!!GiVeAwAy DaY!! with Sew Mama Sew!!

Hello and Welcome!!!
I'm joining in with the fun over at Sew Mama Sew today for Giveaway Day!
I have never had a giveaway on my blog before, so I rounded up a mixture of prizes to giveaway and will have 5 winners!!!
Lets take a look at what I have:

Prize #1
Mammal Chupie Handmade: Clutch in Blue Dots + Snail pin + Button Ring

Prize #2
Mammal Chupie Handmade: Clutch in Blue Plaid + Snail pin + Button Ring

Prize #3
Mammal Chupie Handmade: Scrap Cat plush in Yellow

Prize #4 

Watercolor Kit to make Pillow or Table Runner (note: center "water" fabric is not included)

(front of package)

(Backside of package)

Prize #5

Set of (4) Seasonal Floral Applique Patterns

Awesome stuff huh? So now I'm sure you're wondering how in the heck you might win one of the above prizes?!?!

Well here you go: 

How to Win! 

1. Leave a comment on this post answering this question:

What is your favorite quilt pattern or block?

(I need some ideas as to what to make with my newest fabrics, see here)

AND

2. Follow this blog anyway you like and tell me how you do so in the same comment!

(One comment per person please)

This giveaway is open to international entries!

Giveaway closes Friday May 16th @ 5pm PST

Giveaway is now closed. Winners will be announced here Sat. May 17th

It's that easy! You have all week to leave your comments and browse this blog!

And please go visit all the other amazing blog giveaways linking up at Sew Mama Sew today!

There are two link pages, one for Handmade Giveaways and one for Supplies Giveaways, my link is under the "Handmade" page since the majority of my prizes are made by me! Enjoy!

Travellin' Pic Stitch Blog Hop...my stop!

Yay! We're in sunny Southern California! It's my stop on the wonderful Travelin' Pic Stitch Blog Hop! There has been so much awesome English Paper piecing that I spent days just being in awe. I really wanted to try a new E.P.P block, and had spent the first week or so gathering inspiration and pinning it here. It was really hard to choose anything.

I chose to use a picture I took during summer 2011, while in San Francisco. I really like the building color against the sky tone with the character on the building adding even more pop. I feel like the building color on the far left is a bit more greenish than blueish but I am still happy with the palette. The cropped portion of the image was just too shadowy and I didn't want any black in this project so out it went.

The next step was to draft the pieces for the pattern I finally settled on, inspiration from Flickr and also pinned to my board here.

I cut out all the pieces (25 total, not too bad) and laid them out. It's really important to be accurate in your cutting, it helps make everything fit right when you go to sew them all together.

Now for my favorite part...pulling the fabrics!

I apologize for the crappy photos here, the colors are almost true, but I had to use my phone since my regular camera was not at hand. I also put in a more green-blue to match the building than the palette suggestion of a steel blue. I was really happy with the choices I made.

It didn't take me long, in fact I did most of the pieces while watching a movie!

To speed things along, I like to pre-cut the fabric close to the size of the pieces as you can see above.

Then I just trim them down as I baste each piece. It is really important to leave more than enough extra fabric around each shape since I don't pin or tack my pieces in place before basting them. This allows for some sliding to happen but covers the corner folds each time with no worries.

And here it is, all the pieces ready to be whip stitched together. Since it is Sunday, I figured I'd enjoy the weather and sit outside to finish it up. Check back for the finished block, I think it might end up on the front of a new messenger bag!

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Please check out the awesome blogger from yesterday, Catherine @ Knotted Cotton and tomorrow a post from Rachael @ Stitched In Color, with many more to follow!

This post is part of the Travelin' Pic Stitch Blog Hop.  From 1st October - 30th November we are hopping all over the world EPP-ing in some fantastic locations.  Check out the full list here and be sure to check out the other participants.

On 30th November it's over to you to link up for a chance to win these fabulous prizes! Sponsored by Paperpieces.com, FabricwormPink Castle Fabrics ,  Marmalade Fabrics, the Fat Quarter Shop, WantItNeedItQuilt, and Aurifil.

Full details for competition entry can be found here.

Goodnight September

A moon full of productivity and creativity. I'm glad September is over. I enjoy it, my birth month and school starting, but I am wishing for cooler weather to hit abruptly. I want to be cozy.
The season is being rather unruly in it's changing. As am I. But change is inevitable. No matter how much you resist.

Here's a sneak peek picture of what I spent my weekend doing. I'm not sharing it all yet because it's going to be a new tutorial! Yes, I said that. I know it's been a while.

I have some exciting news I can share though. I've signed up as a full fledged participant of the Traveling PicStitch Blog Hop hosted by the lovely Laura of Quokka Quilts and Katy of The Littlest Thistle.
You can hop along with us and an amazing list of other bloggers, it's easy.

• All you need an awesome landscape photo as a starting point of inspiration.
• Then go to a color palette generator like this one Play Craft's Palette Builder or various others on the internet and create a unique palette based off the landscape photo of your choice. (Beware, this can be addictive! )
• Armed with this new color palette, pull coordinating fabrics from your stash.
• Now pick an awesome English Paper Pieced block and stitch it up using your chosen fabrics.
• Write a post or post on Flickr with a link back to their main page on either blog.
• Link up Party on November 30th! There are amazing sponsors and prizes! Whoot!

Simple and so fun! I love a challenge and I really love the ease and mobility of doing English Paper Piecing. There's many simply tutorials on this technique that even a beginner could jump in this fun, so do it!

Here are two color palettes I generated as experiments.

A self portrait from the beginning of last fall. (I really love this palette..so much that it will most definitely become a quilt.)

Here's a nice shot I took during this year's Coachella festival.















Here are some links to more inspiration!

The Traveling PicStitch Pinterest Board
English Paper Piecing Inspiration 

I'll be sharing more information and insights on this project through out the blog hop. And it starts tomorrow at I'm A Ginger Monkey! See you there!

A new tutorial will be forthcoming this week!