Winner of the Intrepid Thread Gift Certificate

I consulted Mr. Random Number Generator this morning and he says that Jen is the winner of the $20 gift certificate to The Intrepid Thread. Congratulations Jen! I've sent you an email already. Jen's winning comment was, "I follow your blog too :)"

Thank you to everyone who entered and signed up to become a follower! There were 246 comments/entries on this giveaway post! That's a lot of comments for my little blog as 20 something is my non-giveaway comment record.

UFO Bust Report - Puzzle Quilt Finished

I finished the Puzzle Quilt this week. Yay!

It turned out very cute, if I do say so myself! And the backing fabric is just great.

You probably will need to click on the photo above so that you can tell that the print is puzzle pieces. I bought the fabric online so I didn't know exactly how large (or small) the printed puzzle pieces are. My original plan was to quilt this from the back by outlining the printed puzzle pieces. Well...those pieces are about 1/2"! So on to quilting plan B which was just to meander. Nothing special but it was good practice for me since I hadn't done this pattern on Hattie yet. I plan to give the quilt away to a charity so I didn't want to invest much more time in it but still do something appropriate for the piecing pattern. The finished quilt measures 52" by 68".

And then there were three! I've only got three projects left on my UFO list! I was going to start on the Spring Panel but I couldn't find it. Then I started having a vague memory of giving it away. After a day or two I realized that I quilted it up about 2 years ago and gave it away as a gift but never took it off my list. So yay for me because that means I get to cross two things off the list this week.

Head over to Susan's blog, Blackberry Creek Home Arts, to see what the other Little Green Quilters have been up to this week.

The giveaway winner will be announced soon in a separate post.

Little Compositions

Earlier this week I pulled out my solids scraps for some play time. I'm experimenting with some color palates. (Click on the images to see them larger.)

gray and orange

gray and green

white and green

These are each very small, about 4" square. When quilted they will become pin cushions.

Editted to add: I almost forgot to remind you that today is the last day to enter my third giveaway. Go here to do that. I will draw a winner using random.org first thing tomorrow morning and then notify the winner via email and everyone else via tomorrow's blog post.

Overachiever

I got a bit carried away over the weekend and did more than I needed to for the Little Forest Quilt Along. The assignment was to cut out all my trees and sew together half of them. I cut them all out and then sewed them all together!

They are so cute I couldn't help myself. Plus the boy was gone both afternoons over the weekend and I couldn't let that opportunity go by. I might not get to sew next weekend. One never knows.

These are the templates I used to make the trees without a seam down the middle.

I bought this template set in San Diego 10 years ago. It makes the "tree top unit" in two sizes, 3" finished squares and 4" finished squares. It took me 8 years to actually use them! Once I did I couldn't believe I had waited so long. These are easy to use and make accurate units.

For inquiring minds: my tree tops are 4" square and my trees 4" by 6", both measurements are finished sizes.

I added a few more trees to my original design to get it the size I want. When planning I was thinking that my trees would finish at 6" square, but this is not the case. No worries. I just added more trees to either end of my original design. If you don't remember what my original design was, go here for a refresher.

I'd also like to thank everyone for entering my giveaways last week. You can still enter the last one. I won't pick a winner until Friday. Go here to enter. I usually respond to every comment left on my blog, but I have been overwhelmed by the volume of comments I have gotten and am still getting on those posts. Don't get me wrong, I love getting them and I have read every one. However, it just is not humanly possible for me to personally respond to every comment left on the giveaway posts. I sure have enjoyed picking a winner and making someone's day though! It is as much fun as winning myself, just in a different way.

Sewing Weekend and the Second Winner

I had an unusual weekend. By some stroke of luck I managed to get the boy playdates on both Saturday and Sunday afternoons at someone else's house! I can't remember the last time that happened. And the husband was preoccupied watching football both days. So I got to sew both afternoons.
First I took a picture of the napkins I made last week. These will be a gift.

Then I finished up these zipper pouches. I need to make a few more as these will also be gifts.

I did make something for myself. Check out this really cute cube.

The pattern is called Pockets to Go by Atkinson Designs.

As with all Terry's patterns this one is very well written and easy to follow. If you make one though be forewarned that getting the binding on is a challenge. The reason it is such a challenge is that you put Peltex between the layers on the bottom and all four sides so that it will stand up nicely. Unfortunately this also makes it difficult get under the needle of your machine to attach the binding. I followed the pattern and attached the binding to one side by machine and to the other side by hand. You just need to take your time with this step and follow Terry's directions. It does work but it requires a lot of sew, stop, adjust, sew, stop, adjust, sew, .... I think the end result is well worth the struggle! The cube I made is about 6" by 6" by 5 1/2" high. The other one finishes at 12" by 4" by 5 1/2" high. I haven't made one of those yet. It is on my list though.

I also quilted my puzzle quilt and am working on the binding. I hope to have it finished by Friday for my UFO bust report.

Now let me congratulate the winner of the second giveaway, Becky. She said, "This looks like a great quilt. I'd love to have it! Thanks for sharing with us!" So check your email Becky.

There is still plenty of time to enter my third giveaway for the $20 gift certificate to The Intrepid Thread. Go here to do that.

Third Giveaway and Winner of the First Giveaway

Last week, as I was thinking about my giveaways this week, I was racking my brain trying to come up with a good third prize. Then the mailman came and brought me this.

Of course, it was in a very secure postal envelope when the mailman delivered it, but I didn't take a picture of that because I just tore it open without thinking. I love it when shops wrap your purchase like it's a gift! It's just so fun to receive a present in the mail, even if it is something I paid for.

So what's inside you ask?

Fabric of course! This is two half yard bundles of Dazzle. Here are better photos of the fabrics.

These came from The Intrepid Thread, one of my new favorite online shops. Julie, the owner, has fabulous taste! My LQS is never going to carry such modern prints. It just won't sell well here to anyone but me. So I was thrilled when I discovered Julie's shop. In addition to Julie's great selection, she has great prices to match.

As I was fondling my new acquisitions, it came to me. I want my third giveaway to be a gift certificate to The Intrepid Thread so that one of you can experience the joy of getting a wrapped bundle of fabric goodness in the mail from Julie. So that's it. Today's giveaway is a $20 gift certificate to The Intrepid Thread.

Julie is actually sponsoring today's giveaway. I contacted her about purchasing a gift certificate and she suggested that she just sponsor the giveaway instead. Works for me! Thank you so much Julie!

So how do you enter? (1) Leave me a comment, any comment. As a suggestion, you can go over to The Intrepid Thread and then come back and tell me what you would buy if you win, but any comment will suffice. (2) Become a follower of Julie's blog, also called The Intrepid Thread. Then come back here and leave me a comment telling me you did or that you are already a follower of her blog. While you are over there you should sign up for Julie's newsletter too. You won't regret it! (3) Become a follower of my blog and leave me a comment telling me that you did or already are. (4) Blog or Tweet or Facebook this giveaway and leave me a comment telling me that you did.

I will draw a winner on Friday morning (Sept. 16th). I will notify the winner by email and post the winner on the blog on Friday. Be sure that I have a way to contact you if you win. If you are a "no-reply" commenter and do not leave your email address in the comment then I will just draw another name. International commenters are welcome too.

The winner of Monday's giveaway is Scarlett. She said, "Stephanie is on my 'top ten favorite people' list! They don't come any nicer! I know her from when she was in Ohio for a few years...I'm from Columbus, OH." Check your email Scarlett and send me your mailing address so I can get your pin cushion/thread catcher in the mail to you.

There is still time to enter my second giveaway. Go here to do that. I'll draw a winner of the second giveaway on Monday, Sept. 12th.

A Finish and the Second Giveaway

I finished up the charm pack charity quilt earlier this week. (Click on the images to see them larger.)

The backing doesn't really go with the front but it was in my stash.

I won the charm pack from Sandy over at Quilting for the Rest of Us and the rest of the fabric was all from stash. The quilt will go to charity but I'm not sure which one just yet.

On to the giveaway! Today I have for you a kit with pattern included. It is a very nice kit, just not my style.

I was going to take the kit apart and keep some of the fabric then give the rest away. However, I decided that the pattern was nice and the fabrics really needed to stay together as a kit for someone to make up the pattern. Just not me.

You'll probably need to click on the above image to be able to see the quilt on the label. The pattern included is to make this quilt. Of course, you are under no obligation to make the quilt. If you win this it is yours to do with as you please.

Edit: The pattern says that the finished quilt measures 36" by 47"

To enter you need to leave a comment. Any comment, but if you are struggling for something with some substance to say, please tell me how you would describe your quilting style. For me, I'd say my style is eclectic. I like traditional quilts, modern quilts, and art quilts and I enjoy making them all. I love to look at applique but I don't really enjoy doing applique.

If you'd like to blog about this giveaway, feel free. You can have a second entry if you do so, just leave a separate comment telling me you blogged it. And while we are at it, if you want a third entry become a follower or tell me that you already are in another comment.

I will draw a winner on Monday morning (Sept. 12th). I will notify the winner by email and post the winner on the blog on Monday. Be sure that I have a way to contact you if you win. If you are a "no-reply" commenter and do not leave your email address in the comment then I will just draw another name. International commenters are welcome too.

There is still time to enter my first giveaway for the pin cushion/thread catcher.

Go here to do that. The third and final giveaway for this week is coming up on Friday. It's a really good one so be sure to stop back by.