Whooooo's Got Something New for Her Kitchen?

I nearly passed up the opportunity to play along in Potholder Pass 12.  After six rounds of potholder swapping, I have replaced all the old, nasty pot holders with lovely new ones.  I thought about taking photos of the old ones, but decided it was too humiliating.  Most of them were at least 20 years old and scarred, scorched, worn and torn.  But then I thought about BD#2 who is only just starting out.  She doesn't have a ton of cute kitchen things yet, so perhaps she would enjoy a set of lovely pot holders.

So, not being one to be able to resist a good swap, I signed up, but said I was swapping for pot holders for my daughter.  These are the ones I sent...

And I received the cutest set of pot holders from Sarah (coincidentallyquilting).  Isn't the little owl adorable.  I really love his feet!  And the way she mixed the fabrics in his body to give him dimension.  I have to say that it was an inner struggle to make myself put these back in the mail and send them to BD#2.  After all, she didn't know that I did this swap for her, did she?

But then I opened the drawer the pot holders were in and knew I had to pass these along.

The other one is just as cute.  Such fun fabrics here.

Speaking of fabrics, Sarah included her scraps.  Possibly I will make something for BD#2's kitchen that coordinates with these fun pot holders (or possibly I will make something for myself!)

 Sarah also made her a cute table cover.  I love the scrappy binding.

Thanks, Sarah, for such a fun swap!  In this one, you made two women happy!

A Tisket, A Tasket

Just after I got home from my grandbaby adventure earlier in the month, I received a wonderful bit of swappy funmail from Christina in the DS Quilts Doll Quilt Swap.  I've shared my struggles with the quilt I created for that swap, so it may be that this lovely little quilt coming when it did was just the burst of inspiration I needed to get that baby off in the mail.

And who could resist this bit of Flea Market Fancy goodness.  The wonky baskets are adorable, and the colors are to die for.  And we all know I'm a sucker for brights on white and hand quilting.

Isn't this just a fun little quilt?

And the back is {almost} as cute as the front.  Usually by the time I get this far, I just want to get the blessed thing done, so I slap some fabric on the back and head for the quilting.  You can tell that Christina took the time to create just the right backing to accent the front.  I love how the hand quilting shows up on the back as well.

And here's my quilt with the other fun goodies Christina sent.  Look at those yummy fat quarters!  You know I will have a ton of fun with those!

I really love this little quilt!  It's just perfect for me.

Thanks, Christina, for a lovely little quilt.

W is for Wonderful

While I was away, my partner Maria, a/k/a MollyJolly, finished my partner's first initial quilt.  What a fun little quilty it is.  Of course, she included the letter "W".  It was only after I mailed my little quilt that I thought about quilting it with "M's" or putting an "M" cloud in it.  Ah well...

So this is a story about a Witch with a Wart on her nose.  Notice that she has a magic Wand...  Apparently the witch was worried because her wart was getting smaller, and she was afraid no one would find her attractive without her wart, so she was in a rush to get married.

Or, as Maria tells it...

The wicked witch was lonely and feared her beauty was fading - her wrinkles were growing and a wart on her nose kept shrinking - if she didn't find someone soon, it would be completely gone.  How could a witch with no "beauty mark" attract a man?  

Luckily, she met a werewolf and they hit it off!  What you see on your mini quilt is the wedding scene.  Willy Wonka officiated, and Wonder Woman and a White elephant witnessed.  It was a beautiful ceremony, with wine and wedding cake, wisteria, a weeping willow, water, a wishing well, and some wild flowers setting the scene.  Guests had weiners to celebrate, but the witch played a mean trick on Willy - that's his wallet lying on the ground beneath her new groom's feet.

She became engaged to the Werewolf.  Willy Wonka (whose Wallet you see on the ground there BTW) is to perform the ceremony.

Wonder Woman and the Wolf whippett, with the Wishing Well in the background, attend the wedding.  (I'm not sure what W words are there in the flowers and the other details in this part of the scene.  Ideas?)

There is Wisteria on the Wall.  The White elephant looks on.  And of course, there is a spider Web on the wall. 

There is a Weeping Willow and Water in this view.

And what would a wedding be without a Wedding cake and a bottle of Wine.  It looks like they're having beef Wellington weiners as a main course for the wedding supper.  And is that a Weasel I see?  I'm not sure what the other animal is, or the round item...  That's a wombat stealing a watermelon...

Are you ready to see the whole little quilt?

Here it is!  I've been having a marvelous time discovering all the W words in this little quilt.  As you can see, I haven't identified them all yet.  It has been great fun.

Thanks, Maria, for a Wonderful little quilt.

A Star {Doll Quilt} is Born

It's amazing what a little bit of fabric can become.  I started with a few bits of fabric and some hexie templates - a great project for airplanes and airports, as long as you're not squished into the middle of a row (your neighbors don't really go for being stabbed with needles, I think.)

A few {hundred} stitches later, it starts to take shape...

And grow...

A little at a time...

Until it actually starts to look like something.

And then maybe you mount it...

And quilt it...

And quilt it some more...

And maybe you need to add just a touch of hand quilting...

To come up with a finished quilt.

Add a label, and voila!  You're {finally} done.

No wonder this little baby took so long - a lot longer than I thought it would.

Sure hope my partner likes it.

3x6 Times Two

For some unremembered reason, this quarter I participated in TWO hives in the 3x6 bee.  I guess it seemed like a good idea at the time, but frankly, making 12 blocks was a little bit daunting.

I was the caretaker of a pinwheel hive, and I was also playing along in a star hive.  When I found this block on Rachel's blog I knew I had found the perfect block to make this quarter.

It's funny how some color combinations are more challenging than others.  This person wanted avocado and navy in her block - both colors I didn't have in my stash.

This one wanted all red.  I wasn't sure what I was going to do until I did it, but it actually turned out well, I think (better in person than in the photo, perhaps.)

And two people wanted this color combination - lime and aqua.  I like it.

Here's a combination I would never have tried without the motivation of the bee, but I really like this one too.

Royal blue and aqua (with a little lime) was kind of fun.

I wouldn't have tried this one either, but it made a pretty dramatic block.

Too many dots?  I hope not.

I'm not sure I like this one at all, really.  It's a little busy.  This person didn't want any background.  It might have been better with a different lime, but this was all I had.

I really like the black and gold/yellow.  Very bold and dramatic.

All in all, I like them.  I sure hope the other ladies do too.

But remind me to do this bee one hive at a time in the future, OK?

Trick or Treat

Last week, before I left on my great grandbaby adventure, I finished up a pair of swappy pot holders (and actually met the mailing deadline!!! - but only because I couldn't get out on the flight I wanted.)   I'm not a big Halloween fan, but I can - and do - enjoy candy corn.  So, here is a pair of candy corn pot holders.

I did a little embroidery, and actually went waaaaaaaaay outside my comfort zone and did the quilting in -gasp- orange!

The fabrics were in my stash.  BD#1 "donated" the black swirl, which was perfect for Halloween.  Especially since I have no black, not even Kona, in my stash apparently (an oversight that MUST be rectified soon.)

So here is the package.  Those cute little kitties with the pumpkin were also a donation from BD#1 and I used it for the backing on the pot holders as well.

This was  a fun, quick project, and I had a blast making them.  My partner said candy corn was her favorite Halloween treat and that her hubby really liked them, so I think they have found a good home.

Home Again, Home Again, Fiddle-de-dee

After 9 days away and a  16-hour travel day, I'm finally home.  I had a wonderful visit with the grandbabies.  This is Abby, trying on the hats at Gymboree during our shopping expedition.   She is an absolute hoot.  Such a smart little cutie, with a definite mind of her own.  We had a great time together.

Britton is a happy little guy, always smiling, usually laughing, and great fun to be around.  His laugh could melt the hardest of hearts, I think.

And we had some great quality time together as their mama got ready for and attended Sewing Summit.  I had the occasional pang that I didn't go this year, but frankly, I only get 4 weeks vacation and I can spend them with the kids, or with the grown ups...  It's hardly even a choice.

And BD#1 took great care of me, sharing some of her goodies from Sewing Summit, which was very kind of her.  I have lots to show, but haven't had a chance to take pictures of anything yet, except for a couple with my phone.

Here's what I worked on while I was away...

(Sorry for the weird shadows, but it gets dark here early now and I haven't been home during daylight yet.)

I'm running a little behind for the DS Quilts Doll Quilt swap.  I thought this project would go much faster than it did.  Or perhaps I spent too much sewing time playing with the bebes.  If so, it was time well spent!

This hexie star was a great portable project.  Perfect for airports, airplanes, and days when the sewing machine was gone or in use.  In fact, I was warned ahead of time that daughter's {very cool} sewing machine was off limits.  And as I say, this project was perfect, except that it took much longer than I thought.  Luckily the star is finished now, and attached to the background fabric.  I need to drop by JoAnn's tomorrow and pick up some backing fabric.  It is just enough larger than anything I have on hand that I need to shop {oh, darn!}

Hopefully by the weekend I'll be back in the groove and ready to show some of my cool loot and maybe a finished doll quilt. Plus, I got a ton of fun mail while I was gone!  Stay tuned...

M is for MollyJolly Part II - The Reveal

If you read this post, you know that I played along in the Mini QT Swap where we were to make a quilt using items that used our partner's first initial.  I really struggled to get a theme for my little quilt.  In fact, I drew 4 or 5 sketches between the concept, and the finished quilt.  I think the only item that was in the original sketch that ended up on the final product is the moon.

Now that Maria has received her quilt, I can tell you about it.

Since my letter was "M", these are the elements of the quilt...

The moon, of course, and some mountains...

Some marigolds...

A little mushroom house, a mail box, and MollyJolly, written on the mailbox...

A monkey...

A mouse in a meadow...

A magnolia tree, a mockingbird, and a moth...

A mermaid, singing (music) in her little pool...

A melon...

And a macadam road.

If I've counted correctly, that's 16 "M" words. 

I actually thought up a little story about how MollyJolly invited her friends Mouse, Monkey, and Mermaid over for an early Morning waterMelon picnic... (or should that be Meal?)  Mouse tiptoed through the Meadow on his way to MollyJolly's Mushroom house, while Monkey came down from his home in the Mountains.  Mermaid provided the entertainment, singing Music for the event, while the Mockingbird in the Magnolia tree echoed her Mournful song.

Anyway, you get the idea. 

Meanwhile, I'm off tomorrow to see the kids and the grands.  I'm not taking the computer, so it may be awhile before I post again.  I'm so excited to see these little people!

Can't wait.