And the winner of the Virginia Reel Pillow is...

#14, Pamela, who said...
I really had to think about this one...I'm usually the one who gives the handmade gifts! I would have to say that it would be a matching hand knit wooly scarf/hat from my knitting daughter a few years back. It's a lovely set and I love that she made it.

Thanks to everyone who entered - I so enjoyed hearing your stories.

Have a lovely weekend - happy sewing!
Amanda

Fat Quarterly Virginia Reel Pillow Giveaway

Hi everyone!  I'm excited to introduce a new complimentary pattern, the Virginia Reel Pillow.  Virginia Reel is a quilt that I designed for the folks over at Fat Quarterly.  Most of you are probably familiar with that magazine, but if you are not, it is an online-only magazine that comes out 4 times a year.  Each issue is absolutely chock full of quilts, projects, interviews - with no ads.  It is really a great deal. 

For Issue 6, which comes out early next week, I designed a quilt called "Virginia Reel" in my Veranda line. I called it that because it is comprised of dozens of pinwheels that seem to spin between pairs of columns, just like dancers in a reel. 

Want to take a peek?

Hop on over to Fat Quarterly's blog to download the pattern for the complimentary coordinating pillow, or, if you would prefer a traditional pdf to google docs, you can download it here.

The columns and rows upon which the pinwheel hangs wrap around to the pillow back!

Yes.  I used more Doodlebug buttons for the back.  Buttons with stripes!  Can't get enough of them.

I'm giving away my sample of the pillow right here!  I so enjoyed reading your comments last week about favorite handmade gifts you have given others, so to be entered in this giveaway leave me one comment on this post (only one please) telling me your favorite handmade gift you have been given.  Remember to leave me a way to contact you should you win.  And please become a follower, if you aren't already.

The deadline is this Friday the 29th at midnight.

Good luck and happy sewing everyone!

Amanda

And the I Have a Notion Giveaway Winners are...

#s 27 and #28. Can you believe it? What are the odds that the random number generator would select consectutive numbers?

The 27th entry is Jane, who said...
My best was my last one, a baby quilt. It was just a panel with pretty borders added, but it turned out so stinkin cute! I outline quilted the little animal scenes in the panel and did daisies and loops in the borders. Hope the mother liked it as much as I did!

AND

The 28th entry is SewingMom2Three, who said...
The best handmade gift I ever gave was a hand painted Christmas village that I painted for my Mom when I was in high school. She had no idea I was painting it and I managed to keep the whole thing a secret from her. It was so fun to see her surprise when she opened it on Christmas!

Contact me so you can claim your flowers and patterns!

I so enjoyed reading all of your messages and stories. For me, this was my favorite giveaway ever. Thanks to everyone who commented.  If you commented early on or didn't have a chance to read through the messages at the time, take a second and peruse them. They'll warm your heart!

Happy sewing!
Amanda

I Have a Notion Giveaway

Hi everyone!  This week I’m doing a giveaway in conjunction with Kelly of I Have A Notion, and she does.  She actually has a ton of notions!  Like most of you out there, I LOVE NOTIONS.  In addition to stocking a rotary blade sharpener that I have been coveting ever since she reviewed it last week, Kelly stocks of ton of Accuquilt dies.  We thought it might be fun to do a giveaway incorporating my patterns and Accuquilt products. 

This past weekend our kids and I cut some fun flowers using the Accuquilt fabric cutter – 20 in Veranda and 20 in Ambrosia.  They are the perfect size for my Village Green quilt pattern.  I’ll be giving away each set, in conjunction with a Village Green pattern.  So, if you follow this blog, leave me a comment (only one) telling me the best handmade project you’ve ever given. 

I’ll start by saying that the best project I’ve ever given was this quilt that I made for my mom.  It was actually going to be her first quilt – I know – she is an overly ambitious person, but she was very distressed to find out how it soon overtook her house, so I inherited it very early on.

It was my favorite because of how much she appreciated the work that went into it.  My friends lovingly referred to it as the "Guilt Quilt".  Mom even bought a new couch to go with a quilt.  Only a mom buys a new couch to go with a quilt, for goodness sake!  (Not to mention the fact that she is decorating her new house in Swiss Chocolate!)  All year I told her that there was no way I could get it done, even as I was finishing up.  We made her go on an embarrassing treasure hunt around the neighborhood to claim her prize, and when she came back home she was shocked to find it finished on her bed!

My second favorite giveaway is this Amy Bradley quilt I made for my nephew. Unlike his grandmother, he did not reupholster a couch to go with his quilt, which is why this is my second-favorite gift (sorry Ollie!), but he does know all the dogs by name. 

For another chance to win a fun prize, go over and visit Kelly's blog at I Have a Notion.  She is also offering a great discount on the AccuQuilt GO! Round Flower Die that I used in the above photo and on the GO! Baby Fabric Cutter.

The deadline for both giveaways is midnight Thursday.  We’ll announce the winners on Friday.  Good luck and happy sewing!
Amanda

Accuquilt Go Baby Review

We had a chance to play with my new Accuquilt Go Baby fabric cutter this weekend.  Fun!  It is really pretty simple.  (Really simple compared to a magazine quitl I have been working on... I can't give away too, much, but I'm really having to brush up on my piecing skills as each block has an hourglass unit, four quarter square triangles, four half square triangles, 4 flying geese, and four corner blocks... all set on point.  And there are 72 blocks!  Oh my!)
The Go Baby cutter has a very compact design, making it easy to store.

You open up the Go Baby...

Choose your die, and lay an appropriately sized piece of fabric on top.  (Most dies for the Go Baby use a 12" x 6" piece of fabric.)  If you only want to cut one shape from the die, just lay a smaller piece of fabric on top of that shape.  Cover the die and fabric with the cutting mat. 

Roll the die through the cutter, turning the Accuquilt handle with one hand and applying pressure on the mat/fabric/die with the other.  More pressure results in a cleaner cut.

When the cut shapes come out the other end, there may be a few threads that still attach them to their background, so keep a pair of sharp scissors nearby. 

Snip the threads and you have a beautiful applique shape.

I think the Go Baby cutter really would come in handy for applique projects, or project with unusal angles that can't easily be cut with a rotary cutter.  If you only want a few shapes from the die, it is definitely a great way to use up scraps.

First on my wish list for new dies that Accuquitl might create would be one that has leaves - just leaves, in the same style but different shapes.  Or spirals - that would be fun!

I realized that the round flower die (55007) is a perfect fit for Town Square, so our daughter cut two sets of 20 flowers to go with my Village Green pattern - one in Ambrosia....

and one in Veranda...

I think it might be cute to do the flowers in patterned fabric and the squares in solids.

Our son cut a ton of circles for a future project.  I am a big fan of circles!

I'll have a giveaway for these lovely Ambrosia and Veranda flowers later this week and a little later in the month I will be giving away a Go Baby fabric cutter along with three dies of your choice!

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Designing for the Soul...

Hi everyone!

My friend and fellow licensing artist, Caroline Simas, is having a fun giveaway over at her blog.  (I'm a firm believer that one can never have too many pincushions.  Hop on over and see her lovely fabrics...

Happy sewing!
Amanda

And the winner of the I'm Just a Guy Who Quilts Giveaway is...

Lee Ann, who said:
I'm a follower. To be honest, I'm keen for all shades of purple as they are hard to find.

I like purple too, Lee Ann.  Our daughter is an even bigger fan.

But honestly, there aren't a lot of colors that I don't love.
Thanks for entering and for the great ideas, everyone!

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Interview at "I'm Just a Guy Who Quilts"...

This giveaway is now closed....  Thanks for participating!

Hi everyone.  I promised another giveaway and here it is.  Ryan Walsh, of I'm Just A Guy Who Quilts, was gracious enough to interview me about Veranda and feature it on his fantastic blog.  Make sure to visit because he has some great treats to give away.  (Patterns and advance fabric... hint, hint!)

I'll giveaway a bit of fabric and some patterns on this blog as well.

To enter, become a follower (if you aren't already one) and leave a comment (only one) on this post.  Tell me what colors you'd like to see in a future collection.  Do you like bright tropical colors or more subdued prints?  Do you like rich purples or warm yellows and oranges, or something else entirely? 

Don't forget to leave a way for me to contact you should you win.

The winner will be announced on Wednesday, July 13th!

(For Swiss Chocolate fans, Melanie at A Sewing Journal just announced a giveaway of my patterns and a fat quarter pack in the Mocha color story, so don't forget to visit there too!)

Happy sewing!
Amanda

And the Fat Quarter Shop Giveaway winners are:

Karen, who commented on this blog:

"Hi Amanda. I like Garden Paths. What a happy design. I would love to win your giveaway. Thanks for the opportunity."

And from my facebook experiment, the winner is Granny Cooper, who said,

"Wow! So glad I found this link. Garden Paths and Blossoms are now on my To Buy list. And Portraits of my Garden. And Bubbles."

Please contact me so that I can mail out your patterns!

Fat Quarter Shop should  be posting their winners soon too.  Thanks so much to everyone who entered.

There will be another chance to win a full set of patterns late this week when I do an interview in conjunction with "I'm Just a Guy Who Quilts" , Ryan Walsh, so stay tuned!

Happy sewing!
Amanda