drumroll please...

And the winner is...

Flying Blind!  Woot woot!  I'll be emailing you!

xox,
c

Pin It

quilt as you go 241 totes (plus a giveaway)

When I met up with Ms KateyZ to head down to Portland I fell head over heels with her 241 tote. Literally grabbing it out of her hands when we got into her car! I've seen a lot of these around online, but this was the first quilt as you go version. QAYG makes this bag rock!

I've since made 3 and wanted to share a few tips I've come up with along the way.

My first tip involves the general quilt as you go process.  I've been noticing lately that the trend is to start with one scrap, quilt it down, then add another, quilt it down, etc (like my photo above).   I did one bag this way but quickly realized that while it looks great, it's really time consuming. 

Instead I reverted to the traditional quilt as you go method, which is to sew together a block  then quilt the block.  In this case I wasn't sewing a traditional quilt block but rather a whole bunch of scraps into a slab of fabric roughly the shape of the pattern piece.  Working this way is faster and can give a more random look.

Quilt as you go results in some shrinkage of you batting and fabric, so tip number 2 is cut everything that will be quilted a bit bigger than you need then trim it down after the quilting.

For this I used heavier cardstock pattern pieces that I'd cut out.  If you think you might make more than one of these totes, I can't recommend a cardstock pattern enough!

Remember when you're picking your colour scheme that it needs to go with your wardrobe!  I'm giving the brown version to my mum, who wears a lot of black, often with bits of brown.  The blue and grey hexie version is perfect for my wardrobe since they're the neutrals I wear most often (yes, blue is a neutral!  Jeans, right?).

This bag isn't very big, but it still can benefit from a bright liner.  Why?  So you can see things, of course!  I've never understood black linings for purses.  Everything gets lost.

So, after all that, do you think you can tackle one yourself?  If so, good news!  The gracious Anna from Noodlehead is offering a free pattern to one of my readers!  And to get you started I'm offering a pack of scraps in your choice of colours and 3 of the metallic snap closures called for in the pattern (you just need one but might want to make more than one bag).  To enter to win leave a comment letting me know what colours you'd like to use for the bag or who you'd make one for.  I'll draw a name on Friday evening.  International entries are awesome.  No guarantees of a pre-christmas delivery, though.

adios yo,
c

Pin It

chelsea quilts for me... and the winners are:

Thank you so much to everyone who entered!  It was so fun checking out everyone's quilts and starting to think about how I would quilt them.  So, without further babbling, the winners are:

smaller than 60 x 60:
Heather!

larger than 60 x 60:
Colleen!

I'll email you both later today so that we can get all the details figured out!

happy quilting,
c

Pin It

winner!

And the winner of the stack of charms is...

I'll be sending you an email so that I can get your address!

xox,
C

(just in case you're wondering how I drew for this, I added the number of followers + the number of comments.  I used random.org to draw a number {199}.  This number fell in the followers group, so I scrolled through to find who was #199)

Pin It

let me quilt that for you - link up!

 

Happy Canada Day!  Today is the start of the linky party for my quilting party.  If you're not sure what on earth I'm talking about, check out my original post here.  You've got until midnight pst on the 9th to post a link to your top you'd like quilted.  I can't wait to see what everyone has bees sewing!

link up!

Pin It

giveaway time!

Thank you so much to the 202 peeps who've decided to clutter up their reader feed with my senseless ramblings.  You rock!  So in honour of your awesomeness, a giveaway.  40 charms (5" squares) of fabric from my stash to yours.  I haven't cut anything yet, but I have pulled a few from my charm packs of Aneela's Sew Stitchy (picked up from Bake Shop Desserts) and Ellen's Quilt Blocks, which will probably make the stack.

The rules are pretty simple:

• As long as there's a postal service that will deliver to you, go ahead and enter.  
• If you're a follower via google friend connect you're already entered. 
• Want another entry?  Leave a comment about something interesting to you - another hobby, a book you've read or are looking forward to, a fabric line you can't wait to come out, a weird talent (I can pick my nose with my tongue), whatever.  Just something interesting or funny or weird

I'll let the random bot draw a number the morning of the 3rd, by which time hopefully my brain will be defuzzing from the Canada day festivities!

xox
c

Pin It

let me quilt that for you

Unfortunately for most of us that's not something Ryan Gosling's going to be whispering in our ears anytime soon.

But I am.  I want to quilt for you.  For reals.

Here's the score.  Do you have a top just waiting to be finished, a design you've put off because you know you'll never quilt it?  I want to quilt it for you, so I've decided to do a giveaway.  I'll pick two projects (one smaller than 60" by 60", one larger) and custom quilt them on my longarm.  Together we'll come up with a quilting plan to best accent your quilt, and I'll quilt it for you within a month of receiving the top.

<a href=" http://pinsandbobbins.blogspot.ca/2012/06/let-me-quilt-that-for-you.html " target="_blank"><img alt="pins & bobbins" src=" http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj595/ChelseafRogers/cqformegiveaway150badge.jpg "/></a>

What do you have to do?  Write a post showing the top you'd like quilted, why you'd like it quilted, maybe some ideas of how.  Publish the post anytime this month, including my chelsea quilts giveaway button and linking back to my blog.  If you win, provide the quilt top, back, and batting (back and batting must be 4" bigger all around than the top) and pay for shipping in both directions.  I'm in Canada so keep in mind that shipping might be more expensive and slower than in the US.

July 1st I'll open a linky party where you can link up your posts for one week.  Then I'll let mr random pick 2 winners.  This should be fun!

xox,
c

Pin It

My lucky day part the first

I know, this should be part two, but I blogged about them in the wrong order.  As long as I know what I'm talking about it's all good, right?

hexagons from a pillow made by Kati of from the blue chair

I won a bundle of 45 hexagons from Kati at from the blue chair.  She was given an Accuquilt Go! Baby along with the hexagon die and has created a gorgeous Joel Dewberry pillow with it as well as one insanely gorgeous hexie quilt.  To spread the love a bit she offered a hexie charm giveaway, and that's how I came to be expecting some love in the mail.  And to spread the love even more she's giving away one of those Accuquilt gos, so go check her out.  And don't worry, I'm not entering.  At this point, even if it comes in it's own box, I don't want to pack it.

Kati's bed.  Is it creepy posting a shot of someone else's bed?  I love the JB strip quilt

 I'm so psyched about those hexagons!  I don't know if I'm going to make a pillow like Kati's (above) or use them for my hexie charm quilt, which has kind of stalled out since I'm out of fabric.  Or more accurately have cut charms from all of my stash.  I still have fabric!  The pillow may be winning out, just because we're thinking about putting a bid on a house that would require a new couch.  And they need pillow!  Either way, after a long and boring postal lockout it will be great to get something fun in the mail!

hexagons from a pillow made by Kati of from the blue chair

xox,
c

PS:  All of the photos in this post belong to Kati from from the blue chair.  Thanks Kati!

Pin It

Sew Mama Sew giveaway day

Monday is Sew Mama Sew's giveaway day and I'm excited to be participating.  I've got a bundle of vintage Amy Butler fat quarters up for grabs.  I'll post a photo in the morning as I've got a bit of a dodgy tummy right now and barely any light.

To enter, just leave a comment.  No skill testing questions required, though I'd love it if you'd leave a link to one of your favourite blogs.  It's always great to find new ones!  The draw is open to anyone, anywhere.  I'll draw the winner on the 26th, capping entries at noon pacific.  Good luck!

C

Pin It

Impulse shopping and a giveaway!

 

I have a couple of local quilt shops but neither have a good selection of modern prints or solids.  So most of my shopping is done online and I'll admit I don't have the most restraint when it comes to shopping online.  Which brings me to today's dilemma.  I bought this beautiful bundle of kona greens, but green really isn't my thing.  Decor wise I love blues with pops of pink and orange for contrast.  The rest of my fabric stash falls firmly in the pink/orange/yellow range.  Greens?  What was I thinking?

What also arrived in the mail was my Spoonflower Heather Ross fabric.  I wasn't too sure about the grasshopper print when I ordered it, but now I love it and wish I'd bought more.  And the little girl with her horseys is HR perfection.  And this brings us to the giveaway.  Yup, a fat quarter of each.

How do you enter? The first part of my post should be a strong hint.  All you need to do is leave me a suggestion of what to make with those greens.  And for a second chance to win, follow me and let me know about it.  Easy peasey.

clockwise from top left: The Poseidon Quilt from Red Pepper Quilts, Sherbet Dreams from Kate Conklin Designs, Something I've come up with, Ice Cream for All #2 from Helen Richards Quilts

These are a few of the designs I'm considering for those greens, but I'm open to any and all inspiration.  And because I'm a meany, if you don't suggest something in your comment, you're out of the running.  Yup, I'm just like that.

salut,
C

ps  wow, can't believe I forgot to mention that I'll draw a name Sunday morning.

Pin It

A while back I posted a review of my The Cutting Edge ruler.  Pat Sloan read my review (I know, right?) and offered to replace the ruler that I'd broken unwrapping my package (again, wow!).  Since Pat was so awesome to me and my original ruler still works perfectly (and I still love it), I thought I'd use the ruler for a giveaway!

Want to win an awesome ruler that sharpens your blades as you cut, doesn't slip around and is perfect for squaring up big blocks?  Who wouldn't, right?  So here's 3 ways to enter:

1.  Leave a comment on this post!  Easy right?  And since I'm thinking about taking the plunge and starting up a longarm quilting business, I'd love any comments about your thoughts or experiences with longarm quilting, links to great longarmers, etc.  And hey, if you want to help finance it, that would be awesome, too.  (kidding, unless you're my parents!)

2.  Blog about this giveaway and leave a comment letting me know.

3.  Add my blog to your link list/blogroll and leave a comment letting me know.

I'll be drawing the winner next Sunday.

Good luck!

C

Pin It

Giveaway!

The Plaid Scottie has got an awesome giveaway going on at her blog! She's a pretty fabulous quilter so give it a look.

Pin It