Desire To Inspire: July 2014 Edition

The summer is flying by and it is that fun time of the month. We have been so impressed by all of our Desire To Inspire challengers since we started it. If you want to be a challenger, read below for the details. Many talented quilters, both beginners and advanced, have submitted a quilt to us. If you don't hear back from us right away, don't worry. We have all submissions on a list and we will get to your name as soon as a suitable spot comes up.

This month's challenger received a bundle of Mary Jane Carey's Tour Des Fleurs. [We have a giveaway going on for her latest collection, "Simply Christmas," in case you missed it. Here's the link to the post with the details.]

Let's see what our July 2014 Desire To Inspire Challenger made with this beautiful collection. Her name is Pamela Boatright and she's from Coos Bay, Oregon.

Tell Us About Your Family

Married for 34 years to my sweetheart - Perry, and we have 5 beautiful daughters - and 4 grandchildren!

How long have you been quilting?  

My mom helped me make my first quilt (tied comforter in a stacked brick pattern) when I was in high school - but I didn't start quilting seriously until 1986.  I always say that having 4 children under 5 years of age, I needed to have something to enjoy and work on that would stay done.  I've always loved sewing, but when I started quilting it was like a whole new world opened up to me!

What's your favorite technique?  

I love making miniatures - they are so cute! Plus they don't use a lot of fabric.  Strip piecing techniques are really fun as well.  

Who taught you how to quilt?  

My mom taught me how to sew at a very young age, but my quilting skills are mostly self taught. I've learned a lot from magazines and books, plus watching televisions shows such as Simply Quilts.        

Do you belong to any guilds?  

I am one of the founding members of my local quilt guild.  It's been wonderful to share and enjoy the company of fellow quilters.  I work one day a week at my local quilt shop - Threads That Bind and I also sell my finished quilts and patterns on Etsy and am team captain of a group of quilt makers on Etsy (Quiltsy Team)  We consider ourselves something of an online guild!

Anything else that you would like to share with our readers?

Working in the quilt shop has really encouraged me in my growth as a quilter.  I have made a variety of shop samples, taught some classes and discovered the joy of creating my own patterns.  I enjoy using EQ7 to come up with designs and find that being able to put the actual fabrics I am using into those designs helps me visualize the results easily.  Quilting really satisfies the creative urge for me and I love playing with fabric almost every day.  I also enjoy blogging about my projects - pamelaquilts.blogspot.com

Thanks again for choosing me to participate, I really enjoyed creating my challenge quilt!

Thanks for participating in our July 2014 challenge, Pamela. You did a fabulous job.

-hg

More Simply Christmas & Giveaway Too!

Happy Friday! This week has been about Christmas in July. In case you missed the first part of the post, read all about Holly Hill Quilt Designer Mary Jane Carey's new collection, "Simply Christmas" here.

We thought that we would make it a fun start to the weekend by having a giveaway of Mary Jane Carey's latest collection of "Simply Christmas." You can enter here and on Facebook. Make sure that you share this with your friends so that they can enter to win too! All you have to tell us is your favorite holiday colors. Do you like traditional reds and greens or are you more fashion forward and love turquoise or fuchsia? Have a another color combination? Let us know. There is no right or wrong answer. We want to hear what you love. Comment here on the blog or on Facebook by Thursday, July 31, 2014 at midnight and we will select a winner on Friday. We will randomly select a winning entry. Good luck!

Here's a look at the entire collection. She designed a beautiful quilt pattern that is free for you to download by clicking here.

Do you want to see what else Mary Jane has sent along? We shared some of her projects here on the blog the other day.  All photos courtesy of Mary Jane Carey/Holly Hill Quilt Designs.

We will have some more photos from Mary Jane on Facebook and Pinterest.

Have a great weekend.

-hg

Simply Christmas

It is very warm outside but we have Christmas on our minds. Mary Jane Carey, designer and owner of Holly Hill Quilt Designs designed a beautiful Christmas line. It has just hit the store shelves so make sure that you look for it at your local quilt shop. She sent along some gorgeous inspiration to get you going for your Christmas in July sewing.

The Simply Christmas collections features lots of holly and snowflake prints that are colored in sweet reds and greens. The prints are perfect for any holiday project that you can imagine. Visit the Henry Glass website to see the entire collection. The free pattern for the quick and easy quilt Simple Snowballs can be found here.

Come back soon. We will show you some more wonderful holiday projects by Mary Jane.

-hg

Sweet Harmony: Lap Top Bag Tutorial

[Photo: Rebecca of OurBusyLittleBunch]

We love it when we hear from a customer and we are even happier when there is a photograph of a gorgeous project featuring our fabric.

Thank you to Bear Creek Quilting Company and to Rebecca of OurBusyLittleBunch for sharing this wonderful tutorial. Rebecca used Amy Hamberlin's Sweet Harmony collection for one of the bags and Studioe's collection of Joyful Blooms.

You can find the tutorial by clicking here. Let us know if you've made something with any of our collections. Send Henry Glass a message. As always, we love to see our fabrics in use by you!

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Simply A Happy Friday!

Happy Friday! It is a lovely day in NYC and we are happy to announce the winners of our giveaway.  Thank you all for participating in our giveaway. Stay tuned for more by following this blog [sign up at the right sidebar] or on Facebook. We love to see what you make with our fabrics too. Send them along to this link and we will gladly share. The following are the winners:

1. Winner of "Believe" bundle by Shelly Comiskey

Mary AnnJuly 3, 2014 at 3:25 PM

Love travelling to Seattle to spend time with my daughter and grandkids. Always a fun vacation. Also like to fit in a "shop hop" trip!!

2. Winner of bundle of Harvest At Millbrook Farm by Debi Hron

Renee Valz I've enjoyed many wonderful vacations through the years but probably one of my favorites is a trip my husband and I took together to Arizona years ago. We are from Maine so when we stepped off the plane it was like stepping onto another planet! 

3. Winner of tote bag

Ruth GriffethJuly 5, 2014 at 4:21 PM

Hum my favorite summer vacation was in 1981 and we went and spent like three weeks in Acadia National Park. It is so beautiful!

4. Winner of tote bag

Rita Goshorn fav summer: forty years ago, before my mother passed, hubby and I had all her grandkids for the summer so that she could spend an hour or so a day with each of them in turn. what a treasured gift of time!

July 8 at 1:24am 

Please send your contact info here. Thank you!

Meanwhile, many shops are starting their Kim Diehl "Simple Whatnots" clubs. Are you signed up at your local shop? The photograph at the top offers a glimpse of some of the projects from the club.
 

Enjoy.

We can't wait to see your "Simple Whatnots" projects.

Have a great weekend.

-hg

A Flair For Fabric

Lots of exciting things happening here at Henry Glass. Right not we have the giveaway going on. Make sure that you comment over HERE to enter to win. We are giving away a bundle of Shelly Comiskey's "Believe" collection, a bundle of "Harvest At Millbrook Farm" by Debi Hron and two of our lovely totes. Good luck!

"Believe" by Shelly Comiskey

["Harvest At Millbrook Farm" by Debi Hron]

Quilt Something Beautiful Henry Glass Tote bag

We are excited to make another big announcement. [In case you missed the first announcement, read all about it here.] Today we are excited to give you a sneak peek of a book that the Henry Glass designers put together. Linda Lum DeBono compiled the book which includes designs by Kim Diehl, Buggy Barn, Jill Finley, Heather Mulder Peterson, Leanne Anderson, Margot Languedoc, Vicki Oehlke, Anni Downs, Lizzie B Cre8ive, Amy Hamberlin, Jacquelynne Steves, Dana Brooks and Mary Ellen Von Holt.  Linda has written about how the idea came together. Check it out on her blog.

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Announcement: Exciting News For The Henry Glass Family

Exciting news for the Henry Glass Family. If you would like PDF version, please click here.

Have a great weekend.

-hg

Happy Independence Day! [And A Giveaway Too!]

[Summer Festival by Color Principle]

Tell us about your favorite summer vacation. Comment here and on Facebook for 4 chances to win. Four winners will be selected randomly to win one of four prizes.

Prize #1

A bundle of Believe by Shelly Comiskey.

Prize #2

A bundle of Harvest At Millbrook Farm by Debi Hron.

Prizes #3 and 4

A "Quilt Something Beautiful" tote. One tote per winner.

Comment here on the blog and the Henry Glass Facebook page for a second chance to win. Entries by midnight Wednesday, July 9, 2014. No substitutions and this giveaway is not related to Facebook in any way.

Happy July 4th to America! Enjoy the weekend.

-hg

Desire To Inspire: June 2014 Edition

Weddings are a big part of summer and we are loving the quilt made by our June 2014 Desire To Inspire designer. Her name is Jean Kritenbrink and she is from Council Bluffs, IA. Make sure that you visit her on her blog, Jean's Quilting Page.

This month the feature fabric for the challenge is Flower Girl by Margot Languedoc of The Pattern Basket. You can view the entire collection on the Henry Glass website.

[Photo: Margot Languedoc]

Family?

I am married to my husband, Art, and we have three daughters, Angie, Wendy and Rachel. 

How long have you been quilting?

I’ve been sewing since I was a child, making clothing and crafts and began quilting about twenty years ago.

What's your favorite technique?

I really love to piece circular shapes and teach a technique that makes it fun and easy. I enjoy trying out new techniques and specialty rulers as well.

[She designed a gorgeous 27" block for the back of the quilt.]

Who taught you how to quilt?

I learned to sew from my mom when I was young. She loves to sew and started teaching me at a young age. She eventually began quilting, so when I started my first quilt I went to her for advice and help. I have also learned a lot from reading books and magazines and have taught myself many techniques. My mom and I still like to sew together.

Do you belong to any guilds?

I don’t belong to a guild as we don’t have one here, but I have been part of the committee that has put on a small quilt show here each of the past two years. 

Anything else you would like to share with our readers?

I started teaching quilting classes over 10 years ago.  I taught a few groups the basics of piecing and finishing a quilt, then designed a sampler quilt to continue teaching them new techniques. I love all aspects of designing quilting projects and have designed 19 samplers and many other quilts and table runners using different techniques under the name Quiltinjeanie Designs.  Two of my designs have been published in McCalls Quick Quilts magazines in the past year.   You can see what I am working on and photos from the classes I teach by visiting my blog, Jean’s Quilting Page at quiltinjeanie.blogspot.com. 

Thanks so much for participating in the Henry Glass Desire To Inspire Challenge, Jean!

If you are interested in participating in the challenge, feel free to send one or two images of quilts or projects that you have made to us for consideration. We do receive many submissions so please be patient. We appreciate your interest in this fun monthly event on the Henry Glass blog. Remember that you can access all of the past challenge projects here.

-hg