Vera Bradley Breast Cancer Raffle Quilt

Here is a photo of the completed Pink Swirls of Hope raffle quilt for the Vera Bradley Breast Cancer Foundation.  The quilt measures 41" x 41".  The printed fabrics are from the new Pink Swirls fabric line by Vera Bradley.  Last Saturday was the first time the quilt was displayed at The Gathering of Quilters in Elkhart Indiana.

The quilt ties in with the Elkhart County Quilt Garden Tour- a free self guided traveling tour of 19 beautiful quilt gardens in the Northern Indiana area.  The garden at Linton's Enchanted Gardens ties in with the floral designs in the fabric and this quilt.  If you are in the Northern Indiana area this summer, be sure to check out these beautiful gardens.  I've been involved with the quilt garden in Nappanee Indiana for the past couple of years.  These gardens are really outstanding!

You can see more info on the quilt gardens here:
www.amishcountry.org/explore-the-area/quilt-gardens/

If you are interested in a raffle ticket - they are $5 and available from www.Lintonsenchantedgardens.com  or 1-888-779-9333

Little Gems Blog Hop Winners

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Little Gems Blog Hop.  I hope you all enjoyed seeing many  projects in the book and those made by the Island Batik Ambassadors out of lovely Island Batik fabrics.  There were lots of chances to win free ebooks, Papers for Foundation Piecing, a 12" Ackfeld Wire stand and beautiful fabric!

The winner from my blog for the free Little Gems ebook was :  Lou
The winner of the 12" Ackfeld Wire Stand was:  Ellee
(Both of the winners have been contacted.  I am waiting for them to contact me with their full contact information. If no information is received within 3 days, new winners will be chosen.)

If you were not a winner of a free ebook and you would like to purchase a book (either an ebook or a hard copy) you can get them at www.shopmartingale.com and www.amazon.com

Day 6 Little Gems Blog Hop

Today is Day 6 of the Little Gems Blog Hop.  I hope you have been enjoying each days blog.
Today we are highlighting Ackfeld Manufacturiing.  They are the company that makes the lovely wire stands that hold the Little Gem quilts in the book.



I've used these stands in the past and just love them.  They are great to use on a mantel, a dresser, the piano, etc.  Having a stand to display or a wire hanger to hang the quilt makes each quilt stand out in all it's beauty.
Here are a couple different stands that were used in the book.

Images from Little Gems by Connie Kauffman, Martingale, 2015:  used by permission.
Photos by Brent Kane.  All rights reserved.

The stand featured on the cover with the quilt Black & White Delight, is plain with no topper.  You can purchase many stands like this and get a very wide variety of tops to go with the stand. The tops just slide right down on the base.  They can be changed out seasonally or to suit whatever quilt you display.

Images from Little Gems by Connie Kauffman, Martingale, 2015:  used by permission.
Photos by Brent Kane.  All rights reserved.

The stands also come with a variety of different color finishes. This quilt: Harbor Lights, shows a stand with a white finish . 

Images from Little Gems by Connie Kauffman, Martingale, 2015:  used by permission.
Photos by Brent Kane.  All rights reserved.

The stand holding the quilt Snow on the Mountains shows one of the seasonal tops that can be attached to the base stand.  This stand has a charcoal coating.

Images from Little Gems by Connie Kauffman, Martingale, 2015:  used by permission.
Photos by Brent Kane.  All rights reserved.

The quilt Serenity is shown  on a wire hanger.  The hangers also come in a variety of sizes and color coatings.

While the stands in this book are all for 12" x 12" quilts, Ackfeld Wire makes stands in a large variety of sizes and color coatings.  There really is something to go with every quilt.  They also make a wide variety of other products such as:  wall mounts, spool racks, ornament stands, display holders, bell pulls, electrical outlet plates, etc.

Go to their website www.ackfeldwire.com and check out their large selection of products, and be sure to ask your local stores to carry the Ackfeld stands and hangers.

Leave a comment below to be entered into a drawing for a 12" x 12" Ackfeld Wire quilt stand.  Tell me where you would display your "little gem".

Don't miss any of the daily blogs listed below:

April 8        www.kauffmandesigns.blogspot.com   Quilt- Serenity

April 9        http://blog.shopmartingale.com/
April 10      www.conniekresin.com   Quilt- Playing With Plaids
April 11      www.bejeweledquilts.blogspot.com   Quilt- Spinners
April 12      www.sixgablesdesigns.blogspot.com   Quilt- Daisy Daze
April 13      Ackfeld Wire hosted by www.kauffmandesigns.blogspot.com
April 14     www.tamarinis.typepad.com  Quilt- Forest Fire
April 15     www.teachpany.blogspot.com   Quilt- Radiance
April 16     www.beaquilter.com   Quilt- Star Burst
April 17     www.onequiltingcircle.com   Quilt- Tranquility
April 18     www.islandbatik.com/news   Quilt- Cotton Candy

*all winers will be chosen, notified and announced Monday April 20, 2015

Day 1 Little Gems Blog Hop

Welcome to Day 1 of the Little Gems Blog Hop!

I am Connie Kauffman - author of Little Gems.  This book is published by Martingale and just came out this February, so it's brand new!  I'm excited to be hosting this blog along with 8 other Island Batik Ambassadors and our three sponsors:  Island Batik, Martingale and Ackfeld Manufacturing.

The patterns in this book are all paper pieced and measure 12" x 12".  Even if you've never paper pieced before, give these little projects a try.  There is not a lot of fabric required, so these projects are great for using bits and pieces from your scrap stash.

Images from Little Gems by Connie Kauffman, Martingale,2015:  used by permission.
Photos by Brent Kane.  All rights reserved

Each day an Ambassador will be making one of the projects in the book using only Island Batik fabrics in a different colorway.  I love batiks and feel very privileged to be one of Island Batik's Ambassadors. Working with their fabrics is a real joy!

Before I show you the quilt I recreated with Island Batik fabrics for this blog hop, I want to let you know a little known secret about the book.  There is actually a 16th project!  I had too many projects to fit in the book.  If you purchase the book, this is a free online project.  It's called Cornered.  I made it with whites and reproduction prints.

Images from Little Gems by Connie Kauffman, Margingale, 2015:  used by permission.
Photos by Brent Kane.  All rights reserved.

I selected the quilt Serenity from the book as my project to recreate with Island Batik fabrics.
Here is the project from the book done with taupe fabrics.

Images from Little Gems by Connie Kauffman, Martingale, 2015:  used by permision.
Photos by Brent Kane.  All rights reserved.

I love this quilt ( I love them all- each one has something special about it).  This quilt is easy in that it only has two block patterns and you can use about any color combination you'd like.  Decide what colors you want to use and gather all your scraps together and just get started.  You don't have to worry about where each color goes, or whether it is light or dark.  It all mixes up beautifully.

To recreate this pattern with Island Batik fabrics, I picked out fall colors of greens, browns and oranges.

What do you think of this one?
Leave a comment below to be entered to win a free Little Gems ebook

Be sure to visit all the blogs through the 18th.
Enjoy!

April 8        www.kauffmandesigns.blogspot.com   Quilt- Serenity
April 9        http://blog.shopmartingale.com/
April 10      www.conniekresin.com   Quilt- Playing With Plaids
April 11      www.bejeweledquilts.blogspot.com   Quilt- Spinners
April 12      www.sixgablesdesigns.blogspot.com   Quilt- Daisy Daze
April 13      Ackfeld Wire hosted by www.kauffmandesigns.blogspot.com
April 14     www.tamarinis.typepad.com   Quilt- Forest Fire
April 15     www.teachpany.blogspot.com   Quilt- Radiance
April 16     www.beaquilter.com   Quilt- Star Burst
April 17     www.onequiltingcircle.com   Quilt- Tranquility
April 18     www.islandbatik.com/news   Quilt- Cotton Candy

*All winners will be chosen, notified and announced Monday April 20, 2015

Little Gems Blog Hop

Welcome to the Little Gems Blog Hop!

 Little Gems is the most recent book by Connie Kauffman published by Martingale and just released this February. The book features 15 mini paper pieced quilts.  Quilts measure 12" x 12" and can be made with a small amount of fabrics.

Island Batik is one of the sponsors of the Blog, and 8 of the Island Batik Ambassadors are taking part.  Each Ambassador selected one project from the book Little Gems and has recreated it using Island Batik fabric.  Be sure and check back each day to see the quilts made in new colorways with these beautiful batiks.  Look for a special prize of a bundle of Island Batik fabrics!

Martingale is another one of our sponsors.  They are giving away a free ebook at each Ambassadors
Blog.  Be sure and go to each site to enter.

Ackfeld Manufacturer is our third sponsor for the Blog.  They create the great wire stands for each "little gem" you see in the book.  They are giving away a free stand - be sure to enter for that- all the "gems" look great displayed on the wire stands!

Our Blog Hop is 11 days of interesting projects, beautiful fabrics and great prizes.  Be sure to visit a new site every day.

April 8        www.kauffmandesigns.blogspot.com
April 9        http://blog.shopmartingale.com/
April 10      www.conniekresin.com 
April 11      www.bejeweledquilts.blogspot.com
April 12      www.sixgablesdesigns.blogspot.com
April 13      Ackfeld Wire hosted by www.kauffmandesigns.blogspot.com
April 14     www.tamarinis.typepad.com
April 15     www.teachpany.blogspot.com
April 16     www.beaquilter.com
April 17     www.onequiltingcircle.com
April 18     www.islandbatik.com/news

Vera Bradley raffle quilt update

I've been madly working on the Vera Bradley Pink Swirls of Hope raffle quilt for breast cancer.
Here are a couple photos of the quilt progress.
In the first photo I'm playing around with color placement and possible buttons.  Don't you just love buttons!

The next photo shows more of the layout.

I'm actually further along than this.   Right now I just need to make a label and get a  finished photo.  I'll post a finished photo soon.

What do you think?  Lots of color in this quilt!

Sneak preview- Little Gems Blog Hop

This is a sneak peak about the Little Gems Blog Hop.  It starts next Wednesday and features my new book Little Gems by Martingale.  Be sure to check in each day for views of special projects, beautiful fabrics and lots of prizes!