Amelia - Magica De Spell

Finally I had some time to test one of my Topolino patterns.
The untested pattern had some mistakes, that has been fixed in the version available now.

Note some wonderful scraps I used for the wall (spiderwebs), her dress (magical and perfect) and the cauldron (green and poisonous). I got those from Jennifer and as soon as I saw them I knew that they were for Magica's block!
And the green fabric was just a long green 1'' strip, but I needed bigger pieces for my pattern so I sew them together and hoped that they would be enough to cover the entire shape... and they were!! :) so happy about that!! And also the fabric for the dress is soooo perfect.

The pattern is available in the Quilt&Stitch-TestAlong page.
Go there and check more of Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse and Alice in Wonderland patterns!!

Winning numbers!

Last couple of weeks were absolutely crazy for me... look at the numbers:

168	blogs in the Quilting Gallery, Blog hop with Giveaways: visited ALL and commented on most of them
1 (!!!)	giveaway woooooon!!! :) @Qreative Quilts
54	followers on GFC
19	followers on Bloglovin'
27	followers on Pinterest
13	followers on Craftsy
4	new Quilt-A-Long or similar on my 2014 list (more info on those to come)
93	comments on my Giveaway post
11	comments of no-reply-blogger that I didn't put in the drawing! sorry guys but I told you to leave me your address!!
44	comments on my Black Tie Boogie blog hop post
5 (!!!)	pillows completed for my list of Christmas presents!!!
1	wall-hanging for my Secret Santa Swap completed
1000000	inspiring new blogs to follow :)

Sorry if I didn't reply to all the Black Tie Boogie nice comments!!
But I replied to all the comments for the giveaway and I got kind of burned out in writing emails!! :)
But I love all your nice comments!!

And now some good news and some "bad" news...
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The good news:

The lucky number for my Blog Hop Party with Giveaways is: 53!
Sandy @ Kids and Sewing!
I will contact you soon to get your mailing address!

But I also had a Quilt&Stitch-Test-Along giveaway going on... and the winner for that is:
BillieBee!
I will contact you soon to get your mailing address!

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The "bad" news:
Even if I like to give away things, I realized that for my Quilt&Stitch-Test-Along nobody entered an actual tested project yet :( :( :(
so I am going to revise the rules for the last final giveaway.
Originally it was scheduled on Dec 14th, because I wanted to send it to the winner before Christmas, but since there are too few new entries (and none of them are actual tested blocks, but comments/share instead), I will move the deadline for the final drawing to February 1st, 2014, to give you all (and me too) the time to actually realize some of the blocks.

If you are in US: Happy Thanksgiving break!!
If you are not in US: Happy Week anyway :)

Hokie-Dokey - Black Tie Boogie, blog hop!

Welcome hoppers!!
If you are looking for the Blog Hop party with Giveaway post, check here!
If you are here for the Black Tie Boogie bloghop, here it is!!!!


Are you wondering what is a Hokie?? I am!! :)

Ok, maybe not anyone can understand this answer... so let's quote Wikipedia "The HokieBird is the official mascot of Virginia Tech. It has been named as one of the top college football mascots in the United States"... and guess what... it's a turkey-like figure :)

So for this Blog Hop, I knew that I had to do something Hokie-related... and recently I found out the tutorial for a cute Owl Sewing Cuddy... so starting from these two ideas...

... I designed and realized my my new best friend... let me introduce you: Hokie-dokey!

He is a cute helper, that always knows where my seam-ripper, scissors and pens are!
He is taking good care of them!!
And he doesn't mind if I put the needle that I am working with in his beak...
He told me "no problem, it's hokie-dokey" :)

I put together a little tutorial (my tutorial is available here and the pattern pieces here).
It is based on this tutorial for the owl sewing buddy... but I changed both the pattern and many intermediate steps (because I didn't have the supplies, I used different techniques to obtain similar results). I also added a little loop at the top of his head because I don't know about you, but I have very limited horizontal-flat-open space in my sewing room (also known as living-room :) ) so I had to find a way to hang my helper in a place where it's not in my way when I sew/cut... and for me that perfect space is under the ironing board :) so he is now flying too! :)

If you like this little helper, give it a try... it's a really easy and quick project (if you follow my instructions and learn from my mistakes ;) )
And if you realize one of those sewing buddy I would looooove to see it so, please, email me!!!

If you like my project, leave a comment below...
... and if you want to connect with me, follow my blog with Google friend or Bloglovin' (side bar)...
... or contact me on FB

... or follow me on Pinterest (http://www.pinterest.com/tweloq/)
... I would love to get in contact with many of you!!
If you are new to my blog, take a look around!! There are many free paper piecing patterns (Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Alice in Wonderland, Snoopy and friends and much more) and there are QuiltAlongs with giveaways!!!

And now go and check all the other great projects of the blog-hop!!
Happy hopping from myself and from Hokie-Dokey! :)

November 26

Sew Mollie Sue, Quilt Much?

Marjorie's Busy Corner

Bumbleberry Stitches
Words & Stitches
Quilting, paper piecing and crafts (you are HERE)

Blog Hop Party with Giveaways!

Welcome hoppers!
If it's your first time here, nice to meet you! :)
If you are already a follower, welcome back!! :)

I hope you enjoy this great Blog Hop Party at Quilting Gallery as much as I do!!

If you are new to my blog, take a look around!! There are many free paper piecing patterns (Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Alice in Wonderland, Snoopy and friends and much more) and there are QuiltAlongs with giveaways!!! (many giveaways are better than one ;) )

But for todays Blog Hop Party I am offering this for a lucky reader:



The pincushion is my first experiment of these kind of objects!
I got the pattern in the Travelling Stash (pattern from Amy Bradley) and I thought it was super cute!
It's not perfect, but I think she will be happy to help you with your pins in your home! :) :)

Do you want a chance to win the Miss Pinny Pincushion and the other things in the picture?

Rules are simple:

1. leave a comment below answering one simple questions: what is your favorite cartoon character? or favorite animation movie from when you were a kid (or also today)? :)
2. for an extra entry, follow me through blogger (Google Friend button in the side bar), or become a friend on Facebook, or follow me on Pinterest (http://www.pinterest.com/tweloq/) ... or contact me on FB and add a comment below to tell me how you follow!

Important notes:

• this giveaway is open to readers in US only (sorry about that). But if you want to follow me anyway to be updated on my future pattern release, please do that!! And you can leave a comment below too if you want, just tell me that you are not in US so I won't use your comment in the drawing!
• comments are going to be moderated, so they will not be published immediately. But in 24h I promise that I will approve all the comments that are not spam :)
• if you are a no-reply blogger, please leave your email in the comment because I will NOT publish comments by no-reply bloggers without the email (I need a way to contact you if you win). If you are worried about spam, just type your email like "tweloq [space] at [space] gmail [dot] com" or similar :)
  !!! IMPORTANT !!!
  I received at least 4 comments from no-reply bloggers and I am not going to add them in the drawing (even if I appreciate the comment, I need a way to contact you if you win).
  So if you don't receive an email from me answering your comment, come back and put another comment with your email!!!  
• I will select a winner at random on November 27th, 12.01 pm EST and I will contact the winner directly through email. But come back on November 26th because that's my day for the Black Tie Boogie Blog Hop!! :)

Some secrets are revealed!

I am involved in sooo many different activities this month that I am kind of overwhelmed.
But I am trying to keep up with everything, so here are few reveals for things that you are going to see soon around here:

-- 1 --



Come back tomorrow for a fun giveaway!!

-- 2 --



I am a designer in this fun Fandom In Stitches project!!
True Love and fantastic new patterns? As you wish. Isn't that Inconceivable??? :)
Stay tuned for more details!!

-- 3 --

The Black Tie Boogie Blog hop is up and running!



My day is Nov 26th, so come back and check it out.
There is going to be a fun free pattern available for you!!

-- 4 --

I submitted my Alice's Secret project to the



It's a fun competition at Missouri Start Quilt Company.
I am sooooo excited. :) :) :)
The voting will start on Dec 1st on Facebook, so be sure to be my friend there because I will need your help ;).
I will share here also some behind-the-scene stories once the competition is up.

Disney Mystery Quilt, block 14 and much more!!

Here we are with Block number 14 of the Mystery Quilt: Wizard's Duel.

You can find the pattern in the Free Patterns section.

Have fun, and post a comment below for any question/advice/comment!

And if you tried any of the blocks, please leave me a comment below, or send me a picture of the block or publish the block on the FiS Flickr Group (or all of them :) ). I would love to see your work!!

Few updates from my week and weekend:

• Secret Project 1 (Black Tie Boogie Blog Hop) -- my post is ready scheduled to appear on Nov 26th... but the blog hop will start tomorrow!! I will post about it every day so you can see everyone's great projects!!
• Secret Project 2 (Alice1) -- status: DONE! ready to be submitted (already started using it.... I am very happy about that... and very excited to share it here... wait for Dec 1st and you will be able to see it... squeeeeeeeeee :) )
• Secret Project 4 (FiS) -- designed and waiting for feedback :)
• Secret Santa Swap -- shopping done and handmade item designed!
• Block Swap -- 2 blocks ready to go in the mail tomorrow, pictures here soon!
• Baby quilt -- Pumpkin (our cat) is using it as her favorite quilt :) but I will send it away in a couple of weeks... and then I will share the pictures here!!
• Sew Mama Sew, Giveaway day (Dec 9th) -- I want to participate and I need to prepare my handmade present :) ... still nothing done about it...
• Christmas presents -- 1 pillow done, 9 still to go :) that's going to be my Christmas present for most of my friends :)

Except from that if you want to be updated on my progresses you can become my friend on FB :)

I will need your support/voting for the Secret Project 2 soon... so I will keep bothering you about that :)



And if you become my friend in FB you will also be updated about blog hops and giveaways that I am going to offer soon!!

And the winner of the Travelling Stash is...

Sarah @ confessionsofafabricaddict !!

Congratulations!!

I will email you soon for your mailing information.

Travelling Stash reminder + other updates

Three days left to comment on my Travelling Stash post to have the chance to win this fabulous large box of goodies!!!
Go there and check it out!!!

Few updates from my weekend:

• Secret Project 2 (Alice1) -- status: back done! batting cut and ready to be quilted!
• Secret Project 3 (Alice2) -- decided to drop it :( the design part was not done yet and I have too many things right now so I guess it will go for a similar contest next year :)
• Secret Project 4 (FiS) -- no progress there, but I will start the design soon
• Secret Santa Swap -- shopping done! Ideas for a couple of handmade items, but need to start designing them
• Block Swap -- just got the email from my partner, I will decide soon on which block to make
• Baby quilt -- done done! I will post it soon :)
• Sew Mama Sew, Giveaway day (Dec 9th) -- I want to participate and I need to prepare my handmade present :)
• Christmas presents -- started putting together the list... and I will put it here soon so I can keep track of my progresses :) but 3 potholders for one lucky recipient are done (just need to sign them)!!

Except from that if you want to be updated on my progresses you can become my friend on FB :)
I will need your support/voting for the Secret Project 2 soon... so I will keep bothering you about that :)

Travelling Stash and Sneak Peek of Secret Projects ;)

I won the traveling stash!!! It's my first traveling stash!! Sooooo excited!!!

Are you not familiar with the travelling stash? It is a box filled with all sorts of fabric goodies, patterns and sewing stuff!! You can take whatever you want from the box, and then you can add items from your stash to it... and then you send it on to the next person!
In the box, there is a list of the people it paid visit to... this box has gone all over the place and it has been going around for about a year!

How does it work exactly? All the info and rules can be found at http://karmawillowdesigns.blogspot.com/.
You can go there to check where other boxes are and other giveaways that are available!

But in a nutshell the rules are:

• You need to have a blog, and you should write a post about the box when you receive it.
• It's only for US residents only (due to shipping cost :( )
• You need to ship the box onward the next US resident.

And now for the fun part:

I will pick a winner (at random) on Wednesday, November 13 (12:01 p.m. EST).
To be considered for this giveaway comment on this post, letting me know that you want the box!!  you can comment about something else too, but if you don't tell me that you would like the box, I won't consider the comment for the giveaway :)

I will have the box ready to ship and I will mail as soon as I get address of the next lucky winner!!

---
And now a little bit about my latest crafty activities :)

Last week I told you that I am working on few secret projects...
I am too excited about them so I HAVE TO share something with you :)

So here they are:
* Secret Project 1: it's for a blog-hop... that's the only clue you will get :) -- status: done! and in use ;)

* Secret Project 2: it's for a contest... it's somehow connected to Alice in Wonderland -- status: top almost done, back half done

* Secret Project 3: it's for another contest... again somehow connected to Alice in Wonderland -- status: design phase... I am not sure I will be able to make it before the deadline... but I will try ;)

* Secret Project 4: it's for a fun even that will start next year...it's a fandom project :) -- status: done with the research, ready to start working on my computer ;)

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Linked at: WiP wednesday

VOTE!! and a new Disney pattern

Blogger’s Quilt Festival — Voting is Open!

If you are looking for my entries in the Blogger's Quilt Festival, check
1. Bed quilt --> The Sword in the Stone (entry 19)
2. Wall hanging --> Snoopy Wall Hanging (entry 18)

Even if you don't vote for me, go there and check the amazing quilts that has been submitted!!!!
Go now... I will wait...

Are you back? :)
Great, here are the updates of this week.

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Another block reached my block-swap partner (Donna) so I can share it with you.

I don't like to work with white fabric because you can see through... but here I used a classical way of making the flying geese so instead of cutting the extra white triangle on the back I left it there! :) it adds a little bulk because it's an extra layer but I think that the effect on the white fabric is much much much better :) and Donna said she liked it so I guess that's what matter :)
She sent me a lovely owl block... but I didn't take any picture yet... I am waiting to put together more owls to show you a proper owl-post.. I also have another owl-project going on so you will have to wait to see the owl-mazing blocks that my partners sent me :)

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In the Halloween spirit I realized a Trick-or-Treat Sue block (from Jennifer) and a skull block (from Liljabs)

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I started not one, not two, but three secret projects :) they are secret because they are for contests and blog-hops... so stay tune, because I cannot share them yet :) and I have another secret project that didn't start yet but I will, I promise ;)

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And finally, since I received so many nice comments about my Disney Quilt (and I also received a couple of pictures of a person that realized some of my blocks!! Thanks Cami!! So excited about that!!!), I decided to share another pattern! Here is Block number 13

 Arthur Having Tea.

You can find the pattern in the Free Patterns section.

Have fun, and post a comment below for any question/advice/comment!

And if you tried any of the blocks, please leave me a comment below, or send me a picture of the block or publish the block on the FiS Flickr Group (or all of them :) ). I would love to see your work!!