"Sew Your Own" and 5 Giveaways!

EDIT: This giveaway is now closed. Thank you for your entry. Winners will be announced Tuesday 8/5/14.



Recently I was in Chattanooga at Spool to attend a lecture being presented by Alex Veronelli for Aurifil thread company and I came across this adorable fabric panel:

Cute right?  I knew immediately that I had to have it and exactly what I wanted to make with a couple of the panel blocks.
So I dug out my scraps from a Kimberley's Garden 1930's jelly roll that I purchased from the Fat Quarter Shop and went to work.

I sewed strips together and then subcut them into 2 1/2" strips and then sewed them into a large panel.

 I then decided on the backing fabric and cut out the "Sew Your Own" panel and attached strips on both sides until I had it as wide as my biggest sewing machine. I have several machines and some vintage ones that do not have a cover. I decided to make a cover big enough that I could use on whichever machine that was currently in use.

 I think it turned out so stinkin' cute! I sewed three strips across the top and a panel of the 2 1/2" squares for the back. I bound it scrappy with leftover strips.

I used the twill tape from a fat quarter bundle for the ties on the sides. I love that the cover is adjustable for any of my machines.

I used Aurifil thread 12wt for quilting it! 12wt In My Machine! I set my stitch length to 5, the longest that my machine offers.  I love, love how it looks!

The thread color is # 4668! And its variegated!  I usually machine stitch my bindings on the front and hand stitch to the backing, however this time I wanted to play with this gorgeous thread some more so I stitched the binding to the back and then flipped it to the front and machine stitch it with the 12 wt thread!  I love the vintage, chunky look that it gives.

I used 50 wt in the bobbin. It worked fine. I think a 40wt would work great too!  And a cutsey little floral print for the backing. 

I decided that I wanted to try out my Aurifloss and have started using it on the panel. I should have done this first, but you know me, if I can get the cart before the horse, I do it everytime! :) But I have been able to embroider through the panel but not all the way through the batting and backing. So far...

   Look at those yummy colors. Aurifloss is a six strand 100% long staple cotton floss. Great for embroidery, Sashiko and blanket stitch applique. Just about anytime you want a chunky embroidered look. And,  it can be seperated like any other 6 strand floss.And it comes on these adorable wooden spools! LOVE!

 I also want to do some embellishing with buttons and ribbon. 

When it is not in use, I can open it up and throw it over the back of my chair.

 Sew? Would you like to "Sew, Grow, Bake and Ride Your Own"? I kinda got carried away and bought 

5 (five) panels to giveaway! And Aurifil and the Fat Quarter Shop have decided to help! So here we go with the giveaways! There are 5!

First is one (1)  4 block panel and a 10 Spool Box Collection of Mark Lipinski's  50 wt. "I Can Fly " Collection!!! Woohoo! Aren't those colors yummy!

Second is one (1)  4 block panel and 2 large spools of Aurifil 12 wt variegated thread!

Third is one (1)  4 block panel and two (2) large spools of Aurifil 12 wt variegated thread.

Fourth is one (1) 4-block panel and 2 large spools of Aurifil 12 wt thread:

AND Fifth is one (1)  4-block panel, 1 large spool of Aurifil 12 wt thread AND a  Bundle of 1930's Playtime 2 Petite from the Fat Quarter Shop!

WOOT! WOOT!! Yall, I 'bout fell outta my chair when I saw this! How gorgeous would this all be together! And how cute would a machine cover be made with those little spools print on it???

So, how do you go about winning one of these AWESOME giftaways? Well if you've been here before you probaly have a good idea, but here goes. You have 5 chances to win! You can enter once or all 5 times, that is up to you. I will leave this giftaway open for 5 days to give everyone time to play as much as they want!

 To enter:

1. Leave a comment below. ( first entry) ( I would love to know what you would like to make if you won one of the giveaways.I want to make a casserole cover with the "Bake Your Own"! Cute!)

2. Sew and Sow Farm followers New or Previous get another entry! (optional 2nd entry) Leave me a comment letting me know that you do. 

3. Help spread the word through facebook, twitter, pinterest, instagram or your blog! Leave me a comment letting me know how you shared ( Optional 3rd entry!)

4. SHOW OUR SPONSORS SOME LOVE and GRATITUDE! Drop by Aurifils blog  Auribuzz and  by  The Jolly Jabber (the Fat Quarter Shops blog) and sign up for their newsletters! Did you know that The Fat Quarter Shop has an awesome selection of Aurifil and a You Tube Channel! Or you can visit them on their face book pages  here and here! Be sure and tell them I said hello! (Optional 4th entry!)

5. Visit one of my followers from the sidebar and let them know that Jan from Sew and Sow Farm sent 'cha over to say hi and visit awhile!

What? Yall, this is something I love to do. I have so many nice people that have helped me along with this blog and I want to show them some love. Over on my right sidebar you will see Google Friend Connect followers (just click on one of the icons) and Bloglovin followers(click on followers). And also Google + followers.(I can't see my email followers) Just look around and pay a visit to at least ONE of them.( Try not to all visit the same person/blog as everyone else is) You may even decide to follow them. That is up to you. But I would love for you to just pick someone NEW to you and pay them a visit.Tell them I said howdy! :)  Give them some encouragement!You will find so much inspiration and be so glad you did. If you need help, let me know and I will walk you through how to visit! Leave me a comment of who you visited! ( Now this is the 5th optional entry!)
 Kinda like a blog hop, giftaway ,visiting party! Yeehaw! AND when someone reaches out to you and visits your blog, try to return the favor if you can! I am certain they would love it!

 For those that are not familiar with Blogger,You have to click on Comments below to leave comments to be eligible to win.

Whew! Don't worry you have 5 DAYS to enter. Enter once or all 5 times, it's up to you! Mr. Random will announce the winners next week!

This giveaway is open to everyone, anywhere! I will ship Internationally!  Also if you are a no-reply or anonymous commenter, or not sure, then please include your email in your comments. 

 Yall, I would like to say a HUGE THANK YOU to the  Fat Quarter Shop and to Aurifil! You know, these companies are huge, but yet they still take the time to offer their generosity to a small blog like mine. They are both very caring and generous companies and it shows through the support that they give to our quilting and sewing community! So show 'em some love!

Have fun yall! And good luck! 
xo jan

Independence! I got something to say!

"Declaration of Independence, July 4th , 1776"
by John Trumbull
12" x 18"
oil on canvas

  The first painting that Trumbull completed for the Rotunda shows the presentation of the Declaration of Independence in what is now called Independence Hall, Philadelphia.

The painting features the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence — John Adams, Roger Sherman, Thomas Jefferson (presenting the document), and Benjamin Franklin — standing before John Hancock, the President of the Continental Congress.

The painting includes portraits of 42 of the 56 signers and 5 other patriots. The artist sketched the individuals and the room from life.

The painting was commissioned in 1817 ,purchased in 1819 and hung in the Rotunda in 1826. 

Look at those signatures yall. They give me goosebumps when I see them and my heart swells with pride when I read over them. 

Why? 

Do you remember in school having to memorize the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States?
Remember, "WE, the people of the United States.......
For many it was just words we had to learn. To my father it was what we lived by. Kinda like the Ten Commandments.
NOW, we are grateful for those words that set our course and established our rules by which we are governed. But how many of us live by those rules? How many children do we instill these beliefs today? Do they still memorize the Preamble in school? Are they taught the meaning of those words and why they are our Preamble? This is what The Preamble means to me:

WE the people of the United States ( all of us yall, not just whoever chooses to adopt these words)
In order to form a more perfect Union ( they did this to establish a better place for us all, as we should be striving to maintain and keep that way)
Establish justice ( yes we have rules we need to live by and officials we need to respect!)
Insure Domestic tranquility ( insure we have peace here at home, the United States of America. We need to do our part to keep the peace!)
Provide for the common Defense! ( We have to support our troops and those that do not , don't need to be here!!)
Promote the general welfare ( take care of each other!!!!!! If you see someone in need, help them out!)
And secure the blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Prosperity! ( Liberty equals freedom. It is a blessing! Not only for us but for our children and grandchildren and for their children to come)
Do ordain! (ORDAIN? To order by virtue of AUTHORITY. They had the RIGHT and AUTHORITY to establish our Constitution for us!)
And establish this Constitution of the United States of America! ( ESTABLISH! FOREVER AND EVER! We need to help insure that our Constitution is upheld, NOW and FOREVER!)

There is another word at the top of the Declaration of the United States that I feel is oh so important;
"Unanimous"!  The Declaration states " The unanimous Declaration....."
Unanimous? What does that mean? Well, ole Webster states:

1. Sharing the same opinions or views; being in complete harmony or accord.
2. Based on or characterized by complete assent or agreement.

Yall, we have to join together. In one accord. Complete harmony. If you love being an American or if you are just visiting, take time to learn what we live by. Go back and really read the Preamble! 

Preamble? What does that word mean? Webster states:

1. A preliminary statement, especially the introduction to a formal document that serves to explain its purpose.

The Preamble is explaining the purpose of our Constitution and giving us a glimpse of what governs ALL Americans!

 Countries all over the world call America great! It is because we ARE a great country.

 Yes, at times we fail.

 Sometimes we do things that do not make me proud,

 but I do know that my neighbor has my back and we have theirs!!

 We need to STAND TOGETHER! AS ONE NATION! UNDER GOD! Uphold our Constitution. Support our neighbors. Help those in need. Stand behind our troops, 100%! , when they are at home, while they are serving AND when they are no longer serving!  They deserve our support and respect and help ALWAYS!

We owe this to ourselves, our forefathers, our future generations and we damn sure owe it to those that serve to protect this Declaration of ours!

I hope that yall have a wonderful and safe 4th of July! Remember what we are celebrating. Share with your children and grandchildren our Declaration of Independence! 

be safe yall!

xo jan