And the Winners Are ......!

This Free Pattern Giveaway contest has been so fun and, as promised, I have a new pattern available (pictured here): the Logan Baby Blanket!

Welcome to the new facebook fans - I've enjoyed chatting with a few of you! And, most exciting, is that now I get to give away some patterns and look forward to, hopefully, seeing the finished items :)

I am going to list the winners first (determined by the handy-dandy random number generator on the right) and then those winners can look below the list to see how they can receive their free pattern!

And the winners are:
1. Fern Brownlocks
2. Megan Pike
3. Jamie Spero-Toner
4. Catherine Burnside
5. Jen DebutantDesigns Landry
6. Sooz E. Cue
7. Mandy Silver-Marko
8. Saritha Shenoy
9. Rebecca Smith (could you please contact me via facebook, etsy, or ravelry - I couldn't send your coupon via facebook - thanks!)
10. Janet McLachlan Slater

There you have it! The 10 lucky facebook fan winners! Look for your coupon codes through facebook tomorrow (February 11) - there might still be time to make something in time for Valentine's Day!

There are 2 ways you can receive your free pattern:

1. Unfortunately, Etsy will not allow me to issue a coupon for 100% off (I hope they change this). However, I have still issued coupons to each winner for 99% off. If you choose this option, please go to www.mcpatterns.etsy.com and put one pattern in your cart. Proceed to the checkout where you will prompted for your coupon code. After entering the code, you will be left with a balance of 2 cents (!) which you will have to pay for either by credit card or paypal (still very easy and your part is now done!).

After your transaction goes through, I will email your pattern to you and refund your 2 cents! Although this seems like alot to go through, if you choose this option, I would appreciate positive feedback when you are finished (unless something is making you unhappy in which case, I would love to hear from you so we can fix it) :) Phew! A long explanation for something so easy!

2. If you would rather send me your email address through facebook along with your pattern selection, I will email your pattern to you. I completely understand that this option is easier and I will also understand if you choose to use it. If in the future, you visit my store again (and I hope you will!) and purchase another pattern, I hope you will leave positive feedback then :)

So, that's it - another contest finished - if you have any questions please convo me through Etsy. When you make up your pattern, I would love to see the finished item - my Ravelry ID is MonsoonCalamity and I would especially love it if you put up a project page there (www.ravelry.com - it's free!).

Thanks, everyone! Now, off to think of what to do for March........

Lucy is Finally Working Again!

Don't forget! Today is the last day to enter my February Pattern Giveaway draw! Details in the previous post!




After not being able to use my longarm since early last fall, I have finally managed to make her work again! I replaced the rotary hook assembly and, as mentioned before, our good family friend, Blaize, fixed the issue with the motor shaft by drilling into it and putting a screw in so it wouldn't slip anymore.

Now, the longarm is still not perfect. In order to make it work, I have to turn it on, needle down, needle up, turn it off, walk around to the back of the machine, finish the stitch by turning the hand wheel a little bit more, turn it back on, walk around to the front, needle up, draw up the thread, and then I can start. I need to do this each time I have to start a new area of stitching or change threads or if the thread breaks or runs out. Like I said, it's not perfect, but at least it's working!

And, so, the quilt pictured above is one that I have finished this week to donate to Project Linus! Yay! Makes me want to piece again :)

February Pattern Giveaway!

For February's giveaway, 10 lucky people will receive a free pattern (of their choice) from my Monsoon Calamity pattern store http://www.mcpatterns.etsy.com/! Free patterns will be given in the form of an Etsy coupon!

It's really easy to enter - just become a fan of Monsoon Calamity on facebook (http://tinyurl.com/4htvz3a) - on February 10th, 10 winners will be chosen from the list of fans!

By February 10th, there should even be a brand new pattern available in the patterns you can choose from!

http://www.monsooncalamity.etsy.com/
http://www.mcpatterns.etsy.com/

Coupon Winners!!

I'm so excited to announce the 10 lucky coupon winners from my January draw! The coupons are good for 20% off your entire order (not including shipping) in my Etsy store, Monsoon Calamity! So, here goes:


1. Alba Patchwork
2. Ellen Silver
3. Colleen Hachey Montgomery
4. Julia Vassileva
5. Logan Gennings
6. Mindi Calverly
7. Anthony Cornelio
8. Sarah Phillips Walmsley
9. Crisan Amarillas
10. Anne Dalgarno

Congratulations to the winners!! Look for your coupon codes and instructions on how to use them tomorrow - they will be sent out by pm through facebook! You will have until the end of 2011 to use them and I will be adding lots of new things this year to my store so check back often!

www.MonsoonCalamity.etsy.com
www.mcpatterns.etsy.com

You Could Win!

You could win one of 10 20% off coupons!!! If you win, your coupon will be good off your entire order from Monsoon Calamity and you will have until the end of 2011 to use it!

To enter, become a follower of this blog or become a fan of Monsoon Calamity on facebook! Share this offer with your friends!

Draw will take place on Wednesday, January 12 - become a fan now!

www.MonsoonCalamity.etsy.com
www.mcpatterns.etsy.com

New Item and New Draw for Prizes!

First, let me say Happy New Year!! I hope your year is off to a good start!

At our house, the new year has started well - lots of relaxing, playing in the snow, some quilting (photos to follow another day), school starting (yay! more quilting time again), and a feeling of gratefulness for my family and friends and those who have supported this endeavor of mine with Etsy. Thank you all for everything!

Next, I would like introduce the start to my new product line: decorative cushion covers! The photo above is the first 16" cushion cover, a gorgeous wavy stripe in blue/green/brown/cream. I have enough fabric for 8 of these and I've made 2 so far; I have to admit, I love them so much that I may have to keep a couple for myself :)

Finally, I have a confession to make - or rather, I feel guilty about something I promised to do and then didn't. Last summer, I promised to draw a name each month out of the followers of Monsoon Calamity. Sadly, life got in the way, and it didn't always happen. A few lucky ones received a set of handmade gift cards, but I have fallen behind in my name drawings, sigh.

To correct this situation, and to move forward, I will draw 10 names on January 12, one week from today! Ten lucky people will win coupon codes, good for 20% your entire purchase in my Etsy store (discount is not applied to shipping)!!! Your coupon will be good until December 31, 2011 - that's almost a full year to use the coupon for yourself or gift-giving!

To enter this contest, become a follower of this blog or a fan on facebook!

It's that simple!!

Why wait until January 12, you ask? This gives you plenty of time to spread the word about this great offer - share it with your friends and family, heck, share it with strangers ;)

Whether you decide to enter this contest or if you would rather quietly follow along in my sewing and quilting pursuits, I wish the best for you this year. May everyone you love be happy and healthy, and may this be the best year yet!

Join the Monsoon Calamity facebook fan page on facebook for new product information and future contest information!

Lucy not working - gift bags instead!!

Lucy, my longarm, is not working.....again. Sigh. My husband has been commenting that I haven't been myself lately and I think this happens when Lucy is not working. It puts me in a huge funk, knowing that I have these quilt tops that won't be finished, at least not for now.

Now, I get that other people don't understand why I get so upset. After all, most people go through life not being upset that they can't make quilts ;) But just imagine that you've bought a new car, and you've now had it for 3 years, but for most of that time, you couldn't drive it. And you can't really afford to buy another one to replace it. That's how I feel about my longarm not working.

I have this fantastic machine that alot of quilters dream about owning, which was me 3 years ago. We finally made the plunge and bought one. Unfortunately, it's never really worked right and I am at my wits end to fix it. I have quilted 30 or 40 quilts on it, when others are quilting hundreds on theirs, making a living off of them even. I will be calling a repair person to let me know, for once and for all, if this machine is fixable or if I should just forget it! Honestly, I just want to know.

Anyway, so I didn't really feel like working on a quilt top today, knowing my longarm is broken and I wouldn't be able to quilt it up. Yes, I could quilt it on my domestic machine, but that has come to really bother my hands and my shoulders and my back (no, really, I'm *not* getting old!), which is why we decided to buy the longarm in the first place.

A few days ago, I was organizing my scrap stack. When I cut pieces for a quilt, I cut the scraps into usable-sized squares for future scrappy quilts. I just pile them on a side table until the pile threatens to topple, at which point, I sort them into piles and file them away into bins. Sounds organized, right? I'm not really a terribly organized person by nature, but I am with my craft supplies!! It doesn't really matter to me if I can't find the duster, but I can get very upset if I can't find the right tool to craft with :)

So, today, I'm looking at my piles of squares and all of a sudden, I thought "gift bags!" I took my pile of 6" squares and within half an hour, I had 25 little gift bags, all ready for the holiday season.

The one at the top of this post is my favourite, and I'm definitely keeping her for myself! It has rain, of course, like all good things do. And sweet vintage girls holding gifts and umbrellas. I am just going to use this little bag for decoration. It holds a bar of soap perfectly, and that also helps it stand up.

I'm also thinking of having a few of these around the house at Christmas, with something little in them, maybe soap or chocolates, in case someone comes over with a gift for me and I don't have one for them. You know that always happens, and this way I can just grab a little bag and give it to them! And if they're still there after the holidays, I can eat the chocolates myself ;)

These are so much fun to make, I'm thinking they may be making an appearance in my Etsy store so be sure to watch for them!

http://www.monsooncalamity.etsy.com/

http://www.mcpatterns.etsy.com/

Don't forget to follow my blog so you don't miss any of my fun little projects!