go big, go bold or go home bag finish and a winner!!!!! Quick ColumnQuilts Book

I did finish the bag!  I used it tonight to take my mat and other supplies to an activity - it was great! And here's a sneak peak -

I'm working on a tutorial - at least for the measurements and everything!  I think I'm going to really like using it!

*****

I meant to post this on Monday!  Thanks for all who entered the giveaway!  The lucky winner is #21!!!

CONGRATULATIONS KAREN PROPES!!!

I'll be in touch to get your address!

giveaway winner!!

Hey Friends! I'm a little late on the announcing but our winner is...

Thanks for playing along! I loved reading your comments!! I have something exciting happening soon that I can tell you about next week. No, it has nothing to do with sewing or blogging, but a lot to do with why I'm so disorganized!! And no, I'm not having another baby. See you soon!

{amylouwho} winners and other random stuff

Well, hello friends!

Melissa at the Polka Dot Chair was sweet enough to interview me for her blog today!  I met her in person at the Sewing Summit and we sat next to each other sewing on Saturday night!  It was really fun!  So if you are interested in an everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-amylouwho-but-were-afraid-to-ask type of post, you can read it HERE.

Things have been a little unorganized around my house lately. I don't talk about it a lot, for lots of reasons, but my husband is getting ready for a deployment and it means he is gone a lot for extended training trips. When he is gone I don't sleep enough and then pay for it the next day.  I'm not as motivated, productive, or as organized as I would like to be. So I'm finally getting around to posting the winners from last week's giveaways!!

With the help of Random.org..

The winner of Candy's Dyeing to Stitch is

#1
embquiltsaid...

1

This looks fun! I am actually working on my second ever Dresden plate but am going big lol loved my first one so much that I joined a snowflake Dresden plate swap - of course it uses a different template then my handy one AND oh yeah I've gotta make 12 sets! Then even though thanksgiving has passed I've caught the Dresden bug - gonna do the big turkey that is on the Missouri star quilting co YouTube page!

11:27 AM, November 30, 2011

The winner of a pair of earrings from Leedle Deedle Designs is

#10
tarasaid...

10

I like the dreamy double drop pearl earrings!

7:02 PM, December 01, 2011

Ladies - if you haven't heard from me yet, send me your contact info so I can pass it along!  Thank you!

And if you are interested in buying some really amazing earrings go to Leedle Deedle Designs, the coupon code AMYLOUW25 will give you 25% off your purchase!
*****
I have been doing some things around here, like painting my kitchen and an accent wall in my living room. I need to take some after pictures then show you!  I also managed to get my Christmas lights up on my house all by myself. I am woman, hear me roar! (or swear a lot).

I also picked out this fabric the other day to make this quilt.  I've always thought Amy Butler and Sandi Henderson's fabrics went well together.  Here's a perfect example!!

(L-R) Henna Garden, Full Moon Dots, Daisy Chain, Secret Garden, Daisy Chain, Daisy Chain, Henna Garden

I needed something quick and easy.  I'll let you know how it goes!

{amylouwho} mini quilt party winners announced!

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed hosting this mini quilt party!!  I haven't had a chance to visit all the quilts yet, but I'm working on it!  I loved reading your comments too!

Before we get to the winners, I wanted to show you the mini quilt that I received from my end of the Post Sewing Summit Swap.  I don't even remember what I said in my little survey, but my partner Jill, from Made on Mainstreet,  must have also checked out my favorites on Flickr because she nailed it!

I love my sweet little quilt and hung it up immediately in my kitchen.  Thank you so much, Jill!! I love it!

So now, onto the winners!
Oh wait, I should tell you that I used Random.org to choose 5 numbers between 1 and 201 (108 linkies + 93 comments, wow!), comment #1 being entry 109.  Okay, so now...

1)The 30$ gift card to the  Old Red Barn Co. soap shop:
#83 Diane of Random Thoughts Do or "Di"!

2) The flat rate box of swag from the Sewing Summit:
#135 Kristina at The Nerdy Sewist!

3) Kim's bundle of awesome Heather Ross scraps:
#61  The Quilted Fox

4) Candy's  set of “quilter’s 8ths” of her own hand-dyed cottons:
#104 Nona's Sews

5)The jelly roll of fabric from The Material Girls Quilts:
#105 Kwiltz by Stephanie

Look for an email from me in your inboxes!

{amylouwho} sew sweetness bag winner!

Thank you everyone who entered the giveaway for Sara's beautiful bag!  I wish we had one for everyone.

I really enjoyed reading all of the comments about your WIPs!  Keep working towards a finish and when you have one, no matter how small, come back on Friday's for Sew & Tell!

Winner was picked by Random.org:

#3 is Happy Cottage Quilter!!
She won for comment 3, but I thought I'd share with you her WIP comment too.  :)

 Congratulations! I've sent you an email. 

modern basics quilt book WINNER!

I had SO much fun reading everyone's comments on this giveaway!  And WOW!  What a turnout!  There were 249 of you so I turned to trusty random generator and he chose:

Congratulations Em!

This will be a great book for a beginner quilter!  You'll have to keep us posted on what you make out of it!

The one thing I learned from most of your comments is that most of us find the drive to sew not just for our own enjoyment but to bless others.  I think that's pretty amazing and a big part of why this sewing community is so great!  Glad to be among you!

tap, tap. . . is this thing on? (new winner picked)

I didn't hear back from the first winner for the pincushion kit giveaway, so I'm picking someone new!

Candy! I'm emailing you right now!  Congrats!!

And while I'm hear I'd love to show you another (late) bee block!  String block for Allyn!  Love it.

Be sure to come back tomorrow Saturday, March 5, for the final stop of the Modern Basics Book Tour!

Kaaaaaate! where are you??

You said you check in regularly - see you even said so in the comments!

Please leave me a comment with your email by tomorrow afternoon or I will have to announce a new winner tomorrow night. 

Another giveaway coming Friday as part of the Modern Basics Blog Tour!

pincushion kit winner!

Sorry I'm so lame and forgot to do this earlier in the week!

I really enjoyed reading your comments and hearing about those of you who have made bloggy friends! They are super awesome, that's for sure!

And the lucky winner of the pincushion kit is

Yay Kate!

only one problem - you are a no-reply blogger so I don't have anyway to contact you! Please contact me so I can get your shipping info and color preference! Penny is going to put this together just for you!

Speaking of no-reply bloggers - some of you mentioned you don't have two way communication with the blogs you read/follow. You see, I have (as do most bloggers, I think) all of my comments emailed to me. When I hit reply on the email, if you have an email attached to your profile I can email you right back! If you don't, your email address says no-reply. The best part is you don't have to have a blog to do this. Just a profile!

If you go read THIS POST at Pleasant Home (THANKS JODI!!) you can change your settings so that you have an email attached to your account! It's so easy and makes it really fun to be able to continue a conversation started in the comments section.

Okay! I've got lots of bee blocks to share this week! See you soon!

giveaway day winner!

Hey everyone!  Thank you so much for coming to my blog last week and leaving such wonderful comments about sharing the gift of sewing!   The few times I've been able to help someone gain their confidence with fabric and sewing machine has made me so happy! I read that most of you feel the same way!  It's such a great thing to be able to share and create one more happy sewer in the universe.  More on this to come...

And now.

The winner of the lovely dishmat is:

Mary Beth said...

120

super cute! I like making friends feel like they CAN do it! That they can make whatever they want, and I will help them figure out how! :) I just like to keep it fun and simple!

MARY BETH!! CONGRATULATIONS!  But I don't have an email for you!  Please get in touch with me!

fresh squeezed fabrics WINNER!

I'm sorry it's taken so long to post the winner!  I ended up taking #2 into the doctor to have his ears checked and his pink eye diagnosed.  Putting eye drops in that kid's eye is torture for me, mostly because he thinks I'm putting hot pokers in there or something!  It's been a long day.  While we were there I had the doctor check out everyone else's eyes and ears to make sure we weren't going to need to go back in a few days.  We've been sick around here since a week or so before Thanksgiving. It's getting tiresome.  Just keeping it real, people.

But did you really want to know all of that?

You just want to know if you won the 35$ gift card from Fresh Squeezed Fabrics!  I get it...

We had 133 comments and 50 link-ups with a total of 183 total entries!!  I decided to add the 50 link-ups at the end to make it easier to count them all.  So if # 183 won, I know it would be the last of the link-ups. Make sense?

Thanks to Mr. Random.org:

and that turned out to be linky #2 which is Carla at Sew It Up!  Congratulations Carla!

Carla is a regular around here so I went and found the comment she left for the giveaway too:

 Carla said..

Love the skirts! Perfect for the cold weather. I totally agree with you on the serger, it's a life saver.

If I were to be so lucky to win, I would pick the Amy Butler Soul Blossoms. It' perfect!

Thanks Amy!

I think she's going to be a happy camper and I can't wait to see what she makes!

Were you wondering about that little bird up there?  It's from a tutorial on Spool that I have been wanting to try forever.  I needed a quick pick-me-up tonight and this was just the thing!  I have a plan to have a flock on my tree.

These were so quick - I think it took longer to stuff it than it did to sew it up!

winners all around!

Hey you guys! Thanks so much to those of you who linked up your donation quilts/blankets for the 100 Quilts for Christmas! You are all winners! I mean that!

Now onto the pattern winners from Fresh Poppy Designs:

#1 Kristie @ OCD and #7 Tiffany

Congrats! I will be passing along your emails to Heather and Megan!

Speaking of those two wonderful gals, I'm being featured today on Quiltstory!






It's a quilt that I blogged about for the 1st Blogger's Quilt Festival. Maybe you saw it then, and if you didn't? Well, it's a fun one!

Go on over and check it out!

Remember, Sew & Tell this Friday will be the last one until the new year. There will also be an awesome fabric giveaway from Randi at Fresh Squeezed Fabrics! It's going to be Gooooood.

And look at the fun stuff I ordered from her a couple of weeks ago!

holiday happy by monica of happy zombie

I've got some Christmas sewing to do!

Laters!

the post you've all been waiting for.

I know nothing I write up here will be read - but I wanted to thank you all for the lovely comments.  It was so fun to read about so many dear sewing memories!  Okay, fine.... I'll get on with it.

Ohhhh, can you stand the suspense??  Drumroll....

1. The winner (chosen via random.org) from those who linked to receive the the swing bag and cabo halter patterns, and 3 yards of Amy Butler fabric from The Material Girls Quilts is...

#18 Vickie and her Birdie Sling!


For the next two I started counting from the linkers and then into the commenters.  So comment #1 was entry #48... a little confusing I know! (47 + 87 = 134 total entries)
2. The winner of  the Birdie Sling pattern and a $25 gift certificate from Fabricworm is...

#61 (47 +14 = 61)

Jenn said...

14

I am *almost* finished with my tote/library bag made with Amy Butler fabrics...but not quite yet. I'll have to try to get it finished. :) Ok, sewing memories. Let's see: My [LEAST] favorite sewing memory is when I ran my needle through my finger a couple of weeks ago. But the best has been seeing my daughter get excited when I have something new for her ~ she doesn't care that I'm just learning/teaching myself to sew...she loves the pretty fabrics and loves that Mommy made it. :)

9:46 AM, September 24, 2010

3. The winner of the laptop cover and mp3 case pattern is...

#7 Emily!  With the pretty pink and brown quilt!

This new linky tool has a page for me to see how many times a link is viewed.  I chose winners of the next prizes according to views.

4. For having the most views on her linky, the winner of the diamond bouquet quilt pattern from Chasing Cottons is...

The Daisy Chain Skirt (#2) Allyn!  She had the most views of any other linky!















5.  For being 2 and 3 in number of linky views, the winners of the headbands are...

Mary (linky #3)

and

Sara (linky #6)

6.

And E. at pinksuedeshoe made another darling pumpkin to giveaway to someone who would truly love it!  We were chatting online yesterday after she told me the sad tale of the pumpkin getting taken to a bunco party and no one claimed it as a prize - she rescued her darling-ness and brought it home herself.  We were talking about how the internet is great for bringing like-minded people together! Then we listed our top favorite entries and we both agreed that Dee (#10)! and that awesome quilt needed the pumpkin!

 

Dee said...
Your dish quilts are inspiring! I've been wanting and needing to make some and you've just encouraged me with yours!

Favorite sewing memory is of me as a junior high home ec student sitting on the lawn of my parents' house sewing the binding on my first quilt.

I still have some of the fabrics I used and remember the warmth of the sunshine and thinking how much I loved that quilt!

Congratulations ladies!  Please get me your contact info so that we can get you your prizes!!

This was so much fun everyone!  Any ideas for another themed sew & tell?  How about using a tutorial you've been procrastinating??  Leave me some suggestions in the comments!

friday's giveaway winner!

Thanks everyone for entering! I decided to just start the numbering process from the link ups and then into the comments. So without further ado. . .

27. Tori - leather diaper bag

Congratulations Tori!  This was actually one of my favorite link-ups this week.  You have to go see how she re-purposed an old leather jacket.  I want to do it now too!

Tori - please get me your contact info so I can get your goodies off to you!

Now the rest of you, don't be too sad, I have 4 more patterns + fabric/gift certificates to giveaway in September.  Get going on your Amy Butler projects and I'll be talking more about it soon!
xo

$80 CSN winner!!

I'm sorry it took so long to post the winner! Today was a bit crazy and I had to figure out how to number my comments again since I switched blogger templates, but whatever, you don't care about any of that. SO, without further ado...

The winner is:

Ms. Mini said...

56

i'm desperately in need of new pictures for the wall - CSN has quite a selection!

9:55 AM, August 17, 2010

Ms. Mini!! Congratulations!  Get me your email so I can send you your gift code!  Happy Shopping!!

Everyone else, the first Amy Butler giveaway is tomorrow! (today, if you are a few time zones ahead of me :))

and the pillow winner is. . .

Thanks everyone who entered!  I really enjoyed reading all of the interesting things about you.  There were some good ones!

~ Cee ~ said... 67 I just love the Blissliving Home Mallory Turquoise 12" x 12" Pillow that you've highlighted. Hmm. Something interesting about myself ... I'm currently learning how to install hardwood flooring, as well as hang drywall and kitchen cabinets (we had some major flood damage). Thank you for this great giveaway!

Congratulations Cee!  I'll be emailing you shortly!

So do you want to know something interesting about me?  I was on a local gameshow when I was in 4th grade called "It's Elementary".  I got to shoot misspelled words, Star Trek style.  We even got beamed in and out of the game.  It was awesome!  And I still remember what I was wearing - some yellow corduroy overalls that my mom had made me.  See, the sewing is in my genes.

winners! and a little more about amy

I realize I should have done a little Q&A with Amy with the giveaway post, but I'm not always on top of things like that. I think we would all like to know Amy a bit better and find out more about these lovely photographs! So without further ado.... (yes, I'll get to the winners!)
photo by Justin Hackworth

Tell us about your family.
My husband, Justin, and I have two darling boys, ages 5 and 3. Being married to Justin is truly joyful—we laugh and laugh together and he’s a great friend and companion. Our boys are shake-your-head-in-disbelief adorable, bright and beautiful kids at whom I just marvel.

How long have you been doing photography?
I’ve been taking pictures since I was 14 or 15, with various levels of commitment and skill. I’m married to my best teacher, which is great fortune.

What kind of camera do you use?
I shot the thread with a Canon 10D, a hand-me-down from Justin. I used close up rings on a 50 mm lens.

How did you come up with the concept for these particular photos? ie: where did you get those great spools?!
These spools are a little inheritance from my Granny. I just love them. The process of photographing them revealed more than I had seen before, which was really fun. I mention this in the Etsy shop but, for example, I hadn’t realized how many spools of the same colors she had. She must have had an orange dress (and a teal one, and a blue one) that kept losing buttons, and she must have bought matching thread only to come home and find two spools of orange already in her hall closet. I imagine that’s how it must have gone because that’s something I would do. How else would you collect so many of the same colors? I also loved seeing these really beautiful contemporary colors in thread that was 30 or 40 years old.

Can we expect to see more?
I’d love to do more. I scored some beautiful vintage Christmas ornaments at a garage sale last year and I’d love to make great photographs of them . . . we’ll see if I can pull it off.

You like to sew and quilt too - what's your favorite thing about sewing? Your favorite project that you've completed?
Mmmmm, my favorite thing about sewing is the act of creation. I realized this when I was a teenager, working on a plaid skirt or something, that what I loved about this process was the element of creation. I believe our desire to create comes from our connection to God, our divinity, and acting on those divine desires is powerful and important.

A favorite project that I’ve semi-recently completed is a Kaffe Fassett quilt called Patchwork Gridlock. It went through a few revisions over the course of a few years, but I’m very proud of it. I haven’t posted it on my blog yet, but this is some good motivation. I’ll get right on that! Check back, ok? I’m planning to hand quilt it, inspired by a project in Joelle Hoverson’s Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts, a beautiful book.

What are some of your other creative hobbies?
Writing, reading and music. The creative endeavor I spend most time on right now is parenting.

What inspires you creatively?
Being outside is really calming and creatively nurturing for me. I find little moments of creative inspiration weeding in the yard, working in our garden, hanging out with my kids at the park. Maybe it’s fresh air . . . I don’t know, but it definitely works. I’m also really inspired by pattern and shape; I love textiles, of course, and great art. Anyone doing really great work inspires me because it reflects a commitment to consistently, deliberately engage in a craft.

Books like Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way and Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit are also great inspiration and motivation.

How long have you been blogging? I love your insightful posts.
Thank you, ma’am. I finally started blogging last summer, motivated by my friend Molly’s blog (jacksonparkcity.blogspot.com). Her little girl passed away just a few weeks before her second birthday, and Molly’s blog was such a beautiful record of her daughter’s life and the joy she brought them. I wanted to create that sort of record for my family.

I had also long been inspired by great craft bloggers and great writers . . . so my blog is a little of everything--very little, I’d like to post more. I’m working on it . . .

Thank you so much, Amy! It's great to get to know you better! This was really fun, I think I need to do it again - anyone want me to interview them???


Now, on to the winners! I always feel a little dread choosing the winners. I think it's just that I don't have enough to give to everyone and then I feel sad for the people who didn't win. But, hey, two of you did win!



#40

Stephanie said... 40

oops, forgot to add that i'm a subscriber! great blog!

4:20 PM, July 22, 2009

good thing you remembered or someone else might have won!

#50

Taya said... 50

I would love the spools # 4 so fun my sewing area is my girls play room too and I have it decorated in bright colors this would be perfect in there. I am a follower too.

11:52 AM, July 23, 2009

I feel your pain - my sewing corner is also in the playroom!

Ladies, expect an email from me! And everyone else, next time, there will be a next time! Besides (at the risk of sounding cheesy) if you are creating beautiful things and enjoying life you are already a winner!

And, you can always go and buy some of your own at Amy's shop. :)

and another bag. and a winner!

Are you tired of bags yet? Too bad! I've been on a roll with the bag making lately!

This was special ordered by one of my sisters-in-law for her cute sister and cute new baby! She wanted sassy and hip and I think we achieved it!

Michael Miller Dressforms, Robert Kauffman dots

I love a bit of contrasting thread on black!

*****
Now onto the winner of the fabric!

Congratulations Midnight Hysteria! Just send me your mailing address and I'll get it off into the mail this week!

I love doing giveaways, but I'm always sad I don't have enough to share with everyone . . . I have a few more planned here in the near future.

*****
In other news, my mom came today!! She's staying for FIVE WEEKS!! She brought a whole suitcase just with fabric, projects and supplies! It's going to be good.

This sweet (but sad) post was very appropriate for me today. (And the lovely lady who wrote it is great - her husband was my wedding photographer. You may have seen his work here. And really, they are some of the nicest people I've ever met!)

*****
I almost forgot!!! If you haven't heard yet. Dana is hosting a quilt along. And giving away lots of stuff. Including a sewing machine!!! Click on the picture to find out more!

Seriously, Dana? You are awesome!

and the winners are. . .

Thanks to Sew, Mama, Sew and their awesome give-away day! I am still really shocked that so many people came by and entered. I am so sad that I can't give something to everyone. I was assuming I would have only 4 people enter and then everyone would win something. I'm still trying to visit everyone's blog who commented. I'm getting there.....

So without further ado...

By the magic of the random number thingy - as it's affectionately called - I have 4 winners!

#279 Burp Cloths
Katie said... (who is planning her wedding and running a winning streak!)

Second comment to show you where my blog is:
http://thecapedcow.blogspot.com/

Also, I love the burp cloths, I think they are simple and cute!

5:57 PM, December 06, 2008

#167 2 Pillows (of your choice)
Selina said... (who lives in the land down-under and has some cute ornaments on her blog)

Gosh, these are all gorgeous!

11:23 PM, December 03, 2008

#140 - The Petite Zipper Pouch and Magnets


Sharlynn Sanders said... (with whom I have a lot in common - I think!)

Awesome,I have never won anything from a blog give away before so..... good luck to me!

Way cute stuff!

8:59 PM, December 03, 2008

#95 - Bracelet and Earrings

Dani said... (who cooks up a storm and is now a fixture in Google Reader)

What a gorgeous selection of prizes.

4:26 PM, December 03, 2008

I'm so happy for you guys!! Please email me (click on the email link in my profile) with your address - if I haven't gotten in touch with you already! I'll get these off to you this week . I think it would be really fun if you each took a picture with your item and posted it for us all to see!

and I have a little surprise! A bonus winner!!
I was at Target the other day and saw some more placemats! And they were red! And holiday-ish! And so I thought to myself, "Self, let's make some more pillows to give away!" So here is another placemat pillow (there are actually 3 of them) to add to the selection! I bought one to make for myself too! (this isn't a very good picture - I'll try and take a better one in the morning light.)




#153
Julianne said...

I would love to win!! These are very cute!! The green pillows are my FAVORITE!!

gregjulianneatjunodotcom

9:45 PM, December 03, 2008

So, Julianne - after Selina picks her pillows - you can pick 2 as well! Yay!

Whew!! This has been so much fun! I look forward to doing another one soon! I think this post has the most exclamation points ever!

Oh, wait . . . what? you want ANOTHER picture of Sawyer?? Oh, just go HERE. You can thank me later.