Mrs. Frosty visits the Farm!!

 Happy Friday yall! I hope everyone has had a great week! We had a little snowstorm, well a big snow storm for us!

I didn't venture outside much until it was all over.

Then I still didn't get very far from the house. But yesterday I was ready to go outside after being cooped up indoors for 2 days. I kept hearing a racket on my back porch so I opened the door to see what was making all the noise!

I was SO surprised to find a little snow lady busily sewing a quilt!

I told her she better hurry as her derriere was starting to melt on the warm porch! She was so cute with her little sparrow friend . We moved out onto what was left of the snow so she could finish her quilt.

I really liked her wardrobe full of sewing supplies and her little Holly Hobbie sewing machine. Of course she was using Aurifil thread! And I love her mini charm of "Be Jolly" from Moda and her Moda ear Muffs! 

She looks so happy with her little snips, large needle and warm scarf! 

So, did yall have any unexpected visitors stop by for a spell?  I sure will miss her when she is gone. Maybe she will leave me her little quilt!

Happy Stitching yall! Stay Warm! 

xo jan

W.I.P. Chubby Churn Dash....

Oh Chubby Churn Dash how fun you are! Impossible to make just one! I was able to get  the Singer 401a
up and  running. However I am having a tension problem. It will sew fine for awhile and then , bam, the tension gets so tight you can hardly pull the thread through the tension discs! Anyone know what is causing that??
  I decided to mix up the colors on my little chubbies instead of making each churn dash all the same color. I used a gray pindot for the sashings and a little print for the cornerstones. I think it looks so much like spring! I really like how it looks but I think I want to do a little more to it. Maybe another border. A scrappy binding? I want it to be a flower garden theme mini to hang in my potting shed!
  If you would like to join in the fun , you can find the Aurifil Flickr Group here and the pattern for this adorable little chubby here. And don't forget , if you make one, be sure to upload a photo to the flickr group for a chance to win a 12 Large Spools Thread collection from Aurifil!
  I am linking up with Lee at Freshley Pieced for Work in Progress Wednesday!  We are expecting a little snow storm, so if I don't loose power, maybe I can get this little Chubby finished up this week! Woohoo!
Happy Stitching yall!
Stay safe and warm!
xo jan

Chubby Churn Dash Mini...

 Aurifil's Designer of the Month for February 2015 is Joanna Figueroa of Fig Tree Quilts! I love Joanna's style and her fabrics, so I was really excited to see what Mini quilt pattern she was going to present for the Aurifil February Mini of the Month. Eeek! A Mini Chubby Churn Dash! Those that know me, know that I LOVE Churn Dash Quilts! In ANY size! But a mini? I couldn't wait to start planning my mini.
  I was browsing through a seed catalog dreaming of warm sunshine and bright sunny flowers, so I pulled a few fabrics and my favorite Aurifil threads in a rainbow of colors! And I've made a great start getting all these little pretties cut up!
   If you want to join in all the fun, you can find the free pattern here AND be sure to link up your Mini each month to the Aurifil FLICKR group for your chance to win a 12 Large Spools box of Aurifil each and every month!
 Now, unless I want to hand sew the entire mini quilt, I need to see if I can get a machine up and running. Wish me luck!
xo jan

Farm Love Friday and the Winners!!

  

 Oh my! This past week has been so fruitful and so cold! We finally managed to get some more of the corn picked! Usually we have it out by Thanksgiving! So thankful that it is still standing and that we are able to get through the frozen, muddy fields.  When I was walking through the pasture, the calves all had to follow me around and help me check out one of the new babies. I feel like I am continually holding my breath during this frigid weather. So afraid one of the little ones will get sick. They look so shaggy and warm with their winter coat. It is surprisingly soft. Once they satisfy their curiosity with me, they line up along the pasture fence to watch the corn picker go past. They can barely see it above the brush and stalks. I noticed the ice covered mountain and head back to the house to bring up some firewood and check on the twins who continually find something to butt heads about! They run and play and fuss and butt heads like any brother and sister would. The new calf at the barn has been their latest point of contention!
  February 18th  marked the two year anniversary of Sew and Sow Farm blog. I have so enjoyed sharing my sewing and farming adventures with each and every one of you! Farm life can be very lonely and isolating. You, my friends, make each and every day better!  I look forward to another fun year!
 Thank you to everyone that celebrated with me and entered the giveaway! Thank you so very much to Aurifil and the Fat Quarter Shop for sponsoring these fantastic prizes! They are both very generous companies and really do care about our sewing and crafting community!
 So let's pick us a couple of winners!

 First the winner of the Fat Quarter Shop $75.00 gift certificate is:

#96. Cheri, the Quilting NannyFebruary 14, 2015 at 8:38 PM

I follow you via email! THanks for the inspiration! And I LOVE LOVE LOVE your pillowcases!!!

And the winner of the Aurifil 12 Large Spools Collection is:

#477 KimFebruary 16, 2015 at 11:59 PM

Love all your Valentine creations....so darn cute!
Thanks so much for the chance to win :0)......how nice of you .

Happy Sewing and Happy 2nd blogversary :0)

 WOOHOO!!!!!!!! Congratulations to the winners! Ladies I will be contacting you for your contact information and mailing address! 

Thank you everyone for entering and I hope you enjoyed visiting around and had the opportunity to meet some of my incredibly talented friends out there!

Happy Stitching yall!

Stay Warm!

xo jan 

Anniversary Giveaway and XOXOXOX!!!

EDIT: This giveaway is now closed. Thank you for entering! Winners will be announced on Friday February 20, 2015. 
Good Luck ya'll! 

  Happy Valentines Day everyone! I hope that yall are having a fantastic day! February is such a great month! We not only have Valentines Day and the hope of Spring just a few short weeks away, but it is also my 2 year Blog Anniversary next week! Woohoo! And I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate than to host a giveaway! Actually two giveaways from two very special Sponsors!
  But first, I would love to share what I have been working on to celebrate Valentines day around our house!

 For the last few days I have been working with some beautiful fabrics from the Valentine Rose Collection by Tanya Whelan and with some cutesy panels that I have had in my stash for a while from the Pam Kitty Love Collection. I stashed both the panels and fabrics from the Fat Quarter Shop. The threads are Aurifil 50wt! My absolute favorite thread!

 I just love the large Roses print and decided to make some pillowcases for Valentine's Day!

I used a You Tube tutorial from the Fat Quarter Shop. Have you checked out their You tube Channel? It is fantastic! And I love learning from a video!

I just love the way the pillow cases turned out! French seams are a breeze and no raw edges!

These would make a fantastic gift too!

I decided to use the Pam Kitty Love panels to make a couple of throw pillows.

 I quilted the front of the pillow with diagonal lines running through the plaid print using Aurifil 2021. I started having trouble with my sewing machine and switched to a different machine. Then I had problems with it also!
   The back is a simple envelope closure made with coordinating fabric and Aurifil 2410.

I still had the second panel that I just love with the cute little girl and precious kitten!  "You're nice to cuddle Valentine!"

With all the problems with my machines, I ditched the idea of making a second pillow and went with a mini quilt to hang over the bed instead:

I added a wide border (maybe a little too wide, but I love that fabric:)) of matching fabrics from the pillow cases and used the plaid for the binding. I was able to get it pieced together and stitched in the ditch with machine number 3! I hand sewed the binding. The quilting will have to wait until I can get a machine repaired or a new machine! I want to go back and quilt some hearts and  feathers in the extra-wide borders.

I think the group looks so cute together. I made a few hearts to hang from each side of the Mini and from the ribbon. I used Aurifil thread # 2410 Pale Pink and 2430 Antique Rose from Darlene Zimmerman's collection to sew around the hearts!

I had a heart leftover, so I decided I would make a Valentine Card for that handsome farmer hubby dude.

A little too girly but "Hey Jack"  I guess the "Duck Buck" will make up for that!

These projects were so fun!Even with all the machine problems. And I love that I now have home made Valentine decorations to use each year! Do yall decorate for Valentines? I think I need to make more heart ornaments into a garland!

  Now, to help celebrate my two year blogging anniversary,  I have two FANTASTIC giveaways from two of my most awesome sponsors! Aurifil Thread and Fat Quarter Shop! Yeehaw!!!!!!!!!!

So what do we have???
   Well, for the first giveaway, the Fat Quarter Shop is offering a $75.00 Gift Certificate to one lucky reader!

Wooooohoooooo!! That is so exciting! Yall, I really want to say how much I appreciate this company! They are always so helpful, supportive and more than generous! Plus they always have the fabric that I need and ship very quickly! And I LOVE their "24 hr Flash Sale"" every day at 10:00 am CST! There is always something new and fun to learn on their blog "The Jolly Jabber" too! So check them out!

Our 2nd prize is being offered by Aurifil! Yay!! They are generously sponsoring a "12 Large Spools Collection by Darlene Zimmerman" for one lucky reader!!

Oh my goodness!! That is 12 LARGE spools of fantabulous 50 wt , scrumptious thread!! This is my all time favorite collection of threads! ( See my little box up there in the first photo! :) When you open the lid, it's like seeing a springtime rainbow! I love, love Aurifil 50 wt for piecing, machine quilting and hand sewing!! And I love this company for always being so generous and supportive of my blog. They have a fantastic blog, Auribuzz , where they share all types of fun stuff, like new designers, Block of Month programs, (this year it is a Mini Quilt of the Month), and they share other giveaway opportunities!! I am always so excited to see their newsletter pop up in my email! And did you know that they now have Aurifloss?  Aurifloss is a six strand cotton floss that is available in 270 colors!! It is great for embroidery, needlepoint, cross stitch, tatting, and applique! And it comes on a little WOODEN spool! too cute! Thank you Aurifil!!

Now how do you enter to win one of these two fabulous prizes? I like to offer a few different ways. You may enter once, or all 5 times. It is up to you. This giveaway is open to EVERYONE!! Anywhere!! So International entries are welcome!

1. Leave a comment below. ( first entry) ( I would love to know if you prefer to learn a new sewing technique from blog posts or from videos??)

2. Visit the Fat Quarter Shop on facebook or their blog, the Jolly Jabber and tell them I said Hi and Thank you for the awesome giveaway opportunity!! (Let me know that you did for an optional 2nd entry)

3. Visit Aurifil on facebook or their blog , Auribuzz, let them know that I sent ya over to look around and to say Thank you for the giveaway opportunity! ( Let me know that you did for a 3rd optional entry!)

4. Sew and Sow Farm followers New or Previous get another entry! (Let me know how you follow for a 4th optional entry!) 

5. Visit one of my followers from the sidebar and let them know that Jan from Sew and Sow Farm sent you over from the 2 year Blog Anniversary giveaway! 

 Yall, this is one of my favorite ways to spread the joy of blogging! 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. 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!

That is 5 possible entries! Enter now through 5:00 pm EST Wednesday February 18th! Winner will be picked by Random.org and I will announce the two winners on Friday February 20th! 

Yeehaw yall! This is going to be so much fun! I love, love my sponsors and love that I get to share with all of you, my fabulous readers! Thank you all so much for all your kind words and encouragement over the last two years! I can't wait to see what this year brings!
Happy Stitching yall!
Happy valentines Day!
 and Good Luck!
xo jan

PS. Missy sends Valentine kisses your way! I think she is ready for Spring!