Giveaway Winner! (Now if only the post office would open)

The sun came out this morning, for the first time since Hurricane Sandy sent us indoors many days ago.

So, as promised, I had my Lucy help draw for the dress I'd promised to giveaway in the midst of the storm:

From a HAT — Old school!

Congrats Justsewsew! I'll dig up your contact info through your Wordpress blog. The post office may not open for a few more days though. So be patient. Things are slowly getting back to normal here in NYC.

As you can see, it's quite beautiful out now:

Which is good news for Lucy, who will get to wear her Twilight Sparkle costume out trick-or-treating tonight after all:

I actually threw together a costume for myself the other day. And the great thing about being so last-minute is I got to be totally topical:

Get it? I'm a tourist who didn't get the memo about the hurricane. I made the camera from cardboard, hot glue and electrical tape, and the strap from a wire coat hanger and nylon strapping. The shirt was stencilled using freezer paper. And the Playbill was from the show I just saw on Broadway. It's hard to see my hair, but I used a half-can of hairspray to get it up pretty high.

So happy Halloween, everybody!

Hurricane Giveaway! Last day to enter

I hope you're all well following the destructive hurricane that blew in last night. We are lucky to live on high ground in the Bronx, so we didn't suffer any flooding or power outages. But we were up late because the wind was so loud no one could sleep (my four-year-old included). Trees are down on our street, and we're likely spending the day at home again today since school is cancelled, and subway and bus service has yet to be restored.

My only tragedy during Hurricane Sandy was the fact I never actually got any time to sew. My husband had to work from home, so I was on entertaining-a-stir-crazy-kid duty all day and night. Too bad, since I'm working on something I'm very excited about.

It's still raining and a little windy here, so the storm has not yet fully passed — which means you still have time to enter my Hurricane Giveaway! I promised I would accept entries until the sun shone again, so leave a comment on this entry to win this dress I made (which has never been worn, except during this photo shoot):

Enjoy your day off, New Yorkers! I hope your cars didn't get crushed or float away last night.

Giveaway! My Hurricane Pain, Your Gain!

We're preparing for Hurricane Sandy to hit NYC sometime in the next 24 hours, and like all of us in the city, I'm having a few flashbacks to Hurricane Irene (except I haven't heard anyone advise putting big tape X's on your windows, like they did in August 2011. If they did, all the lazy people in the Bronx would be super stoked that they never bothered to take theirs down in the 13 months since the last hurricane to hit NYC).

We have water, enough food, and some new craft projects on hand to prevent boredom in our kid. All that's left to get today is a box of wine (this thing might last three days, after all!).

Anyway, now seems like a good time to hold a giveaway. I contemplated giving this dress away after I made it for Kollabora.com last spring. The fabric is a gorgeous olive silk crepe de chine from Mood. It was $17/yard, and was just a dream to work with. In fact, that's the reason I'm giving this away.

I have just enough of that lovely fabric to make a new minidress, which I will be working on during the hurricane this week. This dress here, sewn from Simplicity 1872 is a little on the modest side for me (when it comes to evening wear anyway). I never really thought I'd wear it, but was torn because I love the fabric so. However, now that I am making something else out of crepe de chine,  I finally feel ready to give this dress away:

I'm 5-foot-3 and think this dress would look great on someone my height or several inches taller. My waist is 30 inches, but there's a ton of ease in this, so even someone a few sizes up could easily wear this (Or if you're smaller, cinch it). I'm a very average B/sometimes C cup, and there's a lot of room through the bust, plus it's a wrap front, so you could always go with a camisole underneath if your chest is so big (bless your heart) that it actually fills out this generously cut top:

A gust of wind made it flare out like that!

In short, this dress is very forgiving. It's not at all fitted, so it could fit quite a range in sizes. Or you could go as Sexy Big Bird for Halloween in this. I won't be offended:

The color would make it great for a holiday party, or other special event.

To enter, just comment and tell me what would be in your hurricane preparedness kit. I'll accept entries up until the storm breaks, cutting it off and drawing a name at random when the sun finally shines again.

For a second entry, follow my blog (there's a little button thingie on the right of the page). Or if you're already a follower, just comment to tell me you are, and you get two entries too. I don't play favorites (except when it comes to boxes of wine).

Stay safe everyone, and happy hurricane sewing!

Violette Field Threads Giveaway Winner!

 

The winner is Sparkledonkey! (Yes, it was random, though flattery will get you everywhere, Sparkledonkey!)

 

Email me sbeaubien (at) gmail (dot) com so I can send you your prize: three sewing patterns from Violette Field Threads. Thanks everyone for entering!

Payin' It Forward With a Giveaway

UPDATE: This giveaway is now CLOSED. Thanks for entering, everyone!

Readers, when I win, you win. Because yesterday I got an email from the lovely Suzannah at Adventures in Dressmaking to tell me I had won her Violette Field Threads giveaway. Violette Field Threads sells original patterns for girl's clothing and accessories, and I've already chosen the patterns I want:

The Adele:

The Molly:

The Vivienne:

Adorable, right? But here's the thing, readers: my prize was for $75 worth of Violette Field Threads patterns. But at $8.50 a pop, I could nearly buy their whole collection for that! So I want to pay it forward and give one of my readers their choice of patterns — and not one, but THREE patterns! That's right: we're going halfsies (approximately).

So leave me a comment below to enter.

And to get another entry "Follow" my blog, and then post in the comments section to tell me that you did. (If you already follow, post that too, and you will get another entry.)

You can enter until FRIDAY, Dec. 16 at 9 a.m. The winner will be chosen at random shortly after that. You can be from ANYWHERE to enter (the prize will be emailed to you as PDFs). But remember, if you post anonymously I can't can't find you. So leave an email if your address is not linked to your identity on Blogger.

Holiday giveaways

I'm a little embarrassed to admit how obsessed I've become this month with holiday giveaways. Maybe it's because I've actually won a bunch of stuff this year, which has shown me that by actually entering you increase your odds by, like, I don't know...100 per cent (I never took Statistics, so this is a rough estimate from an Arts-based Brain).

This year I have been the ecstatic recipient of three yards of cool printed fabric, one vintage pattern, an awesome new pattern book, AND tickets to Saturday Night Live. So how could I not bookmark the following month-long giveaways, which I am going to tell you about — even though your entering will decrease my chances of winning by approximately 2 per cent (again: Arts Brain). Because if I don't win, at least someone who dedicates part of their day to reading these thoughts I cobble together should!

• Burdastyle.com is giving away something great every day. Already they've given away the Colette Sewing Handbook, a subscription to Selvedge magazine and a collection of sewing books. New giveaways are posted daily on the blog, so bookmark it!

• Apartment Therapy is giving away over a hundred fancy-schmancy gifts for your home. Each weekday they post SIX new giveaways, and they're pretty much all awesome. Even if you don't need a $900 shelving unit, you can sell it on Craigslist!

• The McCall Pattern Company is giving away a sewing-related gift each day, from shiny new shears to sewing machines! Like all giveaways, you have to provide your email address, which may result in more emails than you want in a day, but if that's the price to pay for a new serger, count me in!

• I love Wired magazine even more now that they're giving away $13,000 worth of techie stuff — including the very laptop my husband is required to buy for ad school in January. Make my dreams come true, Wired.com!

• And, of course, there are those lucky ladies of the blogosphere who give away stuff all the time: Katy of No Big Dill, Grosgrain (which has a Shabby Apple dress giveaway right now. And December 12 is Sew, Mama, Sew's Giveaway Day, so check the website for amazing handmade giveaways that week.

You can thank me later.

Winner of the Not-So-Cheeky-Panties Pattern Giveaway!!

The winner of the Not-so-cheeky panties package was Debi, of Fashions From the Past! Debi, I'll be contacting you about your mailing address so I can get your prize in the mail to you on Monday. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Sew Grateful Week: Not-So-Cheeky Panties Package Giveaway!

I didn't grow up in an evangelical home, but my husband did. A generally anxious person — he's the first to (nervously) admit it (just kidding: he wrote a whole damn show about it, and that's how I met him) —  he's told me many times how he worried constantly about proselytizing. He recalls how if he wasn't telling someone about God's glory, he felt guilty. Like, all the time. And though he's now a godless liberal, he still can't shake the habit. However, he evangelizes on behalf of other things: the band Wilco, Robert Caro's book "The Power Broker," and Arrested Development, just to name a few.

I've never felt that urge to convert people. (It's not very Canadian, is it?) But that's exactly what I am going to try to do this week with a giveaway for my readers (some would say, followers).

And what better way to proselytize for homemade ginch (1980s western Canadian slang for underwear) than by giving away everything needed to make your own!

Ta da!

So if you're interested in joining my cult movement, and want to make your own pair of "Not-So-Cheeky Panties," the pattern by Emilykate that I've adapted to provide fuller coverage in the tush, leave a comment below. The winner will receive enough of this super soft and stretchy coral-red striped jersey, white scalloped underwear elastic, and the pattern (plus instructions) to make their first pair of these underpants. According to Emilykate, the pattern is size 38, whatever that means. But with this super stretchy material, these underpants could fit a range of sizes. (Though if you have a super tiny butt and hips, you can stuff someone else's stocking with these — or try to take them in a little.)

The winner will be chosen at random on Friday, Nov. 25 — "Black Friday" in the U.S.: the day when people spend stupid amounts of money shopping (and risk getting trampled at Wal-Mart). Instead of "stimulating the economy," you could get something for free! (And learn something new). Thank you, readers! The giveaway is open to anyone, anywhere.

Front

Wait, I almost forgot to show you the pair I made for myself from this amazing stretch fabric! Cute, right? Now comment away!

Back: love that chevron stripe!

I'm Grateful

I've been so lucky this year to be on the winning end of a few blog giveaways. Among them: Snoozer Loser fabric from Burdastyle.com; the great book Growing Up Sew Liberated, again from Burdastyle.com; a vintage pattern from Male Pattern Boldness, which you should really be reading, if you aren't already (Wait, wait! I didn't mean RIGHT now!).

The lovely Debi (who I missed meeting at the meet-up in NYC this fall because I was moving, blech) at My Happy Sewing Place posted a challenge to other sewing bloggers today. The Sew Grateful challenge is to "use an item of fabric, pattern, book or other item that was given to you in a giveaway or as a present from a family member or friend and showcase your project on your blog during the week of November 21st." I think it's a lovely idea. So many sewing bloggers have great giveaways — not to mention those who post helpful tutorials, or devote precious time and talent to hosting the sew-alongs that motivate the rest of us to try something new and challenging. (Again, I'm talking to you, Male Pattern Boldness). For all that, I am grateful.

Something I haven't done enough of this year is give things away. So in addition to joining in on this fun
challenge, I plan on giving some...thing away....I don't know what yet. I'll make it good though. I promise.

And the Winner is...

Big Bird!

No, just kidding. But Big Bird was the most popular answer to my question, probably due to the fact so many of those who answered have toddlers at home. I personally would like Elmo to carry me around for a day — so I could watch that tiny red monster suffer like I have through countless rounds of "La, la, la, la, lah, la, la, la...Elmo's World!"

Anyway, the real winner is Lisa (last name rhymes with "winner") from Winnipeg! I'll be sending her the doll carrier tomorrow. Her son just started walking a while back so he may not be quite ready for the doll carrier just yet, but I'm sure it will get put to good use eventually.

The winner was chosen at random using this random number generator. (It paid to make that 2nd entry on Facebook/Twitter):

 

A special shout-out should go to Briony for sending me this picture: 

 

It's Mark Ruffalo in GQ magazine, which is apparently for straight guys — because straight guys love looking at photos of Mark Ruffalo making his "come hither to my hirsute den of baby-making" pose. Huh?

Enter, enter, enter, enter!

Only 5 hours left to enter my giveaway for the handmade doll carrier pictured above! If you haven't entered already because you don't have a kid of your own or one the right age, just remember Christmas is coming and you may have a niece, nephew or friend's kid in need of a charming, handmade gift. You'll save money. I promise I'll ship quickly and you'll have it well before the holidays.

If you haven't entered because we're good friends and you're worried it won't be fair if you win, get over it: Fair's fair and I have no qualms about giving this to anyone who enters — even my own mother (not really: she doesn't have the Internet, or a computer, or any idea what a blog is).

If you haven't entered because you can't think of an answer to my skill-testing question, just make one up. Or use one of my helpful suggestions: Jolly Green Giant, Vince Vaughn, Yao Ming, or the Pillsbury Dough Boy.

Proceed: http://mybeaubaby.blogspot.com/2010/11/doll-carrier-giveaway.html

Max Costume Giveaway Winner

You'll have to trust me that I was totally fair in using a random number generator to choose the winner of the Max costume. I meant to take a screen shot of the number, which determined the ultimate winner: Alexander from St. John's, Newfoundland. But I forgot, and then I surfed away from the screen. You all know you can trust me though, right? Especially because I don't even know Alexander, or his son, Xavier, who is apparently going to be super stoked when his new Max costume (hopefully) arrives this weekend.

I really wish there was enough time and enough white fleece to make all who entered a Max costume. But I'll be posting instructions soon for anyone who cares to make their own.

Max Costume Giveaway!!! (Comment to enter)

 

You probably don't have yellow eyes, but I bet Lucy here (pictured in the cozy Halloween costume I designed and sewed this week) could tame you by staring into them if you did (or maybe you do. Maybe you're two days old and have jaundice. I don't know who's reading this thing). Anyway, I don't want to waste your time making fun of infants overdosing on bilirubin. That was actually a reference to Max, protagonist of Where the Wild Things Are — one of the best children's picture books of all time and a current favourite in our home. Every children's book writer should look to that book as a model of just how brilliant a picture book can be. I still haven't seen the Spike Jonze film adaptation. It's on our Netflix queue, but my husband is so sentimental, I don't think he could handle it. He gets sad looking at strangers' baby photos because "they're all grown up now and isn't that just so sad????" (His words.) Especially when a song like Boyz II Men's "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" is playing. That just kills him.

Anyway, when my toddler asked to be Max for Halloween, I was stoked. She has good taste, clearly. But also I thought it would be fun to design and draft the pattern for it myself.

  

 Here she is holding up the jellybeans I used to bribe her to put on the costume today on our fall family road trip to Connecticut. (Exhibit A that I am not afraid to provide incentives, like any good boss. We all need a Christmas bonus as motivation now and then.)

 

On Monday I am going to post a pattern for anyone who cares to make their own Max costume. But luckily for you, lazy jaundiced baby, I bought too much white fleece at the WalMart in Upstate New York, which means I am making another one to give away. It's sized to fit an average two-year-old, though it could probably fit anywhere from 12-30 months, depending on how chubby/tall the kid is. All you have to do is comment on this post to enter. If you don't have a toddler of your own, enter to win it for a friend's. You have until midnight Monday (Eastern time). I will email the winner Tuesday morning, and get it in the mail that afternoon. Hopefully it will get to you by Halloween. If not, it can go in the Tickle Trunk (American friends: "Tickle Trunk" is not what you think. Totally wholesome. Look it up). Let the wild rumpus start!

P.S. If you post anonymously, I can't include you in the contest! I need to be able to contact the winner.