Pillow Talk 5

I am so excited. I received my PTS 5 pillow top today from my partner, imalisawork.  Please excuse the picture, which truly does not do this pillow justice.  I don't have a pillow form the right size, so I stuffed a couch pillow in it for the photo, and it distorted the shape.  The pillow is all pleated in the center and the borders, with very cool embroidery at the corners.  It is made from Farmdale, and the DS Quilts blue tiles. It is truly awesome!  I will have to head to the store in the next day or two to pick up a pillow form and take a better photo.  I was just so excited to receive it, that I had to share.

And look what else was in this nifty little package.  She shared some of her precious Munki Munki with me.  I feel so loved. 

Thanks, Lisa, for a great swap!

Happy Birthday USA!

Making Progress

In the midst of all the wedding stuff to do, I have commitments to keep and deadlines looming.  This was yesterday's finish for my partner in the Spicing Up the Kitchen Swap round 2.  I have some accessories to finish to go with it - towels, apron and pot holders I think, and then it's ready to go in the mail.

I got this guy backed and bound for PTS5, but I haven't taken a picture yet.  It's just too dark for me - all the gray reminds me of a rainy day - but after all, I didn't make it for me.  I think a hexi needlebook and maybe some perle cotton will complete this package.

All I've managed to get done on the Santa Sack Swap so far is the sack.  I have some great ideas, but nothing has actually come to fruition yet.  I'm sorry Pauline.  I hope to work on it tonight and get it in the mail.  No photos, obviously.  I feel terribly guilty, since Pauline mailed mine at the first of June!  She's obviously an overachiever {grin}.

And then there's the wedding...  It's really terribly difficult to plan a wedding 2000 miles away, but we're muddling through it.  Today's task?  Invitations.  She wants something kind of different and fun, so I need to find a printer who can do what she wants.  So, I'm off to work, where I will spend my lunch hour looking for wedding invitations.

Happy Thursday!

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

Oh - One More Thing!

Awhile back, during Quilt Market, in fact, I completed my Ugly Quilt for the Save the Uglies Quilt Challenge.  I received two pieces of seriously ugly fabric in the mail and the challenge was to make a quilt from these hideous fabrics.

Well, as it turns out, I was the only entrant into the contest.  But, the organizers awarded me a prize anyway, which was a $25 gift certificate to Pink Castle Fabrics.  I had a really fun time shopping and choosing, and this week, I received my package.

And since I'm on something of a fabric diet due to the upcoming wedding (lack of sewing time and hit on the pocketbook), this little treat was especially welcome.  There's some Ruby Star Rising viewfinders (oh, yes, that reminds me of my childhood), some Lizzy House Castle Peeps, some Newsprint, a little Farmdale, and some Heather Ross Mendocino.  All things my LQS doesn't have and super fun!

So, just one more piece of fun mail!

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.

Scrapbuster Saturday - Scrap Vomit Pillow Top

 I've been agonizing over what to make for my Pillow Talk Swap partner this round.  My partner is an awesome quilter, and gave some very specific hints of what she would like in a pillow, including fabrics (none of which I had), size, and colors.  BD#1 was nice enough to hook me up with charm squares of some of the listed fabrics when I was at her house earlier in the month, but I still didn't know what to make.  Then, as we were chatting the other day, she said, "Mom, you should make a scrap vomit pillow.'  I have to tell you that I was somewhat horrified.  The name of the block just wasn't appealing at all. 

BD#1 persevered, however, and directed me to this website.  I have to admit, the quilt is far more appealing than its name.  On the other hand, there was no chance that I would forget it, either, which is a plus.

Scrap vomit is an easy block to put together and frankly, is a lot of fun.  I enjoyed the piecing process on this one.

This is supposed to be a close up of the actual quilting.  Can you see it?  After my frustrating experience with the MIAGIA quilt in this post, my friend Jessica commented and told me about the Free Motion Quilting Project.  What an awesome resource!  The instructions are so clear and easy to follow, and there is a video for each of her quilting designs.  Just watch and do.  This one is a beginner design called Spiral Illusion.  It was really fun.

So, I have the top made.  Just have to put the back on and get this guy in the mail.  I might actually get it done by the deadline.  Amazing!

Meanwhile, if you're in the mood for a giveaway, check out the awesome giveaway on my friend Leona's blog.

Happy quilting!