T.G.I.F.F. - The Blogiversary Giveaway

Do you recall my blogiversary giveaway back in March? Geesh, so glad this parcel finally managed to arrive in New Zealand last week. It was one of the reasons to take a break a few weeks back but now all is good. Additional perk, I can finally show you the package I tied!

Not only did Juliet not pressure me about my slow pace but I'm happy to say that she loves it and even has a hard time fighting over everything with her kiddos. Sometimes I'm glad that, for now at least, I only have to share things with my husband who's he not into fabric - so it's all mine. Mwahahaha.

Here are a few shots on our windowsill - I thought you might have tired a little of my dining/sewing table.

Oh, and I'm planning to put up a picture tutorial for this one.

Happy sewing!

Linking up with TGIFF over at Textile Diva.

Blogiversary Giveaway Winner

With the quilt top finished this weekend and entered into the Emerald Quilt Challenge, I've finally found a moment to draw the winner of my blogiversary giveaway. First off, thank you everybody who shared their recipes, or even their lack thereof, with me. I'll be sure to try them out and will let you know how I like them. Now, without further ado...

Lucky number 15 - Juliet of Tartankiwi!

Who also wrote:

Congrats, Juliet! I'm glad you didn't forget and willl be emailing you shortly for your address.

Everybody else, if you still want something Mareen-Made I've got two open slots in the Pay It Forward Handmade Swap.

Wishing everybody a grand week. Happy sewing!

Blogiversary & Surprise Giveaway

Today's my blogiversary. It still needs a bit of sinking in to fully realise that I've been blogging for a year. Feels even weirder to know that my sewiversary is only two months away. Come May it'll be three years that I first touched a sewing machine and learned about the basics of sewing skirts. It's been quite the journey in both instances and I've met a lot of lovely people along the way, not only in real life but also, even especially, here.

There's so many people who inspire me, many who drop by now and then, and, above all, a couple of loyal regulars who not only freely share their opinions and tips but have become long distance friends. You, and it all, mean a lot to me and my months-without-proper-internet only made that all the more evident.

Do you care for a few examples?

Just yesterday I finally spruced up my header following Jennifer's Blogging technology 101 tutorials over at ghquilting. I've been meaning to do this for ages and always put it off. Jennifer's tutes came at exactly the right time to save me hours of frantic searching and I'll have tons of fun playing around some more.

My comments are finally numbered thanks to the snippet of info provided by Jenelle of Echinops & Aster. Been meaning to do that ever since she posted about it in May last year. Laaazy. But I knew it was there for me to use and I finally did.

This week I've had a very hard time falling asleep several nights in a row because my head was swimming in ideas. For a baby quilt for my nephew inspired by Angela. (He's been good at hiding the fact until yesterday but now we know!) For a wedding quilt for my sister next year inspired by one of Kristy's gifts for her nan (and you should have a look at the second, too!) and Dana's wedding quilts. For a quilt for my beloved husband that I'm keeping mum about for the moment but that's got input from something Vicki's making over at Hitch & Thread. And these are really just a few examples.

Congrats if you've made it through all that! Now onto the giveaway.

This is a sneak peak of something that I've been working on the past days. It isn't quite finished yet, but even before I started I kept thinking that it might be just the thing to give away for my blogiversary and now I'm liking it enough already to actually do just that. That's right, I'm happiest giving away things that I really like. Surely some of you can relate?

I doubt it'll travel all by itself but rather will be accompanied by whatever else finds its way into the parcel, e.g., German chocolate, anyone? I'll not tell more, though, to keep it a surprise giveaway.

To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment. How about telling me of a favourite recipe of yours? You wouldn't be able to tell from this blog but I love to cook from scratch (and eat) and would love to try new things. Follwers get a second second entry - just let me know in another separate comment. Giveaway is open to readers internationally and will be closed on March 16, 12 p.m. CET. Now that I've got numbered comments, I'll draw the winner using the true random number generator at random.org instead of literally drawing it from a hat. Please make sure I can contact you via email or I'll have to re-draw.

Good luck and happy sewing!

We have a Winner!

Welcome back to the draw! Since Tabatha mentioned the metaphorical hat and we had one in our closet, I thought it'd be nice touch to use a literal hat instead of a random number generator. Lots of pics for transparency's and nostalgia's sake and the fiancé watched to ensure that the draw went above board.

The hat.

26 names...

...turned into 26 tickets...

...and put in the hat.

And the winner is...drum roll...

...who said...

Congratulations Cecilia! I've already emailed you. Let me know which cover you'd like to call your own and I'll make sure to send it to you asap. I think we're all curious to know which one you will choose!

The brown one?

Or the multicoloured one?

Also, let us know once you've made your own Dresden and how they look together!

Thank you all for your enthusiasm. I'm stunned so many of you professed interest in my little project and took time to encourage me along the way. I hope you're enjoying a splendid weekend!

Lots of Loot and a Giveaway

I've not been too well physically this week but the postman and Fiona of Finding Fifth have sure known to cheer me up! Plus, we've finally found *our* wedding bands!

First, on Tuesday I freed some patterns - snapped up at a sale - from Customs.

Only to come home to a delivery from the Fat Quarter Shop.

From left to right: Nursery Basics in Earth; Kona Cottons in Wine & Pepper for my Polaroid blocks; Kona Cottons in Blush Pink, Dusty Blue & Medium Pink for a Kirby pillow like this one; Cotton Couture in Nite and the Cotton Couture Colour card.

I've wanted to have a look at the Cotton Coutures for a while to check them out and ordered blue for the inside of my wedding purse. It looks gorgeous and feels so nice. The weave is a bit finer than the Kona Cottons - no reason to give up the Konas which still offer a multiple in colour options, but certainly a go to for the slightly more special project, I'm sure.

I'm glad to have finally invested in colour cards, did I mention that I got the Kona colour card a few weeks back? No more guessing at the screen - I feel so professional now. Ha! Also, I'm falling more and more in love with solids on their own and not just as complementory to prints.

And then, on Wednesday I wake up to an email by Fiona telling me that I won a layer cake of Sew Stitchy in her blogiversary giveaway. How exciting!

Well, with all that loot and luck on my side, I think it's time to pay it forward. As hinted at before, I'll be giving away one of my Echo sunflower pillowcases (sans insert to make posting easier). Either the brown or the multicoloured one, winner's choice! Measurements are 40cm² or approx. 16''.

For a chance to win simply leave me a comment and make sure that I can contact you by having an email address on your profile or leaving one in your comment. If I can't contact you there'll be a re-draw. Other than that, no hoops. I'd sure love if this went to a regular reader, but I won't make following me an obligation. Of course, you're free to share the giveaway with your friends.

The giveaway is open internationally and ends Saturday July 7 at 8:00pm CET (Central European Time). I'll announce the winner on Sunday July 8.

Good luck and happy sewing!