Saturday, April 22, 2023

A Fishy Story - Pattern Release & Giveaway

It was a heavy lift. The net was bursting with a huge catch. 

It took a lot of effort to haul it out of the river.

Ooh it is heavy...

The fish wriggled and pulled against the net and Paul struggled. 

Paul struggled

I heaved a huge sign of relief when he prevailed.

And finally managed!

Such a proud angler Paul is!!! Now, you may think that catching all these fish on the banks of Potomac is a load of bull. But honestly, it is a fishy story :-D

The one that got away...


Well, here is the true back story of this quilt. I made my first fish blocks for the Island Batik/Studio 180 Design Challenge and Blog Hop in 2021.


We catch so much fish on the banks of the Potomac :-p


I loved these fish so much that I started making them as my RSC blocks in 2022. Initially I had used the Corner Pop 3 Ruler to make these fish blocks.  But not everyone has specialty rulers and this was such a fun pattern that I wanted it to be accessible to all. So I wrote the pattern such that it needs no special rulers.  

RSC 2022 Blocks


In September 2022, Make Modern published Frolicking Fish (Table Runner) in Issue #48.  That runner now lives in Manveen's house, in her husband's study/office.  But I digress.

Frolicking Fish, at Manveen's House


This year, I completed all the RSC blocks from 2022, with the exception of yellow

This is what happened to yellow?  Sorry, too many tangents. 

Finally, the quilt was completed.  I revised the pattern, including detailed step by step instructions for on-point setting, complete with coloring sheets for two sizes. 

In process


Paul was kind enough to give in to my antics by the river.

Paul, the model


Cathy was kind enough to test drive the pattern and Reed (fellow Island Batik ambassador) provided the technical review. 

The pattern is listed in my Etsy store for $10, but on 20% discount till Thursday, 4/27/23. That is $8 for 12 pages of detailed/color instructions.

What is a pattern release without a giveaway? Leave me a comment on this blogpost, making sure that if you are Anonymous/No-Reply Blogger, I can reach you by email.  One lucky winner will receive a PDF copy of the pattern - A Fishy Story.

For a second chance to win, head over to Cathy's blog.

I will be sharing with all my favorite linky parties (See full list on the sidebar), including Angela's.


Sunny Day, Happy Fishes

Did you see pigs fly? No, but I saw fish climbing the tree :-D

A Fishy Story continues... I will announce the winner next week.  

Update on Friday, 4/28/23 - The winner is #12 Kathy Quilts. Email has been sent!


50 comments:

  1. There are koi in the Potomac? They were attracted, no doubt, by your lovely, bright, happy fish. They are swimming their way to a happy weekend. Hope you are too! Hugs to you and Paul.

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  2. That's a fun story! Congrats and thanks for the opportunity to win your pattern.

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  3. flashlw73@gmail.comApril 22, 2023 at 10:23 AM

    I am always on the lookout for a new fish quilt pattern. This one is very striking.

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  4. Love the colours!

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  5. Sweet! What a great take on a fishy pattern…love it!

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  6. That is such a fun pattern, Preeti! I love all the color and the shapes you see. Thanks for writing it so that a specialty ruler isn't necessarily needed. Thank Paul for all his modeling work, too!

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  7. Absolutely love it! I'm heading to the studio to choose my fabrics right now.

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  8. Great quilt. Love the rainbow one.

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  9. Beautiful quilt, I love the prints you choose for the heads, reading like fish "eyes" ;) Great story too, and an hooray to Paul for catching all of them ;)
    Thank you for sharing all this, and linking up.

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  10. Middle of April and we had snow and 1/4" hail. Your post with fishing by the river was just what I needed. And such beautiful fish they are!

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  11. The quilt is gorgeous and your blog narrative is brilliant :)

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  12. I would like to learn to make HRTs and your pattern really shows them off. Thanks!

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  13. Love the fish, congratulations on the pattern.

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  14. Gorgeous quilt, I love the colors!
    Sandyzoo45@comcast.net

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  15. Love this post! Just the touch of humor I needed today and your fish are fabulous! So glad he was able to wrangle them out of the river =).

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  16. What a fun quilt! Love the colors and all those swimming fish! Joandesan@aol.com

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  17. J'adore ce modèle !!! Je participe au tirage au sort, même si je n'ai jamais rien gagné de ma vie. Amicalement, Fabie

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  18. What!? Another pattern I must have! I am a Pisces after all! Yes please!

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  19. your fish quilts are wonderful - I really like that table runner too!

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  20. I really enjoy your quilts. I learn so much from your thought process. i would love to try this pattern. Sue reads44460 at yahoo

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  21. i love your fishy quilt and especially your ammunition not a ride quilt
    s58211410@gmail.com

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  22. Big congrats on your new pattern and the fun catch ;) xo

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  23. A very pretty quilt. Love the colors of the fish and the story. So glad you fish didn't get away. petuniakr@aol.com

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  24. WOW love these fishies.. just as much as International Ladies

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  25. Oh, I want to win, I want to win, I want to win, I want to win! ☺🥰😍😘

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  26. What a fun RSC project. What a colorful school of fishes you ended up with. (Does Paul also get the quilt since he wrangled the net?) Congratulations on the new pattern!

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  27. Love a good story! And fishy too. Thank you for you wonderful blog, your positivity makes me smile.

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  28. This quilt is so fun! I loved it even before I knew something was fishy about it :) This may become my next project!!

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  29. Love your quilt -- the pattern is great.

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  30. Flying pigs and fish climbing trees? Well, nothing surprises me anymore when Preeti is involved! Terrific pattern and it's wonderful that you made it work without specialty rulers. Specialty rulers are handy, but limited in what they can do. It's nice when you can make a quilt with just the pattern and the basic tools you already own!

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  31. Those fish are "going back to school". Makes me think of the betta of the past. Well done.

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  32. Those fish were a great catch!!! It is a wonderful fish story!--TerryK@OnGoingProjects

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  33. This is such a fun quilt! I love your stories that go along with your quilts, Preeti.

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  34. I SEW enjoy reading about your and Paul's antics while photographing your quilts! What a fun quilt and story! I love the fish! Love the pattern and glad you could make it work without specialty rulers! You rock!

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  35. Another lovely pattern. And, tell Paul thanks for his great job of holding up the quilt. Hum, maybe I should head down to the Rappahannock River the next time I need a photo taken.

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  36. You've got a great quilt handler, Preeti. It's a great block design!

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  37. I love a good fish story. Great pattern.

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  38. Love seeing the evolution of this design! So pretty. Thanks for sharing on my weekly show and tell, Wednesday Wait Loss.

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  39. Congrats on the pattern and your fish quilt is great! Congrats to Paul also for being able to 'wrangle' all those fish! :)

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  40. I love those fish. They remind me of angel fish. :) Feel free to join the Sew & Tell party at Melva Loves Scraps.

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  41. Beautiful, colourful quilt! I definitely have ideas for a wall hanging here! Lisa (lisaf232@gmail.com)

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  42. Oh I do love your quilt....such a fun block to make in your RSC colours. Paul is such a good sport isn't he?!

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  43. Love that quilt. It's beautiful.

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  44. The giveaway is closed. The winner is announced. This comment is a test to check for email notifications.

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  45. Thank you so much Preeti! I will enjoy sewing your wonderful fishy pattern!

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