A little paper piecing and winners!

First off, I am amazed, completely amazed, by all the people who took the time to visit my little space and leave a comment.  Over 400 comments! Thank you all!  I loved reading about everyone's scrappy projects.  Log cabins, string quilts, paper piecing, english paper piecing, zipper pouches...were just a few of the many projects of choice for using up scraps.

I was motivated to do a little paper piecing myself and unearthed the Peace Quilt pattern by Margaret Rolfe.  I purchased this pattern many years ago when I was relatively new to quilting and still a bit unrealistic over how much time it took compared to how much time I actually had!  However, the individual cranes come together fairly quickly.  There are only 17 fabric pieces divided between 5 paper piecing sections.  The hardest part for me was the small size - this block finishes at 4 3/4" square! - and aligning the sections.  Pins through the corner points were a must.  Will I make all 98 needed for the quilt?  Probably not.  But I could easily see myself grouping a small flock together for a pillow.  Or maybe placing one as an accent block on a quilt back.

And now on to the giveaway winners!

I let random number generator do its thing.  You'll notice there are different totals for each prize, which also differ from the total number of comments.  There were a few that noted a preference to be included in only one giveaway, so those names were removed from the other list.  There were also a handful of duplicates, and those were pared down to just one entry per person. As a result, the number of the winning comment does not correspond to the exact placement of that comment in the overall sequence, but it was all mapped out in an excel document and triple checked!  So with that said...

Bundle One - Sunny Pastels - goes to:

Alicia, who wrote:  "I want to try a scrappy X plus quilt!"

and Bundle Two - Scrap Pack - goes to:

Kristen, who wrote: "Since I haven't really been quilting all that long, I haven't built up quite enough stash of scraps to do a scrappy project yet. Can't wait for that day to come, because it means there will be many more trips to the fabric shops!"

Congratulations Alicia and Kristen!  I will be sending you both an email shortly for your addresses.

For those that didn't win this time, I've set up a discount code for the shop, in case you'd still like to get a little something for yourself:  15% off all fabric (excluding remnants) thought Tuesday 5/20 midnight PT, with coupon code mayday14.  Please note that the coupon code is case-sensitive and must be entered on the shopping cart page - don't go directly to checkout - there's no spot for it there!   A few of the Sunny Pastels bundles can be found in the "precuts and bundles" sections.  If they sell out, I'll post more as availability allows.  (Click through to the individual page for an option to be notified when they're back in stock).

Thanks again to everyone for participating in Giveaway Day!  It was great fun!

It's giveaway day!  With two chances to win!

First up is a fat quarter bundle of 14 sunny pastels:

Second is a "scrap pack" featuring fabrics from Bonnie and Camille, Sweetwater, and Sandy Gervais, a charm pack of Athill Range, and Naptime Pre-cut Hexies:

To enter, leave a comment sharing your favorite scrappy quilt block or project! 

Edited to Add:  Please, only one entry per person. Duplicates will be removed from the giveaway allowing everyone an equal chance to win.  Thank you!

Also, if you prefer to be entered in just one of the giveaways, let me know that too. 

Comments will close on the 16th.  Winners will be chosen by a random number generator. Please make sure there is a way for me to contact you and check back here on the 18th when I'll announce the winners.

Be sure to visit Sew Mama Sew's site for chances to win more great supplies and handmade items!

Bee Blocks.  I was able to join a circle of do.good.stitches this past month and as luck would have it, April was my month as quilter!   I had two weeks to come up with a quilt idea, make my blocks, and post instructions.  No pressure there!   I spent a lot of time reviewing my favorites on flickr and pinterest and finally landed on the scrappy granny square.  This was the perfect opportunity to test out a block I'd admired for so long!

I followed the tutorial at Blue Elephant Stitches, but made a few modifications:  I used 3" squares for the colored "rings" and 3" x 3 3/4" rectangles for the border.  This yielded a block that finished just under 11 1/2" with wiggle room for trimming.  

I just received the last of the blocks from my bee mates last week and need to get started on the quilt top soon!

But first, I stitched up my May blocks.  Scrappy plusses in aqua.  I might have gotten a little carried away.  I have four to send away and a few more on my sewing table to keep for myself and add to my list of wips!