Mar
22
For the Love of Solids
Filed Under Giving, Knitting, Quilting, Sewing, Swapping | Leave a Comment
I’ve been awful about blogging lately haven’t I? I wish I could say it’s because I’m swamped, but the deluge has let up a bit. But that’s another post in itself.
This year I resolved to get more active in the (awesome) online sewing community. I joined do. Good Stitches which is a really fun quilting bee for a really good cause, and I’m really enjoying my bee group. And I even signed up for my first swap on flickr. I’ve done swaps on craftster.org and etsy before, but they were never this active or organized of a group.
For the Love of Solids is a HUGE swap with 100 swappers! It’s a secret swap so no one knows who is making something for them. My partner had a really great inspiration mosaic that really helped me decide how to style her items. Everyone makes one big item (from solid fabrics), and then a second item can be either handmade or purchased.
I can’t tell you who she is, because she hasn’t received her package yet (even though I sent it a week ago!! — Yes, I’m panicking!). One of the items on her “big item” wish list was a knitting needle roll. So I made her one based on the design I did for Alexis’ colored pencil roll. I, unfortunately, don’t have the best picture of it.
For her small item, a little pouch made from linen and one of Faith’s solstice stars. With some hand-quilting. I also threw in a little stack of bright solids, and a sampler pack of Aurifil threads. I had an extra sampler and everyone should get to try them out don’t you think?
Then, last week I received my package from my partner, Five Baht Elephant. It’s so awesome! I love the dark neutral with the bright colors on this great mini. I just have to decide whether to take it to work to hang up or put it up at home. Sean thinks it’s a fabulous play quilt. I just think it’s fabulous.
She also sent along this really cute ruffled/pleated pouch. I mean, who can’t use another pouch. Noone, that’s who! And I wish you could see the awesome zipper pull on this thing. Amazing!
As if that weren’t enough, she even made some cute little scrappy coasters. My favorite is that stripey one in the middle there. It’s just so happy.
A huge success of a swap (so far… I wish my partner would get her package!! Stupid post office.) But it might be a while before I join another. Even though things have let up a bit, I’ve still got lots to do. But as I said before, that’s a topic for another day.
Have you joined any swaps? Which is your favorite?
Mar
6
It’s been forever since I posted. I’d like to blame being busy, and I have been, but last week I pretty much sat on my butt and didn’t do much sewing. I was working on other stuff though! The weather has also not been cooperating, and so pictures were terrible. And you know I feel like I have to have pretty pictures.
Sadly, these photos are not that great. And that purple fabric for some reason always comes out way too blue…
Anyway, these are the drunkard’s path blocks from week 3 of Curves Class… we’re on week 5 now and I still haven’t finished anything from week three other than this little bitty quilt, and haven’t even started week 4 projects. Boo.
So anyway, four drunkard’s path blocks, cut into a circle. This was the first time I tried a couple of things with the binding. First of all, curved binding… I’ve done binding with angles, but never curved, so it was a bit disconcerting that it didn’t seem to want to lie flat despite cutting it on the bias. In the end, pressing it was a huge help. It laid right down after that.
Second, I used Rachel’s method to sew down the binding on the front. She always uses a zig-zag stitch and it always looks so nice. Mine’s not quite as good, and the stitching on the back doesn’t really line up so great, but I still like the finish.
I wanted the quilting to go through the medallion on the back, so it’s a bit off on the front, but I like it that way.
I’m going to be sending this little mug rug off to a friend of mine who loves purple. She’ll especially like this (I hope!) because it contains fabric from both of the quilts I made for her two little ones.