Fun Mail

Spicing Up the Kitchen 2 package from sewlikesue

Yesterday, WH started to go out to get the mail, opened the door and shouted, "You have Fun Mail!" and I thought, "What could that be?"  I had totally forgotten that I hadn't received my package from the SUTK2 swap.  What a fun surprise!  I opened it up, and look at the cool stuff that sewlikesue included.  I always need dish towels and pot holders, and these are awesome.  My potholders are old, burned, and worn out, so these gorgeous new ones are most welcome.  And I think WH must use my dish towels for paint rags, because aside from the ones my sister made me for my birthday a couple of years ago, they are few and far between.  The lovely decorative dish towel is also most welcome.

But would you check out that luscious table runner?  It's gorgeous!  And look how well it goes with my placemats from meanfish2 in the placemat swap!  I asked her if she planned it, and she said no, but if not planned then truly inspired.  Just look at this:

Won't they be great together?  Now, how cool is that?

I also received 6 more blocks for my Christmas village quilt in the CF Bee.  June was my month, and my blocks are trickling in, but it's ok, because I know I won't get to them til fall, anyway.  Every single block is just awesome!  Look -

CF Bee Blocks from domesticass

I was truly dying for a block like this! A flying Santa!  How perfect is that for the family of an airline pilot?

And I just love the stone foundation of this little house.  And the candy roof.  So cool!

CF Bee Blocks from CNSnow

Isn't this the perfect little house for a Christmas village?

And the snowy tree and presents are awesome too

CF Bee from breathe and sew

I just love these snowy hills - won't they look great in my village?

And this little house is soooo cute!  Love it!

So, I've received half of my blocks for my Christmas village quilt.  I'm sure the rest will be along shortly.  These are all so wonderful, I am sure my quilt will be gorgeous.  I actually have enough fabric, I could maybe make 2 or 3 quilts.  Hmmmm....  maybe that's an idea for some Christmas gifts.  Well, whatever - it will all need to wait until after September.

In other news, I am finally making progress on Pauline's gifts for the Santa Sack swap.  I had planned to do them last weekend, but with BD#2 home, I really didn't do any sewing.  (I did mend some stuff she had sent home with me months ago, though.  THAT's pretty amazing.)  Anyway, I did promise Pauline I would put her package in the mail on the 14th, which is the date she requested.  I'm going to include July, August, and September's gifts, since sewing time will be limited for the next little while.  More bang for the buck, you know.

Anyway, have a great week.  Happy sewing!

Placemat Swap Reveal

My partner received her placemats in the mail yesterday from Placemat Quilt Swap 6, so I can now share what I sent her.  She asked for something summery and said her absolute favorite color is red and her favorite fabric is gingham.  She has a 5-year old son who will be heading off to school in the fall, so I wanted the placemats to be a little bit fun.  So I started out with this pieced watermelon idea. I thought they might be fun for picnics or pretend picnics maybe.

For the other side, I chose these bright yellow dragonflies.  I think it might have been OK to stop there, but while we were teasing each other, my partner mentioned that she liked these placemats that I did awhile back, so I thought, "why not?"  I saw a pattern somewhere for a placemat with a pocket (although I think that one rolled up to take along on picnics), so I decided to applique the fruit motifs onto a pocket for napkins or flatware.

I wanted to include a cloth napkin, but I could only find white, and that just wasn't what I was going for.  That and the time constraints, and - no.  Anyway,  each of the pockets is different.  I toyed with making the pear red, but I just couldn't.

So, an appliqued kitchen towel, one of my famous hexi needlebooks, and the package was complete.  I got the nicest thank you email yesterday from my partner, meanfish2.  It really made my day.

That is until I realized that my own placemats had arrived in the mail too. Perfect timing for  a non-secret swap, huh?

Aren't they gorgeous?  And fun!  I'm having a blast examining all the different fabrics she used.  LOVE the strawberries.  And apparently she stalked me well enough to know that I love anything paisley. 

And wouldn't it be fun to use them in pairs as a table runner?

Oh, I am so excited.  These are great!  Meanfish2, you're the bomb! Thanks so much

Fun Mail

Lately, when WH goes to get the mail, he is frequently heard to call out, "You've got fun mail."  I love that he is almost as excited as I am to see those interesting envelopes show up in the box.  

So, guess what I got in the mail yesterday?  {Jumps up and down and dances in circles!}  My Sewn Spaces Swap sewing machine cover came!  Would you just look how cute this is?  LRH is so adorable inside the star.  Can't wait to put this baby on my machine!  I asked for bright and cheerful, and this certainly fills the bill.  So, so cute!

My partner, quiltergirl80 had a family emergency and was called away in the middle of the swap.  I have to admit that before I knew the story, I despaired of getting a cover.  I consoled myself with the thought that I got a great cover from Suzettra in the Make Mine Modern Swap, notwithstanding the fact that I have 4 sewing machines.  Or is it 5? 

But despite a pretty darn difficult month, Kristy came home and sat down and made a cover for my sewing machine.  I am pretty impressed.  And, I'm pretty durn lucky, huh!

And that wasn't all the "fun mail" I've received this week.  I got  6 more blocks for my Christmas quilt and the fabric to make the block for Marci's block.  Too fun!

Here are my 6 blocks!

CF Bee Blocks from Julie @ Distant Pickles

CF Bee Blocks from kristina_withak

CF Bee Blocks from toerintx

So, we've had a pretty fun mail week here.

And in other news, I finally finished the placemats for  Placemat Quilt Swap 6.  Here's another sneak peek. 

When I finished the quilting on the other side, I got this idea that it would be fun to embroider the dragonflies.  Boy, did that take forever.  I figured it would take about an hour or so for each placemat.  It took more like 4 hours each.  And you know, once you've begun, the only thing to do is continue on.  I did one Thursday evening and one Friday evening and started at 6 am Saturday.  With only a few minutes off for breakfast and a shower, I finally finished about 1:30.  Then I had to bind them, package them, and head off to the post office.  So, they were late, but not by much.  I'm pretty happy with them.  I hope my partner thinks they're worth the wait.

Sneak Peek - PQS6

I've been working all week on these placemats.  They are taking me much longer than I anticipated. I decided to do a little hand embroidery, and for some reason, that is taking me forever.  I ran out of red embroidery thread (seems impossible, I know, but there it is) and had to make a quick run to JoAnn's just before they closed last night.  I was really pretty good in there - for the first time in my life I think, the tab was less than $10.  I didn't buy any cut fabric.  Not a single book.  Nada.  Just  one itty bitty remnant and some embroidery floss. Pretty amazing. 

So, I still have a bunch of work to do.  I have the embroidery nearly done on only one of the 4 placemats.  So I need to finish the other three and bind the little goodies, and then they are off in the mail to Stacey (meanfish2).  The deadline is today, so I hope to finish them this evening and get them in the mail by midnight - thank goodness for postal machines!

So Far Behind... Big Sewing Weekend Planned

This is the PTS4 pillow I received from Lexiloo in January

Don't forget about my Little Apples giveaway  which ends Saturday at midnight Central time. 

Since BD#1 introduced me to Flickr and swapping last fall, I've been having a great time.  I have had fun making projects for others, and received some awesome things in return.  I have tried things I might never have tried if it hadn't been for the creative challenge of the swap.  My own creativity has been stimulated as I observed what others have done.  It has been a blast.

But, as with so many things in my life, if a little is good, a lot is better.  When I was a kid, my mom would say that my eyes were bigger than my stomach.  I think maybe it's the same principle.

And I didn't expect the distraction of a wedding...  or a second trip to Salt Lake City in less than a month...

And so now I am way behind, and deadlines are looming.

The good news is that I have this weekend to sew, and I am determined to get these projects done on time (the placemat swap is due June 23, but everything else is due July 1). 

Here is my list for the weekend:

1.  Placemat Quilt Swap 6.  This one is new to me and it sounded like so much fun!  My partner keeps sending me teasing emails and even posted a black and white picture of her project, complete with polka dots and stripes, and it has points, similar to a Dresden.  Such a tease!  And I know what I'm going to do - finally - so it's just a matter of sitting down to do it.  Let's just say that I'm thinking "summer"...

2.  Pillow Talk Swap 5.  I loved PTS4, although that was my first "real" swap.  I really struggled with it, and I don't think I would do that project again if I had it to do over, but it was a real learning experience.  I received not one but TWO great pillows from my partner.  Here's the second one...

This is the other pillow I received in PTS4 from my partner, Lexiloo.

3.  Mug Rug Swap Adventure 2.  This is another swap that is new to me, but it sounded like so much fun.  One of my partners from a prior swap is the swap mama.  Mug rugs are amazingly hard for me.  They are so small and look so easy, but their size is deceptive.  But I have an idea for this one too, and just have to execute it in fabric.  For this one, I'm thinking "beach"....

4.  Spicing Up the Kitchen.  I did the first round of this swap and it was a blast. My partner gave some pretty good hints, so I know exactly what I want to do for this one, but my idea seems a little bit challenging, and will require WH's help.  I've been admiring the embroidery hoop clocks - in fact, BD#1 actually received one in a swap and I wanted to swipe it, but restrained myself.  Anyway, I found an awesome tutorial online, and can't wait to try it.  I really struggled with this one last time too, but I'm hoping this time it will go smoothly.

5.  Santa Sack Swap.  This one is not a Flickr swap, but it sounded like so much fun.  You make a large Santa Sack, and two items and send to your partner on July 1st.  Then, 2 items a month until December.  On Christmas Day, your partner gets to open her sack with all her gifts in it.  This one isn't a secret swap, so I'll have to be discrete with the photos and hints.  My partner is Pauline from the UK.  She has already sent me her 1st package, so I really feel like a slacker.

6.  Christmas Fabric Bee.  June was my month for the CF Bee, and I mailed my fabric {almost} on time (it went out June 1st), so that's one I can wait a little bit on.  {The blocks the ladies are making and posting on Flickr are AWESOME!!!  I'm so excited about this quilt.  It is going to be way fun!}  The other QB for June is Julie, and she chose a "village" of trees and houses.  My assignment is a tree block, so that shouldn't be too hard, although she wanted pieced blocks, not appliqued, so that takes a little more thinking maybe.

7.  First Time Bee.  Carol has asked  us to do a black and white block with a pop of color.  I have ideas of what I will do for my two blocks, so it's just a matter of actually doing it.

So, I think that's it.  Over committed?  Undoubtedly.  Insurmountable?  No, I don't think so.

I will say that I have scaled way back for the rest of the summer.  I have a wedding to help organize and a wedding dress to alter, after all.  The good news is that it's too hot to be distracted by ANYTHING that has to do with outside. { It IS Father's Day weekend, and WH probably deserves a bit of attention.  I told him I'd take him to a movie.  And we'll probably do dinner or something easy.}

And I just couldn't resist another round of the Make Mine Modern swap - it was SO much fun last time, but I don't even have my partner for that one yet, so I've got awhile. 

Anyway wish me luck - and a productive weekend.

Happy sewing!