To get the ball rollin’ we’re having a contest.  Anyone who contributes a post before midnight on August 26th is automatically entered into a draw to win a $25 MSQC gift card for the online shop.  All you have to do is participate to enter!

Furthermore, if you read the last post, you’re probably also aware that any post submitted also has a chance to earn a $5 MSQC gift card if it receives 20 votes.  You get a vote when someone (tell your friends to vote you up) reads and enjoys your post enough that they click the “vote” button (with the thumbs up icon on it).  In addition to the $5 gift card, the submission will also be featured on the MSQC Cutting Table blog and you will receive a “I was featured on the Cutting Table” badge that you can place on your blog if you have on.  If you don’t get a lot of votes on your first submission, don’t get discouraged, just try again!  You’ll soon get a feel for what the quilting community likes.

If you have a blog, this is a great way to funnel traffic your way, and you can easily set up your account so that your blog posts automatically get submitted to the Online Quilter’s Market.

Remember, you don’t have to have your own blog to participate.  Everyone is welcome!

Good luck and happy quilting!

Traditional Quilt Market

The Online Quilter’s Market is very similar, only it’s online and EVERYONE is invited.  It’s a place where quilters from all around the world can come together to show off their best tutorials, ideas, projects, and patterns.  The Online Quilter’s Market offers anyone the opportunity to be heard by thousands of other quilters.

I’d be willing to bet that most of you have visited at least one quilting blog (you might even have your own), and, let me tell you, there are some topnotch quilting blogs out there.  Well, imagine a quilting blog where ANYONE can contribute a post at ANYTIME.  After all, millions of heads are better than one!  Once you contribute your post, everyone can read it.  If they like it, they’ll give your post a ‘thumbs up’ (they’ll press the “vote” button with the thumbs up icon on it).  The more votes you get, the more popular your submission becomes, and the more people will read it.  If you have your own blog, feel free to link back to it so that those who like your content on the Online Quilter’s Market can see what else you’ve written.

Here are the benefits of participating in the Online Quilter’s Market.  *Note* Some of the benefits mentioned are only applicable to contributors who also have their own quilting blog:

• You will help build quilting as a hobby.  Imagine the synergy that comes from thousands of quilters around the world all sharing skills and ideas in one place.  You will be part of it!

• Instant traffic from the Online Quilter’s Market to your own blog.  In the Online Quilter’s Market there are two ways to view quilter’s submissions: 1) “Recent” – meaning you can view submissions in the order they were submitted (the newest on top), or 2) “Popular” – meaning you can view submissions in order of popularity (the most popular being the ones that have received the most votes).  Since your contribution will be the newest submitted, it will automatically be featured at the top of the “recent” section and give readers a chance to visit the link back to your site.

• Residual long-term traffic to your blog.  You may have had your posts featured on other blogs and seen the instant bump in traffic mentioned above, but it doesn’t take long for that traffic stream to die off as the post gets pushed deeper and deeper into the archives until barely anyone sees it.  Since Online Quilter’s Market users can also view submissions by popularity, if your contribution gets a lot votes, it will stay on top in the popularity section and produce a steady stream of residual traffic to you blog indefinitely.

• You can earn gift cards from the Missouri Star Quilt Company.  As an incentive for good quality content, MSQC is offering gift cards for those submissions that reach a specified level of votes.  Since the Online Quiter’s Market has just begun, the number of votes required is currently only 20.  Attracting 20 votes will earn you a $5 gift card to the Missouri Star Quilt Co.’s online shop.  As the Online Quilter’s Market grows, so will the minimum threshold of votes required to earn a gift card, but every time this threshold goes up, so will the value of the gift card you can win (woo hoo!)

• In addition to winning the gift card, all winning submissions will also be featured on the Missouri Star Quilt Company’s Cutting Table Blog.  As part of being featured, you will receive a cute button that says “I was featured on the Cutting Table Blog” that you can put on your blog if you’d like.  Being featured on the Cutting Table Blog is another great way to boost traffic to your own blog, as it is part of a site that receives thousands of visitors per day.  *NOTE* – In order to be featured on the MSQC Cutting Table Blog and receive your gift card, the submission must original.  Reposting articles or ideas from other sites is allowed (as long as you recognize the source in your post and link back to it), but it cannot earn you a gift card or featured spot on the Cutting Table Blog.

If the Online Quilter’s Market sounds like something you’d like to get involved in click here, or hit the contribute button at on the right hand side of the Cutting Table Blog to submit your first post.  If you have a blog and you’d like your blogposts to be automatically submitted to the Online Quilter’s Market, click the FAQ link to find out how.

You can login to the Quilter’s Online Market using your username and password from ANY of the following sites:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Google
• Yahoo
• Linked In
• OpenID

Or, you can simply register for a new account at The Online Quilter’s Market.

See you all at market and happy quilting!

Well hello there!  I know, I have kind of been MIA here on the blog and the Forums.  I am sorry I have been so bad.  My goodness has life gotten in the way lately!

Our move went fine, *cough (awful) but we are in our new home and are slowly adjusting!  The hard part for me was that the day after we moved in, I left for Sweden.  (Sweden-not so hard, leaving a house in total chaos- very hard!!!)   My dear sweet Husband ‘put the house together’ very bachelor-ish So I’ve been working on making the ‘very functional’ house a little prettier!    The move was hardest on my youngest and I think we have finally gotten him used to the idea that this is our new house!  Lots to do, and lots of projects to complete!  I’ll keep you posted on the stuff as we complete it!

Anyway, I have posted a new weekly giveaway question,(in the forum) so if you want the chance at a free charm pack this week, go there and answer my simple question. 

You all have a great day.  And if all goes as planned you’ll be hearing a LOT more from me!  Bahahahah!!  (no, seriously.  I’ve really got to be better about updating!!)

After that, Susan (Sue) Brown had showed us her new ruler for cutting bias binding. Out of half a yard of fabric we can get over 280″ of 2 1/2″ bias binding, so fast, so easy! Give it a watch and if you want your own tool to slip in your bag, you can get the Simple EZ Bias Binding Ruler right here!

We decided to try something different this week. A video update

Well, we had 226 entries, then we entered each user onto a list and chose a random number from random.org and got the beautiful #53

So our winner is….

ImAQT26363 who said

“Jenny, on your suggestion I started setting my stitches before ironing my pieces open and I am not sure what it does either. I am also obsessed with pre-cuts now! Thanks for the great tutorial and I hope they continue.”

Congratulations!!!  If you missed out on this one, make sure you are subscribed to our YouTube channel (go to the Missouri Star Quilt Co YouTube Channel and click subscribe) cause we have more contests and giveaways planned for the blog, the forum, our youtube channel, facebook and more!  Stay tuned!!!

What a good little helper!

Hello June…where did you come from?  Is anyone else surprised how fast this year is going?  I feel like I am in constant GO mode and haven’t had a chance to breathe for a while.   We did get my house situation all figured out, and are moving this weekend.  Yay!  So hopefully I can stop stressing about that.  Moving is not my favorite thing. 

Oh my, have you all seen the amazing market pics and recaps?? I’ve loved seeing them.  The fabric coming out is amazing, and we ordered up a whole LOT of it, I can’t wait for it to get here!!

We have been so busy at the shop we have even had to put the little people to work.  We have tons of new pre-cuts and fabric by the yard in.

Pricing all those charm packs...she is such a good worker!!

Guess what else is happening?!?!    Mom and I are going to SWEDEN!!!  Yup, that’s right.  We are outta here, on our way to see the beauty that Sweden has to offer.  I can’t wait to find some fabric shops and see the styles that the Swedish quilters adore.    I am so excited.  Stressed out completely -but still excited! 

Don’t worry, I will miss you all….I will hunt down some fabric and when I get home we will go all out and have a good old fashioned giveaway!! 

See you all later!!

Kona Solids Quilt

Seriously, with one Jelly Roll and one Charm Pack from Robert Kaufman you can pull this off!  (You don’t have much left, so cut carefully).  But play around with it, see what you can do to make it better, and let us know what you think!!

This came out soooo nice, I am so excited about it!  Happy Quilting!