Congratulation Zenna you won the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway! That’s six  Cotton + Steel Fat Quarters and my PDF Hard Cord Core Mini Quilt Cassette Tape Pattern! Thank you to everyone who entered, your comments were outstanding and crazy fun to read!

You asked for it! So here it is! My “Hardcore Mini Cassette Tape Quilt Pattern!” It’s ALL done AND you could win it during Sew Mama Sew’s Giveaway Day!

PLUS, I’m throwing in SIX Cotton+Steel Fat Quarters! The winner will be selected at random on Wednesday, Dec 16th. The PDF pattern will be sent to your inbox (emailed) and the Cotton+Steel bundle will be sent to your mailbox (snail mailed)! BUT you gotta leave a comment answering the question below. Sew Mama Sew rules. International entries welcome.

But hey, don’t worry if you don’t win, I’ve listed the pattern on my Etsy store. Feel free to have a snoop around. I only have the one pattern right now but I look forward to filling it up with lots of goodies soon.

Now, whether you’re an ambitious paper piecing newbie or a slick experienced type, a general knowledge of paper piecing and quilt construction is a must for this pattern. However, I’ve included a list of resources to get you out of any jam. Don’t worry, I got your back.

The finished quilt measures – 26″ x 28″ (66cm X 71cm)

The pattern includes:

• 16 pages in total
• 11 pages of instructions
• 10 paper piece cassette tape patterns
• A material and fabric needed list (for batting, backing fabric and binding included. However, the pattern doesn’t include instructions on quilt sandwiching, quilting or binding)
• Block and Quilt Keys
• Assembly instructions
• Tips on how to customize your cassette labels (my favorite part!)
• Background cutting diagrams (plus a cheater sheet to make life easier)
• A Resource list
• Measurements in both inches and centimeters
• The pattern can be printed on standard letter sized paper

Once you have the pattern you can make all kinds of cool things too! Like this:

Isn’t it outstanding?! This Christmas mug rug was made by pattern tester extraordinaire Jonna (@bespokeoutlaw on Instagram). Coming this new year I’ll be posting other cassette tape projects you can make with the cassette tape paper piecing patterns. Stay tuned!

And as always, for Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Days the BIG question… I always love the answers. A few years ago I asked about who’s number you’d want to find in a Matchbook. I was giving way one of my Match Needle Books. The answers were a mix of sweet and naughty. Hey, tis the season! (PS since then, I wrote a pattern for the Match Needle Books, it’s FREE. It’s over there on the right hand side.) Okay, here’s the question to enter the Giveaway:

You’re going on a long road trip with someone you have a crush on. You haven’t told them yet. To let them know and set the tone for the trip, what would be the very first song you’d put on your mixed tape?

Good luck and if you’re on Instagram, I hang out there as @lysaflower. If you’re on Facebook I have a page there too. That’s one of the great things of Sew Mama Sew’s Giveaway Day, I’ve met some pretty fantastic people through it. I look forward to meeting you!

Happy #sewinglikeamothertrucker!

designing

Comment-er, number 16! Carole “Marie” Wylie!!!!! Yay congratulations! I will be sending it out your way today!

Thank you everyone for your lovely, touching comments. You made me *blush*.  I was so glad to have shared this whole magazine experience with you!

I got a call late Saturday night.

In a covert voice I heard, “Hey! It’s me Carol (Browne), I’m at Chapters downtown. They have two copies of Love Patchwork & Quilting. They have issue 17 but it’s covered in a plastic bag. So I’m not sure if this is the one you’re in? Do you want me to pick up a copy for you?”

I’ve been waiting… I check last week but no copies were in… I was worried I’d miss it. 17, it’s the issue I’m in. I can feel the excitement flood me… Somehow, since I’m on my cel phone, I’ve managed to press my face so I’ve hit some numbers making the buttons beep. Then somehow I inadvertently hit the mute button at the same time. Carol can’t hear me. All I can hear is Carol saying, “Hello? Hello? What is going on?” She giggles and I hear her say, “Hello?” one more time as I try to figure out how to un-mute my phone. Quickly I abort the call, I hang up and try to call Carol back.

“Hello?” Carol giggles “What happened?”

I now have the task of explaining my whole excitement face to phone, button mute thing.

Yeah, I’d like to be all nonchalant… Sigh, yup, no biggie, I’m just in a magazine (like it’s an everyday occurrence) but clearly, that’s not me! Carol graciously picked up the magazine for me then posted about her buddy (that’s me) who was in a UK magazine (Love Patchwork & Quilting) on Facebook. Loads of lovely comments and likes came in. My husband shared Carol’s post on his feed, again lovely comments and likes.

Since, we were in Vancouver yesterday for the Chinese New Year’s parade we thought (okay I insisted) we stop at the Chapters on Granville and Broadway, to see if they have any more copies. They DID!

We picked up two copies. The one from Carol, I’ve decided I’d give to my Mom. Another copy I’d thought would be fun to giveaway on my blog! And one I’d keep. So here I am with it in my hand, unopened. You think I’d want to tear into. That’s how I assumed I’d feel. For some reason, I feel reluctant to open it. I’m not sure why? I am slightly nervous about seeing myself and my work… My son even brought it to me this morning as I was making lunches and said “Here’s you magazine!” I said, thanks, can you put it over there so we don’t get anything on it.

This is my year of living fearlessly, right? Okay, it’s you and me together, here I go…

I’m looking at it. It’s so beautiful. Is that why I’m so weirded out? I mean I’ve always dreamed of being in a magazine but this surpassed my wishlist! Big breath… savouring.

The plastic is off.

Ooo, the Sew your own sewing set book and diamond paper pieces, very cute. I should learn to English paper piece with this kit! … Putting aside.

Looking at the front cover. God it’s so pretty! … Ooh, spool bunting (hello Darlene Barns!)

Opening.

Three pages in… feeling shaky…

BAM! My face! Ack! giggle!

WHAT! Get out I’m under the same section LOVELIFE, that Lisa Congdon is in! Get OUT! I love her! … Oh man I gotta check out Mabel & Bird and Peony & Thistle… oh look at the cute little crabs, I want one….

OMG, I’m sitting beside Lee Heinrich patterns from Freshly Pieced!

Ooo, Skinny La Minx? What’s that? (just googled it! It’s awesome!)

Okay, the coast is clear, I can check out the rest of the magazine now. Flip, flip, flip…

Wow, thanks so much for sharing this BIG moment with me. A big thanks to Florence from Flossie Teacakes for the blog post that lead to all of this. And of course BIG, BIG thanks to Love Patchwork & Quilting for this opportunity!

I wish I could give EVERYONE a copy. Sadly I only have one to give and the only way to decide who gets it is by a random draw. Which will require you to leave a comment. I know it seems like a trick doesn’t it? Sorry about that, it’s the only way I know how to contact you and to get your address to send it to you. No big burning question to answer, but that is fun… hmm, how about this, I love middle names, I’m always so curious about people’s middle names. Feel free to leave a comment saying what your middle name is… or if it’s horrendous and that’s a comment deal breaker, feel free to just say hi and maybe where you’re from. How’s that? Thanks so much for popping by!

P.S. And as an added bonus I sold two packs of cards from my Etsy shop! (Note to self, relist) How nice is that? Lisa Congdon is right “Today is going to be awesome!”

Ahhh… a long weekend. Perfect, last week was way too busy, busier than most. Add on daylight savings – that just messed with my head. Hello 3 am! 4 nights in a row. It’s so nice to finally get caught up. Do0-tee-do, let’s see… laundry is getting all caught up. Check! It’s been beautiful out, I’ve done a little bit of yard work. We aren’t going to get many days like this, I better not put that off. Ahhh, it feels so great to get that done. Check! Okie dokie, I’m a teeny bit behind in my emails, I better get caught up on those too. Oh hey, there’s a blog post from Cathy from Blue Berry Patch – click…

~All air gets sucked out of the room.~

This is like a bad dream…  I especially hate these moments. I’ve just realized I dropped the ball. Cathy had sent me an email last week asking if I’d be interested in being tagged for an “Around the World Blog Hop.” Of course I answered, “You bet, sounds like fun!” I’m late to the party but I’m very excited to have been invited. So here it goes!

What are you currently working on?
I’m picking up on a project I started back in May. I’m part of a Sewing Society for Warp & Weft Exquisite Textiles . Back in March we were given a Lotta Jansdotter challenge. I made these Match Needle Books and they went over really well! I had some requests for a pattern, which I wrote up promptly. I had the pattern tested but I wasn’t thrilled with my layout. On December 8th, Sew Mama Sew is having their Giveaway Day again.  I thought that would be a good date to work towards having the pattern done by. I’ll giveaway the pattern, plus a kit and some fabric. After that I’ll get it listed on Esty.

How does my work differ from others?

I like to sew 3-dimensionally. Well… I know it’s all 3-dimensional but I’ve fallen in love with sewing things you might see everyday but I like adding a twist of practicality to them. Like the “Match Needle Books” or more recently my “Cassette Zippy Pouches”

and my “Envelope Sewing Kit.”

I’ve done other things like a quillow that looks like a piece of paper,

… hot and cold packs that look like fortunes from fortune cookies.

And I made fortune cookies too, as baby quilts.

It tickles my funny bone, what can I say?

VOMMPH!!! POWER OUTAGE What the…?! Awe, C’MON! This is like a bad dream…

15 Hours later…Well, that was fun. As I was saying… Also, I don’t only sew fabric but I have a tendency to draw it. I’m particularly interested in people’s stashes, what they collect and why. This is a detail of a drawing I did from Krista Hennebury’s Stash.

Why do you create what you do?
I L-O-V-E making things. I can’t help it! If I’m not sewing, I’m drawing or plotting what my next project will be. It’s been that way since I was little. I love the challenge of figuring out the small problems along the way and I love how every project teaches you something new. It never gets old… maybe it’s a habit but I don’t think it’s a bad habit to have! Could be worse right – hookers and blow?

How does your creative process work?
It’s different for every project. I have noticed I get a lot of my ideas while I drive though. After that it’s just git- r- done, not very romantic. I find the creative process is not quite as magical as one might think. Sometimes I play with glitter but that’s about as romantic as it gets. Aw and it’s a bitch to clean up.

Okay my turn to tag people. Since it’s an “Around the World Blog Hop” I thought I’d call out two bloggers that live the farthest away from me:

Joanne from Don’t Drink and Sew (You Might Spill Your Wine on the Fabric and that would be a waste of good wine and good fabric) Jo’s from the UK

and

Lizzie from Swedish Scrapper Can you guess where she’s from?

Wow what a week! I didn’t know what to expect but this giveaway thing went WAY better than I ever imagined! What fun it’s been reading everyone’s comments, you guys have the most interesting and funny stories!  In my best Elvis impersonation, “thank you, thank you very much…” for popping by and playing. You are all winners in my book!

Now to end the suspense. I went old school and placed everyone’s entry into a jar and pulled out four names.

Drumroll please…

The winners ARE….

From day one, winning the match book needle book- Berene from Happy Sew Lucky ! Yay!

From day two, winning the cards – Linda from Chirp! Yay!

From day three, winning the fabric – Gill! Yay!

And last but not least, from day four winning the drawing… Cindy from Live a Colorful Life! Yay!

Thanks again everyone, it was lovely to meet you all!

This has been an amazing four days! I’m happily overwhelmed by the response I’ve gotten this week! It went well beyond my expectations. So thank you, thank you everyone for taking the time to visit my blog, it makes my heart swell!… And speaking of hearts! Here is today’s giveaway!

A 10″x 10″ drawing of Cynthia Frenette’s fabric from her Spoonflower collection. She now designs for Robert Kaufman! Yup, I can proudly say I knew her when. It seems appropriate to end today with this drawing, since this whole giveaway thing was to celebrate my newly designed site that Cynthia and her husband Norm (Green Couch Designs) did for me. I’m also including a calendar with the drawing. You can decide if you want to keep the drawing as is, or use it as a calendar (I use magnets to hold up the calendar pages). The other option is to use it as a bulletin board. Your choice!

Okay on to the nitty gritty! Same rules as yesterday but a new question to answer. Scratch that, sentence to finish.

1) Please finish this sentence, ” I heart…”  Maybe you Heart NY, like on the T-shirts or perhaps you heart Alberta Beef, like the bumper stickers. Really there is no wrong answer. For example, I heart YOU! Aw…but I really do! I’m so glad you popped by and we got a chance to chat.

2) Now remember you can have more than one chance to win! In your comment just let me know how you follow me. Are you subscribed to my site, or do you follow me on Bloglovin?  Perhaps you’ve liked my Facebook page, or I know you from Instagram, or  Twitter, or Flickr or maybe Pinterest? A few people have told me they follow on Feedly, which I had never heard of but still counts! Any or all will work! You’ll be entered for each way you follow. How’s that for snazzy! Oh and, international entries are totally welcome!

3) Check back tomorrow, Saturday July 12th! The winner of each day (you can only win once) will be announced.  The prizes will be mailed out the following Monday July 14th.

Good luck, I hope you win!

Wow you guys! You have the best answers and the best stories. I love reading comments, what blogger doesn’t, but I’e never giggled  so much while doing so or really laughed out loud! No little lol’s here!

Okay onto today’s giveaway and it’s brought to you by Warp & Weft ! Thank you Esmari! She generously donated these lovely gems for some lucky duck to win! You might recognize this fabric line, Bluebird Park by Kate and Birdie for Moda. I drew it for June’s Calendar and it includes Bicycles, Birds, Hedgehogs, Peach Magnolias, Fountain Magnolias,  Rabbits and City Park .

Here’s how to enter: same rules as yesterday but a new question to answer by leaving me a comment.

1) It’s summer and with summer comes outside concerts. What was the best outside concert you ever seen? And if anything weird happened while at one of these concerts please share.

Every concert we’ve ever seen at Deer Lake Park has been fantastic! We’ve seen The White Stripes on their final tour, it was a very short show (I think Meg was done by that point) but it was still fantastic. We’ve seen The Black Keys there (and bought the most awesome gig poster!) and just this fall we saw The Lumineers! The keyboard player was out in the crowd just hanging around watching the opening acts. We recognized him when he was up on stage. However I think the weirdest thing we ever saw was back in the 90’s in Cloverdale at Lollapaloosa, we saw a couple, she did have a long skirt on but yeah, they were doing it right out in the open. They had their eyes closed so I guess they thought no one could see them!

2) Remember you have more than one chance to win! In your comment just let me know how you follow me. Are you subscribed to my site, or do you follow me on Bloglovin?  Perhaps you’ve liked my Facebook page, or I know you from Instagram, or  Twitter, or Flickr or maybe Pinterest? Any or all will work! You’ll be entered for each way you follow. How’s that for snazzy!

3) Check back Tomorrow for the Grand Finale! Same rules apply but there will be a different question tomorrow (I can’t tell you what the giveaway will be yet, shhhh… it will be a surprise!). A different winner will be randomly drawn  for each day (you can only win once). The winners will all be announced on Saturday July 12, 2014. The prizes will be mailed out the following Monday. International entries are totally welcome!

Good luck!

First of all let me say, thanks so much for those of you who played along with the Match Needle book  giveaway yesterday. I LOVED all the answers to, “whose pocket would you slip a match book into (with your phone number on it)?” Someone turned the tables on me and asked me the question right back! I considered a few people  but I settled on Daryl from The Walking Dead. I figured he’d be my best bet for when the Zombie apocalypse goes down. Safety first! Right?

Okay, on to today! I’m giving away a pack of my cards!

Same rules as yesterday but a new question to answer.

1) Please leave me a comment answering this question: What’s the funniest, weirdest card you’ve ever gotten? For example: one year both sets of my grandparents gave me the same birthday card. What are the chances? Actually I’m a little surprised it doesn’t happen more often.

2) You can have more than one chance to win! In your comment just let me know how you follow me. Are you subscribed to my site, or do you follow me on Bloglovin?  Perhaps you’ve liked my Facebook page, or I know you from Instagram, or  Twitter, or Flickr or maybe Pinterest? Any or all will work! You’ll be entered for each way you follow. How’s that for snazzy!

3) Check back Thursday and Friday too. You can enter everyday, same rules apply but there will be a different question each day and a different prize (I can’t tell you what they will be yet, shhhh… it will be a surprise!) Each day will have a separate winner (you can only win once). They will all be announced on Saturday July 12, 2014. The prizes will be mailed out the following Monday. International entries are totally welcome!

Good luck!

*Doing my best Clint Eastwood-Dirty Harry voice* “You’ve gotta ask yourself a question. Do you feel lucky?”

Don’t worry I won’t call you “punk”, that would be rude! But I do hope you do feel lucky, not only today but on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday! Yup, I’ve got goodies for you to win on every day! Woo-hoo! All in celebration of my lovely new site. I’m quite thrilled about it, hence sharing the love!

Today, being that I’ve already referenced Clint Eastwood, I feel that giving away a Match Needle Book seems appropriate.

Here’s how to enter the giveaway:

1) Leave me a comment answering this question: Remember the days when match books were used to give some one your phone number (…maaaaybe you don’t. No worries you can still play. Just trust me it was a thing.) Okay, so, you’ve put your phone number in a match book, whose pocket would you want to slip it into? And yes that was a thing too!

2) Want more than one chance to win? You can. In your comment just let me know how you follow me. Are you subscribed to my site, or do you follow me on Bloglovin.  Perhaps you’ve liked my Facebook page, or I know you from Instagram? Twitter? Flickr? Any or all will work! You’ll be entered for each way you follow. How’s that for snazzy!

3) Check back Wednesday, Thursday and Friday too. You can enter everyday, same rules apply but there will be a different question each day and a different prize (I can’t tell you what they will be yet, shhhh… it will be a surprise!) Each day will have a separate winner (you can only win once). They will all be announced on Saturday July 12, 2014. The prizes will be mailed out the following Monday. International entries are totally welcome!

Good luck!