Giveaways
SMS Giveaway Day Winner!
Thank you so much for all your comments on my SMS Giveaway Day post! The total number of comments was 290, and random.org chose comment #127 as the winner.
Comment #127 was from Ginny!
Congratulations, Ginny! I’ll be contacting you to find out which fabric/pattern set you’d like, and I’ll have it in the mail to you right away.
It’s Giveaway Day!
Giveaway has ended! A winner will be announced very soon!
I absolutely LOVE Giveaway Day! If you’re visiting from Sew Mama Sew, Welcome! If you’re a regular here and haven’t popped over to SMS this morning, you simply must set aside some time to surf the world of crafty blogs and enter the hundreds of giveaways that will be offered by bloggers all over the world all week long: Craft Supply Giveaways & Handmade Item Giveaways.
It has been such a busy year for my little design business — I’ve released 18 new patterns this year! A large portion of those new releases have been part of a series called “Jersey Love”. I have had so much fun working with the amazing designer stretch jerseys that are on the market these days! This Giveaway Day, I thought I’d share the jersey love with you!
There are two prize sets to choose from — a girl set and a boy set. The girl set includes one yard of Riley Blake Rainbow Chevron Jersey and 1/2 yard of RB Navy Dot Jersey, along with your choice of any of my patterns (paper or pdf) and five sew-on tags for that perfect finishing touch!
The boy set includes one yard of Riley Blake 1/2″ Gray & Yellow Stripe and 1/2 yard of RB 1″ Gray & White Stripe, along with your choice of any of my patterns (paper or pdf) and five of those Fishsticks Designs sew-on tags.
Entering is really simple! All you have to do is comment on this post. If you do sew with knits, tell me what is your favorite thing about sewing them. If you don’t sew with knits, what is holding you back? Be sure to include your email address so I’ll know how to get in touch with you if you win. (Email addresses are never shared.) The drawing will run through December 13th at 2 p.m. eastern, a winner will be drawn at random from all entries, the winner will receive their choice of the boy set or the girl set, and this giveaway is open to US and international entries!
While you’re here, be sure to check out my growing list of free tutorials here on my blog, and all of my sewing patterns in the Fishsticks Designs Pattern Shop.
Quilt Market Guessing Game – The Reveal & the Winner!
I’m on the road home with Samantha, but I had a few quiet minutes in our hotel room about halfway home, and I thought I’d take advantage of that time to reveal our booth theme for Market! (Of course, if you’re a Facebook fan or a follower on Instagram, you already know!) Did you guess that those supplies in last week’s post became hot air balloons?!
There were twelve correct guesses, and random.org chose number nine, Jennifer, as the winner! (Jennifer, I’ll get in touch with you on Thursday once I’m home and a bit settled to find out which four patterns you’d like.) Congratulations!!
I’ll be back next week to share more about Fall Quilt Market. We had so much fun, and I have tons to share. In the meantime, did you see that I was interviewed for The Moms Know Moms Series at Little Kids Grow on Monday? You can find my interview by clicking on the picture below. I would love to hear your thoughts on how you juggle sewing, family and other responsibilities!
Quilt Market Set-Up & A Little Guessing Game
Good morning from Texas! We are busy here today getting the Fishsticks Designs Quilt Market booth up and ready. (If you’re going to be here, we’re in booth 2057. Come see us!)
I thought it would be fun to do a little guessing game/giveaway like we did before Spring Market last year! The FD booth this fall has a really fun theme, and the supplies that you see in the picture at the top of this post were integral to creating the props. Anyone have a guess as to what we might have turned them into?
How about if I give away a pattern 4-pack? Just post a comment below and tell me what you think we made! I’ll take all the correct guessers and draw for a winner tomorrow morning. Ready? Go!
Update on Saturday morning: I’ll get pictures and the drawing winner posted soon! Feel free to come check out my Instagram feed for ongoing picture updates: Fishsticks Instagram
Real Food Gluten-free Dark Chocolate Brownies &
the IJ Pattern Winner
I have been experimenting with creating a yummy, gluten-free brownie with real-food ingredients since I went gluten-free in January, and I think I finally found the one! It’s not too gooey, not too cakey, but right in between. It’s filled with dark chocolate and has just a hint of coconut flavor from the coconut oil. YUMMY!
These do have a small amount of white sugar from the chocolate chips. I started my experimentation with this recipe, and hoped to substitute something else. Nothing else worked quite the same way, though. I do use Enjoy Life chocolate chips since they’re free of soy and other allergens, and they taste great!
I’ve been working to take xanthan gum out of my gluten-free baking because it’s just not an ingredient that I’m comfortable using. It doesn’t fit the real-food guidelines well at all. I’ve found that whole husk psyllium works well in everything except for yeast bread, and it’s good for you! It’s also fairly easy to find in any health food store. (Sprouts carries the Organic India brand that I use.)
The Ingredient List
¾ cup brown rice flour
½ cup almond flour
1 tablespoon whole husk psyllium
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons dark cocoa or cacao powder
½ cup salted butter (if using unsalted, increase salt by ¼ tsp.)
¾ cup + ¼ cup chocolate chips
½ cup coconut oil
2 teaspoons real vanilla extract (gluten-free)
1 cup maple syrup
4 eggs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Measure dry ingredients into bowl of stand mixer or a large mixing bowl. Mix or whisk by hand.
Melt butter and ¾ cup chocolate chips over low heat in saucepan, stirring to keep from scorching.
Once both are melted and smooth, remove from heat.
Whisk in coconut oil and vanilla extract.
Pour the chocolate mixture into mixing bowl and mix well. Add maple syrup, then eggs, one at a time. Mix well with each addition or allow your stand mixer to do it for you.
Grease a 9X13 baking dish. Pour batter into dish and spread evenly.
Sprinkle the top with the remaining chocolate chips.
Bake for 32-34 minutes at 350 degrees. Brownies are done when a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Be careful not to overcook them!
If you can stand to wait, allow them cool before cutting them so they’ll hold together nicely. If you’re like us and need them straight out of the oven, remove them very carefully so that they don’t fall apart . . . and don’t burn your tongue trying to eat them too fast! Enjoy!
Last Saturday, I shared my version of the Indygo Junction Casserole Carry-All and offered a second IJ Casserole Carry-All pattern to one of you! I asked you to share your favorite thing to bring to potlucks, and every single response made me more and more hungry. Some of you even shared whole recipes! Thank you! I’m going to have to give a few of them a try. There were 80 total individual comments, and Random.org chose #72 as the winner. Huge congratulations to Fran who said that she likes to bring Chicken and Broccoli Casserole to potluck dinners! I’ll get in touch with you right away so I can ship this pattern and the wooden spoon handles to you!
The Indygo Junction Casserole Carry-All Review & Giveaway!
I am so excited to share this cute casserole carrier with you guys! As fall approaches and the kids start back to school (or homeschool, in our case), opportunities to enjoy potluck-style gatherings start popping up all over. We always seem to be grabbing our dish from the oven and wrapping it up with all the dish towels we can gather to transport it to our dinner. You’d think that I would have made one of these long ago, wouldn’t you?
When I got an email from Indygo Junction asking if I’d like to try out one of Amy Barickman’s new patterns, I was so excited to see the Casserole Carry-All! Actually, I was really excited until I realized that it’s sewn with bias tape. If you’ve been around me much, you know that I sort of view bias tape as my sewing arch-nemesis. I loved the design of this pattern so much, though, I decided to give it a try. The way I figured it, if I could make it through sewing this casserole carrier without losing my patience, I could tell you in all honesty that this is a great pattern! I’m happy to report that not only did I make it through with my patience in tact, I enjoyed sewing it, AND I’m planning to make at least one more!
The pattern and instructions are really straight-forward and easy to follow. I used one of my handy-dandy Frixion pens to draw the quilting grid on the inside layer.
And, with a swipe of my hot steam iron after quilting, the marks were gone! (Do be careful with using Frixion pens on things that won’t be washed and might be subjected to cold temperatures. That ink that disappeared can sometimes reappear if it’s not washed away before being exposed to really cold temperatures. No worries about that at all with this project!)
The only place that I had a problem wasn’t even related to sewing, it was with finding spoons the right length! I assumed that the long-handled wooden spoons in my kitchen would work, but the handle wasn’t quite long enough. You can see in these pictures that the loops the spoons pass through are sort of squished together and the handle only comes out a tiny bit. My spoons are 14″ long total, and I really needed 16″ long ones. I searched all over town and didn’t turn up a single one long enough. Amazon is coming to my rescue, though, with a set of 16″ long wooden spoons that are on their way to me right now!
I love that this casserole carrier has multiple layers of hook & loop tape so it works for a 9×13 rectangle dish or an 8×8 square dish. You just open it up, center your dish on it, fold over the long ends and fasten the hook & loop, then fold the spoon-handles up and you’re ready to go!
The casserole carrier is also lined with insulated fleece, so when you need to hold it in your lap on the ride to the potluck, you don’t have to worry about burning yourself! Nice, huh? (Oh, the dish above? That’s the gluten-free, real-food brownie recipe that I’ve been experimenting with! I think it’s finally ready to share with you. You’ll have to check back next Saturday to find it!)
Indygo Junction didn’t just send me one pattern, by the way. They sent me two! I get to give away the second one to one of you! But that’s not all! Since I was already ordering 16″ long spoons for my Casserole Carry-All, I ordered a second set to go along with the pattern to the winner! 
GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!
The Roly-Poly-Along Giveaway Winner!
And the winner of the free Roly Poly Pattern from Imagine Gnats is . . . Susan! Susan wrote, “My two daughters and many nieces would love a roly-poly. Plus, we have several stuffed animals that would demand one of their own!” (How cute would a stuffed animal Roly-Poly be?!) Congratulations!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Those of you who didn’t win, can hop right over to Rachael’s store and buy the pattern by clicking on the picture below:
Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!
It’s Giveaway Day at Sew Mama Sew, and it’s been a little while since I joined in the fun! If this is your first time here or your one hundredth time visiting, WELCOME! If you’ve found your way over from the link-up at Sew Mama Sew, I hope you’ll browse around a bit, say, “Hi!” and take away a little inspiration.
My name is Bonnie, and I’ve been blogging here for many years, sharing the things that I sew for my little ones, for my family and for my home, along with a few recipes now and then, and a little bit about life in general. Recently, my assistant, Leigh, has joined me in sharing some of her projects, as well. (You can find Leigh blogging regularly over at Rooibos Mom.)
I’m the designer behind Fishsticks Designs sewing patterns. I primarily design patterns for children’s clothing and for accessories. I really enjoy focusing my designs on things that are practical and things that work for little boys (although, I’m slowly adding little girls’ clothes, too).
I’m giving away the winner’s choice of three of my pdf patterns this week, and since you’ll need fabric and notions to sew those new patterns, I’m adding a $25 gift card to the winner’s favorite online fabric store! There are thumbnails of all of my patterns along the right-hand sidebar here, and you can find details about each of them in the Fishsticks Designs Pattern Store if you want to take a closer peek at what you’re entering to win.
I’m using a Rafflecopter for entries because it’s easy for you to use, and it makes choosing a winner complication-free for me. To enter, simply leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite thing is to sew for your loved ones then click on the Rafflecopter to confirm your entry. (Don’t miss the bonus entries for Facebook fans and blog/newsletter subscribers!)a Rafflecopter giveaway
Project Run & Play, RBD Chevrons & Exciting Knit News!
Are you following along at Project Run & Play? Did you see that there’s a Fishsticks Designs giveaway that starts today? I’m so excited to be sponsoring this All-Star Season! It’s been so much fun already! This is Riley Blake Chevron Week at PR&P, and there are some seriously amazing designs already popping up in the sew-along. You can check them out right here: Chevron Week. The All-Star chevron projects will be posted tomorrow!
Katie’s not here this week to model this sweet little number for you, and she was sick most of the week last week, so my dress form will have to do. These fabrics are all stretch jersey knits from the Riley Blake Sweetest Thing collection that was released last fall. (A little secret? The knit chevrons are coming back . . . and they’re bringing along some new friends!)
I’ve been working on a new collection of patterns, four patterns to start, designed specifically for stretch jersey knits. They’ll be featuring the HUGE collection of stretch jerseys that Riley Blake Designs is releasing next month! This little dress is one of the set. All of the patterns will be quick and simple to sew, and they all use various raw edge finishes to showcase that great jersey curl. They’re still about a month off, but I couldn’t resist showing you a little preview since I’ll be incorporating those great chevrons!
Since we’re already chatting about the new RBD knits, have you seen them yet? You can peek at all of them right here: Riley Blake Knits – Coming Soon! There are solids, dots, and CHEVRONS in over a dozen colors!
My favorite, though, is the stripes! Stripes in not just one, but two sizes! 18 in all! I love knit stripes!
Did I say this was a HUGE collection? I feel like I’m in knit heaven!
The Fabric Flower Book Winner & A Peek at Next Week
Random.org chose comment #73 as the winner of Indygo Junction’s Fabric Flowers book and the sewing supplies from Clover!
That comment was from Diann! Diann wrote, “The raw edged flower is the best! I can see it on summer sun hats…” Congratulations, Diann! I’ll be in touch with you to get your mailing address.
Since I already have your attention, would you like to see a little peek at the Easter tutorial that I’m working on for next week? It’s something that will help you get your little guys all dressed up for Easter Sunday.
