Making lemonade

Have you seen the Bottled Rainbows quilt-along over at Stitched in Color? While I wasn't sure I wanted to commit to a whole quilt in this style, I really love the look of these colorful blocks. And it inspired me to try some ticker tape quilting.

I was in a purple mood, so that's what I went with. It was actually quite fun arranging my scraps into a pleasing grouping! Once I sewed everything down I was really loving how it came out. So much so that I was tempted to make more of these guys. But in the end I decided to stick with the original plan of making a little mug rug. Got everything all sandwiched, quilted, and bound. And then I did a dumb thing. I decided to wash it. What was I thinking? There's no real need to wash a mini quilt, right? But I had some other mug rugs to clean and some new fabric I wanted to wash. So I threw it in. And it brought out a flaw in my stitching. Eek!

What would you have done at this point? Take it apart? Applique right through to the backing? Try to hand stitch it back on? Throw it away in disgust? I considered all these things. And in the end I had a happy thought: my sewing labels are just about the size of the little rectangle that got messed up... and they're purple! So I pulled out the offending scrap and ironed on the label. I do miss the extra pop of turquoise in that corner, but overall I think it was a good and simple fix for me. And next time I'll be more careful with my zigzags!

Little Bags

It all started when I saw Milky Robot's bag. Then MrsMcPorkchop's. I had to make my own!

The design is so cute! I love the looping straps...

the velcro inside...

the back pocket.

I think they're perfect either as a little camera case or just as a cute wristlet for carrying essentials when you're on the go.

The pattern is from Keyka Lou, you can get it and make your own. OR if you you want, you can save yourself the trouble and just snatch one up from my shop.

Swap Round Up

Recently I completed a couple of swaps and I wanted to post some pictures of what I sent and received.

First, for round 3 of the Scrappy Mug Rug swap group on flickr, I made this Dresden mug rug for my partner (with Innocent Crush, of course):

  

I also added in a pincushion made from hand-stitched hexagons, and a few shrinky dink pins!

And this is the mug rug package I received. Isn't the embroidery great?

 

I also shared in the {Urban} HOME Goods swap.

 

One of the things on my partner's wishlist was a Kitchenaid mixer cover. I was nervous to make it since I don't have one myself to test it on, but I found this tutorial and went from there and it seems to fit! I used my partner's favorite green and gray colorscheme with some stripes for fun.

 
 

I also included a couple of potholders, another partner request.

  

What I was really hoping to get was something I've been meaning to make myself but haven't gotten around to, and the sewing machine cover I received really fit that bill! I love the Hope Valley fabric and colors. And the inside is corduroy! I also got this super cute raccoon needle book. So sweet!

 

Here's the cover on my machine in my teeny-tiny sewing corner.

Swapping can be a lot of fun: getting inspired seeing what everyone is creating in a group, trying to guess what you will be getting, stalking your partner and trying to come up with something perfect for them. But it's also a bit stressful: working on a deadline, hoping your partner will be happy with what you create, hoping you'll like what you get. While I think my swaps have gone pretty well, I think I'm taking a little break from swaps for a bit. Maybe it was just doing two at once wearing me out, or the nagging feeling that I should be working on my project list first!

What about ya'll, do you swap? I'd love to hear your best (or worst) swap stories!

Mug Rugs Sent and Received

Round 2 of the Scrappy Mug Rug Swap has been completed! (For me and my partners, anyway.) Just wanted to post pics of the completed mug rugs, sent and received.

This is what I came up with for my partner. From her inspiration mosaic and her emailed information, I knew she loved bright colors, coffee, and Denyse Schmidt's Flea Market Fancy. (A word on FMF: I had not really used it before, and I ended up doing a little splurge and getting some to use for my partner to be sure she'd like her mug rug. AND I ended up a FMF fan as well. Look out!)

The mug in the middle is from some Heidi Kenney Spoonflower fabric which I think is just too cute! I also added in a FMF coffee cozy (and I love how my partner yarntini is using it!) and some bonus recipe cards.

And check out what I got! This was made by grant_and_kelly. I love the Far Far Away fabric she chose and how it looks almost like you are peeking through a window at the owl and the pussycat. The big hexes are great and I love the quilting too.

Know what else is cool? The mug rug is totally reversible, with a cute Rapunzel on the back (and what looks to me like another window). (Am I window obsessed?)

She sent some great extras, too. Those cookies are like Thin Mints on steroids. Yum.

This swap was a lot of fun, maybe I'll try and get in for round 3, too! 

Happy Puppy Mini Quilt

Took a break from a larger quilt-in-progress to make a mini today. It was all improv! Just knew I wanted to use these cute Heather Ross dogs with the very fun Cogsmo. Since I'm a "should have done it differently" kinda person, I would tweak with a few things if I had it to do over again. BUT I think it was good for me to do a make-it-up-as-you-go-along sort of project for a change.

Love how bright and fun it all is! I must be feeling bold and cheerful thanks to the summer-like weather I'm enjoying. (Notice my happy warm weather shoes?)

The secret to this quilt? It's computer powered!

Don't puppies just make you smile?

I stink at free motion quilting.

I've tried. Multiple times. On this quilt alone I ripped out my stitches several times. I finally had to admit that I am just no good at free motion quilting. :-(

Oh, well. I'm still happy with how this mini quilt came out, straight lines and all. I used an ingenious tutorial from Oh, Fransson to make the tiny squares. The fabrics are a mix of Heather Ross, Amy Butler, Anna Maria Horner's Good Folks, and Wonderland by Momo.

Free motion quilters, I salute you! If there's some secret I'm missing please let me know. Otherwise, looks like the good old walking foot's gonna be this girl's best quilting friend.

JUST TO CLARIFY: After several comments about it, let me make it clear that the lines I did here were NOT with my free motion foot. I was attempting to do a meandering stipple line, then eventually gave up and went to the walking foot. I may be bad at free motion quilting, but I do know enough not to try straight lines with it. Thanks!

From an Octopus's Garden

I've been on a bit of an octopus kick lately. First, during thing-a-day, I made these coasters out of Heather Ross Mendocino fabric.


Then, I returned to Amigurumi World to complete this crocheted octopus (I call him Otto.)


And just the other day, I broke out the Gocco to print these OctoChef recipe cards!


You can find them in the shop.

Mini Quilt Monday

What is this rainbow-colored goodness? Why, it's my first mini quilt! (I'm not counting coasters. Too mini.)


I used a bunch of scraps from some of my favorite fabrics to get the ROYGBIV effect. There's Heather Ross, Denyse Schmidt, Anna Maria Horner, Amy Butler and more in there.


In several of the rows I added in a random fabric in the same color, just for fun. Don't you think rainbows are the happiest things?


The back, although, to tell the truth, I think I like it even better than the front. :-) I really love the way the quilted zigzags look on the white fabric.

This little octopus makes me smile. Hopefully this is the first of many minis!

Everyone loves a Giveaway!

Sew, Mama, Sew! is hosting another Giveaway Day! Last time, in May, I really enjoyed looking at everyone's blogs and shops and seeing what was offered. I even won something! I should have mentioned it sooner, but I won something really cool from Pins & Thimbles. Anne was great to work with, she used my Echino fabric and turned it into the custom wrist wallet you see below.


(I love this idea so much, btw, you just slip on what looks like a cuff, but inside you can stash some cash and a key. Great for a quick trip out of the house. I keep mine handy by the door for when I need it.) Anyway, I'm not giving that away. It's all mine! If you want your own, go check out Pins & Thimbles on Etsy.

But, without further ado, here's the Giveaway loot I have to offer! Since I love both crafting and handmade goods, I'm giving away a combo. In the supplies category, I'm including one yard of fabric. It's Lizzy House, Red Letter Day, Pearl Bracelet, Feather. I did wash it when I first bought it, then folded it up and didn't ever use it -- I was on an orange kick, but ended up choosing a different shade for my project. I hope someone out there will love it and put it to good use!


In the handmade goods category, I've crafted a little tea bag wallet. I used Heather Ross West Hill fabric with horses and flowers. You can put a few tea bags in the pockets and you are good to go. (It would make a really nice gift, too, perhaps wrapped up with a pretty teacup or mug.) I really love the button for the closure, it's a super-cute vintage horse button!














So, wanna win? ;-) All you have to do is leave me a comment, letting me know what your favorite tea is. Around December 6th I will choose a winner at random and send off the goodies. (Please note I am only shipping in the US.)

Thanks for looking. Happy Giveaway Day!

Weekend Sewing Project... with frogs

The other weekend I had a burst of sewing energy and decided to make a dress for my niece. (Not the one with the birdie sling. A littler one.) So I whipped up this smocked sundress from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross.


It was the first time I tried smocking and I loved it. There was something so fun about watching the fabric shrink up! The pattern is really easy and fast to do, to. And my niece looks really cute in it! I love how versatile it is: sundress now, wear a long sleeve top under it when it gets colder, summer shirt and/or skirt next year (or more?)

The fabric is also by Heather Ross, from her Far Far Away collection. It's SO soft! I only had about a half yard of it (good thing my niece is small), but I wish I had bolts and bolts to make lots of comfy pajamas. Or just to spread out and sleep on. Ah, double gauze.


What I had left of the fabric was barely enough to make a hex flower for my English paper piecing project. As a result of being so short on scraps, my stitches around the frog hex are not very perfect. :-( I'm hoping it won't be noticeable in a finished quilt, because I really want to include this fabric and memory of my niece's dress in there.