Winner,winner chicken dinner

We held the official early bird drawing here at the Dandelion Headquarters. Winners were placed in a numbered drawing. Buddy (official head dude number picker) picked Jen W. and Cheryl T. as our lucky early bird winners. I will be sending you ladies some surprise packages from our fabulous sponsor, Sew Lux Fabric and Gifts. Thanks again to Chrissy and Linda for their help making this such a fun swap!

Have you shipped yet?

The deadline for the early bird drawing is fast approaching. If you have shipped please send me an email. The following ladies have shipped:

Early Birds:
Me
Mary B
Mary W
Mary Pat C
Joy
Francine
Mary K
Carol
Sandy
Jen W
Mary S
Cheryl
Michele A
-----------------

On timers:
Synnove





16 ladies left

A word about our sponsor

Did you have a chance to hop on over to Sew Lux Fabric and Gifts yet?  Well, they have a lot of exciting things going in the shop right now.  I will highlight just a few of my favorites that make them one of my "go to" shops when I need some fabric-pick-me-up. 

First....I love the Sew Lux Loyalty Bucks program.  LOVE it.  You have to sign up to earn it, but it is easy (TRUST me).  You earn back 5% of what you spend or sales you refer.  How awesome is that?  Go here to read more.

Second....I love that they will customize your Fat Quarter bundles for you.  It is also easy to do, and Chrissy and Linda provide the best customer service a quilter could ask for. 

Third....they are always trying new ideas.  For example:

• they have a new, monthly fat quarter club, which is unique from any other club I have ever heard of
• they carry Presencia Finca Perle Threads in coordinating colors and sets to their current fabrics they sell for those of you who dig embroidery
• they have a great newsletter which features new fabrics, links to free tutorials, and always have some sort of promotion or deal in it (sign up today!)
• they have a great blog, which has recently been having cool tutorials to mini quilts check it out here and they also often have a contest or two
• they carry really fresh and fun fabric- checkout a few of my favorite:  Verona by Riley Blake, Millie's Closet by Bee in My Bonnet, Flea Market Fancy, California Girl, and I could go on! 

Just a reminder, that our fabulous sponsor has donated 2 cute gift packs which will be gifted to the 2 winners of the EARLY Bird drawing.  To be entered, you have to be participating in my current swap, shipped by next Friday the 18th, and you have to email me that you have shipped.  I have had 3 people contact me so far.  I am working hard this weekend to finish up my partner, Heather's quilt so that I can ship early next week.  I hope you are, too!

The bags that were sent to me

I did enjoy the swap, as well.  It is always great when someone sends you something spectacular in the mail, right???  I think I will definitely do this particular swap theme again sometime.  I really did enjoy seeing all the bags people came up with. 

I was lucky enough to have 2 partners this time, that is just how it worked out.  I needed 1 more person, and I thought it would just be easy to do it myself. 

LeAnn sent me this really cute bag in Bliss.  She also sent me a tasty treat and a cute notepad (did you know I am a sucker for notepads?  Yup, notepads, bags, boots, chapstick, travel mugs, little scissors....the list could go on and on.)  Sorry, I forgot to snap a shot of those (actually the candy bar was long gone....lol).  :)  But it was the perfect swap package, you will have to trust me.  I love the Ruby fabrics she used.  I love the color grey and of course, red is one of my favorites too.  My mom was here when I opened it and I remember saying to her, isn't this bag "so me"?  And, she agreed. 

Melinda sent me this cute laminate bag, which I was also quite tickled with.  I haven't worked much with laminated fabrics and I thought this was particularly cute.  It also has the snappy top, a pattern I have always wanted to try....but never have.  And, you can see she sent quite a few extra goodies, too.  Notice the scissors?  Did I already mention I am a sucker for cute little scissors??

Well, just writing about all this swap goodness makes me itch for another swap.  MAYBE it will be sooner than I think.  I have to get caught up on a few other projects around here first.

Gathered Clutch

So I made both my partners a gathered clutch.  I found my inspiration here at Clover and Violet.  They found the original directions here at Noodlehead.  I had actually made Noodlehead's original gathered clutch a while ago and loved it. 

I also used some scrap to make some more these fun fabric portfolios for my partners.  I found the original directions for the portfolios here at The Cottage Home.  Great fast and easy project!  Great directions. 

 This is a picture of the back.  I love these little labels from Sweetwater.  You can find them here.

I also made couple of mug mats.  I wish they were a bit more fun though. 

Stay tuned...I'll show you what my fabulous partner LeAnn sent me in my package!  It is BLISSFULLY sweet.  We have had 17 packages sent out as of to date. 

Accessory Bag Swap

Do you have the Christmas let down blues?  Are you looking for something new to look forward to?  Well, perhaps you'd like to take part in my Accessory Bag Swap! 

Please keep in mind . . .for those of you who fear zippers, there are nice patterns out there without zippers, such as this free Moda pattern. This swap is coming on the heels of Christmas, I totally think this would be a good opportunity to use some scraps from your sewing room.  There is no need to spend a lot of money on this bag swap.  What kind of accessory bags might work?  Hmmm....it is really up to you, perhaps it is a small change purse or a make up bag or some sort of bag for jewelry when you travel or a clutch for a night out or a sewing bag to hold tools or an ipod case.  A accessory bag. 

Here are the requirements:

1. You must e-mail me to sign up. My e-mail is located in my profile information.
2. Create a homemade accessory bag. Send it to your partner by Saturday, February 11th . Please only sign up if you feel you can make the deadline. No one enjoys not receiving a swap package when they put a lot of effort into theirs. If an emergency happens, be kind and let your swap partner know when you feel they can expect to receive their package. Also, please let me know when you ship.
3. After you have received your package, please email or snail mail your partner a letter thanking them.
4. Have fun.

If you are interested, email me this information:
In the subject of the email, please label it: SWAP information
1. First and Last name (I will not post last names on my blog.)
2. Your postal address.
3. Your blog address (if you have one, it is not a requirement)
4. Your email address.
5.  Would you be willing to ship international?

UPDATE:  This swap registration is officially closed. 

While I haven't quite worked this out yet, I am sure there will be a drawing for a prize for those who get their swap packages out EARLY.  To be entered in the EARLY BIRD SPECIAL drawing, your bag should be out by Monday, February 5th and I should have your email saying that you did so.

Here is your bling:

A Lovely Surprise for Pincushion Swappers

Hi Swappers!  First and foremost, I must apologize.  When the swap wrapped up, I was going to wait a couple of weeks to make sure all of the out of country swappers received their packages before drawing a prize for the swap.  Well, a couple turned into a few weeks turned into several.  I am very sorry.  Life has been keeping us very busy with t ball, soccer, and helping my parents move. 

But, I did remember.  Since I didn't hear of anyone not receiving their pincushions, we are ready to draw.  I used my original swap list and the random number generator.  So congratulations to Wendy F. you are the lucky winner of 2 "Lovely" charm packs from Kelly's shop.  A special thanks to Kelly for donating those.  If you haven't stopped by the shop lately, you really should.  Kelly has some very reasonable prices.

I must also compliment each of you because I did not have to hound anyone nor did I have to wrangle up some additional pincushions to make up for those that didn't post.  It was my most favorite swap ever.  And that being said, I am throwing a second prize into the lot.  One of these very cute pincushions that I made.  And the winner of the pincushion is, LeAnn H.  Congratulations to both ladies.  We will get those prizes out to you.

Stay tuned for a new swap coming up this summer...as soon as life slows down a bit.

Cute Pincushions Just Popping Up Everywhere

A special thanks to Sinta, my wonderful swap partner, for this cute mushroom pincushion. I just love the button trim on it, and the polka dot stem. I think that the Fig Tree fabric really is perfect. She also sent me a collection of nice goodies in that cute wire berry basket. I love it all. I plan to use that Starbucks card tomorrow!

I hope everyone is getting close to ready to ship. I have only 2 participants that I haven't heard anything from. Please let me know your plan.

Strawberry Shortcake Pincushions pattern by Fig Tree Quilts

So, if you have been around here for a while you know I love Fig Tree Quilts.  Just love it.  Fabric.  Patterns.  That sweet designer herself, JoAnna.  Love it all.  I just had to buy this pattern when I found it.  I found it on Fig Tree Quilts website.  Here are my strawberries.  I did have problems trying to get the greens a bit more 3-d.  But the last one turned out the best, practice I guess makes perfect. 

I need more work on this kind of sewing project.  My hand stitches....ughgh.  That is all I will say about that. 

How are your pincushions coming?  Remember, you must ship by the 26th and that is less than 3 weeks away!

I have a sick little boy at my house.  I sure hope he feels better tomorrow.

For my pincushion swap partner

I have to tell you ladies, I am enjoying this swap!  I sent my partner, Sinta, the pink and green pincushion you see above.  I decided to make these Giant Pincushions.  You can find the link here to the tutorial by Julie of JayBird Quilts.  What a great pattern!  So easy to follow and I just love the size of these babies.  I also sent Sinta the bag in the picture below that coordinates with her pincushion.

And just for the fun of it, I sent our dear Kelly the yellow and blue pincushion and bag.  Kelly is such a dear friend to me, I thought she deserved a little surprise in the mail. 

The extra pincushion, I made for my mom.  Mom seems to be missing her pincushion.  So, this is going to be a little birthday present for her.

I really enjoyed making both of these projects and would recommend both to both expert quilters and beginning quilters alike. 

I have heard from 1 other participant that they shipped.  Don't forget to let me know!  The deadline to ship is March 26th.

Swap Update-

Hi ladies,

I know a lot of you are curious if I received your information.  Thanks for the patience.  I will be replying to everyone by Monday with the name of your partner. 

I had several ladies curious about my pincushion pictured here in the bling (by the way, feel free to take the bling for your blog. . .I see several of you have already).  I actually found this pincushion pattern in an old Quilts N More issue.  However, you are in luck, BHG has it for free on their website here.  I just added the ribbon because I liked the extra touch!  Here is another freebie from BHG.  The Moda Bake Shop has several great patterns for free as well, which can be found here. 

Currently, I have 24 of you signed up (complete with addresses).  Please check below for your name:

1. Cheryl T.
2. Sunny S.
3. Shannon W.
4. Kelly G.
5. Carol L.
6. Robin M.
7. Kim L.
8. Sharon V.
9. Dorothy F.
10. Kim S.
11. Carolyn S.
12. Jen W.
13. Wendy F.
14. Peggy F.
15. Amanda S.
16. Michelle N.
17. Vickie S.
18. Leslie L.
19. Dawn T.
20. LeAnn H.
21. Heidi R.
22. JoAnna M.
23. Sinta B.
24. ME

Debbie- I did receive your comment on my blog, but I did not receive an email follow up.  Unfortunately I have no way to contact you as you do not have your account connected to an email address.  Please email me ASAP if you want to participate...in fact, if even if you don't I would like to hear from you....even just a comment.

Let me know if anyone doesn't see their name, but thinks I should!  :)  Kris

Charming Girls' Pincushion Swap 2011

Calling all Charming Girls. . .I am so excited to announce that I will be hosting a swap for us. 



Kelly and I have been chatting about this for a couple of weeks, and I am so excited to get it launched today!

Here are the requirements:

1. You must be a Charming Girls Club member to participate.
2. You must e-mail me to sign up.  My e-mail is located in my profile information.
3.  Create a homemade pincushion.  Send it to your partner by Saturday, March 26th . Please only sign up if you feel you can make the deadline. No one enjoys not receiving a swap package when they put a lot of effort into theirs. If an emergency happens, be kind and let your swap partner know when you feel they can expect to receive their package.  Also, please let me know when you ship.
4. After you have received your package, please email or snail mail your partner a letter thanking them.
5. Have fun.

If you are interested, email me this information:
In the subject of the email, please label it:  SWAP information
1. First and Last name (I will not post last names on my blog.)
2. Your postal address.
3. Your blog address (if you have one, it is not a requirement)
4. Your email address.

Again, my email address is available in my blog profile. Feel free to email with any questions.

The deadline to sign up is this Friday, February 18th, 2011 . I will send out partner information by Monday the 21st!

While I haven't quite worked this out yet, I am sure there will be a drawing for a prize for those who get their swap packages out on time. 

Friendship Bag Swap and Other Thank yous too

My swap package arrived today. You've never seen a grown woman, like myself, pounce on a package that fast. I was on my way through the house...dropping my purse, kicking off my shoes, I had to run to the bathroom...when I saw the package. I grabbed it in pursuit of the bathroom, and multi-tasked ladies! Are any of you this bad when it comes to packages?

But, now you can see why....isn't it darling? I love the sky, grass, flowers motif...very clever. I never would have thought of anything so clever myself. She also sent me a cool book...which I forgot to snap! Looks like projects I would like! I'll keep you posted. Big thanks!!

My partner was Made By Haigh. She has a wonderful blog, with great projects posted but few comments. Stop on over there and say hi. I bet you'll find something to inspire you with.
--------
Another big thanks to Corrie at Quilt Taffy for sending this great fat quarter pack prize my way. Isn't it fresh? If you haven't checked out Quilt Taffy yet, head over that way. Every Thursday they draw a giveaway winner. And every post offers some inspiration not to mention sometimes a chuckle or two!

-------- In other package pouncing action:
Another big thanks to Toni from The Red Boot Quilt Company for this adorable bear quilt pattern...one of her own designs! I was just thrilled to win.

Charming Girls Club mini quilt swap

Kelly asked if I would organize the mini quilt swap, since several of you expressed interest in it. I am so excited, girls, this is going to be fun.

Here are the requirements:
1. You must be a Charming Girls Club member to participate. There is still time to sign up for that club (you have until the 7th), if you want to join in the fun.
2. Create a mini-quilt. For our purposes, we will define that as anything under 45 inches in width or length.
3. Send it to your partner by Saturday Oct. 31st. Please only sign up if you feel you can make the deadline. No one enjoys not receiving a swap package when they put a lot of effort into theirs. If an emergency happens, be kind and let your swap partner know when you feel they can expect to receive their package.
4. After you have received your package, please email or snail mail your partner a letter thanking them.
5. Have fun.

If you are interested, email me this information:

1. First and Last name (I will not post last names on my blog.)
2. Your postal address.
3. Any likes or dislikes such as color or what you might be looking to do with your quilt like hang it in a particular room or put it on your table.
4. Your blog address (if you have one, it is not a requirement)
5. Your email address.

My email address is available in my blog profile. Feel free to email with any questions.

The deadline to sign up is Friday, September 11, 2009. I will send out partner information on the 12th!


I know several of you have joined in the Schnibbles fun. You might be able to do a 2-for-1 here, and use one of your Schnibbles patterns. I hope you consider joining the swap! It will be lots of fun.

Happy sewing!!

Editor's comments: Peg- I do no have an email address for you or anyway to reply, so please email me.

Valentine Swapper Alert

I have been trying to connect with one of my Valentine Swappers, Wendy M. Wendy, please email me. MANY thanks!!!

Valentine's Swap Wrap Up

Hooray. I have heard from all 26 of you and all 26 packages are accounted for. Everyone should be watching for their packages in the mail. I know international destinations take longer, but most of those posted early. So, hopefully everyone receives theirs before Valentine's Day.

I just want to say again, thanks for participating. I truly have enjoyed myself and you have all been so good about communicating and following the directions, thank you! I do hope to do it again next year. I hope many of you will come back again.

And you remember the drawing, right? Well, as promised I do have the winners drawn for that. Here is the official drawer. . .he looks thrilled, doesn't he? I was interrupting his morning cartoons for this occasion.


And the winners are:



We drew first for the apron.
Carol, your name was drawn first, so congratulations. Then we drew for the pattern.
Congrats to you Jill.

I will try to get those posted on Monday! Congratulations!

Feeling even more special, Valentine's Swap

It's here, It's here! Stand up and give a cheer. My package arrived from the wonderful Vanessa. And it was so fun to open. I am just about giddy today. AND let me tell you, I have had quite the nasty week....so this was just the right end to it! MANY THANKS, VANESSA!

Isn't that just the sweetest bag ever? I will be using it all the time. I LOVE it. And she included lots of other goodies including some delicious truffles that we indulged in. Don't read that line, Sharon. I cannot wait to look at those magazines. I see now that I accidentally left out the cute heart buttons, so you'll have to trust me they were cute.

I plan on doing the drawing sometime tomorrow. I still have not heard from 2 swappers that they have sent out their packages by today's deadline. Please email me and know that I have replied to every email I have received. So, if you haven't heard back from me, then I did not get your original email. I hope these packages are in the mail because I know I will have some dissappointed participants otherwise. If some emergency has come up, please email me.

Thanks!

Sharing Some Sewing Love- SWAP projects

Well, the secret is out. Jen was my partner. She just emailed me that she received her package, so I am at liberty to write about it. I know Jen checks my blog often, so I didn't want to ruin the surprise.

My main homemade project was this table quilt. Of course, Jen could hang it or do just whatever her little heart pleases with it, but the pattern was for a table quilt. You may remember I have made this pattern previously in fall tones. I do wish I would have quilted Jen's version a bit more than I did. I get a bit nervous when quilting the finish piece. But I thought, overall, it turned out very nice and cheerful. This was a Moda charm pack I bought last year.

I also made this cute towel in complementing colors. I downloaded this heart from Embroidables.com. I know Anna has used this site before, but it was my first time. I really liked how easy it was to download from. The heart is meant to be really cutsie with the flowers on it and it is wonky in shape not symmetrical. Husband thought I did something wrong and I had to explain that a heart does not always have to be symmetrical! LOL

I threw in some baking accessories because I know Jen and Amelia bake together. I also threw in some fat free mochas because I wanted to put something sweet in the mix, but Jen and I are both on the diet challenge! And, there were a few more odds and ends. I really enjoyed being Jen's partner. It was a fun swap.

Just a reminder to the rest of you swappers, 12 days left to send out your project! I have heard from 3 of you so far. Keep those projects coming.

Hey VALENTINE I sent your package

I sent out my package today. I have been contacted by 3 other swappers who sent out their packages. Be watching your mailboxes, you never know when cupid might drop off a package for you! I will post my pics in a couple of days after I know my Valentine has received hers!

Just 2 weeks left, swappers! I truly hope you are sewing your projects and having a lot of fun. I know I sure did making my project.

Busy, Busy, Busy Valentine

I have been busy stiching up a surprise for my swap partner. I decided since obviously this person checks my blog to post my project after I mail it. But, here is a hint. . .a tiny, tiny glimpse. I just hope she likes it. It is a bit busy, but I do like the fabrics.

Also, I have not forgotten my drawing I promised you swappers. Remember, your package must be in the mail by February 6th to be entered in the drawing. That's 20 days away folks! I have been checking blogs and am happy to see most people at least mentioning they've been busy working on their projects. I don't want any sad valentines out there. I think I have decided to draw twice since the swap was larger than I had orginally estimated.

The first prize will be this apron I made. I just love it.

The second prize will be this cute bag pattern I found. I looked over the directions and it seems like a nice pattern.

I think the 3 bags are just adorable. Hopefully someone will appreciate this.

Get those packages out girlies! Don't forget to email me when you do! Later Valentines!