Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!

Hope y'all have set aside some surfing time this week because... 

It's Giveaway Day, the Ultra-Fun Semi-Annual linkup hosted by Sew Mama Sew!

I love this opportunity to share some favorite things, and to meet new blogger's! 

The giveaway bundle I have put together includes:
One Vintage Market 5" Stacker, by Tasha Noel
Three Fat Quarters of the three prints shown, also by Tasha Noel, from her line "Country Girls".
One Handmade Scissor Cozy, plus whatever happens to jump inside it... and..
One downloadable PiNS pincushion pattern, by Sugar Free Quilts!

I really enjoyed making this over-sized cushion last month. It is large, and fully-lined, making it very durable - mine is getting a lot of use!

If you are new to my blog, Welcome!
I blog for fun..
Sponsor-free and Ad-free..

Today, I have selected a few of my favorite links that I hope you find useful and inspiring:

I made four Scissor Cozies last month, using the tutorial from S.O.T.A.K. Handmade.

You could say I have been on a bit of a bag-kick as of late. I was spurred on by Bag It!, running through the 14th at Elm Street Quilts. Patty has tempted us with tutorials for weeks now, and has encouraged us to enter any bags we make for the chance to win goodies from her sponsors!

This week, I have finished two more bags for the Bag It challenge. Jewelry rolls for traveling!

I over-dyed the fabric for the top case, using an ice-dyeing method and Procion Dyes. Pictured in the background: A Kona swatch placed playfully under the rack in the tub I used,  in the "drainage". It came out better than the bird fabric and I ended up soaking the main fabric again.

Well, more dyeing in my future and I will be sure to post about it!
Two years ago, I made two of these jewelry rolls , guided by the tutorial at Haberdashery.

I kept my corners squared to avoid making bias binding, and I attached my zippers on top of the vinyl. You can read about that HERE if interested. Those first two are a practical size for weekend getaways, but the recipients of my newest rolls travel quite a bit so these are a bit larger.
Lots of little travel-type fabrics selected...

Pink Roses line the inside.

I used beads for the tie-off ends, and little jewelry-stops for the other one.

Thick felt insets are added inside the pockets. These are helpful to keep things cozy and stable.

Five new buttons are on my sidebar that may interest you: 
1. Quilty 365, a Block a Day hosted by Quilty Folk - start anyday you like!
2. Word of the year 2016 - make a mini and enter to win!
3. RSC2016 Monthly Scrap Challenge
4. Sew Simple Saturdays - A new, monthly linkup to share tips and tutorials for prizes!
5. Quilty Orpan Adoption - A giveaway linkup with prize incentives, coming again this Spring!

On with the Giveaway, right? 

Please leave a comment here, prior to midnight (Vegas Time!), on Sunday, Dec.13th.

I would love to know what Sew Along's you are participating with, or perhaps good book you have recently read!

If you are a current, or new Bloglovin follower, leave another comment for a second entry.

If you follow RedLetterFabrics on Etsy, leave a comment for a third entry. 

Finally, Thank you so much for visiting! 

Due to the high volume, I will not be able to reply to comments as I usually do!

My BFF & I - Jewelry Roll Finishes!

Have you seen MIXED Bag by STUDIO M for Moda?

Mini-charms are such a great way to sample a new line! I picked this up on impulse when I noticed several prints in it that will go well with my 2.5" charm collections.
When I got them home for an even closer look, I found Mixed bag to be a really cheerful color-way that blends well with much of my stash.
I was inspired to use the blue and greens for a couple jewelry rolls I have been intending to make.

One is for myself! It is the one with the button closure because I forgot to sew the straps into the binding. All is well though, that button is from my grandmother's sewing box and I found pleasure attaching it!
For the 1st jewelry roll, I fussy cut a sewer-girl like myself from a very retro piece I've been hoarding. I added seven charms from the Mixed Bag mini-charm packet. I love the Comment print! :

The next one is for my BFF! I added six from prints from Mixed Bag to this one. And quite a bit of Amy Butler to help the modern prints mix well with the retro/vintage prints. Dragonflies for Terri as well, & some books & a heart:-)

Terri and I have been friends 25 years, since we were 13!
Lucky me, she befriended me on my first day as a new student in her school.
I've learned a lot about friendship (and relationships in general!) from Terri. She practices unconditional love, faith, forgiveness, compassion, empathy.
Terri doesn't sew, but I still like her a lot.
We make each other laugh and we make each other cry in all the ways good friends should:-)

For the most part, I followed the tutorial at Haberdashery Fun. Since I wanted to make quilted rolls, I did not use interfacing, and I kept square corners. I did not have the same length zippers, so I used short ones for mine, and longer ones for Terri's. I haven't used that plastic stuff much, and I did not want to sew it on the topside of the zippers, so I topstitched along the outside edge of the zipper to attach the plastic, then I flipped it over and stitched along the edge of the plastic to stabilize it...

I rushed to finish these in time to link up with TGIFF, held at Quilty Habit this week, and with Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

Of course, I had to pick up a couple more mini-charms of Mixed Bag next time I was out!
One is a replacement, with it's original intent, and one to share with a lucky reader!

A name will be drawn for this sneaky little giveaway January 31st, 2014 at 5PM PST.

A fun token gift in appreciation of the great opportunity we have to connect as quilter's, online, to celebrate finishes, and to SHARE!
And simply because I enjoy giving and receiving fabric,
Please leave a comment to enter, if you like you can answer me this:

Does your best friend sew?