Howdy! It's Blogathon Canada Day #3 - Alberta!

Hello and welcome!

I'm Katherine, and I'm delighted to be co-host for today's featured province of Alberta, along with Andrea from Urban Quilt Works.

I've been sewing since I was a girl, however I didn't wander into quilting until after I became a Mom.  Until that time I sewed mostly clothing, along with toys and as many home décor items as possible (I'm a trained drapery seamstress).  I grew up with quilts though, and two of my most treasured possessions are handmade quilts I received from my maternal grandmother.  As much as I admired quilts, I wasn't sure if I would enjoy making them.  Turns out, I do.  After my first quilt, (a twin sized quilt I made for our youngest son from his babyhood flannel receiving blankets), I was hooked.

These days, when I'm not helping my husband with his custom kitchen business, you will find me in my sewing room... dreaming, designing and likely working on a quilt (or two... or three...) amongst my other sewing/crafting projects.

Want to see a few of my favourites?

Let's start with something Western, because this is Alberta after all. ;o)

"Anything but Plaid" is a quilt I test patterned for Amanda Jean Nyberg (it's her Candy Coated pattern from Sunday Morning Quilts) and it uses some plaids from shirts my oldest son wore as a boy.  He's a tall drink of water these days, but he hasn't outgrown his love for plaid. 

"Blue Beginnings" is my first solids only quilt and it was made to mark my youngest son turning 18.  It was so fun to make and I loved trying a new design in free motion quilting.

The above mosaic is a good example of my love for colour. 

"Cherry Blossoms" is a baby quilt I made for my newest niece;

 the "ManDarin" quilt was made especially for my husband

(his love of orange led me to this quilt and has now made me fall for that colour!);

"Pop Star" is a favourite for it's colour and for the quilting. 

 Last in the mosaic is a scrappy blue/green quilt that is still in the works.

The pillow above is my own design - the "Triple Hex Reading Pillow" and I made it into a pattern.

Not only do I love making quilts, but I LOVE making quilted pillows!

"Sparkle Snowflake" remains one of my all-time favourites and it graces our living room every winter. 

All this sewing leaves me with lots of scraps, which I love.

I love the freedom of scrap piecing and the joy it brings to make leftovers into something useful.

 I look for any opportunity to make something useful from them - like the oven mitts above,

Each notecard finishes at 3" - so these are great for using up tiny scraps.

or these mini notecards.  It all makes me very happy!

 You're right, I think it's pretty laughable that I once wondered if I would enjoy making quilts. :o)

It's time to get to the really fun part!

What about the giveaway?

As I browsed through Sew Sisters lovely shop, to select your giveaway prize, I found my creative juices were stirred.  I could not help thinking that I would like to design a project for you to make from the fabrics I chose. 
Wondering if my idea was too crazy,
 I asked Carol if that would be alright and not only did she say, "Yes!" - she sent me the materials to make up my design idea.  Yipee!

 Thanks, Carol!

Here's the fabrics I selected...

and here is what I designed to use them.

Presenting the Oh, Joy! Patchwork Pillow...

complete with details like the appliqued letters and holly (adorned with self-cover buttons as berries),

two fabric binding,

and a super easy French back.

Can't you just picture making one of these for a gift?

The pattern is written as a PDF file,  so even if you don't win today's bundle of fabrics, you can still make your own version. 

 Best of luck to each of you in the giveaway

 - which is open internationally (thanks, Sew Sisters!).
Entries close at midnight EST Nov. 23rd.

I will draw the winner  the day after the end of Blogathon Canada using the Random number generator.

Please make sure I have a way to contact you if you win

 (leave your email in your comment if you are a no-reply blogger).
Sadly, if I can't contact the winner, I will have to re-draw for a new winner.

Click here to go to my PayHip shop to download the

 Oh, Joy! Patchwork Pillow pattern.

Now the fun doesn't end here... 

Please, hop over to visit  my co-host for today,

Andrea over at Urban Quilt Works

 before popping by all the other Alberta quilting blogger's on my list.

Just look at all the talent this province has to offer...

GeoMama

Apple Pie Patchwork

Red Eye Crafts

Everyday Fray

Little D and Me

She Can Quilt

Life in the Doghouse

Slair's Lair

Cat's Crossing 

Blue Elephant Stitches 

 Before I sign off...

Huge thanks to Sew Sisters!

I feel honoured to have been a part of  Blogathon Canada and I'm really looking forward to finding new blogs to visit  throughout this week and making friends!

(Friendships are what blogging is all about).

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I hope you found some inspiration and look forward to seeing you here again.

Oh, and don't forget!  Be sure to visit the Sew Sisters Blog today, for your chance to win a lovely giveaway prize sponsored by Robert Kaufman!!!

EDITED: Comments now closed winner to be announced....