Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Softball Bleachers and a Give Away

Summer and sports go together like popcorn and peanuts....don't you just love it!
If you are finding yourself sitting in the bleachers for hours at a time, then maybe a Bleachers Quilt is just what you need to pad those hard seats or to wrap up in when the temperature suddenly drops.
 With Father's Day being only a few days away, it is probably too late to get it made for your hubby by then, but this pattern is definitely masculine in design. (You could always wrap up the pattern and fabric with an IOU!)
 I've briefly shown you this quilt before, but want to feature it today before I send it off on a fun journey to Sister's, Oregon and the annual quilt show there. Isn't the quilting, by designer, Angela Walters, fabulous?
Angela designed Bleachers; Shea Henderson, of Empty Bobbin Designs, wrote the instructions and published the pattern. I picked these Kona fabrics, tested the pattern and pieced the quilt. Angela then worked her magic to make it come alive with her creative machine quilting.
Sometimes, I admit to getting bored when I make a quilt using only a few fabrics, but not this time. I really, really loved putting this together. Shea's instructions are genius and clever to say the least. I'm hoping to make another in more feminine colors sometime.
 There are even instructions for creating a pieced back. This lap size quilt is very generous and the perfect size for the man in your life.
 Angela's second book, In the Studio, is coming out in the fall.  Her picture in the lower corner of the cover shows her quilting on my quilt.....isn't that fun!
 I might be a bit biased, but I really think that Empty Bobbin patterns are some of the best around! The photography on the cover of each is professionally done by Sarah Sorrell.
 The booklet form instructions are well laid out and easy to follow with lots of colored diagrams.


 Each pattern is tested four or five times by several different people (not just me) and you can be certain that every detail is gone over meticulously before publishing. There are three sizes to choose from and photos of the quilt in various color choices created by the different testers.  (I love the pink, yellow and orange one made by Mary Anne, don't you!)
 Shea has given my an extra copy of Bleachers to give away on my blog.  I'm also including a copy of one of her earlier patterns called Seeing Squares. If you would like to win both of these patterns, just leave me a comment telling me your favorite Bleacher sport. I'll pick a winner at random on Friday, at noon CST. (Be sure that I have access to your email address for a valid entry.)
Hope you are enjoying this summer weather as much as I am!
Batter Up!


33 comments:

  1. Small town rinks have bleachers and are very chilly so I'm going hockey on this one. :-) Thanks for the chance!

    PS - that sign is hilarious at the diamond. It might as well read: No fun. Ever.

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  2. I'm afraid I had to resort to google to find out what a bleacher was! I'd never heard of the term!!
    Now I know, the answer is easy - rugby!!!

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  3. Oh yeah~ that is one great quilt, Carla! I have warmed plenty of bleachers in my life---but mostly indoors, in the basketball arenas!! Thanks for offering this giveaway! :)

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  4. Bleachers- now these a word that hasn't been introduced in Australia vernacular YET! Great quilt BTW!

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  5. Favorite bleacher sport, why baseball of course. I grew up in KC with the Royals in the days of George Brett!

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  6. I'm not brown-nosing when I say I like your quilt the best, I love how the red, grey and mustard play together, not a combination I would have thought about! I'm not a sports person at all but if I had to choose, I'd say Formula 1 racing, in Monaco please!

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  7. Football for me, no contest. I've spent many hours in the bleachers watching high school and college football. The pros I mostly watch on TV.

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  8. my family and i really enjoy watching minor league baseball in the bleachers!

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  9. It is a gorgeous quilt, it's a shame we don't have bleachers in the Uk ;-)

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  10. It's been a few years since I've had bleacher butt from watching my own kids! I'd have to say that baseball is my favorite "bleacher" sport. Thanks for the chance to win!

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  11. I didn't know the back story to this quilt - how fun! I just recently found Angela and her work and book - she is wonderful. It would be interesting to see this in a different colorway. Great job!

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  12. Love your pictures, Carla! You are as good at photography as you are at making quilts. Gorgeous stuff! What an interesting collaboration of talents. Angela, Shea, You, Angela. I'm very proud to say I know you. It would be great to win these patterns, and share them with quilters who haven't seen such things. Thank you and Shea for this nice giveaway.

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  13. Já passei muitas horas da minha vida sentada em arquibancadas,levando meus irmãos para treinos e jogos de futebol.Mais tarde carregando minhas filhas para voleibol.Brasil é o País do Futebol.Obrigada tiacarminhapezzuto@gmail.com

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  14. I think I'd have to go with football as my favorite. Love your quilt!

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  15. That is a "striking" quilt! I love it.

    Yes, we are spending a lot of time watching baseball these days with our grandchildren and enjoying it tremendously.

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  16. It has been a while since I sat in the bleachers, but the sport would have to be Olympic Trap or Skeet. That is a great looking quilt.

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  17. I love the bleacher quilt! It is a winner! My number #1 bleacher sport is baseball! Thanks!

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  18. My favorite bleacher sport would have to be football. Not really a huge baseball fan. Definitely need bleacher quilts more in the fall for football, anyway.
    It is a great design, for sure.

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  19. Definitely baseball for my favorite bleacher sport. I've spent many an hour and have wonderful memories of bleacher times. Love the quilt pattern!

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  20. My favorite bleacher sport is People Watching! Really, my husband is a sports fanatic, and I'm happy to join him for whatever the game is, because it's so much fun to observe human behavior in the stands.

    Thanks for the opportunity to win the patterns! "Seeing Squares" has been on my favorites list for a long while, and the "Bleachers" pattern is very cool.

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  21. I love watching baseball from the bleachers!! Thanks for the chance to win!

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  22. Love it, Carla! The quilting is fabulous! I have to say OSU Buckeyes Football would be my favorite bleacher sport!

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  23. I'm a soccer fan, I love watching good matches, it even doesn't matter which teams are playing. It's Netherlands-Germany in the European Soccer Championships right now... ;-)

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  24. Gorgeous quilt, Carla! You're right, that's a great pattern and fabulous quilting!

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  25. What a wonderful quilt. Here in Hawaii we can put the quilt down on the grass too and enjoy watching our daughter play fast pitch softball.

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  26. Love the baseball bleachers. With two boys I am sure we will sit in them a lot as they grow older! Thanks for the chance to win these!

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  27. What a striking quilt! Gorgeous and you are right, the quilting is awesome. I have not sat on bleachers in a few years but when I did it was to watch my son play basketball and football.

    Thank you for a super giveaway and a chance to win.

    usairdoll(at)gmail(dot)com

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  28. Baseball would be my favorite! :) What a fabulous quilt! Love the colors! Thanks for a chance to win! :)

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  29. My favorite bleacher sport would be softball.

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  30. My favourite bleacher sport would be cricket. Thanks for the lovely giveaway.

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  31. Well, I think softball would be my favorite bleacher sport. Cute quilt and thanks for the giveaway.

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  32. I love watching a good T-Ball game, especially one where my grandson is playing. He would love to sport that quilt on his bed, too!

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