Free Pattern Launch - Consider the Lilies

Today's the day for the launch of my new free Block of the Month quilt! I hope you like it as much as I do!

But .... first things first.

We have a winner! 

The winner of my giveaway which was a choice of any one of my e-patterns is Maria.  Congratulations Maria and thank you to all who entered and made my day with your lovely comments.  I was so encouraged by the lovely things you said.

We and are family are safe and sound!

Thank you to all you lovely bloggers who have been concerned about us in the devastating floods that have hit Queensland.  We feel so blessed that all our family were kept safe.  Our son's workshop didn't get flooded though there was water in the street.  Our daughter was kept safe when she and her four children were out shopping in Toowoomba when the tsunami hit.  Their business is very close to the area of devastation and they had lots of water in the workshop but managed to divert it so that the showroom had only minimal damage. 

And as for us in our lovely new home, we were high and dry, though our road in from the highway was cut by flooding for quite a few days, but we had an alternate dry road if we needed to get out.  We had LOADS of rain which our water-logged yard didn't know what to do with, but it quickly got away once the rain stopped. 

There are thousands of people whose lives have been totally devastated, loved ones have been lost, many have lost everything they owned and in some cases their homes have been washed away or been so damaged that they are unliveable. Many will not be covered by insurance.

I would encourage you to give to help these people.  Donations can be made to the Premier's flood relief appeal at the Queensland government donation site.

Then Toni is co-ordinating hundreds of auctions of beautiful hand-crafted items where all the proceeds go direct to the flood relief appeal. Please take the time to do what you can to assist.

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 Now to the free pattern launch.

The new block of the month quilt I am offering for 2011 is called "Consider the Lilies". It is a colourful wall quilt measuring 32 inches square and consists of four large blocks. Each month over eleven months, I will give you the pattern for a section of each block. If you keep up each month, you will have a gorgeous Christmas present ready for someone special!

The concept of this design comes from some wonderful verses in the Bible: Matthew 6:25-34. Why do we go through so much hassle worrying about everyday life? Consider the flowers and birds, God provides everything they need. And we are so much more valuable to Him than those. He will certainly care

for us when we put our trust in Him ... hence the title - Consider the lilies. 

Here is Pattern 1:

This block of the month is a little different to the last two I have given you in that it has some simple patchwork as an integral part of the design. Now, if you haven't noticed, I only do EASY and SIMPLE patchwork - you won't find complicated piecing anywhere in my designs!  The bonus with doing a little bit of piecing each month - apart from it looking just gorgeous - is that you will be able to use up lots of little scraps from your fabric stash, and when you get to the end, all the sashing and borders are already done and your quilt is ready for quilting!

I am big on applique and embroidery so of course there's going to be lots of that. Here's a sneak peak or two (minus most of the embroidery as I don't want to spoil the surprise each month!) 

I would love it if you would put my “Consider the Lilies” button in the sidebar of your blog with a link back to http://val-laird.blogspot.com. (Just right click and Save Picture As a jpg file onto your computer, then upload it to your blog.) Here is the button, designed by my lovely daughter, Janelle:

Now, over you go to my website where you can download the pattern - scroll down past all those patterns till you come to the bottom of the page.  And keep a watch in the third week of February for the next instalment.

Happy stitching!

Regards

Val