SMS Hip Holiday Giveaway Winner

Photo courtesy of Westwood Acres Fabric

SMS Giveaway Day Week is over and it always makes me a bit sad.  I've had such fun reading about all of your holiday traditions.  It is clear to me that like with my own family, getting to be together with family plays a huge part in our family traditions.  Food is another big part of our traditions - who doesn't love all those wonderful Christmas treats we only have once a year?!  And combine food and our families and friends?  Now that's a winning combination!

Like with me, Christmas movies play a huge part in our annual Christmas celebrations.  Many of you reminded me of movies I hadn't seen in a long time, or of annual favorites.  Either way, movies help us feel the spirit of the season.

And I even learned a bit about traditions from other cultures!  That was fun!

Perhaps the comments I enjoyed most, however, were the ones that reminded me of Christmas memories, some nearly forgotten.  What a joy those were for me.

A few of you don't celebrate Christmas, and entered anyway.  Thank you.

I hope I was able to respond to everyone who left a comment.  I really tried, although my computer didn't make it easy sometimes.  If you didn't receive a comment, you were either a no-reply blogger or my computer zipped along without letting me respond.  Know that I read and enjoyed every comment.

Photo courtesy of Blend Fabrics

And now...  {drum roll please!}...  the moment you have been waiting for...

The winner of the Josephine Kimberling Hip Holiday bundle from Westwood Acres Fabric is

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

406

Timestamp: 2013-12-15 00:17:33 UTC

406.  Reb Thack  December 11, 2013 at 5:06 PM

We read a Christmas kids book all together every night leading up to the 25th. It's super fun to share in the kids' excitement!

That sounds like a fun tradition I wish I had done when my kids were little.  Maybe next year I'll get the grands 25 Christmas books and give them to their mommy at Thanksgiving for their Christmas enjoyment.  (This year I gave them a chocolate advent calendar, and I think the begging was driving their mommy and daddy crazy!)

Reb, I'm off to email you for your address.

Thanks to everyone who entered.  You really helped start my Christmas season off in a splendid way!

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day - Hip Holiday Giveaway

It's Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day again, and I have to admit that I really wasn't ready.  I've been home from my Thanksgiving Snow-cation for a couple of days now, but I'm still fighting the cold - at least the one in my head.  Nevertheless, I didn't want to let the day go by without playing, you know?

If you're new to my little blog, let me introduce myself...  I'm Wendi, a mom, grandma, recently retired banker, lover of color, quilts, crafts of all kinds, and {especially} these two little people.   And according to my husband, I'm always "too pressed for time", hence the name of my blog (just in case you were wondering.)

And now for the good stuff...

This summer, while I was visiting my daughter, she handed me a fat quarter bundle, and my precious grandbabies, left town and let me not only have the kids all to myself, but make a c-u-t-e Christmas quilt from the yummy Hip Holiday by Josephine Kimberling as well!  Super fun!

photo courtesy of Westwood Acres

And since it's Christmas, and since I can't make each of you your own Christmas quilt, I purchased a fat eighth bundle of the adorable Hip Holiday from my daughter's {new} shop for one lucky winner.  And if you don't win, you could even buy yourself a bundle (ps:  it's on sale!)

To enter:

1.  Leave a comment below and tell me your family's favorite Christmas tradition.  (One of ours -well, ok, mine - is watching "White Christmas" every year.  And the best part?  At least one of my kids will make it a point to watch it with me.  Aren't they the best kids ever?!!)

2.  If you're a follower of my blog (or become a follower) you get a second entry.  Just leave a second comment.

3.  For a third chance to win, head over to my Facebook page and "Like" it, then come back and leave another comment.

photo courtesy of Blend Fabrics

So, you have 3 chances to win!  Good luck!

Sorry - while I have many friends internationally, with the price of postage, I can only ship domestically this time.  Oops, apparently I linked to the wrong thread on SMS, so I'll keep my promise and ship anywhere in the world.

Per SMS rules, the giveaway will be open until 5 pm Pacific Time on December 13, 2013.

And thanks for visiting!

Per SMS Rules, comments are now closed.

"W" is for WINNER of the WEEKENDER

Well, it's a good thing that SMS Giveaway Day lasts a whole week, or I would be in a pickle, wouldn't I?  When I got up last Monday morning, I had no idea what I was going to do for a giveaway prize, and being that I hadn't yet started sewing on Monday morning, I'm glad I had a few days to finish it.

Overall it was a really fun project and not at all the nightmare I had been led to expect.  I pretty much followed Elizabeth Hartmann's suggestions and took it slow and easy, and used a large (size 18) needle.  Since WH was out of town, I had lots of time to play on the sewing machine, so when I got bogged down with it, I worked on another project.  Consequently, I have made progress on several other projects in the process of making the bag that undoubtedly will become topics of future blog posts.

I really enjoyed reading everyone's comments.  If I didn't respond to your comment, it was because I was something of a ditz - I got so excited reading them that I forgot to respond, and once they were read, I couldn't figure out who I had responded to and who I had missed.   Thank you all for the kind words, for following the blog, and for following me on FB and Pinterest.  I hope that we can become good online friends.  Maybe I'll even get to meet some of you in person one day.

But now it's time to choose a winner.  I have to admit that I'm having a little trouble letting go of this bag.  This is the third or fourth time I have sat down to write this post, and each time I have gotten interrupted sidetracked.

But this time, I am going to succeed in posting a winner.  I asked Mr. Random, and he chose

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

84

Timestamp: 2013-05-12 20:09:29 UTC

Who is my friend and former swap partner, Mary,  and who writes one of the very first blogs I ever started following.

 84 Mary on Lake Pulaski  May 6, 2013 at 2:23 PM

I "like" you on Facebook.

Again, thanks to everyone who entered.  Mary, I'm off to email you right now.

Weekender Travel Bag #Sew Mama Sew Giveaway - FINISHED!

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I couldn't wait for "sweet light" to introduce you the Weekender Travel Bag I made for the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway.  (If you are entering the giveaway, please leave a comment on this post - comments left anywhere else, while oh-so-welcome, will not count as entries for the giveaway.)

As you can see, I used mostly Amy Butler Lark for the quilted outside panels of the bag.  I am actually really excited about these chevrons, you know - these were some of the "bonus HSTs" (I made the HSTs as I was making the flying geese - a suggestion I read somewhere - Flickr, maybe?)  I had left over from all those flying geese in Amanda's Swoon Quilt that I made her for Christmas.  You can read about the Swoon quilt here and here.   I really love creating things out of scraps.  It makes me feel so thrifty!  And I really had a blast creating this bag.  (And now that I've re-read the Swoon posts, I think I'm going to have a really hard time giving this baby away.  Luckily, there are lots more HSTs if I decide to make another bag.)  If you'd like to make one, I think Amanda still has some Lark in her shop.

Here's the other side.  While the color combinations are basically the same, the fabrics on both sides are different, partly because I didn't have enough of any one fabric, and partly because I thought it was a fun way to create the bag.  Making the bag wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be.  The most time consuming part was quilting the outside.

Not a single wordy-dirty on this project, can you believe it?  A bunch of bent pins, but that was to be expected (I really have to get some of those quilting binder clips.)  And only two broken needles - one because I didn't screw the needle in tight enough and it came loose while I was sewing - oops!  The other because the needle I was using was too small.  In the instructions, Amy recommends a size 16 needle and sewing s-l-o-w-l-y.  I think she means it!  I didn't have any 16's, but I did use an 18 for most of the bag construction (after I broke the size 12 needle, of course), and it worked perfectly.  I used most of Elizabeth Hartmann's suggestions for the bag, including using cotton duck instead of peltex, and I really like the sturdiness and heft of the bag.  If I do make this bag again, I'll use this same idea. 

I decided to vary my chevrons a bit for the end pockets.  I kinda wish I'd thought of that sooner.  It's really fun!

I used texty prints as filler - and also because I thought it was really fun.  And the piping is a texty print I stole scavenged from Amanda when she made her Weekender last fall.

It has a double zipper...

And my favorite divided pocket inside - perfect for cell phone, keys, and other small objects you don't want to lose in the bottom of the bag.

I'm so excited about this project!  I sure hope the winner likes it!

Weekender Giveaway!

It's that time again and once again {what's new?} I'm running late.  I really struggled with what to do for this year's spring Giveaway Day.  It's always such an exciting time and I always have a blast seeing what everyone else is giving away (and entering the giveaways, of course - occasionally I have even won something!)  In the past I've picked favorite fabrics that I've been excited about to give away.

This year I decided to actually create something for Giveaway Day.  I've been going to do this for awhile, and what better time?  I'm creating a Weekender Travel Bag which I will give to one lucky winner.

Here is the front pocket of the bag you will receive.  Chevrons (mostly Amy Butler's Lark and texty prints).  I really think you will like it.  I think I will really like it when it is finished.  (Actually, I think I'm going to have a hard time giving it away.)

So, what do you need to do?  Here's the scoop:  each person can have up to three entries.
1.  Leave a comment and tell me about your favorite Sew Mama Sew Giveaway this spring.  That's it!  You're entered in the giveaway.

2.  If you are a follower of my blog, you receive a second entry.  That's it.  Just a leave a comment and let me know.  If you want to become a follower today, that counts too.  In either case, leave me a comment and tell me so.

3.  For a third entry, Like my PressedForTime2 Facebook page and leave me a comment on this blog post to tell me you did .  If you already Like my page, just leave me a comment and say so.  (I'm sorry to say that comments left on FB will not count as entries - I'm just not that nimble to be able to figure out how to mesh them together.)

In accordance with the rules of SMS Giveaway Day, this giveaway will close May 10 at 5:00 pm PST.  

Anyone, anywhere in the whole wide world can enter - I am more than willing to ship internationally.

Please, please, please check to be sure you are NOT a no-reply blogger.  It is so discouraging to choose a winner only to find out that I have no way to notify them that they won.  I will pick another winner immediately if this is the case.

So, I'm back to work on your bag...  I'll post progress pictures in future posts if you want to see more of what it will look like.  I think you'll really like it!

This giveaway is now closed to new entries!  Thanks everyone!

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day

Today is the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day again!  I'm so excited.  This is always one of the most fun times of the year.  I love visiting other blogs and seeing what's going on.  I have been introduced to some of my favorites through Giveaway Day.  Thanks for visiting.  I hope you will come back often.

Photo courtesy of Google images

To celebrate Giveaway Day, I'm giving away a Mama Said Sew jelly roll by the incredible Sweetwater.  I love their designs.  They always have such fun texty prints, among others, and Mama Said Sew is a fabulous collection.  I have some other fun things to add to the package...  a few zippers and a selection of buttons...

And even one of my One Hour FQ Totes - this one is market style, and made with DS Quilts FQs.

I will be glad to ship this little package to you, wherever you are.

What do you need to do to enter?  Well, I'm really glad you asked.  Just leave a comment on this post and tell me about your favorite SMS giveaway on another blog so I can go visit.  Or, check out some of the other posts on this blog and tell me which post or project you like best.

If you're a long-time follower or become one today, you are eligible to enter a second time - just leave a second comment letting me know you follow me.

Per the SMS rules, the giveaway is open until 5 pm on Friday, December 7th. The winner will be chosen by Mr. Random Number Generator sometime Friday evening or Saturday morning.

Be sure you leave an email address so I can notify you if you win!  No email address = invalid entry.  If I don't have a way to contact you, the entry will be disqualified and I will choose another winner immediately.

Thanks for stopping by!  Good luck!

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day Update! And the other winner is...

Well, I promised a solution to my comment numbering dilemma today, and I am determined to make good on my promise.  Ladies (and gentlemen?) we have a solution.

I made a run to Jo-Ann's today and picked up 8 more fat quarters of yummy DS Quilts fabrics.  It's not exactly the same selection as the last one because they were sold out of some of the prints....  Or they weren't in the right place, which is entirely possible with Jo-Ann's, but I'm pretty good at searching, if I do say so myself.  And it's late and I'm too lazy to take pictures, so you'll have to take my word for it that they are lovely.  And if I'm less lazy tomorrow, I'll take pictures of this yummy fabric stack AND the 3 quilt tops I finished today (which explains why it's so late and why I'm so tired.)

 {cue the drumroll again please...)

The winner is -

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

226 

Timestamp: 2012-05-27 05:11:58 UTC

who is -

226  Debora K May 25, 2012 10:42 AM 

I'm excited about the quilt kit giveaway at Inchworm Fabrics. It's #55 on the U.S. only Sewmamasew list.

So, congratulations Debora K and I'll send you an email shortly to get your snail mail address.  Your package will be in the mail on Tuesday.

There.  No more guilt.  A long aaaaaaahhhh sigh of relief.  

And now, with that settled, I'm off to bed.  Hopefully, there will be some sandwiching and quilting on the docket after church tomorrow.

Sweet dreams.

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day Update! And the winner is...

I had a great time with this spring's Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day, didn't you?  I met so many wonderful people and got to visit so many great blogs!  It was a little intense trying to answer all the comments, and if I missed yours, I'm sorry.  I still have a few in my inbox I haven't gotten to yet.  And all the giveaways were a bit overwhelming, but everyone was so generous and there was such great variety.  It was great fun and I had a blast.  

I have learned a few things this week during my ramblings in blogland, and I thought I might share some of them...

1.  People are right when they say that comment verification is a pain, but it's better than the alternative.

2.  I didn't have good luck with raffle copter at all.  That widget just made me crazy.  Call me stupid, but I just couldn't figure it out.

3.  I like following through Google better than Facebook, RSS Feed, Email, or any other way.  That way, when I have a mind to go blog surfing, all my favorite blogs are right there in one place, in the order of most recent posting.  Makes it so easy to go visit my friends.  I'm really sad that Google turned off Google Friend Connect for non-Blogger blogs.

4.  I'm not ready to start tweeting and have another communications medium to try to keep up with.  I have enough trouble managing my blog, my work email, my home email, Flickr, Facebook and Insta-gram.  Nope.  I'm not ready to tweet just now.

5.  People in blogland are so nice and so very generous.  I really enjoyed meeting everyone and visiting all the cool blogs and entering all the giveaways.  Thanks to those who left comments for pointing me to the ones you liked best.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to visit and left a comment.  And a special thanks to everyone who clicked "follow".  I am really jazzed that anyone would want to read my ramblings.  I love it when people stop by and leave comments.  The giveaway comments were no different - I loved reading what all of you had to say.

And now, I have an announcement to make!

{trumpets here!} Since I'm so close to 200 followers, I'll be having another giveaway for the other 8 DS Quilts fat quarters (2 total yards of fabric) on the day (or as close to it as I discover it) I reach 200 followers, and maybe a special gift for follower #200.  So stay tuned, as they used to say on TV!  It could be any day now, because I'm pretty close!

And now, if you missed the Update on the SMS Giveaway Post, here it is again...

{Disclaimer:  I had a terrible time figuring out who the winner is.  Blogger says I have 248 comments, but I counted them electronically and by writing down each one, and I only come up with 199.  Add to that that since Blogger instituted the reply feature my comment counter doesn't work, and figuring this out is a nightmare.  I tried printing them all, but my printer ran out of both ink and paper, so that wasn't very successful...  Anyway, if you count them differently than I do, I apologize.  I really tried.} 

NOTE:  After I posted the above comment, I received a visit from CeLynn at The Sunflower Patch. She told me about Jenelle's blog which described a way - an easy way - to add comment numbering back on Blogger.  I tried it, and it worked.  Note that there are now numbered comments in the comments section.  Very cool.  Hopefully, I won't have to try to figure out how to count comments again.  EVER.

Not only that, but I found the other 49 missing comments.  I'm really not sure which ones were missing actually, but it is clear that some of you were disenfranchised by this whole comment numbering/missing comment thing.  And that makes me unhappy.  And feeling guilty.  You entered and you deserved to be counted.  But the winner has already been selected.  So, I'm working on a plan to have another drawing for another prize, but I don't know exactly what yet, since I've already committed the other 8 FQ's to my 200 follower giveaway.  But I'll think of something, so please hang in there.  I plan to have a solution by tomorrow, Saturday, May 26.  

I'll get back to you.  Promise! 


And now {insert drum roll here} the moment we've all been waiting for....  The winner is

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

153 

Timestamp: 2012-05-26 01:24:53 UTC

... who is  

MargaretMay 24, 2012 12:18 PM

Hi-so many great giveaways- and yours looks great but you might also like Jayme@FindingSweetland- offering some very cool IKEA fabric!

Thanks for the chance to win!

Margaret, I'll be sending  you an email to get your address and get this yummy little bundle in the mail to you on Tuesday.  

Thanks to everyone who played along.  I had a great time reading your comments and visiting the blogs you suggested.  It was way fun! 

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day

 UPDATE:  Thanks to everyone who stopped by.  I have tried to answer all the comments you left, but I know there are still a few I haven't gotten to yet - but I will.  Hasn't SMS Giveaway Week been fun?  Overwhelming, but fun!  

{Disclaimer:  I had a terrible time figuring out who the winner is.  Blogger says I have 248 comments, but I counted them electronically and by writing down each one, and I only come up with 199.  Add to that that since Blogger instituted the reply feature my comment counter doesn't work, and figuring this out is a nightmare.  I tried printing them all, but my printer ran out of both ink and paper, so that wasn't very successful...  Anyway, if you count them differently than I do, I apologize.  I really tried.} 

There is more to this story.  Read here.  


And now {insert drum roll here} the moment we've all been waiting for....  The winner is

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

153 

Timestamp: 2012-05-26 01:24:53 UTC

... who is  

MargaretMay 24, 2012 12:18 PM

Hi-so many great giveaways- and yours looks great but you might also like Jayme@FindingSweetland- offering some very cool IKEA fabric!

Thanks for the chance to win!

Margaret, I'll be sending  you an email to get your address and get this yummy little bundle in the mail to you on Tuesday.  

Thanks to everyone who played along.  I had a great time reading your comments and visiting the blogs you suggested.  It was way fun! 

I know, I know - I should title this post "A Day Late and a Dollar Short", but I just couldn't let this week go by (again) without playing in the SMS Giveaway Day Week.  It has always been so much fun for me to check out the cool blogs and enter the giveaways, so when I heard - yesterday - that it was that time again, I was really bummed.  How could I miss it?

So I decided I would put together a little package of my favorite DS Quilts fabrics and just see if anyone comes to visit.

This package is 8 fat quarters of DS Quilts fabrics - 2 full  yards of scrumptious cotton goodness.  It includes selections from Picnic/Fairgrounds, Daisy Mae, Aunt Edna, and Meadowlark.   (Ooooh, I just love these!)

I will be glad to ship this little package to you, wherever you are.

How do you win?  Well, I'm really glad you asked.  Just leave a comment on this post and tell me about your favorite giveaway on another blog so I can go visit.  I'd love it if you would become a follower, but it is not required.

The giveaway is open until 5 pm on Friday, May 25th, this giveaway is now closed to comments and the winner will be chosen by Mr. Random Number Generator sometime Friday evening or Saturday morning. Be sure you leave an email address so I can notify you if you win!

Good luck!

SMS Giveaway Winner!

Thanks so much to everyone who visited and left a comment during the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway.  I've had so much fun reading your comments.  It's been fun to see what new fabrics everyone is excited about.  I've replied to some of you, but haven't been able to reply to everyone yet.  I hope to be able to reply to everyone in the next few days.  (We're having company this weekend, so I've been away from blogland scrubbing and cleaning.  I would much rather be here with y'all!)

But, as they say, all good things must come to an end, and so it is with this little giveaway.  My friend RNG (Random Number Generator) has picked

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

98

Timestamp: 2011-05-26 12:12:36 UTC

who is Melissa, who said,

Melissa said...

Thanks for the giveaway! I love Tula Pink Prince Charming.

May 24, 2011 4:04 PM 

Congratulations, Melissa!  Email me your address and I'll get that in the mail to you - probably Tuesday.

Thanks again to everyone who entered.  Check back with me, because there might just be a little something later for you Little Apples fans - if I can bear to part with it!

Quilt Market Loot - and a Giveaway!

One of the really cool things about quilt market was the fun things people were giving away.  My favorite, of course, was the mini charm squares.  I was fortunate enough to snag a couple and boy are they cute!

But there were some other fun things, too.  Some folks gave away patterns.   This one is cute.

I totally missed out on the mini charms of Ruby, but I was fortunate enough to get a pattern.  See those receiving blankets made with Ruby flannel?  That flannel just may be the softest flannel known to mankind.

The folks at Interweave gave me a calendar and a whole bunch of magazines.

 And then of course there were the brochures.  sarahjane's new fabric is gorgeous, but I especially loved the embroideries.

And Jillily's booth was so fun.  They were giving away mini sorbet cones in some great summertime flavors.  My favorite was raspberry.  Yummy!









There was some other loot as well, but I haven't taken photos of it all.  Suffice it to say that my luggage was heavier coming home than it was on the outbound trip.

And since the folks at QM were so generous, I thought I would share.  If you caught this post, you know that I have a running love affair with French General (shhhhh...  don't tell WH!) so you can tell that I really love this fabric.  It's classic and fresh and olde worlde all at the same time.  So I really hope you will like today's giveaway as much as I do.  It includes a mini charm pack of French General's new line Panier des Fleurs, which comes with a project sheet for a sweet hexi pin cushion, and a copy of the 2010 Quilting Arts Gifts magazine.  Even though the mag is last year's, there are some fun, simple gifts lurking within those pages.  I had a browse through it and I think I'm going to try one or two of these ideas before it wings its way to someone else's home.

So what do you need to do to win?  Just leave me a comment and let me know your favorite fabric from this spring's collections, or let me know what fabric you're most looking forward to for summer/fall.  That's it.  I'd love it if you'd FOLLOW my blog, but it's not required.  ETA:  Oh - and I forgot to mention, be sure I have a way to contact you if you win.  Duh!  And I think I forgot to mention that this giveaway ends THURSDAY, May 26 at midnight.

And if you're in the mood for a little web surfing, check out Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day post.  Lots of folks in blogland are having giveaways today.

Good luck!