Designer's Choice winner for the Critter Patch and Threadbias Baby Quilt Design Contest

We have a winner for the Threadbias Baby Quilt Design Contest featuring our Critter Patch organic fabric line from Clothworks Textiles. And the winning quilt design for the Designer's Choice category is...

 

Natural Corridors

by ml_wilkie

Why did I choose it as the winner?

I love the simplicity of this quilt but it's still full of design details. I like how each of the Critter Patch patterns lives in it's own small space within a small square or triangle. Sometimes the triangle lives alone and sometimes it's paired with another. Ml_wilkies description of the quilt is: Modern asymmetric quilt, interpreting habitat corridors that connect wildlife populations. I think the squares and triangles living alone and some of the other triangles living together perfectly show this. It's like the sparrows that throw all the bird seed from the feeder to the ground so that the chipmunks have some food too. Ok, maybe not the best example, but it's the "wildlife" that I see out of my studio window.

The other part I like about the quilt is that the squares and triangles as a group are centered within the quilt as a whole, but they appear off-center because of the cream square that they're positioned on. It's a simple gesture that I find really interesting. It's tugging on my graphic designer heartstrings.

More winners.

I wanted to thank everyone who participated in designing a quilt. It was amazingly inspiring to see what you came up with. To see the People's choice winner and the two runners up for each category, check out the Threadbias post. Check out all the entries here. Ml_wilkies and the People's choice winner will receive all the Critter Patch fabric they need to actually make their quilt design. How amazing is that! Congrats all!

Baby Quilt Design Contest on Threadbias.com

Today marks the start of our Critter Patch Organic - Baby Quilt Design Contest - with Clothworks Textiles and Threadbias.com.

Here's your chance to design the cutest baby quilt ever using our new fabric line, Critter Patch. There are "People's Choice" and "Designer's Choice" awards (meaning I get to choose one of the winners).

The winner of each category gets the actual fabric needed to make their quilt! (including binding and backing)

The contest, hosted by Threadbias.com, starts today and lasts 2 weeks.

Theadbias.com is offering free access to their quilt design tool for the duration of the contest for you if you decide to participate.

Get more info on the contest and how to enter over here on the Threadbias.com blog.


Happy designing! Can't wait to see what you come up with.

best
-alyssa

Fat Quarters Giveaway!

What is a Fat Quarter?

To all of our beginner fabric friends, a fat quarter is a measurement of fabric equaling a 1/4 of a yard. Typically a 1/4 yard cut is made by taking the measurement for a 1/4 of a yard (9 inches) and cutting across the width of the fabric creating a fabric piece that's 9" x 42". A fat quarter is still a 1/4 yard of fabric, but instead of cutting all the way across the width of the fabric, it's made by taking a yard of fabric and cutting it in half both widthwise and lengthwise, creating a piece that's 18" x 21". It's taller and not as wide as a normal 1/4 yard cut making it "fat". Fat quarters are great for tons of sewing projects and is a common size cut found in quilting shops.
 Here's what a fat quarter looks like:

 

For a list of fun project ideas using fat quarters, visit this awesome blog, Owen's Olivia!

Also.....

We're giving away the complete collection of Picnic Pals Organic Fat Quarters!

In honor of the end of the season, we're giving away the complete collection of Picnic Pals organic Fat Quarters! One winner will receive 26 fat quarters, making 6 1/2 yards, with a retail value of $74.00!!! Made with 100% organic cotton, this collection is perfect for making a colorful and cozy lap quilt or tote bag! Here's how to enter!

Two ways to enter:

Enter via Penguin and Fish Blog:
1) Comment on this post!
2) Comments will be collected and entered into
the raffle.
3) Winner will be notified via email!

For an additional entry, participate via Twitter!

Enter via Twitter:
1) Tweet a friendly greeting @penguinandfish
with the hashtag #picnicpals
2) We'll gather all the tweets and enter them
into the raffle.
3) Winner will be notified with a Direct Message
via Twitter!

For an additional entry retweet any @penguinandfish tweet or sign up for our newsletter, located in the right hand column!

All entries are due by 12:00 Central Time October 16th.
We can't wait to give this awesome bundle to one of our lucky P&F friends!

Thanks for visiting our blog today!
Sincerely,
Your friends at Penguin and Fish

Picnic Pals fabric collection

Hi all. Here's a quick glimpse of my new fabric line Picnic Pals. I'm really excited about the super bright summery colors. The fabric will be shipping to stores in July so make sure to tell your favorite local quilt shop that you'd like them to get some for you! The free pattern to make the rainbow quilt will be available in July as well. I couldn't wait to share it even though I know it's a couple months out yet. I can't wait to make one for myself, it'd be perfect for a picnic blanket. Remember, Picnic Pals iphone cases and ipad skins are available now over at society6, yay!

Fall Quilt Market 2011

Hi all! I'm back from Fall 2011 International Quilt Market. Quilt Market is a trade show for quilt shops and the rest of the industry to come on down and see what's new. There is one held in Spring and one in Fall. This was my fourth one, I can't believe it! I'm exhausted and could sleep for a week! It was an excellent show and I got to meet a ton of great peeps. Wasn't able to leave the booth very often, so I don't have many pics from the show, but I thought I'd share a couple from my booth. We hung Safari Sweet all over the walls. I think my favorite thing is all the little Safari Sweet plushies we made. I love the little alligator that's chilling with the big hedgehog. Silly. That's me in the booth in the first pic. That's only the first day and I looked tired already. On the wall with all the embroidery kits, you may spy some new little fellas. We now have the Giraffe, Jellyfish, Zebra and Alligator as kits! They're not up in the shop yet, but they will be soon. And all the patterns and kits now have iron-on transfers included, Yay!

Pile'o'gators

Finished making some alligators out of Safari Sweet!

Safari Sweet is released!!!

The lovely Brandi over at Clothworks Textiles let me know yesterday that my first fabric collection, Safari Sweet, is out. Yippee! So tell your favorite quilt shop that you want some. :-) One of the neat things about it is that it's all organic. And not just organic, but GOTS certified organic. GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) is a third party organization that makes sure every part of the process – including harvesting the raw materials, processing, manufacturing, packaging, labeling, trading and distribution – maintains the organic status of the fabric. Here's a link for more info on GOTS certification. Another super fun thing is that there are new organic solids that coordinate perfectly with Safari Sweet, and there are also a couple of flannels in the collection. Check out Clothworks Textiles blog and website for more. Over here at Penguin & Fish, we have all of the animals in Safari Sweet available as embroidery patterns and a few of them as embroidery kits. I can't wait to stitch up some animals and make little pillows with the sample yardage when I receive it. All you friends who are having babies know what you'll be getting as gifts. heh heh. I'd love if you could help me get the word out about Safari Sweet. I'll definitely share some more pics once I receive samples. Fun!