Big Bear Cabin Pillow

My friend Susi & I have been known to swap once in a while -- fabric, little sewing projects, gummy bears...all the good stuff. This time we took requests. She made me an incredibly adorable mini featuring a felt bunny, bear & mouse (in honor of my daughters' nicknames), and I made her a scrappy pillow version of my Big Bear Cabin Quilt. I played with dimensions a bit to give this a different spin, and I really like the way it turned out. It's definitely going to be hard to let go of this one...

I always enjoy pairing random rainbow fabrics and low volume prints. It was also nice to work in a bit of brown, which can often be a neglected color in my stash. These warm brown tones for the bear paw corners feel like autumn, and I love the contrast with the other colors. 

I chose a flowered teapot for the center of the pillow. It came from a darling vintage greeting card print that I bought from Sunny Day Supply -- so much cuteness!

I quilted 1/8" from either side of the low volume strips in the blocks and in the center. The back of the pillow is a canvas print from Cotton + Steel that falls somewhere between gray and brown.

It's hard to let go of a project that you love, but it's a whole lot easier when you know it's going to live with a dear friend.

Strawberry Pincushion Swap

When my friend Erin asked me to join in her Strawberry Pincushion Swap, I just couldn't refuse. A simple little swap project? Check. Adorable fabric strawberries? Double check. I haven't had time to do a swap in a long time, but I just couldn't stay out of this one.

I pulled some fun scraps together to make a little pouch for my swap partner, lining it with a sweet postage stamp print I found a while back. There was enough room inside for the strawberries and a few fun notions as well.

And as always, it's hard to decide what's more fun: putting together a package for someone else or getting your own package in the mail. Which reminds me...if you need me, I'll be waiting over there by the mailbox...

Linking up to Finish It Up Friday.

Blessed

Today I found not one...not two...but three packages waiting for me when my parents brought in the mail. I was so excited that I had to sneak downstairs for a quick peek before my two youngest daughters went down for their afternoon naps.

This lovely set was made for me by Kelie (craftnursequilt) for Round 2 of the Modernista Swap, which had a kitchen theme this time. Look at all these goodies! I'm absolutely crazy about those potholders, which I needed desperately. They're now making all the other potholders in my house look pathetic by comparison -- a situation I'll have to remedy in the weeks ahead. I've already put that darling fabric basket and table mat to use, and I love all the sweet extras she included. My girls can't wait to get their hands on those cookie cutters. Can you believe that this was Kelie's first swap? She did such an incredible job!

I couldn't believe it when I found out that Lori -- my sweet friend and co-conspirator in our recent Long Weekend blog hop -- was my partner in Round 2 of the Modern She Made Swap. She could not have captured my tastes more brilliantly. Look at all the color, and the great text fabric accents! That pillow cover is absolutely to die for, and I'm completely in love with that armrest sewing kit. She also included a stack of gorgeous fabric and several spools of ribbon. I was totally overwhelmed as I looked at the contents of this package. Lori is so incredibly talented, and you can see it in everything she makes.

But if that wasn't enough, I noticed that Lori's return address was also on package number three. Inside I found the treasures you see above along with a thank you card for helping her manage The Long Weekend -- as if all the fun we had doing this blog hop wasn't joy enough! Lori, you're an angel...thank you!

After staring awestruck at all of these beauties for a few moments, I tiptoed back upstairs to the girls' room to find Mouse asleep and my sick little Bear (she's been fighting a fever for the past few days) asking me to rock her awhile. As I cuddled her in the rocking chair, I was reminded again that in the midst of all the ups and downs of life, I am so blessed. And isn't it amazing how these reminders come when we need them most?

May you receive the reminders that you need today as well. I wish you all a very happy weekend.

Monday Dash

Much to do today, but I wanted to quickly share the project I finished yesterday for the Modern She Made Swap. One of the hardest things about swaps for me is to remember that I'm making something for my partner -- not for me. This project was a good stretch for me, though I agonized quite a bit over figuring out exactly what would suit my partner best. In the end, I hope I made something that she will enjoy even if it isn't necessarily what I would have made for myself. Every new project is a new chance to grow, and I love that...

Be sure to stop by Lori's blog today because she'll be announcing the winners from The Long Weekend. You've got to see all the entries too -- absolutely incredible. My deepest thanks to Lori for all she put into this blog hop. She was the genius who came up with this idea in the first place, and I'm so glad she did. Thanks also to all of the lovely women who hosted giveaways and posted their gorgeous bags for the blog hop -- you can find links to their blogs here. I had so much fun working with all of you. You're amazing!!

Linking up to Sew Modern Monday.

Swapaholic

Swaps are always such an amazing experience for me -- stressful (will my partner really like this??) yet exciting (someone is making something special for me!) and always pushing me to be at my creative best as I make something for my partner. I'm in the second round of two different swaps right now, and both are full of incredibly talented and wonderfully encouraging ladies.

My Modernista Round 2 Mosaic -- details here

In the Modernista Swap, we're moving to a different room of the house for each round. Last time we made an item for the sewing room, and this time we're creating something for the kitchen. I just loved putting this mosaic together!

My Modern She Made Swap Round 2 Mosaic -- details here

The Modern She Made Swap is completely wide open as to what we make. The only requirement is that it include a specific shape. Our first round was all about circles, and this round has to include a triangle somewhere in the pattern, fabric, quilting, etc.  Like I said, these are creative people! You can see my mosaic for this project above. I love all the color in these pictures!

My surprise package from the last Modernista Swap -- so amazing!

If you've never been in a project swap before, I highly encourage you to try it at least once. When I first went looking for one, I had a hard time figuring out how to join. The best way I found to do it was to join the flickr group for the swap. Then you just keep your eyes open for announcements about when sign-ups are going to happen. I don't recommend being in too many swaps at once -- two is my limit. It just becomes too much for me to juggle along with my other projects. If you're looking for information on swap etiquette, my friend Katie has a wonderful post about that here. Getting that surprise package in the mail from your partner is always such a wonderful treat. There's nothing like happy mail from a friend who made something just for you.

By the way, thanks to all of you for your sweet comments on my Vintage Holiday lap quilt. My grandmother was absolutely thrilled with the quilt and left at least two messages on our answering machine before we even got back home telling me how much she loved it. Such a happy end to a fun project...

Happy Mail

I am thrilled -- thrilled, I tell you! -- with the package that showed up in my mailbox yesterday. My Modernista Swap partner put together a gift for me that I just adore. Look at all this loveliness!

Not only did she make me a beautiful, reversible cover that perfectly fits my machine, she also included a fabric basket...

...a pincushion...

...and a set of adorable fat eighths of Japanese fabric and twill tape! All the fabrics she used for the project are prints and colors that I love. She even included some Melody Miller, always a favorite with me.

I just couldn't be happier. Thanks, partner.

Another Perspective

I have so enjoyed the two project swaps I've participated in this year: Modern She Made and Modernista Homemade. The projects have been fun, and the people have been marvelous -- there is an unbelievable amount of talent in both groups. It sounds like they'll both be having another round this fall, so be sure to check it out.

For my Modernista project, I made my Perspective Mini Quilt -- you can read about it here. One of my swap friends loved it so much that I decided to attempt making a similar mini quilt with the last of my fabric scraps as a gift for her.

This one is definitely different -- one rectangle instead of two circles, pieced instead of appliqued, different binding and backing -- but I enjoyed trying to do a variation on one of my projects. I'm hoping that she'll enjoy it too.

In other news, be sure to stop by Maureen Cracknell Homemade today. Maureen was kind enough to hold our last pre-QAL giveaway this week. Another $25 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop is up for grabs, so don't miss out! The Vintage Holiday Quilt Along starts up officially next Monday -- can you believe it? -- so be sure to get your fabric and pattern this week so that you can start sewing with us on August 6th. I'm thrilled to see that there are more than fifty of you already joined up in the flickr group. This is going to be so much fun!

Also, I want to remind you to keep following the Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop this summer. I have so enjoyed getting to meet so many new bloggers over the past few months; Beth has done a phenomenal job putting this whole hop together. Stop by Plum and June to see who's up this week!

Happy sewing!

Focus

I'm in love with this little quilt.

Polaroid blocks take a bit of work to get the fussy cutting just right, but the end result is worth it. My husband is the one who suggested turning the berry block askew while leaving the others in straight rows, and I love the way it looks. I kept the quilting simple -- just two intersecting lines of hand stitching in red thread. With the picture theme in mind, I'm calling this quilt "Focus."

I wanted all of the prints to be Lizzy House except for the Kona solids in white and coal, so I used some leftover pieces from Hello Pilgrim and Outfoxed for the back along with one of the blocks. I enjoy using her pearl bracelet prints for quilt binding; they really make an interesting frame. Though I hadn't originally intended it, the red and green in the quilting and binding perfectly match the colors in my featured berry block.

Lizzy House's designs hold a special place in my heart. They were some of the first designer fabric I ever bought. I knew when I first saw them that my children would love them, and I couldn't help loving them too. While I've used most of her fabric to make items for my daughters, this quilt is for me. I have it hanging next to my desk where I'm going to enjoy looking at it every day. It's a great reminder to me to focus on the small but important things in my life, and to remember why they matter.

Linking up to Fabric Tuesday, WIP Wednesday, and the Let's Get Acquainted Monday Link Up.

Polaroid Swap

When I heard that Debbie was starting a Polaroid Swap, I just had to get on board. I've seen several Polaroid block quilts online, and they always look so cute. Because things are a little busy right now, I only signed up to swap ten blocks, but I decided to make two of each block -- one to swap and one to keep. All of my fussy cut squares are leftover scraps from various Lizzy House collections. Her clever little prints are just perfect for these tiny blocks. Forgive the indoor pictures on this post, by the way, but the wind would have blown all my little blocks into the next county if I had tried taking them outside...

The blocks I get back from the swap will be used for a separate project, while my own versions are going together to make a mini quilt. I still had a few extra squares to finish framing this evening while I was playing around with the layout. This is going to be fun!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Perspective

For the past few weeks I've been slowly making progress on my project for the Modernista Swap. It has been an almost therapeutic process for me to be able to take my time with something rather than try to whip it out during the few minutes of free time I can snatch here and there.

I used the Looptastic pattern by Elizabeth Hartman from her new Modern Patchwork book for the circle pieces, and I cut into two charm packs of Innocent Crush and Lou Lou Thi by Anna Maria Horner for the fabric. For the background I used some of my favorite architectural print from Etchings by 3 Sisters, and I bound it in a blue dot Modern Meadow print by Joel Dewberry. It's also backed in a pink Lou Lou Thi fabric. Since I had the time, I added some hand stitching around the inner and outer borders of the circle. Pulling from the words inside the center, I'm calling this piece Perspective.

To go along with the mini quilt, I made a thread catcher with leftover AMH prints, natural linen, and a green Mini Mikes print by Michael Miller for the lining. I echoed the original design by placing the prints in color order and adding more hand stitching around the border. 

I can't tell you what a delight these were to make. As so many of you have said when you finish a swap project, it will be so hard to let these go. Not only do I love the way they look, but they also reminded me how much I enjoy the creative process. It's easy to get so caught up in my to-do list that I forget why I started sewing in the first place. I've done a lot of thinking this week about slowing down, using what I have rather than always trying to buy more, and choosing quality over quantity in the pieces I make. If I can follow through with my resolutions in these areas, I think I'll be better for it, and I know I'll enjoy what I'm doing more.

Hope you're enjoying what you're doing this weekend.

Linking up to...

Happy Friday!

It was a happy Friday indeed today. As my family was pulling out of the driveway to go have lunch and run errands, the postman came by with a few packages. Guess what was inside one of them?

Tara -- or missabeat, as she's known to us in the Modern She Made Swap -- put together this incredible surprise for me. I love everything about it: the patterns, the colors, the fabrics...all perfection. Just yesterday I was thinking about making a bag to hold my sewing when I'm out and about, and this one will be exactly what I need. I love the little pouch attached to a key ring on the side...so handy.

The pincushion is darling; Bear grabbed it immediately and started running around the room with it calling, "Mommy, this is bee-yooo-ti-fullll!" And the fabric scraps...gorgeous prints that I'm just crazy about! I'm so excited to use these little beauties. Tara, you made my day. Bless you.

470 of you took the time to enter my Sew Mama Sew Giveaway -- that's more than three times the number I've ever had for a giveaway before. So many of you had kind things to say and some of you even decided to follow the blog -- thank you!! I wish I could send a special package to all of your doors, but I don't think even my long suffering husband could overlook a fabric bill that large. Random.org says that the winner is Miss Mary who commented:

MissMaryMay 21, 2012 8:31 AM

I am in my first bee ever, and my month comes up this summer! My hope is to dig into that and make a fabulous bee quilt!

Congrats, Miss Mary! I've sent you an email. As soon as you send me your address, I'll have the package headed your way.

My husband has a four day weekend from teaching starting today -- a marvelous glimpse of things to come. Only one more week and he's off for the summer. I can't wait!

Happy Friday to you all!!

Swap

It's amazing to me how I can get so much done on some days, while on other days it's a major feat just to get everyone fed and clothed. Yesterday was one of the latter...I didn't have time to sew a single stitch. Thankfully, the day before that was far more productive, and I was able to actually finish my Modern She Made Swap project: a pair of place mats and napkins as my partner requested.

This was my first project swap, and it's been a great experience so far. While it's a little stressful to try to figure out what your partner is going to love, I enjoyed being stretched throughout the whole creative process. The assignment was to make one "big" item -- a set of place mats, a bag, a sewing machine cover, a mini quilt, etc. -- while including a circle somewhere in the design. Looking over her inspiration board and favorites, I noticed that my partner seemed to gravitate toward solids, text fabric, and linen, so I tried to put all of these together in a clean, modern way. For my fabric, I used Town News from Hometown by Sweetwater, Woodgrain in teal from Woodlands by Khristian Howell, the Woodlands inspired Kona bundle from Sew Fresh Fabrics, Metro Living Circles in carrot and orange by Robert Kaufman, and a natural colored linen blend. I made the set reversible so that there are two different looks available as well. I'm hoping that all the colors will be a nice splash of summer cheer in my partner's home.

Wishing you all a very happy weekend.

Linking up to Sew & Tell Friday & Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

Under the Weather

Rain is pouring outside my windows as I type. Inside, the girls and I sit sniffling in the family room with assorted colds and, in my case, a touch of flu. Not ideal sewing conditions, I'm afraid, so I don't have much to share today. Yesterday I started work on my project for the Modern She Made Swap -- you can see my fabric choices for that above. It's been a fun challenge so far. I'm also nearly finished with the house pouch for this week's Zakka Style Sew Along project; I should have some pictures in a day or two. My Castle Peeps quilt tops are all draped along the upstairs banister, sending me silent guilt signals every time I see them. I really hope to get those done by the end of the month. For the moment, though, the most I seem to be able to handle is curling up next to my daughters on the couch under a quilt while we watch cartoons. Hey, there are worse ways to spend a day...

Linking up to Work in Progress Wednesday.

I love the mailbox...

...because it brings me packages like this one. A few weeks back I, among several others, won a very generous giveaway by Kate Spain. What a joy it was to find this beautiful fabric in the mail today. I am so, so happy right now...

And speaking of happy news, have you heard about the Modern She Made Swap? I've been trying to get into a project swap for a few months now, but they always seem to be full or exclusive. When I heard that sign-ups for this one started April 1st, I was so glad to know that there was hope at last. Sign-ups are continuing through April 6th or until they hit 100 members, so get your name in now!