Fun Finds at the Dollar Store, and Giveaway Winner(s)!

Hi peeps!

I had some fun at the 'good' Dollar Store recently, though I have to admit that our Dollar Stores up here are actually $1.25 stores!!! 

I needed a container to fit my arriving-any-minute Clover Clips. I ordered 2 x 100-pack, so was thinking I needed a largish box to with them in. Got 3 small rolls of Washi tape too!(The box I bought was way too huge, so I found another in the house. The above box now holds my extra 1" hexagon papers!)

I got this 10-pack of slide-seal freezer bags as I am wanting to make the below bag. At $1.25, they were a steal, compared to the Zip bags I have in my kitchen drawer. As these come from the Dollar Store, I wouldn't use them for food storage, who knows what they are really made of.

The tutorial calls for 6 bags, and I am planning to make two-one for my EPP supplies and one for my embroidery stuff. I plan to only use 4 bags for the EPP one as I think 6 will make it too bulky. Six bags are fine for my embroidery stuff(minus my larger hoop).

Got some Happy Mail!! I am really impressed with the calibre of packaging on my first purchase from Massdrop. My Clover Clips were in a nice, sturdy box with a clearly readable label. The shipping costs were VERY reasonable for something shipped to Canada from the States.

WOW!!! This is the latest Massdrop deal:

Aurifil 12-weight thread, 10 small spools ONLY $29.99!! Regular price $50!!!

Use the below link to join this awesome deal!!! Great for quilting and machine-embroidery.

https://www.massdrop.com/r/Q2XSMW

I love how these Clover clips look like candy! They will come in sooo handy when I tackle sewing the plastic bags into my Busy Bags!

And now for the giveaway…drumroll please..ta-da!!!

The winner of the $35 Gift Certificate to Fat Quarter Shop is:

Saskia S.!

I have emailed her and hope she gets back to me soon!!!

Thank you so much to my sponsor, Fat Quarter Shop. We have other things in the works, coming soon!

I was thinking that having only one winner wasn't fair, gotta pick one more, please, Mr. Hubs!!(I had him pick two numbers between 1 and 24)

I will be sending a 6-pack of craft clips, and four spools of Connecting Threads' Essential thread to:

Debbie C.!

I had to email her via her YouTube account, as it was the only way to get a hold of her!

The above gifts are not sponsored, just a little prezzie from me!

Please remember, if I can't reach you, you can't win!

I just want to thank everyone that follows this blog and those who entered my giveaway. There will be more in store!!!

Quilty love and huggs,

Jacqueline

A FINISH, A VISIT AND A GIVEAWAY!!!

Hi peeps!

How bout this giant pile of scrappy hexies??? These are the 3,800 basted hexies, plus(not shown) the 200+ half-hexies and four quarter hexies(for the corners). They are all basted and ready to be sewn together for the kid's king- sized quilt. I got them done in record time-about three months!

My oldest son came to visit us last week from Montreal, where he is a Grad student. Mom is so, so proud of her two accomplished boys! Can you tell I had a nasty migraine in this photo??? grrr…put a damper on the visit for sure.

I would like to welcome Fat Quarter Shop as a new blog sponsor! They are a huge online quilting fabric store out of Texas, run by the lovely Kimberly Jolly. They specialize in high quality, name-brand fabric lines, books and notions especially for quilters.

Every day, they have an item(or, often items) on sale for a fraction of their retail value, for 24 hours only, starting at 10 AM, Central. Each day is a different item, so if you see something you'd like, you have to pounce on it before it is gone, gone, gone!

They have a weekly newsletter which allows you to keep up with their many awesome sales and new items. There are often a few fabric lines priced at 40% off, and even 50% off! The sale section is humungeous and I would have no trouble filling a cart there! hee hee hee

They also have a blog, called the Jolly Jabber, which offers giveaways, videos and loads of free patterns. I am following along with their Wishes BOM program and will be buying the Wishes Fat Eight pack next payday!

I am sure by now you have all heard of the Cotton & Steel fabric line. It is brand new and all over blog-land. Fat Quarter Shop has all the fabrics available individually, but I am most drawn to the above kit as I love the rainbowyness(great word, eh?) of it! The fabrics are well-dyed and have a lovely feel.

The folks at Fat Quarter Shop have generously offered a follower of this blog a $35.00 gift certificate to the shop…isn't that great? And it's international, too!

So, here's the rules:

1. You have to be a follower of this blog, either via email or Bloglovin, and comment to tell me so.

2. In the same comment, tell me which pre-cut bundle is your favorite at Fat Quarter Shop(you can just click on the FQS button, top left border of this page, and then find a bundle you like the most).

Please note, both points must be answered for a chance to win this giveaway.

One comment per person, please.

Giveaway ends on Wednesday July 30, 2014

Good luck everyone!

Giveaway has been awarded. Thanks for participating!

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Jacqueline

Happy Mail and Some Sponsor News!

Hi peeps!

A few weeks ago, Craftsy had a free-shipping sale, and I was all over that, as shipping to Canada is surprisingly costly. So I got these two Fossil Fern 100-piece charm packs as I am planning to cut them up for hexies and make a large quilted tote bag. I have been checking out my books and cruising the internet, looking for that 'perfect' tote pattern! Does anyone have any ideas?

On payday, I headed on over to the Connecting Threads website, as I always have an open cart going! I had been hearing all about Amy Smart's book, Fabulously Fast Quilts all over blog-land, and since it was on sale, I bought it as well as two more copies of Katy Jones' 25 Quilt Blocks…to giveaway sometime soon!

I got 7 yards of this white-on-white print for my Impromptu quilt. I actually only need 6.5 yards, but as it was on sale for $3.56 a yard, I got extra. There is always a need for w-o-w prints here. Darn, as I think of it, I probably should have ordered more! I mean, how often do you see a w-o-w on sale?

Do you remember all the  4.5" squares I had started cutting with my Go Baby, for a paper bag quilt? I sort of stalled on it as I was kind of meh on having to cut a bunch of Kona-snow squares(I mean, how boring is that, anyway?). Then I got the Amy Smart book! The second pattern is this one(Fast Four Patch) and uses the same size squares, along with red and white strips, both of which I have on hand! Serendipity at it's best!

Lastly, I loaded up on the CT Essentials thread, which was on sale for $1.95 a spool. I use this for everyday sewing, machine piecing and English Paper Piecing. I never use my Aurifil thread for EPP shapes, as eventually, all the thread gets removed and thrown away.

As promised, here is a part picture of the purple Batik sheet I bought Saturday at the Caribbean Festival. You can see the Celtic cable border and hand-knotted fringe.

A close-up of the stencilled red turtles. I think they look happy!

My last bit of Happy Mail is from my sponsor, Paper Pieces. They sent me a small pack of hexagons and a small pack of tall triangles, as well as 2 mini charm packs, to be given away soon.  You can click the logo on my upper left border to go straight to their online store. Don't forget to use the savings code!

I have more happy sponsor news, but you will have to wait till next post to find out!

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Jacqueline

A WIP, a Win, and the Caribbean Festival!

Hi Peeps!

It has been a long time..I KNOW…but the excessive heat we have been getting laid me low with an awful 5-day migraine…NOT fun! I did manage to get started on the HST's for the Jumbo Prism Pillow(link on the Cute Tute page), though.

Aren't those trimmings colourful?

These are the smaller HST's, all trimmed and ready for pressing. I have to finish up trimming the large triangles. They are a bit tricky, as I only have a long ruler that is wide enough. I better check on Massdrop to see if they have any there on sale!

I won this cute Yoko Saito pattern from a giveaway at see how we sew blog. You should check them out. If you go to the pattern page and scroll down, they have some free patterns too!

The Hubs and I went to the Caribbean Festival in Maple Ridge this past Saturday. It is an annual event, and we do try to go every year. We didn't have the teenager with us(out sunning on the beach with his friends), so were able to catch some shade in the beer garden while eating our (expensive) Jamaican Jerk chicken. It was really good, a treat I look forward to every year! It was smoking' hot and by the time we headed home, we were done. 

I did buy a large Batik sheet(purple, of course, with stencilled red turtles all over it). We will use it as a top sheet during the summer months. Show-and-tell next post!

I finally figured out how to rotate and crop my pics! YAY! The Hubs took this picture of a brave couple dancing in the street on a hot summer day. The young lady looked very warm in that pretty costume.

I have some Happy Mail to show next post and I received a surprise package from one of my sponsors…I think a giveaway is coming soon!

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Jacqueline

Saturday Showcase and Giveaway winners!!!

Hi Peeps!

Clover Wonder Clips...

Have you tried these yet? 

They are one of the hottest new notions around! Use them instead of pins when you are sewing on bindings, or sewing up bags, or anything that is a bit thick for you pins to go through without bending them. 

I stumbled upon this website that gets like-minded people together to mass-purchase certain items from the manufacturer at a huge discount. If you were to buy this 100-count package of Clover Wonder Clips, it would cost you close to $60!!! But they are only $23.99 plus reasonable shipping!!!I have included a link for you, for if I were to get 5 or more people to purchase them, Massdrop will send me a gift box worth $50…and that means more giveaways for you!

Awesome! 

So, please tell your friends!

Clover Wonder Clips, 100-pack, almost HALF PRICE!!!
Follow the link here: https://www.massdrop.com/r/Q2XSMW

…and now for the Aurifil & Extras Giveaway winners…drumroll please…

The three winners are: Carla P., Lorette C. and Monica H. 

I have already heard back from Carla and Lorette. Monica H. could you please get back to me? Thanks. Winnings will go out on Monday.

Tomorrow is  Mr. Quilt, sew Happy's birthday and we are having a bunch of family over for a BBQ. Yumm! Gotta go tidy the house now...

I will leave you with this lovely pile of fabric with hopes that you have lovely piles of fabric to play with too!!

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Jacqueline

NEW SPONSOR and an AURIFIL GIVEAWAY!

Hi Peeps!

I would like to welcome Paper Pieces on board the blog today. This is where I purchased my (almost) 4,000 papers for the first and second giant hexie quilts. They have generously offered 20% off your order, using the code: qsh20. They have high quality card-stock papers to sew your fabric on, in a multitude of shapes. Head on over to their website and have a look around! They also have various books and notions to help you on your way. 

Coupon code expires: July 1, 2015.

How about that weather! It was close to 100* yesterday for Canada Day!

We didn't go to any of the festivities as I don't do crowds much, but we did head into town for some lovely air-conditioned shopping. Got some much-needed things and found an awesome tripod for my camera(alas, not purple!), and it was on sale! Yay!

I rummaged through my latest box of scraps from L in Arizona and found most of the fabrics needed for my Prism Jumbo pillow. Got them all trimmed up and drew the diagonal lines on for piecing the HSTs. I figured that since I was cutting all the fabrics needed for one pillow, I might as well make 2! You can follow along if you like! The tutorial is on my Cute Tute Links page.

 ...and now for the Giveaway!!!

There will be three, yes three, winners of my giveaway today. Each winner will receive a large and small spool of Aurifil thread(care of Alex Veronelli-Aurifil Brand Jedi!!). The thread is in various neutral colours and weights. Also in your little grab bag will be: a book of John James needles, a fat quarter of unicorn/castle print(gotta spread the purple love!), and a zipped nylon sewing bag(or you could use it for cosmetics). I had the bags printed by CowCow.com. The needles, fatties and bags are from me!

Now here's the rulezzz…

1. You must follow me by email. That includes all my Facebook, Bloglovin and Google Plus friends. 

-Just enter your email in the Follow Me By Email window in my right-hand border. 

-You will get a pop-up window that will ask you to type in a code, then hit enter. 

-Lastly, you will receive an email confirming that you want to follow this blog. Click on that and you are done! It actually takes more time to type out this explanation than it does to follow me! I ask that you do stay following me for at least a month or two. I do not share emails.

2. You must leave me a comment letting me know that you are following me by email, and within the same comment I would like you to tell me which kinds of tutorials you would like me to do. I do have a few thoughts, but it never hurts to get input from other peeps.

That's it, easy-peasy! 

Just follow me by email, comment that you have, and tell me about tutorials you would like! 

One comment per person only, please.

I will draw three names on Saturday, July 5 and will contact the winners shortly after that. Please make sure I can email you for your snail-mail addy. If you are a no-reply blogger, please make sure to give me your email address.

This giveaway is open to international addresses(I am in Canada), with the exemption of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East-due to the high frequency of lost/stolen mail.

Sorry, I am not responsible for lost or stolen mail.

Giveaway has been awarded. Thanks for participating!

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Jacqueline

Saturday Showcase

Hi Peeps!

It's been a while, I KNOW, but life keeps on getting in the way!!!

I finished another table runner. This one is for my Mother in Law, for her birthday tomorrow. We will all see her tonight as we are going to supper at a fancy Italian restaurant. Yumm!

Here's the back. This is another remnant that has been hiding in my stash for years!!! Use it up, I say!

This is my next scrap project. This is the Jumbo Prism Pillow Tutorial by Lee at Freshly Pieced. Have a look at all the great things on her blog. I have lots and lots of scraps and plan to use some of my bolt of Kona-Snow for the solid.

Here are my vintage china tea cups. The green one is my favourite, it is made by Ainsley. I have been slowly collecting these from garage sales and thrift stores, though the thrifts stores around here charge a mint for them.

Post-war vintage platter, inherited from my dear Granny. She was a war bride from England. Her father said "on no certain terms was she allowed to date one of those hick prairie Canadians"!!! So, she married him!!!

Another treasure from my Granny. I think this one is from the 50's. The rooster comes off and there is a depression for putting chopped green onions or crumbled bacon in. I chipped it within a week of gaining possession…grrr...

The latest box of scraps from my dear friend L in Arizona. As you can see, I had a lot of fun digging through it! Aren't those little owls cute? I am still cutting pieces for my son's hexie quilt, though I don't have that many more to baste. I will take a break from basting hexies in the evening after this. I am planning to work on a EPP 6-bladed star quilt. I have cut the kit for it already.

This is on one of the walls in our 'dining room'. It is not actually a room, just more an extension of the kitchen, and the balcony sliding doors are just to the right. My kitchen is decorated in a loose Mexican style. I have been collecting Mexican painted pottery for years and years.

Canada Day is coming up next week…and the Aurifil thread giveaway is coming soon!

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Jacqueline

A finish and some extra special Happy Mail!

Hi peeps!

I finally managed to finish the table runner I was making for my Dad's birthday. We are having him over for supper on Sunday, though his birthday is actually today. Link to the tutorial is on my Cute Tute Links page.

Here's a close-up of the quilting. I did 'in the ditch' for the side pieces and a continuous decreasing square in the center. 

I just love those cavorting chicks and chickens! Aren't they cute???

I backed it with an piece of Debbie Mumm fabric. I have been hoarding this scrap piece for ages, I think it was from one of her first lines! 

I had JUST enough, with a strip left over for my 'string' box…will make a string quilt one of these days...

Got some Happy Mail from Connecting Threads. They had a rare pattern sale, so I stocked up, and the 2 books were Clearance. 

I really need to make that Sit & Stitch pincushion. The arms of my easy chair are getting a real beating from all the pins and needles I stick into it!

More from Connecting Threads…I rarely buy kits as they tend to sit around and get lost in my sewing room. I really wanted this pattern(Wedges), and of course, the blue-green batiks were a must! The thread was on sale for $1.95 a spool, so I stocked up on some favourite colours. The lime and orange are being discontinued!

Spoiler alert: I wrote their customer service to complain about the many thread colours that sold out too fast for me to purchase…they got back to me to tell me they will give out a special coupon code(on this coming Monday) to all their customers who lost out, and the code will make the thread @$1.95 again. Not sure if they will give this code to everyone as I only got notification for it because I complained.

Now for the extra special Happy Mail!!! Soon after I started this blog, I contacted Mr. Alex Veronelli of Aurifil threads to see if I could get some samples to try and some to give away as well. The man is a sweetie and did not disappoint! Look at what he sent me!!! Those colour cards are a $30 value!!! The local UPS guy was impressed that we got something from far-away Italy!

I received 12 spools and I have chosen the spools I'd like to keep. I have 8 spools to give away! I will be having a giveaway soon…for 4 different people! Each person will receive a large spool, a small spool(curtosy of Aurifil of Italy) and a package of John James needles(curtosy of little old me!).

I am giving you a heads up, so you can get organized!!! I will have 2 conditions for this giveaway; you must follow me by email(that includes my Google+ and Bloglovin people!), and; you must comment and let me know what kinds of tutorials you would like me to show you. But not yet!!!

I will let you know when the giveaway is to start(hint: Maple Leaf) and you will have a few days in which to register. I am giving you time to put on your thinking caps, let your creative thoughts flow and think up tutorials...

I did do a tutorial recently, but am having a hard time attaching it to this blog! grrr…

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Jacqueline