Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Scraptastic Tuesday - April winners!



Wow, it's Scraptastic Tuesday again. Before I award the prizes, I wanted to talk about scrap management and scrappy project plans, yet again. My scraps are out of control and I have not been motivated to use them. Here are my thoughts:

  • Organization: I have organized my scraps by colour, and I took all the strips of any width and put them into their own box. That resulted in me finishing Villa and I just need to continue using those strips. The problem is that I keep thinking I should try some different strip pattern and then I get stuck on which pattern to start. And I never open those boxes of other size scraps. My plan:
        • Make a pinboard of blocks and quilts that use scrappy strips - both uneven width strips and strips that are the same width, and then maybe I can focus when I have time to sew and make one or more of those quilts or blocks.
        • Cut 5" and 2.5" squares: My bins have smaller pieces left, so I think if I cut those pieces into 5" squares these can be combined with left over charm packs, and if nothing else I can make giant plus quilts. And I want to make some pixellated style rainbow sort of quilts and 2.5" squares should work. I do hate cutting fabric but then again, when I can't decide on what to sew, cutting squares might work and lead to the start of some sewing.
    • Scraps multiply: Every single time I make anything, there are more scraps. And I have started looking at my bits of fat quarters and I know that many people consider anything less than a fat quarter to be a scrap - which means that much of my "stash" is actually scraps as I put those partial fat quarters back on the shelf. My plan: 
          • Look at partial fat quarters as I have them on the cutting table to use them for projects and if I cannot imagine a use for them if I fold them and put them my shelf anytime soon, then cut them into strips, including one that is 5" wide if possible, and add the strips to the box of scrappy strips. The 5" wide strips can also be cut into squares, but to start I will probably keep them as 5" wide strips as that leaves more options (skinnier strips, squares, rectangles, etc.)
          • Work through my "stash" shelves by colour and decide which fabrics I will likely never use and add those to the donate box, cut other smaller pieces into the strips and squares as mentioned above, and press and refold the pieces that I want to keep in the stash and put them neatly back on the shelves. This will also count as a spring cleaning which is a bonus.
          • Start throwing out small little scrappy bits, no matter how guilty it makes me feel. This would include the left over bits in the scrap bins. I might offer them to my MQG first, but truly, I don't use these little bits but having them around makes me feel guilty. This will be the hardest part.-=0-=
      • Accountability; Planning is not enough. My plan:
          • Report back here at least once a month.
          • Evaluate my scrap use at the end of June, to correspond to the end of Q2 of the FAL. 
          • Try not to start 15 new scrap projects, but instead to limit the new projects to a small number so that they will also be finishes.
      Enough, it's time to thank our lovely sponsors, and award the prizes for the April Scraptastic Tuesday Link.


      A huge thank you to our generous sponsors for providing the following prizes which will be awarded randomly among those of you who link up.
      We will be emailing all of the winners shortly. Thank you for sharing your April scrappy inspiration and please plan to join Nicky from Mrs. Sew and Sow and I again on the second Tuesday in May 10 - for the next Scraptastic Tuesday link.

      By the way, if you are looking for some scrappy inspiration, a visit to the links is worth your time.

      Best,

      Leanne

      Sunday, April 17, 2016

      Q1 FAL Winners - Congratulations and thank you to our generous sponsors!

      2016 button 500 best

      Today is the day we are announcing the winners for the First Quarter of the FAL. Those of us who are lucky enough to be hosts this year have had the fortunate experience to be inspired by all the finishes of the first quarter - a record breaking 838!!

      If you are low on inspiration or maybe your sewing mojo has been missing lately, we highly recommend you visit some of the finishes from Q1.

      Rhonda, our trusty FAL leader,  is going to email all of you winners over the weekend, unless you email her first after reading this. Rhonda will need to hear back from the winners by Friday, April 23 so that she can arrange to get your prize to you, and if she does not hear from you by then she will pick an alternate.

      Thank you again to our generous sponsors and congratulations to each of our winners!

      Without further ado, the winners - each picked by the random number generator - of the Q1 FAL prizes are:  

      Oakshott-Aruba-button

      The winner of the Oakshott Fabric Gift Certificate goes to Sewgrateful Quilts who made this gorgeous whole quilt:


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      tartankiwi kiwi logo

      The winner of 3 patterns from Tartankiwi goes to Jackie (@nwpatchwork on IG) who made this pretty rainbow mini:


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      intrepid thread_button02

      The winner of the $50 Gift Certificate to The Intrepid Thread is Emilee (@amelialoveskat on IG) who made this wonderful pink & green quilt:


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      happy-quilting-blog-button

      The winner of the choice of 3 patterns from Happy Quilting is Emily who blogs at The Darling Dogwood and made this bright I-Spy Quilt:


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      Green Fairy Quilts shopGFQbutton

      A $25 gift certificate from Green Fairy Quilts goes to Brenda who blogs at The Quilting Nook who stitched this beauty:

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      BlossomHeartQuiltsbutton
      A copy of DIY Block Design from Blossom Heart Quilts goes to Allison who blogs at Campbell Soup Diary and finished her Farm Girl Vintage Quilt:


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      MAP10 Banners

      The $40 gift certificate from Mad about Patchwork goes to Deanna (@sewasigo on IG) who made this handy apron:
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      Clover & Violet Logo Buttons
      The winner of 3 patterns from Clover & Violet is link Taryn (@forkandneedle on IG) who made this lovely quilt:


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      Fluffy Sheep th_Shopbutton Fluffy sheep

      The winner of the €25 (25 Euro) Gift Certificate from Fluffy Sheep Quilting goes to Jodie who blogs at The Craft Room and made this gorgeous EPP star quilt:


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      Christa Quilts logo300 Christa quilts

      The winner of a copy of Machine Quilting with Style from Christa Quilts goes to Heidi who blogs at Red Letter Quilts and surprised her mom with this quilt:


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      7 Acres Cleared Fabric Shop 9373437_orig

      A $50 Gift Certificate from 7 Acres Cleared Fabric Shop goes to Raquel (@colourmehappy2 on IG) who crocheted on beautiful blanket:


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      Make Modern Logo
      A 6-month subscription to Make Modern goes to Ella who blogs at Throw a Wench in the Works (man I love that blog name) and made this extremely graphic quilt:


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      porchswingquilts

      The first winner of 3 patterns from Porch Swing Quilts is Melanie who blogs at Melanie's Kunstraum and made this (along with many other) charity quilt:

      Charity Quilt No. 3 "From Outside In" |mell-meyer.de

      The second winner of 3 patterns from Porch Swing Quilts is Allison who blogs at Allison Sews and made these two pot holders out of one pieces of FMQ challenge:


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      SunnyDay Supply Square

      The $30 gift certificate from Sunny Day Supply goes to @kath34 on IG who finished her second pillow, gotta love a couple quilted pillows on the couch:


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      COVERMASTER

      The winner of a copy of Windy City Bags from Sew Sweetness is @Mandarien7 on IG who made this extremely festive quilt:


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      sew sisters

      The $25 gift certificate to Sew Sisters Quilt Shop goes to Mandi (@must_love_quilts on IG) who made this stunning Tula Pink quilt:


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      marinerscompass

      The $50 Gift Certificate from Mariner's Compass Quilt Shop goes to Mary who blogs at Mary Emmens and finally pulled her finger out and sewed with knits and ended up with this gorgeous top:


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      on the windy

      The winner of the Pattern Pack from On the Windy Side goes to Suzie's Armoire who made this super-cute Mini:


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      FatQuarterShop-Circle-300x300

      The $50 gift certificate from Fat Quarter Shop goes to Audrey who blogs at Hot Pink Quilts and made this handsome quilt for her daddy:


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      The winner of 2 pin bowls from Laurel Bee Designs is Kat who blogs at Kat's Craft and made her brother this matching quilt and pillow:

       

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      imagine gnats button

      The winner of the $40 gift certificate to Imagine Gnats is Becky who made this beautifully festive (and extremely early) Christmas table runner:

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      Sew Me A Song Logo

      The winner of the $20 gift certificate from Sew Me a Song is Staci who blogs at The Confused Quilter and finished one of two identical quilts like this:


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      knotted thread 125

      The winner of the $30 gift certificate to Knotted Thread is Lynz who blogs at Domestic Light and Magic and made this gorgeous Brumby:

       

      You are so stinking cute (as my 5 yo granddaughter would say) Lynz!!!

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      Simply solida SS_logo_RGB_high

      The winner of the £40 (40 Pound) Gift Certificate from Simply Solids is Sane, Crazy, Crumby Quilts who made this very pretty quilt:

       

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      Quilt Ranch logo

      The $25 gift certificate from The Quilt Ranch goes to Angelina who blogs at Quilting after Dark and made this incredibly eerie quilt for the Rocky Horror Challenge sponsored by the Badass Quilter's Society:

           

      It is so lovely to see the FAL working to encourage so many finishes. Good luck to everyone this quarter, I sure enjoy seeing your finishes pop up over the quarter too.

      Best,

      Leanne