It's Christmas in July! (+ A Giveaway Announcement)

60x60 inches of machine pieced goodness

Finishing a big project seems to spur me on to crossing other things off my list, it's just addictive once you get a taste of that satisfaction. It is perhaps the most pleasant part of being the kind of person who starts a lot too many things at once—you also get to finish a lot of things at once and the giddiness that causes is more than enough to keep me adding things back onto the list. Yup, it's a vicious cycle!

I finished this quilt top when I got back from Michigan and—gasp!—it's actually a quilt that I will be keeping to use in our very own home. I wanted to have something special to put out around the holidays each year that would become something of an heirloom. Yes, it's a bit loud. But, as I've mentioned before, this fabric instantly reminded me of the childhood classic "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" and all the crazy colors the animators used to depict Whoville. It is, therefore, our "Whoville Quilt" and keeps alive all those memories of childhood christmases. I definitely like the idae of snuggling up under all of that!

I have this draped across the couch in my studio now as I'm not quite sure how I want to finish it. I *think* I want to add a 2 inch white border all the way around and bind it in the red snowflake fabric. On the back, I'd like to repeat the LeMoyne Start block (aka my poinsettia/christmas star) and a block with embroidery noting when it was made and all that good info. As a nerdy museum person, I love finding any bit of information attached to a textile that's been handed down so I think incorporating that with embroidery is something I'd like to keep up on all my quilts in one way or another.

P.S. I have an announcement about the giveaway my last post! I want to give more people the chance to enter so I am extending the deadline until tomorrow at noon. Please enter and pass the word along and I will announce the winner tomorrow afternoon. Good luck!

NEW: Antique Shop Embroidery Pattern (+ A Giveaway!)

I've got my etsy shop back open and a brand new embroidery pattern to share with you that is available! I decided my Vintage Shop pattern needed a counterpart and have been working away at these drawings, trying to come up with the best, most emblematic antique finds. The PDF pattern is
chock full of some of my favorite antique finds including a federal-style couch, a mini-collection of classic Ball jars, a sleek Victorian boot, a candlestick phone, phonograph, bowl and pitcher, calabash pipe complete with wisps of smoke, and an oil lamp, lit and at the ready.

As always, it includes transfer instructions, a color guide, as well as backwards and forward facing versions so you have more  transfer options at the ready!

And for all of you who read down this far, how would you like to win this pattern for your very own?! It's been AGES since I've done a giveaway and so I thought, why the heck not. I'll keep it simple: just leave ONE comment and I will choose a winner at random. If your email is not available in your profile or blog, please leave it since I'll need it to send you the PDF pattern.

I will close the giveaway Saturday at noon and announce a winner at that time so stay tuned and don't forget to share this with all your stitchy friends!

**UPDATE: In order to let more people enter for a chance to win, I am going to leave the giveaway open for one more day and will announce the winner tomorrow *Sunday, July 8th* Instead. Please check back to this same post for the announcement!**

**UPDATE: AND THE WINNER IS...Julie! My husband picked a random number for me out of how many comments there were and so I will be emailing you with a copy of the PDF pattern soon. Thanks to each of you who entered and read along, I appreciate it and hope to see you back here soon  :)

And the Winner is...

 There were 118 comments on the giveaway...sheesh, that's a lot for my little ole blog! I had my husband pick a random number and so the winner is:

Amy Dame

Comment #94:
oh! oh! the pattern shows all my favourite things too! the glasses, the necklace, the camera! the cat! the lamp! the swimsuit that i will one day make for myself!
i would love to win it, thank you so much for the opportunity!

Congratulations Amy—I've got your email so will send the pattern off to you straight away!

I wish I could give everyone a copy but since that's not in the cards, I can at least give you this coupon code to use in my etsy shop in case you want to get one of my patterns for yourself at a discounted rate (I will have a shiny new one to debut next week so stay tuned)! Just enter in "THANKYOU" as you check out for 10% OFF (edit: coupon code expires June 30th and is good towards your entire purchase, one use per customer).

Thank you to each and every one of you who entered the giveaway and left such kind comments! Having you stop by, take part, and perhaps decide to keep following means a lot and I'm so happy to have you join me here!

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day is Here!

Can you feel it? All across Crafty Blogland folks are waking up to a Christmas in late May—the Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway Day! Be sure to check out their blog for a list of complete participants and giveaways as it's a great way to get in on some giveaway action and discover new blogs and the crafty folks behind them all at once. If you're new to my corner of Crafty blogland—welcome, it's a pleasure to have you here!

This is my first time participating as a giveaway-er (err...yes, I think that's the technical term) and I'm going to be giving away a PDF version of my Vintage Shop Embroidery Pattern, as pictured above (details about it here in my shop) Since this pattern is in PDF format, it will be emailed to the winner and is therefore open to everyone, international readers included!

In keeping with the spirit of the SMS giveaway, there are no fancy complicated rules to enter: all you have to do is leave a comment on this post.

You don't have to be a follower or anything (of course, if you do want to keep reading my blog and follow along, that's totally allowed and I must admit I'd be flattered). Just one entry person and please be sure to leave your email address in your comment or link to your blog so that I can get ahold of you if you win. The only other bit I should mention is that if I don't hear back from the winner within three days, I will pass the prize on to the runner up. Kapeesh? OK fabulous, I knew you'd understand. That's it, that's all! The giveaway will remain open until Wednesday, May 25th (6:00pm EST) so have at it and have fun! GIVEAWAY CLOSED

P.S. Speaking of Sew, Mama, Sew—I made my first shirt/top/blouse/thing that I will not be embarrassed to wear in public (the terms of my New Year's goal) over the weekend using the Made by Rae pattern at SMS and will be sharing the results here after the giveaway. You'll tell me if you think it looks anything like a success or not so much, ya?

it's giveaway time!

 stitched by hand and filled with 100% organic lavender

it is a somewhat gray and gloomy monday here but i have some fun news to share that should brighten it up: windshield diaries is hosting a giveaway of my matryoshka lavender sachets! it's a blog that i've been a fan and reader of for some time now and i'm thrilled to be a part of it now as a sponsor this month.

you can enter to win here until this saturday, march 26, 11:59pm eastern time. the winner gets to pick two from any of the colors available in my shop so i hope you will hop on over there to enter and check out my sponsor interview in which i hope i was at least mildly interesting..haha, what do you think?

p.s. good luck!

the art of the giveaway

i've been an admirer of Megan Eckman's work for a while so I was thrilled to open the mail box yesterday to find a package awaiting me (always exciting really) with the Studio M.M.E. label on it...my giveaway prize arrived! i've never won an etsy/blog giveaway so i was pretty excited. this beautifully rendered little print will be going to live in my husband's new office at work since it fits his quirky/witty/fantastical/slightly dark personal aesthetic just perfectly!

as long as we're on the subject of giveaways, here is one over at the blog windshield diaries with a seriously fabulous prize that is open until tomorrow. seriously fabulous!

I'm still pondering my own giveaway that i want to hold once i get back from a trip i'm taking to Michigan at the end of this month. I found some great advice in the etsy forums and i think i might try to incorporate some of it. What have you done in setting up your giveaways that you feel made it a success?