Boxing Day Sew-In--Get Your Give-Aways Here!

***The BDSI Giveaway is now closed!***

Welcome to our Boxing Day Sew-In! So glad you can join us, even if it's for only part of the day. This is our day to avoid the crowded shopping malls and just hang out and relax. If you have to work, my sympathies! Join in when you can. If you're still enjoying family festivities, so am I! I won't be spending the entire day in my sewing room, but I'll be there a lot. (After all, I have college-aged kiddies now--they still appreciate a good Pajama Day but they don't necessarily want me involved in the entirety of it anymore!)

Many of us don't officially celebrate Boxing Day and may not know much about it. In a nutshell, although there are several stories about its origins, they pretty much all agree that it began as a day of charitable giving. So that's a theme I'm personally running with! (See more about that below.)

To celebrate Boxing Day, and to give you some encouragement to spend the day doing what you love (sewing! yay!), several of us quilty podcasters and bloggers got together and decided to keep the gift-giving going! Here's how BDSI works.

Blog-Based

• Most of the giveaways will run off this blog--multiple giveaways means multiple winners! Anyone who leaves comments (instructions about that below) will get included in one big hopper of names. I'll do a random drawing  on behalf of all the podcasters/bloggers. (To spread the joy, each person will only win once.)
• You can increase your chances of winning by leaving multiple comments as instructed below. 

Twitter-Based
Notice that I said, "most" giveaways will be here? We also have a Twitter-Specific (would that be "twitter-ific?) set of give-aways, too!

• Use Tweetchat (www.tweetchat.com--you can sign in with your Twitter account) to follow #BDSI in one easy place. Mostly, we'll just be checking in with one another through the day that way.
• We'll post periodic little mini-challenges during the day. Anyone who responds to the mini-challenges will be put into another big hopper of names, another random drawing of multiple winners, and more gifts being sent off.
• If you're new to Twitter, enter any of our Twitter names into the search bar and you'll find us. I'm sandyquiltz, Pam is pantsfreesia, Tanesha is CraftyGardenMom, Jaye is artquiltmaker, and Katie is QuiltedMagnolia. There's a bunch of other quilt podcasters and bloggers that you'll find by looking at who we're following and who is following us. Then, when you see one of us post with #BDSI, just click on the #BDSI to see a list of all related posts--or, do the Tweetchat option listed above. Welcome aboard!

Whee! Can you stand it?

Blog Giveaways (instructions follow)

Pam, host of Hip to Be a Square podcast, is offering the following giveaway:

Four fat quarters from the "Tea Garden" line (Dena Designs, Free Spirit fabrics)

Aren't they pretty? A nice spot of spring as those of us in my neck of the woods are descending into gray, snowy days. Another thing that keeps the brightness in my sewing room on cloudy days: Pam's podcast is highly entertaining and includes a couple of Helper Cats. Make sure you give it a listen! Here's the direct link to Hip to Be a Square podcast in iTunes.

(Pam has a second giveaway that will go on Twitter so be sure to watch for it!)

Sandi, host of Quilt Cabana Corner podcast and designer, is offering the following giveaway:

An autographed copy of her new book, Little Quilts for Big Occasions: 7 Wall Hangings.

Great projects to help us be in a party mood all year long! And Sandi's podcast is as wonderful as her designs. She includes very helpful product and book reviews--she's great at spending my money for me! Here's the direct link to Quilt Cabana Corner podcast in iTunes.

Be sure to check out her Etsy shop for more designs!


Tanesha of Crafty Garden Mom podcast is offering the following two giveaways (one book per winner):

Fresh Fabric Treats: 16 Yummy Projects to Sew from Jelly Rolls, Layer Cakes & More with Your Favorite Moda Bake Shop Designers

Simplify with Camille Roskelley: Quilts for the Modern Home
(Stash Books)


Do you love books as much as you love quilts? In addition to great quilting magazine (and very funny kid stories!), Tanesha includes book reviews--fiction, non-fiction, quilting, you name it!--in her podcast. Some of the best books I've read this year were ones I'd heard Tanesha review. Keep the reviews coming, Tanesha! Here's the direct link to Crafty Garden Mom podcast in iTunes.

Jaye of Artquiltmaker blog, is offering the following two giveaways (one per winner):

One set of Lark Studio Series Inspiration books (8 books in the set).
Sterling Publishing. (The set includes: Pendants, Ceramic Sculptures, Chairs, Art Tiles, Handmade Books, Handmade Dolls, Tables.)

"Imagine that Quilt" pattern, designed by Sandy Klop, American Jane Patterns series.

Jaye's blog is filled with fantastic design inspiration for quiltmakers. She and I are doing a recurring series on my podcast about design for quilters--she knows her stuff! Be sure to visit Jaye's blog to get a new vision for your own quilting!



Katie of "Katie's Quilting Corner" podcast is offering the following giveaways (two winners):

One person will win the "Delighted" charm pack by Quilted Fish for Riley Blake Designs.

One person will win the "Flower Garden" bag pattern by Melly and Me designs.


"Katie's Quilting Corner" is a fun journey along with Katie, a 20-something quilter, and her Corgi dogs. Her podcasts include lots of great quilting information as well as fun stories about her adventures in the dog agility world! As a dog lover myself, I'm a fan. Click here for a direct link to "Katie's Quilting Corner" in iTunes.


And my giveaways are as follows (two winners): 


One person will win three patterns and a charm pack ("Katie" by Jennifer Young for Benartex).

One person will win a fabric panel and the book Piecing Tips and Tricks (C&T Publishing).

Here's a better shot of the three patterns (patterns courtesy Quiltwoman.com).

• "A Chick in the House" (Jelly Roll and Charm Friendly) from Quilting Discoveries by Susan Mayer

• "Holiday Treasures" (Multiple Patterns, Fat Quarter Friendly) from Snuggles Quilts by Deanne Eisenman

• "Snowman Placemat and Table Runner" (Fat Quarter Friendly), Donna Ptak Collection

And here is the fabric panel. (Cherry Hill Sampler panel by Kathy Schmitz LLC for Moda.)

My podcast, "Quilting...for the Rest of Us," includes interviews, design tips, product and book reviews, and my own quilting adventures and misadventures. I love getting comments from listeners and consider my podcast a conversation with you. You can check it out at www.quiltingfortherestofus.com. Here's the direct link for Quilting...for the Rest of Us in iTunes.



Those are the giveaways from this blog. (More about Twitter below.)

To be entered into the drawing for these giveaways, here's what you do.

1. Be sure you are NOT a no-reply or anonymous responder! We must have an email address to contact you. Please be sure your email address appears on your profile or include it in your comment. (If your name comes up as a winner in the drawing and there is no email address included in your comment/available on your profile, we'll have to skip you and go to the next person down on the list. You don't want that to happen!)
2. In honor of Boxing Day: leave a comment on this blog post telling about one donation (charity) quilt you have made in 2011, or plan to make in 2012. (Remember the roots of Boxing Day! And see the very end of this post for some suggestions.)
3. You may enter this blog drawing multiple times by doing the following: Visit any or all of the podcasters or bloggers websites listed above, and subscribe to their podcast or to their blog (or both, since some of us have one of each). Come back here and leave a comment saying you have done so--one comment per podcaster/blog you've subscribed to! So you could easily enter your name whole bunches of times! (And that doesn't even count Twitter.)

That's it! Have fun!

Here's a sneak peek at what you could win through giveaways on Twitter! (Information about these giveaways will be at #BDSI.)

Pam ("Hip to Be a Square") is offering a second set of four fat quarters--Bryant Park by Khristian A. Howell for Anthology Fabrics.




And I'll be giving away a few more patterns from Quiltwoman.com.

Have fun playing along with us during our Boxing Day Sew-In. Be sure to check out everyone's podcasts and blogs while you're at it--podcasts are great company while you're sewing!

Let the comments roll!

Interested in doing some more donation (charity) projects? Pam also helped us out by putting together this list of ideas and links to consider.

• Baby and lap quilts/blankets
  • Yardage: Varies, but generally finished quilts measure between 36x36" and 58x72"
  • Tutorial: Your choice, but you might try a Jelly Roll Race quilt for a quick work-up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EomX7t7to_o
  • Donation locations: http://www.projectlinus.org/chapter.php
• Pillowcases
  • Yardage: Uses 3 fabrics, 39" total
  • Tutorial: http://mamaspark.blogspot.com/2010/01/no-exposed-seams-pillowcase-tutorial.html
  • Donation locations: http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/millionpillowcases/wheretodonate/index.html
• Little Dresses for Africa
  • Yardage: 5/8yd to 1-1/8yd, depending on size
  • Tutorial: http://www.nancysnotions.com/text/pdf/LittleDressesforAfrica_pattern.pdf
  • Donation locations: Mail to address shown here: http://www.nancysnotions.com/text/Landing/creative_kindness/little_dresses.html
• Other ideas can be found all over the internet, but Nancy Zieman has compiled a list of "Creative Kindness" projects and organizations on her website: http://www.nancysnotions.com/jump.do?itemID=5&itemType=LANDING&page=creative&extid=fbnz