Giveaway Winners

Wow, over 700 comments but it had to come down to just one winner for the Red Letter Day bundle:

Jenniffier said... So I just found this website today, but it has tons of sewing info, patterns and stuff. http://www.burdastyle.com/

Congratulations Jenniffier! I've also sent you an email.

And the mystery prize goes to:

JuneBug said... My current favorite tutorial is the Lil Cutie purse pouch: http://www.noodle-head.com/2009/10/tutorial-lil-cutie-pouches.html
I've made many for holiday giving, and they're great for scrap use and working with funky fabric combinations. Plus, no pins!!!

JuneBug has a really cute blog and it seems that she's recently discovered the joys of online fabric browsing (and purchasing). It will be easy for me to put together a bundle of fabrics for her...perhaps to make some more Lil Cutie Pouches? Check your email JuneBug!

Many thanks again to everyone who commented, to my new followers, and to my loyal followers that have been with me from the very beginning. I wish I could send each of you a bit of Red Letter Day!

So what's next? I'm still in the process of compiling everyone's pattern suggestions, and will post the list as soon as I finish it. Tonight, however, I need to cut some patterns and choose fabrics for two birthday presents before Christmas - an Oliver + S 2+2 blouse (size 2) and a Portabellopixie (Sandi Henderson) Gracie Jumper (size 1). Hopefully I'll have photos to post very soon.

Thank you!

Click here to go to my giveaway post

Wow! I am truly overwhelmed by the response to my giveaway (more than 500 comments already). I'm so glad to have found hundreds of others who share my love for those ducks. I'm also delighted that so many of you have chosen to follow my humble blog. You are all inspiration and motivation for me.

With so many comments, I apologise if I don't reply personally to each of you (though I'm still considering it!). However, I have read every single comment and looked up the pattern, or blog, or book, or tutorial that you've recommended. You've introduced me to many new patterns and blogs and my brain is swimming with ideas. As a thank you for all of the time you put into your comments, I've started compiling a list of all of your pattern recommendations that I will post on my blog shortly.

With so many entrants I'll just have to give out another prize (to the second number selected by random). I'm not sure what it will be yet - fabric, supplies, or a small handmade item. I may wait till I've chosen the winner and stalk their blog to decide!

Thanks so much for joining me at Ducks and Rabbits. And good luck on this and all of the other giveaways!

My First Giveaway!

Comments closed - winners to be announced shortly!

I'm fairly new to sewing, and even newer to blogging - I started this blog about half a year ago after the last Sew, Mama, Sew! giveaway day. It was an avalanche of inspiration that led me to starting this blog, making my first quilts, and a new fabric addiction. So it's my turn to give back to the blogging community as part of another Sew, Mama, Sew! giveaway day.

Those that already read this blog know that I have some particular fabric obsessions, namely Lizzy House's Red Letter Day and MoMo's Wonderland (thus the name of this blog). So for this, my very first giveaway, I am offering up some Ducks - a gorgeous bundle of Red Letter Day fabric. I hope it makes someone as happy as it makes me!

One lucky winner will get 12 pieces of fabric totalling about 2 yards - all 6 prints in both the Galosh and Feather colourways (including that hard-to-find Ugly Duckling in Feather).

The Galosh colourway (on the left) includes a fat-eighth of each print, except the stripes which is a larger quarter yard.
The Feather colourway (on the right) includes a range of sizes from some large squares to fat eights to two fat quarters. 
Aren't they gorgeous?!

And here's how to enter:

1. I like to sew a bit of everything - accessories, quilts, clothes - but need some more patterns. Please leave me a comment telling me one of your favourite sewing patterns, designers or tutorials.
2. For a second chance, leave another comment if you are already a follower of Ducks and Rabbits or have become one.

The giveaway is open till Friday December 17th and the winner will be chosen randomly on Saturday. It is open for international entries.

Thanks for visiting!

New stash + giveaway soon

Firstly, I'm ever so excited to host my first giveaway very soon, as part of the Sew Mama Sew! Giveaway Day:

Sew, Mama, Sew!

Tonight I'm pulling out my stash and even cutting into some of my precious goodies (perhaps some of the collections alluded to in the name of this blog) to prepare my giveaway. So check back tomorrow to see what made the cut!

Now for my new stash...

First, here's a giveaway I won - a beautiful bundle of Heather Ross scraps from The Mad Quilting Librarian. Having only seen Heather Ross fabrics online, I was overjoyed to win this scrumptious bundle, and even more excited when I actually saw them in person - the colours are so vibrant and illustrations so precious.

Then I stumbled upon the tadpoles below on ebay and bought one yard. I'm keen to swap some fat quarters of it, especially if I can get some of the goldfish in exchange.

I also bought 2 fat quarters of Flea Market Fancy on ebay. Again, this is the first time I've seen these fabrics in person. Love them!

Finally, I bought a few metres of fabric from Sew, Mama, Sew! during one of their recent sales. I've been lusting for the Modern Meadow Honeycomb in Pink for ages, and was happy to get it for such a good price.

And also some It's a Hoot of my very own. I love the cute selvages! These fabrics are even more beautiful than they looked online. The bottom fabric is for a skirt for me, and the top for some type of bag.

Now, I better start gathering my giveaway bundles!

Red Letter Day Mod Sampler Quilt

Well, it's finally quilted, bound, washed and dried AND we've had a sunny day = photos of my Red Letter Day quilt! I love it so much and can't wait to give it to my friend and her kids.

I was also lucky enough to have my big sister visiting, and she helped by holding the quilt up. :)

The pattern is Oh Fransson!'s Mod Sampler Quilt-Along and the fabrics are all from Lizzy House's amazing Red Letter Day line, along with Kona Snow for the sashing. I used 10 fabrics (5 pairs) instead of 12, and made the quilt a smaller 4 x 5 blocks to make it a cot or crib quilt. The dimensions are approximately 40" x 51", after washing and drying.

I also cut and pieced a lot of strips instead of cutting out and piecing all the itty-bitty squares, and was happy with the result. If anyone is interested, I can post some photos and more details regarding this approach.

I was so confident after my first attempt at free-motion quilting, but was quite surprised at how much more difficult it was to quilt this larger quilt. It wasn't the extra area to quilt, it was the difficulty and even physical strain to control all that bulk of fabric. About halfway through the quilting I bought a pair of all-purpose gloves with latex palms from my local grocery store. They were well worth the $5 spent! It made the quilting substantially easier and the stitches a bit more regular. I like to think that the inconsistent quilting adds character to the quilt and overall I'm really happy with the crinkly result.

And here's the doll quilt washed and dried as well. I love how this shot helps put its size in perspective.

Sunshine, beach, visiting family and a finished quilt? Definitely a Red Letter Day.

Red Letter Day Doll Quilt

Just in time...
Well, just in time for the Blogger's Quilt Festival, but not quite in time for its recipient. I've literally just finished hand-stitching the binding and with less than 3 hours left to post it I've taken some indoor photos on a wet and gloomy day.

Blogger's Quilt Festival 

I'd hoped to finish this doll quilt and it's coordinated baby quilt before my girlfriend's baby was born. But the beautiful girl arrived yesterday afternoon, and I have yet to baste, quilt and bind the larger baby quilt. At least I can post some photos of the finished doll quilt - under the assumption that the mum won't be looking at my blog in the next few days with a newborn baby!

This is my second quilt (albeit small) but there were some firsts - first time I pieced randomly (so much fun!) and first time I free-motion quilted (also fun!). I really enjoyed the free-motion quilting and will definitely stick to that for a while, at least until I give in and purchase a walking foot.
I really love the back of the quilt, probably more than the front:

 And was pleasantly surprised with how good the quilting looks on my first effort:

The pair of quilts are for a good friend who has just had her second baby girl. Her older daughter and my son are best friends. The idea is that the larger baby quilt is for the newborn, and the small doll quilt is the gift for the new 'big sister' to use with her doll and cradle.
We're off now to visit them and meet the baby girl for the first time!
Thanks for visiting my blog.

An overdue update

Including giveaway wins (yes, more than one!) and some handmade highlights.

Well, it's been too long since I've posted - a result of being back at work and other commitments that have taken up too much time. I'm actually a bit surprised how much going back to work has impacted on my crafting time - I usually sew or knit in the evening anyway, after the kids are in bed, but I've just been too tired lately!

First, a long overdue post about a my first fabulous giveaway win! It was from the lovely quilary and it feels like it was made just for me:

It was beautifully packaged in a reusable tote, and contained the following goodies:

So perfect! I really needed the pin cushion and scrap bin, and I love the little homes for my essential tools (and the cute little paper cutouts to illustrate what goes where). And, did you notice - it's made with some scissors fabric from my favourite Wonderland line! The flower brooches will be great accessories for my little girl, and I have a bit of a soft spot for vintage patterns - my collection of vintage knitting patterns is massive and these will help grow my small sewing pattern collection. Thanks so much quilary! Such a wonderful prize for my first giveaway win - I can't imagine any being better than this!

And then, about a day after I found out I was the winner of the above giveaway, I got an email from Sew Mama Sew - I won one of the Back to School patterns - it looks like a lot of fun - here's the original post on Sew Mama Sew. I feel so lucky with these two wins!

In other news, my beautiful girl turned one last month. Here she is in her still-too-big ice cream dress, opening presents:

 And the cupcakes I made for the party:

And the lolly bags that I sewed, using some oh-so-bright fabric I got on special at my LQS:

They were fun to make, but I can't say I'll be doing it again (especially when I only had to make 7 - I can't imagine doing any more).

I'm finally ready to sit down and do some sewing now, and finally put my giveaway win to good use. It's a top secret project using some of my precious Red Letter Day fabrics - top secret since the recipient may be reading this blog!