Quilt Pattern Magazine and my Sally Field moment

Several months ago I received notice from someone, somewhere, that there was a brand new online magazine, http://www.quiltpatternmagazine.com/, coming out and they were looking for designers. Being one to jump on new magazine bandwagons before they realize I am a relative nobody, I immediately contacted them for more information and within a month had sent them two new designs, one of which had been soundly rejected by one publication already. But I'm not bitter. If I were bitter, I would name names. (In all seriousness, I am not bitter at all and totally get that rejection is part of this business and am actually quite good at not taking it personally. Just in case people were worried. :) )

Anyway, off went my two designs, and off I went to go about the business of living my life for the several months I expected it would take to hear that they likely were going to go in another direction. Which was fine. They make wine, I am happy to use it to soothe my weary soul. Props to Folie au Deaux and Jerry Lohr (who went to high school with my father in law, BTW - my own personal "Seven Degrees of Kevin Bacon/ Tom Helfter" ).

Imagine my surprise when 6 HOURS later I was innocently checking my email to see what stellar products Overstock.com was trying to sell me when BAM! Two acceptances in the same day as a submission! Holy crap. Does this mean I have talent? I commenced to running around the house yelling "They like me! They really like me!" while my children ushered their friends out the door so as not to be permanently embarassed by my behavior.

Enter May, and it's time for Quilt Pattern Magazine to run the first of my patterns - "Night Owl". It's right there on page 12 for you subscribers. The photo is not the best and I am not terribly proud of that part. So here's a close up of part of it that shows the cool fabrics by Adorn-It and the really cute ruffled bias strip part.

Part of the reason my photo stinks is my mad non-skills as a photog, but mostly it is that polka dot fabric. LOVE the fabric, DO NOT recommend polka dots on something you plan to photograph. Cameras hate them. What do cameras know? They are awesome. But unfortunately, if the cameras hate them, they can screw you. And the camera did so. Are we loving my "It can't possibly be MY fault!" attitude?

Anyway, questionable picture aside, it's a great little quilt. Quick, simple piecing and way fun to choose fabrics for ultimate wow factor - the simple design makes it a true "the fabrics make the quilt" quilt. And that applique bias strip is to die for. So cute, and a simple way to make a fairly plain quilt a whole lot more interesting.

Here's another close up of my quilting. I'm quite proud of it and believe it needs to be highlighted because it took me about 900 hours to do. That's an exaggeration. Probably more like 600.

I love that QPM included so many alternate ways to do the bias strip, including a photo of one of the tester quilts. Great minds together can make even a simple quilt something special.

If you aren't a subscriber to QPM, I encourage you to check it out. It's one of the best bargains out there and comes out monthly! We all need more quilting ideas on a regular basis, after all! June's issue will feature my second submission, which if at all possible I love even more than this one just because it is completely unique, practical, the perfect gift for any child, and beyond adorable. Not that I am biased.