Because It's Monday

Updated:

This Giveaway is Closed! 

It's Monday, and we are all pretty slow-moving this morning as we decompress and recuperate from the awesomeness that was our sewing weekend!!  If you missed it you can find some sneak peeks of what we were working on @ instagram.  I'm sure there will be a steady influx of finished projects popping up in the coming weeks here on the blog as we were able to accomplished quite a LOT.  It will definitely be an annual event for us!

So, in honor of a lazy Monday morning and our awesome sewing weekend, let's have a little giveaway...

Recently I pulled out the leftover squares from my Boys at Play quilt. 

The idea I had brewing in my mind for them is not going to work out, so I'm letting it go.  

That means the squares are up for grabs! 

Just leave a comment telling us why your weekend was awesome (or not-so awesome) and we'll pick a winner tomorrow.

Details: 

Squares are 4.5 inches.  I think there are somewhere in the neighborhood of 40-50 total charms.  Not all fabrics have equal amounts, some as little as 3 squares some as many as 9.  It's just what was left...

700th Post Giveaway!!

**EDITED:  Giveaway is now closed.  Thanks for entering.**

 Today we are celebrating our 700th post!!  WooHoo!! 

(Wow, we have been wordy over the years. :)

In honor of the occasion we are offering up some fat quarter sets to you, our lovely loyal readers.
Without you our blog would just be a whole lot of us talking to ourselves. :)
But life and blogs are way more fun with friends, don't you think?!

So here's what we have:

The first stack is aqua and green.  A current favorite color scheme.

Some of the prints are from the DS Quilts line at JoAnn, along with some other great
coordinating pieces I had. Together they'd make a lovely start to a quilt.

The next stack is an assortment of red's.
Renae and I are both working on our own red quilts.
(Mine is this, Renae's is along the lines of this.)

We definitely think that red is a neutral in all aspects of life!  And when it comes to quilting, red never goes out of style.  So what better way to celebrate with us than starting your own red project.

We will make it easy.
Just leave us a comment telling us what you are currently working on/loving at the moment.
We will pick winners on Monday.

And thank you again for visiting our little blog!
We love you guys!

A Rainbow Giveaway...Because Rainbows Are Supposed to Make You Happy

 **Updated** Winners have been chosen!

Don't get me wrong spring is a lovely time of year, but springtime can be a real downer at my house.  It's the time of year that my husband works long hours (kudos to all single mothers 'cuz I am lousy at it!), I start counting down the days 'til summer 'cuz I am sick of all things school related (getting up early, packing lunches, checking homework, signing reading calendars, etc),  and my allergies make life almost unbearable.  

So in order to lighten my mood I've decided on a giveaway!  A random rainbow assortment of FQ's from my stash.

Aren't rainbows supposed to bring happiness?  As in, after the storm a rainbow appears?  Anyway, that's what I'm hoping.

For a chance to win just say whatever you are feeling, good or bad, I'll take whatever... latest projects, words of encouragement, thoughts on the end of the school year, funny jokes, allergy remedies, or your thoughts on rainbows.

A winner will be drawn sometime next week. 


Chao!

P.S.  I started a massive clean-up of my sewing room today and I'm feeling better already! :)

Winner #2--swimsuit

  And the winner of the swimsuit is:

SHANNON

Who wrote: "You must live somewhere by me because we've had the same weather you've described.
I've also been cleaning out closets and also cleaning the house. Call it a pre-spring cleaning. I've begun thinking about what I'm going to plant in my garden and when I can start my seeds indoors next month."

Yep, we do live close.

Thanks to everyone who entered.  And Shannon, drop us an email letting me know what size your daughter is and what colors/styles she likes.  Then we can discuss the options via email--or telephone, 'cuz I think you might be that close.

500th Post Giveaway #3---Fabric Banner

For our last giveaway we have a fabric banner made by Leslie!

For a chance to win leave a comment telling us about the last really great party you went to.  

What was the occasion?  Why was it so great?  

And remember there is still time to put your name in the giveaways for a 

Girls Custom Swimsuit or Vintage Sheet FQ Set.   

Good Luck! 

We'll post winners sometime tomorrow...

500th Post Giveaway #2--Custom Swimsuit

I've been working on swimsuits already here at my house because this winter is just killing us. Seriously, we are so DONE!  It has been so long with lots of snow and lots of cold.  About a week ago we had a great sneak peek at Spring with about 5 days straight of 40ºF+ weather.  It was BEAUTIFUL!  And although not all the snow disappearred--unbelievable after that many days of warm weather--we did melt off a bunch.  We saw the streets for the first time since the beginning of December sometime.  My kids were so ready to break out the bikes, skateboards, scooters, and even swimsuits.  All that occurred just in time for an all-time record breaking February snowstorm (15+ inches of new snow) the beginning of this week. 

Oh Spring, so close.....

Anyway, the winner of this drawing will get to determine their prize based on what materials I currently have.

• Choose from size 1T to girls' 14
• Fabric color--to be determined by me and the winner (we've got lots of options--see the pic below)
• Winner and I will also discuss any other embellishment options :)  i.e possibility of two-tone or one shoulder suit, skirted.

For a chance to win leave a comment telling how you are gearing up for Spring & Summer at your house.  Besides making swimsuits I am de-junking a lot of my life--right now that is mainly my laundry room and storage. 

Leslie's giveaway will be up tomorrow, and you can still enter Emily's from yesterday.

Good luck to everyone!  Winners will be posted on Friday.

*If you don't happen to win this round I've got quite a few suits in my Etsy shop that are available immediately.  I'm adding more as I get them photographed.  Or you if you are looking for something else truly unique you can order a custom suit.  Drop me a note about it....we can talk.


***Closed for now.

500th Post Giveaway #1--Vintage Sheet FQ's

This week we are celebrating our 500th Post! 

Can you believe it?! 

Neither can we!

In honor of this milestone we are giving away some of our favorite things.

I'm starting off the week with Vintage Sheets.  

These 8 lovely Fat Quarters can be yours.   

Just leave us a comment telling us something funny that has happened to you lately.  It can be anything--We love a good laugh, so the funnier the better. :)

And don't forget to check back for Renae and Leslie's giveaways later on this week! 

  We will announce winners on Friday.

Good Luck!

Giveaway

I'm feeling the need to give away the remaining bits of fabric from this quilt.  I think there are only 20 squares (4.5 inches), not an even amount of each print, just what's left.  Surely someone can come up with a fabulous use for them, right?

We'll make this short and sweet.  Leave a comment. Winner will be drawn tomorrow.  Maybe you could tell us what you did over the long weekend...

A Giveaway

Today we are doing a giveaway, with a small twist...

The winner will get these lovely scraps from the Mendocino line by Heather Ross.  I think there are about 35 rectangles (about 1/2 of which are HR and 1/2 the blender fabrics).  I am currently working on a quilt for my 8 yr old using these fabrics.  When I went to buy the backing I found the fabric listed on etsy for... get this...$40 a yard!!!!  What?!  Don't even get me started on how ridiculous I think this is!  I quickly decided on a beautiful non $40/yd print.  But I digress...

Here is the twist:  To enter you must commit to helping us with our Zihuatanejo Bag Project for Project Million Amigos.  We don't care if you can only do one bag or 50, we just want you to help.   If you still want to win the scraps tell us in the comments section how many bags you will make.  Make sure you leave your email or some way for us to contact you.  We will draw a winner on Friday.  And if there happens to be a large enough response I might be willing to give up my eight Heather Bailey Pop Garden fat quarters as well. 

Now we know that there is no way we can check to make sure everyone actually makes their bags, but we believe that you all will be honest enough to commit only if you are serious and not just to win. Good Luck!

(Here is the simple bag tutorial if you're unsure of the difficulty level involved.)

One Shoulder Swimsuit

This post all began with this drawing, and this question from B.,

"Mom, can you make me this swimsuit?"

I think I can. So here is how I came up with the pattern.

I used my standby Tank suit--KwikSew 2422.

(Which is apparently discontinued. What's up with that? It is a basic tank however I did see this suit--Kwik Sew 3785-- which has both the basic tank back as well as the racerback style suit--in the same pattern. Or you can try this leotard pattern ....you could still use that one as a swimsuit.)

NOTE: To copy patterns I always use clear polyethylene sheeting and a sharpie. You can see thru it better than anything else you might use to copy patterns, and it doesn't rip. I buy my rolls at Menards, but you can get something similar at The Home Depot or Lowe's in their paint departments. Basically it is just 3 mil plastic sheeting.

First you copy one side of the front, marking the center and the point of the armpit, but do not draw the neckline into the strap just yet.

Then I flipped it over, matched the center line and copied the other half. Instead of drawing the strap and neckline I made a line from the top of the shoulder down to the opposite side armpit. I was hoping that I wouldn't have to make any more adjustments than that. In my case it worked out perfectly. Yeah!!! Just be prepared for some tweaking as you don't want it to cut too high into the armpit, or too low and show off more skin than you should.

Front pattern piece finished

For the back it is basically the same concept.

Copy one side--making sure that the side with the strap will be located on the correct side to correspond with the front piece. I.E. you don't want the shoulder strap to be on the right side on the front piece and then end up being the left side on the back piece. It will be a little tricky to cut the 2 backs out together so I would cut them separately.

The left back angles across the back starting from the left armpit up towards the right shoulder. I had to extend the center back seam on both the right and left pieces. For the right shoulder I angled down from the right shoulder towards the left armpit.

This shows the 2 completed pattern pieces with the center backs together.

I always add about 1/4"-3/8" extra on the pattern at the back leg opening. I find that it doesn't ride up as much and covers their little cheekies better. You won't have to adjust the measurement of the elastic.

Here is the completed swimsuit:

B. wanted a double strap on the opposite shoulder and it turned out really cute. The straps ended up being about 8 inches long-finished. And even though her drawing showed a little flower there at the spaghetti straps she didn't want it once we attached them.

Back view

Detail of attached straps

I've made 2 additional copies of this pattern alteration to giveaway.

Both copies are Girls size 7

Size 7 measurements
Height 50”
Chest 26”
Waist 23”
Hip 27”

 

**And although I've included the measurements for yardage, elastic, etc. there will not be any detailed instructions included other than sew backs together, attach crotch, sew shoulder seams, etc.

Leave us a comment if you'd like to be entered into the drawing for the patterns.

What item is it you wish you had a pattern for?

(maybe we'll come up with it down the road)

You have 'til Wednesday, midnight.

And hopefully I'll get it drawn Thursday morning,

but no guarantees as we have 2 birthdays and a Pinewood Derby Race all going on this week.

For a couple previous posts about swimsuits and some tips on making your own click HERE and HERE. Or type in "swimsuits" to search for posts on our blog--there are a number of them.

You can stop by my shop too and see what I have currently available for sale.

Vintage Sheets and a Giveaway

I'm participating in the Vintage Sheet Swap next month on flickr, so I spent the weekend cutting up my sheets. Here is my stack ready to be mailed out...

I tried to find a variety of prints. Hopefully they are appealing to the masses.

I decided this sheet shall remain whole. I plan on using it for the back of my yet-to-be-made vintage sheet quilt. Isn't it pretty?! It looks old and delicate to me. Kind of reminds me of my two 90 year old Grandmas.

I am finding some beautiful inspirations for a quilt--like this one, and this, and this. So many possibilities. I'm getting excited!

In honor of the Vintage Sheet Swap, I am giving away two remnant stacks of vintage sheets left over from all my cutting.

Some of the pieces are smaller, but most are almost fat quarter size. They'd be great for quilting or other small projects.

To enter, leave a comment telling me about any vintage treasures you collect. If you don't collect, that's fine too, just say so. I'll pick two winners on Thursday.

Seasonal Fat Quarters Giveaway

EDITED: Kirsten and Tracy are the winners!

I've been doing more purging. So today we're giving away this stack of fat quarters. It's full of novelty prints for all seasons. Hope you like it!

It includes fabrics for Winter, Valentines, St. Patty's, 4th of July, Summer, School, Fall and Christmas.

For a chance to win just leave us a comment. We'll pick a winner on Wednesday. Today we want to know one thing you want to do before you die and one thing you will NEVER do! I'll go first. I want to visit Europe before I die but I will never go skydiving--I'm afraid of heights.

I have three more fat quarter sets available here. I am always willing to trade if you are interested. Right now I need a fat quarter of Phoenix Suns cotton fabric (anyone in AZ what to help me out?), some small vintage-looking floral prints for this quilt (preferably in pinks), and men's cotton plaid shirts for this quilt. Email me!

Birthday Giveaway

Tomorrow is my birthday--I will be turning 35!

I happen to like having birthday's and getting older. I feel like I get smarter each year. And, honestly, my 30's are WAY better than my 20's, so I'm hoping that trend continues. Surely we get older for a reason, right?!

In honor of my birthday I am giving away this quilt top to one lucky person. It's made from the remaining 3" scraps from my nine patch quilt. It measures approx. 36 by 42 inches .

It includes lots of the same scraps as my coin quilt. After using them for the last couple projects I am now completely sick of them. They were good scraps, but I am ready to move on.

If you want a chance to win, all you have to do is leave a comment telling us how old you are and your feelings about it. I'll draw a winner on Tuesday Nov. 17th.

Can't wait to read through all your thoughts!

Hourglass Winner

random.org picked

#15:

Erin

who said...

"Ohh, I love it. I'd probably add a border to make it a bit bigger and then it would have a lovely home in my guest bedroom that is those exact colors! Thanks for the chance to win!"

Congrats!

I can't wait to see it when it's done!

Hourglass Quilt Top Giveaway (300th Post!!)

This is an hourglass quilt I started awhile back.

It's made from scraps, odds and ends, and a few shirts I cut up.

It measures 39" by 49"

(And, yes, I know there are 3 squares that are turned wrong. I'll fix them...)

I had full intentions of making it a regular sized quilt top

...until I spotted this quilt in one of my magazines. I guess you could say I've moved on. I am now trying to figure out a way to sneak some plaid shirts out of my husbands closet without him knowing.

So, in honor of our 300th post I'm giving away my hourglass top to some lucky person who is willing to finish it and give it a nice home.

To enter, leave a comment telling us what you'd do with the quilt if you won. Oh, the possibilities: a table runner, the lining of a bag, pillows, a play mat for kids, or even a wall hanging. Do tell! Make sure you leave your email if we can't contact you through blogger. And if you feel the need to send a plaid shirt my way, I'd be happy to accept it! (Though it won't help you win :)

Winner will be posted on Monday!

As always, flickr provides hours of inspiration. I really like this one with white as the border.

Giveaway

Leslie is having a giveaway on her Photo Blog. Go check it out!

Swimsuit Giveaway!

This year, along with making new swimsuits for my own daughters (and nieces for the family reunion), I am going to give away a swimsuit to one of YOU! I'm willing to make a suit ranging from toddler/baby size 1T to girls size 7. And you even get to pick the color and style. How's that for fun!?

Style:
#1 Skirted (view B below)
or
#2 non-skirt (view A below) tanksuit.
Sizes 1T -4T are racerback and 4-7 are regular scoop tank back.

Color choices:
#1 Hot pink, orange, and yellow striped (my own personal preference for this fabric is to make the suit w/o the skirt--but if you'd like one I'd do it)

#2 Purple tie dye

Sizes: 1T - 7 girls

This time around for this giveaway you MUST be a Follower of our blog. To become a follower just click the "Follow" button on the top of our site.

After becoming a follower just answer this question: What is one of your favorite summer activities that you do with your family? Answer the question on your comment post and include along with your entry the style, color, and size you'd prefer for the little girl in your life.

Come on summer!! We're ready for you.

Giveaway will close on Friday, May 1, 2009, midnight central time.

Blog Anniversary

Hard to believe that is has already been ONE YEAR for us out there in blog land. We're always up for a good reason to have a party--so Happy Anniversary to us!! We've got three things we're giving away this month. We'll draw 3 different times for 3 different items. So that means 3 chances to win just by posting a comment.

#1 From Leslie: Fabric Garland

Back in the day I made two of these. But since I seriously overestimated the amount of fabric I would need for husband's birthday garland, I ended up with two. So one could be yours!

{Total length of garland is just over 15 FEET with and additional 6" of excess bias tape at each end for pinning. Each double sided triangle measures 7.5" wide and 9.25" long.}

#2 From Emily: Fabric

Half yard of Amy Butler's Floating Buds in Linen

and a stack of small scraps.

#3 From Renae: Library Bag

We've been loving the library so much at our house. It makes me happy to see that all my kids, including the boys, love to read. Even my 3 year old C. asks to go so that he can get some more "twain books". We love BOOKS!! I've posted before about the library bags that each of my kids have to use at our house. Today I am giving one away. The winner may choose between one of the two pictured.

a. "Reading Rocks"--denim with turquoise/yellow/orange striped lining.

OR

b. "Book Bag"--denim with lime/turquoise floral lining.
To Enter our drawing, tell us the name of one (or more) of your favorite kids' books in the comments. Comments will close Wednesday at Midnight Pacific Time. One entry per person, winners will be announced on Friday, April 3rd. Good Luck!

One of Renae's kids favorite books is "The Toughest Cowboy: or How the Wild West was Tamed" by John Frank or any of the "SkippyJon Jones" books by Judy Schachner.

Also as a sweet surprise--we are also sending Tine her own box of surprises for being our first and therefore Longest Follower of our blog. Thanks Tine!!! We have appreciated the support!

**Be sure to add yourself as a follower and we might surprise you with some goodies, too!**

Winner, Winner!

It's you...

Congrats, Nancy!

Your doll quilt is on it's way to the great state of Missouri!

My family spent 4 years in Missouri and loved every minute of it! So, hello to all our MO friends!