Community Sampler Giveaway Week #3

Community Sampler Giveaway Week #3

Each Friday that Maureen Cracknell and myself are co-hosting the Community Sampler will be a Giveaway Friday. We've coordinated special prizes with our amazing participating sponsors for a giveaway each and every week! If you've happened to miss the first Community Sampler posts, take a look back from the first post Community Sampler Week #1 to get caught up to the present. Feel free to start sewing with us at anytime--it's never too late to join in, and it's free! 

Community Sampler Sponsors

Lady Belle Fabric  Omnigrid   Aurifil Thread  Art Gallery Fabrics   Hobbs Batting  Dritz 

 Fat Quarter Shop  Bloc-Loc

TODAY'S FEATURED COMMUNITY SAMPLER SPONSOR is AURIFIL THREADS!

Aurifil is a wonderful thread company dedicated to developing amazing, new products based on quality and solutions. Established in 1983, Aurifil is an accomplished Italian company based near Milano, with a full-grown experience in producing superior quality threads for professional and domestic quilters. The company headquarters is the ground where new ideas generate original items, always more refined and advanced, to provide assistance to all the quilting needs through a wide range of threads in several weights and accessories. Aurifil's success is based on developing projects carefully, always looking for high quality and great style, with a commitment to create contemporary products that will appeal to everyone!

Aurifil.com  *  Instagram  *  Facebook  *  We hope you enjoy visiting Aurifil!

For this week's Community Sampler Giveaway, Aurifil is offering the lucky winner the Maureen Cracknell Bohemian Garden Aurifil Thread Collection! This hand-selected set of threads includes TEN colorful spools of Aurifil thread, in 50wt 100% cotton, in colors chosen to coordinate with her Art Gallery Fabric collections!

How to Enter:

Maureen and I are taking turns hosting the Community Sampler Giveaway Fridays and this week I'm sending you to Maureen Cracknell's blog to enter!

A BIG thanks to all of you who are joining the 2018 Community Sampler sew-along and to those who enter our Giveaway!

Don't forget this same prize is offered on our Instagram feeds and every time you use the #CommunitySampler hashtag in your public IG posting your name is automatically entered into the drawings!

♡ Sharon

Gather Round - Bountiful Holiday Blog Tour

Gather Round - Bountiful Holiday Blog Tour

Today's my stop on the Bountiful Holiday Blog Tour and I'm excited to share the new Gather Round free pattern with you!

Every year, Thanksgiving comes around and I wish I'd thought ahead to organized a holiday sewing blog tour. Well, this year I was on the ball and planned way ahead. In fact, this tour has been in the making since my spring Bountiful tour! Some of the makers on that spring tour are also taking part in our holiday tour with the addition of some new bloggers as well. It's been a spectacular tour so far and I love the variety of projects geared toward gift giving, decorating your home for the holidays, or fast and fun sewing projects for any time of the year.

For my tour post and new free project, I selected Bountiful prints from both the Plant and Harvest color ways that create a winter Christmas feeling. For this project you will need fat quarters of 4 light and 4 dark prints, 1-1/2 yards backing, and (6) 18'' squares of Hobbs Thermore batting (affiliate link). The full material list with fabric sku numbers are listed on the PDF instructions.

I used 8 different prints in my placemats and mixed and matched for 6 different combination placemats. If you'd prefer a more unified look to your mats simply reduce the number of fabrics and up the yardage on each print so the total yardage is still the same. For example: To make 6 placemats you will need a total of 1 yard light print and 1 yard dark print. The backing and batting remain the same for 6 mats.

Download my free Gather Round pattern from my Free Patterns page. You'll find 24 free patterns there which are also great gift ideas for everyone on your sewing list.

I must confess that the last few years I've not decorated for Christmas--life has just been too busy. The extent of my decorating is displaying the Christmas cards I receive from friends and family and switching out the quilted table runner from my fall runner to a more wintery looking runner. For me, I prefer to spend my time with my kids and cooking. 

When I was thinking up what sort of project I wanted to share with you for my tour I wanted to make sure it would do not only double-duty for me, but for you as well. By making placemats, not only did I get a new look for my holiday table this year but we all get to enjoy a very useful (and quilty) project.

I like a round placemat because you can fit a lot of people around a table and not have mats edges overlapping. My Gather Round mat isn't round but is such a fun shape without messing with curves. Simple half-square triangles (HSTs) and a pillow case turned edge make these really fast to put together. I used a wonderful product from Hobbs Batting for the batting. It's called Thermore (affiliate link) and is perfect for placemats in many ways. The ultra-thin polyester fiber is not bulky at the seams and dishes won't rock or wobble. Because I turned the layers rather than bound the edges, it was nice not to have extra bulk at the seam and there's no need to clip the corners on this project when using this batting. Quilting can be 6-8 inches apart and the batting will still hold up in the laundry. It's very easy to quilt through by machine or by hand. This product would be great for T-shirt quilts, bags, clothing, and of course quilts like baby quilts that get a lot of use and laundering. 

I decide to use my Perennial Renewal print from my Bountiful fabrics for the backing on all 6 mats. Now my placemats have a whole new (second) table setting option. I love how my vintage dishes look in this clean farmhouse table setting. I'm going to get a lot of use out of these next month!

I chose to do minimal quilting on my mats. My top thread is the beautiful Aurifil 2887 green in a 28-weight thread so it really shows up on the front of the mat. I used a 50-weight 2021 white Aurifil thread in my bobbin to give the top stitch a little more definition between stitches and the white thread will blend in with the backing for a cleaner finished, whole-cloth look to the back of the mats.

I had a lot of fun photographing these mats and now have a strong desire to do some holiday decorating! 

I can't wait till my kids get home for the holidays and we can gather around our table (which is getting too small these days for the growing family) and share laughs, food, and time together. 

Thank you for visiting my blog and all the love and support you've shown me (and my fabrics) this past year. I hope you're enjoying the Bountiful Holiday Blog Tour and pay visit to all the talented designers that have already shared their projects and the rest that will follow me. Peta Peace of She Quilts A Lot shared a fabulous free pattern yesterday to make a beautiful kitchen towel, mitt, and hot pad set that would be so difficult to give away so plan on making two sets! Friday Heather Andrus of Quilt Story will be hosting the tour and she's stitched up a must make for a little girl on your holiday sewing list. 

11-01  Mathew Boudreaux  Mister Domestic

11-02  AnneMarie Chany  Gen X Quilters

11-03  Brooke Sellmann  Silly Mama Quilts

11-06  Blair Stocker  Wise Craft Handmade

11-07  Silvia Sutters  A Stranger View

11-08  Peta Peace  She Quilts A Lot

11-09  Sharon Holland  Sharon Holland Designs

11-10  Heather Andrus  Quilt Story

11-13  Maureen Cracknell  Maureen Cracknell Handmade

11-14  Anjeanette Klinder  Anjeanettek

11-15  Alexis Wright  My Sweet Sunshine Studio

11-16  Katie Skoog  The Simple Life Company

If you're an Instagram user and follow my IG feed, I'll have daily postings and links to the Bountiful Holiday Blog Tour Makers and their projects and it will also be easy to follow along by searching the hashtag #BountifulHolidayBlogTour. I hope to see you following along on that platform as well as visiting and getting to know these amazing blog tour Makers. 

There will a giveaway at the end of the blog tour. My generous sponsor for this tour is the Fat Quarter Shop and they're giving away a 10-pc Bountiful Harvest colorway fat quarter bundle. On November 17th, 2017 I'll post the final weekly recap post along with all the details on how to enter into the Bountiful Harvest fat quarter bundle giveaway. You'll have a chance to enter right here on the blog (on the that final post, so be watching for that) and also on Instagram.

Every time you share a tour image along with the #BountifulHolidayBlogTour hashtag, to your public Instagram account, you'll automatically have your name put into the hashtag pool and automatically be entered into the drawing. So share and repost those Instagram images by the Bountiful Holiday Blog Tour Makers often and use that hashtag (hint, hint)!

A blog winner and an IG winner will be drawn on Monday November 20th. All this information will be given again at the end of the tour but thought you'd like a head's up :)

For more Bountiful fabrics project inspiration, check out the Art Gallery Fabrics virtual Look Book!

Sewcial Bee Sampler Grand Finale Giveaway

Sewcial Bee Sampler Grand Finale Giveaway

Each Friday, throughout the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along, which Maureen Cracknell and I are co-hosting, will be a Giveaway Friday and today is our last giveaway for the SBS. We've coordinated special giveaway prizes with our amazing participating sponsors for each drawing and our final giveaway is very grand with a retail value of nearly $320 (US dollars). 

If you've happened to miss any of the Sewcial Bee Sampler posts, take a look back from the first post The Start of Something Sewcial to get caught up to the present. Feel free to start sewing with us at anytime--it's never too late to join in, it's free, and the instructions will remain up indefinitely! 

Aurifil      Circa 15      The Intrepid Thread      Fat Quarter Shop      Omnigrid      Llama Fabrics      Color Girl     Lady Belle Fabric      Needle in a Fabric Stash      Dritz      Knotted Thread    Needle and Foot      Cotton Cuts    Hobbs Batting   Thread Cutterz

Today's SBS Grand Final Giveaway sponsors are:

Aurifil Thread, Cotton Cuts, Hobbs Batting, Maureen Cracknell, Sharon Holland, and Thread Cutterz!

Aurifil is a wonderful thread company dedicated to developing amazing, new products based on quality and solutions. Established in 1983, Aurifil is an accomplished Italian company based near Milano, with a full- grown experience in producing superior quality threads for professional and domestic quilters. The company headquarters is the ground where new ideas generate original items, always more refined and advanced, to provide assistance to all the quilting needs through a wide range of threads in several weights and accessories. Aurifil's success is based on developing projects carefully, always looking for high quality and great style, with a commitment to create contemporary products that will appeal to everyone!

Aurifil.com  *  Instagram  *  Facebook  *  We hope you enjoy visiting Aurifil!

For the SBS Finale (blog) Giveaway, Aurifil is offering the lucky winner the Maureen Cracknell Bohemian Garden Aurifil Thread Collection! This hand-selected set of threads includes TWELVE large colorful spools of Aurifil thread, in 50wt 100% cotton, in colors chosen to coordinate with Maureen's Art Gallery Fabric collections!

Cotton Cuts is on a mission to create jobs! They've partnered with a local workshop that provides dignified employment opportunities to the intellectually challenged and to those with other disabilities. Every Cotton Cuts membership that you purchase contributes toward enriching the lives of these very talented individuals!

Cottoncut.com  *  Shop  *  Facebook  *  Instagram  We hope you enjoy visiting Cotton Cuts!

For the SBS Finale Giveaway, Cotton Cuts is offering the lucky winner a three month membership to their brand new Mini Pop Box! Cotton Cuts Mini Pop members receive a variety of fabrics, chosen specifically for the winner including SIX fat quarters, a lovely spool of Aurifil Thread, and 25% off all fabric in the Cotton Cuts shop, every day throughout the three months! You can sign up for your own membership, HERE!

Hobbs Quilt Batting has manufactured high-quality batting for hobbyist, commercial, art and show quilters since 1978. They're proud to come from a family of quilters and are committed to providing the same quality Hobbs batting that provide to their own family of quilters. At Hobbs Batting, they never forget that quilts are gifts from the heart - an expression of love, commitment and caring for a specific recipient - or an expression of artistry and skill - artistry and that's submitted and judged in quilt shows and events around the word - or both! At Hobbs they're committed to doing their part to enhance our #JoyofQuilting!

Hobbsbatting.com  *  Blog  *  Instagram  *  Facebook  *  We hope you visiting Hobbs Quilt Batting!

For the SBS Finale Giveaway, Hobbs is offering the lucky winner a Queen size package of their Tuscany Silk batting just like I used in my Tiny Dancer SBS quilt! Tuscany Silk batting is supple, soft and drapes like no other batting. The luxurious feel is ideal for quilts, with it's natural ability to breath, making it an excellent choice for airy, lightweight quilts and coverlets!

Maureen Cracknell is a self-taught artist living in beautiful Potter County, Pennsylvania, a proud wife and mother, Art Gallery Fabrics designer since 2014, Crafty Instructor, Aurifil thread designer, Janome girl, and blogger at Maureen Cracknell Handmade where you'll find lots of sewing + quilting inspiration, tutorials, and Fabric Giveaway Fridays! Maureen loves having you visit her and leaving a comment is even better - so please do both often!

Blog  *  Instagram  *  Facebook  *  Bloglovin'  We hope you enjoy following along!

For the SBS Finale (blog) Giveaway, the lucky winner will receive this 20-piece curated Fat Quarter bundle from Maureen's various Art Gallery Fabrics collections, including prints from Garden Dreamer, Nightfall, and Soulful!

Sharon Holland Designs is the co-host of the Sewcial Bee Sampler and Art Gallery Fabrics designer. Sharon blogs about design, quilting, and photography. Soon to add author to her list of accomplishments with a quilt book title Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living (Landauer) coming this fall! Sharon offers many free quilt and sewing patterns on her blog and has PDF patterns for purchasing through Craftsy, Connecting Threads ad UpCraft Club!

Blog  *  Shop  *  Instagram  *  Pinterest  We hope you enjoy following along!

For the SBS Finale Giveaway, Sharon Holland is offering the lucky winner three PDF patterns of their choice! Select from over 30 different quilt and sewing patterns available in her shop, HERE!

Thread Cutterz is a spin-off of sister company, Line Cutterz - a ring originally designed for the fishing industry. After 35 years of fishing and countless attempts to chew through fishing line, Vance, the founder of Line Cutterz, knew there had to be a better way. Necessity drove Vance to design and patent a fully adjustable ring with an embedded stainless steel blade that cleanly cuts all types of fishing line. Within 9 months of launching Line Cutterz to the fishing world, Vance’s wife and other crafters, sewists, and quilters began using the handy fishing tool and found it cleanly cut through thread, yarn, and embroidery floss too! Thread Cutterz officially launched at the Houston International Market and Festival in October, 2015, and is now offered in stores and on ecommerce sites and used by quilters around the world!

Threadcutterz.com  *  Shop  *  Instagram  *  Facebook  *  We hope you visiting Thread Cutterz!

For the SBS Finale Giveaway, Thread Cutterz is offering the lucky winner their Black Ring, a ring worn on the finger that cuts thread and is perfect for all of your crafting needs! Thread Cutterz rings are sleek and adjustable with a double-sided blade perfect for quick and efficient cutting. Thread Cutterz rings are great for all types of crafting including sewing, jewelry making, quilting, knitting, and cross stitching!

WOW!!! This Grand Finale SBS Giveaway might just be the most spectacular Giveaway I've ever had the pleasure of offering my wonderful readers, with an incredible value totaling nearly $320!!

Maureen and I send a BIG thank you to all of the sponsors who have generously offered their products in our Grand Finale Giveaway and to all of the wonderful sponsors that offered amazing prizes throughout the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along!

ENTER TO WIN!

I'm sending you over to Maureen Cracknell Handmade blog to enter the giveaway for this wonderful prize featuring Maureen's curated AGF fat quarter bundle, Maureen's Bohemian Garden Aurifil large spool thread set, three Sharon Holland patterns of your choice, a three month Cotton Club membership, Hobbs Tuscany Silk Batting, and the black Thread Cutterz ring. Maureen will have all the how-to's enter info at the end of her Grand Finale SBS Giveaway blog post. 

In addition, be sure to stop by my Instagram for a chance to win our Sewcial Bee Sampler Instagram Grand Finale Giveaway that includes a special curated 20-piece Tiny Dancer FQ Bundle of my AGF fabrics, my Color Story Aurifil thread collection, three Sharon Holland patterns of your choice PLUS the same three month Cotton Cuts membership, Hobbs Tuscany Silk Batting, and a pink Thread Cutterz ring prize pack! How cool is that--two chances to win two amazing prize packages!

A BIG thanks to all who joined the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along and to those who enter our Giveaway!

XOXO Sharon

Week #16 SBS Giveaway

Week #16 SBS Giveaway

Each Friday, throughout the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along, which Maureen Cracknell and I are co-hosting, will be a Giveaway Friday. We've coordinated special giveaway prizes with our amazing participating sponsors for each and every week! If you've happened to miss any of the Sewcial Bee Sampler posts, take a look back from the first post The Start of Something Sewcial to get caught up to the present. Feel free to start sewing with us at anytime--it's never too late to join in, and it's free! 

Aurifil      Circa 15      The Intrepid Thread      Fat Quarter Shop      Omnigrid      Llama Fabrics      Color Girl     Lady Belle Fabric      Needle in a Fabric Stash      Dritz      Knotted Thread    Needle and Foot      Stash Builder Box    Hobbs Batting

TODAY'S FEATURED SEWCIAL BEE SAMPLER SPONSOR IN THE aurifil THREADs!

Aurifil is a wonderful thread company dedicated to developing amazing, new products based on quality and solutions. Established in 1983, Aurifil is an accomplished Italian company based near Milano, with a full- grown experience in producing superior quality threads for professional and domestic quilters. The company headquarters is the ground where new ideas generate original items, always more refined and advanced, to provide assistance to all the quilting needs through a wide range of threads in several weights & accessories. Aurifil's success is based on developing projects carefully, always looking for high quality and great style, with a commitment to create contemporary products that will appeal to everyone!

Aurifil.com  *  Instagram  *  Facebook  *  We hope you enjoy visiting Aurifil!

For this week's Sewcial Bee Giveaway, Aurifil is offering the lucky winner the Maureen Cracknell Bohemian Garden Aurifil Thread Collection! This hand-selected set of threads includes TEN colorful spools of Aurifil thread, in 50wt 100% cotton, in colors chosen to coordinate with her Art Gallery Fabric collections!

You can find both small and large spool Bohemian Garden thread collections available on Amazon, Fat Quarter Shop, Checker Distributers, Red Rock Threads, and Pumpkinvine Corner!

Enter to win!

Here's how, since Maureen and I are taking turns hosting Sewcial Bee Giveaway Fridays, this week I'm sending you to Maureen Cracknell Handmade blog to enter! 

A BIG thanks to all of you who are joining the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along and to those who enter our Giveaway!

♡ Sharon