Birthday Giveaway!

hey guys!

guess what?

it was my birthday yesterday!


last year i did a pretty big giveaway, with lots of goodies, and Hadley was the lucky winner.

this year i wasn't nearly as coordinated, so it's a smaller giveaway, but MORE people can win!





i made up 5 little journal covers in some of my current favourite fabrics, and i hope you like them too! i've matched them all to keychains, since i currently have six-gabillion keychains...




don't they look pretty stacked up like that?





the first journal on the stack is made using Cut & Sew, designed by Cynthia Frenette



it has a Kona solid back, and a matching keychain.



the second journal is made using Sew Stitchy, designed by Aneela Hoey, with a fabulous sketchy pink, and has a matching keychain.



the third journal is made using a fabric that i'm not familiar with, but i had a scrap that was crying out "use me! i'm pretty!". and then i saw the same fabric at Spool of Thread yesterday, so now i know what it is! it's Cabana Blooms, by Melissa Ybarra for Iza Pearl Design.



the back is a solid Kona again. because this was a scrap, i don't have a perfectly matching keychain, so i've paired it with one that coordinates.



the fourth journal is probably familiar to you! i'm totally in love with these fabrics together, and i can't stop using them. you might remember the combo from my paperpieced gnome, or from my first attempt at a gift card holder.



the centre fabric is Sun Dials Amethyst from Field Study by Anna Maria Horner and the Nordic Diamond from Heaven and Helsinki, designed by Patty Young.



the last journal uses two fabrics that come from the same fabric line, Madrona Road by Violet Craft. aren't they yummy together?



which one's your favourite? leave me a comment for a chance to win one! i'll leave the giveaway open until midnight PST on December 30th. if you share the giveaway, come back and leave me a link for a second (or third, or fourth, however many places you share it with!) chance to win!

Zakka-Style Amy-Style - i heart bright linen!

hey! remember how excited i was about buying Rashida Coleman-Hale's book Zakka Style at the Sewing Show? cause Lindsey at LRStitched and Amy at Sukie: Don't you know who i am? were coordinating a sew-along?

yeah, i haven't been keeping up with that, what with the bee blocks i've been catching up on.

until this week!



this is week 5 of the sew-along, and Kerry of Very Kerry Berry made up a super cute version of the 5th project in the book, the patchwork pencil case.


i sewed up one pencil case on monday, the day that Kerry posted hers, and i even took pictures right away!



i used recycled blue linen for my case, from a pant suit set i thrifted a few months ago. when i bought it, the lady was all impressed about the deal i was getting for the brand that it was... i don't think she was that happy when i told her i was going to cut it up and make a quilt out of it!



for the patchwork accents, i used two polka dot prints that i picked up in abbotsford the day of the FVMQG sew-in.



and i lined it with grey kona. do you like my background? ha! that's the leopard print towel i use to pad my ironing board. adding a towel makes a HUGE difference in how smooth my fabric ends up. it's like magic!

and did you notice the pens in my pencil case? the Pilot FriXion pens? have you tried them? what do you think?


but back to the pencil case itself!

so i made one, i took pictures of it right away, but then i didn't post it... because i COULDN'T STOP MAKING THEM!



is this not slightly excessive?


i started out making one for a dear friend, using leftover shirting fabrics.



(do you like my photoshop attempt to show the inside and the outside in the same photo? i haven't quite mastered the magic wand, as you can slightly see on the side of the upright case, but it still looks pretty good to me!)


after i made that one, i thought i'd make for his partner, who's also become a dear friend. i always think of pink when i think of her, and i had this fabulous fuchsia linen. i paired it up with purple polka dots, and decided that i might as well make two, if i was making one!



but then i started thinking about how their home is decorated in more natural colours, if still vibrant, and even though *I* always think of bright pink, that might be more about her personality than her style. and i also had this lovely rusty orange linen...

so i made two of these, with a bit of a sunrise colour combo.



i didn't sew a strap for these ones, i used a strap off of the shirt that i was recycling for the linen. i redid the topstitching to match, and then used several yummy sketchy prints for the patchwork and the lining.



that would be enough pencil cases for anyone, but then i thought of the My Precious QAL, and what's more precious in my world than Melody Miller fabric? so i made a set of Ruby Star Spring pencil cases too!



i made these ones a bit longer, because i saw that some folks were using them to hold their rotary cutters. when i tried that with the cases i'd already made, i didn't think they were quite tall enough. i couldn't quite make up my mind how long i wanted the flap to be, so these two are just an eensy bit different from each other.

i lined them in a great lime green linen that i bought as yardage. i kinda want to do a full quilt with it! i made my closure band using the selvedge, which made me start thinking about all the fun pencil cases that i could make using selvedges... but no! i must stop the obsession!


however! i did discover a few tricks, in case you wanted to make your own!

tip #1 - the instructions tell you to trim your patchwork band before you topstitch it, but i'd topstitch before you trim. that way, if your machine is cranky for the first few stitches (which many machines will be, since it's 4 layers of fabric), you'll trim off the wonky stitches.

tip #2 - you might not want to trim the band at all, if you dislike the slight gathering on the flaps on my pencil cases. or, i think it would be super cute if you widened the end of the flap, creating even more gathering through the band!

tip #3 - if you're using recycled linen, or really, any fabric with a looser weave, i'd suggest stay stitching the section where you leave the opening for turning. that is, sew a line in the seam allowance of the opening to prevent it from stretching as you turn the case right side out.

tip #4 - even with staystitching, i still think moving the opening from the base of the flap to the side of it makes it easier to get a smooth line. you can make it larger, if you want, which will lessen the stress on the opening as you're turning it.

tip #5 - if you move the opening to the side of the flap, you'll need to either handstitch it closed or else topstitch more than just the bottom of the flap. i chose to topstitch my entire flap, even on the first few cases when i was still turning it through the bottom, just because i think it looks better. plus, if you start and stop on the back, your backstitching isn't as obvious. bonus!

of course, you could just follow the instructions in the book, cause they're pretty darn good too!





oooorrrrrr.... if you perhaps didn't want to make your own, and you'd rather have one of mine.... leave me a comment! which ones are your favourites? i'll draw a name at 11:59PST next Sunday, May 13th, and i'll send you your choice of case. (except the shirting one, it's already reserved, but you knew that)


think of it as a bonus for reading all the way to the bottom!


what should i do with the rest of them? i'm thinking that a few of these might end up as guild doorprizes - they'd be fun, wouldn't they? i'll save your favourite for you, don't worry!

Birthday Giveaway!!!

hey! guess what yesterday was? my birthday!


do you give yourself presents for your own birthday? i usually treat myself to something, though more often than not, i end up getting cash from family anyway, so i can justify the treat.

this year i bought myself a cute vintage kitchen table. formica, of course, with a nice wide chrome band. it's still in my car, due to the plumbing issues/kitchen renovation that has yet to start, but i'm very excited! i started eyeing it as soon as i saw it, but it was more than i could justifiably spend on a table, especially when i already have a table, ugly though it may be. my patience was rewarded by a 50% off sale, and i snapped it up! it came back from manitoba with me, disasembled in the back of my car, and sofie seemed to enjoy perching on it during the trip home.

i also gave myself the gift of time - though it hasn't happened yet. my current bag is the one i made in the summer or 09, when handmade nation premiered in vancouver. i've replaced the straps twice now, and it's hanging together by threads.

i've been hoarding my ruby star rising stash to make a bag out of, and i finally decided to try using a pattern, rather than make it up myself. i purchased the noodlehead 241 pattern, which i'm sure you seen around the interwebs, it's ridiculously popular, and i enlarged it, because the original is much too small for all of my crap. of course, i haven't gotten to it yet - so that's my present to myself. i'm setting aside all of the things that i'm super behind on, and i'm going to sew just for myself for a few hours - after xmas, of course!


that's all very interesting, but i'm sure you're wondering "what about my present?" you're not? that's very nice of you! however, i did promise you a giveaway, didn't i?

i meant to get this posted yesterday, on my actual birthday, but i decided to sew up something else to include, and time got away from me. i sewed and relaxed for most of the day, then continued a tradition started last year and went into the city. i stopped by spool of thread and hung out with henry for little bit (still no kona medium grey though, it's backordered. so sad!), and then went to one of my favourite places, rhizome cafe, for dinner with some of my favourite people. my family came, along with treasured friends who i count as family, and it was a really wonderful evening.

and then i went home and sewed up some of the new fabric that i got at spool of thread, just for you!



so here's the giveaway!



you're eyeing the books, aren't you? i don't blame you at all, i was so excited when i found them!


there are three japanese quilting books. they vary in complexity, and are numbered 1-3. the first has simpler projects and the basics of patchwork, the second includes a bit about handquilting, and the third includes more detailed projects, such as hexies and blocks with y-seams. they all have super cute projects in them, and pattern templates printed in the back.


now, the books aren't in english, obviously. they have tons of illustrations, and the measurements for everything are included, so i'm sure you'll be able to figure them out. however, the measurements are in metric, and i know a lot the folks who follow this blog are american, so i'm including a little teddy bear measuring tape that's in centimetres. cute, huh?


i wanted to make something for the giveaway as well, so i went with something useful.


are you surprised? i'm kind of on a coaster kick! i'm still working for a tutorial for the xmas ones, by the way. if it's not up tomorrow, it'll be up right after christmas.


these coasters are a bit different, because i didn't do the appliqued hexies on the front, but i stuck with the hexie shape. i used some of my precious ruby star spring (are you seeing a pattern? i love melody miller's designs!), buzz, in the tomato vine colourway.


the back is part of the same fabric, and i purposely didn't make them all identical, i cut them from various parts of the print, just for variety.


and what did i pick up at spool of thread?


fun, isn't it? i was tempted by this print when it came in, but i wasn't sure what i'd use it for. the scale was perfect for this project, so i finally had an excuse to buy some. it's called love flowers, from the house & home collection by benartex.


i made a little flex frame change purse out of it, topped with black kona, and a matching blue kona for the lining.


i was so excited when i found the flex frame/internal spring frames, i had to use one for the giveway!


and what's a giveaway without sweets? i'm including some canadian chocolate too. i know that some of these can be bought in the states, but trust me, they don't taste the same. i always feel bad for you americans and your chocolate! if the winner is canadian or british, this isn't super exciting, i know, but i'm sure you'll still enjoy it.


so!! giveaway guidelines!!

- leave a comment on this post to enter. tell me something! what birthday traditions do you have? do you get stressed about your age, nervous when you hit the big ones? have you sewn anything for yourself lately? have you ever used a flex frame, or any other kind of frame for purses? have you seen any cool tutorials lately? share a link? are you a fan of melody miller's designs? are you as excited about ruby star shining as i am? typewriters!!!!

- leave another comment if you're a follower, old or new!

- and leave another comment if you link to the giveaway on your blog, on twitter, facebook, etc.

- giveaway ends December 30th 31st at midnight, PST. that gives you all a bit of time after the holidays to get caught up on your blog reading. (i'm extending it cause i forgot how many days there were in December!)


have fun!




oh! wanna see my table? here's a peek, from when it was in my grandma's garage -

i love it!

Giveaway Time!! Xmas Coasters!!

it’s giveaway day! or rather, giveaway week, which i gotta say, makes me SO happy! i really like the changes Sew Mama Sew has added this year. a whole week to visit blogs, and a set ending time? so awesome!

(Sew Mama Sew is facilitating hundreds of giveaways, you definitely have to go check it out. they have six separate lists, Handmade for the Home, Handmade Baby + Kid Items, Handmade Bags, Handmade Accessories, Sewing Supplies, and Other Craft Supplies (Non-Sewing). all the lists are organized with giveaways that allow international shipping first, and giveaways that are host country-only shipping second, which is super handy for those of us who aren't in the US.)


so hi! if you’re a new visitor, welcome, if you’re a regular reader, you already know that you’re loved, don’t you? but welcome to you too, in case you were wondering.

i’m amy dame, and this is glitter, vinyl and thread. i’ve contemplated changing the name, since i haven’t worked with vinyl in a while now, but who knows, i might find time to get back to it one day. besides, i hate thinking of names, i’m terrible at it. new guests and regular visitors might like to check out my "about me" page, over there on the right. it's kinda long, so feel free to skim. i tend to babble.

i do a lot of different things, but for the past year and a half, i’ve been obsessed with quilting. i’m on the exec for the Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild, and a member of the Fraser Valley Modern Quilt Guild, and i love it! i also do hand and machine embroidery, make clothing, and occasionally do more art focused pieces. i've been blogging here for more than 4 years now.

i also think it’s awesome that the Sew Mama Sew giveaways didn’t have to start on monday, because i’m obviously late. that’s really no surprise, but i have an excuse this time!

i’m away from home, again, halfway across the country, hanging out with my grandma. she’s been having some health issues, and shouldn’t really be alone, so i’ve spent much of the past 6 weeks here.

my sewing time has been limited, and my internet time has been even more so, so i totally forgot about the giveaway until blog posts started appearing in my inbox yesterday morning. i contemplated skipping it, but really, what’s the fun in that?

so i decided to sew up a set of coasters, which was the perfect excuse to use this kickass Alexander Henry xmas print that i picked up last month. i made a set of these last week for a swap, and when i made this set, i took a whole bunch of pictures, thinking that i might do a tutorial for them....

if you're interested. would you be interested in a tutorial? i guess you have to see what they look like before you decide, huh?



like 'em?

here's an action shot.

(disclaimer - the winner doesn't get my grandma's christmas mug, that was just a prop. you probably didn't want it anyway, but just in case...)



there are 6 hexagon shaped coasters. they each have a red linen hexie appliqued on the top, and cotton quilt batting to protect your furniture.



the backs are made up of the red linen, the green owl fabric, and a darker red Kona cotton.

see?



wanna win them?


here's the rules!

* this giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY! yay!

* you must post a comment on this thread to enter.

* the winner will be chosen via random generator, though i'll give you fair warning - if your comment is just something along the lines of "pick me!", the random generator might be chosing a different winner... cause that's boring. i know you're going to hundreds of blogs, but half the fun is looking around a bit!

* you don't have to become a follower or tweet or anything fancy like that to enter (though you could become a follower if you wanted to! or sign up for the handy-dandy e-mail feed! check back soon for another version of the coasters, and another giveaway for my birthday next week!)

* if you're participating in the Giveaway Day/Week and doing a giveaway yourself, leave me a second comment with a link to your giveaway. you get two entries because you're special!! yay!

* the giveaway is open until december 16 at 5pm PST

(the rules are almost exactly the same as the last giveaway, cause that worked!)


that's it! same as last time, leave me a comment about something fun... tell me what your last project was, tell me what you listen to while you're sewing/quilting/crafting/creating. tell me what you're excited about making next, what awesome book you just read, what new blog you just discovered, or what new fabric line you can't wait to order. tell me if you'd like a tutorial for the coasters! tell me what else you'd like to see a tutorial for. tell me something that'll make me glad that you stopped by. ;)

good luck!

xo,
amy

back to regularly scheduled life!

whew!

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day is done.

what did you think? did you go hopping around to some of the blogs? did you manage to get to all of them? they've posted a blog post asking for feedback, so be sure to pop over and do so - and tell them how AWESOME they are for organizing this twice a year!

i've participated in giveaways before, and i love doing them (when i remember), but i find them extremely stressful to navigate through. there's just so many! and so little time! and so many hoops to jump through! and some of them ended at really weird times. 9am? wha?


i tried to only enter giveaways that i was sincerely interested in, and i tried to always give real comments, and i simply wasn't able to get through them all. and i had more time available than someone who works fulltime, or someone with kids! i want to start responding to some of the awesome comments left here, and go back to some of the blogs that looked really interesting, because there totally wasn't time to look around. i'm curious as to what others thought, both people who were doing giveaways, and people entering the giveaways.


but enough of my blathering, you're wondering who won!

Congratulations Erica!



Erica said - "So pretty and sunny! It would look excellent on my couch! :) I don't think I have anything interesting to say, so I'll share that the other day I decided to try sorting my fabrics by color. (Which was quite the undertaking because most of it's in bins due to craft room construction.) I've found that I need lots more red, orange and yellow fabric...And being that I'm working on a project of rainbow proportions, I'd better get on that! :) "

apparently her couch is already excited! ;)


i'm going to mail that off next week - a few days past the deadline i think, but i am NOT going near the border lineups that memorial day weekend will cause! and it's silly to ship it from here, pay 3 times the price, and wait weeks for it to arrive, when i can just ship it from the US and it'll arrive the same week. have i mentioned how much i love USPS? i totally <3 USPS.

guess what? it's giveaway day!!!

yay! Sew Mama Sew is facilitating hundreds of giveaways, you definitely have to go check it out! they have three lists, handcrafted items, sewing and knitting supplies, and handcrafted items with supplies. all three lists are organized with giveaways that allow international shipping first, and giveaways that are host country-only shipping second, which is super handy for those of us who aren't in the US.

so what am i giving away? i hinted the other day....







the Central Park Spring Pillow!

the pillow is made of yellow linen and prints from the Moda line Central Park that was designed by Kate Spain.

it measures aprox 16" x 10" and is backed in solid orange Kona cotton.


sooooo... the rules!


* this giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY! yay!

* you must post a comment on this thread to enter.

* the winner will be chosen via random generator, though i'll give you fair warning - if your comment is just something along the lines of "pick me!", the random generator might be chosing a different winner... cause that's boring. i know you're going to hundreds of blogs, but half the fun is looking around a bit!

* you don't have to become a follower or tweet or anything fancy like that to enter (though you could, if you wanted to! or sign up for the handy-dandy e-mail feed!)

* the giveaway closes at 11:59 PST on May 25th




that's it! leave me a comment about something fun... leave a comment about something you've seen here on my blog. leave me a comment about something that you wish more blogs had (like e-mail feeds! is that just me...) tell me what your last project was, link to an awesome tutorial that i might not have seen, tell me what you listen to while you're sewing/quilting/crafting/creating. tell me what you're excited about making next, what awesome book you just read or movie you just saw (i finally saw grey gardens last night!), what new blog you just discovered (i'm loving threadbared lately. gender, politics and FASHION! brilliant!), or what new fabric line you can't wait to order, or what your favourite zine is, and what distro carries it. tell me something that'll make me glad that you stopped by. ;)


good luck!

Giveaway Winner!

thank you so much to everyone who entered my Sewn Launch Giveaway!

there were a grand total of 95 entries, between the comments on the giveaway post, extra comments on other blog posts (up to 3 per person), people blogging about the giveaway, and people who are followers. i kept track of all the entries in an excel sheet (numbered down the side, so much easier than counting the comments!!), first writing the names of all the folks who commented in the order they commented, and then adding their name again for each valid entry. and then i used random.org to pick the winner.

this is what it came up with!



checking against the excel sheet, number 66 was Melanie, who got her second entry by commenting on another blog post.



congratulations Melanie!



thank you so much to everyone who played along! thank you for all the blog name suggestions, and reassurances that the name i have now is fine (i don't know why i'm silly about it!), all the vinyl applique ideas, and everything else!

rikrak studio giveaway

oh! and i wanted to tell you about ANOTHER giveaway! (there are more to come tomorrow - i know, it's giveaway madness in blogland right now!)
rikrak studio is doing a followers giveaway right now. the prize is one of their awesome vintage fabric clutches, and to win you must be following the blog!

(click on the graphic to go straight there!)

more Giveaways!

oh my goodness, there are such amazing giveaways out there!

The Fabric Shopper is giving away 30 Fat Quarters Katie Jump Rope by Denyse Schmidt!! wow! the bundle looks amazing, doesn't it?



My Fabric Obsession is giving away three sets of Michael Miller flannel fat quarters, this set's my favourite!



Lila Mae Quilts is giving away six fat quarters - Five Amy Butler Daisy Chain in Grey, and one Tula Pink Full Moon Forest in Aqua. aren't they yummy?



Crafty Girls Workshop is giving away TWO Moda charm packs, plus a yard of coordinating fabric and a pattern! (if you go to her blog from here, please mention me!)


The Crafty Librarian is celebrating 100 posts AND the Sewn Launch by doing a surprise giveaway!



Cinzia is giving away two different prizes, dependent on where you're from - if Australia you have the chance of winning an oriental pin cushion and for those who come from overseas it will be a donut pincushion.

The Pretty Partridge is giving away a copy of Bend the Rules Sewing by Amy Karol of Angry Chicken. i'm hesitant to even tell you this, considering how much i've been dying for that book!



Snippets'n'Scraps is giving away this gorgeous pincushion, thread catcher and matching fabric (it would make a great sewing machine cover to match the others!)



Mid Ohio Knitter is giving away 4 different prizes! they include 2 charm packs of Heritage Collections for a Cause by Moda, A small fat eighth bundle and a pincushion,
and a charm pack of Wonderland by MoMo for Moda (my favourite!)



Serendipity Design is giving away a packet that includes a fat quarter, some embroidery thread, ric rac and other assorted items. Go check it out, and while you're at it, admire the bags she's posted in that post. aren't they lovely?


The Quilting Book Lady is giving away two books, The Quiltmaker's Gift and it's companion, which includes patterns to make the quilts from the picture book.



BumbleBeans is giving away a whole stack of summer themed novelty prints They look so cheerful!



and of course, don't forget MY GIVEAWAY!