Sew Adorkable GIVEAWAY
Today is my stop on the Sew Adorkable Blog Hop! Sew Adorkable is the new book from Samarra Khaja. If you don't know Samarra, you need to. First off, she's hilarious and you know that I like funny!! She's a designer of some of my favorite fabrics (stay tuned for pictures...) and her book is just what I'd expect: clever, unique & fun! Every time I turned the page (or clicked the arrow since I had a digital copy), I saw a new project that made me smile! The book has everything from red staplers that would make Dwight proud to braille inspired quilts. I had trouble choosing what to make. Spoiler alert: A notepaper curtain!
I wanted to start by helping you to get to know Samarra, but not just any Samarra...the truly adorkable third grade Samarra. With a little time travel and some googling to remember what happens in third grade, I introduce you to Lee Samarra and Lee sometime in the eighties.
Hi Samarra! I’m doing a little time travel so that my third grade self can meet your third grade self. Want to be BFFs?Hi Lee! Yes! And pen pals with LOTS of stickers all over the envelopes too, ok?! I have a Swedish pen pal and she sends me long letters with lots of yellow and blue stickers.I live in Dallas. Where do you live?I used to live in Houston and now I’m in Dubai. It’s on the Persian Gulf. It’s pretty and very hot. I was in a sand storm once. I was inside, so it was all okay.That sounds scary! But cool! I have a brother. He’s cool. Do you have a brother or sister?I have a big brother. He has Downs Syndrome so I help him do stuff. We like watching the Muppet Show and my favorite episode was when they had James Coburn on. I like Mummenschanz too.My brother and I love the Muppets!! Where do you go to school? I went to Spring Branch Elementary when I was in Houston and now I go to the Jumeirah American School in Dubai.What’s your favorite subject?I like reading and writing a lot. And art.Me too! Math is gross. (Like, I could totally use a calculator.) But do you know your multiplication tables?I’m pretty good at math. I like seeing the patterns it makes. But I think I like drawing more.My teacher is Ms. Parsons. She’s nice and pretty. Who’s your favorite teacher?I like Ms. Chivvis a lot. She’s nice and wears neat dresses that look like a shirt and a dress together with a matching belt.I’m reading all the Baby Sitter Club books. Do you read those? Who’s your favorite girl? (Mine is Claudia!)I’ve never read those! I love all the books about Ramona Quimby. “Ramona the Brave” is my favorite. I also read “For the Love of Benji”. Have you read that? There were sad parts but it’s a good book about a sweet dog!I read Ramona too! What’s your favorite book?I really like “Louis Braille”. I chose it from that Scholastic form we get in our cubbies. It’s got braille on the back cover and you can feel it! It really easy to read, but I still love “Miss Nelson is Missing” because it’s funny. It’s about a teacher whose class always misbehaved, so one day she decides to come in dressed as a mean scary substitute teacher and is not nice to her students and then they realize how much they miss and like Miss Nelson and want her back.What’s your favorite thing to do at recess? We should play Red Rover!I’ve never played Red Rover! Do you do that thing where one person stands still against a tree with their eyes shut and another person pretends to crack an egg over that person’s head and then moves their hands slowly down around your hair and face — BUT WITHOUT TOUCHING — so you get tricked into feeling like there’s pretend egg yolk that dripping down your hair and face? Oh, no? Okay, maybe that was just a made-up thing we do. I’m also pretty good at hanging upside down on the monkey bars.That sounds very cool! I'll have to show my friends. My Mom made my dress in my picture. Can your Mom sew?Yes! She makes dresses for me too. She also helps make my Halloween costumes. I was Little Bo Peep last year.I was Laura Ingalls Wilder and my Mom made it too! What’s your favorite color?Green!What do you want to be when you grow up?I love animals so I want to be a vet, but I like doing art stuff too.Are you ready for the speed round?! Yes!Pigtails or braids? BraidsLunch or recess? LunchColoring book or construction paper? Construction paperClimbing trees or throwing rocks? Throwing rocksMarco Polo or Capture the Flag? Marco PoloPainting or drawing? DrawingThat was fun!! I'll send you some mail and stickers!!And now back to 2015! I first met Samarra through her fabric! She designed one of my faves, this Civil Rights fabric. I've backed more than one quilt with it. This is simply adorable (and adorkable!).
I also love her NYC print! Her style is so graphic!
She has one of the funniest feeds on Instagram. Her #quiltconartist where she inserted herself into Quilt Con was so popular that it continued at Quilt Market. Hilarity ensued.
From Sew Adorkable, I decided to make the notepaper curtain. She designed it as a shower curtain, but I'm going to use it in my sewing room. I'm renovating the sewing room, so it's not really time for curtain sewing, but I didn't let that stop me!
She used really cute giant grommets to mimic the holes in notebook paper which I love. I'm currently working with a tension rod. Once I've finished the room, I think I'll go back and change mine to have the grommets. I just didn't want to cut holes for the grommets until I was sure. I left enough fabric to change it. This is her curtain!
As you can imagine, her curtain is much larger. I adjusted all the sizes by about 50%. Remember to deduct the seam allowance, then reduce by 50%, then add back the seam allowance. It's miles of tube making!!
Congrats Samarra on your new book!! It's so you and I think that's the ultimate compliment!Now it's time for a GIVEAWAY! Leave a comment below about your favorite third grade memory! The winner will receive a copy of Sew Adorkable! If you're in the U.S., you'll get a paper copy. If you're international, you'll get a digital copy. Giveaway open until Friday, October 26 at 9 pm est. Mack the Chihuahua will pick a winner with the random number generator:)Be sure to check out all the other fun!!
xo LC