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And the winners are…

Thank you to everyone who entered my birthday giveaway! Your comments were all so sweet, you sure know how to make a girl feel special on her birthday 🙂

I used a random number generator to pick the winner for each prize, and without further ado, here’s who won what!

Catja of Gjeometry, you’re the lucky winner of the Japanese pattern book!

Josephine, you won the fabric that everyone wanted so much, so congratulations to you!

And finally, Sally of the quirky peach, you get the 3 sewing patterns!

I’ll be in contact with you all shortly so I can send your goodies on their way.

I hope to have a couple of finished garments up on the blog by the end of the week – things are getting crazy around here while we prepare for our next big international move, and I’m racing to finish up all my sewing before my little machine goes to a new owner *sob*

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Liebster Award!

Omg, you guys! I’ve been nominated for a Liebster Award! Thank you, Sarah Kate Creations! It’s totally made my day 🙂

In case you’re not familiar with the Liebster Award, it’s to help people discover new blogs with less than 200 followers. There are a couple of rules associated with receiving the award, which are:

1. Acknowledge the nominating blogger.

2. Answer 11 questions the nominating blogger has created for you.

3. 11 random facts about yourself.

4. List 11 bloggers with fewer than 200 followers that you really feel deserve a little blogging love (I used the number of Bloglovin followers).

5. Let all of the bloggers know that you have nominated them. You cannot nominate the blogger that nominated you!

6. Post 11 questions for the bloggers you have nominated to answer.
So, without further ado, I’ll answer the questions given to me by Sarah Kate!

What is your favorite quote?
Ah, a tough one right off the bat! To be honest, I don’t have one. I don’t think about quotes until someone asks me what my favourite one is!

What three things would you bring to a desert island?
I loathe this question. Why am I going to a desert island? Is it for a holiday? Exile? Have I been abducted and brought there by an evil captor? Assuming I’m going there of my own free will to enjoy a few days of peace and quiet, I’d bring a book, some comfy pants and a bar of chocolate. At the minimum.

What would you consider your greatest accomplishment?
I like to think my life has been made up of lots of small accomplishments that I’m proud of, rather than one big event. Like this blog, for instance!

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Japan. Anywhere in Japan would do, but if I had to pick somewhere more specific, Osaka. I love the culture, the buildings, the atmosphere, the language – everything! 

Who is your favorite blogger and why?
It’s a difficult choice, but I’d have to go with Lauren from Lladybird she’s hilarious, down-to-earth, and she sews like a fiend! I love everything she makes, and how much detail she includes in her posts. She’s my sewing idol!
Who is your favorite sewing pattern designer?
I’m going to go with Deer&Doe – Eleanore’s patterns match my style so well, they’re beautifully designed and fit me like a dream. There’s not a single pattern of hers I wouldn’t wear!

What is your favorite sewing tip?
Probably putting a pin at either end of a buttonhole before seam-ripping it open. I have a buttonhole cutter now (thanks to my lovely husband) so I don’t do it any more, but before I did, it saved me from ripping open many a buttonhole!

If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go? Why?
Okay, well, I won’t say Japan, since I already said I’d live there. I’ll go with England, because there are so many awesome sewing bloggers there I could meet, and I love the English countryside.

What inspired you to start your blog?
It was a New Year’s resolution, because I wanted to become part of the online sewing community and share the stuff I make with other like-minded people.
What is your favorite band?
The Mountain Goats! The lyrics of their songs are brilliant, they’re fantastic to see live and they have songs I can listen to for any mood I’m in – sad, cheerful, happy, pensive, etc. Check them out!
Who is the most inspiring person in your life?
Again, I don’t have a *most* inspiring person in my life. Different people are inspiring to me for different reasons – there is no one person I look up to more than anyone else.
Okay! So now I’ve done a terrible job at answering those questions, let’s move on to 11 random facts about me (this is so high school meme, I love it):

1. I’ve never broken a bone.
2. I’m naturally blonde.
3. I almost always sew in my underwear or pyjamas.
4. I love learning languages!
5. I once swore I’d never be too old to ride on those mechanical rides at the shops that used to cost 20 cents to ride. 
6. I think farts are hilarious.
7. I really love the idea and smell of tea, but in reality, almost never drink it. Should’ve called my blog “Coffee and Rainbows”, I guess.
8. I like to believe I can still rollerskate, even though the last time I did so I was 10 and if I tried it now I’d probably break my neck.
9. I’ve lost 21kg since I first arrived in the USA.
10. I love playing video games, specifically JRPGs on my PS3.
11. I am a certified bartender (barmaid?) 
And now, for the nominations! Drumroll please…
Finally, the 11 questions I have for y’all are:
1. What’s your guilty pleasure?
2. What’s your favourite kind of fabric to work with?
3. Favourite animal?
4. What’s your all-time-favourite sewing pattern to make?
5. What one sewing tool can’t you live without?
6. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
7. What’s the best thing that happened to you today?
8. What’s your favourite seam finish?
9. How long ago did you start sewing?
10. If I gave you a cat, what would you name it?
11. Where do you get your sewing inspiration from?
Ok! I hope this post helps you discover some new, awesome blogs you weren’t aware of before, and those that I nominated – I’d love it if you linked back to your posts in the comments!
Happy Wednesday 🙂

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A Birthday Giveaway!

So, today (or yesterday if we’re being pedantic) is my 30th birthday, and I wanted to share the birthday love with all of you! Truth be told, I’ve been wanting to do a giveaway on my blog for a while now, but I kept missing the various milestones that I planned for – 5000 blog views whizzed past, 100 Twitter followers came and went, and so I figure my birthday is as good a reason as any!

Since I’ve been around for three decades now (!) I’m going to give away three different things. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment for me and tell me which item you’d like to win – it’s that simple! I’ll draw the winners in a week from now, which is the 23rd of February. You can enter three separate times if you want to win all three things, that’s totally fine! This giveaway is open to anyone from anywhere in the world, so international bloggers, you’re welcome to enter!

So first up, we have 3 patterns from my collection!

Vogue 8723, McCall’s Vintage 9263 (size 16) and Megan Nielsen’s Banksia Blouse (not pictured because it’s in a box and I have to dig it out, but I promise it’s included!)

Next up there’s 3 yards of a beautiful rayon challis fabric from FabricMart – it would make a lovely dress or blouse, I think!

And last but not least, we have one of the Japanese Stylish Dress Books by Yoshiko Tsukiori – this one is the Wear With Freedom book, and the dresses in it are so pretty and summery!

I also have some other little goodies I’ll be tucking into the giveaway packages 🙂 Good luck, everyone!

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