Giveaway day? Oops!

To anyone clicking over from a comment... I'm a month behind in my blog feed reader, and either they didn't announce the giveaway day far enough in advance or I missed it!  So, no giveaways this time around.  Sorry, and come back next time!

Winners!

The winner of the pacifier/toy holder is #43, lefty.rollins, who said, "Thanks for this giveaway! While my baby girl doesn't use a pacifier, she does like to drop her toys all the time. This would be great!"

And the winner of the knitting books is #45, Nicole Sender, who's wishing for a Kindle Fire for Christmas!

I loved hearing everyone's Christmas wishes - my favorite was the person wishing for eyebrows to grow back.  Wish I knew the story there!

Thanks for playing :)

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day - pacifier/toy holder

It's time for the giveaway day!

In addition to the knitting books, I'm also giving away a pacifier/toy clip like the ones in my store:

It can be used to hold various kinds of pacifiers, including the Soothie type, and toys with a thin area to put the elastic loop around.

I've been disturbed to see people selling ones they describe as having a 24" strap - that's not safe.  There's a reason you'll never see a commercially-produced one like that.  Mine have roughly 6-8" straps, that cannot wrap around a child's neck!

The one I didn't get to photograph with the rest is pink and white polka dots with a pink clip and a white loop:

(colors brighter in real life - camera's out of commission, so have to rely on telephone!)

Giveaway open through Friday, I'll do a random drawing Saturday morning, and I'll ship anywhere (shipping time may take longer overseas, as I can't use the automated machine).

If you're interested, leave a comment telling me who it would be for!

When I'm not making pacifier clips, I make monkey hats:

Sweet baby dresses (and a sweet baby):

Traditional quilts:

Historical costumes (worn at Dickens on the Strand last week):

And all sorts of other things - I have a making compulsion :)

Happy giveaway week :)

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!

It's Giveaway Day!

Today I'm giving away two knitting books: Stitch and Bitch Nation and Knit Two Together. 

They're both very good books, with many good patterns, and a few silly patterns each, but just not right for me right now (when nearly all I make is baby stuff).

Giveaway open through Friday, I'll do a random drawing Saturday morning, and I'll ship anywhere (shipping time may take longer overseas, as I can't use the automated machine).

Let me know what you want for Christmas (or if you don't do Christmas, your birthday), and you're in.  I'm reverting to childhood and hoping for a bicycle, a basic cruiser with a big comfy seat, to hitch the trailer up to and haul the baby around town. Preferably in purple with a bell and maybe streamers.

Why am I not using these knitting books now?  Well, I've been busy... I make monkey hats:

Sweet baby dresses (and a sweet baby):

Traditional quilts:

Historical costumes (worn at Dickens on the Strand last week):

And all sorts of other things - I have a making compulsion :)

Happy giveaway week :)

I won! First project: baby pinwheels

I won a few things on the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!

The first prize to arrive was this:

a charm pack from from blank pages....

All lovely!  It doesn't quite match the baby's things, and I haven't been sewing for myself much with the option to sew for babies, and it's so fun I don't want to sit around waiting for something to strike me as the right project, so... I have a friend with a baby of as-yet-unknown gender on the way, and the parents aren't too worried about giving a boy things with pink... so I think I'll make this:

the Windy Days Quilt found over at Moda Bake Shop.  I love the scattered nature of the pinwheels and that they're different sizes - looks more random, while still being orderly enough to suit my engineer-brain, and not "wonky," which wouldn't suit my engineer-brain at all.

But with a dark background instead of the white - both makes it a little more modern, to suit the recipients, and much more stainy-baby-friendly!    

A bit of my own stash for one or two of the bigger pinwheels and I should be ready to go!

Good luck on the giveaways!

Last December I won a few bags, both of which I use regularly, and one of which I am never without - I won this bag from BettyCrockerAss (ha!)

At her suggestion - and thanks to the packet of wipes she stored inside - I use it as my diapering case.  It's on my wrist when we're stepping to the changing area and I don't need to take the whole stroller/diaper bag, and it's in the diaper bag otherwise.  It's great when you win something so useful!  (Even more useful - the baby came two weeks early, and those were the only wipes we owned when she showed up!)

Here it is in its regular location, accompanied by the nursing cover my mother made me (couldn't sit at the sewing machine the last six weeks, so she took over!) and one of our beloved cloth diapers (another is in the bag, along with a just-in-case disposable):

I'm hoping to win things this time, but even if I don't - I've found many new blogs to subscribe to.  And I enter only things that I actually like, and subscribe only to blogs I'll actually (plan to) read, so consider yourself admired if I entered/subscribed (or commented on another post - as I'll do if I like your blog but don't need whatever is in the giveaway!).

Good luck, everyone!

Giveaway winner!

The winner of the giveaway... via random.org...

Darcy said...
I don't quilt, but I lurve the fabric. And because you told me to.

May 25, 2011 2:37 PM

Hooray Darcy! Fabric coming your way on Saturday!

Giveaway! and can this quilt be saved?

 So I'm making this quilt for my sister.  It's supposed to look like this excellent quilt... but I realized I don't have a good color sense.  (My mother's been telling me that for years, and the husband has even very delicately started in... hers is "are you going to go outside wearing that with that?" and his is a diffident "do you normally wear those two things together?")  Looking at it now, I see I should have made the stars out of the colored flower bits that make the stretched hexagons.  There are stars there, just you can barely make them out.

(This is the backing, with a red binding.)

So, does anyone have any hints for how to quilt it (at home - I don't do the "send it to someone else and have their computer quilt it" thing, although I do understand it's faster) so that the stars are emphasized rather than the oblong shapes?  Colors, techniques, anything?  Would using a thick/fluffy polyester batting (rather than thin bamboo/cotton) and putting most of the quilting in the non-star areas help?

(Redoing it is not an option - I don't have any more fabric!)

But now on to what you want... the giveaway!

Whether or not you're willing/able to give me "can this quilt be saved" advice, I have up for offer 2 yards of silk chiffon from Universal Fabrics here in Houston.  I bought it because it's fabulous, but I've got no idea of what to do with it, so I'm leaving it up to you. 

Here's a shot on a chair back so you get the scale:

And a close-up of the hilarious pattern, also showing how sheer it is (it's folded up behind itself at the bottom of the photo):

(I saw a greetings card once with various structured undergarments on it; the inside said, "thanks for your support!")

To win, just post a comment of any kind.  Quilting advice welcome, but not necessary.  A way to contact you (i.e. no "no-reply" profiles) is necessary, of course.

(Random) Drawing on May 26th.

Shipping note: I had some issues last time with the giveaway - I live next door to a post office, but it's open only when I'm at work, so I have to wait for a day off work when the post office is open (i.e. no holidays) to ship internationally (the machine will ship domestically any time).  I had a day free just after the giveaway, but a family emergency kept me from the post office on that one day, and it was over a month until I had a non-holiday weekday off work again.  So, this time, US/Canada only, unless you're willing to wait a while for shipping.  (If you're willing to wait, you can submit from anywhere!)

Giveaway day

(Just a nice picture)

I'll be participating in the Giveaway Day again this year:

So come back next week!

Winners!

So, I posted 3 giveaways without thinking how I'd award them.  Random might choose all 3 people who wanted the same thing!  So, I figured, just keep hitting random until I'd gotten 3 people ("I like them all" would get whatever the others didn't want).  But, luck was with me, and 1, 2, and 3 each hit people who wanted different things!

Without further ado: 

The yarn goes to:

#31 Sara said...
The yarn is really cool!!!

Thanks for the giveaway...

New Hampshire... haven't been much past Boston, but I sure don't envy your weather right now...

The book goes to:

#18 Mystica said...
I like the book. ! Thanks for sharing

(Sri Lanka? nice! Haven't been further south than Tamil Nadu, but I'll make it across the water some day...)

And the headband goes to the person I chose first, who was going to get the leftover, but who got the wished-for headband anyhow:

#84 Macska said...

These are so lovely! Thanks for the chance to be in to win one of them. :-)

I'd love any of these as a gift, but especially that headband - it's gorgeous.

Have a great Christmas! 

New Zealand!  That's the husband's desired travel destination.  One of these days...

Your prizes will be in the mail after I get your information; as mentioned, due to having to fill out forms when real people are staffing the post office, it may take a bit longer for the international entrants.

Thanks, everyone, for entering; a headband may make its way into my shop in a few days, depending on how many cousins make it into town; if not, then there will be some in the future :) 


And thanks for the birthday wishes for my mother!

Giveaway!

Welcome to the Sew, Mama, Sew giveaway day!  (And my mother's 60th birthday!)

Today there are three options.

I'm giving away a headband, like I'm making all the (girl) cousins for Christmas.  (Knitted with a crocheted flower.)

And I'm giving away this little (4x5 ish) coptic-bound book, handy for writing things in.

And, in case you want to do it yourself, some boucle yarn, in three colors.  I tried (ignoring the label) to crochet with it (about 2 feet of the yellow), threw a fit, and decided not even to try knitting with it.  Maybe you'll have more luck!

To enter, tell me what you'd like - that's all.  Open until the 17th.  Yes, I do ship internationally (but it may take past the deadline for me to ship to you, as I can't use the automated postal unit for international shipping, and the post office is only open when I'm at work).

Watch This Space

I'm still alive!

My hours changed at work (I know, shoddy excuse), so I've been getting home later, and haven't had time to post things before dinner.  In six months.  Anyhow,  I'll be in the Sew Mama Sew giveaway tomorrow, so come back then! 

Giveaways

So I meant to come back and post again, but for the past three days I've been surfing all of Sew Mama Sew's giveaways!  I've subscribed to many new blogs (note: if your blog only puts the title or a line or two in the feed, you have to be exceptionally fabulous for me to keep you.  I like full posts!), and I've entered many giveaways -- only for things I'll actually use, so if you're coming back to see me from your giveaway post, it's because I liked your stuff, not just because it was free!

The only one I'm actually mentioning is a giveaway by Sweet Tea Mom, because they're the cutest potholders ever.  I've made some cute ones myself, and bought some cute ones, and skipped over many giveaways of ones that weren't cuter than what I've already got... but hers win!  Go see them :)

(Not that all the fabric giveaways aren't awesome.  Just these really are great potholders!)

Brief notes

Oddly unable to find time to post lately, although I can find time for other things...

But just wanted to say:

This skull hat is awesome, totally making one for my teenage cousin.

And, See Mommy Sew is giving away fun scrappy bits -- and Between the Lines has cards! and beautiful things!

That's all -- the husband's on the night shift for a week, so I should be able to get stuff done, photograph it, and publish it!  (Now my 15 mins are up, so back to work!)

New Yarn

Look what I won from a Pfat Fiber giveaway!

It is such a lovely blend, so soft, and the colors are just gorgeous (see the dress below -- I like those colors!)... I'm a convert. The marketing plan worked -- when next I buy yarn like this, I'm highly inclined to make My8KidsMom my first stop!

Any ideas what to make with it? It's more than I'd need for a regular pair of socks... could make super-long socks, or something non-sock-ish... suggestions?

Winner!

The Randomness Generator at random.org gave me number 6! That would be Purple Paisley Patch who said...

I love the name of your blog, and I absolutely LOVE the gorgeous purple book you're giving away! I sooooo hope I win! :-)

Congratulations :) And for everyone else, hope you stick around -- I'm a sporadic poster, so I shouldn't take up too much of your time if you stick me in your reader!

Giveaway!

My very first giveaway!

Sew, Mama, Sew! is having a giveaway day, and I don't know if I got in on time or not (if not, I'll try to stick myself in their twitter feed), but, either way, here's my prize:

A little blank book, coptic-bound in purply-pink thread, with purple covers and silvery endpapers.
(EDIT: my husband says it's not purple, it's pink on the covers... I'm not good with colors, but I think he's right.)

It's not absolutely perfect, so my perfectionist self won't let me sell it, but it's really quite nice and good for a giveaway! It may not be sew-ish, but it is sewn with needle and thread, lack of fabric notwithstanding... and the sew-ish people can use it to jot down pattern ideas :)



To win, leave any comment at all below. Open until next Monday morning.

Surprise!

I won Rozi's giveaway. Today the package arrived!

Check out those funky stamps :) Her handwriting's nifty, too.

So fancy, that paper's totally being used for something else (another book?) sometime soon.
And then the final unveiling:

So pretty :) Thanks!

Packet of fun stuff!

OOOOHhhh look at all the fun stuff here -- I want it!

Tonight: pumpkin soup (my 2nd recipe off of Anna Maria Horner's apron-for-soup cookbook so far).

Tomorrow: Clean house because contractors are coming by to fix the Ike leaks, and Himself's cousins are coming in to town.

If I can fit it in over the weekend:
That's right, the Greek Festival's going on one block from my house. Better find time to go, in-between taking time off from work for contractors and in-laws!

Also doing a plastic canvas I got off of freecycle, because it makes me happy and goes so much faster than the 2-year crossstitch I've been doing for a present for someone... it's really not my style, but I love it anyhow. Pictures when done (hopefully soon!).

Speaking of pictures, I did a secret belgian binding -- and it's lovely. Pictures soon, I promise.