Book Review and Giveaway WINNER!!!

Hi peeps! 

I thought I would share a book I received for Christmas, as I realized it has been ages since my last book review! This is Make+Love QUILTS, by Mary Fons. Does her last name sound familiar? Well it is, because her mom is Marianne Fons of the dynamic quilting duo Fons & Porter! Mary Fons is also the Editor of Quilty magasine, which has become a new favourite!

The book is very well-written with lots of colour photos, and is a Stash Books publication(a niche division of C & T Publishing)…I own several Stash quilting books and have never been disappointed by their quality and attention to detail. 

The first 39 pages are dedicated to Theory + Practice; fabric, design fundamental and construction basics, then you move on to the 12 quilt projects.

This is the quilt from the cover…and my main reason for putting this book on my Christmas List! Each quilt photo is paired with colour suggestions. This one is the biggest quilt in the book, as-is the measurements are 108" x 126", but it is easy enough to adjust your quilt to be smaller.

I should note that all of the quilts in this book are made with scraps, but you don't have to use only scraps, you could go with a more controlled palette.

As you already know, I am a big fan of COLOUR! Not so much a fan of low-volume, but what attracted me to this quilt is the use of right-angle triangles. I also have the Accuquilt right-angle triangle die, so I knew I would be able to cut the pieces for this quilt easily…and from my scraps of course!

I must confess that the Bow Tie block is a top ten favourite block(Churn Dash wins hands down!!). It would be fun to make this quilt using the pictured black background with a multitude of scraps for the bow ties.

You gotta love a quilt named "My Dear" right? Those simple Nine-Patches mixed with a row of Rolling Stones blocks really give this quilt a modern edge while still making the blocks accessible to any skill level.

What can I say??? Of course I chose this Churn Dash quilt as the final quilt to show you!!! So easy to do up in scraps or with a coordinating 4-fabric bundle plus border!

As I said above, there are 12 quilts in this book. I have only shown you my favourites.

In my last post I showed you the cover of my Moleskine block ideas/design book. I though that you might want to have a glimpse at what I do when I am sketching and designing! 

You can find a design book for yourself at Massdrop.

This is a block I have been working on re; the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris earlier this year. I also included the two towers of 911 in New York as I felt that both horrific incidents were connected by tragedy. 

I don't yet know if I will be doing a tutorial of this block…some bugs to work out!!!

This is not an original design. I was working on changing the measurements of the finished block and also of the first square and resulting logs.

Here you can see where the first idea got trashed and the second attempt is so much better. I prefer to work on unlined paper, even though I have to draw the lines myself. That way I can play with the dimensions a bit more.

One thing I forgot to mention about Connecting Threads are the cute little postcards they include with each order. They have the Customer Service phone number on them so you can easily reach them if there is a problem.

After many years of no-trouble purchases I had a minor issue with one this year and called the Customer Service Department. The person on the phone looked up my order and listened to my problem, then corrected it quickly and politely, just like that. No hassles whatsoever! Gold Star to them!!!

I was on the Connecting Threads website yesterday and I noticed that Make+Love QUILTS(reviewed above) was in their Clearance section, at $10.33, which is 55% off!!! Woo-hoo!!!

Also in the Clearance section is this week's Weekly Deals, which are website-only specials that usual offer great discounted prices. This week's deals are on marking tools and acrylic rulers!

Now for the giveaway winner!!!

Wow, there were several hundred comments(YAY!!!) and it was hard to choose, so I asked Mr. Random(aka my Hubs) to choose a number and he chose…

#154. sherryberrybim, who wrote:

sherryberrybimSaturday, March 7, 2015 at 6:28:00 PM PST

I would make a lap quilt with this bundle of Luminescence.

I have sent an email!

Thanks so very much to all of you who entered and made this giveaway a big success!! Thanks also to my many new/continuing(can't say 'old'…just didn't sound right) followers who choose to allow me to come to their mailboxes a few times a week! I will endeavour to keep you entertained!!

Sharing is caring!!!
Don't forget that I am happy to share…feel free to pin to Pinterest, post on Google+ and Facebook, and Tweet away! Just please make sure your posts link back to this blog. 

*If you mouse/hover over the top right corner of my photos, a red pin-it button will show up and all you have to do is click it to be taken to Pinterest. There is also another red button right beside it for posting to Facebook and Twitter. Or, you could always use the little grey square buttons just below my signature. 

Thanks for reading and have a great day! 

Quilty Huggs, 

Jacqueline 

PLEASE NOTE: This post may contain affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link. Thanks!

Giveaway, Giveaway, Giveaway!(…and a recipe too!!!)

Hi peeps! 

I'd like to extend a warm welcome my new sponsor, Connecting Threads.

Connecting Threads has graciously offered this 27-piece fat quarter bundle of their brand-new Luminescence fabric line as a giveaway to one of you!!! 

…and it's primarily purple…mmm! Wish I could enter this giveaway myself!

Here's a little bit about them:

Connecting Threads offers quality cotton fabric, designed specifically for quilters. Connecting Threads is an online and catalog retailer selling quilting fabrics from some of the industry’s most popular manufacturers like RJR Fabrics, Cotton + Steel, and more. Connecting Threads also sells our own exclusive fabrics, with limited-edition designs that you won’t see anywhere else. Each of our exclusive fabrics are created according to our exacting standards and finished with our top-secret formula to create a flawless and amazingly soft finish.

We are proud to offer our exclusive fabrics at a price that fits within most budgets without sacrificing quality one iota. How do we manage this? We go directly to the mill, taking the middleman out of the equation. By sourcing and selling our fabrics directly, we are able to offer our customers wholesale prices on fabrics that won’t be found anywhere else. We believe that convenience shouldn’t cost extra, so we never charge for cutting. This means that our charms, strips and other precut fabric bundles have the same per-yard cost as our normal yardage cuts. Because affordability is one of the core values at Connecting Threads, we also do our best to offer fabrics from outside manufacturers at the lowest prices possible.

I love, love that their in-house lines retail at $5.96(US$) a yard…and they have Cotton & Steele basics at only $9.96 a yard! They also have an amazing Clearance section with deep discounts on Fabric, Books, Tools and Patterns…so many deals to be had! 

Connecting Threads often has excellent sales with up to 40% off regular retail prices. For example, right now they are offering 30% off their EssentialPro polyester thread and 40% off specialty rulers and pressing tools! WOW!!!

They offer free shipping within the continental US with any order over $50. Shipping to Canada is only $7.99 with your $60+(US$) order. They also collect any duty and taxes owing so that we Canucks don't have to pay Canada Posts's onerous $5 "collection fee"..a personal pet peeve.

I have been shopping at Connecting Threads for YEARS, since before they had their beautiful website! As a matter of fact, I always have an open shopping cart and wish list to dream about!

To find out how to enter the giveaway…read on, McDuff!!!

Photo: Vancouver Sun website

Do you remember when I mentioned making vegetable stock(or broth) in this post? Well, there was a feature article and recipe in yesterday's Vancouver Sun about just that. They said there are studies where it's been shown that homemade broth has extremely good restorative properties and can help mitigate many medical conditions. Sports doctors regularly recommend drinking broth to help heal injuries faster and cut the length of the common cold and flu.

The young guys above have a shop which specializes in making/selling their homemade stock which they simmer for 4-5 days!!!

Photo: Vancouver Sun website

There are even "broth bars" popping up around Vancouver where you can buy a steaming cup of homemade broth to enjoy…watch out Starbucks!!!

I decided to give the Hubs a break from cooking and made a big pot of chili con carne yesterday. I can't give you a cost-per-meal on this one as I had everything in my pantry. I do know that the cans of beans were $0.99 each, the paste was $0.75, and the tomatoes were around $1.25…just can't remember what I paid for the juice. The lean hamburger meat was also on sale and I had the spices in-house.

When specific canned goods(like the ones above) go on sale, I grab the limit allowed to stock my pantry.

My 'secret ingredient' is Clammato juice, but we didn't have any and I wasn't going to head to the grocery store for one thing that was probably not on sale. So, I subbed in the V-Plus juice.

I browned 2 pounds of lean hamburger meat then placed the cooked meat on a paper-towel-lined plate to absorb the excess grease. Then I caramelized 2 medium, chopped onions in the same pan. While I was sautéing the onions I was dumping the contents of the canned goods into my large pot…making sure to rinse the goo off the beans in a colander beforehand. I added generous portions of cumin, chili powder, dry mustard and black pepper as well as 5 cloves of well-chopped garlic. I forgot to add red pepper flakes!!!

Then I added the drained meat and cooked onions into the large pot and heated to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. I love how the above photo shows the steam rising!!! Then the hard part…turn the burner down to medium and keep stirring for at least a half an hour. Then I just leave it to cool on the stove.

About a half an hour before suppertime, I crank up the heat to rolling boil again and continue stirring for about 30 minutes…this allows the chili to thicken and the flavour also intensifies.

The end result…a steaming bowl of chili to knock away the winter chill! There is enough in the pot for 3 suppers for 3 people.

Now, for the giveaway!!!

-Leave me a comment telling me what you would make with this lovely 27-piece bundle of Luminescence!

-For a second entry, follow this blog and indicate how you follow(i.e.: by email or via Bloglovin'). The Follow windows are on the upper right sidebar of this blog. 

Please note: with the follow by email option, they(Feedburner) will send you a confirmation email…you have to click the link they give you in that message to become an actual follower who receives my blog posts in their inbox.

*Two entries per person please.*

*For Canadian and USA residents only.*

*Giveaway closes at NOON, MONDAY MARCH 9, 2015

Connecting Threads and Jacqueline Frances are not responsible for lost or stolen mail.

Feel Free to share with your friends, post to Facebook, pin to Pinterest and Tweet away!!! There are little grey sharing buttons in the box at the end of this post.

***GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED AND THE PRIZE HAS BEEN AWARDED***

Thanks for reading and have a great day! 

Quilty Huggs, 

Jacqueline