Two-Year Blogiversary Giveaway: Day Four

Today is the last day of my two-year blogiversary giveaway extravaganza! But first up a few other things... I'm working on a redesign of the blog right now because it's been seeming overly dark to me and I want to make it a bit brighter and fresher, so be sure to check back in a little bit to see the changes (especially if you're reading via a reader). Also, my pieced centre string block tutorial is featured on CraftGossip today and I think that is very exciting - you can see it here! Edit: I also just found out I'm in the CraftGossip newsletter too - awesome!

Alright, so you want to see the giveaways for this last day, right? Of course you do! Well, let me tell you, they do not disappoint and I'm sure you're going to want everything you see!

First up we have my super-talented buddy, Stef of Little Lady Patchwork! Stef is very cool and can design like the dickens! I got to hang out with Stef a bit at Quilt Market and we had a great time - especially while waiting in line for sample spree to start! Stef has actually brought you a couple of gifts...

Stef has brought one winner a fat quarter stack of Remix by Ann Kelle for Robert Kaufman and a handmade decorated towel (made by Stef of course!) - now who wouldn't want to win this bundle of fun? Be sure to head on over to Stef's and check out her recent interview with Cherry House (there might even be a giveaway involved...just sayin') and you can give her a hug from me too if you'd like!

You've probably heard me mention Trish of Two Peas in a Pod Designs before; she's my girl and we've been friends for awhile now. Trish is really amazing and I marvel sometimes at how she seems to accomplish so much in one day - she's even going to have her own booth a fall Quilt Market in Houston and I couldn't be more excited for her! Trish brought along a couple of gifties for one lucky winner...

Trish will be giving one winner their own "Pocketful of Posies" apron (which is of course one of Trish's designs) and the copy of Sew Hip magazine (April 2010) in which Trish's original pattern appeared. The Pocketful of Posies apron will not be the one pictured above, but rather Trish is make a brand new one for the winner out of some very pretty Anna Griffin fabric. Yay for a handmade giftie AND a magazine chock full of patterns and projects - woot! Now be sure to hop on over to Trish's at some point to check out the wonderful way she combines different fabrics - seriously, she's got talent - and give her a kiss from me.

And last, but definitely not least, in our little extravaganza is the super-sweet Jessica of Narnia Mum. Jess is one of the most generous people I know and always seems to radiate happiness and positivity. She's brought along a little handmade gift for you too!

Jess has made a lovely ruffle pouch for one lucky winner (make up not included) - woohoo! The lining material inside the pouch is the same as the ruffle on the outside and there is a pocket inside that is large enough to hold an id card or some money. I think this pouch is very sweet and I know I would feel all stylish carrying my makeup around in this; if you don't want to use the pouch for makeup I'm sure you could find many more uses for it such as for storing crochet hooks, carrying around small sewing supplies and projects, small camera pouch, and the list goes on... Be sure to visit Jess's sometime and give her some love from me!

Okay...you're getting a hang of the drill by now, aren't you? There will be five chances to enter, here's what you need to do:

1. Leave a comment on this post letting me know your 

favourite online fabric/crafty supplies store.

2. If you are a follower of mine leave another comment.

3. If you are a follower of Stef - Little Lady Patchwork -

leave another comment.

4. If you are a follower of Trish - Two Peas in a Pod Designs -

leave another comment.

5. If you are a follower of Jessica - Narnia Mum -

leave another comment.

Please remember to leave a separate comment for each entry. All four giveaways will be open until July 23rd and winners will be announced here on the blog.

If you missed the first three days of giveaways, don't worry there's still time to enter! You can find Day One here, Day Two here, and Day Three here!

*The giveaway is now closed*

Two-Year Blogiversary Giveaway: Day Three

Woohoo! Day number three of my blogiversary giveaway extravaganza is here! Haven't the prizes so far just been awesome? Trust me, they're just as awesome for these last two days - you won't be disappointed!

Let's welcome my bestest bloggy buddy - Jennifer of Sugar Stitches! Jennifer is my girl and we've been friends for quite awhile now; we even went to Quilt Market together and shared a room (along with the lovely Doe) in Minneapolis. She's the sweetest girl and I love her to pieces! You wanna see what she brought for you? It's awesome, just sayin'!

Look! It's a jelly roll of Fandango by Kate Spain! Oh, it's just so pretty and I know that if it were here with me right now I'd be itching to sew! Make sure you stop by Jennifer's and give her some love for me!

Next up, we've got the multi-talented and very lovely Aneela of Comfort Stitching. Aneela is just so cool and not only is she a beautiful quilter and embroider, she also has a beautiful spirit that really radiates throughout her blog. She's going to share some of her talent with you with these beauties...

One winner will win three of Aneela's PDF embroidery patterns which can be seen in her Etsy shop. Isn't that just awesome? I personally own a few of Aneela's patterns and let me tell you - they are just gorgeous! Make sure you hop on over to Annela's sometime and give her a huge hug!

Lastly for today we have Katy of I'm a Ginger Monkey fame! Katy is one of the coolest people I know - seriously, I think she's the girl I would have wanted to be friends with in high school and I'm so glad that we're friends now! You may remember Katy as the super-awesome-one who gave me my little Flea Market Fancy stash awhile back, and as a thank you I made her the mermaid pillow you can see in my header. She's brought along a little giftie for you that'll have you doing some picking and choosing!

Katy has brought one lucky winner a $20USD gift certificate to Thistle Hill Fabrics on Etsy (on a little break right now, but they'll be back soon!) - so what do you think about that? Pretty awesome I'd say! I know I could spend a lot of time picking out some awesome things for $20! Now be sure to head on over to Katy's and tell her that she (and her tattoos) are super-awesome!

So what do we have to do to enter, you ask? Well there are five chances to enter and here they are:

1. Leave a comment on this post letting me know one of

you favourite crafty-type blogs.

2. If you are a follower of mine leave another comment.

3. If you are a follower of Jennifer - Sugar Stitches -

leave another comment.

4. If you are a follower of Aneela - Comfort Stitching -

leave another comment.

5. If you are a follower of Katy - I'm a Ginger Monkey -

leave another comment.

Please remember to leave a separate comment for each entry. All four days of giveaways will be open until July 23rd and winners will be announced here on the blog.

In case you missed them you can find the giveaways for Day One here and for Day Two here - hurry, there's still time to enter!

*The giveaway is now closed*

Two-Year Blogiversary Giveaway: Day Two

Well here we are, day number two of my two-year blogiversary giveaway extravaganza! Okay, let's get today's party started!

First up we have the super-cool Heather Bostic of A La Mode Fabric! Heather is one awesome chick and I love that we've become friends - she's just so talented and sweet and has always been really kind to me. But now, she's going to be kind to you! Oh yes, you're gonna love this!

One winner will receive two charm packs from Moda's yet-to-be-released line Dream On by Urban Chiks (not expected to start shipping until October) - how wonderful is that? I just love this line but unfortunately I wasn't able to snag any while I was at Quilt Market. I love how reminiscent it is of vintage sheets. Make sure to hop on over to Heather's blog and give her a big ol' kiss from me!

And now we have John Adams of Quilt Dad - that's right, Q Daddy himself is in the house! John and I first became friends online but got to spend an awesome four days together (with Jennifer of course) hanging out at Quilt Market in May. We had a ridiculous amount of fun and now he's bringing some fun for you!

John actually brought along two prizes! That's right, two winners will have their choice of a Moda Marbles Solid Jelly Roll in either the warm, citrus, or pastel colourway! Woot! I mean, really, who couldn't use more solids in their life? Make sure to pop on over to John's at some point and tell him that a fly girl sent you!

And last, but definitely not least, we have the incomparable Kate Conklin of Kate Conklin Designs. Kate and I first met through her blog - she had donated some of her quilt patterns to Craft Hope for Haiti and I left her a comment letting her know how wonderful I thought it was that she had done that. We became friends and I even edited one of her quilt patterns for her (more on that in a minute).

Wonky Donkey by Kate Conklin Designs

Sierra's Forest by Kate Conklin Designs

Two very lucky winners will have their choice of two of Kate's quilt patterns which she sells both online and in retail shops. Now don't you feel lucky? There is one pattern that you will not be able to pick right now and it just so happens to be the one that I edited - that pattern, Fairy Hearts, is appearing in the latest edition of Australian Patchwork and Quilting Magazine (vol.19, no.5)! Can you believe it? Woohoo, go Kate! But do not despair dear reader, Kate is a wonderful designer and has many beautiful patterns to choose from! Make sure to hop on over to Kate's and tell her what a super-awesome designer she is!

Alright, so those are the giveaways for today! So I bet you wanna know what you need to do to enter, right? Okay, here we go - you will have five chances to enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post letting me know 

what your favourite crafty book is.

2.  If you are a follower of mine leave another comment.

3. If you are a follower of Heather - A La Mode Fabric -

leave another comment.

4. If you are a follower of John - Quilt Dad -

leave another comment.

5. If you are a follower of Kate - Kate Conklin Designs -

leave another comment.

There you go - five ways to enter (please be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry). All four days of giveaways will be open until July 23rd and I will announce the winners here on the blog.

If you missed the Day One giveaways, there's still time to enter and you can find that post here!

*The giveaway is now closed*

Two-Year Blogiversary Giveaway: Day One

Well here it is - today's the big day...or at least the first of four big days! Today, July 17th, marks the two year anniversary of this little blog and what a fun, great, amazing two years it's been! Thank you all for hanging in there with me; I still get a little thrill each and every time I receive a comment from any of you guys! While this blog has been around for two years, I've only been writing about fabric and sewing and some of my other passions for about the last year and a half. I can still remember what that first "new" post was - I wrote about some Paula Prass fabric that Alex bought me and how much I loved it and I can remember how excited I was when Paula actually commented on my blog; I felt like I had found my voice and my niche.

I've made so many great friends over the past two years through this blog and am so fortunate to have actually met some of them in person! I wish all of us bloggers lived within a ten kilometre radius so that we could all hang out together all the time!  Some of my wonderful friends decided to bring along some gifts for you, dear readers, to celebrate my blogiversary and so over the next four days (including today) there will be 12 people (including myself) hosting giveaways on this here blog - a few people even brought along prizes for more than just one winner, yay! So let's get going, shall we?

First up with have the awesome Ryan Walsh of I'm Just a Guy Who Quilts fame and he has brought along one super-amazing prize! Are you ready for this? No, I mean seriously - Are. You. Ready. For. This?

A Tula Pink Nest Jelly Roll! It's so pretty, I may be drooling a little bit over here. I want to keep it for myself, but I (wisely) told Ryan to keep it at his place and mail it to the winner him self...oh yes, I know myself too well. Isn't it just awesome? And isn't it pretty amazing of Ryan to give us this jelly roll? Yes, yes it is, I think you should all head over to Ryan's and give him a big ol' virtual hug!

Next up, we've got the super-sweet and talented Angela Yosten of Moda Home Mom who just released her first pattern for sale in her Etsy shop. And guess what she brought along for you...

A copy of her first pattern, Rags to Ruffles, as well as the fabric to make it (one charm pack and one mini honey bun in Aviary by 3 Sisters) - one lucky winner will win both the pattern and the fabric! Woohoo! Doesn't that sound just awesome? I definitely think it does! Now, go on over and say hi to Angela and tell her what an awesome designer she is!

And last for the day we have me...with no adjectives needed, because really I don't need to sit here and call myself awesome, or amazing, or anything else because that would be pushing it, hehe! So I've brought along a little handmade goodness to the party.

I got so many lovely comments on the hexagon mini quilt that I made for Brioni that I thought I'd make you one too! So one person will win this hand-quilted hexagon mini quilt made by me - the hexagons are all made using Simple Abundance by Bonnie and Camille, and the hand quilting was done in a very pretty yellow size 8 perle cotton. I will also be throwing a little surprise in with the quilt, but I won't tell you what it is now...it could be fabric, a little something else handmade, who knows really.

You want to know how to win, right? Well, you will have four chances to enter and here's what you need to do:

1. Leave a comment on this post telling me who your favourite

fabric designer is or what your favourite collection is.

2. If you are a follower of mine (or become one) leave another

comment (and if you can let me know how you follow).

3. If you are a follower of Ryan - I'm Just a Guy Who Quilts -

leave another comment.

4. If you are a follower of Angela - Moda Home Mom -

leave another comment.

There you go - four ways to enter! Please be sure that each entry is left as a separate comment or it won't count - sorry! All giveaways (including the upcoming ones) will be open until July 23rd and I will announce the winners here on the blog.

*The giveaway is now closed*

Tutorial: Pieced Center String Quilt Block

I came up with this little idea earlier in the week when I was designing some new blocks. I had been thinking about some different ways to use precuts and got to thinking about string blocks - string blocks have been very popular for the last little bit (you can see some beautiful examples here, here, and here) and I thought that precuts (namely honey bun strips) would make them even easier. However, this thinking led to even more thinking about what I could do to make some string blocks that were a little different and this is what I came up with...

Enter the Pieced Center String Quilt Block! When making string blocks, many people choose to use a solid colour middle strip or to use the same middle strip fabric for a group of four blocks so that when arranged in a diamond pattern (such as with the two above) the center strips create a distinct diamond pattern and grouping.

I think that this pieced center strip creates a very nice visual and so decided to write a little tutorial for everyone, I hope you like it!

When making these blocks I used a paper piecing method and started with paper that I had cut to 6.5" square (this will yield 6" finished blocks when sewn together). I used regular white printer paper, but you could also use transfer paper, old phone book pages, or any other thin paper.

The fabrics I used came mostly from my scrap bin and are cut into varying widths, however the fabrics for the pieced center strip all measure 2" across but are varying heights.

Sew your small fabric pieces together with right sides facing along the 2" side using 1/4" seam.

For these 6.5" blocks you will need to sew your pieces all together so that the center strip ends up measuring about 9.5". Press all seams open for this center strip - it will help it to lay flatter against your paper square.

Flip the strip over so that the back side is up. Using a regular glue stick dab a little bit of glue (not too much or you'll have problems later) along the length of the strip.

Flip the strip back over and press it down along the diagonal of your paper square; I just eyeballed the placement of my strip, but if you're a bit of a perfectionist you can measure the placement. You now have your pieced center strip in place!

Make sure that your next strip is long enough to cover the white space right next to the pieced center strip (but it can be whatever width you'd like) and lay it, right side down, directly on top of the pieced center strip so that the edges line up.

Make sure that you shorten your stitch length so that the back paper will tear off easily in the end (I usually sew at 2.5 so I went down to 2, but I'm sure 1.5 would work well also). Sew your new strip to the pieced center strip along the edge with a 1/4" seam.

Using a dry iron press the new strip open and into place. Repeat with your next strip, lining it up along the edge of the strip you've just sewn.

Repeat (sew, iron, sew, iron, haha!) until you've got your paper square covered. It'll look like a mess but we'll fix that!

Flip you block over so that the paper square is facing up.

Using your paper square as a guide, line your ruler up along the edge and use your rotary cutter to cut the excess fabric off all four sides.

Now you're ready to remove the paper from the back! Since you shortened your stitch length, the paper will be perforated on the back and should tear off pretty easily (this is why you don't want to over glue the pieced center strip - so that you can tear it off). Just fold along the stitch line and tear!

Once all of the paper has been torn off, flip over and admire your lovely block!

I hope you enjoyed my little tutorial and remember that if you need to, you can make any of the pictures larger by clicking on them! Let me know what you think and if you make anything using this tutorial send me a picture - I'd love to see!

If you like these blocks, you might want to check out my Pieced Center String Block Coasters tutorial, which uses the same method but on a smaller scale (and includes all the coaster finishing instructions too)!

Great friends, some fabric, a book, and one very mangled package!

Alright, so seriously guys, the giveaway next week to celebrate my two year blogiversary is going to be awesome! Some really amazing fellow bloggers have signed up to giveaway some wonderful prizes (I'll give you a couple of hints... Tula Pink, not yet released Moda fabrics, patterns, and soooo much more!); so far on the list of awesome people participating are John, Heather, Jennifer, Katy, Ryan, Kate, Angela, Stef, Trish, and Jessica - woohoo, you guys are the greatest! If you'd like to participate in my little giveaway let me know! Either leave a comment on this post, send me an email, or say hi on Twitter. I will, of course, also be putting a little something in for the giveaway but I'm not letting go of hints on that one quite yet. My actual blogiversary is on the 17th and depending on how many people want to join in on the fun I will either do a huge giveaway on the day of, or spread it out over three days.

Speaking of giveaways, I have a few things to show you... I won some giveaways! I actually won this first giveaway a little bit back and received it in the mail at the end of May/beginning of June but completely forgot to show pics!

You all know Elizabeth of Oh, Fransson right? Well this awesome package of Mingle and Groove fabrics by Robert Kaufman is from her; isn't it pretty? These fabrics would be absolutely perfect for a boy quilt so I'm keeping them stashed until I come up with the perfect pattern.

Right before we left for Moncton I found out from Austen that I had won one of the giveaway's on Canadian Living's craft blog, Make & Do.

I received this copy of Handmade Nation from Austen on Wednesday and I love it. Doesn't it look at home there sitting next to my Euclid quilt?

And last, but definitely not least, I won one of Heather's super-cool birthday giveaways and I think I came out alright!

Look at this gorgeous stack of Tufted Tweets by Laurie Wisbrun! Laurie donated this awesome fat quarter stack, as well as some prints from her Donkeys and Wellies Spoonflower-printed collection (which was won by Karrie) to Heather's birthday extravaganza - thanks Heather and Laurie!

Unfortunately the package did not arrive in the greatest condition...

But thankfully Heather overdosed on wrapping the package in plastic and used lots of packing tape so the contents were fine! We had quite a lot of rain this morning and I guess my mailman is not very good at keeping packages dry (that's another point against you Canada Post). Funnily enough, my Handmade Nation book also arrived in a mangled package and the guy from Purolator said that it got stuck in a conveyor belt - gee whiz!

I'm going to spend the night sewing and working on some new patterns, since it has finally cooled down enough to actually sit in front of the sewing machine and use an iron for any length of time! Hope your Friday has been lovely!

Illusion is the first of all pleasures. -Voltaire

Well hello everyone! Alex and I got back from Moncton, New Brunswick a few days ago and my is it hot here in Toronto! Depending on where the humidex is sitting and whether or not you're in the sun we are anywhere between 34 and 50 degrees Celsius (which for my American friends in between 92 and 122 degrees Fahrenheit); and no, we do not have air conditioning so as I am typing this there a rather noisy, slightly large standing fan pointed directly at me!

New Brunswick is lovely, although I didn't get to see much of it. We had a nice time, but the mosquitoes they have there are the size of cars...seriously. Alex and I only ended up with about an hour and a half to do some exploring for ourselves, but we did end up wondering along the boardwalk of the Petitcodiac River which runs straight through the city. Petitcodiac is one of the only rivers in North America that experiences a true tidal bore and the area in this picture is known as The Bend.

Alex and I also found a neat monument to the mayors, past and present, of Moncton. The man at the prow of the ship is the first mayor, and all the mayors names along with dates are inscribed along the side. And look, there's Alex!

If you'd like to see more pictures from our trip to Moncton - and a picture of Alex in his very dapper grey suit - check out my the Flickr album I made. Sorry, no pictures of me in the dress I wore to the wedding; it would seem as if only the professional photographer (Craig who was very awesome) has those.

I was put in charge of making Eric and Patti a card for their wedding - I had a hard time deciding exactly what I wanted to do. I knew that I wanted it to involve fabric (so obvious) and kept thinking about the few bunting cards I've made lately and the other bunting project which did not go so well (Dionne and I are extremely upset with either USPS or Canada Post we don't know which); I suddenly got the idea to make a little tiered cake out of fabric and to include bunting as well!

I love it! Alex didn't want it to be too girly (because his "brother's a boy" to which I responded "ya, but he's marrying a girl") but I wanted it to be bright and cheerful. I think it turned out pretty cool. I used very slim ribbon on the bottom of each tier to hide just those raw edges and to give it that little decorative edge they usually use between tiers on a cake - same idea I guess!

I realized while I was thinking about writing this post that I haven't shown any of my fabric finds in awhile, and since I can't show you any of the super-secret projects I've been working on (mostly in the design stage at this point),  I figured I could share a few of my most recent scores with you!

About a month or so ago The Workroom hosted a yard sale trunk show; they hold truck shows with local artists and crafters every so often and they are always very cool, but this one had the added bonus that each vendor also brought along supplies, ephemera, and vintage items that they no longer needed and sold those too! I scored large and got a bunch of yarn for $1 a skein, some very cool light green gingham oilcloth (and yes, I know it's not technically gingham when it's oilcloth, but you know what I mean), and some grey home dec weight Ikea fabric. But the biggest score was what I found at Patouche.

I scored this whole pile of Heather Ross's Mendocino for about $15 (I think)! There are only two prints in the stack at the back, but they're awesome! She also had a couple of stacks with the blue fabrics, but unfortunately I couldn't buy any. The lady who owns Patouche is super-awesome and was just so nice and friendly and I had a lovely time chatting with her about Quilt Market and the wonderful time I had there. You really, really need to check out Patouche if you have a child or know someone who does; they make the sweetest, but still most hip, clothing for kids (these pieces were leftovers from some very cute little toddler dresses). I found this absolutely magical Little Red Riding Hood cape and this simply awesome charcoal tweed peacoat - just wonderful!

Also recently, as some of you know, I had an interview for a second part-time job at a quilt shop (nope, haven't heard anything yet). This awesome store is called Sew Sisters and is owned by Judy who is a really nice lady. Of course, I couldn't leave the store after my interview without getting some stuff and ended up getting a bunch of fat quarters (including AMH Chocolate Lollipop for only $1.75), another Dolce charm pack, and this little bag of prettiness!

Many of you may not recognize what this is and there's a reason for that! This is Kate Spain's new line Fandango which isn't supposed to ship until August/September but somehow I ended up with a Moda scrap bag full of it! Oh ya, I feel soooo lucky! I tried to get a fat quarter bundle of this at sample spree but they were all gone by the time I made it to the Moda table. I dunno what I'm going to make with this yet, but trust me it'll be awesome!

Okay, I gotta go and keep designing but just so that you know I have a few tutorials in the works just for you guys (because you're awesome, aren't you?)! And my two-year blog anniversary is coming up in about ten days and I've got some surprises in store...and hey, if you'd like to donate a little giftie to giveaway during my anniversary party let me know and we'll chat!