May 2020 Photo Contest Winners

ByAnnie Top Voted

WINNER: Mariette C. Z.

ABOUT: Mariette made this lovely Glo and Go that won the hearts of our ByAnnie team. She found the beautiful, citrus-y fabrics at Fabric Carousel in Huntsville, TX.

THEIR STORY: "This is the fifth ByAnnie pattern that I have made. They are so addictive and so much fun, and look so professional when they are done, I just love to make them for family and friends.

I made the "Glo and Go" makeup wrap and bags for my niece who attends the University of California at Davis where she is on the women's swim team. In normal times the team typically travels for swim meets with other schools around the country so I thought she would enjoy having something special in which to carry her makeup and brushes.

In addition to competitive swimming, her school work and her pets, Jessie loves "Mama Mia" and this line of fabrics gave her those vibes! Now when she uses these she can sing her favorite songs and think of her special aunt!"

WHAT WE LOVED: One ByAnnie team member said, "Mariette's pictures had great props, fruit, flowers, make-up brushes, etc. The angles that she picked were great, too. They made the fabric really stick out from the background."

WHAT THEY WON: $50 coupon to use on ByAnnie.com

Storyteller Award

WINNER: Ginny P.

ABOUT: Ginny sewed a set of Just Desserts to celebrate a birthday with her friends!

THEIR STORY: "Glenda's Birthday was coming and I thought "How fun to give her Ice Cream" in a Just Desserts Cozy. So I got to work.

It was so easy to make, I decided to make 4, because I play golf with three other ladies and we were planning to celebrate the birthday together.

Well, COVID-19 came and there went our Birthday plans, but today, on the Golf Course, I passed out all the "Just Desserts" at the last tee box and we celebrated. Notice, we are all social distancing for the picture which the Marshall took of us.

By the way, the Soft and Stable is a great insulator and kept all the ice cream frozen.

If you don't have a Stiletto you will want to get one. It makes sewing the top and bottom so easy. Remember to have the circle on the bottom and the sides up as you sew."

WHAT WE LOVED: One ByAnnie team member said, "I loved that she made the Just Desserts as a gift to use to celebrate and bring her friends together (at a distance)." And another ByAnnie team member said, "I love a girl gang who gets together with Just Desserts cozies and goes golfing while responsibly social distancing."

WHAT THEY WON: $50 coupon to use on ByAnnie.com

Honorable Mention

WINNER: Joyce H.

ABOUT: Joyce sewed a Yoga Bag and an Ultimate Travel Bag in much-sought-after Tula Pink fabrics.

THEIR STORY: "I have been hooked on patterns ByAnnie this year. Each design has taught me new techniques and I found the Add On tutorials to be a great help. The Zippers Are Easy tutorial has guided me through my latest two-part project...

When I saw the Tula Pink Slow and Steady fabric line, I knew I had to use them with ByAnnie patterns. The fabric line was from a few years back so I spent endless hours tracking down the Hare and Tortoise fabrics (I even ordered as far away as Australia!) Why, you might ask? I have an 85 year old (or older) tortoise named Hermes and my sister has a lop ear bunny named Olivier. The fabric seemed meant to be.

With my sister’s birthday coming up I made her an Ultimate Travel bag (my third!) with the Hare fabric as a nod to her pet, Olivier. I really wanted to incorporate the Tortoise line with the Hare, so I sewed Renaissance Ribbons in the Tortoise shell pattern onto the solid blue zipper pockets and luggage strap.

Having finally perfected my “down dog” in quarantine I decided it was time to make myself a yoga bag. I wanted to use the Yoga Bag Pattern ByAnnie as it was roomy enough to fit all the yoga accessories and was perfectly suited to display the Tortoise fabric.

This was my first time sewing the soft padded straps which I will definitely will be adding onto bags in the future. I found that the firmer carrying strap adds a nice contrast to the bag.

The interiors of both bags were done in a lighter fabric (Winners Circle) to make finding the bag contents easy.

Now my tortoise, Hermes, climbs around me as I practice my poses. And sometimes, I even find him hiding out in the Tortoise patterned Yoga Bag practicing his own version of “child’s pose”.

WHAT STOOD OUT: We have to say that Hermes doing his own version of 'child's pose' won us over.

Her bags look wonderful and we loved her story about hunting down the perfect fabrics for the task at hand.

Honorable Mention

WINNER: Maria

ABOUT: Maria sewed this stylish Catch All Caddy 2.0 using her finished blocks from the Giucy Giuce and Alison Glass sew-along. How creative!

THEIR STORY: "While participating to the miniseries sew along by Giucy Giuce and Alison Glass , I first wanted to make the Running With Scissors and Take A Stand bag. But I saw myself running out of time and a friend mentioned that all the 8 blocks would fit a Catch All Caddy perfectly. And did they ever. But, then I wanted to mix it up a little and thought: why not change the pockets inside. And since I loved the ones I read about while studying the Running With Scissors case, I went with those. And I love how it turned out."

WHAT STOOD OUT: One ByAnnie team member said, "Excellent photo as well as brilliant customization to our Catch All Caddy 2.0!!! Looove it!"

WHAT THEY WON: $15 coupon to use on ByAnnie.com

WHERE YOU CAN FIND THEM ONLINE:

Instagram: @madame_tailor

Honorable Mention

WINNER: Marie O.

ABOUT: Marie made the A Pencil Case for Lola pattern 30 times for her friend's 'Adopt A Healthcare Worker' program. Her methods were ingenious!

THEIR STORY: "A friend of mine decided to coordinate an "adopt a healthcare worker" for 30 local healthcare workers during these crazy days of the COVID-19 Pandemic. I didn't think I would have time to sew something to include in her gift bags, but then I remembered this fabulous A Pencil Case for Lola pattern.

I only had a little over a week to make 30, in addition to my new duties as school teacher to my children, and making as many masks as possible. I was able to load two yards of Robert Kaufman Effervescence fabric onto my long-arm machine and quilt the fabric.

I had an 'ah-ha' moment and decided I could try to stitch all the horizontal fold lines as well as the "seal the edges" stitching all while the fabric was loaded on the long-arm. This simplified the stitching greatly! The only thing I did not include from the original pattern was the accent strip.

I'd say this project was a success and I was thrilled to be able to use the tools in my arsenal to simplify production."

WHAT STOOD OUT: We loved hearing about the process, as well as the fact that she made the bags for others. One ByAnnie team member said, "I like that she made that many bags for other people, while making the most of her tools and time."

WHAT THEY WON: $15 coupon to use on ByAnnie.com

WHERE YOU CAN FIND THEM ONLINE:

Facebook: Small Packages Sewing & Quilting