OUR January 2011 Banner Winners....are anything but BLUE! lol

For our Banner Winners, yours to add to your blogs

and for the rest of us some snowballs for those

who forgot what they look like

( snow-less in wine country Canada)

Sew We Quilt @ Stash Manicure

is off to a wonderful start.

It gives me great pleasure to introduce

our Banner Winners for January 2011.

Behind the Seams..

But before I do that, I want to convey my appreciation

for the over 812 quilt photos that were sent to me.

You have no idea how difficult it is to not include you all. lol

Seriously...there is always one I choose that I blend the others with,

sew I put them all in a file, with no names. I have no idea

who they belong to until I have completed the design.

Then and only then do  I search through another file to locate

the quilters..No easy task. It often takes me at least one full week

to accomplish this. By the third week of each month, I have already

made my selections...HINT for February with RED, please

send them to me as soon as possible...

Their stories..

Ok, now to tell you about our Banner Winners.

I have asked them all to tell the story of their quilt.

Makes for a very interesting read...sew please let's welcome

them all and share in their joy...

From top left we have Pauline, you may know her as Quilt Queen.

I'm thrilled and honored to have my 'Snowman' quilt showcased 

 on the January banner for Sew We Quilt @ S.M.

There are not enough thank you's to express my gratitude.

Please pop over to my blog to see my quilt  

....the beginnings of this quilt started about 18 months ago.... 

for years I would always knit or crochet in the car

when travelling the 4+ hours back to Canada to visit the grandkids and family. 

One day I decided to trace the snowmen and reindeer blocks

from the 'Bird Brain Designs pattern 'Snowmen and Reindeer'

 and try embroidery during my travels. 

I finished the first 12....then a second 12 blocks....then a third set of 12. 

One of my favorite, quick and easy patterns is 'The Yellow Brick Road' by Terry Atkinson

 and I decided to use it instead of the layout for the Bird Brain Design quilt. 

I followed the directions for the lap size;

 place one embroidered block in each of the eight rows....

and voila...a new look for the "Yellow Brick Road' pattern. 

 I loved the look sEw much, I'm still embroidering more blocks

.....there are no idle hands,

....I now have quilts waiting to be gifted

....and you just never know when I'll give away 8 more blocks

to a lucky follower to get creative....

Come for a visit as I'd love to read your comments

they always make me smile:).

Our Middle Banner Winner is 

AnneMarie from Gen X Quilters.

A big Thank You to Madame Samm for featuring this Snowflake

 Quilt that I call "Baby It's Cold Outside"!  What an honor!

I love RED.  I naturally gravitate to warm and rich colors.  And unless I am making a baby quilt for a boy, I don't choose to work with blues.  So making this snowflake quilt was a challenge to work out of my comfort zone.  Here I discovered what fun it is to make your own charm packs!  The sky is the limit!  This quilt is a new wall hanging in my home.  Every year, when taking down my Christmas decorations in January, I feel a bit blue.  The house looks so empty...  I decided to make this quilt to go up at exactly this time, to add some energy and vibrant color!  Now this quilt can shout "Brrr!  Baby it's Cold Outside!" and as long as I have my cup of hot chocolate, I can enjoy the pristine snow from my front window.  :)

Stop by my blog Gen X Quilters to see the full post on this quilt!  

You can visit me here for more photos of my quilt

Our top right Banner Winner is Melissa.

She has been on our banner before, and again

I had no idea until I completed it...

It wasn't like I could redo it all..right? 

it fit in perfectly.

( we may exclude her future quilts, what do you think? lol)

This quilt turned out to be an amazing source of solace for me.  I designed this quilt and a similar one in pink when I found out I was pregnant and was hoping to have twins, a boy and a girl.  I know most people think that is crazy but being a twin myself, I know how awesome it is!  However, things didn't quite turnout as planned.  You can read more about the story here.  please link here for more   A month later I started designing for the Moda Bake Shop and this design began to take shape once again.  This time, for everyone out in quilting blog land.  And lucky you, it was just released at the Moda Bake Shop 3 days ago!!  So if you love this quilt design just head on over to Moda link now..  for a super beginner friendly step by step tutorial.  

Sincerely Melissa.

Our bottom left Banner Winner is Susan

from PatchworknPlay

 I have been a sewer for many years and made my first quilt for my son in 1983.  In recent years I have enjoyed stretching my sewing skills by trying new techniques.  And this is how this Mariner's Compass block came about.  It is foundation pieced and one of nine blocks I set myself to make during 2010.  I worked on about one a month and really enjoyed making them.  I have gone on to foundation piece other blocks with, I hope, many more to come.  It is indeed an honor to be included in the Sew We Quilt/ Stash Manicure January banner!"

Here is the link to the blog post

Many more pics here.

What a wonderful way this will be to celebrate a new year.  As I said it is indeed an honor to be included in the January banner!  I am so excited to share it with my friends.

Thank you so much for choosing me to be included!

kind regards

Susan

 And our Bottom Right Banner Winner

is Frances, you may know her as our Quiet Quilter

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!

I am sew tickled pink (oops, blue) that  my blue/white quilt was chosen to be part of Janurary’s banner.  It is the symbol of how far I have come in quilting since 2006 (whole quilts only). 

 I had barely worked with Half Square Triangles and needed more practice.  I liked this design and block at Marcia’s Quilter’s Cache, and it had only two colors so I could concentrate on the blocks themselves.

 It became my learning quilt.  HSTs and their points, how to put together a top, pressing, matching corners, contending with bulky seams (where I still need help), keeping the different components of a project together, hand quilting on both sides of ditch, and how to blog about it ,,,, it taught me all these things.

I worked on this from March 2010 until I completed it late November, 2010.

  Just in time to share it with you.

Madam Samm---here is the link showing my finished quilt. 

Visit me here..

Just loved sharing my story with you

Frances

Thank you Ladies...I have to tell you, 

you have all put new meaning 

into January BLUES...

Winner of Tote will be announced later today...

 WINNER is # 116 DAWN

( no blog but I know you check daily, sew

please connect with me..you won

this beautiful summer tote

filled with Ginger Blossoms!)

CONGRATS..

BONUS

 All those who comment  today 

with a note they would like to be a 

GUEST blogger 

( even those who do not have a blog)

( must be a follower though)

WILL be eligible to WIN.

 this fat quarter bundle...

from MICHEAL MILLER. YEP!

and in Blue...


WINNER IS #171 Vicki
congrats, please connect with me...
I believe you are the Vicki who has just joined..
sew Wow!. you won this bundle...

I'm just saying...

Tote and all 19 fat quarters....

from Michael Miller!

( love ya)

and a FAT Quarter Bundle to  

Another with a  Confirmed date 

as a Guest...( I will give you dates

not to worry, they won't be till March..

as we are already booked for Jan, Feb, a bit of March

and some in April. But heh, I like to plan ahead...

way ahead..) 

49 of you yesterday who said you would like

to be a guest are also included in this giveaway

and I will be connecting with you all next week..

I 'am just feeling it...aren't you? 

What a way to start our year..

HAPPY NEW YEAR

I'm just saying 2011 - Sew we Quilt ! Behind the Seams!

Yes, how quickly one year rolled into another..

Happy Happy NEW YEAR...

and with that a NEW LOOK,

but before I share all the goods on this one...

I would like to take this time to thank all those

who were in our December Banner, left to right,

to Wendy, for your gotta have it shoes, to

  Michelle for your delightful Wreath,

Ariane for your whimsical  Santa,

Carla for your irish chain,

to Elizabeth for your seasonal quilt.

You were all winners, and it was joy 

to come in every day to be embraced by

your talent...

When I am gathering all of your quilt photos.

there is always ONE that stands out for me..the one I blend

all others with...Decembers was Wendy's...

Your whimsical booties did it for me.

sew with that said

you are the winner of this collection

from Shabby Fabrics who is our sponsor

for Banner quilts each month.

You have won this collection

called Parisvile Ocean..

Lucky lucky you...sew well deserving!

Thanks to all who entered, all those

who were in our banner and always

to our Sponsors, today Jennifer

at Shabby Fabrics who always surprises

us with amazing giveaways...

Thank YOU!

OK, now for our NEW LOOK!.

( stories behind their quilts will be in tomorrows post)

along with a NEW YEARS giveaway winner)

mmmm who's quilts do these belong to? 

Behind the SEAMS...

What I have noted since I took over the 

1st of OCTOBER, 2010

was we all love to see each others stash. But there is 

 sew much you can do with managing it and with

Teresa's stash cave which brought us all to a HALT 

in a WOW way,  I noted right after that

 we were kinda of stuck...
( where do you go from here, how much
more impressed were we all going to be
after that? NO tell me...lol)
Love ya to bits Teresa, many thanks
actually for giving me an AHA moment...

(when inviting guests from the past who posted

their answer would be.." I have nothing else" lol)

That spoke volumes for me, we have to give them

more to talk about than just their stash.

( oh and please let me share with you had it
not been for Rae Ann and Stash Manicure
debut, we would not all be here for today...
Sew a big thanks goes out to her and it
is indeed Heart Felt)

Sew I brought forward new guest speakers

who showed tutorials, trunk shows, stories about the

quilts they have made, comedic quilters like Nan,

...And WOW, the reception

was overwhelming. YOU commented more frequently,

you wanted to see more, I wanted to see more...

Sew WE Quilt

at Stash Manicure, makes perfect sense to me..

I am listening, I am watching and I am acting....

This year you will be welcomed to contribute:

 tell stories about why you made a special quilt...

We all love to hear those stories...

We will have many new tutorials on quilt blocks, table runners,

 mug rugs, small projects...

when we had these- again- comments soared...
I know you noted it if you were a guest speaker...
what applause I heard...

More comedic and entertaining guests who will

have us all questioning..can we really staple that quilt to our wall? lol

( goodness me Nan can bring the chuckles)

Trunk shows from the privacy of our own homes, it is inspiring

to see where you came from and where you are now in your

quilting endeavors.

(Millies comes to mind- again- comments soared)

 We will have MUG RUG contests,

Small quilt contests, prizes for best in show, most creative,

and worst...or shall I say, good effort lol..

 oh and GIVEAWAYS, you have seen

nothing yet...We embrace new Sponsors monthly, and their

gifts are very generous and I get to share them with all of you....

( which was evident over the holidays...
we had 14 days of giveaways
Remember lol)

Sew you see, a NEW YEAR brings some new direction.

SEW WE QUILT, 
that is what we do!

This is who we are...after all is said and done

at Stash Manicure, we want to hear 

what you would like to share...

Be it new gadgets, new finds in the fabric world,

new designs of your own...

This is YOUR BLOG, what do you

want us to KNOW about YOU?

Step forward, share with me what you 

would like to do as a guest blogger...

I will supply a date..even serve  you a cup of tea...
( I will have a good strong coffee lol)

 ( Ok, enough operational  stuff, isn't it time

for a year end, month end giveaway?)

Will you look at this GIVEAWAY...

I know kinda of takes your breath away..

Ok, YOU must be a FOLLOWER 
(take your mouse, over to the right, where the follower
button is and click...yes you've got it)
Leave a comment, of course you will.
Tell me, oh please tell me...
As a guest blogger in 2011
what will you be sharing with us?
( ok, that should do it) 

Our month end giveaway is NOW..

this tote from MICHAEL MILLER is filled

with 19 fat Quarters from the Ginger Blossom collection.

Thank you Micheal Miller!

They are our  NEW SPONSOR and have sent

some delightful Fat quarter bundles...

Ohhhh my is all I can say...

Oh Yeahhhhhh!

oh forgot to add, draw will be NEW YEARS DAY!
Happy New Years!

P.S. The answer for Mom at coxwill dot com
YES the WINNER will get the TOTE and 
 all its CONTENTS...I know lol...
Ü
Editor note ( that is me silly)


I would love to add, those who do 
not have a blog, you quilt right?
Ok, you can be a guest POSTer...
Why not? You have quilt stories in you,
why should that stop you..
No, it won' and shouldn't, sew please
if you want to, step on up...
We are most interested.

Strippy, Scrappy, FABULOUS Casserole Hot Mats...

Happy Holidays, everyone! This is Teresa from Fabric Therapy! The strips and scraps have been FLYIN' in my quilt cave lately as I get last minute gifts ready in a flash!  I came up with a neat project to reduce my overflowing strip and scrap bins while making a useful and pretty gift.

I started with heaps and piles of strips and scrappy pieces. 

See?  Chaos does take over every now and then in my compulsively organized quilting area.  I have to get all the scraps out where I can touch and feel them.

First I made a lot of trees using green strips and scrappy chunks of backgrounds.

Then, in honor of Tonya's Ricucci 's new book, Word Play Quilts (hot off the press in December!), I decided to make some free-pieced letters.

 All with an exclamation mark to get the point across!

Then I put it all together to make casserole hot mats.  It seems that mug rugs are the number one cool gift to make for everyone this year, so I decided to make hot mats following the same basic ideas and using Insul-Brite batting. Ta da!!

 They are all sizes, most big enough for a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish.  

 I used some of my longer scrappy strips to border the crazy pieces.  They are thick! I machine quilted the little top to some Insul-Brite, then layered batting and a back, then used little scraps of prepared binding left over from previous quilts to finish them off. They are truly scrappy from start to finish.

When I got bored with trees, I experimented with a couple of different styles.

They are an awesome way to reduce those scrap bins while wow-ing your friends and family! 

Thank you to Madame Samm and all of you for letting me share a project.  I've been sharing organizational secrets of my stash with you lately and it was fun to pull things out, make a mess and a project, and share it with you (and, of course, clean up...I can only stand the chaos for so long before I start trying to find the tops of my tables!). 

May you all organize your sewing areas and manicure those stashes in the new year!!

In stitches,

Teresa  :o)

more comments here for Teresa...we had a hiccup this morning and had to repost her post lol

Sewing for Christmas 2011

As I walk through the house, I see the remains of a lovely Christmas.  Needles from the tree are mixed with bits of ribbon from presents opened Christmas morning.   I smile as I'm reminded of the look on the faces of those who received handmade gifts from me and I am left wondering why I didn't create more special things this year.  I find myself in this place again, promising myself that in the New Year it will be different.  


My name is Renee, and I am a quilter, knitter, crafter and lover of all things vintage.  My blog is Sewn With Grace and I am so pleased to be with you today.  Thank you, Madame Samm, for this opportunity.  Stash Manicure is one of the blogs I visit daily to grab some creative fuel.  Many wonderful people share great ideas for using up their fabric stash.  I always leave feeling inspired.


I am on a mission to sew for Christmas each month in the New Year.   I want to give handmade gifts all year long, but especially at Christmas.  With blogs like Stash Manicure to inspire, I know this can be done.   I certainly can't say that I don't have enough fabric to do so...

Allow me to share with you some of my favorite ways to manicure my stash and create gifts.  If you are looking for something less time consuming than a quilt, one easy gift to make is a scarf...

About 1/2 yd. fabric for front of scarf

Scripture fabric at Shabby Fabrics

when you realize how easy that is, you have no choice but to keep going!

Bits of fabric, vintage trim, buttons and an inexpensive composition notebook make for one great journal...

or several!

Tiny bits of fabric don't end up wasted when formed into pretty flowers and attached to a $12.99 sweater from T.J. Maxx.

Lots of fabric can be used up to make table runners.  How about one for each season?  What a fun gift to receive!

With all of the great bag patterns available, who wouldn't love a little "junk" to add to their wardrobe? Especially one in pink!

The Junk Bag by Jackie Clark

pattern at Shabby Fabrics

Once a few of these items are made and tucked into a closet, gift giving will be a snap!  Instead of wondering why you didn't do enough next Christmas, you'll be satisfied with the work of your hands and will have given some handmade love to those you care so deeply for.  Let's pinkie swear we'll keep Christmas in our hearts and flowing creatively through our fingers in 2011.  Blessings!

My excitement certainly matches the winners today....update...can I just say, YOU are Totally AWESOME ....

First, did you all have a wonderful holiday,

break, time out, visit ?

I missed you all!

I did in fact take a break, and there is nothing

like getting back into a routine.

Sew now that the Holidays are behind us, 

I am ready to move forward..

How about YOU?

And goodness me, without 

further ado....we have a 

few winners 

to announce.

The response was overwhelming,

all of your comments were just a delight

to read. Some were a bit... can I say mushy and over
the top sweet...but ohhh  indeed many brought a chuckle.
The result was a heck of a lot of emails to read through
and I enjoyed everyone of them ...Sew from my heart
to yours...it spoke volumes...

NOW-
 my software chose numbers 

each day that corresponded with your comment

and follower button...

If you note, winners from all over the world!

Congratulations to the following
Please be sure to send me your addresses
sew I can mail these all off before the 
New Year!

Day 1 Winner  ( have not heard from you yet)

#170 Jedoglec 

you have won the Jelly Roll. from Lissa at Moda

( from Poland)

Day 2 Winner ( yep heard from you, check lol)

#48 SkikStitches 

you have won Carrie's patterns, Carrie Nelson

( from England)

BONUS DAY IS YOURS.
Lot's of extra goodies to you...
Congrats...#2
Layer cakes, extra patterns, notions,
cuppa cozie, thimble its ( love those)
...Value PRICELESS..!

Day 3 Winner ( yep heard from you too...check)

#37 Elly

you have won the Silks from Valerie Online Pastimes..

( from Northern Scotland)

Day 4 Winner ( heard from you, check)

#52 Sewn With Grace, Renee

you have won the pattern Love in Bloom from Cori Blunt

(from United States)

Day 5 Winner ( yep heard from her too, check)

#11 Felicity

you have won the Robert Kaufman bundle ( from R.K)

( from Canada)

Day 6 Winner

#43 mamacjt ( yep, ohhh I heard from her...lol, check)

you have won the Riley Blake fat quarter bundle ( Jina)

( from United States)

Day 7 Winner ( yep heard from her a couple of times..check lol)

#145 MommaRock

you have won the Home Pattern from Shabby Fabrics ( Jennifer)

( from United States)

Sew to all you WINNERS, I have to agree

with many of you who commented..we all win..

WE are united with our passion for Quilting...

( ohhh and there will be sew many more giveaways

you just wait and see)

And a huge Thanks to our SPONSORS

once again...xx

Ohhh and one of our SPONSORS

Jane got a NEW Look. 

* I had a wee giveaway of my own

yesterday...and she won..

Madame Samm's other home away from home!

Jane has a new RETRO look!

She went from this..

 To this...

she was pretty excited..she will tell you all about it...

WINNER OF THIS ....

cuppa cozie....

keeps your beverage HOT for up to 3 hours

Made from 100% goose down..

created by YOURS truly..

Madame Samm

Will be announced in the morning...

Sew return and check in...in the morning EASTERN TIME!

And that winner is 

#48 Christine

and she is from Australia....

( there you go, I think we toured the world)

Please connect with me ...

and congrats...

On a very personal NOTE:

I ask that you contribute comments-

SEW we get to know one another..

It really helps you know...

The BONUS for me, is I will

want to continue building this blog and working

with the Sponsors on your Behalf..

SEW thank you...your words MATTER...

I believe I saw something extra under the tree....

FOR ME? or YOU! 

Regular GUEST BLOGGING resumes in the MORNING

Thank GOODNESS! lol