Guild Love

The Portland Modern Quilt Guild and the Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild are doing a little swap!

Recently, the uber-talented Susan Beal visited KCMQG to do a presentation on modern log cabins. The notion of a swap was brought up and next thing we all knew - the two guilds each had stacks of cards with people's names/blogs/flickr names - all the proper tools for stalking a secret partner to make them a potholder!

I can't tell you who I made this little potholder for because my partner hasn't received it yet. But I hope she likes it! It was really fun to use the "Kansas Girl" flour sack fabric as the center of this log cabin block.

I decided to go with curved corners and bias binding for a couple of reasons. One, I really like the look. And two, I wanted more practice using bias binding since I usually finish my quilts with the binding cut on the straight grain.

I really like this print that I used on the back. For some reason, I've been really drawn to reproduction fabrics lately. They seem so fun and lively and the colors are great. The hanging loop is some printed ribbon I had on hand.

The quilting on potholders almost always seems really poofy to me. I think it's the fact that I use two layers of warm and natural plus a layer of insulbrite. There's nothing worse than a cute potholder that burns your hands.

Can't wait til this little gift lands with it's recipient. And thanks KCMQG for swapping with us!

Angel swap revealed

Remember way back when ... I was an angel in the Spicing Up the Kitchen Swap over on flickr.

Well, my partner received her package so I can finally reveal the full contents!

I made a table runner, hotpad, and potholder.

I was able to use one of my favorite Suzuko Koseki prints and the wonderful seed catalog print from Annie's Farm Stand by Lakehouse.

The potholder was really fun to quilt with all those diagonals making little diamonds.

And the hotpad was made of tiny patchwork of some beloved scraps. I've really enjoyed making hotpads like this to use on our dining table. I make them a bit larger than a potholder and don't include a hanging loop so it lies perfectly flat on the table.

So, some simple and fun projects. I'm happy to say that my partner likes them!

There are a lot more projects in the to-do pile but I'm lacking the time to tackle them at the moment. Hopefully, an upcoming all-day sew with the Portland Modern Quilt Guild will give me the chance to get a few things completed.

Swap Angel

I just sent off my very first angel package for a swap! It hasn't arrived yet at it's destination so I'll just post this little peek.

Swaps can be fun or horrible or anywhere in between. They can also be a little bit tricky because you are relying on people's honesty and integrity to follow through with their commitment. We all know that life has a way of being unpredictable and deadlines can be missed. As long as everyone communicates well, things usually work out just fine.

But every once in a while, someone is a flake and doesn't send anything out to their partner. That's when whoever is organizing the swap asks for "angels." An angel is someone who sends out a swap package without getting anything in return. I've never needed an angel in any of the swaps I've done and this was the first time I've ever been asked to be an angel for someone else.

It was really fun to put this little package together! I made a table runner, a hot pad, and a potholder since this was a "Spicing Up the Kitchen" swap. I hope they are well-received.

Do you participate in swaps? Have you ever needed or been an angel?

Solids challenge - received!

Remember awhile back when I posted about my first paper-pieced block? It went into the solids challenge swap at Portland Modern Quilt Guild and this is the pillow cover I got back!

Isn't it fantastic?! My friend, Petra got the block in the swap and made this gorgeous pillow cover. I can't believe I didn't take a picture of the back but it's Alexander Henry Heath in gray and some amazing gray and orange buttons.

And check out Petra's crazy awesome quilting:

I know I'm gushing but I just love it to bits and am so happy to have it on a chair in my sewing room so I can see it every day!

Goodies

I've been busy making a few little goodies for my partner in the Spicing Up the Kitchen swap over on Flickr.

This is what that pile of stuff from last time has turned into.

There are a couple of linen kitchen towels and a little fabric basket from the tutorial over on Pink Penguin.

Both towels feature an applique from one of my favorite Kumiko Fujita fabrics. Sometimes I purchase a fabric like this because I just fall in love with it but then I struggle with how to use it. This seemed like a nice way to feature a couple of pieces.

The texty black bias tape was made from the new Lakehouse line Annie's Farm Stand. After receiving an order of it I was completely smitten and turned right around to order more.

The other towel has a patchwork border made up of some of my favorite kitchen/food/dots prints.

I have one more towel in the works but it's not quite finished yet. These were so much fun to make! I hope my secret partner enjoys using them as much as I enjoyed making them.

Swap Stuff

After seeing all the cool stuff that came out of the first round, I decided to join the Spicing Up the Kitchen swap over on flickr. This is what I've gathered together so far.

We've all been assigned our secret partners and now is the time when we all try to figure out what that partner will like based on a questionnaire that was filled out when we all joined as well as a mosaic of favorite items that they've posted to the group.

I could go a couple of ways with the inspiration that my partner has provided but I hope she likes these goodies (linen, some favorite kitchen-y prints, a texty bias tape that I made the other day). But in all honesty, this is right up my own alley!

I'll give the ideas a few more days to roll around in my brain before I start stitching. Can't wait to show the finished project when it's all done!

Solids challenge

Last month at Portland Modern Quilt Guild, we swapped quilt blocks made using all solid fabrics. This is the one I received from Anne.

I love the bold colors and the graphic quality of all the black outlines.

Our challenge was to make either a pillow cover or mini-quilt using only additional solid fabrics. After chatting with Anne, she seemed to have a preference for a mini-quilt.

Well, this block is lovely, but it is definitely a departure from my usual style so I really had to let this one simmer for awhile before I came up with anything I felt really worked with the original block. Most of my initial ideas were over-complicated and I'm glad I waited until I came up with something I really felt works with Anne's block.

I hope she likes it!

It seems so simple, but I like that it all really looks like one project and not like I forced my own particular style onto the block. The curved shape at the top was fun too and I will definitely experiment more with curved bindings.

I must say, after seeing the other blocks brought to the swap, I am constantly impressed by the variety that can be produced using only solids. In fact, I'm planning an entire quilt using just solids so that I can experiment more. Plus it gives me a great excuse to go all crazy in the kona section of my local fabric store!

Fun!

I'm participating in the Pretty Little Pouch swap over on flickr and this is what my partner will be getting in the mail.

The pouch is small - only four inches across! Let me tell you, getting everything turned right side out was no easy task! But I do enjoy a challenge and I love making small projects. Plus, I got to use a bunch of my bright polka dots (which my partner really likes!). And those owls...

The back has more owls, including the largest one who seems a little stern. Maybe he's protecting the contents of the little bag? The inside is fully lined with a nice bright lime green cotton.

Check out all the fun bags being made by the group. I can't wait to see what my partner makes for me!

Happy Mail

You know it's a good day when something like this shows up in your mailbox:

Kerry is a new blog friend and we've been chatting a bit back and forth. She has a wonderful blog full of inspiring and creative projects so be sure to check it out and say hi. A little while ago I posted a picture of some homemade cinnamon rolls and that prompted a little personal swap.

I sent some really strong cinnamon along with a potholder and some little fabric bits that I thought Kerry would like along with the recipe for the cinnamon rolls. And this is what she sent to me:

Am I lucky or what?! I should mention that there were also two fabulous chocolate bars that obviously didn't last long enough to make it into a photo and some tasty tea.

Really beautiful fabric - all new to me!

And here's the back of the potholder, complete with one of Kerry's handmade tags, which I adore.

And a better look at the front of the potholder. I have it hanging in my kitchen with strict instructions to my husband to not use it! I just want to enjoy looking at it!

Here's the potholder I sent:

And the back has a pocket for your hand:

Thanks for such a fun swap, Kerry!

All Done

Finished up this pillow for the Urban Home Goods swap on Flickr. I went ahead with the blue linen background because I think that's what my partner will like.

It's big - 20x20. Good for an accent on a bed or as a nice comfy couch pillow. The back is a simple envelope closure.

Here you can see some of the hand stitching detail. I really wanted a clean look to the dresden itself so I used a ladder stitch to attach it to the background. I love how the stitches completely disappear!

Soon this will be off to live in a new home. I hope my partner likes it!

PMQG swap

This is my contribution for tomorrow night's Portland Modern Quilt Guild snack mat swap! The super cute cup and saucer is a screenprint on linen from Christina. Isn't it cute? I think she has some block print owls in her etsy shop right now. Go grab one before they're all gone!

The back is a Henry Glass print from my stash.

I really like how this turned out and I hope whoever gets it in the swap likes it too!

Choices

I'm trying to figure out what to make my partner in the Urban Home Goods swap over on Flickr. It's a little bit tricky because my partner seems to enjoy a color palate that is a bit different from my own. I'm not complaining - actually, I'm really looking forward to the challenge and have a few ideas rolling around in my brain.

The above stack is what I'm pondering at the moment. Love all the different grays! The two solids at the bottom are a gorgeous navy linen and a soft kona yellow. I'll probably stare at these for a few more days but then I need to get in gear and actually make something!

Note: If I were making something for me I'd be throwing a whole bunch of orange in with that gray and probably a pretty liberal dose of kona snow and charcoal. But that's just me. :-)

Just when you thought I was done....

MORE hexagons!

It's probably bad form for me to be posting these since I made them for a PMQG swap later this month. Oh well. I love them and hope that whoever nabs them in the blind swap loves them too.

Also made a tiny little drawstring pouch for them because one can never have too many tiny red and aqua hexie adorned drawstring pouches, can they?

Hexagon madness!

Here are the hexies I made for the Handsome Hexies swap over on flickr. It's all Amy Butler from the Midwest Modern collection. I loved making these and am always a little bit surprised at how much more I like certain fabrics when I only see a tiny amount at once. It's almost like looking at the fabric through a microscope.

And here they are all stacked and ready to go in their little drawstring pouch.

And on a completely unrelated note: I had some help in the kitchen making a blackberry/blueberry crisp.

Excited, are we? We picked the blackberries around our house and the blueberries on Sauvie Island.

I made the aprons from bandanas and some black twill tape. Bailey chose pink ric rack trim for hers (sweet) and Owen chose a pretty awesome black and purple zebra trim for his. You can just barely see it around the waist.

Now I'm off to start on more hexagons for the PMQG hexie swap!