And the winner is ...

Ellen Gets Crafty!

A copy of "Creative Quilting with Beads" will be on its way soon to sunny San Diego, CA, home of the prolific blogger and crafter, Ellen Gets Crafty.  Her blog always brings a ray of California sunshine.

My low-tech random drawing consisted of putting names on little pieces of folded paper and pulling one out of the pile.

For those who didn't win but still might want to do a quick Sparkling Heart for Valentine's Day, here's what it looks like in progress:

1. Layer a main fabric, batting and backing that are cut large enough to either wrap around a stretcher frame or to fit inside a mat and frame. (Note: Do NOT baste, as directed in the book. Just pin the corners.) Cut a 5 x 7 inch opening in a piece of paper and lay it on top to isolate the finished area that will show. Layer snippets of sheers, hand dyes, shimmery lame or whatever catches your fancy in the opening to create a rich background. Pin. Glitz is good.

2. Quilt as desired -- just make sure you catch all the little bits with a few passes of quilting. For projects like this, I like to use shiny rayon or gold metallic in the sewing machine.

3. Make a heart template and pin it in place, using the 5 x 7 cut out again for reference. Either trace around the heart with some sort of marker or do as I did -- leave it pinned in place as a guide until you've done a row of beading around it.

4. Outline the heart with beads, then do a few more rows to emphasize the design. You might have to try a few sizes and colors to find a combo that stands out against the background. Then I filled in the center of the heart with scattered beads, but you should do whatever you want. Make it your own!

5. Finish by either wrapping it around a stretcher frame and stapling it to the back or by matting and framing it ... or bind it, incorporate it in a tote bag, whatever your heart desires. Yesterday's post shows the finished piece.

NOTE: The book goes into much more detail about beading, and has a lot of other fun projects. I highly recommend it, especially if you're a beginner and want specifics about thread, beads, stitches, etc. Here's the link: http://www.larkcrafts.com/bookstore/?isbn=9781454703365

I'd love to see your hearts and post them on my blog if you do the project.

Happy Valentine's Day