THIS CONTEST ENDED 12/15/11. THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED!

Our final Artist Trio Series with Free Spirit Fabrics , this one featuring Joel Dewberry, goes out with a BANG today with the most fabric cuts EVER in a Great Giveaway. This Artist Trio was short, running just over the past four days, but oh-so sweet! Joel Dewberry has always been one of S4H's favorite fabric designers. We loved getting to know him during our interview and working with his latest Heirloom collection for our Thanksgiving Traditions projects. Our friends at Free Spirit sent a super generous selection of gorgeous Heirloom fabric for one lucky Sew4Home fan: TWENTY-NINE one yard cuts of the quilting cottons, TWELVE one-yard cuts of the amazing laminates, and Joel's FIVE Eclectic Modern sewing patterns. Wowee Zowee, Batman... this is a super prize. To enter, simply leave a short comment below about a fabric heirloom someone made and passed down to you or one you are creating now to become a favorite tradition.

Here at S4H, we have loved every Joel Dewberry collection that has come down the pike. His talent for mixing traditional and contemporary motifs, then infusing those concoctions with just the right color combinations, is spot-on time after time. If you haven't already read our interview with Joel, take a look; you'll enjoy learning about his design perspective. And, be sure to try out one or all of our three Thanksgiving Traditions projects from this week:

Heirloom Apron

Heirloom Napkins & Ties

Heirloom Placemats

Our thanks to Free Spirit Fabrics for sponsoring all of our 2011 Artist Trio Series.

Heirloom is availabe in stores and online now. Check out the selection available from these Shopping Directory online fabric retailers:

Ribbon Retreat + Fabric

Look at what you could win in this fabulous Free Spirit-sponsored Giveaway

A selection of Heirloom quilting and fashion weight fabric in one-yard cuts

A selection of Heirloom laminates in one-yard cuts

Five Must-Make Eclectic Modern Patterns

Entering to win the Free Spirit Heirloom Gift Package is easy!

An incredible THANK YOU again to both Free Spirt and Joel Dewberry for sponsoring our Thanksgiving Traditions series and providing such an amazing giveaway for our S4H fans.

We will draw one person at random from everyone who posts a "my fabric heirloom was or is..." comment on this article as of midnight PT December 15, 2011. No purchase necessary to enter. Void where prohibited.

Is there a special tablecloth that comes out for holiday gatherings? Do you have a wedding quilt or dress that has been passed down through the generations? Are you creating a special set of Christmas stockings this year designed to become heirlooms of their own? Let us know what traditions beautiful fabric has inspired in your life.

We will contact our random winner by email to confirm your information and coordinate shipping.

NOTE : Due to complex contest legal restrictions and customs requirements that differ from country to country, we are currently able to only send prizes to a USA postal address (cannot be a P.O. Box). Good luck to everyone!

Make it easy for us to notify you should you be our lucky winner. Simply register with us and login before you comment. Your email address is then hidden from view.

Remember, post your "fabric heirloom or tradition" comment below to enter.

Scroll to the BOTTOM of the page to find the comment window. After you post, your comment will automatically display at the TOP of the comments on the page.

THIS CONTEST ENDED 12/15/11. THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED!

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Interviews & Inspirations

Comments (679)

Trina Rae said:

My grandmother made a Christening gown from her wedding dress for her two children to wear. The dress was saved for her six grandchildren to wear. It has now also been worn by five great-grandchildren, so far. We're hoping to keep the gown in the family for many generations.

AnnieJ said:

Well, I have made quilts for all my children and grandchildren. And then I have made books of the process I used and my thoughts while making the quilts. These they will get when I'm gone and then they can read and remember. It's kind of like a legacy thing.

Sharon F. said:

I have a quilt made by my Maw Maw for my graduation from high school. It is a flower garden pattern. In the quilt there is material that I recognize from dresses and aprons that she wore. It is priceless to me. Looking at it brings back many childhood memories.

LeaAnn M. said:

My heirloom is a apron my great grandma made that my grandmother copied for me when I made my first Christmas Dinner and I will make one for my cousin when she cooks her first christmas dinner.

LeaAnn M.
LeaAnnMae@sbcglobal.net

JustASouthernGirl said:

Be still my heart! What a GORGEOUS assortment of fabric!
My stepdad's mom made a baby quilt for our first child. I think it was the last one she made before passing away. Our son used the quilt, then our daughter -- and by the end it was in rather bad shape. I stored it away but have plans to fix it as best I can so I can pass it to our first grandchild.
P.S. If I win, I'd have the material sent to my daughter in Indiana who could then get it to me. We leave this coming Monday for South America. I'm pretty excited because I'll be teaching quilting and sewing classes this coming year, and could use some lovely fabric for my classes

Leigh Bialecki said:

When I was about 7, my mom wanted to make us a quilt for the upcoming winter months, but since she was a stay-at-home mom and with my dad being away at school, money was scarce. One day she went to a local furniture factory and came home with a laundry bag full of different size pieces of soft microfiber scraps that the factory had no use for. From that pile, along with some old t-shirt scraps, she was able to make 2 quilts. They weren't pretty to look at, but boy were they warm! I am married now with small children, and even though we have numerous quilts made of designer fabrics on our beds, my most cherished one is the ugly-duckling that my mom made so many years ago that I love, and I will be passing it down to my own children one day!

Kel said:

The only fabric heirloom I can think of in our family is a baby blanket. It's made of undyed cotton, and has a collection of animal outlines stitched on it. My baby uses it in the car. Hopefully some of the things I make for her (I'm the first to sew in the family) will turn into heirlooms

lingomonkey at gmail dot com

Soraia said:

I Have a baby blanket my mom made for me and i used with my 3 daughters when they were babies ...it's very special!

Kim W said:

I inherited two quilt tops when my grandmother passed away. I would love to learn the art of quilting and finish them someday.

Diane C. said:

All my clothes were handmade by my mother or grandmother. I still have a few of the formals my mother made. I cannot bear to throw them away! Someday I hope to make them into an heirloom for my granddaughters.

Ani NotsoMuch said:

What beautiful prints! The only "heirloom" floating around my family are afghans that my mom crochets. I do not crochet, hoping to get better quilting skills and have my own traditions and heirlooms.

BarbaraG said:

I have been blessed to inherit not only my mother's Singer sewing machine with ALL the feet and attachments, but her sewing cabinet with matching bench - hand made by my father!

Kathleen Ann said:

Long long ago . . . before I ever had a computer with all the wonderful tips you can pick up on anything and everything . . . I made a quilt for each bed in my house. One for mine, one for my sister's and one for my parent's bed. I used the huge stash of scraps I accumulated from sewing clothes for myself and my sister. I really didn't know what I was doing. Never even put batting in between the layers. But I did put hand-tied yarn knots in every other square to hold it all together. My family loved them and I had fun making them. We still have them and it has to be well over 30-35 years! Joel Dewberry's fabrics are absolutely gorgeous and if I win them, I'm sharing them with my daughter who is just now taking an interest in sewing and I'm having fun teaching her smilies/kiss.gif

gratheal@charter.net said:

I have many meaningful heirlooms from crochet items from my grandmother including a beautiful lace tablecloth. But those I that I treasure most are quilts made by both of my grandmothers and both of my husband's grandmothers. Thank you for the opportunity. I have fallen in love with the fabrics along with this blog.

gmdiaz said:

Nothing in the world like sitting outside in the bright sunshine with a grandmother-made-quilt whirled around your shoulders. . . eyes closed listening.

There were complicated stitches in our family's "heirloom" of ideas that make me laugh to this day. Cakes made out of hummingbirds and candy that was a sugar rush of pure divinity. There were flights of fancy and bits of history too: butterflies hatching and bird watching too.

The quilt she gifted to me when I moved away from my home town to my new home in Colorado, preserves what she cannot say to me out loud; the wayward, akward stitches and the bits of wear and tear seek to emcompass all that I am, tell me who I am. It speaks of a deeper story, one that is larger than her life and much larger than mine.

After all these years, it no longer surprises me, or just makes me sad, but comforts me as I whirl the quilt around my shoulders. In my secret heirloom coccoon and hear the fluttering sound of butterfly wings.

kati said:

Blast! I noticed the note too late about registering and logging in before commenting. Oh, well. I'm registered now.

kati said:

Oh, what a spectacular giveaway! I remember sleeping under quilts at my grandmother's house that I was told were made my great grandmothers and great aunts. Due to life's richness of unplanned circumstances, I do not have have any of these quilts myself. I feel sad about this from time to time, but as I've extended my life-long love for sewing into quilting, I've found the true gift that has been passed on. Now, as I choose fabrics to makes quilts for myself and others, my mother often comments that a particular color or print I'm fawning over reminds her of my great-grandmother, or my great-aunt, that's something she would have chosen, or a color she liked and often used. Even if those material possessions are no longer with us, that creativity is. I'd much rather have that because it never fades, it only gets better with time.

Percilla L said:

Would love to buy the faux fur. Making something from it would be so nice and would become a gift for my daughter.

Antoaneta N. said:

My grandmother made me a sweet baby blanket when I was tiny (it had blue bears on it), and my mother has mended it. I now use it with my own baby and I hope that it will hold together well enough for him to use it with his children also (it has travelled across the world several times and used a great deal, but also mended and maintained lovingly).

girubia@yahoo.com said:

Anything that my grandmother made is special and an heirloom. I do believe I got my love of crafting from her. What a great prize! There's going to be one happy winner, for sure!

Laurie Pangborn said:

I have a little apron made by my grandmother that I remember wearing for big, holiday family dinners. It was a smaller version of one that she wore. My daughter wore it when she was small and I hope to have a granddaughter wear it someday. This fabric giveaway is amazing.....crossing my fingers!

sewingnovice said:

My mother sewed a little when I was growing up but there really weren't any heirlooms. I am hoping to make a few things for my daughter that can become just that though. When my daughter was born though, my MIL made a few quilts for her so I hope they will remain nice so my daughter can pass them on to her children. I guess for me really anything made by a family member is an heirloom.

AshleyNW0201 said:

My fabric heirloom is a stocking my great grandma (GiGi!) made for me when I was a babe! It no longer holds goodies as the small sequins that were keeping it together have long since busted off (thanks mom and dad for the fruit stuffings!), but i LOVE it nonetheless. I don't thave a lot of this kind of stuff in my family so the one thing I do means a ton to me. I really want to make stockings for my family one day to start a tradition! Maybe even making a new one every year?? Could be a fun tradition/collection!

ashleyw0201@gmail.com

carol_j_scott@yahoo.com said:

My Mom (age 90) was moving things around in her attic and we came across a quilt that I had only heard about while growing up. It was created by my Dad's grandmother in the 1800's. There is a letter from her and why she made this quilt. It is just beautiful but it is made out of cotton material that would need a lot of ironing so for now it is still in the ceder chest for safe keeping.
Carol

Katie E said:

My grandmother made us a quilt for our wedding with our favorite 'fall' colors. She has passed on now, but the quilt was one of the few things she left behind. My husband's grandmother makes us a blanket every year for Christmas. They are more numerous, but we use them more often because of it, and they are special in their own way.

engk789 at gmail dot com

hhildreth13@gmail.com said:

My mother-in-law gave me a chicks and bunnies, hand appliqued baby quilt made by her mother when I had our first child. She could tell me what the fabrics for most of the critters came from.

pharmgal22 said:

wowweee! I'm drooling over this prize! If I won it would be better than Christmas! I made quilt with my mother-in-law right after I was first married. We still keep it on our bed and I hope to pass it down some day to one of my kids

so4fun said:

I have a quilt that was passed down to me from my grandmother. It was made with a bright yellow calico print and has very heavy cotton batting, and is now very aged and worn. My grandmother was born in Dixie, Oklahoma in 1892 when it was still in Indian Territory. As a young girl, she crossed the Red River in a covered wagon with her family and came to Texas. The quilt holds special memories of her. My husband's grandmother knitted afghans for all of her 40 plus grandkids AND all of her 40 plus great-grandkids when she was in her 70's and 80's. We still have ours and our kids have theirs. They are priceless treasures to us to be handed down to our future generations.

Shannzu said:

Like a lot of people I was super lucky to have a mother that sewed and passed on her skills to me. I still have a simple quilt she made when I was a child that I love.

Bbarber said:

My youngest son is 32 years old. When he was only 7 or 8, she made him a quilt of red and white cloth. The blocks were of horses and she used his initials in the form of a branding iron to quilt it. The quilt was simply amazing! My mom passed away about a month ago which makes the quilt even more special. In addition she made a quilt for my oldest son with each block the name and date of one of his ancestors.

SewDesigner said:

I have three quilts from my grandmother. My sister has two that were made for our twin beds... we shared a room when we were kids. The oldest quilt was made around 1918. She told us it was one of the first quilts she made as a teenager. I don't use it because the fabric is very delicate due to it's age. All of her quilts were stitched by hand. What a treasure!

Sue M. said:

Unfortunately most of my heirlooms were burned up in a fire 6 years ago, so I am starting over trying to create some new ones.

Jessica K said:

love those fabrics! i am working on making a journal quilt. one square a week for a year. I hope to pass it down to the future generations.

sasykat said:

My Mother-in-law sewed a reversible corduroy superman cape for my husband when he was a kid and this year my 3 year old son wore it trick or treating. So many smiles on my husband and his mother's faces!

Renae M said:

There is a beautiful christening gown that was my husband's great aunt wore when she was baptized. It is very beautiful and special to us. I am also making quilts for my daughter that hopefully someday she will use for her children, but not for a long time because she is 2. I am crossing all of my fingers and toes for this one! What a great giveaway!!! rmicchia@gmail.com

becbo24 said:

My most favorite heirloom I have is one of those old Singer sewing machines attached to a cabinet. I am not sure how long it's been passed down , but I do know my Grandma use to sew on it and it still works.

I do know it was my Grandmas passed down to my mom and then to me. I really wanted to pass it down to my daughter but I have tried to teach her to sew but she is not very interested maybe a granddaughter one day. smilies/wink.gif

nlb1117 said:

My great-grandmother made a Colonial Lady quilt when my mother was born in 1922. All of the ladies dresses are a different feed sack print. My mother would take the quilt out and tell me about it, when she passed away in 1980, my dad gave it to me. I cherish the quilt and it will go to my daughter one day, with its history attached. Nancy Bennett

Kari V said:

my mother made a simple quilt of multicolored squares as a teen in the 50's in Norway where she grew up. I have it on the back of my couch now and love it.

tressa said:

my fabric heirloom is some dresden plate blocks that my grandmother and great-grandmother made out of old feed sacks.

Sharon T said:

I am making a modern quilt for each of my five grandchildren. Love Joel Dewberry!

KarenH said:

My favorite heirloom is a little box of fabric scraps my mother used for making yo-yo's for her quilt.
Some of the scraps date back to the late 1940's. I found a piece from a dress my mother made for me for my first day of Kindergarten in 1950!

eliselea said:

My favorite fabric airloom is a quilt made for me by my aunt when i was a young girl. It is not that old yet but i plan on passing it down and making it into one

Gayle H. said:

My family heirloom is a beautiful linen tablecloth that was handed down to me from my grandmother. I get it out on special occasions and love telling everyone (over and over again)where it came from. I also have some of my grandmothers aprons that are precious to me!

rjholmes920 said:

Believe it or not, but my favorite fabric heirloom hangs on my wall. It is an alphabet sampler cross stitched by my great, great, great grandmother when she was 12 years old. I'm truly blessed to have it.
P.S. LOVE the fabric!

Michaela Bernard said:

My mom made me a quilt, I guess it is not a family heirloom since it was made for me...but I intend it to be!

Christine Davis said:

I'm trying to make quilts for my children and family, I'm hoping they will become family heirlooms.

Carrie L said:

My grandma made me an apron made out of pink gingham. I love it!

terrieannie said:

Sadly, I have no heirlooms at all, so I need to make my own!

Karen J. said:

I love the idea of heirloom things, and I could never understand how I come from a line of women who either didn't sew, or didn't keep things. I wonder if they were like me, and struggled with perfectionism and thought that only perfect things should be saved, because I would have cherished anything they made. But all I can do is start now and make heirlooms for others. Quilts are first on the menu!

kleh said:

No heirlooms yet - but I love this fabric!

Sew4Home

Free Spirit Artist Trio #3 Great Giveaway: Joel Dewberry's Heirloom

Look at what you could win in this fabulous Free Spirit-sponsored Giveaway

A selection of Heirloom quilting and fashion weight fabric in one-yard cuts

A selection of Heirloom laminates in one-yard cuts

Five Must-Make Eclectic Modern Patterns

Entering to win the Free Spirit Heirloom Gift Package is easy!

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Look at what you could win in this fabulous Free Spirit-sponsored Giveaway

A selection of Heirloom quilting and fashion weight fabric in one-yard cuts

A selection of Heirloom laminates in one-yard cuts

Five Must-Make Eclectic Modern Patterns

Entering to win the Free Spirit Heirloom Gift Package is easy!

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