September De-Stash give away winners

2 winners this month:

in the US:
Pauline who said "My favorite fall activity is going to the outdoor markets, the fall fairs, going to the apple orchard, sipping apple cider and celebrating birthdays. We have 2 'grandones' that celebrate September birthdays. We have 2 grown sons, one with a birthday in October and one was almost a 'goblin' but waited until November 1. It's a great time to get together with family before the colder weather sets in. I'm looking forward to the warm days and the cooler nights. Thanks for the chance! Pauline  "

and international:
Cherie who said "My favourite thing had got to be kicking through the leaves. The crunch of them under my feet, has a nice feel to it. As well as the colours the trees go. 
Thanks for the chance to win I'm over in the UK =D  "
Thanks to both of you for your fall favorite things.

I need a snail mail address from Pauline and a preferred email address from Cherie (so I can email your Hawthorne threads gift card).

Just a few more days until the October give-away……...

Two Bees are Better than One

My biggest quilt yet-

Front

Back

Title: "Two Bees are Better than One"
Size: 98" x 98"
Design (front): Starburst blocks from 12 Month Quilting Bee, set in an original design
Design (back): Seminole Patchwork Strips from Always Bee Learning, set in an original design
Quilting: FMQ "scallops"
Material: 100% cotton quilting fabrics, assorted; Major solids- Kona curry and paprika; Threads: YLI (paprika), Auriful (curry)- top; bobbin- YLI paprika
Batting: organic bamboo

close-up of scalloped quilting (after washing), front

use of Seminole Patchwork strips from Always Bee Learning , back

Lessons Learned:
1. It was time to use some of the beautiful blocks I have received from various Bees. In this case, I used one set for the front of the quilt and the other set for the back.
2. Some times procrastination makes for a beautiful quilt
3. I tried organic bamboo batting for the first time and had some interesting problems. I found it to be very fragile. While quilting the batting often coated the thread and pulled through to the top and bottom of the quilt. I thought perhaps washing would get rid of the batting "dust" but instead, this is what happened:

Much like pilling on a sweater. It was embedded in the quilt top, and it wouldn't come off with one of those tape rollers, so I had to resort to a sweater shaver to remove all the pill. It took hours to get both the front and the back pill free. I haven't ever had this happen with cotton or wool batting. I'm not sure I'm excited about using bamboo again (even though I have enough for one more quilt).

A tale of 2 pillows

"Tic-tac pillow", 20 x 20", left
"Not your grandmother's flower garden", 20 x 22", right

 I've never done this before. Made something for a swap, liked it so much, I kept it, made another and liked it too. I will not resort to eeny-meeny-miney-mo! One of these pillows has got to go (to the swap that is). They are different, but somehow complimentary. I think it's the circle thing going on. Or perhaps the colors, or perhaps the slightly organic quilting. (Ok it's more than slightly organic). But here they are. I made them in late summer, but cannot post until now because the swap entailed not letting anyone know who made what pillows, part of the rules for the Modern Quilted Pillow Swap.  Well, atlas I can say here they are! I won't say for sure which one I kept, but the person who gets one of them will know which one is hers.

Close-up quilting on front of Pillow 1

Close-up quilting on front of pillow 2

and here are the backs

Pillow one with circles and "weaves", free form pieced

Pillow 2, whole cloth quilting with an echoed flower.

So, Modern Quilted Pillow Swap recipient, I sure hope you like your pillow, I know I do!!!

September De-stash Giveaway, a few days late….

Ok, what happened to the last few days of August and a few days in September…. yikes.
Well, here we are with month 9 of the De-stash giveaways.
September, what I think is the first "fall" month. So, what's up for grabs in September??? (2 winners this month)

Autumnal things of all kinds…… for the US residents and a $15.00 gift certificate to Hawthorne Threads for the international winner.
So, for an entry in September, which will be open to US and International residents, tell me:
What is your favorite fall activity??? Mine, it's picking out the perfect pumpkin for Halloween.
Good luck!

Details for the 2012 Monthly Giveaway:

I will post a photo of the give-away each month during the first week of the month- so check back often, so you don't miss out.

You will have until the 21st of each month to leave a comment.

Leave only one comment per person.

I will pick a winner and get your package in the mail on or about the 25th of each month (postal holidays and weekends excepted). (Make sure you don't fall in to the no-reply blogger category- if I can't get you I'll pick someone else). And don't forget to answer the monthly "question". Just saying "thanks for the giveaway" won't secure the win for you.

I know some of my followers are outside the USA. Because international postal rates abroad are much more expensive I will be doing international mailings only a few times during the year (these are big packages and costly to send). Please know- I haven't forgotten you and appreciate your following me- I really do. So, I will specifically post whether the monthly destash-give-away is open to international entries on any given month.

Thanks for all your support and good luck in 2012! Remember 5 chances remain to win this year- Go for it!!!