May 16, 2010

My First Giveaway!

Maybe it was all the time I recently spent with my new darling niece, Maddie, that made me want to make something with ruffles for myself. I was totally salivating when Maddie's mom (my SIL), Kim, showed me all of the sweet little things she's made for her daughter. My favorite item Kim sewed up for Baby Maddie is a little navy ruffled hoodie. So cute! Anyways, I had been wanting to make this scarf from MADE, and I figured I could do it with jersey - I even found this beautiful jersey print on the clearance rack at JoAnn's (Please pardon the freakish modeling of the scarf - I think I need a dress form!).

ruffle scarf #2

Let me tell you, it is so comfy. I love it. And, I better love it because it was an arduous task to make this little sucker. I can't pinpoint the exact cause of my battle with this project, but I suspect one (or all) of three things: 1) jersey is kind of hard to work with - at least for me, 2) haste - I need to slow down, but sometimes I get too excited when a project nears completion 3) fatigue - this is actually a certainty, not a possibility.

So here is where I admit that this scarf pictured above is actually a redo. I made the first one on Mother's Day. It got stuck in my machine about three times and the scarf is stained with my tears of frustration as a result (not really - it is totally free of stains). I was very pleased with how the second one came out (above), even though I caught the ruffles in my stitching not once, not twice... but FIVE TIMES! See, I totally need to slow down.


ruffle scarf #1

Pictured here is the original. THIS IS THE GIVEAWAY SCARF! The reason I chose to redo the scarf is because I opted to use a white ribbon to secure all of the gathers. I thought I would like the ribbon look, but I not too crazy about it. Check it out...

But as you can see from my lovely sunshine-y modeling job of scarf #1 above, the ribbon hardly shows when you are wearing it. Plus, it is more ruffley than than the redo scarf. When I went for scarf trial #2, I attempted again (with no success) to use the elastic thread in my machine. When I gave up on that, I decided just to use a strip of the jersey to secure the gathers, and I liked that look better, even though the ruffle volume wasn't the same. But, I'm happy with my redo, anyways.

After all that blah, blah, blah about this project, would you still like to warm you neck with my reject scarf? Because, it is still pretty cute! I would actually totally keep it if it wasn't made with the exact same material as my redo scarf. Yep, scarf #1 would look good on you... you should totally enter the giveaway. Here's how:

1. Become a Follower for this site, if you are already a Follower (you rock), you can skip this step and proceed to the next one!
2. Leave me a comment to this post.
3. Check back on Friday afternoon - that's when I'll use a random number generator and select the winner!

If you win, I'll contact you for your mailing info and send you your new scarf!
Good Luck!

13 comments:

  1. you already have my address ;) miss you Shel!

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  2. Love it! When can I put my order in?

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  3. Its so cute, I love it!


    Do you have a button, I'd love to put a link to your blog on my sidebar!

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  4. I think I am a follower, but I don't get anything in my e-mail box, so I'm not sure i did it right;(. I love the scarf, and seriously think you should start your own Etsy store (with all your spare time, right?) You are a super cute model, so don't bother with a dress form!!

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  5. Uncle! I just dug out fabric to make one of these scarves also! I'm going to try it with the elastic thread...but after your story I'll be sure to have a hankie ready in case I have trouble! I, too, need to follow the advice about s-l-o-w-i-n-g down---I make the most mistakes when I rush through projects.
    Looks like the scarf turned out quite nice in the end.

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  6. Shell, I love it!! Can't wait to see ya. :)

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  7. That is to cute I love giveaways. Come check mine out I'm having one to.
    Holly

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  8. Congrats on the scarf Shel, it is truly a work of your blood, sweat and tears! Very cool.
    Sarah

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  9. so super cute and cool shelly. even if i don't win - you know my birthday is coming up - i can wait! maybe.

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  10. How can you part with this? It is so darn cute. Could go from day to evening if you ask me. Nice work.

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  11. you are so good shelly and i love your blog too!

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  12. Super cute scarf! I'm not one to accessorize with scarves, but it would be fun to have one for a special event (date night with the hubs maybe?)

    by the way...I love your new blog header!

    lovnffa@hotmail.com

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  13. :) Thank you for the nice comments about the hoodie [and other items] I made for Madelynne :) I appreciate that.

    Can I just say that I love the scarf, I think you did a great job! I saw this on MADE and I too want to try to make one. I haven't yet had the pleasure (?) of working with the elastic thread, but I just bought some so I'll give it a try...hopefully I can get it. Do you think you know what went wrong with the elastic thread?

    Looking forward to seeing you soon ;)

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