Monthly Quilt Contest - July's Winner

QQQ team has a monthly contest with a theme. For July the theme was 'Vacations', and the winner is Susan from Susans Passion with her popular Retro Camper Mug Rug

Wouldn't this be a great mug rug for your camper? It would make a perfect gift too.

CONGRATULATIONS Susan! Well deserved!

To see more of Susan's work, visit her shop Susans Passion Here you will find a variety of quilts; baby/toddler, lap and bed quilts, table runners, handmade for your kitchen, beanies, scarves, cowls etc. 

Follow QQQ' on

Quilts Quilts Quilts Team Pages

Quilts Quilts Quilts Facebook

Quilts Quilts Quilts Pinterest

Get to know the QQQ's: Roni from Roni G's Quiltings

Hi! I'm Roni Granot and my shop is RoniGsQuiltings 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/RoniGsQuiltings

How did you come up with your shop name?

I wanted to have "Roni G" in my shop's name; and this was the combination Etsy allowed me J

Where do you live? 

I live in Ra'anana, a small town in the center of Israel 

When did you start making quilts? Or, when did you become interested in quilt-related items (fabric, patterns, etc)?
I started making quilts in 2004. I saw on TV the film "How to Make an American Quilt" and I knew immediately that I have to learn to quilt. Before that I took some courses in sculpturing, painting and jewelry – but never lasted more than a year.

Tell us about your first quilt or other important first in your sewing life.

My first quilt was a small sampler (6 squares), hand sewn and hand quilted because my teacher believes in learning the basics first (or as she said it- you need to learn how to walk before you start running).  

What inspires you?

Colors, nature, fabrics, patterns.

Do you have any other hobbies? Pets? A garden, kids, or volunteer activities? 

I have 3 cats ( Glen, Stella and Becks) and a dog (Swampy). The cats love to sit on my quilts. Any quilt. Or even just on a pile of fabrics.

I used to do puzzles (jigsaws) but I don't have the time for it now. There is one puzzle I saw once on the internet and I hope to do it one day – a cat on a quilt.

Traveling – I traveled in New Zealand 7 years ago, and after passing by a quilt shop I decided to make a quilt when I'll get back home. So I started buying FQ whenever I saw a shop and a year after I returned I made a wall hanging out of all the fabrics. Now I have to do something to remind me of my trip to Norway and the trip to Iceland. 

Do you do any charity sewing?

Not at the moment

Running an Etsy shop means you wear many hats in one day. How do Etsy activities impact your other life activities, such as work, family, other activities?
My Etsy shop is not very active. I work full time and doing other jobs from home in the evening and weekend – so I don't have much time to sew.

How do you plan your projects?

I don’t really plan my projects – sometimes I can work on a project from start to finish, and sometimes I'll finish most of the top and then let it sit for a while until I'll find the perfect fabric for the border or until I'll decide what I want it to really look like. 

Shop: RoniGsQuiltings

Facebook: Ronigquilting

Pinterest: rgranot

Get to know the QQQ's: Susan and Sharon from Ms P Designs USA

Sharon Andersen and Susan Hatcher are sisters and owners of 'Ms P Designs USA'.
Our shop link is: www.etsy.com/shop/MsPDesignsUSA

Our maiden name was 'Passmore', so that's where we came up with Ms P. We design quilting pattern and are based in the USA. So that's why we're 'Ms P Designs USA'.

We live in Houston, Texas.

Sharon is left-handed, and on the left.               Susan is right-handed, and on the right.

We've been sewing for most of our lives; we learned when we were just little girls by watching Mom and our Grandmas Passmore, who always has a project going. We both began quilting about 30 years ago, and haven't stopped since. You could say that it is kind of an obsession with us, but we'd be willing to bet that you could say that about most quilters.

The first quilt that we designed for our company was our 'Down on the Farm' quilt, pictured below. It is special to both of us because it is a reminder of our childhood on the family farm in Montana. We had lots of different animals, although not all of the animals depicted on the quilt. It was a great place to grow up, and we have lots of happy memories of spending time together and with our extended family. 

We're inspired by the world around us. Life on our planet is so diverse, and there are many interesting and beautiful animals to learn about; we've just scratched the surface with our designs so far.

Sharon has a dog (Rowdy) who keeps her walking and playing. Sharon works full time as a science teacher. She also enjoys reading, mostly mysteries and historical fiction, and baking. Susan has three grandchildren, dogs (Bella and Baxter), rabbits , and chickens. She reads, watches television, and works in her gardens in her limited spare time as an oil and gas lease analyst.

Not recently, but Sharon has a stack of pillowcases ready to donate as soon as she can find out where to take them. It is difficult to find time for charity sewing when we both have full-time jobs, but it is definitely something we plan to do when we're retired. 

We have notebooks for making lists and planning our designs. We have ideas to keep us busy for at least 4 years, but we're trying to manage our time wisely, and to pace ourselves. the process begins with Susan's animal sketches and Sharon's design(s) for the pieced offset blocks, and ends with our patterns ready to sell as digital downloads. The magic involves lots of tracing, cutting stitching, manipulating files. 

Shop: www.etsy.com/shop/MsPDesignsUSA

Our social media links: 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/MsPDesignsUSA

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/mspdesignsusa

Twitter: https://twitter.com@mspdesigns

Get to know the QQQ's: Sarah from Issabella's Quilts

Hi there! I'm Sarah and my shop is Issabella's Quilts issabellasquilts.etsy.com My shop name came about as my first Siamese cat Issabella decided every single quilt I made was for her, and in the way of cats, chose to curl up and go to sleep on them as soon as they were made...in fact sometimes before they were even finished! 

I live in a beautiful part of Northern England with my man, daughter, 2 siamese kitties and our cavalier pup. 

We are about a 5 minute walk from the beach and, weather permitting, the North Sea makes a cameo appearance in more than one of my Etsy photos

3 Custom made quilts for 3 little ones

I've always been interested in sewing since being a little girl. Every Sunday afternoon we'd head to my Nana's house for tea and she would sit me on her knee, at her sewing machine, and help me sew up doll clothes, even now the hummmm of my sewing machine reminds me of those relaxed afternoons.

I do all of my sewing on a Janome Horizon

I take my inspiration for everywhere, colours that catch my eye, my team mates on Etsy, women I'm in quilting bee's with, beautiful fabric and of course the internet has a wealth of inspiration to delve into - Instagram & Pinterest are two of my favourites for when I have a free half hour!

My Etsy shop takes up a good portion of my day. Between making ready to buy quilts and helping customers with their custom made quilts I spend a good 4-5 hours each day working on it. That is normally a combination of sewing, ordering fabric which I mainly do online, I love finding the perfect stand out print for each and every quilt! then the "behind the scenes" part of having an online shop like the merchandising so people can find what they are looking for, replying to customers emails, marketing which I mainly do through Etsy teams, Instagram and my blog, these things all take up time - but I wouldn't have it any other way :D 

One of the questions I get asked a lot is how do I go about planning custom quilts for my customers. The answer is it varies with each one! Normally I'll be approached through Etsy and we discuss exactly what they are looking for, size, colour, if they have seen a pattern they love, what style of fabrics they would like, how detailed they want the quilting and importantly what time frame they are looking to receive the quilt in. Once those details are sorted out I get my thinking cap on and come up with a couple of ideas and send them through with a price quote. If the customer love the ideas I then get straight to the fun part...choosing fabrics! 

Ivy really likes picking out fabrics too!


If they don't fall instantly in love with the design we work together to iron out any misunderstandings about the plan and come up with something they will love! This whole consultation process can take anything from an afternoon to 2-3 weeks depending on the customer. 

When I do have free time that isn't spent "selfish sewing" I love to cook, I try to cook each evening meal from scratch without using prepackaged goods whenever possible. My current favourite cookbook is Nigellissima by Nigella Lawson, it has some really yummy recipes! I am addicted to audio books and could spend all day with a good story on my headphones :D I also crochet and embroider to relax on an evening, when I don't have some hand quilting nearby to work on. 

I can be found at my shop issabellasquilts.etsy.com

Blog issabellasquilts.com

 Instagram @issabellasquilts

And

On Facebook issabellas quilts

Pop over and say Hi! 

SaveSave

Get to know the QQQ's: Carol Ann from Moose Carol Quilts

Hi! I'm Carol Ann Johnston and my shop is Moose Carol Quilts 

www.etsy.com/shop/moosecarolquilts

How did you come up with your shop name?
It was based on my email address. Moose is from my husband's nickname and Carol for me. We used to share an email.

Where do you live? 

Boise, Idaho, USA

When did you start making quilts? Or, when did you become interested in quilt-related items (fabric, patterns, etc)?

My sister got me back to sewing after I went through breast cancer treatment in 2002. She took me to a beginner quilt of the month class at a local shop.

Tell us about your first quilt or other important first in your sewing life.
My first quilt was started in 1973, a log cabin design. It took me 10 years to finish piecing the top, as this was before rotary cutters and many other modern conveniences. I was also in the midst of having and raising two children and working full time.

What inspires you?  
Color--lots of color. I use mostly color-saturated batik fabrics in my quilts these days. I love intricate designs and I'm not afraid of complex sewing. I try to learn something new with each project

Do you have any other hobbies? Pets? A garden, kids, or volunteer activities? 
Most other hobbies have taken back seat to making quilts. I do have two dogs--Bella, a small black terrier, and Luna, a border collie and hound mix. Both were pound adoptions

Do you do any charity sewing?
I'm working on some small quilts to be donated to the Women's and Children's Alliance in Boise, a shelter for victims of domestic abuse

Running an Etsy shop means you wear many hats in one day. How do Etsy activities impact your other life activities, such as work, family, other activities?
I  manage to fit my Etsy tasks around the rest of my life. It's easier since I retired from my day job last year

How do you plan your projects?
I mostly follow the muse and sew what appeals to me. If I see a pattern I want to try, I will let it simmer in my brain for a while before I start. I use a design wall for fabric placement and planning.

Shop: MooseCarolQuilts 

Facebook: MooseCarolQuilts 
Twitter: MooseCarol