My First Blog-i-versary, and My First GIVEAWAY!!!

Comments are now closed guys - the winners of the Giveaway will be announced tomorrow at 12pm UK time. My thanks to everyone who entered!

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Wow... HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY! 2011 you came and went so fast, it seems only yesterday that I pressed a nervous finger on the 'PUBLISH POST' button to my first ever blog offering.

To celebrate the passing of the old year, and the coming of the new one I'd like to give back to the sewing community and to the lovely people who drop-by to read my 'ickle blog and all my inherent musings, and mind-wanderings that that entails ;)!

The wonderful Gwen of gwynhug.com is generously donating 1x set of her fabulous 'The Original "How much Fabric?" cards' to 2 of my readers (P.S. Gwen also blogs at: After The Dress do have a peek!).

If you're a sewist and you've not heard of these nifty little credit-sized cards... then where have you been hiding ;)? They are the perfect handy tool to pop into your handbag (or purse) - great for those moments when you're out and about in the shops and are unexpectedly in the presence of your perfect fabric! We've all been there - you see the fabric of your dreams that is so, so perfect for "that project"... but do you have the pattern envelope or details on you? Nope, so now with these super little cards by your side, you'll always have immediately to hand how much fabric you need for your next garment pattern.

Gwen and her friends created the cards by compiling data from over 3,000 patterns to build the tables, including patterns from Simplicity, McCalls, Butterick, Vogue, Burda, Neue Mode, Kwik Sew, Hot Patterns, & New Look.

The reference cards help you estimate the amount of fabric you need as accurately as possible, by providing tables that summarise actual fabric requirements from real patterns, broken down by outfit size and fabric width.

For instance in the 'Women's Clothes' set: there are tables showing the minimum, average and maximum fabric requirements for Skirts, Pants (Trousers), Tops, Dresses, and Jackets. But not say for example just 1 type of dress - but for different styles,  short, mid-length, maxi etc. - there are even little drawings to help you figure out where your chosen style of 'dress' pattern lies in the tables - e.g. should you be looking at the minimum, average and maximum column in the table?

 

Gwen will kindly ship directly to each of the 2 lucky readers 1x set of their choice.

(Both UK and International readers are eligible to enter - yay!)

Set 1: Women’s Clothes (6-22/Eur 32-48)

Set 2: Plus Sizes (18-32/Eur 44-58)

Set 3: Men’s Clothes (34-50/Eur 44-60)

Set 4: Babies and Toddlers (Newborn - 6)

Set 5: Children's Clothes (7-16) 

Each set is available in 2 versions:

American - Fabric measured in inches (width) and yards (length) 

Metric - Fabric measured in cms (width) and meters (length)

Can you tell I love these cards? Yup, it's true! I already own a set myself - it's my own set of cards in the photos (LOL, you can tell their mine 'cos they're lovingly worn out a bit on the corners through much use ;) !). And, I'm not the only one who loves them too - read the testimonials here.

And just 'cos I love to share the sewin' love around, I will also myself be personally sending each of the 2 lucky giveaway winners this bundle of goodies each :)

1. A brand new copy of BurdaStyle Magazine.

   (1 person will get December 2011, the other will receive the January 2012 issue).

2. A cute sewing kit tin (I just love the design!) - needles, pins, tape measure, buttons, needle threader, safety pins, thimble, seam ripper, scissors and thread spools -  great for holidays away or to stash away more of your sewing notions perhaps?

3. A set of 4 Fine Line Coloured Pens - only 0.4mm thick lines, so perfect for tracing and marking your BurdaStyle patterns from the magazine in blue, read, purple and green.

4. 2 metres of Pattern Drafting Paper - 36"/91cm wide in dot and cross pattern. The paper will be posted folded to fit inside the packaging.

Here's how to enter the GIVEAWAY... 

[ENTRIES WILL CLOSE ON SATURDAY 14th JANUARY 2011 AT 12.00PM UK TIME. ENTRIES ARE ELIGIBLE FROM BOTH UK AND INTERNATIONAL READERS. WINNERS NAMES WILL BE DRAWN AT RANDOM. THE 2-WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON SUNDAY 15th JANUARY 2011!]

 

1. You must be a follower of my blog please.

   (Please see 'Google Friend Connect' or 'Bloglovin' in the side bar on the right of this page).

2. Please leave a comment in this post below - please state:

    a) Which set of cards you'd like (1, 2, 3, 4, or 5)

    b) If you'd like the cards to be in American (inches/yards), or Metric (cms/meters)

    c) Which issue of *BurdaStyle magazine you'd like: Dec 2011, or Jan 2012.

3. Please, please ensure that I am able to contact you if you're a lucky winner! Make sure that your comment is associated to your blog/profile. If you want to leave an email address in your comments feel free to do so - but to reduce the chances of you receiving tonnes of spam to your inbox, please post it in the style: name[at]domain[dot]com.

4. [OPTIONAL] Oh, and do please share you're favourite sewing-moment of 2011, I'd love to know what special creation, fabric or new skill brightened up your year! Perhaps you're looking forward to sewing something special in 2012 - come on spill the beans!

*NB: In the event that both winners ask for the same issue of BurdaStyle then the first name drawn out of the proverbial hat will receive their preferred choice of the magazine.

Good luck! And may 2012 bring you much health and happiness!

And, if you can't wait to get your hands on a set of these cards - visit www.gwynhug.com to buy a set for yourself now !