Who's the Lucky Winner?

So, Taylor (aka 'mini me') always has to ask what I'm doing...  That's what 6 year olds do....  I told her I was going to share some of my fabric so she really wanted to help. 

So, I let her...write some of your names, fold some paper,

 and draw a name....

And the winner of the Flea Market Fancy FQ set is......

sewiwasthinking!!!  Yay!  :)

sewiwasthinking (aka Melissa P.), I will be contacting you very soon!

Thanks so much to everyone for participating in my giveaway!  I'll be doing another one very soon. 

Happy Sewing, Melissa!

oxox,

Sunny

Sorry for the delay....

I know I said that I would announce a winner for the Flea Market Fancy FQ set tonight... My daughter, Taylor is helping me with this, and she's not quite finished. So... I will announce a winner tomorrow. I promise!!! :)

I'm happy to say, I managed to get some sewing done this weekend. Check out these cute little wallets I made from Valori Well's. The pattern is called 'Little Wallet'. That's easy to remember....  :)

Oxox,

Sunny

Flea Market Fancy Giveaway!!!

***This Giveaway is now officially closed!  Thanks so much for all your comments.  It was so fun reading them.  :)***  

So, I know tons of you were excited about Denyse Schmidt's Flea Market Fancy Legacy re-release! I loved this line when it first came out and I still love it.  I bought some, and since I'm behind on so many projects... I decided that I'd love to giveaway a FQ set to just my peeps! That's right! My followers!

Here's how to enter this awesome giveaway:

1. Leave a comment....Tell me how long you've been sewing/ quilting. 
2. Also, tell me if you are a new follower or you've been followering. If you've been following, thanks!  And your comment counts as 2 entries!  :)

That's it! Easy Peasy! Winner will be announced Monday evening.  Good Luck!

Oxox,

Sunny

ps.  I've been sewing on and off since high school...  I started collectioning fabric around 2005.  I've been at this quilting stuff awhile....  :)

Giving Back

My first job out of college was at Rhino Records. What an amazing experience that was. It was the best job I've ever had. This company was very big on giving back. The week off of Christmas and New Years was paid time off as long as you completed 16 hours of community service. This ranged from volunteering at pet shelters, participating in walks / runs or spending time helping kids at boys & girls clubs.

I didn't know where to begin... There were several Rhino sponsored events on Saturdays, so I started there. My first event was such a great experience, I participated in almost every company sponsored event. By the the end of the year, I had completed 60 hours of community service! The time I spent giving back was so rewarding....

Remembering those times made me want to find a new way to give back. I remembered a women's shelter from those volunteering days and then it hit me! I can donate / make some quilts for these ladies and their children! An even better idea was to start a bee so we could make more quilts for these ladies. So that's what I'm doing here. If you'd like to join / be a part of making a difference, leave a comment or send me an email. :)

Oxox,

Sunny

Quilting Bees 101

I'm in a bee again this year and realized that I didn't make any recent posts on my blocks.  Shame on me!  So let me show you guys real quick what I've done so far this year. 

January was my month to host, so I asked everyone to make me some Crazy Blocks.  Last year, I made this block for a different bee and I really liked the scrapy-ness!  I couldn't really decide on a color, so I listed 12 colors and I let everyone choose one.  I took whatever was left - brown.  (I love brown!)  :)

Here's what I got back from these talented ladies...  Awesome, right?!?! 

I call this quilt my "Crazy Crayon Box"

These are February blocks I made for Maria. 

She showed us a great Half Rectangle Triangles tutorial from the MQG blog. 

Colors requested were orange and aqua.  Who doesn't love this color combo?!?!

Here are March blocks for Linda.  She wrote a great tutorial for these Wonky Diamond Log Cabins.  She requested jewel tones so I knew a saturated look would do the trick. 

Plus, she loves Kaffe Fasset.

I just finished April Blocks last night.  These are for Karen.  She also wrote a great tutorial on her blog for these Tassels blocks.  She wanted one block in light blue / aqua & Gold.

The other to be a darker / medium blue & yellow. 

Aren't they cool?!?!

I've had the pleasure of participating in quite a few bees. In fact, I'm a bee mama again this year. A few of you have asked me about quilting bees and how to join, etc...

So here's the 411....

There are different types of bees. The run if the mill one involves 12 or 11 members, 1 host (or queen bee) per months. (2) - 12.5" blocks per month. The host will send out / provide fabric to the remaining 11 members and also provide instructions on their block.

There are other bees where members use their own stash to make others blocks. I tend to prefer this type of bee only because I love getting blocks with fabric I don't have.

There are also Charity Bees.  Here, 12 members make quilts that are donated to various organizations.  There are so many generous quilters that participate in these.

For those of you that are new to quilting and are dying to try one....  please keep in mind that there is normally a 12 month commitment.  I highly recommend doing a block swap to get your 'feet wet'. This might be another option if you do not want to commit to 12 months.

DO NOT JOIN A BEE if....
You don't have time to sew....
you are not good with deadlines
you are often tardy or flakey - it's really not fair to the other members

So here if you are interested in doing a block swap, check these out.

NuBees {A Block Swap} -  A monthly block swap
[3 x 6] Sampler Quilt Mini Bee -    A Quarterly block swap
4x5 Modern Quilt Bee - A Quarter Block Swap (more for the modern quilter)

If you are interested in joining a bee, the quilting bee blocks group has a thread for upcoming bees or you can post that you are looking for join.

If you are interested in joining a charity bee and using those sewing skills to benefit others, please let me know.  Leave a comment or send me an email.  I'm getting a bee together that will make quilts for a local shelter for women with children in Los Angeles.  Giving feels so good and you will make a big difference to someone.  You will be so glad you joined.

So, I hope you all join a bee if you haven't done so already.  If you are still a little confused and would like to maybe purchase a book for more info, here's a great one... 

Happy Sewing!

oxox,

Sunny

Happy Easter

Taylor hopes your Easter was awesome!

Oxox,

Sunny

So Flattered!

A few weeks ago, Erica nominated my blog for a  Liebster Blog Award.  I did thank Erica via email, but didn't have time to do a post until today.  Erica, please forgive me for my delay.  Then on Friday, Karen nominated me too! 

So, thanks so much for the blog love, Erica & Karen.  I'm following and loving your blogs too.  :) 

So here's the scoop!

The Liebster award (German for favorite) is for bloggers with 200 followers or less. As a recipient of the award, you have the chance to thank and link back to the blogger who gave it to you as well as pass it along to five other deserving blogs.

So here's are my choices (in no particular order.)

Charise at Charise Creates just blows my mind.  She is such an amazing paper piecer.  She creates her own paper piecing patterns that leave me speechless.  Check out her ski chalet.  It make you want to take up skiing even if you live in Hawaii.

Sheila at Zoom Baby is an amazing art quilter.  She's a guild mate and a fellow 'valley girl'.  I ran into her a couple months ago at a LQS.  Everytime she brings a quilt for show and tell, everyone in the room just gasps.  She's make my jaw drop too...  To top it off, she dies her own fabric too.  Oh, and she's won a few awards and was featured in Paducah.  Enough said....

Melissa at We Shall Sew is one of the sweetest people I've met.  I met her very briefly when I first joined the LAMQG.  Now, she runs the Front Range Modern Quilt Guild in Colorado.  Her awesome 'TNT' Hexie Quilt was recently featured in Apartment Thereapy post on 10 Modern Quilting Inspirations post.

Tanya at Free Range Quilting is a friend, guildmate an awesome long armer.  Check out some of her personal quilts.  Here's one she did for Maria (M Press Blog - mentioned next).  I highly covet each one!  If you are looking for a long armer, she's definitely your girl. 

Maria at M Press Blog is one of my BFF's in real life.  I met her at work in 1996.  She's is a Grammy ( not a typo!  Yes, Grammy!!!) nominated graphic designer who loves to do a little letter press too. Her work is top notch and she quilts too.  We lost touch for a bit , but reconnected through facebook.  We've been inseperable ever since we found out that we both quilt and love fabric.

I hope you check out these lovely ladies when you have a moment.  They are great people and great quilters too.

I wish all of you a wonderful Easter.

oxox,

Sunny