Giveaway winner!

Thanks, everyone, for entering the Friday Felicities giveaway! After a little comment housekeeping (sorry I wasn't clear that you didn't need to add a comment for your linkup), there were 69 eligible comments plus 10 Friday Felicities linkups.

Random.org has done its thing and drew comment number 44, which belongs to Leanne. Leanne has a delightful blog - go check it out!

Thank you for your very kind comments - I really enjoy a good love-fest every now and again!

Friday Felicities

The sun is shining, I successfully delivered a talk to our company's senior executive yesterday, G slept through the night more nights than not this week, and I've got a joint Fraser Valley Modern Quilt Guild/Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild sew-in tomorrow. Life is good.

I have been meaning to do a wee giveaway as a thank you to you lovely readers - just because you're lovely. So here it is - a chance to win a copy of Quilting Modern by Jacquie Gering and Katie Pedersen.

Source: amazon.com via Pinterest

To enter, simply comment on this post. Kindly make sure I can contact you via email if Random.org selects your number. One comment per person, please.

You can get an extra entry if you link up to Friday Felicities this week. Just write a post, and link it up before Sunday January 20th at 11:59 pm (Pacific). The giveaway will close then as well.

International entries are welcome. Giveaway closed! Winner announced here.

Have a great weekend!

SMS Giveaway Winner/Friday Felicities

Wow! I am thrilled with the response to my giveaway! 538 eligible entries - that is wonderful (my Felicity for today, in fact)!

Without further ado, I present the winning comment number as determined by Random.org:

And who had lucky comment #37? Why, that's Shannon! Look for an email from me shortly, Shannon.

Thanks again to all who entered, and especially to those who decided to become followers. I really appreciate it, particularly since it wasn't a requirement of the giveaway so it makes me really happy to know you're here because you want to be. Another Felicity!

Note: a number entries in the giveaway were from "no-reply" commenters. If you do a lot of commenting on blogs and never hear back, or have never, ever won a giveaway and you enter a lot, you might want to double-check whether people can get in touch with you via your blogger profile. Here's more on the topic, including some lovely illustrated steps for making your email public in your Blogger profile. I know that some people choose to keep their email private, preferring instead for bloggers to come over to their own blogs to comment, which is totally fair. The problem is when no-reply commenters *don't* have a blog - then there is absolutely no way to contact them in case they've won giveaways! It makes me sad to think people spent their precious time entering all kinds of giveaways without realizing they're never going to win because the host of the giveaway can't contact them!

SMS Giveaway Day!

Welcome to Giveaway Day!

There are many wonderful blogs giving away all kinds of things so let's get right down to business, shall we?

Up for grabs, one FQ bundle containing 9 Fat Quarters from Darlene Zimmerman's Hints of Prints collection for Robert Kaufman fabrics.

To enter, just leave a comment on this post - that's it. Nice and simple. I'll use the Random Number Generator (random.org) to choose one winner. If your commenter profile does not include your email address, please be sure to leave it in your comment so that I can get in touch with you.

Other details:
- the giveaway is open til May 25th at 5 p.m. PST. Any comments that inadvertently get left after 5 p.m. but before I close off the contest will not be included in the draw.
- winner will be notified by email by May 27th. If your commenter profile does not include your email address, please be sure to leave it in your comment so that I can get in touch with you.
- I am happy to mail these FQs anywhere in the world, but because of the cost of shipping, I will break down the bundle and pack it so it's flatter.

Thanks for swinging by and good luck - other giveaways here here at Sew Mama Sew!

Giveaway closed! Thank you so much for your interest. Winner announced here.

Friday Felicities - Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway Day

My Felicity today is a (scheduled) GIVEAWAY!

Have you participated in Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway Day? It's a twice-yearly event hosted at Sew, Mama, Sew where bloggers give away handmade items, crafting + sewing supplies, and all kinds of other goodies. Hundreds of blogs participate so not only can you discover new blogs, you can have some changes to win fun stuff while you're at it! If you're a blogger, it's an opportunity for people to discover what you're up to in your little corner of the interwebs.

On Monday, May 21st, I'll be giving away this bundle of sweet fabrics from the Hints of Prints line by Darlene Zimmerman - there are 9 FQs in it.

So be sure to come on by here on May 21st to try your luck at winning! (Edit: Go here for the giveaway post.)

In the meantime, have a great (long if you're in Canada) weekend!

Aurifil Giveaway Winners

Wow! What a great response! Thanks for the kind words about my projects - I appreciate them all!

Mr. Random did his thing, and the 5 winning comments have been picked.

First up:

And that belongs to:

Second winning comment is:

And that is:

Third winning number:

Who's 94? That's:

Winning giveaway comment number four:

Here we are:

And the final winning comment is:

And that is...

Winners have been contacted. Thanks for playing!

Friday Felicities #7 - Fall Giveaway sponsored by Aurifil!

It's no secret that I love LOVE Fall. The crisp air, the freshly-picked crisp apples, the pumpkin pie...Oh! And sweaters, boots, jeans, scarves....the leaves turning colour...yeah, I love me some Fall. That today is the first day of Fall is very felicitous for me.

To celebrate, let's have a giveaway! The fine folks at Aurifil sent me a wonderful package of threads to use, and some to give away!

I use Aurifil 100% cotton thread nearly exclusively these days. Bernie is a bit of a princess when it comes to what she likes to be threaded with, and nearly anything other than Aurifil causes a lot of complaining of the mechanical variety.

Aurifil 50/2 (50 means the weight of the thread, the higher the number, the lighter the thread; 2 means 2-ply) on the orange spool is my favourite for piecing. It's thin (so it doesn't mess with my ¼" seams), and virtually lint-free (so I don't have to brush out my machine as frequently). I sometimes use 50wt for quilting if I am quilting in the ditch or I don't want it to be too prominent, examples of both are here in this mug rug:

Aurifil 40/2 on the green spool is a great choice for quilting, including free-motion. It is smooth like buttah, I tell you, and it has quite a lovely sheen to it. Here are a couple of closeups of quilting done with 40/2 thread in a lovely aqua (colour 5006):

1. dqs10 quilting in progress, 2. Supernova quilting closeup

Aurifil 28/2 on the grey spool is another great quilting weight. I used this slightly heavier weight to quilt my For The Love of Solids pouch here:

I also used it to do the scribbly stitching on this mug rug:

Aurifil also makes a 12/2 weight (red spool) which can be used for hand-quilting (like perle cotton), and I've used the 100% wool thread in that weight to do some NON free-motion quilting. The FMQ tended to break that thread. (No photos of that project because it's a secret!)

So! Here's the fun part! I've got 5 sample packs of Aurifil thread to give away to 5 lucky readers! Just leave a comment before 10 pm Pacific time on Sunday, September 25th, and Mr. Random.org will choose the winners soon thereafter. Good luck! Oh, and please make sure I have a way of contacting you!

Giveaway closed; winners have been chosen. Thanks for entering!

Friday Felicities #4

What's making me happy on this Friday is that I am a Bag Lady! Yes, you read right: a Bag Lady.

I've got a tutorial posted over at OCD: Obsessive Crafting Disorder for making this simple lined tote.

Bonus: there's a giveaway! See you there!

Giveaway Winner and Supernova Full Frontal

First things first: the giveaway winner! Thank you for your lovely comments, everyone, and for all your support. It means a LOT.

The winner of the 3 half-metres of Mendocino fabric is:

And who is commenter 51? Kristie!!

Kristie is a fellow Canadian and wouldn't you agree that her proposition is kind of awesome (she had me at "wine")? I do believe there is still snow where she is so I think I'm just going to take a chance on Canada Post. Congratulations, Kristie!!

And the title of the post promised a Supernova Full Frontal (^TM Krista who was also the photographer).

Isn't Lee's pattern wonderful?? I did find out that I inadvertently rotated one of the blocks' subunits, but it still looks nice. That, and the fact that it looks fabulous no matter what fabric people have used, is the mark of a great design in my humble opinion. Thanks, Lee!

And thanks again to you all for reading, following, commenting, and participating. You make this fun.

xoxo

126 Followers + 20,000 Hits!

To quote pretty much every character in the Keanu Reeves oeuvre: Whoa!

I have reached two big milestones in the last little while. I have 126 lovely followers via that Google Friends dealio (technical term) AND 20,000 hits on the blog since it started. Dudes. Seriously....TWENTY THOUSAND! Check it out:

I think this calls for a wee celebration, don't you? And how do we quilters celebrate? Say it with me now: Giveaway!

Yes, my lovelies, I will be giving away a half-metre of each of these three Mendocino prints. If my research is correct, they are, left to right: Seahorses in Copper, Giant Octopi in Dark and Giant Octopi in Orange.

 

I just noticed the dearth of actual octopi in my photo of the Octopi fabric. They're there, I promise.

How do you enter? 

Easy peasy: leave a comment - if you want to follow, that's awesome and would make me really happy, but it's not a prerequisite. Truthfully, I'd rather you were here because you like the blog, not because you were forced to be, know what I mean?

But having said that, and since this giveaway celebrates my blog "hits," you can get a second entry if you've snagged my button (told you I'd make it worth your while). Please make sure your second entry/comment mentions that so I can check up on you (says the rule-follower).

The giveaway is open to everyone, but be forewarned that I am not Canada Post''s biggest fan, so I will be giving them as little money as possible. That means cheap - and therefore slower - postage. Especially (ironically) for Canadians. Have I mentioned my loathing of Canada Post?

I'll be on a bloggy break for Easter, so let's keep this giveaway open until Easter Monday at 9:00pm Pacific. Please make sure I can contact you if your entry is chosen. If I can't, I will choose someone else. Thanks!

Comments closed and winner chosen!

Lapel Stick Giveaway Winners

Check it out! Mr. Random Number Generator chose entries 2 and 3, who are:


A.J.

and Mimi

I've contacted you by email, winners. Thanks, everyone, for entering!

Product Review: Lapel Stick

A little while ago, the nice people at Lapel Stick contacted me and offered to send along a sample of their product for me to review on my blog (HOW FANCY AM I????). I agreed, and gave it a try.

First, I should describe it. It's glue stick for fabric. Non toxic, non staining and water soluble. Sounds good to me!

I used Lapel Stick a few different ways.

1. To repair a fallen hem on my pants. I was all ready to leave for work and my daughter, ever the observant child, noted that my pants hem was down. I was seriously late already, so I thought of the Lapel Stick on my sewing table.

Before (if toes freak you out, avert your eyes and scroll down!):

After:

Lapel stick kept my hem up all day until I could get home and put my pants in that pile of stuff that never gets looked at my "fixit" pile. Thumbs up.

2. To secure the first bit of fabric on a foundation paper piecing block. Sorry no photo of this process, but I can tell you that it worked beautifully. It's not a goopy product the way other glue sticks can be, so it held the fabric nicely but not so much that I couldn't pull the paper off cleanly afterwards. Thumbs up.

3. To avoid having to use pins when attaching some casing to the neck of the smocks I made recently.

This one didn't work out so well - the length of casing was about 35" and by the time I'd gotten to the end, the Lapel Stick I had applied at the beginning was dry and didn't stick. Thumbs down, but that was a lot to ask of the product, I think.

I planned to give it a try with appliqué, but that project keeps getting pushed down the list and I really wanted to get this review done, so I'll do a follow-up on that. I anticipate that it's going to work well, though, based on what I've seen so far.

In conclusion, I really like the product and I think it's a great addition to a sewing room for projects, or a desk drawer for hem emergencies. A bonus is that 30 cents from each sale is donated to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation!

Another bonus? A giveaway! Lapel Stick sent me two samples to give away to readers! To enter the draw, comment on this post sometime before Tuesday, March 15th at 9 o'clock pm Pacific time, and I'll use Random.org to choose the two winners soon thereafter.

Fine print:

• one entry per person;
• international entries welcome but please know that I will totally cheap out on the postage and choose the least costly (and likely slowest) option offered by Canada Post;
• make sure I can contact you - if your Blogger profile (and email) isn't public and you haven't provided me an email address, I'll just go ahead and pick someone else's name right away.

Good luck!!

EDITED: Comments closed. Winner announced here.

Blogiversary Giveaway Winner!

Winner winner chicken dinner!

Magic Random.org chose the number 7 from the 52 entries to win the giveaway. And that means (drumroll, please)....

MARILYN, who said: "Sweet one year mark! And you've obviously made it successfully to this point.
May you have MANY more anniversaries...I've enjoyed reading your blog. Thanks."

Sweet indeed - thanks, everyone, for entering, and Marilyn, I'll be emailing you pronto to get your coordinates.

Onward!

It's My Blogiversary!

On January 4th, this blog turned one year old. I can't believe how quickly the year went.

When I started blogging, it was just a means to journal my 2010 resolution to quilt at least 20 minutes a day. Little did I know how it would change my life, and not just from a quilting perspective.

I've already gushed about meeting new friends, discovering new fabrics and an entirely new (to me) global community of quilters, so I won't do it again (even though I said I would).

What I will do, however, is invite you to celebrate with me by hosting a giveaway. One lucky person will win a Fat* Quarter of each of these lovely fabrics. Our home is pet- and smoke-free.



*the purple fabric has those stripes printed on the bias and it would make a terrific binding. I could make it a regular quarter-metre cut for you.

How would a person go about entering to win the giveaway? A comment on this post is all that's needed - one per person. You can just say hi! Or if you're feeling chatty, you can make a suggestion for what block to choose for the bed quilt I'm planning to ask my Bee members to help me make. The fabric is Spa by Rosemarie Lavin, with a little bit of Hope Valley Foursquare in Pine thrown in for good measure.


The giveaway is open until Sunday, January 9th at 9pm Pacific Time. I'll choose a winning comment randomly, and please make sure I can contact you if your name is chosen. Comments closed!

Good luck and thank you for making my first year of blogging such a wonderful experience. Here's to many more!

SMS Giveaway Winner

WOW! 423 of you really liked Tweethearts! Thanks so much for all of your wonderful and lovely words.

I can't get the Random.org thingy to show up because I'm a goober like that but the winner is.....

Comment #276, from I Love Baby Quilts!, who has a really charming blog, and who sews everything BY HAND. Including BABY PANTS! The degree of my awe is directly correlated to the number of words I spell in ALL CAPS!

Congratulations! I will email you right away to get your coordinates so this little mug rug can make its way to you.

Thanks again, all of you who entered.

It's Giveaway Day!

Hooray! It's Giveaway Day over at Sew Mama Sew and you know what that means? Tons (technical term) of bloggers giving away stuff - handmade items, supplies, notions, etc. It's awesome.

When I heard about Giveaway Day, I hesitated for only a split second (it *is* a busy time of year, after all).

So if you're here from SMS, welcome to my giveaway!!

One lucky reader chosen at random will receive this cute little mug rug made by me:

Tweethearts

Here's a quick shot of the back:

To enter to win, simply comment on this post - one per customer, please. Everyone is eligible - even International readers (but please allow time for Canada Post's egregious delivery standards).

Giveaways are open until December 17th, and I'll be picking a winner shortly after that. Please make sure I can contact you if I pick your name.

Be sure to click on over to SMS and see what everyone's giving away.

I'm Going For It!

Participating in Sew Mama Sew's giveaway day, that is.

I'll be giving away a handmade item. You'll have to come back on the 13th to find out what it is!

Giveaway Winner!

Drumroll please!

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:7Powered by RANDOM.ORG

The Random Number Generator has spoken, and the winner of the 4 OOP HTF AB FQs is....katychick! I've emailed you for your mailing address, and the fabric will be soon on its way to you.

Congratulations! And thanks everyone for stopping by and entering the giveaway.

100th Post Giveaway

Woo hoo! I've published 100 posts on my blog!

I'll save the really sappy stuff for my blogiversary - you know, the goopy gushing about how blogging has opened my eyes to a whole new and exciting community of quilters. Silly musings about discovering an incredibly fun and warm group of people who like to quilt just like me will not be included in this post, nope no way. I'm sure not going to go on about the myriad free tutorials and patterns made available by generous and talented quilting bloggers, and how many of those patterns, tutorials and designs have irrevocably changed how I create.

Nope. I'm having me a giveaway, people! My first one!

4 FQs of Amy Butler Gypsy Caravan

To celebrate 100 posts, I've dug deeeeep into the stash and I'm giving away four fat quarters of out of print and hard to find Amy Butler Gypsy Caravan fabric.

To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment on this post (one per customer, please). You can certainly just say "hi!" but bearing in mind my blog's name ("felicity" means happiness), why don't you tell me about something that made you smile today? 

I'll pick a commenter at random on Friday, October 8th at 14:00 PST and announce the winner soon thereafter. EDITED: comments now closed. Winner announced here.

International entries are welcome. Good luck!