Happy New Year!

Copyright © Cheryl Coville 2011

What a glorious start to a new year!! Grandma Coco celebrated last night with some of her dearest friends….with a little champagne and a few nibbles….but no one went over the top. 

Copyright © Cheryl Coville 2011

Except maybe for Cassie who couldn’t seem to get enough of the pâté mice. (That poor kitty just never seems to learn.) We have so much to be thankful for and New Year’s Day always seems like the perfect time to count our blessings.

I want to thank all the people who visit here and all those who take the time to leave comments on this blog.  Grandma Coco is always happy to hear from you….even if you don’t agree with everything she says. Grandma Coco learns a lot from what you all have to say and what you had to say on the subject of digital downloads in our recent giveaway was no exception.

The over-all response to digital was resoundingly positive. However, there were some helpful and interesting comments. Thank you to Marilyn who reminded Grandma Coco that not everyone has access to a high-speed internet connection. I had forgotten that….which is pretty funny, really, because Grandma Coco was still on dial-up only a couple of years ago. I guess she thought she was the last one left on dial-up. Large downloads are really hard if you’re on dial-up. And sometimes downright impossible.

A lot of people said they liked the idea of digital but still liked to hold a book in their hands. I can understand that. Maybe there’s a time and a place for everything.

Only Karen mentioned that she didn’t like downloaded patterns that require you to tape pieces together to get one big pattern. I wondered how people feel about those. Personally, so long as there are registration marks that line up easily, I don’t mind taping them together. Grandma Coco may test drive a pattern that requires a larger template in the near future. Doesn’t that sound like fun?

I guess it’s no surprise that people who live outside of North America seem to be very enthusiastic about digital downloads.  We, here in North America, sometimes forget that we’re not the centre of the universe. Digital levels the playing field.

Someone mentioned that with digital you can’t look a pattern over before you buy, the way you can in a quilt store. Good point. Something else I hadn’t considered. I guess this means that I, as a designer, need to pay more attention to showing you exactly what my pattern download involves….all the features and more photos from different angles. 

As promised this is the moment when I get to announce the WINNER of the year’s subscription to Quilt Pattern Magazine. Unfortunately, only one commenter can win and Grandma Coco feels a little sorry about that since so many of you entered the drawing. 

So, she’s decided that everyone should win at least a little something. How ‘bout a free downloaded pattern? This would give Grandma Coco a chance to show you first-hand how the download process works. So, without further a-do, I give you (literally!) …..The Scarlet Letter Tea Cozy. It’s a lovely and useful project which demonstrates how Grandma Coco combines the knitting with the quilting and how a typical Grandma Coco Design is written. You can judge for yourself how well the download process works.

 

The cozy has a quilted panel with an appliquéd rose design on one side and an alternate letter ‘A’ design for the other. (The scarlet letter from the story was an ‘A’.) Two rib knit panels give the cozy a good, adjustable fit for various sized teapots. The rib knit panels involve simple knit and purl stitches. Nothing fancy. Simple, really. The template is full-sized and the instructions are complete and illustrated with photos and line drawings.

The Scarlet Letter Tea Cozy was inspired by a challenge thrown out by Heather Ordover of the Craftlit Podcast (http://crafting-a-life.com/craftlit/)when she covered Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic, The Scarlet Letter, last year. I thought someone who had suffered as much as Hester (the heroine) could probably use a hot cup of tea. Grandma Coco certainly loves a good hot cup of tea and here in Canada, a teapot cozy is really important.  If you’d like to have a FREE copy of  The Scarlet Letter Tea Cozy Pattern, just click HERE.

As for the year’s subscription to Quilt Pattern Magazine…..the winner is……..Moewest!  Congratulations! Check your email box, Moewest. Cindy will be in touch soon.

Grandma Coco wishes everyone the very best in 2011. There will be more giveaways coming up starting with a good one next week (January 7) on Grandma Coco’s Designs Facebook fan page. You won’t want to miss that!!