"Granddaddy" of a Giveaway!

So instead of me showing you new fabrics or projects this week, how would you personally like to get your hands on a little "crafty" goodness? Not only that, but this one is a "Granddaddy" of a giveaway with three different prizes. That's right, count 'em one, two, three!

So, what's up for grabs?... let's start out with the real "biggie" Amy Butler's "Style Stitches" book. The "Cosmo Bag", which I showed you in an earlier post is included in the book, plus eleven other beautiful bag patterns with 26 different ways to make 'em.

Anstatt in dieser Woche neue Stoffe oder Handarbeitsprojekte zu zeigen, wäre doch ein kleines "Giveaway" Gewinnspiel zur Abwechslung nicht schlecht - oder? Vor allem gibt es dieses Mal nicht nur einen Preis, sondern ein ganzes Preispaket mit drei verschiedenen Zutaten!

Und hier sind die Preise - der Gewinner gewinnt sie alle: 1. Das wundervolle Amy Butler Buch "Style Stitches" mit 12 tollen Schnittmustern und 26 verschiedenen Varianten.

Here's a few other samples from the book... can't you just feel your fingers itching ready to sew?!?

Source

Since I haven't been able to work with the new Anna fabrics, why not let someone else have a go at it? ... one meter of fabric from the "LouLouThi" collection by Anna Maria Horner. (you split it up how you like... either one meter of one fabric, two half meters of two fabrics, or four "fat quarters"!)

2. 1 m Stoff aus der neuen "LouLouThi" Kollektion von Anna Maria Horner. Der Stoff kann auch aufgeteilt werden, in 2 x 0,5 m oder 4 Fat Quarter Stücke.

... and last, but not least, four meters of Jessica Jones jacquard ribbons! These juicy colors are just right for finishing up some of your summer projects.

3. 4 m Jaquard Zierband von Jessica Jones aus meinem Online-Shop. Das "i-Tüpfelchen" für jedes Nähprojekt!

O.K... so it doesn't end there. Spread the word, and this time I am offering for as many times as someone mentions that they heard about this giveaway from you, I'll throw your name in the hat that many times... a really good way to increase your chances, I'd say. So what do you have to do? Just tell me about your summer sewing projects... do you have any? does your sewing machine collect dust in the summer because you are always on the go? do you have more time, and create more than ever? What's on your "to do" list of projects?

The lucky winner will be announced August 17th when I get back from the States... what's that you didn't even know that I was gone?!? Come on now, surely you noticed a few less posts these days didn't you?

ERHÖHE DEINE CHANCE! Erzähle Deinen FreundInnen von meiner Aktion und lass sie bei ihrem Kommentar Deinen Namen erwähnen. Für jede Namensnennung kommt Dein Name zusätzlich in die Lostrommel! Schreibt mir einfach über Eure "Sommer-Näh-Projekte"! Hast Du überhaupt welche oder setzt Deine Nähmaschine über Sommer Staub an? Oder nähst Du extra viel, da Du endlich einmal Zeit hast (bei dem Wetter...)? Was steht auf Deiner "Projekt Liste"?

Also dann viel Glück! Die GewinnerIn wird am 17. August bekannt gegeben, wenn ich wieder aus den Staaten zurück bin. Was, Du wusstest noch nicht mal, das ich verreist bin? Sicherlich hast Du doch schon ein paar Blogeinträge von mir vermisst - oder?

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lou LOU thi

Every year in spring and fall, I sit like a perched lion, scouring the internet for the latest news from the Spring & Fall International Quilt Markets... waiting to see who introduced what and which fabrics we will see hitting the market in the coming months. Let me just say that I have been quite excited about the latest collection from Anna Maria Horner, "LouLouThi", which means "flower" in Greek.

Photo Source

"LouLouThi" definitely has a different feel to it than Anna's previous collection, "Innocent Crush". There are repeats of some of the same vibrant, bold, deep, rich colors, which allow many of the fabrics to blend and coordinate quite nicely.

Dots are such a great pattern to combine with other fabrics, adding lots of interest and pulling out accent colors. At first I wasn't sure why the following fabrics were named "Hugs & Kisses" until I took a closer look... little XOXO's add a sweet subtleness that is not at first glance quite so obvious. Precious.

So for now, I will leave it at that this is now my new favorite collection... at least until the next fabric collection comes along... oh my, it's not easy being so fair-weathered.

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Thoughts on Collecting Dust

So, it is quite easy for one to be over-ambitious and put a million things on the "to-do" list, which Linkmost likely will never happen. (are you guilty of it too?) I guess that's what happened when I made it a goal to make a diaper bag before the little guy got here... do you remember?

Project after project distracted me from completing it, but I always had it in my head to finish it. At the time we simply opted for practicality rather than handmade. But isn't that the nice thing about pulling out old projects, dusting them off, and finishing them?!? A little late, but better than never, I decided to pull out the fabric that I had set aside then for the diaper bag and make the "Cosmo Bag" (on the cover) that is found in Amy Butler's latest book "Style Stitches"... kind of killing two birds with one stone - a diaper bag, well actually it has graduated to toy bag status, and a sample pattern for our show.

It might have taken me a little time, but it certainly is a satisfying feeling that not all projects that I start end up in the "unfinished" pile.

What do you have, other than furniture, that is collecting dust too? (come on now, I know I'm not the only one, right?)

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Der Arbeitsdirektor

My father-in-law has nicknamed our little guy "Der Arbeitsdirektor" (the work director) Hmmm.... it seems as if it is quite the fitting name.

It's so good to have summer back. You know, the kind of weather where kids run around all day long in just a body and sun hat, and make it look so super darn cute while doing it. Please, summer, won't you stick around for a while?

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"It's a Hoot"

So I thought I would do a couple of "looking back" posts from things that I made for the show that I never got a chance to show you. Did you notice, nestled in between the bolts of fabric my little "Hu Hu" friend?

I wanted to have a few samples in the booth showing what can be done with different fabrics... such a super sweet collection from MoMo. I love to show non-traditional uses for fabric. Susanne whipped up a couple pillows from the collection (I would love to link back to her, but she hasn't started her blog yet... ; ) wink, wink, hint, hint - be sure to tell her that she should!) and I framed a few of the prints to tie it all together.

I had originally wanted to sew this owl softie, but did not like the way it looked when it was all sewn together. So I simply used it as a template, added a soft fleece for a more dimensional look, painted a couple felt flowers, added eyes, and machine embroidered text... spray glued it down and put it in a frame... super cute for a kids room, don't you think?

Did you know that even animals make different sounds in English and in German?... an English "speaking" owl would say "ho ho"... a dog "ruff, ruff", a rooster "cock-a-doodle-do", a frog "ribbit"... I know all these insignificant things because of the English/German books I read to my little guy.... just a little bit of useless info worked in there for your day.

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From: The Garden

Despite the fact that I neglect her so... I cherish the fact that my dear, sweet, garden still sends me little "love letters" from time to time.

... are you looking for yours?

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Windrädchen

So, did you happen to notice the fun and playful pinwheels that were at the front of our booth with the fabric display?

For all you out there who love beautiful fabrics, but hate to sew... this one is for you. Such a simple, easy, no sew project that would be so adorable as table decorations, a cute little "extra" to add to a flower arrangement, or just a fun project with the kids.

Wanna do it yourself? Here's what you need:

A few of your favorite coordinating fabrics
Medium to heavy weight iron-in interfacing
Double sided iron-in interfacing (Wonder Under or Vliesofix)
Dowel rods or other stick
Flat head sewing pins
Hammer/small nails
Scissors or cutting mat and roll cutter

Cut two squares from two different coordinating fabrics. For the large pinwheel I used a 6 inch (ca. 15 cm) square and a 5 inch (ca. 12.5 cm) for the small one. Place squares on medium/heavy weight interfacing and iron. Cut excess interfacing. Sandwich the double sided interfacing between each of the interfaced squares. Iron & trim. (here's a picture of how the pinwheel should look showing cutting and pinning marks) Mark the center of the square, this is where your pin goes later. Cut from the corner of each of the four corners towards the center being careful to not cut all the way to the center mark. Pull one cut edge from each side towards the center, repeat with other three sides overlapping in the center. Run the pin through the pulled up edges through the center mark. Make a small pre-hole in the dowel rod using the hammer and nail. Place head pin in the pre-hole of the dowel rod and lightly hammer in place.

For finishing touches ideas:

Pick a favorite vase or container. For stability, fill with floral foam. Poke finished pinwheel rods through foam. Cover top with moss. Add decorative accents as desired.

Looking for these bright and colorful Erin McMorris fabrics?

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The Long Awaited Booth

Now that I've had a little time to reflect after the show, there are a few things about the booth that I realized after looking back:

1. Every time we do a show, (which is essentially now once a year due to the little one) once everything is put together and decorated, I marvel at how much stuff I have and once again realize that I could actually open a store tomorrow and not have to worry about having any empty spots.

2. When I take into consideration that we did this show last year with a brand new three month old baby, I have to ask myself if I even remember it or if I was totally out of my mind.

3. Having actually taken photos of the booth this year, I realized that I have done lots more than I have had the time to take photos of and show you... thus often I end up spewing a lot of hot air about the fact that I am busy, but am too busy to show you just how busy I am.

With all that being said, I will make you wait no longer for the photos from the show... wheh, it's nice to breathe again.

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Park & Garden "In Color"

After we got home from the show and I sorted through my pictures, I noticed a real trend when I looked at them as a grouping. I'm not really sure if it was the fact that I am naturally drawn to purples and pinks, or if it was simply that these were the trend colors that dominated the stands, and obviously my camera lens. Either way... purple really does it for me, and always has. So much so that my mother-in-law has thought for years that it is my favorite color instead of green.

Hmmm... kinda makes one reconsider the status of things.

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