Craftsy Class Review and Giveaway- QAYG Patchwork Bags

Oh, do I have a good thing in store for you!!! I'm sure most of you remember one of my most recent posts where I did a class review for Craftsy, well Melissa enjoyed my post so much that she asked me to.....REVIEW ANOTHER CLASS!!!!! *happy dance*
So, which quilting class was I asked to review?!?!?  Quilt As You Go Patchwork Bags taught by Tara Rebman (aka Tinkerfrog)! Can we say SQUEEL?!?!? Really though, I knew this class was coming because I follow the instructor on IG (I told you guys, I'm addicted! LOL!) and was soooo excited to watch this class!!!
Disclaimer: The opinions in this post are strictly my own, no one has told me what to say or write nor have I received any form of payment for this review!

Buuut, before I go into my review of this class, just in case you didn't read this post let me tell you a bit about Craftsy first:
   Craftsy is an online educational website that offers TONS of classes for ANY crafting need! They offer not only quilting classes but cake decorating, crocheting, knitting, sewing, and so much more!!!
I absolutely L-O-V-E their platform. Once you enroll in a class (whether it's a free class or one you paid for) you have UNLIMITED access (24/7) that lasts FOREVER!!! You can ask questions you may have and get answers back from not only your instructor but your classmates too, you can take a video note (it helps you bookmark a specific place in the course), share your projects, and so much more! Every class comes with printable course instructions and material lists.
 Craftsy offers not only classes you can buy but they have a HUGE selection of FREE (yes, completely FREE) classes!!!!!!!! I promise you, you can find a class that you will LOVE! Craftsy also offers a place for designers (experienced and newbies) to sale their patterns! You can find a lot of free patterns too!!!

I could really keep going on and on and on about how wonderful Craftsy is, but weren't we here for something else? Oh yeah, A CLASS REVIEW!!!!

(yes, this is a screenshot, I'm "resourceful" that way! LOL!)

Where do I begin?
I guess I'll start with the description from the website....
"Learn the theory behind the quilt-as-you-go technique by working your way through a charming potholder before creating the “Tinker” patchwork bag from blocks you create on the fly. Tara shows you how to use scraps from your stash to build out from a single square using a freehanded approach that celebrates the uniqueness of each quilted bag. Whether you prefer straight-line or free-motion quilting, your extemporaneous blocks will blossom as your bag comes to life. Add a simple pocket or follow Tara’s instruction for a painless hidden zipper pocket. Learn how to add material to the bottom of your bag for extra durability and box corners for extra stability. Finish off your quilted bag with a magnetic closure and eye-catching bias binding. Or hand-sew an invisible binding for extra sophistication"



I love the description they give! It's right on the money (is that the expression I'm looking for? I hope so!)!!! Tara does an amazing job with breaking down the process of QAYG (quilt as you go), and you can take what you learn from her and apply it to ANY quilty project! Tara breaks down this process by teaching you to first make an adorable pot holder, which I think is great because it is a small project, so you don't get overwhelmed! After she teaches you how to make the potholder she moves on to her own pattern, the Tinker Tote! She breaks down the ENTIRE process of putting her bag together, I mean the ENTIRE process! (Even if you are new to making bags after you take this class you can apply a lot of the techniques to other bag projects!)

I can't tell you how much I LOVE this class! Tara knows what she's talking about and makes it SEW EASY to understand! She gives you tons of extra tips along the way to help you out! I learned a lot about (cue horror movie theme song....) bias tape! (I really hated the thought of bias tape before this class, just so you know!) I took away a lot more than what I expected from this class. I've made QAYG bags before, but Tara's method is a lot better than the free tutorials you find on Google.
I can really go on...and on....and on...and on about this class, but you're just going to have to take it to believe me. Then once you do, you can come back here and say "WOW! You were totally right!" LOL!

I really really really wanted to make a Tinker Tote for this post, of course I have way too many other obligations going on right now. Though I did find the time to test out Tara's technique! Do you wanna see what I made?
Of course you do!!!

Aint it purty? :) I really love this clutch! Just so happens, there is a FREE TUTORIAL for this clutch right here on Tara's website! Don't pay attention to my flap though, it's all uneven and out of whack! I still love it though!

Here is a view of the back of my "Crazy Cute Clutch".

I mean, I REALLLLLLY love how this turned out!

It's a really good sized clutch too! I stuffed it full of scissors and rotary cutters for this pic! :)

So, are you all ready to go take this class yet????? I hope so, because the wonderful peeps at Craftsy said I could giveaway a Quilt As You Go Patchwork Bag class to one of my LUCKY READERS!!!
*happy dance* (again)
Okay so here are the details for this giveaway:
I only have on rule: You need to be a follower of mine! (You can now follow me on Bloglovin by clicking the Bloglovin icon in the upper right side of my blog!)
Then all I need for you to do is CLICK HERE and sign in/register! Once you've done that come back here to this post and leave me a comment letting me know you did! EASY PEASY!!!!

ONLY ONE ENTRY PER PERSON!
You have until this Thursday (June 27th, 2013) to enter!
This giveaway is open to EVERYONE!

I will announce the winner of the giveaway on Friday (June 28th)
Edited to add: This giveaway is now closed!
~Hope y'all are having a GREAT day!!~

1 year....and a little something for you!

1 YEAR!!! I can NOT believe it's already been a year!!! What's been a year? Well EXACTLY 1 year ago today (3/22/13) I started this blog! I decided to look back through this past year and see how far I have come. I know I haven't posted a ton on here but it's crazy! I actually can see how much I've grown as a quilter (not so much a blogger...I think it's prolli cuz I'm not to tech savvy)!
I mean WOW!!!! If you look back here to my very first quilt for example...

It's made ENTIRELY of bandanas!!!!!! Bandanas....cuz I didn't want to waste money if I couldn't get the whole "quilting thang". HAHAHAHAHA!!!! Now, I have an ACTUAL stash!!! And I don't think I could stop quilting if someone paid me a million dollars....seriously!
I've went through each of my posts and read them and laughed! LOL! I remember BEGGING you guys for some tips on basting, binding, quilting, EVERYTHING! And a lot of you have helped me! (Which I sincerely appreciate!!!!) A lot of it I've become better at just by doing it. I didn't/don't have anyone that helps me learn new things, I've learned everything I know from the internet and trial and error! Seriously, all these wonderful blogs and classes online are AMAZING! I love Craftsy I have learned some AMAZING things from their classes!!!!
So, I went from the above pictured to this....

(I'll tell you guys more about this in another post)

I think I've come pretty far.
Over the past year I've went from knowing NOTHING at all about quilting to:
Making my first quilt, Free Motion Quilting (which I'm getting a little bit better at), doing some improv, joining my first swap (and a lot more of them just because I LOVE SWAPPING!!!), not only joining a quilting bee but STARTING not one but TWO Bees!!!! And I've done so much more! I can't thank all YOU enough for encouraging and supporting me through this wonderful, amazing journey! I really wouldn't have kept going if it hadn't been for your comments and emails!!!! I've met soooooo many amazing people through blogging and the online quilting community, I could not be happier with my decision to start this blog!

So, as a THANK YOU for supporting me I'm teaming up with the LOVELY Caitlin of I Don't Do Dishes to bring you a little giveaway! Who doesn't LOVE a good giveaway???? The winner will get to pick a charm pack of one of the AMAZING new lines....

Comma by Zen Chick

Simple Marks by Malka Dubrawsky or.....

2wenty Thr3e by Eric and Julie Comstock


Caitlin owns an AMAZING shop that offers GREAT PRICES on some AMAZING fabrics!!!! She has a little bit of everything! And did I mention her prices? THEY ARE FANTASTIC! Plus she is SUPER sweet and her customer service is top notch! Shipping is fast....WOW! GOOOOO GO GO GOOO!!!! Check out her shop I promise once you do, you will NOT want to leave!
(Thanks Caitlin for sponsoring this! You really are amazing!)
So how do you enter?
ONLY ONE ENTRY PER PERSON!
Be a follower, new or old and leave me a comment! That's it! Easy Peasy!!!!!!
This giveaway will be open until next Thursday (3/28/13) and is open to US residents only! (sorry to all my international followers, I still love you!)

And as I mentioned, this is post # 101, I will be doing something special for an upcoming post as a way to celebrate hitting 100 posts! So make sure you stay tuned!

Wish me luck, tomorrow is the first meeting of the Tri Cities Modern Quilt Guild!!! EEEEEKKKK!


~Hope y'all are having a great day!~

Pink Castle Fabrics giveaway

Edited to add: This giveaway is now closed!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE! I'm so excited about Christmas, I just can't wait!!!!!
I'm sure you all have heard of Pink Castle Fabrics right? It's owned by the wonderful Brenda and Jason! They have one of the best selections of fabrics there is! Let me show you a little bit!

This is the Cherry Limeade bundle made by Katy from I'm a Ginger Monkey. They have TONS of awesome bundles made by some of the most well known bloggers out there!

This is Ikebana by Dear Stella Fabrics.

Salt Water by Tula Pink

The gorgeous Pearl Bracelets by Lizzy House!
And their sale section is JAMMED pack full of WONDERFUL DEALS!!!!

Like this Madrona Road print for just $3.50 a  half yard!!!!

They also have all the Sketch prints for ONLY $4 a HALF YARD!

Pink Castle Fabrics is also home of the Stash Stack Club! It's AWESOME! Each month is assigned a specefic color and you can choose from the different options (half stack or full stack, Fat Quarters or Half Yard or Yards) and Brenda and Jason send you a bundle of stash builders in different values each month!!!! I am planning on getting in on it "next" year!!!!!
So what are they offering my WONDERFUL readers?????

An assorted Fat Eighth Rainbow bundle!!! (the above pictured is from their shop, this is not the bundle the winner will receive!)
What do you have to do to enter????
As always, all entries MUST BE A FOLLOWER of this blog!  And answer my question, that's it! EASY PEASY!!!! This giveaway is open until Friday December 28th a midnight EST!
Open to US residents only!
Go to Pink Castle Fabrics and look around a bit and come back here and tell me what your FAVORITE line they carry is! It can be new or old, but it has to be from their website!!! (does not have to be in stock!)
That's it, that's all you have to do!!!!!!!!! ONLY ONE ENTRY PER PERSON PLEASE!!!!!

Hope everyone has a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

A winner and Intrepid Thread Giveaway

Congrats to the winner of the Notting Hill bundle goes to

HeatherK @ AReformedHeath'n } said...

I love Joel Dewberry! What an awesome giveaway :) For this year, I'm making my youngest daughter a quilt--she actually requested one of her very own. My other Christmas-related project is a book cover

I will be emailing you soon!

For this week's giveaway we have an extremely generous sponsor!!!
The Intrepid Thread owned by Julie Duek!!! She has sponsored a few of my previous giveaways and she is just AMAZING!!!!
Her shop has some of the greatest prices around, I mean GREAT prices! I love how she has her website set up...it's very easy to navigate and find EXACTLY what you are looking for. And when you order from her, she makes it very personal! You get your fabric wrapped up in the cutest little package with a HANDWRITTEN NOTE from Julie!!! She does this for each and every order! In my experience, she is the only one that does that! And for me, it makes my buying experience just that much better!!!!
Her shop has the latest fabric, and she adds to it all the time! You can find all the new lines that have been coming out in the "Just Arrived" section of her shop.
Some of my favorites are

Cuzko by Kate Spain, the above pictured is Julie's Fat Quarter bundle, but she also has a half yard bundle as well as yardage!

She recently started carrying Robert Kaufman's Essex Linen (the above pictured is Putty), and for just $6.50 A YARD!!!!!!

The gorgeous Floressence by Bari J from Art Gallery (this is just ONE of the colorway bundles she offers!!!)

Flutter by the Quilted Fish!!!! This is the entire collection, but she offers each colorway as well as yardage!

The gorgeous, popular, Notting Hill by Joel Dewberry!
Julie also has an AMAZING selection of sale fabric and you can choose to look at 20% off, 30% off or 50% off!!!
I'm tellin you, Julie's store was one of the first online stores I purchased from, and I'm soooo glad I did! I love the way she works with me, cuz I'm VERY picky!!!! I mean, I'll want to buy a FQ bundle but I have to be difficult and switch stuff around and get more of one and less of another and SHE DOES IT! I send her  a list of what I want and usually by the next day (if not within an hour) I have MY OWN LISTING!!!!!! She's just AMAZING!
Julie is getting everything ready to open up a brick and mortar shop, I believe in Jan. and she's super busy but still takes the time to sponsor giveaways, answer emails, and be AWESOME!!! :)
I do really love The Intrepid Thread and HIGHLY suggest you all go check it out and buy until your hearts are content!!!!



Now, what is she offering you guys?

A GORGEOUS selection of the ever popular low volume Fat Quarters!!!! The winner will receive 12 FQ's!!!!!!!!!!!
How do you enter to win? SIMPLE Just follow my rules, and I will draw a winner next week!!!
This giveaway will be open until Friday the 21st at midnight!!!!!! It is open to US residents only (sorry all my overseas peeps!)

Rules of the giveaway:
YOU MUST BE A FOLLOWER!!!!!
You must answer the question I ask, if you do not answer the question I will delete your comment, and I will also delete any duplicate entries ONLY ONE ENTRY PER PERSON, PLEASE!!!!
Question:
What new line do you just LOVE????? Go to Just Arrived section of Intrepid Thread and tell me which one is your favorite! That's it! That's all you have to do!!!!
Good luck!!!!!!!!!!
~Hope y'all are having a great day!~

I don't do dishes....a giveaway

Edited to add-This giveaway is now closed, winner will be announced in a seperate post! But you should still check out I Don't Do Dishes because the shop is just simply amazing!!!



I was wondering....do you guys know how much I love you? Like really? Cuz, I DO!!!! A whole bunch! And since I love you sooo much I'm gonna be doing a little thing here on my blog this month, already started really! Every week I'll be having a sponsored giveaway for you guys!!! YAY!!!!
Last week was of course the fabulous Zipit that sponsored the giveaway! (Thanks again Jennie, you are the best!)
Sew, who's going to be sponsoring this one, you ask?
The FANTABULOUS (yes, it's okay for me to make up my own words, in case you were wondering)
Caitlin of I Don't Do Dishes!!!!!! '
Her shop is AMAZING!!! I just LOVE IT! And she's pretty cool too *wink*! She has super fast shipping, amazing prices, and her customer service? Well, it's as fantabulous as she is!

She is all about custom orders too, and if you're not too sure on what you need ask her, she is more than happy to help build you your own bundle of *drool worthy* fabric!
She has an amazing selection of fabric that is added to on a regular basis!
She's got some of the best lines out there such as...

Tula Pink's Saltwater...

The gorgeous Simply Color by V & Co..

Pearl Bracelets by Lizzy House (IN ALL THE NEW COLORS) (OMG I'm gonna go broke just looking at her shop!!!)

Madrona Road by Violet Craft....and sooo many more!!!!
Not only does she carry fabric but she has a great selection of interfacing, thread, and notions!
I mean a girl can really do some damage in that shop!!! And with her great prices, it won't hurt tooooooo bad! LOL!
But what is she giving away to you guys????

A FQ bundle of Joel Dewberry's Notting Hill in the Poppy Colorway!!!! Aren't these fabrics JUST GORGEOUS!!?!?!?!?

That's TWELVE FQ's of the GORGEOUS brand new fabric! (I'm having some series envy right now for whoever wins this!)
So you TOTALLY have to go and check out her shop and if you are like me you will be drooling in NO TIME!
So what do you have to do to enter?  It's simple really....
THE NUMBER ONE RULE is you have to FOLLOW my blog!
Then all you gotta do is answer my ????? which is, What kind of Christmas gifts are you making? (I need some good ideas, that's quick to make!)
See? that's it!
ONLY ONE ENTRY PER PERSON PLEASE!!!! (don't comment that you follow, if you are commenting at all I already will know you are a follower!!! :))
This giveaway will be open until Friday Dec 14th at Midnight (EST)!!!!!
This giveaway is open to international followers as well!
Don't forget to go check out I Don't Do Dishes I promise...you won't regret it! :)
~Hope y'all are having a great day~

SMS Giveaway Day and an announcement

Edited to add: This Giveaway is now closed...winner to be announced

 

I can't believe it's December ALREADY! Where did this year go? I've got some good stuff to share with you guys today! I hope you all are ready for this! And if you are visiting for the first time for the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day, I'm so glad you're here and I hope you make yourself comfy and stay awhile! And if you really like what you see, I would really love to have you as a follower!

First things first! It's Giveaway Day!!! So, what am I giving away? I was talking with the AMAZING Jennie who just happens to own one of the best shops on Etsy EVER!!!! Her shop is called Zipit, guess what she sales? ZIPPERS!!!!!!!!

She sales YKK zippers at wholesale prices! Really Really Really good prices! I absolutely LOVE her and her shop! She has some of the best customer service I have ever had plus she ships at lightening speed! Really! And the selection of zippers? Unbeatable! She has it all!!!!

If you're not sure what colors you will need she sales rainbow sampler packs in a variety of sizes from 3" up to 16".
Or you can choose her assorted packs and get a little of everything! Those sizes are from 3" up to 22"!!!!!

She sales a variety of invisible zippers as well! They come in a bunch of sizes too!

 

Need some metal zippers? She's got you covered there as well! They come in sizes from 5" up to 16"! And guess what?

She sales rainbow packs of those as well!!!!

If you know exactly what color you need, she's got you covered there! All you have to do is click on the right size and pick your color! Or you can mix and match! She's very "custom order" friendly! I've even purchased a variety pack before and told her I didn't want this particular color or that color and I wanted more of this color and it was no issue what-so-ever!!!!

She also sales these cute zipper pulls!!! I love them! They add a little extra UMPH to your project! She's got tons to choose from!

So, what am I giving away?
The lucky winner will receive a $20 gift card to Zipit that way you can choose WHATEVER YOU WANT! Isn't she awesome?
I have a few rules for entering that will be at the bottom of this post!




I have something else I wanted to announce today! Remember that quilting bee I was telling you I wanted to start? Well, guess what?!?!?!? Sign Ups OPEN TODAY! They will be on a first come first serve basis! YAY! We have 10 spots open. We are now full! Thanks to everyone who has signed up!
Make it Modern will be a 6 month quilting bee with 12 members. So each member will be required to make 2 blocks a month. The blocks are to be sent out by the end of each month. I have the rules posted in our Flickr group that you will need to read through if you are interested. If you then agree to those rules you will need to fill out our sign up form. Please remember this is on a first come first serve basis. And my partner, Jamie is also announcing this on her blog today! We are taking up to 5 people for the waiting list just incase we have a member drop out or no longer be able to be part of our bee. We hope to make this as fun and laid back as possible! I will have another post later today or tomorrow with more details and the exact rules of the bee. We are hoping to start making blocks in Jan! We will email the members of the bee to let them know for sure they made it in or not just so there is no confusion!


Now, how do you enter my giveaway?
Pretty easy really.
#1- YOU HAVE TO BE A FOLLOWER OF MY BLOG
#2- Answer my question: What do you like best about the online quilting/sewing community?
For me it's the friendship that I've gained. I've met so many AMAZING people through blogging and Flickr and IG that I wouldn't trade for the world! The online community of quilters are so amazingly nice, generous and caring it just blows me away!


So leave me a comment answering my question and you will be entered to win the $20 gift card to Zipit. Only one entry per person. This is for US residents only and the giveaway will end on Dec. 7th at 9pm EST. The winner will be chosen by random.org.
Good Luck!!!!
~Hope y'all are having a great day!!!~