I have winners to announce!  I'll keep this short and sweet....for the two rainbow spots and dots bundles, random picks are:

sandyandcosmo who wrote:
"I love tiny, crisp white dots on a deep navy background. Reminds me of stars in the sky or snow falling."

and Karen who wrote:
"Love this giveaway. Just something about dots. Thanks for hosting"

And the winner of the $25 gift certificate is:

SeeMaryQuilt who wrote:  "I love Lizzy House! Thanks for the chance!"

Congratulations!  I will be sending emails off to you shortly.

A big thanks to everyone who took the time to stop by and share your favorites!

It's Giveaway Day!  I have two giveaways this time around - in two separate posts.

Up here - a colorful spots and dots bundle containing a fat-sixteenth of sixteen different polka dot fabrics from various manufacturers including Moda, Michael Miller, Westminster, and Birch Organics. 

 To enter, please leave a comment noting your favorite dot - large, small, color, pattern - anything that might set one polka dot out from another for you!  (Please only one comment per person.)

Comments will close Friday December 12th and I'll choose winners for two bundles on Saturday!  

Be sure to visit SewMamaSew for more great giveaways!

And best wishes to all for a lovely holiday season!

It's Giveaway Day!

I have two separate giveaways this round:
In this post, enter to win a $25 gift certificate to Lark Cottons.

Choose a gift for yourself or to give from our selection of high-quality quilting cottons, patterns and select notions.

To enter, just leave a comment noting a favorite fabric designer or collection.  (Please only one comment per person.)

Comments will close Friday December 12th, and a winner with be chosen at random Saturday.

 

 Be sure to visit SewMamaSew for more great giveaways!

And Happy Holidays to all!

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!

Out of control.
Need I say more? And I'm not just talking about my overflowing scrap bins here. It's been a crazy few weeks.

First off, I'm in the midst of a long-overdue website redesign. As much as I love the simplicity of hosting the shop with Big Cartel, I outgrew their product limit long ago. (Which is a good thing right? It means that my little shop is a little less little now.) After struggling for months with trying to make sense out of the numerous ecommerce options out there, I gave in and hired a local web developer to do the heavy lifting. What a relief. The new site will actually get done, and get done well. I'm hoping for a "grand-opening" at the beginning of March, which means the next few weeks will probably be even more crazy. Stay tuned. There will be door prizes. Well, virtual door prizes.

I'm also plotting a home renovation project to capture some much needed square footage from the unused second-floor attic. The intent is to add a bedroom and "lounge" space for the teenager in the house, who likes to sprawl and won't be bothered so much by the lower ceiling. I'll be calling in some reinforcements for this work as well. The days are long gone when I could be lured into hauling sheets upon sheets of gypsum board anywhere, let alone up a staircase, in the name of "sweat equity". I have to say, I'm giddy at the prospect of having an extra room. The desk and loom will get moved out of the dining room, and the sewing table out of the kitchen for starters. Yes folks, my sewing space is set up in an alcove off the kitchen. Rather convenient actually, if you don't mind the occasional burnt dinner. Stay tuned for this one as well. I'll take pictures! It'll be cool.

Work has been busy too. (The desk job.) Which is good; time-consuming and a bit mentally-draining the way work usually is, but good.

And if that's not all, I'm trying to get my 2011 accounting buttoned up asap. one) so I can get a financial aid form turned in to my daughter's school, and two) so I'm not filing taxes on the due date this year. (It's really stressful. I don't recommend it. Once is enough.)

Here's where you all come in:
In order to calm a bit of the chaos, and get a head start on spring cleaning, I'm giving away fabric scraps. Lots of fabric scraps.

Leave a comment on this post with a tip on how you manage fabric scraps (or as in my case, don't manage) for a chance to win about two pounds of fabric (a.k.a. what I can fit in a flat rate envelope). TWO POUNDS, people! That's between six and seven yards of pure scrappy goodness! A lot of the pieces will be in the 4-5" range, some full width, and a few fat quarter-ish in size. The only catch is that if you receive some fabrics you don't like or can't use, I ask that you pass them along to someone that can. (If you're short on ideas for scrappy projects - take a peak at my flckr favorites.)

Comments will be open until the evening of February 14th, at which time I'll pick not one, but TWO winners. One at random, the other whose comment I find the most inspiring or amusing.

Ready. Set. Go!

Sneak Peak + Giveaway.
Take a look at some of the fabric goodness coming to the shop over the next few months!

fresh cut 2011.  heather bailey.  February

modern whimsy.  laurie wisbrun.  january

echo.  lotta Jansdotter.  january.

flea market fancy.  denyse schmidt.  february.

And for a little giveaway.
A bit of swag from the AQMS (after-quilt-market-show):
A Fat-Eighth Bundle of Quilt Blocks by Ellen Luckett Baker for Moda fabrics.
Salt Air mini-charm pack. Cosmo Cricket for Moda.
And charm squares of Garden Party. Jane Dixon for Andover Fabrics.

Leave a comment by Wednesday November 16th to be entered to win!

Hey! It's my birthday!

To celebrate, I'm taking the day off work, meeting up with some friends for dinner, and having a little giveaway! (Oh, and going to DMV to renew my driver's license. How's that for waiting 'til the last minute?)

For the giveaway.... how about this sweet little stack of 10 fat quarters from Sandi Henderson's latest collection Secret Garden? To enter, leave a comment (by Sept 1 at noon) wishing me happy birthday, of course, and sharing a silly birthday story of your own.

Here's mine:
A few years back, my good friend Kristina, who was going to Grad School in Iowa at the time, called to wish me a happy birthday. (It was early morning, but not THAT early.) I quickly interrupted her to say that it wasn't my birthday, my birthday wasn't until the next day. She replied that it was indeed my birthday - her phone had told her so, and after thinking about it for a minute, I realized she was right! And it wasn't just that I had the day's date confused, I actually had my birthday wrong. Unbelievable! I guess that's what happens when my standard reply to "when's your birthday?" was "at the end of August." for so long. Never again, though.

Today's the day!

A Mother's Day giveaway. I recently received a copy of the magazine "Perfect for Precuts; Quilts from Fat Quarters, Strips, and Squares" - filled with a variety of quilting projects. Considering that I have enough on my "to-sew" list to last a lifetime, I figured it was a bit selfish to keep this for myself. I'll even throw in a few fat quarters as well to get you started! Leave a comment noting something special about your mom and/or your favorite fabric designer or collection to be entered to win. Comments will close on Tuesday at 7 pm PST and I'll choose a name at random shortly thereafter! (PS. Visit the shop to see my current inventory for some help in choosing a favorite...hint, hint.)