Bye Bye Blogtoberfest. Hello Brighton Sewing Giveaway Winner!

This post is brought to you through the power of Blogtoberfest 2012

So, ta ta Blogtoberfest.  I didn’t fare too badly, considering it was report writing and exam time! … I missed about a week’s worth of posts, all told.  I enjoyed trying to find meaty things to write about rather than just coasting it with easy posts, but I did slip in the odd quickie.

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Sorry.  Drifted off there.  Quickie.  ... stirs something in my deep and fogging memory.



Anyway, ahem. The real fun of Blogtoberfest for me is in the discovery of new blogs; new writers, new makers.  That temporary flash of discipline that makes us all focus to produce what we can, for each other, for a month.  Gotta love that.  There’ll be a little roundup of what caught my eye, so stay tuned.

The other thing I loved was that I started to wang on about synaesthesia, and I’m looking forward to doing some more posts on it, especially some touchy feely fabricy ones. 

I have to admit there’s been very little sewing going on chez Pings and I’m on day Three of my precious three day half term!

day one – lie in, drink coffee to get me out of the house, run around town to get everything done so can enjoy:

day two – lie in, relaaaaax, drink coffee for pleasure, see people, cook, watch a movie, spend day at hospital


day three – get up late. Listen to rain. Get mojo out of cupboard.  Put it back.  Go to work (WTF!?)  and sort out two term's worth of resources and recycling in peace and quiet and space.

What drives me crazy is that I’ve been up and attem by 7am all three days ... grr to stupid brain.  I'm now utterly wiped out, so hope that I'll be able to just have a nice relaxing weekend before going back on Monday!


This is the bit you came for really, and if you scrolled past all that blathering on, I forgive you.  Fabric desire renders us all impatient and greedy! 



Mrs Random  Number generator has decreed that the lucky winner of 12 FQs of Basic Grey Blitzen is …..













Yay! Congratulations Sarah@ NarcolepticInACupboard ! I can honestly say you are going to love this fabric! Pop me an email with your postal details and the lovely ladies at Brighton Sewing Centre will send it on its way…





I have a serious crush on this print … I even find myself thinking about it during the day.  There will deffo be another project. 



I never buy yardage. I tend to buy FQs;  that way you get four times as much fabric strokey joy for the same price. But this is something I don’t want to run out of.  The harmony of colour and the beautiful surface design just sends me.  I think it’s like william morris was around in the 70s.



<-- I’ve upped the saturation and contrast on this pic to show you what I really dig about these prints – the fine random spatter of dark brown and deep teal flecks.



 

Today I bought the green as well, it's lusherama ...

So, farewell Blogtoberfest … and thank you so much to Kat@ I Saw You Dancing for organising it all so beautifully.

And thank you to Nicole@ Brighton Sewing Centre for giving me such a lovely incentive to take part.

Winner Winner Turkey Hat Dinner

This post is brought to you through the power of Blogtoberfest 2012

 

Thanksgiving/Christmas Turkey Hat from Fred Flare. via

 

Without further ado … the comment that tickled me the most was ...

 

So, congratulations, Jane - could you email me your address and I’ll get the FQs off to you forthwith? 

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Fashion & Textile Museum + Giveaway Winner!

If you want to skip all this and just go to the winner of my charm pack giveaway then feel free to just scroll on down … like I could stop you!

Anyway, I decided to try to balance the grimness of being prodded let's just say I've had more socially and physically comfortable days with a little loveliness, so I went up to London early to the Fashion & Textile Museum in Bermondsey, 10 mins walk from London Bridge station … to catch the Designing Women exhibition.

I was born, lived and worked in London for over 30 years but the London I visit now is hardly recognisable from the one I left just 15 years ago. 

There are so many huge buildings going up all over the place … this one was just as dizzying as the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona  (you get vertigo looking UP at this big boy)







The museum itself is in




and jolly lovely looking it is, too.







Here's the blurb from their website …

DESIGNING WOMEN: POST-WAR BRITISH TEXTILES

16 March 2012 - 16 June 2012
Britain was at the forefront of international textile design in the 1950s and 1960s. The art of textile design radically changed after the Second World War and three women artists working in England in the 1950s were pivotal in this artistic revolution. The drab days of the War were transformed by the fresh, progressive designs of Lucienne Day (1917–2010), Jacqueline Groag (1903–86) and Marian Mahler (1911– 83). Designing Women: Post-war British textiles showcases their work beginning with Lucienne Day’s ‘Calyx’ pattern of 1951, featured at the Festival of Britain, and moving through textile commissions of the 1960s and 70s. The exhibition features more than 100 works.
Original artist designs with bold abstract pattern, as well as the use of saturated colour, marked a dramatic departure from conventional furnishing fabrics. This new wave of bold textile designs, helped to bring the influences of the art world, in its most recent, refreshing, and largely abstract forms, into the contemporary home.

Exhibition Dates: 16 March - 16 June 2012
Open Tuesday to Saturday, 11am - 6pm
Last Admissions 5.15pm
Closed Sunday and Monday
Ticket Price: £7 / £5 for eligible concessions
Includes entry to FTM displays

I'm so pleased I did … although be warned that it's not a huge place - I had a very leisurely hour there, but could have whizzed it in 30 mins really.  I think it was just wonderful to see such a lovely body of work all together. 


There is much inspiration to be had … shapes, colour palettes, symmetrical asymmetry … you name it … you can feast your eyes on it …




I am sooooo going to try foundation piecing the sunburst triangles on the left!  … That is one quilt singing at me to be made! 


So, ahem  ... thanks for staying with me, so far … or if you just scrolled down to get to the nitty gritty …

hello.

SPOTTON DOTTON COTTON CHARMPACK GIVEAWAY WINNER …




Without further whatnot … mr random generator (mmmm …is that new aftershave?) has picked …



…. parpapaparpapapaaarrr …





Lucky Number 7!  Gill Watson!  

Yay Gill.  I've emailed you :) … commiserations others … hope the Textile Museum pics were consolation!

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day - Winner!

It's time to announce the winner of my Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day prize.

Thank you for all for your random breakfast testing answers! They are really worth a read!

Intense and thorough interrogation of the data (I love that expression) reveals that there are two main breakfasting types out there …

TYPE A wildly inappropriate or unhealthy, and
TYPE B so virtuous I had to eat several biscuits to recover …

Anyway the good news is that my little mince pie wrist pincushion from Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day has a new owner!

 Look at that dry crocodile winter skin ! Or rather, don't. Oh bums, now you will look even closer.

Mr Random No. Generator chose:

Katy from I’m a Ginger Monkey! 



That would be TYPE A then …

Congratulations Katy!

Hula Hoops - not only wonderfully nutritious but lucky too! who knew?



Have you seen Katy's fantastic piped pillows for the 12 Days of Ruby Star, over at Fat Quarterly?

Mmmm divine ... go look ... go look ...




Commiserations to the rest of you, but what a wonderful set of comments, thank you so much!

I wish you all a positive and productive weekend!

Accuquilt Go! Baby Winner!

Someone's getting an early Christmas Present ....  (tee hee, isn't this great!?)

Thank you to everyone who entered.  And ... Congratulations to

otherwise known as ...

Sally from DitzyandDotty

 !! Yay you!

If you don't know Sally's blog you must go ... she is brillfabtastically creative ...

I so want to crochet this tongue-in-cheek banana cosy

Love.It.  

(makes a banana all graceful and ballerina-like)

Congratulations Sally and commiserations to everyone else. 

Stay tuned for my caffeine molecule mug rug tutorial .... 

Random Scrap Bag Challenge Voter Winner!

How are your weekends going?  Nearly gone?  Horrid isn’t it!?!  …
One of you randomly picked voters from the Japanese Scrap Bag Challenge might just have a little postpone Monday happy dance, as I will be sending you a little scrap bag of my own:
So, Congratulations to:

Jan at Isisjem, who commented:

"Hadley’s School tags should win because they are different but useful to many people and applications.
Eilidh’s diamond scrappy stocking should win because it looks so fine and has a lovely story to go with it.
Ali of VeryBerry boy and girl bootees are just too darn cute not to win. I actually want some adult slippers just like them. "

.. couldn’t agree more Jan, and I love that you picked the first three in reverse order!  Kismet.
Please email me your address details and I’ll get a little something in the post to you …

In other exciting news … have you read this?  Yes! Lynne@Lily’s has joined the Fat Quarterly team! That’s like Inspiration Overload! … Congratulations Lynne! 

What larks, Pip!

Ta-Ta-Ta TaTaTa Taaaaaaaa! Japanese Scrap Bag Challenge Winner!

Months of crafting and snapping and posting and commenting are over. 

The votes are in and have been counted.  I was absolutely meticulous about this and discarded a few votes that had been entered more than once and took the total over three ... In kindness, let’s say that was just over enthusiasm on the part of some voters … no vote fixing here, my friends … oh no ...



The Japanese Scrap Bag Challenge gauntlet was enthusiastically and creatively taken up by The Magnificent Nine:

A. Hadley - school tags

B. Emily - sandwich bag

C. Bianca - japanophile muff

D. Beth - Pleat front Sorbetto top

E. Alli - eating out pouch

F. Ella - belly dancing corset and bra trim

G. Sarah - tic tac toe & puzzle

H. Eilidh - diamond scrappy stocking

I. Ali VeryBerry - boy & girl bootees

Only one couple have danced their way to earn the right to lift the mirrorball.  (Sorry, seem to be channelling Strictly …)



Goodness me! It was a close run thing … A total of 372 votes !!

It was vay vay exciting checking the spreadsheet to see how things were going - every day the Top 3 changed!

So, in customary style, let’s go in reverse order ….


In third place, with 52 votes …..

Hadley from FlyingBlindOnARocketCycle and her tremendtastic tags!

In 2nd Place, with 55 votes:

Eilidh’s divine scraptastic diamond stocking!

And the Winner, with a whopping 81 votes …

Ali at VeryBerryHandmade’s Bootiliciously Scrappy Baby Bootees!

YAY!!

Congratulations Ali! - you get to wear the crown and sash as 2011 Eternal Pings Scrap Bag Challenge Queen ...  you will be receiving a year’s subscription to the Eternal Maker’s Japanese Swatch Club. 




Thank you so so much to everyone who took part with such wonderful enthusiasm and creativity.  You’re all winners …. man …. Thank you too to Anna at The Eternal Maker for suggesting and sponsoring the challenge!  You all rock!

Tomorrow I’ll announce my voter giveaway winner, but for today, let’s just drool over those bootees again … after all, that’s exactly what the babies will be doing! Bwahaha!

yum!

Blogiversary Giveaway - Winner!

Thank you all so much for your brilliant ‘best’ and ‘worst’ presents comments … some of them were truly hilarious …

Anyway, the winner of 16 FQs of Jovial by Moda …. is ….





WENDY!! from TheCraftersApprentice






Congratulations Wendy!  Email me your deets and I’ll get this little bundle in the post to you!

Commiserations to the rest of you, but I really do urge you to go read some of the comments … they are funny and such perfect little snapshots of life …

Winners! Japanese Scrap Bag Giveaway!

Okay, this was a really difficult one because I wasn’t using mr random generator but my own mind.  heavy, man.

So, if you didn’t win it’s not because it wasn’t a brilliant idea.  I did focus on choosing ideas that I thought people would really like to see and that I thought would embrace the scrap challenge to the full!




I’m joining in too with my scrap bag – although I’m obviously not entering my own competition, cos that would be silly and highly illegal.


I haven’t thought about what I’m going to make yet, but whatever it is I’ll be paying it forward to someone along the line!





So, without further ado, the ten winners who are entered into the next round to win a year’s subscription to the Eternal Maker’s Japanese charm club are:

• narcoleptic in a cupboard
  
  If I won the scrap bag I'd like to make a little fabric game I've been thinking about ... ooh intriguing!  Can’t wait to see!  I’ve been wanting to make a memory game for ages … is that what you have in mind?
  
  
• Sarah Olson
  
  I think I'd like to make a quilt square purse, or maybe an eyeglasses case!  OR SOMETHING SHAPED LIKE A DINOSAUR.  Just because.  You’re on!  I want to see the something shaped like a dinosaur!!
  
  
  
• Flying Blind On A Rocket Cycle
  
Depending on the scraps, I would be making tags to distinguish all 3 school kiddies identical book bags, PE bags, swimming bags and cardies; children should be identifiable by pattern!  Blurry brilliant idea Hadley!  I can see people really appreciating this one!

• Alli H
  
  I'd make an eating out kit: a little pouch to hold a knife, fork, spoon, and a pair of chopsticks. Lately I've been feeling guilty about using plastic utensils when I go to restaurants that put your food in takeaway containers even though you'll be eating there. I felt bad that those plastic forks and things only get used for about ten minutes and then thrown away... they barely had a chance to live! :D  This is such a great idea … I totally agree about the plastic cutlery thang …
  
  
  

• Bianca G
  
  
  My sister has been wanting a muff to keep her hands warm when it's cold outside. I think it would be so cute to have the Japanese prints on the outer of the muff with some nice fluffy fabric for the inside. Oh yeah, she also wants it to be a purse, so I'm working on inserting at least a small zipper compartment of some sort. But she would simply die if she got a muff plus cute Japanese fabric. We've been Japan-o-philes for a while. Well, anyone who can write the word muff without sniggering is a better person than me … can’t wait to see your muff *snigger!"

• Ali @ Very Berry
  
  Oooh - have been thinking about this all day... If I had some gorgeous Japanese fabrics, I would want to do something really special with them... My friend is having a baby later on this year, and I think I would like to make some cute little patchwork baby booties...  I can see them now - they would be so fab! Oh yes, bring on the booties!
  
  
  

• Eilidh
  
  I would make a stocking for my wee 1 year old friend Joseph. He'll be spending Christmas in Japan this year (and maybe next) as his mum moved out there with him in March. We all really miss them and this would be a lovely way to show that I'm thinking of them and hopefully he'll use it once he's back in Scotland for a long long time and then the fabric will remind him of Japan! Lovely idea and it’s good to have something Christmassy … eek! only 16 weeks to go!
  
  
  

• Emily L
  
I would make my little girl a patchwork sandwich bag and try lamintating my scraps once pieced to make it usefully wipeable, she is off to pre-school soon :( and it will be lovely to send her with something made with love and unlike any of the other childrens! I’d love to see this made, it would be soooo useful!

• Madscouser
  
I'd make the Sorbetto top from Collete patterns:
http://www.coletterie.com/colette-patterns-news/free-pattern-to-download-the-sorbetto-top
And use the scraps for the central pleat and hopefully the arm &amp; neck bindings if there was enough left! :-) This is a lovely top and the pleat would look fantastic in scrappy japanese style …

• Ella
  
  I could make a corset belt for bellydance ... and if there were sufficient scraps, a border for the edge of a bra.  How could I not let this one in!?  Go shake those scraps baby!

Yay!  So, ladies … Please make sure that you email me your postal details so that Anna get your scrap bags off to you!  You’ll have until roughly 10th October to complete your project and for voting to commence.  woohoo!    I’ve set up a Flickr Group, so please go and join there for updates, more details etc.




It would be great if you could chart your process a bit for the rest of us, but if you’re really busy, a pic of the scraps you get and of your finished item would be fine too. 



Everyone is welcome to join the group – please come on over and comment or add pics of your own scrap bag makes …


Those of you who didn’t win this little giveaway still have a chance to win 16 FQs of Holiday Fabric – Jovial by Moda – for my blogiversary giveaway … There are such great answers coming in you should go and have a read!

Thank you all so much for such great ideas … you make my day, really!

Blogiversary FQ Bundle giveaway … sponsored by ... ME!

<<<<<<<  THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED   >>>>>>

So, 1st Blogiversary eh?  That means pay it forward time, in my book.

A long long while ago (the back end of January!) I won an amazing giveaway over at Monica @HappyZombie’s blog for a mystery FQ bundle from Moda. 





‘Jovial’, a Christmas line, arrived in June, but I couldn’t really think about Christmas then (like I can now?!) so I stroked it a while and then put it away for another day …


Today is that day.







I have to confess, I’m not a huge fan of Christmas fabric AT ALL, but my mind was totally changed when Angela @FussyCut’s posted this brilliant Starry Eyed quilt, on Moda Bakeshop back in July.

I think this is the best use of Crimbo fabric I’ve ever seen, and I think this line would look brilliant.

I figure someone else might really like to make it … or any other Christmas type stuff …


S-o-o-o-o-o … my Pay It Forward giveaway to you, my lovely readers, followers, stalkers and casual droppers by … is 16 FQs of Jovial, to do with whatever you wish.





If you would like a chance to win this mini bundle, all you need to do is pledge your undying love leave a comment telling me the BEST Christmas present/gift you’ve ever received - and I mean an actual ‘thing’, NOT the birth of a baby, grandchild, love of your partner, or any other stuff with real meaning. Marks will be deducted … I’m after the cold hard truth of consumerism here ...

For another chance, in a separate comment, you could tell me the WORST present you have either given or received. 

Here’s a little rundown of all the chances you have. (separate comments for each please)

1. BEST present received
   
2. WORST present given or received
   
3. If you are a die hard or new follower
   
4. If you blog about it
   
5. If you tweet or tell the milkman

That’s a whacking 5 chances chaps … Or just the one if you don’t like jumping through hoops.

Please make sure that you have an email address somewhere in the trail - no-reply bloggers will lose out … It’s worth checking once in a while … for some reason my profile randomly just decides to revert to no-reply without me asking it to … To change this in blogger.com go to your Dashboard. Select Edit Profile. Check the box for "Show my Email Address." Save changes.


Good Luck! ... mayMr Random Generator smile at you ... Giveaway ends Wednesday 31st August, midnight Pings time ..

(in other news, I’ll be announcing the 10 winners of the Japanese scrap bags tomorrow)


<<<<<<<  THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED   >>>>>>

Yay! It’s Giveaway Time - Round One - get those creative thinking caps on …

This giveaway has now closed ... thank you :) Round Two coming soon!

Hello lovely people - (201 followers! yay!) I hope your Monday has been a joy.  My boiler conked out over the weekend so I’ve been pretending that I’m on a camping holiday and boiling up great pans of water on the hob … you can tell it’s still a novelty eh?

I got my lovely Japanese charm swap fabrics a couple of weeks ago …   I split the charms (there were two of each design) with a friend of mine, so I’m left with 28 little squares of delight. 

Thank you Cindy @ FluffySheepQuilting for organising this swap!  It was so easy and yielded such loveliness!

I haven’t decided what to do with them yet. It was a great swap. I like charm squares.  They make me happy. 



Anyway, let’s get started with this lovely giveaway from The Eternal Maker, celebrating their brand new website, shall we? 



You could win a Japanese Scrap Bag AND get yourself a little charm square action for a whole year!  This is such a great idea - you get 6 Japanese charm squares a month for a year! Thank you Anna, for such a great prize!


Round One:  - for the chance to win a Japanese Scrap Bag, (approx. a fat quarter’s worth of fabric) leave a comment at the bottom of this post to tell me what you’d make!
The 10 most creative answers will win a scrap bag to actually make their item … and then qualify for Round Two!

In Round Two, you lucky 10 scrap bag winners will link up to what you’ve made, and the final winner (voted for by all the rest of us!) will win a year's membership of Eternal Maker’s Japanese Swatch Club! 
 
I realise that lots of people are on holiday yada yada, so the deadline for the second round (what you make with a scrap pack) won’t be until w/c 5th September …
 
The deadline to win a scrap pack (and enter into Round Two) is Friday 19th August, so have a little think and then leave a comment here, telling me what you’d make … remember that you’ll have to actually make it to qualify for the grand Japanese Swatch Club prize! Edited to Add: Just remember you've only got a fat quarter to play with in your minds .... I only say this because I'd be planning quilts and bags and getting generally over-excited.  

Happy thinking!

This giveaway has now closed ... thank you :) Round Two coming soon!

Backstitch LouLouThi Giveaway Winner!

Yay!  It's Saturday ... I love Saturdays ... sigh

It's time to see who has won a metre of Anna Maria Horner's lovely Loulouthi from Backstitch ...


Mr Random Org has Spoken:

Congratulations to Alyce B !!  I hope you love your Saturday too :)

Thanks to everyone who took part, and to Backstitch for donating the lovely fabric!