PT{S}9

The Pillow Talk {Swap} Round 9 is finishing up this week and this time around I was able to take part.

My secret partner says she loves the look of linen and text, with a splash of color.  She also hinted that something in reds would look nice in her house, and that a rectangular pillow for her bed would be appreciated.  I changed the plan for this pillow over and over again in my mind, and this is what I ended up with.

Do you think she'll like it?  This was my first time working with the neutrals/ text/ linen combo and I think it comes off very "clean".  The pillow measures 12"x20" and takes a pillow form of the same size.  I didn't have a pillow form of that size to test it out on so instead I took these pictures after stuffing the pillow with fiberfill.  I used Kona solids that I got in the I <3 Kona charm swap at Pile O' Fabric I participated in a while ago for the applique.  It was nice to have so many color options in small sizes so I didn't have to run out and buy fabric.  It was especially nice to not have to buy Kona since I had to go out and but all the neutrals, the text prints, and the linen specifically for this pillow.

I don't know if you can see it very well but I used tiny buttons for the door knobs on the houses.  Three "door knobs" are red and the fourth one is green.  I thought it added a nice little bit of color in there.

I had had plans to add a beautiful thick Ruby Kona piping around the edge of the pillow but when it came down to it my sewing machine wouldn't cooperate so it didn't work out.  I just couldn't get my presser foot close enough to the piping to get a tight fit, and it looked pretty dreadful loose, so I took it out.  This was also my first time doing "quilt as you go" and I have to say I really liked it. 

BTW, if anyone is looking for a good source for text prints I bought mine from Sew Me a Song on Etsy.  Her prices were very reasonable and she had quite a few FQ bundles all made up already that you can choose from, and she was kind enough to let me swap out some of the prints in the bundle for prints from a different bundle.

Mouthy Stitches 2 Tote

A couple of months ago I signed up for the Mouthy Stitches 2 swap and today I mailed off the tote I made for my secret partner.

Her inspiration mosaic had a lot of brightly-colored hexagons laid out in interesting combinations, so I decided it was time for me to do some hexies.  The layout for my hexies was inspired by the colors in the hexagons themselves.  I really enjoyed playing around with the different colors and seeing which ones looked good together.  I'm quite happy with how it came out, and I hope my secret partner loves it.

On the reverse side I played around with the quilting a bit.  Another thing I noticed about my secret partner's inspiration mosaic was that all the things she had pictured had some fun geometric-looking quilting, so I did my take on "geometric quilting" while trying to make sure it didn't get too busy.

In addition to the tote, we were allowed to go crazy and make whatever kind of key fob we wanted for our partners.  I stuck with the hexie theme and made my partner a reversible hexie keyfob with  lobster clasp.  Each side of the fob is made out of 6 half-inch hexies, and each side has a rainbow of colors.

I also added one of my new tags I had made recently to the bag.  Now my partner will never be able to forget who she got the tote from.

Linking up this post with:

Sewing Summit Bound + 99th Post!

And I'm off!  Sewing Summit 2012 here I come!!!

Before I leave though I want to take the opportunity to share a photo of all the stuff I made for the swaps and for Travel Handmade this year.

If you look hard at the photo you'll see both a camera bag and an organizer made with Pat Bravo's Rock 'n' Romance.  I did it!  I managed to make the two things I really wanted to make before Sewing Summit.  They took me all of Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday but they are well worth it!

Be on the lookout for my 100th post and big celebratory giveaway Monday morning when I get back.  In the meantime, for everyone going to the summit I'll see you there, and for everyone staying home I hope you have a great weekend!

Softly Against Black Mosaic + A Good Mail Day

Yesterday, it seemed as though the stars aligned and three of my favorite things came together....

Yesterday, Rachel of Stitched in Color (one of my favorite bloggers) announced that she was pairing up with Alice of Fresh Modern Fabric (my favorite shop to get fabric online) to offer a contest to make a fabric mosiac based on the phrase "softly against black" and this picture:

.....which I love and has been the desktop photo on my computer for months.

Here's the mosaic I came up with.  It was hard to narrow the fabric selections down to 12, especially since I thought at first I would get to choose 16, but I eventually got it to the right number.

.... And as for the good mail day, I had the best swap package sitting in my mailbox today.  I received my package from my secret partner Karen in the Modern Scrappy Bits Swap and she did a great job making things that were very "me".

I had told her that I loves gnomes and dachshunds, and she went snooping in my Flickr favorites and discovered on her own that I love wonky houses.  Here's what she sent me:










I love it all so much!  The package totally made my day!!! Thanks again Karen!

Mouthy Stitches 2 Mosaic

I was lucky enough (and quick enough) to jump in on the second round of the Mouthy Stitches Swap on Flickr while there was still room. For the second round of the swap we're making our secret partners tote bags using this tutorial from Skip To My Lou.

This is the mosaic I came up with:


1. Nursery Versery mini quilt, 2. Love circle blocks, 3. Patchwork wall art, 4. Goodmorning pillow, 5. Mini finished!, 6. Snowdrop table runner, 7. twinkle, twinkle quilt, 8. Central Park makeup roll, 9. Poppy journal cover, 10. 'Reap What You Sew' gardening apron, 11. Basted & Quilted, 12. January:: Do Good Stitches :: Seeing Stars, 13. Dqs11 finished, 14. Habitat bow tie quilt finished!, 15. Christmas Star Quilt, 16. Habitat Back
I've also been busy writing up a new post for tomorrow morning.  For now though here's a sneak peak:

See you in the morning!

Harry Potter Mug Rug Swap

Hi everyone!

I wanted to pop in and tell you all about a mug rug swap by friend Rebeckah is hosting on Flickr: The Harry Potter Muggle Rug Swap.


<center> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/1999394@N21/" title="Harry Potter Mug Rug Swap Group on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/7873422472_d92071bbff.jpg" width="150" height="150" alt="Harry Potter Mug Rug Swap"></a></center>
I feel like I grew up with Harry Potter.  When I started the books I was the same age as Harry, and for a little bit there they were published once a year, so I was the same age he was when they came out. Because of that I'm sure it's no surprise that I absolutely love Harry Potter.  I watch the movies in marathon format probably at least 4 times a year.  I'm also very excited for this swap.  The theme for round one is going to be either "Fall" or "a Very Potter Christmas", it's not decided yet.

I hope some of you will join in on the fun!

Check out Rebeckah's post about the swap here.

Oh, and I hope everyone loves the graphic for the swap (hint: I made it)!

edit: Lol!  Looking at this post with Google reader I see that the code for the button shows up as just a smaller button.  If you click over and view the post on my blog page then you'll be able to see it as code.  

Modern Scrappy Bits Swap

In early July I signed up for a fun swap on Flickr: The Modern Scrappy Bits Swap.  It's a simple swap (the best kind), we're swapping a handful of scraps (technically a minimum of a 1/4 yard's worth) and a small handmade item made using scraps.  I got my partner a little over a week ago and today I set to pulling scraps and making her a handmade item.

Scraps for Scrappy Bits Swap

My partner wanted either a pin cushion or a small wallet, and having never made a pin cushion I opted to make a pin cushion.  The only specifications I got from my partner was that she likes bright colors with high contrast and that she doesn't like brown.

Pin Cushion for Scrappy Bits Swap

For the pin cushion I went with a simple design.  Basically this is made by sewing two circles of fabric together, turning right side out, stuffing with polyfil, and sewing shut.  Then I used some embroidery thread to force the pin cushion into it's finished shape.  Easy-peasey.  I hope she likes all the goodies I'll be sending her way.

Scraps + Pin Cushion for Scrappy Bits Swap

July Bee Blocks+ Polaroids!

July has been a busy month!

This month in addition to making all these:

I also made blocks for the two bees I'm in.

I've been in Stash Bee since February and this month Jennie asked for a string block with selvages following this tutorial she made.  I pulled some 30's reproduction prints I have and came up with these beauties:

This is my first month in the Believe circle at do. Good Stitches and I had some fun coming up with combinations for the box in a box in a box design that Megan asked for.  These are what I came up with:

And these last guys aren't for a bee but they are for a swap!  For the *picture-perfect* Polaroid swap on Flickr I made 65 polaroid blocks to swap.  I also made one of each fabric for myself and one for my bestie Beckah, so all in all I made 130!  

I already sent my blocks in and can't wait to see what I get back.

12 Days of Christmas Quilt Sampler progress

One of the things I decided to do for myself this Christmas was to make myself a Christmas quilt.  I joined in on the 12 Days of Christmas Sampler Quilt-Along hosted by Sara of Sew Sweetness and I've really been enjoying the process.

The idea behind it is that every Tuesday and Thursday a different blogger will post a block they designed on their blog along with a tutorial on how to make it and after 6 weeks we'll have a our 12 blocks ready to make into a quilt.

I did a good job staying on track in week one, and I was able to make my blocks on time.
My week two blocks I made yesterday.... still on time, but definitely slower.
And I'm looking forward to block 5 being posted tomorrow.

So on to the pictures!

Here are the fabrics I selected from Joann's:

Block 1: Christmas Truck (designed by by Julianna @Projektownia Jednoiglec)

Block 2: Santa Claus (designed by Sara @ Sew Sweetness)

Block 3: Christmas Hearth (designed by Kaelin @ The Plaid Scottie)

Block 4: Scrappy Star (designed by Jennie @ Clover and Violet)

And the first four blocks all together!

And here's the rest of the schedule for the quilt-along:
Nov 8 - Elizabeth @ Don't Call Me Betsy
Nov 10 - Riel @ The Q and the U
Nov 15 - Jennifer @ Ellison Lane Quilts
Nov 17 - Lindsay @ Lindsay Sews
Nov 22 - Jessica @ SewCraftyJess
Nov 23 - Sarah @ Fairy Face Designs
Nov 29 - Heather & Megan @ Quilt Story
Dec 1 - Kim @ My Go Go Life

I've also joined in on Anna of Noodlehead's Simplicity Skirt 2226 Sew-A-long and am using Through the Branches from Kitty Yoshida's Prospect Park collection in the espresso colorway:

(The background looks more like ivory in person)

And I've joined in on the holiday ornament swap over at Lindsay Sews