one shabby chick

Geared For Guys

I was so excited when Emily emailed me and asked if I wanted to be part of her Geared For Guys blog tour.

She is an  amazing fabric designer! Her previous lines include Hall of Fame and Going Costal and she has a new line coming out soon.

But what a great idea for a book, right?! All quilts geared towards guys!!

There are 8 amazing quilts in this book - I think this is my favorite:

or maybe this one (Helix):

or this one (Oddball):

Great quilts to choose from for any of the guys (or boys) in your life! And you all have a chance to win a copy of the book.

Just leave a comment telling me who your favorite guy is and why.....I think if you read my blog, you know my favorite guy is my hubby :-) - he's just so wonderful to me and the kids and I feel so lucky to have him!

OK I'll pick a winner on Friday, May 25th!

You can keep going with the blog tour tomorrow with April at Making Ends Meet .

Marmalade Fabrics

 

Please help me welcome Marmalade Fabrics as a new sponsor!

 

 

Tammy has a wonderful online shop filled with all your favorites –

lots of great prints and a super selection of coordinating solids.

Tammy, the owner and creative mind behind Marmalade Fabrics, describes herself as: “obsessed with fabric; passionate about quilting; a working mom of two active & rowdy boys; wife to a creative & talented husband; lover of art, music & all shades of orange; a down-to-earth Kansas girl; and most of all, content with life.”

(Summersville FQ bundle from Marmalade Fabrics)

My favorite things about Marmalade Fabrics are the super fast shipping (and especially the fact that Tammy offers free shipping for orders over $50 in the US!), a really great selection of prints and solids, and the ability to order a variety of cuts (you can choose between yards, half yards, even fat quarters!)

And she has a fun rewards program. You earn $10 in free fabric for every $100 you spend (and who couldn’t go for some free fabric?!)

And she is one of the sponsors of Quiltcon!

And you are all very lucky - because she's giving away a QuiltCon Block Challenge Fat Quarter Kona Bundle (try saying that 3x fast!) to one of you!

So head on over and check out her store - leave a comment here letting me know your favorite fabric or pattern that Tammy carries.

I'll pick a winner next Monday, May 21st!

Comments are now closed - thanks!

 

 

A new week

First off, I'm actually announcing a giveaway winner on the day I said!! Can you believe it?! OK the winner of the Gypsy Caravan charm pack is....

#23 - Valerie Boudier! I will send you an email soon!

Stay tuned tomorrow - there's a  fabulous giveaway from another new sponsor!

Finished up 3 custom orders and need to ship them off:

We had a great weekend...I worked on a bunch of pillows/iPad covers (I am finishing them up today hopefully) on Saturday and had some great food from the local farmer's market (and our friend's food stand).

Yesterday we had church and then came home and just lounged around. I was supposed to have a soccer game but a lot of people had plans so we were only going to have 9 at the most and who wants to play short on Mother's Day? So we forfeited the game and all got a Sunday off.

Hubs and I watched a few (3!!) movies - ha ha! The Vow, Underworld: Awakening and Contraband - and I even got a surprise dinner of Thai food (he had a friend deliver it for him - so sweet!).

(pay no attention to the fact that I STILL have not painted the kitchen - it's on the to-do list this summer!!)

My iPhone was my Mother's Day present but I couldn't help buying myself a little fabric goodness and it came today: a Suzuko Koseki bundle from this Etsy shop.

Now I have to decide what to make with it!

I have some iPad covers and guitar and camera straps going in to the shop in a bit - the pillows will be in there tomorrow at some point.

Hope everyone is off to a good week - my kids are excited as Friday we are heading here with our homeschool group!

Southern Fabrics

I am pleased to welcome my new sponsor: Aubrey Marshall from Southernfabric.com.

She has been in business for over 7 years and has sold over 75 thousand items to happy customers worldwide.

Feel free to browse her shop and add her to your favorites. They are constantly adding new Moda, Free Spirit, Westminster and Riley Blake.

Check them out on Facebook and Twitter.

Aubrey is generously giving away a Gypsy Caravan charm pack by Amy Butler to one reader.

She is also offering 10% off of your whole order... just enter newshopper10 at checkout!

 Ok... so who wants to win this awesome charm pack?? Just leave a comment telling me your favorite item that Aubrey carries in her shop and I'll pick a winner next Monday, May 14th!

Comments are now closed - thanks!!

Pressure cooker

I always do this to myself....the week before the craft fair is a frenzy of sewing.

I should really plan better...or not have such a big to-do list!

I have crossed a few things off and am down to my last project - little skirts.

They are coming together great and I love all the different fabrics I can pair up. I had a bit of a speed bump with my serger yesterday (wanted to chuck it out the window) but I finally got it re-threaded and back to working.

I also made some totes and ipad covers (and since I know everyone will ask - I got the background fabrics on Etsy - Here are a couple shops I search through - I just look for ones that grab my eye and buy them).

And for local peeps - the craft fair is this Saturday, May 5th at Lanikai Beach Park in Kailua from 9am-3pm. Come out if you are in the area!

I also have a few exciting things to share with you...

I have a guest post up on Randi's blog about craft fairs - this is part one of two.

Lei Chic which is a local online magazine did an article on my typewriter zip pouches and ipad covers - eep! You can read it here.

And I'm finally getting around to announcing the winner of the Brr! fat quarter bundle - Lucky number 65 - Heather (and my kids LOVE the Lego sewing machine your son made!)

Congrats - I'll send you an email soon!

** And I had a question for you all - I always reply to everyone's comments in the comments. Do you like this? I had always thought it sent an email response to you too but my sister said it doesn't. Are you guys fine with me responding in the comments? Let me know....

Brr!

Brr! by Laurie Wisbrun - I love this line - it's so gorgeous and Christmasy without being too Christmasy....does that make sense?

(the red/white floral print is not part of the line - I can't remember what it is - lol!)

I finished up the quilt top and back and am going to send it off to a long-arm quilter (hopefully Krista but I have to see if she's available).

I had plans to make a huge quilt - I started out using Katy's Constellation pattern from Fat Quarterly but I'm lazy and just managed the one star. So I added some borders using the squares I had already cut out and now it's a good size quilt (about 60" x 64").

The solid green matches perfectly with Laurie's fabrics (it's Kona Sour Apple) and I can't wait to snuggle under it at Christmas time.

The little polar bears are adorable! And the best part is....

Robert Kaufman sent a fat quarter bundle for me to give away too!!

Leave your name and let me know which of Laurie's fabric lines are your favorite - here's a link to her blog so you can see all her lines. She also has amazing fabric in her shop and a very cool book!

Brr! is set to hit stores in June but you can get your hands on it early if you win!! I love that!

OK giveaway will be open until next Friday, April 27th. Comments are now closed - thank you!

Mason's Roost

I've talked about my friend Carly and her baby little boy Mason here before.

Carly recently opened up a cute shop on Etsy called Little Light Prints!

I thought it would be fun to have a little giveaway and so she's giving away a print to one of you - your choice!

So head on over to her shop and leave a comment telling me what your favorite print is.

I'll pick a winner on Monday, April 9th. Comments are now closed!

Books for Kids

My friend Carly has an amazing giveaway over at her blog, Mason's Roost. You remember baby Mason right?

She is partnering with Joyful Life Library Project to get books for a children's hospital  here in Hawaii. You can purchase the books here and they are sent directly to the hospital...so easy!

And she has gathered some AMAZING sponsors and one lucky person will win all these goodies:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And all you have to do to enter is donate a book!

Head on over and read more about it at Carly's blog or read how it all began at Heather's blog.

Zakka Sew-Along

 

I was so excited to be asked to participate in this sew-along.

Lindsey {of LRStitched} and Amy {of Sukie} are hosting it and will be sewing along with a new project every week.

There are 24 projects and lots of fun prizes to win too!

Check out these amazing sponsors:

The sew along starts on April 2nd and wraps up on September 10th - Each blogger will sew a different project and will be sharing their finished project and inspiration with you.

• April 2nd :: Zig Zag Tote with Sew Fantastic
• April 9th :: The House Pouch with During Quiet Time
• April 16th :: Zakka Pincushion with Pink Penguin
• April 23rd :: Sewing Kit with Monkey Do
• April 30th :: Patchwork Pencil Case with VeryKerryBerry
• May 7th :: Itty Bitty Quilt Block Magnets with Little Bluebell

• May 14th :: Raincloud Mug Rug with Quilt Dad
• May 21st :: Zakka Block Quilt with I like Orange
• May 28th :: Stem Messenger Bag with Sew Sweetness
• June 4th :: Zip Organizer with Spotted Stone
• June 11th :: Orchard Path Tweed Pouch with Don’t Call Me Betsy
• June 18th :: Happy Couple Handwarmers with A Cuppa and a Catchup

• June 25th :: Patchwork Potholder with Sew Take a Hike
• July 2nd :: Water Bottle Holder with One Shabby Chick
• July 9th :: Elephant Bookmark with Cut to Pieces
• July 16th :: Patchwork Ribbon with {House} of A la Mode
• July 23rd :: Delightful Linen Bag with Sukie
• July 30th :: Bread Basket with Patchwork Notes

• August 6th :: Sweet Sugar Cookie Sack with BettyCrockerAss
• August 13th :: Little Pocket Pillowcase with Freshly Pieced
• August 2oth :: Sweet Memories Photo Frame with Noodlehead
• August 27th :: Pleated Coin Purse with Shape Moth
• September 3rd :: Happy Garland Message Board with Maureen Cracknell Handmade
• September 10th :: Nesting Boxes with From the Blue Chair

There's a Flickr group here to show off all your creations and get inspired by everyone.

You will need the book to participate and you can even buy it as an E-book!

E-book:

• C&T Publishing
• Google Play
• Diesel E-Book

Paperback Book:

• Signed Copy directly from Rashida!
• Amazon
• Amazon UK
• Sew Mama Sew
• Overstock
• Barnes & Noble
• Create for Less

Can't wait to see all the lovely creations that start popping up! Hope you'll join us!

900 (and one)

Wow, that last post was my 900th! Can't believe it....

Thanks for all the congratulations for the Hubs too!

I have been busy sewing...

(disclaimer: the floor is stained - I'm not an awful housewife)

Made myself a new ironing board cover with Randi's awesome sew-along tutorial.

(before)

(after)

She's doing a new project every month in 2012 and the ironing board cover was February's project. Head on over and check them out - they are great projects and there's a Flickr group too.

I sewed up some new blocks for the Traveling Quilts bee. I liked the other ones but I wasn't "in love" with them.

I LOVE these - have to get a journal and then send them off to Alissa.

I also finished the front for the Pillow Swap - I love it now that it has all come together...now to quilt it and attempt a zipper for the back. Katie has an awesome tutorial here.

I got this quilt in the mail today.

I had mailed it off to the fabulous Angela Walters to quilt and she did an amazing job - now I have to decide on the perfect binding and finish it up...

OK, since it was my 900th post yesterday, it's only fitting that I do a giveaway.

How does fabric sound?

Since I am overflowing with fabric at the moment, why don't you tell me your favorite color and I'll send the winner a little stack of fabrics.

And if you have more than one favorite color that's fine too.....

 

* Edited to add - comments are now closed. Thanks!