We are so impressed by the creativity demonstrated by 100 quilters in Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks Volume 7. We think you will be too. And if you leave a comment on this post, you’ll be entered into a drawing for a free copy of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks Volume 7. Please check out Quilty Pleasures blog, by the wonderful folks at Quiltmaker Magazine, to see who else is on today’s blog hop list.

Whether you love to do appliqué, foundation-pieced blocks, mixed-technique blocks, or pieced blocks, Volume 7 will certainly have some inspiration for you! These are the blocks and quilts that inspired us.

Do you have a pile of scraps just crying out to be used in a quilt? Why not make the Paris Square block, #674, designed by Jessie Kurtz of Harding Hill Designs.

Simply choose a great fabric to frame your scraps and blocks and quickly turn a dozen blocks into your next masterpiece.

Depending on your fabric choices, this quilt design would be great as a baby quilt, a wall hanging, or a throw. And just think of all of the great quilting you can show off in the negative space around the blocks.

The sample quilt  features a chevron quilting design which compliments the geometric nature of the quilt. We think it would also be great quilted with something traditional, such as feathers, or another “curvy” motif to contrast with the geometric nature of the blocks.

Here’s a great twist on the traditional spool block. Crossed Spools is by blogger and fabric designer Pam Vieira-McGinnis of pamkittymorning. And, of course, it uses fabric she designs for Lakehouse Dry Goods.

We especially liked a couple of the appliquéd blocks because of the pieced backgrounds.

The first is the  block called Summer’s in Bloom by Cheryl Brown of quilterchic.com. Choosing a colorful batik fabric for the flower blossom piece adds interest to the flower without having to use multiple fabrics.

And who doesn’t love the beautiful appliqué designs by Piece O’Cake Designs. This block is by Becky Goldsmith. The offset appliqué design adds a modern twist to this charming block.

Handi Quilter recently featured Becky Goldsmith and Linda Jenkins of Piece O’Cake Designs in one of our 2013 ads.

And Becky and Linda are prominently featured on the HQ truck that goes to quilt shows around the U.S.

To have an opportunity to win a copy of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks Volume 7, simply leave a comment at the bottom of this post before midnight on Monday, May 6th to be part of the fun. Just hop over to the Quiltmaker blog, Quilty Pleasures, to find more chances to win.

Good luck! We’ll announce our winner on Tuesday, May 7th.

*** Deadline has passed to be entered into the drawing. Thanks to all who submitted comments. ***

Volume 7 of Quiltmaker magazine’s next 100 Blocks special issue will soon hit the streets. And it will be launched with another fabulous blog tour.

Handi Quilter is pleased to be a sponsor of the blog tour. We will be giving away a copy of the special collector’s edition of the magazine to one of the people commenting on our blog post next Tuesday, April 30th.

So watch for our blog post so you can join in the fun and hopefully win a copy of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks Volume 7.

Have you seen the most recent “quilts of the month” featured on the International Quilt Study Center and Museum web site?

The April 2013 quilt is a Chinese ritual robe called “Dragon’s Wife Robe”. The photograph is kind of confusing because it combines both the front and back views of the robe into one image.

I cropped the second image to make it clearer how the robe looks.

What’s really interesting is that what looks like pieced pinwheels is actually appliqued.

While we’re at it, check out the previous three months of featured quilts.

From March, here’s a marvelous scrappy quilt from between 1909 and 1914 made from wool:

From February, a classic red and white quilt from the Civil War era, featuring the Seven Sisters block:

And from January, a lovely square-in-square block quilt from the turn of the 20th Century. What a daring quilter to combine double pink, turkey red and yellow (along with green and dark blue)!

We hope you enjoy these quilts from past eras.