Making Connections Blog Hop - You Voted & Here are the Results + A Give-A-Way !

A few weeks ago I was honored to be part of the Making Connections Blog Hop to celebrate the release of Dorie Hruska's new book: Making Connections: A Free-Motion Quilting Workbook with C & T Publishing. 

You can connect to my original post here and learn about the voting that I asked the readers to participate in to help me select a quilting pattern and thread color for my table runner. 

Well, I've tallied the votes.  On the thread - it was a landslide victory for So Fine 421 gold thread.  But on the quilting pattern voting, it was a neck-to-neck or should I say stitch-to-stitch finish!  Option A won by just a few votes over Option C. 

I used my longarm to complete the quilting and here's a photo of the quilted block.  I just love it!  Don't you? 

I love the nice even consistency the quilting gives the table runner.  I'm kinda picky (well, maybe obsessed) that table runners lay flat ... after all, they will have dishes and vases and candles and such sitting on them and we sure don't want those falling over! 

Here is a photo of the completed runner.  The quilting is a perfect compliment to my Let's Gather pattern and showcases the fabrics beautifully.

This is just one of the many connecting patterns in the Making Connections book.  You can order your own signed copy of the book on Dorie's website.   And while you are there, be sure to check out the FREE Shipping special on her "I Want it All" bundle.  You can also follow her on FB @forever.quilting and IG @foreverquilting

And, if you have read ALLLL the way to the end of this post,  as a thank you to everyone who followed along with the blog, I'm giving away a free PDF copy of my Let's Gather pattern.  Just leave a comment below and be sure to like my Masterpiece Quilting FB page.  

Making Connections Blog Hop

Making Connections Blog Hop

Hi!  Welcome to Masterpiece Quilting!

I'm Nancy Scott and I'm excited to be part of this blog hop where we celebrate the release of Dorie Hruska's latest book Making Connections: A Free-Motion Quilting Workbook with C & T Publishing. 

I've been longarm quilting since 2006 and it's always a challenge to come up with new and fresh ideas for quilting. Sure you can always stitch out an edge to edge pattern and call it finished but what really gets the attention is custom quilting that highlights the piecing.  This book is full of designs and techniques that are applicable for both domestic machine and longarm quilters and will allow you to do exactly that - get a custom quilted look without all the stops and starts.  

Sometimes my biggest challenge is deciding what designs I want to use, so I'm asking you to help me out.   Here is my new Christmas table runner that needs quilted.  I used my Let's Gather pattern to make it.

I want to quilt it so the quilting highlights the piecing but doesn't necessarily draw attention to my non-so-perfect piecing :)   so the techniques in Making Connections are perfect. 

Here's a close-up look at the block so you can see it better. 

From my design software, I exported the block diagram and printed it.  Then I began playing around and drawing some different quilting options that are in the Making Connections book.

Which quilting option do you like best?  

Another decision I have to make is thread color - which should I use?  Do I want to draw attention to the quilting or just let it subtly add texture?    Here are the first 5 thread cones I grabbed.  All of the threads are Superior So Fine 50wt. 

And here is a close-up so you can see the thread better.  I know I have a favorite picked out but I want to know what you think too!

For your input in helping me decide how to quilt my Let's Gather runner, C&T Publishing is giving away a free copy of Making Connections.  To enter, leave a comment with which thread color (gold, beige, yellow, red, green or suggest one) and which quilting option (a, b, c, d  or suggest one) that I should use. It's that easy!  After the blog hop ends on September 15th, I will select a winner and contact you for your mailing address.
**Note: Only winners with addresses within the US will receive a hard copy of the book. International winners will receive the e-book version.

To order a signed copy of Making Connections, here is the link to Dorie's website, Forever Quilting. 

Be sure to stay tuned to my blog - later this month I will have a show and tell post when I quilt my Let's Gather runner using your suggestions for quilting and thread. 

Also be sure to check out all the awesome quilting that is happening in this blog hop.

BLOG HOP SCHEDULE


Friday September 1st
C&T Publishing Blog: http://www.ctpub.com/blog/   IG:ctpublishing

Monday September  4th
Holly Anne Knight Blog: https://www.stringandstory.com/ IG: stringandstory
Susan Arnold Blog: www.quiltfabrication.com IG: quiltfabrication

Tuesday September 5th 
Becca Fenstermaker Blog:  www.prettypiney.com IG: prettypiney
Teri Lucas Blog: www.generationqmagazine.com IG: genqmag

Wednesday September 6th 
Sherry Shish Blog: https://poweredbyquilting.com IG: poweredbyquilting
Pam Morgan Blog: www.mysweetlittlestitches.com IG: sweetlittlestitches

Thursday September 7th 
Katy S Blog: www.katyquilts.net IG: katyquilts
Laura Piland Blog: www.sliceofpiquilts.com IG: sliceofpiquilts

Friday September 8th 
Suzy Webster Blog: https://websterquilt.blogspot.com IG: websterquilt
Bernie Kringel Blog: https://needleandfoot.com IG: needleandfoot

Monday September 11th
Jamie Mueller Blog: www.jamie@sunflower-quilts.com IG: sunflower_quilt
Nancy Scott Blog: http://masterpiecequilting.blogspot.com IG: masterpiecequilting

Tuesday September 12th 
Sherri Noel Blog: www.rebeccamaedesigns.com IG: rebeccamaedesigns
Anorina Morris Blog: www.sameliasmum.com IG: sameliasmum

Wednesday September 13th 
Yvonne Fuchs  Blog: https://quiltingjetgirl.com IG: quiltingjetgirl
Barbie Mills Blog: https://thequiltingmill.blogspot.com IG: thequiltingmill

Thursday September 14th 
Afton Warrick Blog: www.quiltingmod.com IG: quiltingmod 
Kathy Bruckman Blog: https://kathyskwiltsandmore.blogspot.com IG: kathyskwiltsandmore

Friday September 15th
Susan Arnold Blog: www.quiltfabrication.com IG: quiltfabrication
Dorie Hruska Blog: http://www.forever-quilting.com/blog IG: foreverquilting