WINNER of December 2nd Giveaway is . . .

Congratulations to lucky #41, Blacksheep Bliss!

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41

Timestamp: 2009-12-08 05:54:33 UTC

Blacksheep Bliss Please email me privately so I can get your mailing info and get your two prizes out to you right away! I want to thank everyone for participating and for all the truly lovely comments. I wish I had more prizes to give!

Please check back for my January Etsy store grand opening contest that will happen soon (in December) :)

December 2nd Giveaway!

Well today is giveaway day check out Sew, Mama, Sew! to see all the fantastic opportunities to win some beautiful creative items! I have two items ready for one lucky winner :-)






Item #1 is a chance to win a cute little Fat Quarter 5 pack featuring Heather Ross Mendocino for Free Spirit & Moda's Neptune Atlantis.



Since this will be my first time hosting a giveaway for my handmade items I decided to make a wristlet featuring a free hand embroidered tree on super soft faux leather for item #2. The wristlet is 5" by 8 1/2" with a strap. It's perfect for a day of shopping or clubbing when you don't want to lug around a heavy purse.


Tree wristlet


Inside view of tree wristlet . . . it has a pocket!

Just leave a comment to this post by Monday, December 7th 11:59 pm EST for a chance to win both items. I will post the winner's name on Tuesday December 8th. This contest is open to Everyone, yes that means I will be shipping Internationally too! I will be using a random number generator to choose the winner. Please one entry per person to keep it fair ;) Goodluck everyone!!!

During December I will be hosting a grand opening contest for my etsy store: Elaine's Crafty Corner, so please add my blog to your favorite's list and check back often for more items to win!

Comments are now CLOSED . Winner to be announced in a new post!

What I've been up to since Friday the 13th!

This is my first little wristlet, no pockets with a free hand tree embroidery... I now know what I did wrong with it's construction, and will make a better constructed one on my next attempt!

Well I jumped from idea to idea and just made things I wanted to try based on online inspirations from contest blogs . . .LOL. I take complete credit for all my mistakes since I only had a pattern for the Coupon caddy from the wonderful blog of Blue Cricket Design...


The items below: small purse, scrappy stars were free hand and probably show it! The 24" block with primary color scheme I made based on a 12" block pattern from The Quilter's Cache, a truly wonderful site full of free block patterns for every level sewer!




I'm still undecided if I want the blue band completely around this purse or just for a top snap enclosure OR to for go it completely and just put a zipper in... which will be hard to do at this late stage since it is otherwise sewn. Ugh I should've decide this BEFORE I sewed it all up!!

Ahhh and my scrappy stars made from left over kaleidoscope quilt block pieces... I just love the pink and brown together. These are each about 30" in diameter so I can make them into mini doll quilts or a table piece for my round table... hmmmm???

Lark Books: Quilt It! Contest

Now this one promises to be interesting and challenging, especially for a fairly new quilter like me. I am considering entering the Lark Books Quilt It! Contest if I can come with an idea that I think would be attractive enough to enter that I could actually achieve with all the requirements LOL

One Grand Prize winner will receive a $100 gift certificate to www.hancocks-paducah.com and 11 quilting books from the Lark collection. 4 Quilt Category winners will each receive 11 quilting books.

The contest will run from October 24th – January 5th and winners will be announced on February 1st. To enter, read the rules then email us at QuiltIt@larkbooks.com with the title of your piece, at least one photo of your quilt, and in which quilt category, as set forth below, your Quilt should be judged.

Required Elements

Entrants will create an original Quilt of any size that incorporates at least three of the following five required elements:

• Bird/s
• Mountains
• Silver fabric, thread, item
• Recycled/repurposed material
• Beads

http://www.larkbooks.com/crafts/quilt-it-contest

Birds-eye view

Started: 11-9-09; 9 blocks completed 11-10-09.




















Here is a brief glimpse at my newest quilt blocks I'm working on and my 1st attempt at free-form modern quilt blocks. I love the colors and the look of the blocks and had a blast just cutting and sewing as I went along with no real plan, just added pieces where I wanted. There are 9 finished blocks... 2 that will be added to back or used another way... the lighter fabrics used in them disrupted the flow of the quilt.


I didn't want them too wonky, just off center and added to. . . more to come! (Having a blast with this one, no patterns yippee)

Another contest!

Hawthorne threads is having a contest . . . check it out!

They have 3 prizes to win . . . featuring items from Patricia and Walter Bravo of Art Gallery Fabrics

Sweet Home Quilt Co Contest!

Hey check out Sweet Home Quilt Co. which is hosting a contest for some delicious Cinnamon Stars fabric stash from Fig Tree Quilts for Moda!

Quiltmaker Blog contest November 9-13

Quiltmaker Blog contest begins Nov 9th and ends Nov. 13th. Daily contests held by many linked sites ...


Yeah!!!! I was able to win a copy from Cheryl over at QuilterChic on the first day of the contest, someone must be loaning me some of their good karma! I can't wait to browse through this book and get some inspiration and see all these quilters' wonderful creations!

Just won True Up Contest - Doohickey Designs FQ!

Wow twice in 1 week I have a won a fabric Contest... This has to be my Lucky week! I just was notified by Kim from True Up that I have won the Robert Blake contest! I won a beautiful Fat Quarter pack of Sublime by Doohickey Designs! Isn't it lovely!? And it's ALL MINE muhahaha . . . sorry but It's exciting to win pretty fabric ;)





The fat quarter pack of Sublime by Doohickey Designs for Riley Blake goes to #88: Farscape Girl of Elaine’s Crafty Corner, who wrote, “Wow first I’ve ever heard of Riley Blake – Thank you for giving me a new favorite fabric line!! I adored “Bloom & Grow” and Andrea Victoria as my top choices but they are all so Original and Fantastic!!!”

This-N-That contest = Check it out!

Contest Over!

This-N-That Fabrics, one of the online fabric stores (located in my state = Pennsylvania) I frequent is having a great contest to win a cute Welcome Home pillow kit.

You could win this: Enter to win HERE. Or click on pic to get taken to the blog link about contest.


















Made with fabrics from the Welcome Home collection from Clothworks. The finished pillow measures 14" x 14".

I just won a C&T Publishing CONTEST!!!

I am so excited to say that I just checked my emails and found out I have won C&T Publishing's blog contest from Oct. 20th! I won their Applique Petal Party Giveaway! I can't wait to try Susan Knapp's applique techniques and make a quilt from this book!


Well the package containing this prize arrived 11-5-09 and I've looked through the book of patterns, all are very pretty and I will get started on them along with all my Christmas themed gifts after I get my modern quilt blocks completed. I am in the mood for modern & wonky and just have to go with the creative flow. But wanted to say the applique patterns and directions look easy to follow. I will start a new post once I start using the Applique Petal Party Quilt kit, now I just need to set aside the perfect fabric for it!!


Celebrate the Beauty of Flowers with Appliqué

• 16 wonderful 12 1/2" bouquet blocks and floral border make a 73" x 73" finished quilt
• Make the whole quilt or use one block as a pillow or wall hanging
• Package includes needle-turn appliqué basics and step-by-step instructions for the project quilt
• Full-size, easy-to-use appliqué patterns

Celebrate the beauty of flowers with this festive floral appliqué quilt. The package includes instructions and photos of a variety of other color and fabric options, including wool appliqué.

donation quilts Done and in mailbox!

Too tired to post final quilting pics but will add them to this post later on. . .it feels good to share something I love doing with kids especially!
BUT . . . here are some pics I took of my fall front yard trees & flowers still in bloom during our Indian Summer weather the other day




My 2 Margaret's Hope Chest donation quilts are in a box in front of my mailbox waiting for tomorrows pick-up! YEAH!!!

I finished the binding on Fairy quilt today, added my personal labels on back, washed and packed both along with a bag of fabric and some quilting supplies. The site said they could use fabric and any supplies so that was a great way to pass along some gently used stuff I no longer need. And the fabrics while nice, are not in any color scheme I plan to use in the near future and should work for kids quilts done by volunteer quilt guilds. So GOOD all around!

New fabrics!

Well I just scored some true loveys! I found some really great fabrics online and am so excited to start using them in projects! Here are some pics and a few close-ups.

I really adore the Shade Garden line by Michelle Engel Bencsko for Henry Glass Co



Anna Marie Horner Lollipop


Joel Dewberry Chestnut Hill line is bright and fun....


I love Fauna & Flora (and the Benartex Alsace blender lines too), I never have enough blenders!

Kaufman's Fusions Paisley Lace (Gold) Metallic line


I also have some FQ's of Heather Ross's Medocino Mermaids, and I found her adorable hard to find "Far Far Away" Princess / Unicorn themed line for Kokko of Japan on ebay. I scored a 15 FQ lot of them. I have so many unique retro fabrics and I want to make modern quilts with them...

** I also bought a FQ of The Morris Workshop from Moda... but haven't unwrapped them yet so mo pics. I want to make a tradition quilt (maybe a Jacob's Ladder variation or a sampler quilt of mixed blocks) for myself from the William Morris line, his indigo's , green, reds and other colors are so beautiful in person!

Wow now all I need to do is start measuring, cutting and sewing LOL

Update on Donation quilt #2 (Fairy panels)

Well here are the completed pics of this Fairy quilt with my freehand quilting:


















Fairy Quilt back =quilted


Fairy Blocks

Fairy Top - sewn, waiting to be quilted

Well I have the top of Children's Donation quilt #2 completed (approx 44" x 65") the one featuring 6 of Michael Miller's Perwinkle blue Fairy panels. I don;t love the colorful border as much as I'd like, but hope a child will like it. The backing will comprise of two big sections of fabric and some of the left over colorful blocks (I like to use everything up and no one really sees the back too often)

Donation children's Quilts

Front view Back view

Well as soon as I read about Margaret's Hope Chest organization I knew I wanted to to do at least 2 quilts to donate. I have pieced the first one yesterday and have it all basted for quilting... it is a simple nine patch. The backing is bright and a bunch of patched fabric pieces I had from different projects. it is approx. 50" x 50".



Michael Miller's 2008 Blue Fairie panel


Tonight I started cutting and piecing a few of quilt #2's pieces... I am using Michael Miller's 2008 Blue Fairie panel as the main fabric and will have nine patch corners on the quilt. It should be about 42" x 60" maybe more or less, haven't decided on internal border piece spacing yet.

I am so excited to participate in this worthwhile cause! I love the idea that sometime in the near future a little kid somewhere will be using a quilt I made... I've only ever given my quilts as gifts to family. Well it is getting late and I've been up since early am so I'm off to chill before bed.

Happy sewing!

Up next. . .

I plan to focus on my mini wall hanging quilts with celtic embroidery and bias strips too... will post when I take photos again. I also plan to make a kids quilt of nine patch squares or a trip around the world or both ;) for the Margaret's Hope Chest project due by November 15th!

Celtic quilt wall hangings

Well here are two of my current favorite "small" wall quilts I've completed. I plan on making a few more intricate ones, but for beginning ones I picked one easy celtic knotwork to embroider to each quilt top fabric, added a border and then quilted the whole quilt and added binding. The purple/Gold completed 10-10-09 and Red/Green Christmas completed 10-11-09.

The purple and gold quilt (approx 16" x 16") features a Love knot

Red, Green and gold quilt (Approx. 23" x 23") has a simple interwoven circle knot

Margaret's Hope Chest

Margaret's Hope Chest

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Contests on other blogs!

The Flannel Queen and The Dizzy Daizy are two online fabric shops and they are each having wonderful grand opening give-aways! Go over to their blogs and check it out….

The Flannel Queen

The Dizzy Daizy