The Sewcial Bee Sampler Grand Finale GIVEAWAY!

It's the SBS Grand Finale Giveaway!  

Each Friday, throughout the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along community event that Sharon Holland and I are hosting together, we've lined up a new special Giveaway with our amazing sponsors and today is our Grand Finale Giveaway with a retail value of nearly $320!

If you happened to miss our Sewcial Bee Sampler you can follow this link for all the info to make your very own SBS quilt anytime!

Aurifil      Circa 15      The Intrepid Thread      Fat Quarter Shop      Omnigrid      Llama Fabrics      Color Girl     Lady Belle Fabric      Needle in a Fabric Stash      Dritz      Knotted Thread    Needle and Foot   Thread Cutterz   Cotton Cuts    Hobbs Batting

Today's SBS Grand Final Giveaway sponsors are Aurifil Thread, Cotton Cuts, Hobbs Quilt Batting, Maureen Cracknell, Sharon Holland and Thread Cutterz!

Aurifil is a wonderful thread company dedicated to developing amazing, new products based on quality and solutions. Established in 1983, Aurifil is an accomplished Italian company based near Milano, with a full- grown experience in producing superior quality threads for professional and domestic quilters. The company headquarters is the ground where new ideas generate original items, always more refined and advanced, to provide assistance to all the quilting needs through a wide range of threads in several weights & accessories. Aurifil's success is based on developing projects carefully, always looking for high quality and great style, with a commitment to create contemporary products that will appeal to everyone!

Aurifil.com  *  Instagram  *  Facebook  *  We hope you enjoy visiting Aurifil!

For the SBS Finale Giveaway, Aurifil is offering the lucky winner the Maureen Cracknell Bohemian Garden Aurifil Thread Collection! This hand-selected set of threads includes TWELVE large colorful spools of Aurifil thread, in 50wt 100% cotton, in colors chosen to coordinate with my Art Gallery Fabric collections!

Cotton Cuts is on a mission to create jobs! They've partnered with a local workshop that provides dignified employment opportunities to the intellectually challenged and to those with other disabilities. Every Cotton Cuts membership that you purchase contributes toward enriching the lives of these very talented individuals!

Cottoncut.com  *  Shop  *  Facebook  *  Instagram  We hope you enjoy visiting Cotton Cuts!

For the SBS Finale Giveaway, Cotton Cuts is offering the lucky winner a three month membership to their brand new Mini Pop Box! Cotton Cuts Mini Pop members receive a variety of fabrics, chosen specifically for the winner including SIX fat quarters, a lovely spool of Aurifil Thread, and 25% off all fabric in the Cotton Cuts shop, every day throughout the three months! You can sign up for your own membership, HERE!

Hobbs Quilt Batting has manufactured high-quality batting for hobbyist, commercial, art and show quilters since 1978. They're proud to come from a family of quilters and are committed to providing the same quality Hobbs batting that provide to their own family of quilters. At Hobbs Batting, they never forget that quilts are gifts from the heart - an expression of love, commitment and caring for a specific recipient - or an expression of artistry and skill - artistry and that's submitted and judged in quilt shows and events around the word - or both! At Hobbs they're committed to doing their part to enhance our #JoyofQuilting!

Hobbsbatting.com  *  Blog  *  Instagram  *  Facebook  *  We hope you visiting Hobbs Quilt Batting!

For the SBS Finale Giveaway, Hobbs is offering the lucky winner a Queen size package of their Tuscany Silk batting! Tuscany Silk batting is supple, soft and drapes like no other batting. The luxurious feel is ideal for quilts, with it's natural ability to breath, making it an excellent choice for airy, lightweight quilts and coverlets!

Maureen Cracknell is a self-taught artist living in beautiful Potter County, Pennsylvania, a proud wife and mother, Art Gallery Fabrics designer since 2014, Crafty Instructor, Aurifil thread designer, Janome girl, and blogger here at Maureen Cracknell Handmade where you'll find lots of sewing + quilting inspiration, tutorials, & Fabric Giveaway Fridays! I love having you visit me here, receiving a comment is even better - so please do both often!

Blog  *  Instagram  *  Facebook  *  Bloglovin'  We hope you enjoy following along!

For the SBS Finale Giveaway, the lucky winner will receive this 20-piece curated Fat Quarter bundle from my various Art Gallery Fabrics collection, including prints from Garden Dreamer, Nightfall, and Soulful!

Sharon Holland Designs is the co-host of the Sewcial Bee Sampler and Art Gallery Fabrics designer. Sharon blogs about design, quilting, and photography. Soon to add author to her list of accomplishments with a quilt book title Utility-Style Quilts for Everyday Living (Landauer) coming this Fall! Sharon offers many free quilt and sewing patterns on her blog and has PDF patterns for purchasing through Craftsy, Connecting Threads ad UpCraft Club!

Blog  *  Shop  *  Instagram  *  Pinterest  We hope you enjoy following along!

For the SBS Finale Giveaway, Sharon Holland is offering the lucky winner three PDF patterns of choice to the winner! Select from over 30 different quilt and sewing patterns available in her shop, HERE!

Thread Cutterz is a spin-off of sister company, Line Cutterz - a ring originally designed for the fishing industry. After 35 years of fishing and countless attempts to chew through fishing line, Vance, the founder of Line Cutterz, knew there had to be a better way. Necessity drove Vance to design and patent a fully adjustable ring with an embedded stainless steel blade that cleanly cuts all types of fishing line.  Within 9 months of launching Line Cutterz to the fishing world, Vance’s wife and other crafters, sewists, and quilters began using the handy fishing tool and found it cleanly cut through thread, yarn, and embroidery floss too! Thread Cutterz officially launched at the Houston International Market and Festival in October, 2015, and is now offered in stores and on ecommerce sites and used by quilters around the world!

Threadcutterz.com  *  Shop  *  Instagram  *  Facebook  *  We hope you visiting Thread Cutterz!

For the SBS Finale Giveaway, Thread Cutterz is offering the lucky winner their BLACK Ring, a ring worn on the finger that cuts thread and is perfect for all of your crafting needs! Thread Cutterz rings are sleek and adjustable with a double-sided blade perfect for quick and efficient cutting for all types of crafting including sewing, jewelry making, quilting, knitting and cross stitching!

WOW!!! This Grand Finale SBS Giveaway might just be the most spectacular Giveaway I have ever had the pleasure of offering my wonderful readers, with an incredible value totaling $320!! Sharon and I send a BIG Thank You to all of the sponsors who have generously offered their products in our Grand Finale Giveaway and to all of the wonderful sponsors that offered amazing prizes throughout the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along!

Enter to win! 

Here's how,

1. Simply leave a comment here under this post! (one entry)
2. Visit and follow the participating sponsors! Just let me know that you do by making a separate comment here to record that entry. (optional extra entry)
3. My followers get a third entry! If you follow here, on Instagram, or on Facebook just let me know by making a separate comment here to record that entry. (optional extra entry)
4. Help spread the word!! I know that many of you already do, so I thought it would be nice to add that as another way to enter! Whether by Instagram, tweet, Facebook, pin, blog, etc... (optional extra entry)

That’s 4 possible entries! Enter now through Monday, August 7th at 4pm EST! The winner will be picked next week at random and I will announce their name at the bottom of this post, here on the blog.

* Note * This giveaway is open to EVERYONE! If you're a "no reply" or anonymous commenter, please remember to include your email address in your comment! 

In addition, be sure to stop by my Instagram for a chance to win our Sewcial Bee Sampler Instagram Grand Finale Giveaway that includes the Sharon Holland Tiny Dancer FQ Bundle, Sharon's Color Story Aurifil thread collection, three Sharon Holland patterns of your choice PLUS the three month Cotton Cuts membership, Hobbs Tuscany Silk quilt batting and Thread Cutterz ring (in pink) prize pack! How cool is that -- TWO chances to win two amazing prize packages!



A BIG thanks to all who joined the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along and to those who entered our Giveaway!

Congratulations to commenter Jessica Jo, one being the lucky random winner of our Grand Final Giveaway! I will be in touch shortly. :)

XX Maureen  

The Sewcial Bee Sampler: My Finished Quilt Top!

Before I share my finished Sewcial Bee Sampler, one last time Sharon and I are asking for all SBS makers to take the 8-answer survey we've prepared! This quick questionnaire is completely anonymous and the answers will give us better insight into how you've enjoyed this sew-along. To ensure the most accurate results, please only take the survey once. A BIG thanks to those of you who've participated in the SBS questionnaire already! If you've not yet had a chance to take the survey, please do so as soon as you can, we're only keeping it open now through the end of the SBS sew along. The link provided on both our blogs will link to the same survey. So, if you access the questionnaire from either Sharon's site or mine, your answers are compiled to the same place. Thank you in advance for your help. This has truly been a wonderful experience for both Sharon and I!

Now it's time to show off my finished Sewcial Bee Sampler quilt top!

For those of you who just discovered our block-of-the-week bee and for those of you not yet finished, you can continue to access all of the pattern and instruction pdf's on my Sewcial Bee Sampler Page so you can find everything you need to make an SBS Sampler right in one place, anytime!

For my version of the Sewcial Bee Sampler I have used prints from each of my fabric collections with Art Gallery Fabrics: Wild and Free, Fleet & Flourish, Nightfall, Garden Dreamer, & Soulful!  For me, this chance to see how my own prints from the collections I've created would interact with one another depending on how they were paired and positioned in each block of the week has been so fun and rewarding. With each new fabric collection comes a new story, theme and color palette needed to create something unique, all while wanting to hold onto a style and quality that will effortlessly bridge each of them together with past collections. This can be challenging and so for me to have made this quilt top that I really love, pairing all of my current prints together, it has been extra satisfying!




I put together this mosaic of my twenty-five blocks, in order of when they were made, not how I pieced them together in my final quilt top. Before I began adding my sashing strips to connect my blocks and rows, I had to remake just one block, my week 17 block: Spools, which provided a chance to add in a little Soulful to my Sampler, so I was happy to remake that one! Along with my own fabric designs I used The Denim Studio Soft Sand Linen for each of my block frames and for the final sashing, AGF's Solid Smooth Denim in Cool Foliage, a vintage looking blue that pairs perfectly with the colors I love to use when coloring my fabric collections! 

For these finale photos I had to return to my favorite local spot for quilt pictures. Isn't this barn amazing? I love the worn, white washed wood! The Sewcial Bee Sampler is just a little too big for Kevin to hold up without losing some of the blocks from view, so thankfully a couple of pins in the old wood grooves did the trick. Pretty, pretty!

I also took the quilt top with me out to my sister's beautiful new cabin in the woods. The lighting was so gorgeous, but the lush surroundings  made it a little challenging to get great shots of the full top. It was one of those times where you really had to be there to appreciate just how beautiful the quilt top looked amongst the overgrown field and fading sunlight!

Truly, although this is totally biased, I do believe that the Sewcial Bee Sampler will look incredible photographed just about anywhere! Sharon and I have both been admiring each new finished SBS that is shared in the #SewcialBeeSampler hashtag pool, so keep them coming! It was been such a joy to see all of the weeks of work we've put in on beautiful display!



It's bittersweet to see this journey come to and end and it's impossible to put into words just how much this entire sew-along has surpassed all of our expectations. This is a first time sew-along for Sharon and myself, both joining and hosting. The entire thing has been such a highlight! But I have to share that getting to work with Sharon as a fellow AGF design sister and on this sew-along has me feeling like the luckiest girl. Sharon's process of creating and planning is like nothing else, and she does it all so effortlessly. Everything she does comes out of her heart, down to every last detail, and it's so special. Thank you, Sharon. Thank you for your wisdom, your generosity, and patience with your own process (and with me). You are an inspiration, a dear friend, and I am personally grateful that you took the time to do this with me.

I'm excited to see all of the finished SBS Quilts this week! If you're blogging about your finished SBS, feel free to leave a link where we all can see in the comment section below. Be sure to visit Sharon's blog today to see her beautiful versions and to stop back for details on how to enter this week's special FINALE Sewcial Bee Giveaway Friday!

  XO Maureen     

A Sewcial Bee Giveaway with Circa 15 Fabric Studio!

It's Sewcial Bee Giveaway Friday!  

Each Friday, throughout the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along community event that Sharon Holland and I are hosting together, we've lined up a new, special Giveaway with amazing sponsors! This week celebrates our last week of releasing patterns, but if you happened to miss the launch of our Sewcial Bee Sampler you can follow this link for all the info to make your very own SBS quilt anytime!

Aurifil      Circa 15      The Intrepid Thread      Fat Quarter Shop      Omnigrid      Llama Fabrics      Color Girl     Lady Belle Fabric      Needle in a Fabric Stash      Dritz      Knotted Thread    Needle and Foot   Thread Cutterz   Stash Builder Box    Hobbs Batting

Today's featured Sewcial Bee sponsor is Circa 15 Fabric Studio!

Circa 15 Studio is an extraordinary fabric shop for the modern sewist located in Kirkland, Washington. They carry a variety of high end, high quality fabric and notions, including many of our favorite manufacturers -- Art Gallery Fabrics, Cotton + Steel, Free Spirit, and Moda, just to name a few! Circa 15 Fabric Studio goal offers the most gorgeous fabric as quickly as they can!

Shop  *  Instagram  *  Facebook  *  Pinterest  We hope you enjoy visiting Circa 15 Studio!

For this week's Sewcial Bee Giveaway, Circa 15 Studio is offering the winner a generous TWENTY-piece fat quarter bundle including prints from both my Nightfall and Garden Dreamer collections for Art Gallery Fabrics! You can find these pretty fabrics available for purchase in the Circa 15 Studio shop, HERE!



In addition, Circa 15 Fabric Studio is having a wonderful SALE on ALL Maureen Cracknell fabrics available in the shop with an additional 20% OFF! There is no coupon code needed and the sale runs now through Sunday night, enjoy! Visit Circa 15 Studio HERE -  https://www.circa15fabricstudio.com/shop/DESIGNER/MAUREEN-CRACKNELL.htm

Enter to win! 

Here's how,

1. Simply leave a comment here under this post! (one entry)
2. Follow Circa 15 Studio on Instagram and/or Facebook! Just let me know that you do by making a separate comment here to record that entry. (optional extra entry)
3. My followers get a third entry! If you follow here, on Instagram, or on Facebook just let me know by making a separate comment here to record that entry. (optional extra entry)
4. Help spread the word!! I know that many of you already do, so I thought it would be nice to add that as another way to enter! Whether by Instagram, tweet, Facebook, pin, blog, etc... (optional extra entry)

That’s 4 possible entries! Enter now through Monday, July 31st at 4pm EST! The winner will be picked next week at random and I will announce their name at the bottom of this post, here on the blog.

* Note * This giveaway is open to EVERYONE! If you're a "no reply" or anonymous commenter, please remember to include your email address in your comment! 

A BIG thanks to all joining the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along and to those who entered our Giveaway! This week' lucky winner is commenter, Bluefigquilts! Congratulations, I will email you shortly!

XX Maureen  

The Sewcial Bee Sampler Sew-Along Week 26!

Before I share our final PDF, once again Sharon and I are asking for all SBS makers to take the 8-answer survey we've prepared! This quick questionnaire is completely anonymous and the answers will give us better insight into how you've enjoyed this sew-along. To ensure the most accurate results, please only take the survey once. A BIG thanks to those of you who've participated in the SBS questionnaire already! If you've not yet had a chance to take the survey, please do so as soon as you can, we're only keeping it open now through the end of the SBS sew along. The link provided on both our blogs will link to the same survey. So, if you access the questionnaire from either Sharon's site or mine, your answers are compiled to the same place. Thank you in advance for your help!

Now it's time for the very last block release of the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along!

Today's free download is for : Quilt Assembly and Finishing. I'll be sure to add this final pattern to my Sewcial Bee Sampler Page with the previous week's patterns, where you can easily find everything you need to make an SBS Sampler right in one place, anytime! Simply click on the link or the image below for direct access to this week's final SBS pattern!



For my version of the Sewcial Bee Sampler I have used Art Gallery Fabric The Denim Studio Soft Sand Linen for each of my block frames and for the final sashing I'm using AGF's Solid Smooth Denim in Cool Foliage, a vintage looking blue that pairs perfectly with the colors I love to use when coloring my fabric collections! The photo below is a recent one I took of several of my collections together. Using prints from each of the five collections I've released so far is one of the many reasons I loved making this quilt so much!



Before I began adding my sashing strips to connect my blocks and rows, I had to remake just one block, my week 17 block: Spools. I knew this one would need remade as soon as I laid it out with the previous week's blocks. The eggplant purple is so pretty, and although I did include this print and color in other blocks throughout my sampler, including such a dark print as a star fabric, rather than a supporting print was just too much eye-catching eggplant purple. This lighter, brighter selection of prints works so much better with my other blocks and I was thrilled to add a little Soulful to my Sampler!

Once you're happy with your blocks and arrangement of each, it's time to connect your blocks and rows together! I left my Sampler arranged almost in exact week order, making just one swap of my first and sixth week blocks. Feel free to layout your blocks in any order that makes you happy and finds the right balance of color and pattern before adding the sashing. Once you're ready, the Quilt Assembly and Finishing PDF includes everything you need, with many bonus images and info on Sharon's blog today, as well! To add my sashing I began by sewing my denim sashing strips between  five blocks at a time to make a vertical row, until I had all five vertical rows sewn together.



Once my rows were complete, I used my long lengths of sashing to connect each vertical row together. Simply pin to attach the long strips to the length of each vertical row and sew the vertical sashes alternately together with the block rows until your quilt top is complete!









Now that my Sewcial Bee Sampler quilt top is finished, I'll be sending my top off to Lady Belle Fabrics, my friend and long-time sponsor who will be adding a brand new long-arm service to her amazing shop soon! For my Sampler I'm planning to choose an all-over floral quilting pattern to pair with the prints I used, something simple not to take away from these beautiful blocks! All that's left for me to do now before boxing up my SBS top to send off to Brooke is to choose and prepare my backing fabric. Again, I'm leaning towards a pretty floral print! Lady Belle Fabrics plans to have their long-arm service info up in a week or two, so if you'd like to send your quilt top to be long-arm quilted as well, feel free to leave me a comment or to contact them for additional info!



I can't wait to see all of the finished SBS Quilt tops this week! Be sure to visit Sharon's blog today to see her beautiful versions and for her post that's full of helpful finishing info! Be sure to stop back for details on how to enter this week's special Sewcial Bee Giveaway Friday with the Circa 15 Studio!

Happy SBS sewing, friends!  XO Maureen      

A Sewcial Bee Giveaway with Needle & Foot!

It's Sewcial Bee Giveaway Friday!  

Each Friday, throughout the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along community event that Sharon Holland and I are hosting together, we've lined up a new, special Giveaway with one of our amazing, participating sponsors! If you happened to miss the launch of our Sewcial Bee Sampler you can follow this link for all the info and can join us anytime - it's never too late to jump in!

Today's featured Sewcial Bee sponsor is Needle & Foot!

Our sponsor Needle & Foot is run by Bernie, a wife, mom, quilter, fabric shop owner, and gardener, living in the Sierra Foothills of Northern California. The Needle & Foot blog features Bernie's inspirational quilting, sewing and crafting experiences, as well as a bit of random family musings. We invite you all to stop by and to sign up for the Needle & Foot Newsletter HERE!

Shop  *  Instagram  *  Facebook  *  Blog   We hope you enjoy visiting Needle & Foot!

For this week's Sewcial Bee Giveaway, Needle & Foot is offering one lucky commenter a $20 Gift Certificate to their wonderful shop!

In addition, Needle & Foot is offering a discount for Sewcial Bee Quilters!  Use coupon code: SEWCIALBEE15 for an additional 15% OFF now through Sunday night!

Enter to win!

Here's how, since Sharon and I will be taking turns hosting Sewcial Bee Giveaway Fridays, this week I'm sending you to Sharon Holland Design's blog to enter!

A BIG thanks to all joining the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along and to those who enter our Giveaway!  

xx Maureen