Some of you may know that I also have a group on Facebook that’s dedicated to sewing, crafting, and general fabric addiction- appropriately enough, it’s called ‘I don’t have a problem, I have a well-rounded fabric stash!’  Each month we run some kind of a fun challenge (mainly to gain inspiration and keep the creative juices flowing, but there’s also a prize to be won), but this month’s challenge is extra-special in my eyes, because it’s designed to help the Fisher House Foundation, a fabulous organization that helps military families!

From March 1st through March 19th, we will be accepting photo entries of 12” quilt squares.  The top entries will then be collected and assembled into a quilt that will be auctioned off on eBay to benefit the Fisher House Foundation (see the end of this post for more information on the Fisher House Foundation).  Anyone is welcome to enter, and we would really appreciate your support!

OFFICIAL RULES

• Entries must be made of quilting-weight cotton fabric, must be sewn in some way, and the finished size must be a 12” square (PLEASE NOTE: you will actually be making a 12.5” block, because there will be a ¼” seam allowance on each side when assembled- the 12” is the space that will be visible in the assembled quilt).  Beyond that, they can be quilted, embroidered, appliqued, dyed, painted, bedazzled, or otherwise embellished in any way that the contestant chooses!  (Please remember that the finished product must be washable.)

• In order to have a coherent final product, we are limiting the color palette to red, white, and blue (we understand that there are tons of variations and shades within that range- basically, if the tones would work with the American flag, they’re fine).

• Entries can be submitted from March 1st through March 19th, 2012.  Voting will take place from March 20th through March 26th, and a winner will be announced no later than March 28th.  (In the unlikely event that there is a tie, a run-off vote will be held from March 27th through March 29th, and a winner will be announced no later than April 1st.)

• Each contestant may enter as many as five (5) submissions.

• Entries must be the work of the contestant submitting them.

• One lucky winner will receive a $30 gift certificate to the online fabric store of his or her choice!
  • If that fabric store doesn’t offer gift certificates (and if an arrangement can’t be made with the shop owner), the winner will receive $30 via Paypal to shop to his/her heart’s content.
  • If the winner is in a country outside of the U.S., he or she will receive the equivalent of $30 USD in the appropriate currency.

• The top 25 squares will be sent in to be assembled into a quilt that, upon completion, will be auctioned off via the eBay Giving Works programto benefit the Fisher House Foundation.
  • Participants whose entries have been selected will be notified no later than March 28th (April 1st if a run-off is necessary) and provided with a shipping address.  
  • Squares should be shipped out (with Delivery Confirmation where possible) no later than April 9th, 2012.
  • If the response is great enough, we may opt to either do a second quilt (also to be auctioned off) or increase the number of squares selected to make a larger quilt.

HOW TO ENTER

• Entries can be submitted from March 1st through March 19th, 2012

• If you haven’t already, please join this group!  (It allows you to add photos)

• Go to the Quilt Squares for a Cause Challenge photo album (http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.310794205646972&type=1) and upload a picture of your entry.

• Please be sure to include the following in your picture’s description:  Your name (as it’s shown on Facebook), a name for your submission if you have one, and what materials/methods you used.  (ex.  Kristin Brattlie Garst, ‘Stars and Stripes’, quilted and embroidered cotton)

• If you used a tutorial or online pattern that you’d like to share, please provide the link in your entry’s comments.  Also, if there’s a story behind your entry, please feel free to share!

• If you submit more than one entry, please either give them different names or number them.

HOW TO VOTE

• Voting will take place from March 20th  through March 26th.

• To vote for an entry, simply click the photo you would like to vote for in the Quilt Squares for a Cause Challenge photo album (http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.310794205646972&type=1) and enter ‘VOTE’ in the comments for that picture.

• Each voter can vote only once, and additional votes will be disqualified.  However, please feel free to click the ‘like’ button for as many entries as you want so that we can share the love! 🙂

• Please feel free to invite your friends, family, neighbors, acquaintances, and random people passing on the street to vote- they’ll simply have to join the group in order to have access to vote (you can add them yourself on the top right side of the page if desired).  We won’t get our feelings hurt if they ‘unlike’ us later, but we’d be thrilled if they decide to hang around!

To add this button to your blog or website, copy and paste the following code:

<a href=”http://tinyurl.com/QuiltSquaresForACause&#8221; target=”_blank”><img src=”http://i43.tinypic.com/2f096ro.jpg&#8221; border=”0″ alt=”Join the Quilt Squares for a Cause Challenge- open for entries through March 19, 2012!”></a>

Good luck, and happy creating- we can’t wait to see what results!  If you have any questions, please comment on this post or email me at FabricProblem@aol.com.  We would really appreciate it if you could share this challenge with your friends, family, and associates- there is code for a blog button below that will link to the event page (http://QuiltSquaresForACause.com).  Also, please feel free to share ideas, inspirations, anecdotes, and work-in-progress pictures with the group as you work on your submissions!

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If you own a fabric/quilting/sewing store or other business and would be interested in donating additional prizes, please contact me at the email above- we’d love to promote you, and would greatly appreciate anything that you can give!

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About Fisher House:  The Fisher House program is a unique private-public partnership that supports America’s military in their time of need. The program recognizes the special sacrifices of our men and women in uniform and the hardships of military service by meeting a humanitarian need beyond that normally provided by the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.

Because members of the military and their families are stationed worldwide and must often travel great distances for specialized medical care, Fisher House Foundation donates “comfort homes,” built on the grounds of major military and VA medical centers. These homes enable family members to be close to a loved one at the most stressful times – during the hospitalization for an unexpected illness, disease, or injury.

There is at least one Fisher House at every major military medical center to assist families in need and to ensure that they are provided with the comforts of home in a supportive environment. Annually, the Fisher House program serves more than 12,000 families, and have made available over three million days of lodging to family members since the program originated in 1990. By law, there is no charge for any family to stay at a Fisher House operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs; and Fisher House Foundation uses donations to reimburse the individual Fisher Houses operated by the Army, Navy, and Air Force. No family pays to stay at any Fisher House!

In addition to constructing new houses, Fisher House Foundation continues to support existing Fisher Houses and help individual military families in need. We are also proud to administer and sponsor Scholarships for Military Children, the Hero Miles program, and co-sponsor the Newman’s Own Award.