Congratulations to Laurie!

Congratulations to Laurie!

Winner of a "Seascapes" jelly roll.

Thank you all so much for visiting my

blog during this busy time of year

and sharing your favorite

holiday traditions.

We here at the Strain home

wish you all the Merriest of Christmas

and Happiest New Year!

Looking forward to visiting with you more

in 2013.

Always,

Deb

Now in stores...."Seascapes!"

Hello Dear Friends!

Hope that December has started well for all of you.

What a fun, busy time of year!

I just wanted to take you away from

holiday baking  and present wrapping for

a moment to

let you know that 

"Seascapes"

is now in your favorite

Quilt Shop!

"Seascapes"

is my newest line of fabric, 

filled with blues, greens and aquas of

the ocean.

Seashells and sand dollars, scallops and sea horses

will remind you of treasures from the sea.

Barb from Coach House Designs

has created 3 wonderful Quilt Patterns with

"Seascapes."

This is just one of them.

Be sure to stop by her website to see all three!

And now for the drawing.....

Leave a comment by Dec. 15th,

telling me your favorite 

holiday tradition.

On the 15th, I will random.org

will help me choose the winner

of a "Seascapes" JELLY ROLL!

Good luck to you and Happy Holidays!

Always,

Deb

Happy Fall!

Hello Dear Friends!

What a beautiful time of year!  The air is crisp, the colors have been inspiring and the holidays are right around the corner.  It has also been a busy time of year for us here at the Strain Homestead......

Thought that I might show you a few of the things that we have

been doing in the last month or so!

Two weeks ago, was the International Quilt Market, in Houston, Texas.

My booth was filled with beautiful quilts using my newest fabric line

from Moda, "Seascapes."

Barb, from Coach House Designs, created 3 incredible new quilts

to show off this lovely new group featuring everything nautical.

"Seascapes" will be available in your favorite Quilt store soon!

Watch for my next blog where I introduce 

this newest line created with colors from the Sea.

(A drawing will also be held then!)

I forgot to bring my camera to take pictures of my booth and

the excitement at the show, but found a video 

that will show all!   

Quilt Market Fall 2012

Just click on the above link and you will be transported to

my booth in Houston.

Last week, was a trip to Newark, Ohio, to

meet with Longaberger Baskets.

My meeting was held in their "Giant Basket" building.

They really liked the 2013 Calendar that I designed for them

and wanted to get started on 2014!

Of course, there has been a lot of fun with our twin

grandsons....like baking cookies and playing with

Power Rangers!

Earlier in October, we took a little resource trip for

inspiration.  I found so many ideas and wonderful

images in Southern Indiana.  Look for

several of these in my future artwork!

Love this!

Already used this one in a new

Christmas painting!

September included being an exhibitor with my dear friend,

Anne McKinney at the Country Living fair.

It was a lot of fun and very inspiring!

This was our booth.

The crowd was plentiful and the

weather was beautiful...what

a perfect weekend!

That has been our recent month or so...

Next up.....

THE HOLIDAYS!

Hope your fall has been as much fun as mine.

Always,

Deb

Oh, So Sweet Winners!

Hello Dear Friends!

Thanks so much for joining the Moda designers

on our hometown tours.

I'm ready to travel, aren't you?

Thank you also for leaving such wonderful comments on my blog.

I read them ALL and am REALLY ready

to travel now!!!

And now....to introduce the winners.....

(drawn randomly with the help of random.org)

The winner of the Seascapes Jelly Roll 

is....

Ellen, from Dunedin, Florida (where

orange juice was invented!) who commented on

September 8th at 1:21pm.

The winner of the SPA Jelly Roll

is....

Cecilia from sunny

San Diego, California

who commented on September 10th

at 1:21 pm!

Congratulations to you both and

I will get your prizes right out.

Thanks again to everyone who visited

my blog.

Stop by Moda's blog, 

The Cutting Table

for directions to

set all of the blocks that you have

received in the hop, together.

(Those Moda people are geniuses!)

Have a wonderful fall!

Always,

Deb

Oh, So Sweet Blog Hop!!!!

Hello Dear Friends!

Today (Saturday) is my day in Moda's 

Oh, So Sweet!

Blog Hop.

September is National Sewing Month and what

better way to celebrate than lots of

give-a-ways and free patterns?

Our theme for this blog is a "Hometown visit."

So, I will be taking you for a little visit to

rural Ohio.

We actually live in Gettysburg, Ohio.  A little village

of about 500 people, an hour from the Indiana border.

Everyone in Gettysburg has a post office box that we go to

everyday to get our mail.

Here are the postal boxes for our entire town....

all on one wall!

Our nearest "BIG" city is Greenville, Ohio....

....population 13,189.

Greenville is known for 3 things:

the birthplace of Anne Oakley,

the Great Darke County Fair,

and......

Maid Rite.

Anyone who has been to Greenville, has been to Maid Rite.

The food is good, but it is the building itself,

that is famous.

Because every wall (outside, not inside!)

is covered with GUM!

(Sorry if you are eating while viewing this.)

Sometimes the "gum stickers" get

experimental and see what they

can leave in their gum.....

and some are more creative in their

"gum expressions."

You can even buy a souvenir T-shirt

to help remember your visit to

the "Gum Wall!"

So...now that you've seen more ABC gum (Already Been Chewed) than you ever wanted to,

let's get to the freebies!

Leave a comment telling me where you live and what

your hometown is known for and 

2 winners will randomly be chosen on Sept. 15th.

The first will win this jelly roll of my

newest line "Seascapes" coming to

stores in December.

(You will be the first to have this

fabric!!)

The second winner will receive a jelly roll of

"SPA" that was just released last month!

The sewing geniuses at Moda came up with an

"Oh, So Sweet" block using my fabric too.

Enjoy this free pattern by linking to:

Sew Sweet Sampler Block

Be sure to stop by 

Bunny Hill

and

Kate Spain

today and visit their hometowns.

The rest of the week, you can travel

all over the world to other Moda designers too.

Sept. 9
PIECES FROM MY HEART
LAUREN & JESSE Jung 
and
FIG TREE & CO

 
Sept. 10
PRIMITIVE GATHERINGS
LILY ASHBURY
and
FRENCH GENERAL

Sept. 11
LUCIE SUMMERS
and
COTTON WAY 

 
Sept. 12
KANSAS TROUBLES
MALKA DUBRAWSKY
and
LAUNDRY BASKET QUILTS

Sept. 13
KATHY SCHMITZ
SWEETWATER 
and 
V AND CO.

Sept. 14
MINICK & SIMPSON
Jenn Ski 
and 
ZEN CHIC

Sept. 15
Prizes Announced on each blog. 
You will also want to stop by moda's blog the Cutting Table  all throughout  the week.

Goodbye and good luck from rural Ohio!

Always,

Deb

Have fun with the Moda designers as we celebrate

National Sewing Month!

For 10 days, there will be 1 post from 3 different designers.  This blog hop

will include lots of give-aways and projects

as we visit each designer in their hometown.

Mark your calendars and be sure to join 

us for the fun!

Sept. 5
BARBARA BRACKMAN       
ANEELA HOEY 
and 
ME & MY SISTER

Sept. 6
BLACKBIRD DESIGNS
BASICGREY
and
Pat Sloan

Sept. 7
BRANNOCK & PATEK
Eric & Julie Comstock 
and 
Thimbleblossoms

Sept. 8
BUNNY HILL
KATE SPAIN
and 
DEB STRAIN 

Sept. 9
PIECES FROM MY HEART
LAUREN & JESSE Jung 
and
FIG TREE & CO

 
Sept. 10
PRIMITIVE GATHERINGS
LILY ASHBURY
and
FRENCH GENERAL

Sept. 11
LUCIE SUMMERS
and
COTTON WAY 

 
Sept. 12
KANSAS TROUBLES
MALKA DUBRAWSKY
and
LAUNDRY BASKET QUILTS

Sept. 13
KATHY SCHMITZ
SWEETWATER 
and 
V AND CO.

Sept. 14
MINICK & SIMPSON
Jenn Ski 
and 
ZEN CHIC

Sept. 15
Prizes Announced on each blog. 
You will also want to stop by moda's blog the Cutting Table  all throughout the hop.

Disclaimer: Not all designers will be posting during this event, to learn more about the designers visitmodafabrics.com/designers

Ahhhhh....SPA

Hello Dear Friends!

Hope that your summer has been passing smoothly and it has been filled with blue skies.
Speaking of blue skies, I wanted to introduce you to my newest fabric collection, called "SPA."

It is a fresh new group featuring blues and white, available in stores

this month (August.)

Throughout this clean, crisp collection are different shades of

blue,  from relaxing "spa"blue to rich cobalt blue.

If you were at Spring Quilt Market, you might remember

my entire both was blue and white......

Barb, of Coach House Designs, once again created beautiful patterns using

my fabric.  Be sure to stop by her website to check them out!

SPA just makes me want to take a deep breath,

relax and unwind.

Or....just look at the blue sky and remember why blue is one

of my favorite colors!

Hope you enjoy "SPA!"

Always,

Deb

The Winners!

Hello Dear Friends!

Thanks to everyone who listened to

American Patchwork and Quilting radio!

Also, thank you to those who

left comments on my blog

and participated in 

the drawing.

And the winners are......

1st place.....

Karen who commented on Aug. 7th at

3:57 pm.

2nd place.....

Gill who commented on Aug. 9th at

9:36 am.

3rd place....

Nancy who commented on Aug. 8th at

5:47.

Congratulations!

If you haven't heard from me, please send your address to

debstrain@embarqmail.com.

I'll send the prizes right out!

Again, thank you so much for visiting

my blog.

Always,

Deb

Radio Contest!

Hello Dear Friends!

Hope that August has started well for you!

If you have been following my blog,

you know that yesterday,

I was interviewed by Pat Sloan for 

American Patchwork and Quilting's

radio show.

Pat was so kind and it was OH! so exciting!

If you would like to listen,

you still can at

www.allpeoplequilt.com

Just scroll down to the 8-6-12 Podcast 

to hear Pat and I discuss my design

process and a little about

what life is like as a designer.

Now, for the drawing.....

If you listen to the podcast, you will know the

answer to the following question:

"What piece of furniture have I had in my studio

since I was a little girl?"

Leave me a comment with the answer 

before midnight  on Friday night (8/10/12)

and 3 winners will be chosen to win....

A little Christmas in the summer!

I'll be giving away a blue, red and green panel from my

new Christmas line "Share the Joy"

and a little ornament just to get you in

the holiday spirit.

Good Luck and thanks for listening!

(Please include a way for me to contact you, if you win.)

Always,

Deb

Christmas in the Summer!!!!

Hello Dear Friends!

As we are enjoying the 90-100 degree weather this summer,

my new Christmas line "Share the Joy" has been introduced to remind

you of what is just around the corner!

Yes, Christmas is coming with it's cooler weather,  times with family and friends, and of

course, SNOW!

The panel from "Share the Joy" shows my 3 newest snowmen,

all sharing the joy of the holidays with friends.

And, if you like snow, there are 2 patterns featuring snowflakes in the

group!

If you like Christmas trees....

we have those too!

Or birds.....

And of course, snowmen are included!

There are so many other fun, festive coordinates in this

happy group.  All of which will help get you

ready for the holidays and

sharing joy with family and friends!

Be sure to listen Monday, August 6th,

Show Time

Monday 4pm eastern, 3pm Central, 2pm mountain, 1pm Pacific

on Pat Sloan's 

American Patchwork and Quilting 

radio show as she interviews me 

about the process I use to design fabric.

You can listen live at

www.allpeoplequilt.com

On Tuesday, August 7th,

I will ask questions from

the interview and 

have a drawing

giving away 3 prizes!

One of them will

be from 

"Share The Joy!"

Hope to you can join us.

Always,

Deb