A fun collaboration (and a freebie for you!!)

You may know that the YouPatch software creates pixel quilt patterns using the Kona Cotton solids range (by Robert Kaufman fabrics). So YouPatch and Robert Kaufman have become firm friends since our launch earlier this year.

So when we were approached by the good people at Robert Kaufman to collaborate on a pixel pattern project, we were delighted to get involved.

Robert Kaufman have a new range of brush stroke fabrics that were created using actual scans of Vincent Van Gogh's brush strokes. How cool!!! So what better image to use in a quilt pattern than the artist himself!

This was our first pattern using non-solid fabrics so presented a bit of a technical challenge but decided we were up to the task and created this pattern for a pixel quilt:

The pattern is available here as a free download. You can find out more about this fabric range here.

Thanks Robert Kaufman for including us in this project!!

Andi and the YouPatch crew xx

Down Under Quilts Giveaway

Aussie quilters will already be very familiar with Down Under Quilts. Well this much loved magazine has just gotten even better with a new look!! This month's issue (the Spring issue) will be in the shops this Thursday with a fresh new feel.

As usual, the magazine will be available in Newsagents but will now also be available at Coles stores!!

We are very excited to have a YouPatch pattern in this Spring issue .... a gorgeous pixelated tulip!

In addition to lots of gorgeous patterns, each magazine comes with a free wheel of pretty quilting pins!!

The giveaway bit ...

Practical Publishing is offering a free copy of the magazine to one lucky PatchAndi reader (Aussies only for this one). You each have 3 chances to enter.

1. Leave a comment on this post telling me what image you would like to turn into a pixel quilt.
2. 'Like' the PatchAndi FaceBook page and leave a comment on this post to tell me about it.
3. 'Like' the YouPatch FaceBook page and leave a comment on this post to tell me about it.

A winner will be chosen at random next week on Wednesday 24th September.

You can also win a free copy over at Anorina's blog: Samelia's Mum. She's a fabulous quilter and also has a lovely pattern in this issue.

Good luck to all and see you soon.

Andi xx

Sew Mama Sew - Giveaway Day!!!

I'm joining in with Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day (Week) this year.

Welcome to all visitors .... new and not-so-new!!!

If you are a regular PatchAndi visitor, then you know all about YouPatch but for those of you visiting for the first time, my husband and I are launching a new website for quilters that enables you to easily create your own pixelated quilt patterns.

As well as being able to make your own pixel quilt patterns, you will be able to buy patterns created by me!!

Given the time of year, I am offering readers of this post a chance to win our new pixel quilt pattern - 'Santa'. The pattern is in PDF format and will be emailed to the winning commenter. (International entries welcome).

The PDF pattern comes complete with fabric yardage and cutting and piecing instructions.

To win this cute Christmassy quilt pattern: just leave a comment telling me what other pre-made quilt patterns you think YouPatch should be offering.

A winner will be chosen at random on Saturday December 14th at midday (Melbourne time).

I hope you enjoyed your visit and encourage you to visit lots of new blogs this week. Who knows what you might win?

Andi xx

EDIT: This post is now closed for comments. Winners have been drawn and notified. Thanks to everyone who commented!! Andi :-)

Winner!!!

Congratulations to Simone who said:

I look for modern quilts that are realistic to make. They can be large or even complicated quilts, but if there is an explanation that could be followed with great photos, a layout diagram for blocks, I get inspired & I am a sucker! The other thing I love is fabric colour & pattern size suggestions (small, medium or large scale prints). 

I have emailed you to send me your address so that the kind people at Chronicle Books can send you a copy of Little Bits Quilting Bee by Kathreen Ricketson.

Happy stitching!!
Andi x

Book review and GIVEAWAY!

You know Kathreen don't you? She's the WhipUp chic!!
And she's written a quilt book. Yay!!!

The first section of the book looks at communal quilting projects like quilt bees, friendship quilts, etc. Lots of great ideas here!

In the spirit of this communal project, Kathreen asked a number of bloggy quilty folks to be involved in creating the quilts for this book. My contribution was to sew the quilt top for this quilt ...

 

The second part of the book gives some quilting basics followed by the main section of the book with quilt projects using pre-cut fabrics. Everything from charm squares to jelly roles to fat quarters.

When I buy a quilty type book, I usually just peruse the pictures for inspiration rather than reading the 'how-to' bits ... so I really LOVE a book with fabulous photographs. And this book doesn't disappoint in the photography department ..

 

   

   

Like what you see? Well you might be lucky enough to win a copy of this book ... courtesy of  publisher Chronicle Books!
Just leave a comment on this post telling me what you look for in craft books! (No "pick me" comments please!)

Also, please make sure you include an email address and let me know where in the world you are.

I'll draw a winner this Friday 18th November.

This blog tour has been going for a week or so already but if you would like to visit any of the blogs on the rest of the tour, you can find the whole list with all the links over at this post.

Happy blog hopping!
Andi xx

Edit 18/11/11: The prize has been drawn and comments to this post are now closed!

Thank you!

Thank you for all your lovely and kind comments on my recent 'sharing' post. I really wanted to give you ALL some fabric. But I compromised and decided to double the prize and give a fabric parcel to someone from Australia and someone overseas.

I divided the names up into two bowls (my new $2 mellamine bowls from Spotlight!!!).

...and picked a name from each.

Jenny ... you said such lovely things in your comment and I so appreciate our catch ups and crafting sessions. Here is what I've selected for you:

I tried to find a nice balance between my love (and your emerging love) of brights and your love of linens and neutrals.

Susan...it has been so lovely getting to know another Jewish quilter and I so love seeing your regular posts about your local Jerusalem (one of my favourite cities in all the world). Here is what I've selected for you:

All very bright. With spots, flowers, birds and butterflies. (And the Kaffe fabric on the left is actually a cotton voile which is so deliciously soft).

Thanks again to everyone for your kind words and friendship.
Andi xx

Sharing

I tell my kids to do it all the time. It's time for me to practice what I preach.

This is my 300th blog post and since beginning this blog 2 1/2 years ago, my life has changed in so many wonderful ways.

Most importantly, I have met many new friends on line and IRL! This 'sharing' post is for those people who have shared with me their time, their creativity, their 'stuff', their friendship.

Here's what is on offer: fabric. I have LOADS of it and I want to share some of it with one of you.

Some photos from my stash. Not necessarily what I'll be giving.

Rather than make a selection of my own, I will base the selection on the winner's fabric preferences.
So, to be in the running for a parcel of fabric loveliness, just leave me a comment with 5 words to describe your favourite types of fabric.

Here are some examples to get you thinking:

• floral
• vintage
• linen
• Japanese
• solid
• geometric
• green/blue/purple/pink/etc
• designer
• voile
• spots
• bright
• childrens
• and so on .....

More stash photos

Only people I have already connected with will be in the running for this prize. No need to blog about it or tell your friends. If you are new to my blog today, I hope you stick around so I can get to know you before the next time I do such a giveaway.  But you won't be in the running today.

International entries welcome. I will do the random number thing on Thursday morning (Melbourne time). After that, comments to this post will be closed.
Please make sure I have a way of contacting you!!

Thanks again for all that you have shared with me.
Andi xx

Edit 9:30 Thursday morning: This post is now closed for comments. I'll draw a winner very soon!! See here for the winner announcement!

Long overdue

I have been remiss in posting about some recent purchases, winnings and lovely gifts!!
Apologies to all for putting them in one big photo filled post.

Way back in February, I won this delicious pile of fabrics (stunningly folded) over at the lovely Malka's.

I haven't been able to even remove the ribbon yet, they look so very pretty!!

Some of you may be aware that I have been collecting Flea Market Fancy fabrics for this quilt (having been a bit late hopping on to that particular bandwagon).

So I found an EBAY listing of Jeanette's for an FMF charm pack which I quickly snapped up.
I was so delighted with my purchase that I asked her to whip up a couple more for me which she very kindly did!!

Yep!! That's the WHOLE collection!!!!

Still on the FMF front, the lovely Amy sent me this little collection of FMF scraps .... just because she thought it would make me smile.

And it DID Amy!!! Thank you so much for being a thoughtful and lovely bloggy friend!!

For that same quilt, I have decided to use some fabrics from Denyse Schmidt's other ranges. Specifically Katie Jump Rope and her newest offerings "Picnics and Fairgrounds" available at Joann's in the states (and soon to be released in Australia via Spotlight).

I snapped mine up at this lovely ETSY shop. (Thanks Rita for the heads up!!)
Unfortunately, when it arrived, one of the prints was missing but Amanda was so sweet about sending me the missing fabric (with a few shnippets of FMF in the parcel too).  :-)

Another recent purchase was this awesome book by the lovely Nikki.

Tanya is doing an awesome sew-along, stitching every single project in the book. Want to join her? Check it out here!!

Next purchase is a divine brooch from the fabulous Ms Curlypops herself!!

I have worn it on bags, jumpers, jackets and even in my hair (there is a hair clip bit on the back as well as the usual brooch pin). Thanks Cam. I LOVE it!!!!

"More?" I hear you ask!!! "Surely not!!!!"

Oh yes there is!!

The lovely Judy (bestest yarn wrapper in town) has been doing a bit of stash busting, pulled out this amazing Alexander Henry print and thought of me!!

Thank you so much Judy. I have challah covers being planned in my head as I type!!!

Also .... Jenny has given me a new product to try. (Still haven't yet but I have plans Jenny. I have plans!!!)

For those of you who are already Steam-A-Seam fans, you can get yours at Amitie!!!!

And last ... but certainly not least .... I won some more fabric!!
I'm a very lucky girl. I know!!!!

Leanne of Mount Vincent Quilts was a guest blogger over at Chasing Cottons (where Bec is doing the most wonderful Quilt Class 101. You should go and check it out!!!)

As part of the guest blog post, there was a giveaway of  a Fat 1/4 pack of the new range from Melly and Me called Where the Wind Blows. It is a lovely fabric range and I am looking forward to slicing into it!!!

Phew!!! What a long post full of so many wonderful links to wonderful people!!

Thank you again to everyone.

Andi xx

My creative space.

... is full of possibilities.

Thanks so much Suzanne for a fabulous and very generous giveaway!

Andi x

PS More creative spaces to be admired here.

Grinner

I'm a winner AND a grinner!!!

It has been a great mail week.

From top left corner:

• My first purchase of a clothing pattern. I have admired this reversible coat ever since Amy Butler released her 'Love' fabric line and it appeared in the promotional material. The pattern has only just been released and I'm going to attempt my first proper garment. Wish me luck!!
• An oinky brooch that I won over at Cath's for admitting that I love bacon ... even though my rabbi might disapprove. Thanks Cath!! Here's a better photo ...

• A twirly dress made for my princess by this crafty princess. It was a little swap we arranged and her princess will receive a rather pink cushion with her name written all over it!! Thanks Kate. Ella is twirling all over the place!!  :-)
• My copy of the latest Mixtape magazine. Full of wonderful articles and how-to's. Unfortunately, this may well be the last Mixtape published due to Justine's new and rather busy family life. But I hear whispers of something exciting coming to replace the gap left by this wonderful publication. Can't wait to find out all about it!!
• And last (but certainly not least) some yummy kona solid fabrics. Now don't jump up and down about me breaking my fabric buying embargo. I WON it!! Thanks so much Dana and Fabric Shoppe  for this yummy little bundle.

And another thing keeping me grinning this week .... we took our kids to see snow for the very first time.
It was so magical watching them discover the fun to be had!

But I must say, I could use some warmer weather. I'm SO over the cold.

Wishing you a sunny day!

Andi :-)

Winners!!

It took a while to work out how to draw a random number while separating out the locals from the non-locals so here's what I did:

I typed out all the names in 3 separate sections.
Hang on ..... 3 sections? Why 3 sections?
Well because I had:

• One for Aussie entries
• One for international entries
• One for the entries who left no way of contacting them. Seriously people, leave an email address or access to your profile in Blogger or SOMETHING!!!!

Anyway, I popped all the local entries into my divine new hat from Mary:

And drew out:

Claire, who said:

Any colour of that voile is good voile - it feels so beautiful! I love the whole line.
Thanks for adding me to the draw!

I was lucky enough to meet Claire at Sew It Together and I'm so pleased to send her the signed book and a yard of the voile.

Then I added in all the other international entries and pulled out:

Another local girl who just happens to be in my quilting bee, The Beehive.
(I swear this was NOT rigged, despite appearances to the contrary).

Belinda said:

Wow Andi..great giveaway. I adore that voile. The book looks pretty spesh too. They would both be great to win!!

Well, a yard of the voile will be heading your way!!

Thanks everyone for joining in the giveaway. It was especially nice to see some lurkers come out of the woodwork to throw their names into the hat.

I do love 'meeting' and getting to know the people who read my blog.
That's kinda why I do it. You know?


Have a great week.

Andi :-)

Oops-a-daisy GIVEAWAY!!!

I mentioned recently (while declaring my love for the land of blog) that there might be a bit of a giveaway coming up at Patch Andi ... Well today is the day!!

A while back, I purchased some divine Little Folks voiles from Corie at Banberry Place.
I suspect that Corie was having a minor 'moment' when she sent me a yard of this fabric (which I already had in my stash):

Instead of this fabric (that I had ordered):

In fact, she was so keen to add to my pink fabric stash, that she sent it to me ... twice!

Oops-a-daisy!!

So I now have 2 yards surplus pink fabric for which Corie has kindly agreed to sponsor a giveaway!!!

Hooray for Banberry Place!!!

And hooray for Kathreen, author of Whip Up-Mini Quilts who has also generously donated a copy of her book to give away too!!

A signed copy!!

Kate has written a great review of the book over here for your reading pleasure.

So, I will offer 2 prizes:

1. A copy of Kathreen's book plus 1 yard of the pink voile (Sorry, Australian residents only. The overseas postage is a killer.)
2. 1 yard of the voile (All entries welcome)

To enter, simply leave a comment on this post.
No hoops to jump through.
One chance per person.
Please make sure you let me know where you are in the world and how I can contact you.

I will draw a winner Monday morning (Melbourne time).

Thanks again to Corie and Kathreen.


Andi :-)

A post of MORE belated 'thank you's

Further to this post ..... I have even more belated messages of thanks to convey.

It was over a month ago that I received this gorgeous selection from Marie as part of the Fox's Lane pincushion swap.

Marie was so thoughtful in making my gift. She had a good look through my blog and thought I would like a sewn pincushion (even though she's not a sewer!)

Look at the gorgeous detail in the little seed beads in the centre of the flowers.
I really love it Marie!!

When I said earlier that she's not a sewer (her words, not mine) she is actually a mad crocheter. If you have a look back at the first photo, you'll see the gorgeous little crocheted flower she made for me. I love wearing it as a brooch!!

And she even sent me some yummy chocolates.
I'm so lucky (and so remiss in waiting all this time to post about this lovely gift).
Thank you so much Marie. I really love it all!!!

In further luckiness, I was the winner of Gina's blogiversary giveaway ...

.... a coffee sack market bag with gorgeous gingham lining

and filled with fabric treats!!

Thank you Gina.

Gina actually sent me an email giving me permission NOT to blog about this beautiful gift, knowling that it can be hard to keep up with all the 'thank-you's and acknowledgements.

But I WANT to blog about these wonderful gifts (if a little belatedly).
They are examples of the kindness, creativity and generosity that I love so much about blogland!!

In that spirit, stay tuned for a little giveaway of my own!!

Andi :-)

Embarrassed

I'm embarrassed to say but I won Corrie's 'Most Embarrassing Giveaway'.

(Yes, Pam, I won another one)

If you want to read my embarrassing story, I'm afraid you'll have to trawl through all the comments yourself!! I'm NOT putting it out there twice!

Anyway, what did I win?

This delicious pile of fabric goodness.


Thank you so much Corrie.

Andi :-)

100 posts!!

A traditional 100th blog post comes with a giveaway.
Well, this WILL be a giveaway .... but with a difference.

I have signed up in recent months for 3 'Pay It Forward's:

• Cherri's
• Michele's and
  
• Kerri's

Which means I am supposed to offer handmade gifts to NINE lovely readers.

Here is the deal ..... the first 9 commenters will receive a handmade item from me within the next 365 days.
In turn, you must each commit to offering a 'Pay It Forward' on your own blog to 3 other people who must then offer to 3 others, etc.

Please do NOT leave a comment if you are not willing to follow through with this.

Also, please make sure I have some way of contacting you.

And just because I can't leave a post without some photos, here is the cushion I made for Ella's kinder teacher Peter who left her child care centre last week.



Apparently, the only colours he uses in his furnishings at home are: white, cream and occasionally off-white. Hard work!!


Have a stitchin' week!

Andi :-)

EDIT 9/11/09: One more spot available. One of the first nine commenters was not signing up for the PIF!!

Winners all 'round

Yesterday I received a lovely parcel from Kate after I won her giveaway over at Fox's Lane.
It's ironic because Kate and I grew up together, grew apart in recent years and have reconnected via our craft blogs.

Here's what I received:

• A copy of her mum's new book
• A gorgeous crocheted (by Kate) flower brooch (that I have had to fight Ella for)
• T-shirts for each of the kids screen printed by Kate
• A cup cake tote bag for treasures

Here I am enjoying my brooch in the lovely Melbourne sunshine (welcome back Spring!!)


And here are some terrible shots of my kids in their t-shirts:



Ella is TOTALLY channelling Joe Cocker.


Separated at birth? Maybe!

In other news, I have finally finished the tote bag promised for my giveaway winner, blogless Jane. Jane asked for pinks and aquas but expressed a dislike for floral prints so I have gone for more geometric looking fabrics.


Fabrics are: Anna Maria Horner's Good Folks collection; Cathedral in Peony and Amy Butler's Love collection; Sunspots in Turquoise.

I hope she likes it. But I could easily be tempted to hang on to it myself. (Only joking Jane)

Enjoy the sunshine.

Andi :-)