When I was invited by the amazing Nancy Zieman to participate in her blog tour for her new book, Quick Column Quilts, I thought two things: a) Can a tour, albeit a virtual one, merit a new shoe purchase? (please, like I need a reason), and b) Which of Nancy’s beautiful quilt designs would I be most likely to put my unavoidable SK spin on?
The answer to the first question was an obvious yes. The second required some investigative work, a.k.a. my leisurely perusing the pages of Nancy’s wonderful new book of bold, speedy and oh so very user-friendly quilt patterns…
^ See, that’s me reading the book. ^ And that’s my BFF, Coffee.
(p.s. I heart my wacom. that is all.)
I kept finding myself being drawn (not literally this time) back to Nancy’s “Original Column Quilt” and imagining what it would look like souped up in some of my fabrics…
And after juuuuust enough daydreaming with my mouth hanging open (with, I’m happy to report, minimal drooling and not too much fly-catching),
…KA-BOOM, I had an idea!
My new Cops ‘N Robbers set has just come out this month with Timeless Treasures and I couldn’t stop thinking about how this quilt design would make for perfect prison cell blocks for my crafty criminals!
Easily transform each square into your choice of barred windows, by way of b/w striped fabric, empty cells, using grey and black solids, and illuminated cells with yellow solids.
The fun part comes when you decide which robber from the Prison Line-Up will get which room. Working off Nancy’s instructions, you’ll have to adjust how you fussy-cut your criminals out a little more, but I trust you masterful quilting peeps are up for the challenge.
And the most entertaining part is, while each bad guy stares out his lonely window, a wild cops ‘n robber car chase goes on around the building below. It’s a loud cacophonous ruckus that’s pretty hard to ignore.
I recommend binding in coordinating Car Chase fabric and backing the entire quilt with zippy b/w stripes. That’ll give you the most bang for your buck, without the fuzz being on your tail.
Think some of this nefarious work might be right up your alley? I thought as much. So, guess what…I’ve got not one, but two giveaways* for you!
*I promise they’re not hot from a car trunk somewhere:
#1 Giveaway: Win a copy of Nancy’s great new book, Quick Column Quilts: To register for this giveaway, follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Then comment on this blog post, telling me: What general type of art/craft/sewing books do you like to buy and why do you specifically pick those for keeps? (I always love a little impromptu market research…pie chart, anyone?).
#2 Giveaway: Win one-yard each of my Cops ‘N Robbers fabric set: Prison Line-Up & Car Chase: To register for this giveaway, follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Then comment on this blog post, telling me: a personal thievery confession (please, nothing too major that will require me to rat you out to the officials or make a citizen’s arrest. I do have a conscience.)
In case you can’t locate it, the comments section hyperlink is above this post, beside today’s date (September. 13, 2014). I will select a winner at random, a.k.a. I will ask my 6-year old to pick one name and my 3-year old to pick another name while I keep my fingers crossed that they happily comply and no meltdowns occur. Giveaways close at 12:00 noon EST on Thursday, September 18. I’ll announce the winners in a Friday, September 19th blog post, which is why you should come back and visit often. Did I mention I’m writing a craft book? Yup, so you might want to come back to find out more about that too. Don’t be a stranger, that’s all I’m sayin’.
Bonus #3 Giveaway: Nancy has some really fine giveaways going on over on her blog. I can attest to those Clover shears as being nothing short of dream slicers. I have two pairs and I promise you they cut like buttah, so get yourself over to her blog, and comment on her 9/4/2014 post to register for more goodie giveaways!
Hmmm, now what shoes should I get….
–sk
P.S. Don’t miss Nancy’s other blog tour stops!:
09/04/14 Nancy Zieman
09/05/14 Quilt Taffy and Simple Simon & Co.
09/06/14 Diary of a Quilter and Stitchin Jenny
09/07/14 A Woman a Day and Craizee Corner
09/08/14 Jina Barney Designz, Lilac Lane Patterns, and Totally Stitchin’
09/09/14 Esch House Quilts and The Cottage Mama
09/10/14 Designs in Machine Embroidery and Pat Sloan
09/12/14 Happy Valley Primitives, Doohikey Designs, and Quilt in a Day
09/13/14 Quilt Dad and Just Arting Around
09/14/14 Lazy Girl Designs and Marie-Madeline Studio
09/15/14 Always Expect Moore and Polka Dot Chair
09/16/14 Amy Lou Who Sews and Riley Blake Designs
09/17/14 Indygo Junction and Amy’s Creative Side