Update – April 15: Christine Haynes, the author of the book, tweeted today to thank me for hosting this giveaway of her book! She was excited about it and I added her tweet into the comments section.
We had a total of 70 entrants for the Equinox Celebration Sewing Book Giveaway! The book is Chic and Simple Sewing by Christine Haynes,
and is divided up into sewing projects designed for the four different seasons.
The entrants were from all across the globe and were asked to tell us their favourite season. It was so exciting to find out where everybody was from and why they chose their season. I compiled the information into a chart. CHART!! (The science and math geeks just perked up :)). Some people chose all the seasons as their favourite. D’oh! Way to skew a chart! LOL.
Spring was the clear winner with autumn/fall and summer (the dry season in the tropics) practically tying for second and third place and winter (the wet/monsoon season in the tropics) coming in a distant fourth.
The following are a few of the simply beautiful and poetic quotes for each season, written by YOU! The comments really allow everyone to see why you love your favourite season and made me appreciate seasons that may not be my favourites, by being able to see them through your eyes. I was right there with you! I thank you for that. Your thoughts were truly lovely, you poets you! A book or song should really be written; read on to see what I mean. (Can you find your comment?)
WINTER – Wet / Monsoon Season
The storms are so wild and huge and you feel so small in a good way. The monsoon, it’s hard to comprehend. There is just so much water in the world, all raining down on you at once!
I love the look and the sound of snow.
I love when you’re all warm and cozy next to a fire with a nice hot cuppa and u can hear pitta patter on the window.
In the tropics, the monsoon is in full swing. Nothing like falling asleep to the rain on your roof and the sounds of distant thunder!
I like the beautiful view after a snow storm, when everything is blanketed in pure white.
SUMMER – Dry Season
It feels like the climax to my year…. I adore the long evenings and early morning sunshine, I can walk the dog and have had my breath of fresh air by 6am… wonderful stuff!!
If I had to pick, I’d go for the last days of summer, with the plentiful fruit, the somewhat tired heat, the foreboding of darker days.
It’s warm and sunny and if you’re lucky enough to have a garden, it peaks in mid-July. We cycle and swim outdoors, we go mad because winter will begin again in November.
I love hot and humid weather, iced tea, pools and ocean time.
I get to sleep in as much as I’d like and my children are all home with me. What could be better?
I love sitting in the garden sewing. We live beside a river, so a glass of wine outside as the sun goes down is just lovely.
The rains stop for a while and we get to have sunshine.
Lucky for me I live in the desert, constant summer!
It means BBQs, hikes, camping and swims.
AUTUMN / FALL
I think, it’s the most beautiful time of year, full of colour and charm
.
I love that it’s still warm but the colours are changing. It often brings the best of the weather. It also feels ‘new’ to me; a hangover of the new school year starting, I guess!
I love the trees shedding their leaves not to mention the beautiful warm colours that are associated with autumn- orange, chocolate, tan, coral, khaki, cream and cinnamon.
I love the change, the drama, the unpredictable weather.
I love Autumn, the crisp air and the changing colours of the leaves. The chilly mornings where fog lies low in valleys and the smell of woodfires is on the breeze.
My favourite season is early autumn, where it is still warm but not too hot, and late flowers are still blooming but the air is already getting an earthly smell. It just gives me a happy warm feeling.
Cool nights for snuggling.
Perfect weather for watching the amazing sunsets over the ocean!
The smell of autumn leaves is delicious.
Autumn always feels like a big relief that the heat is over.
The hot winds of the desert blow through the basin. The air is clear and the heat is sharp and by this time the garden is bursting with color and fragrance.
SPRING
I love the freshness.. the new growth… planting a garden… daffodils…
I’m big on light layering and I love to see the new growth appear.
I love that it’s hot and sunny, and seeing all of the flowers blooming after a dreary winter.
Cherry blossoms in the spring. That is what I’m waiting for.
I love spring because it’s fresh, new, and hope for what’s to come!
The days are getting longer, and everything is still green from the winter rain.
The grass starts to turn green, the leaves begin to bud, flowers start to bloom. Bliss.
Spring is so full of new beginnings for so many things. There’s always new baby birds flying around and all the plants come to life and are blossoming everywhere, I just love it.Everything is bright and beautiful and it leads to summer.
Cool crisp mornings and evenings and the newness of Spring with leaves emerging on trees & flowers blossoming everywhere.
I love spring, when all that has been sleeping in winter comes back to life. Warm days and cool nights that usher in refreshed fields of color and the wonderful perfume that springs from it.
Days are getting longer, but it’s not too hot yet.
I love Spring the most because the newly appearing rays of sunlight after a long winter make me happy and make me feel alive.
After a cold, wet & snowy winter, the flowers are beginning to bloom, the trees are turning green and the birds begin to sing. The temperature is not too hot & not too cold and it is so nice to be able to go out and get my garden started. I love the colors of spring as well, the yellow daffodils, the red tulips and purple pansy. I love to get inspiration for my sewing from the flowers. You can see many colors in one flower.
The transition from cold grey wet days into slightly less cold, occasionally blue wet days here in Manchester is always welcome.
And, something to be said for the beauty of ALL seasons:
There’s something grand about the circle of life, and the different feelings the change of seasons evoke that I enjoy more than “just” a single season.
I love every season, especially when they are beginning. The blooming flowers in spring, the warm summer nights, putting on the first cozy sweater in fall and I love a good snow fall. By the time the seasons are changing, I’m ready for the new one.
In NZ, colours are so much greener all year round, so these wonderful changes are a little more muted.
Missjoiedevivre from A Charm of Magpies, also shared an interesting seasonal factoid for us:
“Here in New Zealand, we mark the turning of the seasons on the first of the month, not the equinox/solstice. So it has been autumn since March the first!”
I had no idea!! Does anybody know why? Please, do share.
Because this Giveaway induced a very contemplative, calming and thoughtful vibe, Kitty thought that he would take his initial draw officiating ceremony idea, down a notch and also relate it to the seasons. (However, do not fret, Kitty fans, I have just won the Wellington Pattern Pyramid from Laura over at miymdiary, so for the winner of that draw, Kitty is going to put his original plan into action and let loose his boisterous side).
The Draw
Inspecting Spring Flower Buds
I listed numbers from 1 to 70 on tiny bits of paper, that looked like hopeful spring flower buds.
Kitty inspects the flower bud numbers, and they are then placed at the beginning of the Kitty Tunnel, which depicts the hot yellow sun, clear blue sky and calm blue water of a gorgeous summer day. 
A blow dryer was then set up and aimed at the flower bud numbers. The blow dryer was turned on and Kitty delighted in watching as the flower buds create a lovely winter storm and swirled around frantically and hypnotically inside the windy tunnel.
Tunnel Eye View
Kitty then bravely enters the eye of the hurricane. Oh, our gallant and fuzzy beast. Will he persevere over natures elements?
Kitty stands strong, never taking his eyes off the prize.
He grabs fruitlessly in the air, on the ground, in the tunnel; so many paws, so much paper, such wind.
Winter Storm
Kitty tasting the paper numbers
Kitty leaves no sense underutilized and even tastes the spring flower buds, to ascertain which paper holds the possibility of being the winning entrant. Kitty then exits the tunnel, patiently watching his targets fly out of the tunnel and flutter delicately to the ground. Like gentle autumn leaves, departing their spring and summer homes on the trees, they fall softly to the ground. 
Kitty waits for the bewitching autumn leaves to land while contemplating his next move. 
He inspects the items, never quite pinpointing just one, moving effortlessly between all the spring buds/fallen leaves, until…..his eye sees what it wants.
Kitty does it!! He hones in on, and dutifully captures a solitary flower bud/autumn leaf! He gets his paws on the winner!!!
The paper is unfurled like a beautiful tulip in Spring,
and……
You are Taking Too Long, Let Me Help You!!!
Ah, the Sweet Smell of a Lovely Spring Tulip
…the winner is…..
Number 33!! Which corresponds to……Elise Lin from What the Dormouse Sews, whose favourite season happens to be: Autumn.
Congratulations Elise!! Kitty and I are both so happy for you. Please email me with your specs so that I can mail/post you, your brand new sewing book!
-Thank you to everybody for stopping by the blog and entering the giveaway, and for your engaging commentary on nature’s finest hours.-
I will leave you with Nick Drake, metaphoring on the seasons with the hauntingly beautiful, The Time of No Reply. You’ll thank me (after you’ve finished rocking back and forth in the fetal position, while weeping gently.) You’re welcome. (click on the song title to view it, you won’t regret it).
Kitty retiring to his tunnel, with the winning number, to contemplate Life, Love and the Pursuit of Happiness…….and Tuna.
photo and comment credits: Giveaway entrants favourite season comments, quoted in this blogpost, have been edited, by me, for grammar and spelling as well as for brevity and are the sole property of the authors. The original comments and their corresponding authors can be found on the Giveaway sign-up post, here, in the comments section.
Photograph of the four seasons courtesy of: winter, summer, autumn, spring Photograph of Kitty in Spring courtesy of Halo Pets.
Gjeometry 
what great pictures of the seasons. I loved all the comments as well. And of course as usual kitty did a terrific job in picking the winner. Congrats to Elise. I know you will enjoy the book.
Thanks, there were so many lovely pics and comments to chose from. I really thought that everybody could make a beautiful poem out of their own comments combined together! And, yes, Kitty is only too aware he did a terrific job. 🙂
What a wonderful post… I enjoyed the images and all of the quotes!!! 🙂 You made this giveaway very special… ~Laurie
Thank you so much Laurie! So glad you enjoyed it. I always try to include something interesting in any giveaway I host so that it is fun for all, and not just the winner. And, this time, it was SO EASY because everybody’s comments on the seasons were so thoughtful and well articulated.
I love the way you combined raw data (graph) and the totally unscientific but fair way to pick the winner (kitty)! Great post, and congratulations to the winner!
Thanks Samina! And, being one of those science and math geeks, a graph/chart was simply inevitable, lol. And, Kitty loves to select the winning entrants, and is ALWAYS fair, no favourites for him! Glad you enjoyed the post.
Kitty’s done it again! Another fabulous draw and leaving us in anticipation all the way through. This one was really well constructed and another amazing performance by our beloved sewing super hero. Big Paws up to Kitty… oh and to you Catja for the fabulous commentary and great photo’s and pics xx. Congratulations to the lucky winner 🙂
Thanks Chris! It was fun to read all the entrant’s terrific comments, compile the info together and relate everything to the four seasons. Kitty enjoyed the props he used in this draw. He loves his tunnel.
I entered you as a ‘spring’ for graphing purposes, since both seasons you mentioned, based on your different Australian locations, reminded you of spring. And, it was the winning season!
I bet it was a lot of fun and so many creative minds! Spring is definitely the perfect choice for me and glad to see it was the winning season. Although I have to admit I love the idea of a white winter and hopefully one day I’ll get to experience. I have a White Christmas on my travel wish list and it’s my goal to experience it within the next couple of years 🙂
I know what you mean, if you’ve not experienced a season yet, then it’s always something you need to do. White winters are definitely beautiful, especially, I find, way up in God’s country, where it is mostly nature, no buildings, cars, etc. Such a calming scene.
My vision for my White Christmas includes a log cabin with a fire place with Christmas stocking hanging over it, along with a decorated xmas tree, a rocking chair with a view out the window of snow falling covering all the tall trees. Hubby has agreed we’ll do it and hopefully it will be within the next couple of years. I get so excited just thinking about it. Of course I’ll have to sew some snow gear to wear while we’re there 🙂
That sounds lovely. And of course you’ll need to sew new outfits for it! Actually, one of the best parts of the changing seasons is the new clothes you get to sew and wear for each season :).
Congrats to the winner and thank you Kitty for doing the honours. Aren’t the seasons wonderful?
Kitty says that you are most welcome, he enjoys every minute of it! And, honestly, I have grown to appreciate the seasons even more after being able to read about them through all of your eyes. So, insightful and thoughtful all of the comments. Thank you for taking part in adding your fave season!
As usual, I was breathless by the end- would Kitty select or continue to toy with? Excellent as always- you don’t have to win to love your giveaways!!
🙂 Glad you got your breath back! So happy you loved the draw as I want all the giveaways to be exciting and maybe even a touch informative, for everyone involved. The wonderful comments about the seasons and Kitty (of course) made that quite easy this time around.
I loved the draw and your season poems of all our favourite seasons combined! I am dancing right now, I’m so happy! Thank you!!
Yay! Kitty and I are both so excited for you, Elise! You are so welcome and pleased that you enjoyed the seasonal comments “poems”. Let us know when your sewing book arrives!
Both I and the pussycats think the kitty again did a fabulous job in picking the winner! You did a great job too catja, loved the comments you chose about the seasons.We also went to the song video & enjoyed that too.
Thanks! Say Kitty and I. And isn’t the song fantastic? So beautiful, so related to the seasons in so many ways, and also so moving. Lots of weeping and rocking back and forth in the fetal position for me. 🙂
Kitty is making overtime with these all give aways!
LOL, I know! He’s going to have to get an extra special helping of tuna and treats today for dinner. Such a hard worker.
🙂 he deservs it!
Hetty salutes you, Kitty!
Kitty thanks Hetty! He’s happy to share some tips for the next draw if Hetty would like.
Best giveaway ending ever!
Thank You Lizzie! Kitty takes credit for all of it, of course. 🙂
LOL, GJ that was so fun and creative. I loved reading everyones message about their favourite time of year and the photo’s you choose to share too. The sunflowers and baby deer were a joy. Seeing Kitty in the tunnel made it quite dramatic to be sure. Good job Kitty! Congrat’s Elise. Off to listen to the song now!
Thank you so much Kelly! I thought everybody’s comments were simply poetic! (did you find yours in there?) And, it was actually difficult to pick for the seasons photos since there were SO many beautiful ones. Makes one a nature lover, for sure!
Kitty loves his tunnel, he plays (hunts) in there for hours, so was delighted to utilize it for the draw. He’s glad you liked it! Let me know what you think of the Nick Drake song. I thought it reflected on the season’s, as well as life, so beautifully as well as almost painfully. (tears…). Lol.
I did recognize my summer message, thanks for fixing any grammar or spelling, I am just the worst 😀 Petals & Blossum also have a tunnel, we call it Big Blue…I posted a little poem a while back.
That was the perfect song for your post! I really admired Nick’s guitar, I have an acoustic guitar, a gift from my dad. I learned to play when I was younger and put it aside, I haven’t picked it up for a bit but it’s on the list. Is Nick a pal?
Yay! Happy you recognized your comment, I thought it was such a lovely sentiment. I will have to look for your tunnel poem and recite it to Kitty. They do love their tunnels, don’t they?
I’m SO glad you thought the song was perfect. I did too, that’s why I chose it. Sadly, Nick moved on from this earth at the very young age of 26. He suffered from depression and I really think he had no idea what a graceful, gentle and perceptive poet he was. He also waxed heavily on the seasons, but mostly was stuck in Autumn.
It was actually the goal of this post, to leave the names of the authors OFF of the comments, and see if they could recognize their own comment. I’ve had a lot of people tell me “oh, I didn’t realize it was so beautiful, what I wrote.” when they read and found their own comment. And, I’m so delighted by that. I honestly read all your comments, about your favourite seasons, over several times, they were so insightful and thoughtful and lovely, I got goosebumps! I hope Nick is looking on and sees all your beautiful poetry and insights here.
I am also so happy for you that you can play guitar!! I would love to know how to play. By all means, pick it up again and send me a video of you playing something. Would love that! Kitty might even dance!
aw, I’m so sorry to hear Nick was so haunted. I know if he was tuning in he’d be smiling. Someday, when I’ve done a far bit of practicing, I’ll post a little diddy….it may be danceable, it may not…LOL BTW, I spend time reading all the messages over again too, it’s really a cheery thing to do xK
🙂
Lol! You’re making Kitty earn his tuna. Loved it! So clever!
Thanks Bridget! And, don’t worry, Kitty got plenty of extra tuna and treats :).
Wow, all the comments about the season’s are beautiful. I never thought of mine as beautiful until I read it and then I was like, ya, that is kinda nice.
Aren’t they all just extraordinary? I’m so happy you found your comment in there and realized just how beautiful it was! That was actually what I was trying to do here, get people to notice that they really had some wonderful, contemplative and deep insights into nature’s seasons.
That’s why I purposefully left off the author’s names, to see if people would read their own comment in a new light. That old adage is often, sadly, true, we ARE our own worst critic. So happy you stopped by for a visit Laura! (Kitty also says ‘hi’).
Hahaha! Most fun and nail-biting draw ever! 🙂
🙂 Glad we could entertain you! Giveaways are supposed to be fun for everybody.
Specially liked the feline expressions. What would you say was crossing its mind as it spotted all those coloured paper balls?
Shakti
Hi there Shakti, Thanks so much for stopping by! Kitty has quite the wide array of facial expressions, he’s quite an expressive and interested cat! What goes through his mind, you ask???? Honestly, who knows!! Sometimes, he will get this look, and all of a sudden, race out of the room and leap up onto the wall and bat at…..the imaginary butterfly? Or, he will get another look, glance behind him and hightail it away in a blur, from…..the imaginary doberman? 😛 He’s quite a character.
Ah, I knew I should have sent some catnip!! 🙂 love your creativity with Kitty!
Lol, thanks! Well, although Kitty would have LOVED your catnip gift, (he’s quite the niphead), it would not have influenced his decision. He is all about fairness, that one! So, the winner won randomly and fairly. But, he did tell me to tell you that if you WANT to send catnip, he’s groovy with that. 🙂
The winner, Elise Lin, received her book! Kitty and I are both so thrilled that everybody is enjoying their gifts (Kitty also sent some items to Elise’s cats).
Here is the email she sent to us:
“Hello Catja,
The book has already arrived! I’m so happy, I’ve been reading it since it got here and it’s very good for me. Until now I had to try and figure out from the bits and snips I found, but now I have coherent instructions 🙂 And it has some lovely patterns, of which I already know I want to make the wrap dress and the cape. I like how the book stimulates creativity with patterns and styling.
Ozzie and Azra immediately started to play with their toys! Azra is the old one and he kept attacking the little sparkly balls until he was exhausted, haha! Ozzie (the younger one) always wants me to throw things for him (which he returns to me so I can throw them again) and his favourite is the crispy ball. They say thank you so much and love to Kitty! Kitty did pick the perfect toys for them.
Thanks again for the great gifts,
Elise, Azra and Osiris”
I finally was able to read all the seasons comments. Very poetic and beautiful. We definitely live in a beautiful and glorious world!
Aw, hi Laura, I’m so glad you had a chance to read all of the lovely comments! They’re just so insightful aren’t they? Certainly made me appreciate not only different seasons, but different parts of the world. 🙂
Came back to look at all the photo’s again. Ha, that was a classic and BTW, I can’t believe spring is the favourite time of year for the majority. It’s the pits in Edmonton. The snow and sand remains until usually mid April. It’s just icky and muddily here…I’ll rather take summer all day long.
Yes, I love summer as well! Although I have to say I love spring too, although there is not much of a spring round these parts either, but it’s just an END to winter finally!!