love liberty? and aurifil? read on!

When I first started collecting liberty last summer to make my double diamond wedding ring quilt, I scoured etsy and ebay for little charm packs to get a small sampling of what evolved into a collection of hundreds of prints.  And then while in Europe for my cousin's wedding last fall, I picked up some celebratory prints from the London mecca itself.

It turns out regularly ordering yardage or crossing the Atlantic every time I need a little more liberty in my life isn't in the cards for me.  But I certainly am open to the idea of picking up a fat quarter bundle every now and again.  And guess what?  Remember how I told you about Massdrop last month and the classic bundle they had on offer?  You know the one...

Well there's another one up for grabs(!)  And guess what? Yours truly picked out the prints (...nervous silence.)  Yay...? Nay...? (Eep!)  But really, tell me what you think or what you'd rather see next time :)  Pretty please?

And as you might've guess from the rather prominent "Print Set B," they're re-offering the classic bundle as well ;o)

So if you missed out last time or are looking to bolster your collection with some new prints, then head on over to the group buy page and join now or commit!  Only need a few more to unlock the lowest price :)  And while you're over there, you might notice that they're rerunning the Aurifil drop, too.

And just kicked off one for OLFA cutters and blades.  So go on!  You know you want to...  And of course spread the word, because the more is truly merrier when it comes to Massdrop ;o)

welcome and a winner! {SMS giveaway day}

First, I just wanted to say WELCOME(!) to all of you who've recently started following this hatless-ness optional house.  Glad to have you and hope to see more of you around these parts.

Second, to those of you who (1) "have never gotten around to doing paper-piecing" (2) get "bad frustrating results," (3) think it "wastes too much fabric", (4) are still "intimidated" by it, (5) "hate it," (6) "enjoy it," (7) "love it," or (8) "absolutely love it," I've got a little something for everyone up my sleeve.  I've still got lots of planning (and patterning) to do, but don't be surprised if—in a few month's time—you start to hear me blab about a "bootcamp" of sorts.  ;o)  Oh, and unless I lose my job or something inconvenient like that by then, it'll be on the house.

And now on to the real reason you clicked through this post to begin with—(and I hope *not* the reason you'll hit the "unfollow" button!)—the winner of the SMS giveaway goodies is no. 638 of 1235...

Afton of Quilting Mod!  Who, crazily enough, was the very first person to comment on my gradient fill layer cake sampler post that went up during the SMS giveaway week chaos.  Love it when the stars align :)

So glad to be sending this little stack of favorites southwest.  Truthfully I wish I could share it with all of you, but if history is any indication (I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII) it's safe to assume there will be more where this came from.  Case in point?  Gypsy Wife quilt along participants already have another shot coming in November!

And for those of you who don't have any liberty en route to your corner of the world just yet, I have it on good authority that Massdrop will soon be offering not only the same liberty bundle as last time (FQ, F8, or half yard), but also a *new* mini-collection of 10 different prints.  (I may or may not have had a hand in selecting said second batch... so I may be a bit biased when I say they're pretty ultra.)

Anyway, if any of this has piqued your interest, head on over to the drop page to request a reminder for whenever the second round goes live (sometime next week, I think).

Till the next time... ;)

a few (more) of my favorite things {SMS giveaway day}

THE GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.  Thanks to all who entered! Winner is 638/1235 (Afton W.)!

Somehow, half a year has gone by and once again it's time for Sew Mama Sew's semi-annual Giveaway Day Week!  (!)

Much like last time, I've grouped together another trio of favorites.  Think of it as a trifecta of sorts:  fat (or skinny) sixteenths+ of 21 jewel-toned liberty and oakshott fabrics, plus a miniature arsenal of neutral 50wt aurifil in 2024, 2021, 2000, and 2325 (that gracious Mr. Veronelli slipped in a few extras and I couldn't help but share my good fortune).

You might recognize some of those liberty tana lawns.  That's because I just gave away a FQ set on behalf of the lovely folks at Massdrop.  And guess what?  By popular demand, the classic 10-pack will be making a reappearance in a few weeks, along with a *new* assortment of 10 more prints.  Just go here to sign up for a reminder when that buy is back on :o)

Right.  So getting back to THIS giveaway.  You have three chances to win*:

1.  Leave a comment on this post.  Anything at all.  Need help?  Tell me your thoughts on paper-piecing.  I'd love to hear them ;o)

2.  Leave a second comment if you are a follower (old or new, just tell me how you follow:  Instagram?  Bloglovin'?  Feedly?  Email?) (optional second entry)

3.  Help spread the word!  Then leave a quick (third!) comment telling me how you did that. (Pinterest? Facebook?  Instagram? Tag me @nohatsquilts!) (optional third entry)

*International entries welcome.  Void where prohibited by law.  Because hats or not, we follow the law in (and out of) this house. :o)   

This giveaway will be open until 8 pm EST (5 pm PST) on Friday, May 16.  The winner will be notified by May 18.

Best of luck, and if you haven't already, be sure to check out all the other amazing goods up for grabs!

xo Sarah

liberty winner!

Lucky no. 12!  Susan of PatchworknPlay :o)

I'll be sending an email your way very soon!

And for those of you who might not already have tana lawn en route, you're not necessarily out of luck... Both Liberty drops are open one more day (here and here), and an Aurifil drop just went up tonight.  So there's that :)

liberty for the masses {massdrop GIVEAWAY}

THE GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.  Winner is 12/173 (Susan)!

Friends...

Have I got news for you.  (And fabric!  Liberty of London fabric!)

A week ago, I'd never heard of Massdrop.  Then, a curious email popped up in my inbox asking if I would give away a FQ bundle of Liberty Tana Lawns right here on the blog.  And just like that, Massdrop became a lot more interesting ;o)

So, what is it?

In their words—they are providing the goods for this post, after all—Massdrop is a private sale website that organizes group-buys for different online communities.  In the past, they've worked with different groups like audio enthusiasts, scrapbookers, boardgamers and kitchen gadgeteers to help them get great products at wholesale prices.

In my words?  They're us.  We join, we starts polls based on what we're interested in (you can bet I've already started one for oakshott), we get our friends to jump on the bandwagon (because really, is there anyone better at that than we are?), and then Massdrop organizes a group buy (they call them "drops") for whatever it is that we're willing to band together to get.  Sewing machines?  Thread?  (It's Aurifil!)  Fabric?  The world is our oyster.  Massdrop is our co-op.  (Not technically, but you get the point).

Also, they're really quite nice and friendly.  As some of you may know, I tend to ask lots of questions.  Gmail tells me there've already been over a dozen emails back and forth with them over the past week; turns out they're just as excited about having Liberty on the site as I am.  And if it goes well (nudge nudge), Liberty of London will start making a regular appearance(!)  Because who doesn't need a little more liberty in their life?

To kick things off, they're offering two "drops."  One is for a ten print bundle (the fabric that appears throughout this post).  The standard option is FQ but you can switch to half yards or fat eighths, too.  The other is for larger cuts (min. 1m) of your choosing from 18 prints (the 3 meter bundle option).  Have some friends who are interested in starting a collection, too?  You can pool together or each buy three different prints to assemble your own little bundles.  Bonus?  The more people who sign up, the lower the price.  So go check them out!  (Registration is free, just sign up with email or sign in with facebook).

So.  ABOUT THAT GIVEAWAY.

To win the bundle of your choosing—fat quarter or 3 meter—just leave a comment below.  Not sure what to say?  Why don't you tell me what *you* would like to see on Massdrop.  Spread the word on instagram (I'm @nohatsquilts) or facebook (I'm basically a ghost over there) for a second chance to win (be sure to come back and leave a second comment here so I know to count you twice).

I'll be announcing a winner on Wednesday night.  You know, so there's still time for you to join in ;)

In the interest of full disclosure, Massdrop provided the bundle pictured above.  As always, I only work with companies and products in which I believe, and the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.