Irish Chain Quilts Blog Hop - Intro & Grand Prize Entry

It's Here, It's Here!!!  The Irish Chain Quilts Blog Hop is starting today!!!  Can you tell I am a little excited ;)  For the next 2 weeks, we are going to be having some serious Irish Chain fun!!!!

I wanted to start off the Blog Hop with a quick little introduction to Irish Chain Quilts.  The Irish Chain design has a personal draw to me.   For my wedding, my Mother made me a beautiful queen sized Double Irish Chain   This quilt was one of the first quilts my mother made and will always be a treasured heirloom.  So it comes as no surprise that as my initial introduction to quilting involved a beautiful Irish Chain, that this design has always been special to me.  I hope to share that love  through this book and open a whole new world of Irish Chain designs for quilters of today, where the designs share a common theme but are as different and individual as the fabrics they are made from.  

When designing this book, I wanted to make it for everyone!!!   I am a huge proponent of always Trying New Things and if you have been around here for a while, you know that I am always encouraging you all to to break out and try something new.  Of course, I wanted to bring that into my book as well.   So Irish Chain Quilts is divided into four sections: Twists on Tradition, Modern Patchwork, Improvisational Piecing, and Appliquéd Chains.  Each section features quilts in varying sizes that blend the Traditional Irish Chain criss-cross design with the design concepts of today.    It is my hope that each quilter can find designs that fit in their “comfort zone” so they can create what inspires them, but as well that they can find designs that push them a little to stretch and try new things.
  

So for the next 2 weeks, I have asked some of my wonderful friends from all over Blog Land to share the Quilts of Irish Chain Quilts.  Along with the quilts, my bloggie friends will also be showing a Quilt Block that each of them have made with inspiration from their quilt.  At the end of the blog hop, I will be sharing a very special quilt made from all of the blocks, and I will give you a hint, it is going to have a bit of the rainbow in it ;)   That quilt will then be delivered to  Primary Children's Hospital.   I have a very special place in my heart for Primary Children's , and I am so grateful to all of my bloggie friends for helping me to make this special quilt for them ;) 

So, Let's see where we will be hopping for the next 2 weeks!!!  Here is the schedule and each day I will be updating the links with the post links as soon as they go live.  So you can always come back  here to make sure you don't miss out on any of the Irish Chain Quilts fun!!!    And a huge thank you to all of these ladies for being a part of this hop!!!

June 8th -    Happy Quilting - Blog Hop Intro & Grand Prize Entry  (you are here) 

June 9th -    Moda Lissa - Lissa Alexander

                    Fat Quarter Shop - Jocelyn Ueng

June 10th -  Piece N Quilt - Natalia Bonner

                    In Color Order - Jeni Baker

June 11th -  Amy's Creative Side - Amy Ellis

                    Sew Kind of Wonderful - Jenny Pedigo

June 12th -  Quilt Story - Megan Jimenez

                    Diary of a Quilter - Amy Smart

June 15th -  Freshly Pieced - Lee Heinrich

                   Christa Quilts - Christa Watson

June 16th -  Moda Cutting Table - Carrie Nelson

                    Little Miss Shabby - Corey Yoder

June 17th -  Fresh Lemons - Faith Jones

                    V and Co.  - Vanessa Christenson

June 18th -  A Quilting Life - Sherri McConnell

                    Stitch This! - Jenny Wilding Cardon

June 19th -  Happy Quilting - Wrap Up & Grand Prizes

There will be lots of chances to win Irish Chain Quilts along the hop at several of the hop stops.   And along with that, we are also doing some Irish Chain Quilts Blog Hop Grand Prizes!!!   I have gathered up some super  fabric fun for this and there will be 2 Grand Prize Winners so you have double the chances to win!!!!

The first winner will receive an Entire Bitty Bits Quilt Kit, comprised of 14 Kona Cotton Charm Packs, a Vanessa Goertzen Gooseberry Charm Pack, 2 Irish Green Fat Quarters from Denyse Schmidt's Moderns Solids collection, an Angela Walters Drawn Fat Quarter, a Bitty Bits Mini made by me, and of course, a signed copy of Irish Chain Quilts!!!  

The second winner will receive a Lizzy House Butterflies Fat Quarter Bundle, and American Jane Lorraine Layer Cake, 2 Irish Green Fat Quarters from Denyse Schmidt's Moderns Solids collection, an Angela Walters Drawn Fat Quarter, a Bitty Bits Mini made by me, and of course, a signed copy of Irish Chain Quilts!!!  

So fun!!!!   You can enter into this Grand Prize Drawing right here at the end of this post anytime throughout the entire blog hop!!!   All Entries are welcome, including International Entries, and please, only one entry per person.    And if you are a no-reply blogger, please be sure to leave an email address ;)  

To Enter the Grand Prize Giveaway . . . 

Simply leave a comment at the end of this post that has the word Irish in it :)

Simple as that ;)  The giveaway will be open until the end of the Blog Hop and the winner will be announce on the final day, June 19th along with the Charity quilt reveal and blog hop wrap-up ;)   

And if you find over the hop that you just love Irish Chain Quilts: Contemporary Twists on a Classic Design and are wondering where to find it . . . It released on May 5th, 2015 and is available in Local Quilt Shops, Online Quilt Shops  (I know several of my sponsors are carrying it, Thank You Ladies!!), at Martingale, and wherever Quilt Books are sold.   If you would like a personalized and signed copy you can order  Irish Chain Quilts from my little Book Shop right here ;)   

I am so excited for the next 2 weeks to share Irish Chain Quilts with you!!!  Let's get this hop a Hoppin!!!