm working on the instructions and on the sample.} I'll save the review/report for another post though. I just had to share a super easy contest going on at EQ6. If you have EQ6 then you will definitely want to check this out.

EQ6 is sponsoring a "Rose of Sharon" Block design challenge. Basically EQ6 is providing you with a project "template" with all of the pieces included that you are allowed to use. You cannot re-size or re-shape any of the given pieces. You may not add any other shapes to the blocks with the exception of vines (those must be 1/4" wide.) That means that you can go hog wild with vines {if that floats your boat!} So the gist of it is that you are rearranging shapes into a pleasing block! It doesn't get any easier than that {ok, maybe it's just me but that seems pretty easy to me.}

Entries are due by November 15th,2009. That's a little over a month from now. And guess what? You can enter as many blocks as you like! I think I'm going to make it a goal to design at least 1 block per day. That gives you many, many chances to win some amazing prizes including Bernina embroidery software {although I suppose you need a Bernina for it to be useful. I really wish they were giving a Bernina away!} I'd really like to win that "Accuquilt Go!" But I think the coolest thing is that up to 100 blocks will make it into a book and the top 12 blocks will be made into a quilt that will grace the cover! {How cool is that?!}

Here is my very first "Rose of Sharon" Block:

Rose of Sharon Block 1

PS. Leave me a comment if you will participating in the contest. I would love to see what everyone comes up with.