It's Grow Your Blog (and giveaway) time again . . .

Yes, it's that time of the year again when the lovely Vicky over at 2 Bags Full hosts the fun & fabulous "Grow Your Blog" Party. 

Just for today, regular service is interrupted.  Frequent visitors will know that I'm currently on a mission to finish off as many WIPs as I possibly can, by the end of January - so be not alarmed, the quest continues and normal updates will resume again soon.

So, if you're a new visitor popping in for the party - welcome, it's lovely to meet you and do feel free to have a little wander around.  It's been almost 3 years since I started this little crafty blog of mine and I continue to be amazed and delighted by how much fun it is to be a part of this worldwide group of lovely fellow bloggy peeps.  Thank you to every one of you who regularly take the time to stop by and say hello - I love having you visit & having a little natter too.

Home is currently the midlands of England in the beautiful county of Worcestershire, where I live with one handsome Hubby and two most-adorable-pups-in-the-world - all of whom keep me on my toes & out of mischief, but always encourage & support my love of all things crafty.

Aren't they adorable ?

Mostly here at   "gilly makes . . ."   I like to make things.
(Yes, the clue is in the title.) 

 All sorts of things, really. 

 Anything creative appeals to me, but right now I am loving knitting, crochet, quilting and improving my sewing & dressmaking skills. 

So, what would a party be without pressies, right?   I do love a wee giveaway or two . . . or three . . .

No. 1 is for the sewaholics out there . . . 

 . . . so if sewing or quilting is your thing, then how would you like a little bundle of four fun, cool British-themed fat quarters and one of these fab shopping or project bags from Sew Me Something? 

  Sew Me Something is my local (and favourite, I might add) haberdashery in pretty Stratford upon Avon, home also to all-things William Shakespeare, and I do so love this little parody of the quote from Henry V: "Once more unto the fabric shop, dear friends, once more"

Giveaway No.1  (Chair, cushion & throw not included)

No. 2 parcel has another bundle of four fat quarters, and lovely mug just waiting to be filled with delicious coffee or yummy hot chocolate . . . or whatever tipple you fancy really.  

The words on the mug are another little twist of words, this time from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night : " If sewing be the food of love, stitch on"

No. 2

And if you're more of a yarny peep than a sewist or a quilter, then pressie No. 3 is for you:

Four balls of Lily's Sugar & Cream Stripes yarn, and a book by one of my favourite crafty designers, Nicki Trench - filled with a myriad of lovely crafty projects.

No.3

So do please pop over and have a little peek at all the other lovely blogs that are joining the party - Vicki will post a list over HERE sometime on Sunday, 25th January.

And if you'd like to be in with a chance of winning one of my little giveaway pressies then all you have to do is leave me a comment on this post, let me know which parcel you fancy (1, 2 or 3), and ensure I have a way of contacting you.  

Especially if you're a no-reply blogger (see this post if you're unsure), then please include your email or a link to your blog.

The giveaway is open worldwide, and to all... regulars & newbies  : - )

You don't have to be a follower to enter, but if you'd like to follow along with my crafty adventures, you'd be very welcome.  All the links are in the sidebar: Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin' - the choice is yours.

Closing date is Sunday, 15th February 2015 and I'll do the lucky draw asap thereafter. The 3 winners will be announced on my blog.

Good luck,
 thanks again for popping by and have a happy weekend.

I'm off to have cake now, for indeed what is a party without cake too ?

: - )

'til next time,

xoxo

ps. Thanks again to Vicki for hosting this annual bloggy party, and big thanks too to lovely Jules for the giveaway gifts of the lovely bag & mug.

**** Thank you for popping by - this giveaway is now closed. **** 

And the winner is . . .

In keeping with the time-honoured tradition here at GMHQ, I asked my resident random number generator aka the Hubby,  to pick a number between 1 and 25, and his response was:

  lucky number 4.

So (drumroll please) congratulations to . . .

Suzy from Rustic Vintage Country

 who is the lucky winner of one of the lovely new Sew Me Something patterns.

(Suzy, I've sent you an email, so let me know your choice of pattern and details so I can pop it in the post to you.)

Thanks again to everyone who entered and do pop over and say hello to Suzy too.

* * *

We're heading up north to bonnie Scotland for a few days to attend a family wedding, so have a lovely weekend all, and catch up again soon.

'til next time,

xoxo

And the winner is . . .

Helloooo out there . . . I'm back in the Land of Blog, and when I finish all my chores and emerge from under the pile of laundry, I've got lots of fab new crafty adventures to share with you.

  But for right now, I'd just like to say thank you to everyone who entered my celebratory giveaway & a BIG welcome of my new bloggy followers - thanks for popping in  : - )

So, using my usual method of selection - my resident random number generator, aka The Hubby - I'm happy to announce that the winner of the adorable Edward's Menagerie book is . . .

 . . . comment no. 12, 

 the lovely Birgitta from Handmade and Off-Centred .  

Birgitta lives in beautiful Iceland, and if you haven't already discovered her blog, please do pop over and say hello - I know you'll get a warm welcome.

Congrats, Birgitta - and I can't wait to see which of these adorable little creatures you'll make.

Back again soon,

xoxo

An Alpaca Afternoon. . . {and a giveaway}

A little while ago, Hazel's Crochet posted a review about a new crochet book  called Edward's Menagerie by Kerry Lord from Toft Alpaca.  Lovely Hazel also had a couple of tickets for the launch to give away, so as I live not too far away, I eagerly accepted her generous offer and last Friday, with fellow crafty friends Sarah & Rachel in tow, off we went to spend a fun afternoon surrounded by all-things-alpaca-and-crochet.

 

It was a beautiful warm sunny day so we started with a tour of the farm to see the funny and curious alpacas and crias (the baby ones, who were just too adorable), 

 

 followed by a yummy alfresco lunch, before we  headed back inside to meet Edward's Menagerie and enjoy a little crochet workshop.

 

 

 Seriously, just how adorable are these gorgeous animals ?  Aren't they just so sweet?  And they all have their own stories too.

 

  And so enamoured by these funny & fabulous creatures was I, that I just had to buy an extra copy of this delightful book to giveaway.

So, in celebration of reaching the milestone of 300+ followers on GFC,  and to say a big thanks to all of you lovelies who are following along on this crafty bloggy adventure with me, I'm giving away a  copy (signed by lovely Kerry Lord of course) of the book. 

If you'd like a chance to win it, it's simples.  Just . . .

1) be a follower of my blog (GFC, Bloglovin' or by email); and 

2) leave me a little comment below - and if you're a no-reply blogger, please make sure you leave contact details too.

Now, as we have a full house of guests for the next little while, I'm going to take a wee bloggy break for two weeks, so will leave the giveaway open until midnight GMT on Sunday 10th August and announce the winner asap thereafter.   

So, good luck & so long for now.

'til next time,

xoxo

* * * * 

Thanks again Hazel for your generosity, and thanks to all the lovely ladies at Toft Alpaca for hosting such a fun event..

*

A little bit of versatility . . . (and a fab giveaway)

Firstly, thanks so much for all your lovely comments on my last post - you really are too kind - and a BIG welcome to my new followers, thanks for popping by and I hope you'll enjoy following along on my crafty adventures :-)

obligatory cute pups pic of the week

Earlier this week I was delighted to be handed the Versatile Blogger Award by lovely Sarah at Chantille Fleur.  The brief is to list 7 random things about yourself and then pass the bloggy baton along.

So without further ado, here are my 7 random things (and be warned: they are indeed random):

1.  I love to bake.  Definitely a love learned from my Mama, who just by the way, bakes the best ever shortbread, scones, tea cake etc etc.

2.  I don't really like cooking.  Seriously, I cook because we must eat. By contrast, my lovely sis is a fab cook.  If only we lived closer so we could take advantage of her culinary skills more often.

3.  I love shopping . . . but not for groceries. See no.2 above.

4.  Spiders are evil. They give me the heebiejeebies and I jump at the sight of one.  Other creepy crawlies don't really bother me.  Except maybe cockroaches . . . ugh . . .

5.  I LOVE to travel . . . particularly on planes, trains and ships (but preferably not on buses).  This is another love that I can attribute to my wanderlust parentage.

6.  I love all-things-pink.  Always have, probably always will.

7.  I have freckles.  Lots of them.  But as the saying goes: "A face without freckles is like a night without stars"  ;-)

I did warn you they were random . . .  but if you like that kind of thing, you could pop over here too.

Right so in passing on the baton, I'm going to change things up a wee bit and ask you to hop over and show some bloggy love to two fab newbie blogs. 

First up, visit  Roulette Farm - this is Sarah's new blog all about life & times down under on their Aussie farm with two adorable dogs, various chickens and a whole host of other wonderful creatures;

courtesy of Roulette Farm

. . . then about that giveaway I mentioned . . .

Well, regular readers will know that I'm a big fan of the Sew Me Something patterns - all designed by my lovely friend and part-time boss - and to celebrate her new blog , Jules is giving away your choice of SMS pattern.  Woo hoo... we all likes a giveaway, don't we? :-)

courtesy of Sew Me Something

 So please do pop in and have a wee peek at these new blogs on the block, I know you'll get a warm welcome. 

And thanks again to Chantille Fleur for your kind nomination.

And on a completely different note - I'm off tomorrow for a few days away in sunny France, so I'll be taking a little bloggy break but will be back soon to tell you all about it and catch up with your news too.

Hmmm... what to pack . . .  crochet or knitting ?

What d'you think ?  

(and no, the ridiculously limited baggage allowance dictates that I can't take both)

A tout a l'heure, mes amis

xoxo

A Winner, a Swap and another Bloggy Get-together . . .

I do so love a long weekend, but it really does throw me off kilter . . .  

Usually I work on a Monday, but Monday was a holiday and I worked on Tuesday instead. 

 So yesterday felt like a Monday but was actually a Tuesday, which means I woke up this morning thinking it was Tuesday but it's actually Wednesday (still with me ? )  - which is why when the alarm service guy arrived at the door for his scheduled appointment at 8.30am this morning, I greeted him with surprise . . . and still in my PJs . . . OOops. 

 I just pretended that I was expecting him, and hoped he'd think that it's really quite normal and acceptable to swan around in one's PJs sans make-up before 9am. 

 And hey, don't judge me - it could have been worse . . .
; - )

Right, enough about that and let's get on to more exciting things shall we ?

a Winner . . .

Thanks to everyone who commented on and entered the little giveaway in celebration of my 200th post.
 My resident Random Number Generator (aka The Hubby) selected comment #17 and the lucky winner is . . .

the lovely Joy from Joyjinks Creations,
all the way down under in beautiful Western Australia.

Congratulations Joy, and your Kate Dress pattern will be winging it's way south to you shortly.

Thanks again to Jules at Sew Me Something for your generosity in donating this fab giveaway - And if you can't contain your disappointment at not winning this time, remember all three of the lovely patterns are available at their online emporium - just pop over here.


a Swap . . .


Now a wee while ago, Jo over at Three Stories High organized a little Spring Brooch Swap and I was lucky enough to be paired up with Chrissie at Chrissie Crafts.  But Chrissie and I both had things happening around the swap date so we agreed to swap once life had calmed down a bit.  And last week, this fab little parcel of gorgeous goodies arrived in the post:

Thank you sooo much, Chrissie - I LOVE my pretty lace brooches and my special little puzzly one too : - )
And the chocs were dee-lish-ious . . .

I think this little brooch will be permanently attached to my favourite denim jacket for the season.

And thanks to Jo too for organizing this fun swap . . . can we do it again next Spring ?

. . . and another Bloggy Get-together.

Lovely Jane who blogs at Plain Jane is organising a get together of fellow bloggy peeps on Friday, 30th May 2014 at Shugborough Estate in Staffordshire. 
The plan is to meet up for a picnic and spend the day nattering and crafting and exploring this beautiful National Trust property.
Would you like to come along and join us?

 It'd be sooo lovely to see you.
So hop over to Jane's blog and leave her a wee comment or drop her an email if you'd like more details. 
And for my fellow Midlanders - I've got space in my car for another 3 peeps so if you'd like a lift, just let me know : -)

* * *

Right, I'm off to do some baking for Book Club tomorrow morning . . .
It is Thursday tomorrow, isn't it ?
; - )

'til next time,
xoxo

A sewing Saturday . . . (and an oh-sew-lovely giveaway)

We're having a lovely (cr)afternoon here today - or at least, I am.  The other two that make up the "we" are the two most-adorable-pups-in-the-world who are in fact currently snoozing the time away.  The Hubby has gone out for the day, and I've run all the errands that needed doing this morning so now it's me-time . . . woo hoo : - ) 

 So, what to do first ?

Well, methinks I'll show you the latest addition to my handmade summer collection - 

meet the Kate dress . . .

It's a wee bit chilly here still, so for Spring I've teamed it with a long-sleeved T, cotton scarf, jeggings and ballerinas.  But once things start to heat up and the sun comes out, so will the bare legs  !

Now if you've been reading this blog for a while, you may recall that I had barely done any sewing since I left school (eeek . . could that be 30 years ago already ?).  So it was with a wee bit of trepidation, and not a lot of confidence in my ability, that in March last year, I signed up for the "Make Me a Vintage-style Dress" workshop at  Sew Me Something  in Stratford upon Avon.

And I  L.O.V.E.D  it . . .

One dress led to another, and then I made a reversible skirt (with a button placket and everything), and then a bag, and then another dress, etc etc etc 

and I was completely hooked.

my early works !

And now the lovely and oh-so-talented Jules Fallon who designed all these fab things, and who has encouraged me and so many others with her passion for all-things-sewing, has just launched her very own Sew Me Something range of patterns.

They were introduced to the world at the "Sewing for Pleasure" exhibition in Birmingham last month

 (I was sunning myself in the Caribbean, so didn't get to go) and Jules has kindly offered one of the patterns for me to giveaway here in celebration of occasion of my 200th post.

(See, I told you she was lovely . . .)

 

So - which one do you fancy ?

There's the Kate Dress . . .**

3 different versions in 1 pattern

the Beatrice Pinafore  . . .

3 different finishes changes the look

or the Viola Skirt . . .

completely reversible

As I'm sure you know, Stratford upon Avon is the home of William Shakespeare so Jules has named all the patterns after some of the Bard's heroines. 

 And they're all suitable for beginner & budding sewists.  Seriously, the instructions are sooo well laid out and easy to follow.

  There's more about each of the patterns over here

Sooo, to win one of these lovely patterns, all you need to do is leave a comment below telling me which one you'd like - and make sure I have a way of contacting you if you're the lucky winner (especially if you're a no-reply blogger).  

The giveaway is open worldwide and will close at midnight (GMT) on Monday 21st April 2014.

And if you fancy all of them, the good news is that you don't have to be anywhere near Stratford upon Avon to get one - just pop to the Sew Me Something Online Emporium  - they'll post them anywhere that Royal Mail goes  : - )

Good luck and happy Saturday - hope you're having a good weekend too.

'til next time,

xoxo

** BTW for all fellow fans of The Great British Sewing Bee - I've just noticed on Jenny Taylor's Facebook page that she's also just made a Kate dress  :-)


Ps.  Thanks for all your kind and lovely comments about the fabby little sewing machine pincushion and I'm pleased to tell you that the birthday girl loved it just as much too.

And the winner is . . .

 Good morning and welcome to the weekend . . .

In keeping with the tradition for selecting a giveaway winner here at GMHQ,

 as the Hubby was heading out the front door this morning I asked him to "pick a number between 1 and 80 please".

"57" was his immediate reply  (who needs the technology of the RNG, eh ?)

And so, the lucky winner of my little GYB giveaway is . . .

the lovely Patricia 

who blogs over at A Place for Everything

  : - )

a little bundle of CK pretties

Congratulations Patricia - please email me your postal address and I'll get your little parcel of goodies popped in the mail asap.

Thanks to all of you who entered, and to everyone who popped into the Grow Your Blog party to say hello - it's been lovely to meet you.

Happy weekend all - 'tis a blustery morn here but the sun is peeking out from behind the clouds, so I'm hopeful . . .
xoxo

Grow your blog . . .

Hello, happy weekend and a big welcome too if you're visiting here for the first time and joining in the party over at
 2 Bags Full . . .

It's been almost 2 years since I started this little crafty blog of mine and I am constantly amazed and delighted by how much fun it is to be a part of this worldwide group of lovely fellow bloggy peeps.

So, the short version is thus:

I'm Gilly, currently happily ensconced in the midlands of England, UK with my loved ones: The Hubby and The Two-Most-Adorable-Pups-in-the-World.

aren't they just adorable ?

 And I love to make things.  Baking, knitting, quilting, crocheting and a fairly new-found love of sewing are my current favourites . . . and here at  gilly makes. . . HQ,  there's always something on the go . . .

. . .a quilt label to be sewn,

a quilt to be posted, a bag of yarn to be crocheted and a pup to be cuddled/walked/fed,

fabric to be cut & pressed,

a dress to be finished, and a bag of knitting to be sewn up !

It's all just one big W I P . . .

So please do have a wee wander around and I hope you enjoy your visit. 

Ooh, and to join in the spirit of the party, I've got a little giveaway too . . .

Now I know that not everybody likes to knit or crochet or sew etc etc, but everyone has a home, and most of us have to do the housework at some stage, right ? 

So, how about some pretty things to brighten up those chore days ?

a little bundle of Cath Kidston prettiness . . .

If you'd like to enter, all you have to do is leave a comment and make sure I can contact you if you're the lucky winner.  (If you're usually a No-reply Blogger, please add your email address).  

That's it - simples.

Entries will close on Friday, 14th Feb 2014 and the winner will be announced on Saturday, 15th Feb 2014.

Vicky from 2 Bags Full has done a great job in organizing this blog hop, so do pop over here - she will post the full list of participants on Saturday 25th Jan.

Enjoy the party. . . 

xoxo

And the winner is . . .

Firstly a HUGE thanks to everyone who left me such lovely comments and entered my wee giveaway - I hope you enjoyed the Blog Hop and discovered some new & wonderful blogs to follow along the way. 

And then, a big & hearty welcome to my new followers - it's lovely to have you here and I do hope you enjoy sharing in my crafty adventures.

Here at gilly makes . . . HQ we aren't too fussed about technical things, we like to do things the traditional way. But writing out 218 names and finding a hat big enough to accommodate them seemed like an onerous task so early in the morning - SO, just as the Hubby was on his way out the door,  I asked him to "randomly pick a number between 1 and 218". He's an actuary and they're supposedly good with numbers, so it's like having my own in-house Random Number Generator  ; - ) 

Right, so, the result you're waiting for ?   

As he headed out into the cold outside, he called out "17" and hi-ho, hi-ho, off to work he went . . .

And so,

 CONGRATS to the lovely Dorothy*
from Dorothy's Room - a Crochet, Knitting, Sewing Blog, 

who is the lucky commenter no. 17. 

Please do one more hop and pop in to say hello to Dorothy too - she's fairly new to this lovely crafty malarkey, and I know she'll give you a warm welcome.

Thanks again, lovely peeps, I really do appreciate and love to read all your sweet notes.

I'll be back very soon, just as soon as I come out from under the pile of "must-finish-before-Christmas" makes that are currently swamping my little craft room.

There are parcels to be posted, jimmy-jammies to be made, blocks to be pieced, embroidery to be hooped, appliqué to be sewn, little stockings to be created etc etc etc.  They are waiting patiently on the table 'til their number is called - and all watched over by the sweetest little Christmas Badgel you ever did see.   Her name is Bessie and she hails from the fabulous Vanilla Squirrel  - I just couldn't resist her.
"A badgel ??",  I hear you ask.
Yes indeed, pop over to visit the lovely Squirrel and she'll tell you all about them here.

Bye-bye for now,

xoxo

 *{Dorothy I've just left a wee note on your blog, please let me have your mailing address and I'll pop your parcel in the post to you.}

Hop to it . . . {and a little giveaway}

Life seems to be speeding by at a rate of knots, hurtling towards the end of the year, don't you think ?

I'm really trying to pace myself, but at the same time, get through my

 "To Make for Christmas" List too.  

It's do-able, if one just remembers to eat & sit down & breathe occasionally.

But first . . . 

Today I'm joining in the fun at The Quilting Gallery's
 "Thank You" Blog Hop

and taking this opportunity to say a BIG THANKS to all you lovely peeps out there . .  friends, family, followers and fellow bloggers.  You encourage and inspire me.  Thank YOU for taking the time to not only read my bloggy warblings, but also for all your sweet & gracious comments.

You are truly so very kind and much appreciated.

So, to share the joy and express my thanks, how's about a wee giveaway ?

fancy a wee bundle of yumminess ?

In the bundle, there's a charm pack of 40 various pretty Tilda 5" squares, co-ordinated Tilda ribbon, 2 reels of Cath Kidston cotton thread, 2 rolls of ric-rac and a partridge in a pear tree little bag of mini Tilda clothespins.

If you'd like your name popped in the hat for a chance of winning, then all you have to do is leave a little comment below - ensuring to include your name & email contact details if you're a no-reply blogger - sometime before midnight (GMT) next Tuesday, 26 November 2013.  I'll do the lucky draw and announce the winner asap thereafter.

You don't need to be a follower to be included in the giveaway, but if you'd like to then it'd be lovely to have you along on my crafty adventures. 

And on the topic of quilting and adventures - here's a little glimpse of what I'm working on this week: 

. . . a new quilt for a special young someone who's having her boudoir redecorated in shades of purple. 

So far I've cut out all the squares and pieced the rows together, so now the fun bit begins.

It's going to look quite different by the time I'm finished the top, so I promise to show you more once it's done.

I just love all these pretty fabrics though - this sweet birdie one is probably my favourite.   I do hope she likes it, but if she doesn't, I just know that her mama will ; - )

Right, so I'm going to have a little break for lunch now then it's back to sewing for me.

 Enjoy the Blog Hop - the list of other participating blogs should be available via this link from midday EST today.

http://quiltinggallery.com/quilters-fun/quilters-blog-hop-party/

Have fun, and happy hopping.

xoxo

ps.  Don't forget to enter the giveaway - no matter where in the world you are, so long as Royal Mail gets there, I'll post it : - )
Good luck . . .


* * * *   THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED  * * * *
(27/11/2013)
Thanks for all your lovely comments and for joining in the fun of the Blog Hop. Stay tuned, the winner has been drawn and will be announced shortly  : - )