Swappy Stuff

Photo courtesy of Dee3103 via Flickr

I recently realized that with the craziness around here last fall I totally neglected to take pictures of a couple of the beautiful swappy things I had received.  This awesome tote bag came to me from Dee3103 all the way from Australia in the Secret Tote Bag Swap.  I borrowed her photo because my photo simply didn't do the bag justice.  I was so obsessed with the back of the bag...

and the cool backpack feature, that I totally neglected the front of the bag...

and the only photo I took had horrible shadows.  Apparently Dee had a helper also, as her model was outstanding!

And she put this cool pocket inside with a very fun gingham lining.

The other awesome item I received was from BetseyLynn50 on Flickr in the Fabric Basket Swap.  This fun little package was waiting for me when I returned home from my Thanksgiving trip.  It was such a fun package to open - BetseyLynn had wrapped everything individually so there were lots of adorable little tissue-wrapped packages to open.  And the basket is perfect!  I love the hexies and the hand quilting.

It was the perfect medicine for my coughing and sniveling, but since I wasn't feeling well, I tucked it away and then got wrapped up in my Christmas sewing.

I'm not doing as many swaps this year - at least so far I have managed to keep myself for signing up for any new ones - but one swap I did start is the Handmade Birthday Club.  We have committed to making a handmade gift for each of the other 11 members of the Club during their birthday month.  Since I have a January birthday and the due date is the 15th, I haven't received most of them yet, but this one from my friend Krista arrived a couple of days before my birthday.  She made me another  hexie flower for my GMFG, gave me the floss to start {another} new embroidery, and made me a pattern and needle minder - something I had no idea I even needed, but now that I have it, I think it's awesome!  She also included a Frixion pen, an item I've been dying to try but hadn't actually purchased yet.

Thanks so much to each of you for such thoughtful swappy items!

Swappy Stuff

If you're looking for the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway, enter on this post.

Despite my best intentions, I participated in  a lot of too many swaps this fall.  I just don't seem to be able to resist.  And this time of year?  What was I thinking???  I've been so busy meeting deadlines, I wasn't very good about showing the things I've created, so I'm going to try to fix that, and be better about keeping up my poor blog, all at the same time. I honestly can't remember what order they were in, but...  does it really matter?

I've been wanting to make the Noodlehead divided basket for awhile now, and the Fabric Basket Swap gave me the perfect opportunity.  I dug into my scrap bin and cut 2-1/2 inch squares to make an aqua patchwork body, and lined and trimmed it in my favorite red dot from Robert Kaufman.  My partner was Whitney, who I had earlier in the year for a tote bag swap.

 I played along in the Schnitzel and Boo mini quilt swap on Instagram, and my partner said her favorite time of year was fall, so I decided to create a mini using a reverse Modern Maples block in fall colors.  I really love oranges and browns in the fall, so those were the colors I chose for the mini.  Best of all?  It was made entirely of scraps!

Book Cover Front

The challenge in the Modern Scrappy Bits swap was to make a QAYG (quilt as you go) item for your partner.  I've been doing a lot of QAYG projects this year, and even taught a couple of classes, so I decided to give the Newtown Auction Pillow technique another try, this time as a book cover.  I still haven't mastered it, and I'm amazed at how much fabric it seems to waste, but I was fairly pleased with the results.

Book Cover Back

Best of all was the note I received from my partner when she received it, which really touched my heart...

Oh Wendi-your package is so beautiful-thank you so very much!! I had a terrible day at work 2 days ago and coming home to your package was definitely" brightening"! Everything is perfect- the colors , fabrics, and design. That tutorial has special meaning for me as Newtown is 30 minutes away from my home. I'm a vintage Pyrex collector and have been wanting to catalog my collection-this will be the perfect notebook for it! Thank you, thank you, thank you-you are so talented and thoughtful.....

Of course, I didn't know any of that when I made the book cover, but - well, sometimes you get it right.

And I made some bee blocks...  These were for the 3x6 bee, where you make the same block in 6 different color schemes, selected by each person in the bee.  It's fun to see how color changes can make the same block seem so different.  Notice that the block in the upper left and the lower right are the exact same block, except that in the upper left the background is gray and in the lower right the background is white?  Such a different feel to them, don't you think?  Which one is your favorite?  Today, I'm really liking the aqua solids block in the lower left, but don't hold me to it.  That may change...

And then I'm a member of the Bees Helping Bees group, which helps bee members fill in either with blocks they didn't receive or where they need extras.  This one was a woven ribbons block.

And this floating hearts block was really fun, even if it was mostly gray.  I may have to make a quilt like this soon.

And I've created several of these little Quilted Tool Caddies, and used a couple of them for swaps.

The Flower Sugar one was one of my favorites...

I added a little patchwork pinnie to this one for a pin cushion swap.

And made another from Happy Go Lucky, a lovely aqua Mama Said Sew texty print, and a Denyse Schmidt leaf print.

I didn't get the fabric flower on this one before I took the photo - Duh!  Anyway, you'll just have to imagine it....

And then there was Christmas...

Ornaments... 

(Is it weird to take photos of Christmas ornaments outside in October?)

And this one was really fun!  I think I need to make a few more of these.  On the upside, it was pretty easy...  On the other hand, finding {wool} felt these days is not easy.  I ordered this from an Etsy shop.  No spontaneous crafting here.

And this pillow cover was for my partner in the ECMQG Christmas swap.  I used up some more of my Ruby FE bundle.  I'm amazed at how far a FE bundle can go!

And a little table runner/mini quilt for my partner in the Modernista swap.  Again, the recipient's note brought tears to my eyes

We were in Calcutta, India 28 years ago escorting babies to adoptive families. We attended a church that had a Christmas program and one of the women that sang the song People Need the Lord was named Priya. When we came home we decided to adopt a special needs infant from India and we named her Priya Noel. We were open to any special need and we were assigned a baby girl that is deaf. We didn't know that she was in the orphanage when we were in Calcutta. She just turned 28 years old yesterday. It was a great day to receive your table runner!

This one was possibly the most challenging of all.  This pillow cover was for my partner in the Pillow Talk Holiday Edition Swap.  But my partner doesn't celebrate Christmas, and didn't want traditional Christmas colors.  In fact, her mosaic was exactly opposite of the things I normally make and enjoy.  It took me forever to decide what to do, and in fact, I dropped this baby at the Post Office on my way to the airport for the Thanksgiving holiday.  Whew!  I modified the Triangle Toss design from the pillows I made for the Modernista Swap last summer, added some tree "trunks" to the bottom, and used AMH's Field Study for the triangles, fussy cut to look like decorated trees.  At least I hope so.  I used Kona bone for the background, and Kona coal for the sashing.  Overall, I think it turned out OK, although totally out of my color comfort zone.  Here's what my partner said,

I received my pillow this morning.....I don't know how I missed it in the photostream......it must have just passed me by. It's totally my colour scheme, and completely my style! Thank you very very much. I realise that purple and grey isn't everyone's favourite palette, but it is mine, and I really appreciate that you put the effort into making this something that you were happy with, and that I would love...  Sorry about the challenging colour scheme, but you totally nailed it!!

I guess that's really why I do these swaps....  When I get it right, it's like Christmas morning.

And with that in mind, I wish you

this Christmas season, as we get ready to prepare for to celebrate our Savior's birth.

When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

Matthew 2:10                     

Fun Mail Update

As we all know, I'm a swapping fool, and as much as I like to make things and send them off, I love to receive the fun mail that comes in response.  I don't really know why, but I tend to procrastinate getting out the camera and taking pictures.  I have a ton of excuses, "I'm too busy."  "The light's not right."  {and my personal favorite} "I'll do it later."  But I am determined to be better about taking pictures going forward.  {Pinky promise.}  So, I have three amazing swap packages to share with you today.

First is the amazing swap package I received from Kristy (Catiedyd Designs) in the Sew Sew Modern Swap.  I have been meaning to make my weekender for awhile - and in fact I have the backing cut out and I know just what I'm going to do, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.  Now, I'm not sure I will need to, although a girl can never have too many bags, right?

The bag is awesome.  She used two coordinating dark fabrics so they won't show the dirt as much.  Great idea!  And I love the lime green piping!
 

And the piece de resistance is the zippered outside pocket.  Such a great innovation! I may need to put one in the next bag I make.  VERY cool.  And sticking out of the pocket in this shot is the awesome banner she made me.  It will be fab in my new "studio".  (Note To Self:  Go buy paint!)

She used a different coordinating fabric for the lining.  I like that it's a lighter color.  As my eyes age, I appreciate all the help I can get.  Finding things in the bottom of a bag with dark lining is just - difficult.

Aside from the banner, she included zippers, rick rack...

and - coolest of all - some of those clever Clover quilting binder clips I have been meaning to buy for awhile now.  I used them to bind Krista's quilt and they are as awesome as advertised.  Waaaaay better than pins. I think the best thing about them is that they don't distort the shape of your item like pins do.  They are really nifty.  If I make another Weekender, I will certainly use them on that too. 

(You remember what my pins looked like after my Weekender adventure, right?  So sad.)

Thank you, Kristy, for a lovely swap package.

(I am super tardy taking photos of this fabulous package.  Where does the time go???  I know that I tend to put off taking pictures, but this is ridiculous!)  I am honestly over the moon with this awesome package from Joanne in the UK (Jo Jo 33).  She really nailed this one!  Do you see all these amazing creations???  Joanne said I really pulled her out of her comfort zone {sorry}, but I think she did a fantastic job on these items!  Oh my!  I am deliriously happy!

First there is this amazing bag.  I can't tell you how much I love this bag.  All the fabrics she used make me smile.  One side is pink...

And the other side is blue and green.  I am deliriously happy with this bag.  {Did I say that already?} I think it will become my new purse (when I can bear the thought of getting it dirty.)  EDIT:  Joanne shared the pattern with me here.  And as if this bag could get any better, it is reversible!  Is that awesome, or what???  (Thanks Rebeckah for reminding me!)

She also sent me this wonderful clock.  I wanted a clock that would hang on the wall in my new "studio", and when I get my room painted (see Note To Self above), this will be perfect!  I love how carefully stitched this amazing applique is.  And it is mounted on wood, so it is very sturdy.  I know I am going to love the way it jazzes up my new room.

She included a bunch of other wonderful things as well...  A little fabric basket to {try to} get me organized, a really cute camera strap, and a package of gorgeous pins - and after all the pins I've thrown in the trash can lately, these are most welcome.  (And I love that they are sooo pretty!)

Joanne, thank you for such a wonderful, thoughtful package.

Finally, I received this package from Lori (Lori H. Designs) in the Fabric Basket Swap.  I was hoping for a large basket to toss my fabric scraps in, and she really nailed it.  This basket is the perfect size - not huge, but really big.  It's big enough that I can throw scraps from a project or two in it, but not so big that I will be overwhelmed by the idea of sorting my scraps, if you know what I mean.

I don't think she used the same fabric twice on this bucket, and I love her choices.  I always like scrappy, and this is perfect.

She included a cute little fabric pouch, some FQs, a couple of bolts of ribbon and {yay!} pins.

Thanks, Lori!

I feel so blessed to have had such amazing swap partners who created such fabulous things for me.  I can tell that each of them took the time to find out what I might like and then create awesome items just for me.

And now we know why I am addicted to swaps.  I suppose that won't change any time soon.

A Tisket, A Tasket - A{nother} Little Fabric Basket!

A week  or so ago I mentioned what great gifts these little fabric baskets make.  I am really having fun making them.  This one is for Leona's Fabric Basket Swap.  I made the basket a few weeks ago with selvages from Anna Maria Horner's LouLouThi that were passed from one daughter to the other, and then to me.  I've been having a blast with them.

I filled the basket with an assortment of goodies, including some fabric, zippers, thread, a decorated dish towel and crocheted dish cloth, an apron pattern, and a cute little Mary Engelbrite journal.  It was fun - and a little challenging - to think of things to fill it with.  Normally, I might have added candy, but this is Florida, and it is June, and it just didn't seem like a good idea.  (Sorry, partner!)

Still, I hope my partner enjoys the basket despite its candy-less state.