Swap Madness

Sorry for the prolonged absence I’ve been traveling quite a bit for work and “leisure” lately and haven’t had time to do much crafting. And my large stack of quilts is still staring me down waiting to be finished so it’s been hard to motivate myself. But I did participate in a couple of swaps over the past month or so that were definitely worth blogging about.

First up was the Pretty Little Pouch Swap. In which I got this little pouch

Which goes beautifully with the tote I got in the For the Love of Solids Swap (which is going to start up again after the holidays if you are interested).

Right after the pouch swap I joined the Goodie Bag Swap. I made this Amy Butler pattern using the Melody Miller Bee fabric.

I had a really hard time letting this purse go and if the fabric wasn’t so expensive I probably would have made myself one!

Of course the bag I got in return was just as cool.

And it even came with a change purse!

I loved the purse I got in this swap and the little pouch from the other swap so much that I decided to make another little pouch to match my new purse. The colors aren’t a perfect match but they go well together and I wanted to use what I had on hand instead of purchasing new fabric.

Now regardless of which purse I carry I have a matching pouch that will hold my phone, wallet, chapstick etc so they won’t get lost in the bottom of the bag .

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Friday I’m in Love- Modern Solids Swap

Last week I received this swap package from TrilliumDesign but I couldn’t take pictures since I was literally home for about 8 hours. And in fact I’m only home a couple days this time but that’s long enough to take some pics and then take this fabulous tote with me to the conference I’m attending next week.

I give Caroline a lot of credit since my description for the tote I wanted was something like “not too large but not too small.” And it turned out perfectly! It wil fit my laptop, notebook, and textbook or library book. It also has a nice large interior pocket for pens, notepads etc. But my favorite feature is the place to hook my keys to on the inside of the bag. I hate tossing my keys in a bag and then trying to root around and find them but this way they can go in my bag but be easy to find.

For this swap we were supposed to make a large item and a small item so Caroline also sent along this pouch which will fit my change, chapstick and loose cash.

But the icing on the cake was the selection of fabric.

I’m a big Echino fabric so I love these cars and I’ve been going back and forth about buying the Heather Ross guitars so it was an awesome addition.

If you can’t tell I couldn’t be happier with my swap package

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Worktable Wednesday- Does my partner hate it?

I’m participating in a blind swap which is always challenging. On one hand you don’t want to give the person exactly what they have asked for because that’s not really that fun but on the other you want them to like what you make them.

The smart and recommended course of action is to post in progress photos (this is also generally appreciated by swap hosts as they like continuous participation). But when you do so and your partner doesn’t comment…. well that’s tricky. My partner said she liked some of things in the picture in her original questionnaire and nothing was listed as something she hated…. I’m thinking I’ll just keep going and see if she comments on my next in progress photo and if she doesn’t then I might switch gears. I realize she could have overlooked the photo or something innocuous like that but I also know that sometimes if there is a photo in the group I really don’t like then I just won’t comment and hope that it isn’t destined for me. Oh me oh my….

Advice?

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For the Love of Solids

I’ve joined my first swap in over a year, it’s like riding a bike right?

I figured since I started and moderate the Simply Solid Quilt Flickr Group (the FIRST solids only/mostly group on Flickr, now there are lots but I was first!) I couldn’t pass up a solids only swap group. There are still a couple slots left if you are interested but you better head over fast!

I realize that my mosaic is shall we say lacking but in my defense I spent over an hour picking out 16 photos only to have some of them refuse to show up in the mosaic and I swear everytime I thought I had eliminated all of the nonfunctional links another one would stop working. So I called it good at four of my favorites. If you are my partner and need more inspiration you can check out my Flickr favorites where there are 838 items that I “like” but the four I chose represent my absolute favorites- text, little houses and simple shapes random or not.

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Worktable Wednesday- Potholder

Worktable Wednesday- Potholder, originally uploaded by Indie House.

I joined the Potholder Pass a couple days ago and I’ve already gotten started. But I’m not sure if this will be the final potholder or not. This is only a tease of what it will finally look like but I’m worried it might be a bit to kitschy…

I’ll post some more photos as I work on it today.

Update #1-

Update # 2-

I don’t know… I think it’s something my partner will like which is the whole point but because it’s outside of my comfort zone I’m hesitant. I think I might send this and two more traditional square potholders just in case…

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Coaster Swap Sent and Received

Coasters- Received, originally uploaded by Shear Delight.

I’ve been remiss in posting about the Coaster Swap! I sent mine off a week or so before the deadline but didn’t want to post anything until I knew my partner had received them and then I just forgot.

The coasters above are the ones that Liesl Made sent me combining my love of pink and my husband’s love of brown. They remind me of computer mouse pads and I think they are made of the same material with the image digitally printed on them but I’m not sure. They work great as coasters though and have already been well used around the house.

I made something a bit different. Liesl mentioned like the color combination of black, white and yellow and playing cards. So I thought I could combine those two loves using reverse applique.

In the first round I used yellow thread on the black fabric but thought there was too much contrast so I ripped it out.

I like the black thread on black fabric much better!

I also made a set of yellow coasters. I think the overall look is better on these but since it’s bright yellow I wasn’t sure if she would use them. I figure having both sets she can choose to use one or the other and if she has a party she can use both.

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Sew Mama Sew Meme

Sew Mama Sew Meme, originally uploaded by Shear Delight.

What brand and model do you have? Janome 6600P

How long have you had it? I purchased is a couple months ago.

How much does that machine cost (approximately)? It was $1600 with the 1/4 in accufeed foot and throat plate, Accufeed darning foot and stippling bobbin holder.

What types of things do you sew (i.e. quilting, clothing, handbags, home dec projects, etc.)? I bought it for quilting and small sewing projects like pot holders, decorating hand towels, napkins etc. But I just started sewing my own clothes and it works like a dream for all my projects.

How much do you sew? How much wear and tear does the machine get? If I’m not traveling I use it almost everyday sometimes only an hour a day sometimes quite a bit more.

Do you like/love/hate your machine? Are you ambivalent? Passionate? Does she have a name? I really like my machine, I’m still getting to know her and her tension adjustments. I really wanted a Bernina but do you know what those costs?! I haven’t named her or decorated her with stickers, I do need to make her a cover though so she doesn’t get dusty.

What features does your machine have that work well for you? I really like the Accufeed for quilting it makes the whole process so much easier. I like the automatic thread cutter though I wish I could adjust the length of the thread tails it leaves.

Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine? Tension but I think that’s any machine to varying degrees.

Do you have a great story to share about your machine (i.e., Found it under the Christmas tree? Dropped it on the kitchen floor? Sewed your fingernail to your zipper?, Got it from your Great Grandma?, etc.!)? We want to hear it! So far nothing really interesting has happened with my machine. When I went to look at machines they had one in stock which is why I didn’t do more comparison shopping at Janome dealers and as the lady was ringing me up she asked if I was the young lady that had called and said I would be coming by. I told her no and she seemed a little uncomfortable. She had told that young lady that she had a unit in stock and then turned around and sold that machine to me!

Would you recommend the machine to others? Why? Yeah it’s a great machine especially for quilting since that’s what it was designed for but it’s versatile enough to be a great multi-use machine.

What factors do you think are important to consider when looking for a new machine? I’m not going to lie price is key. While I would have loved a Bernina I can’t afford one. Beyond that I was looking for a machine specifically designed for quilting since that’s what I do the most of. Warranty and service plans are important as well and if you are new to sewing it’s good to buy from a shop that offers classes to get to know your machine.

Do you have a dream machine? Eventually I’d like a long arm machine but that’s a few years off at least.

You can see more people’s answers here.

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Sunday Stash- Swap Fabric

OOP Swap, originally uploaded by Shear Delight.

Have you visited this group yet? It’s a flickr pool for swapping hard to find and out of print fabric but be warned it’s additive. I swapped some Lush and Flea Market Fancy for the treasures above. The vans are a fabric scrap that were an added bonus. I doubt I’ll ever be able to cut into them. The blue posies join the green posies and will eventually be used in bits and pieces in a variety of projects. The birds will probably be made into some oven mitts etc and then in a bird quilt I want to make.

Right now I’m focusing on baby stuff to sell at a local farmer’s market. My step-mom, sister and I are going to give it a whirl. S scoped it out last week, there is already someone there selling quilts and another person selling purses so she suggested focusing on baby stuff but I think kitchen stuff might be a good choice as well. Either way I need to get sewing!

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Coaster Swap at Kindred Crafters

clementine coasters, originally uploaded by Handpicked.

I just found out about a cool new swap over at Kindred Crafters. And since they are swapping coasters, it’s just my speed, a quick and easy project with fabulous results.

You have until the 8th of May to sign up (more information here) and the swap is international so everyone is welcome to join.

If you are hesitant to join because you don’t know how to make coasters they have even posted a collection of tutorials to inspire you.

See you over there!

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Frankenphant

I was able to join the toy swap and decided to make a stuffed elephant. I went ahead and got started this weekend so I would finish in time. The deadline is the 10th but I’ll be in Germany for a week and won’t have time to work on the project then.

I may not have a lot of fabric but I did have some that I thought would be perfect for this project.

I picked up the numbers fabric in Massachusetts because the store was going out of business and I couldn’t resist the prices. The was purchased for my latest quilt and I picked it to add a little more interest. The blue was purchased specifically for the elephant because I thought the blue would pop well.

I followed the cutting instructions to the letter then went renegade in the piecing and sewing. I tried to follow the instructions but it didn’t make sense.

The first step was to sew the belly (dark grey) pieces together. I assumed this meant all the way around but if you do that it’s impossible to sew the belly pieces to the rest of the body.

Instead I sewed the belly pieces right side together with a body piece and then was able to sew the front and back of the belly to the back piece and trunk.

I left the entire middle piece open to make it easier to turn right side out and stuff.

In hindsight I think he needs more stuffing but I had trouble sewing his belly up. I couldn’t do a blind stitch, hence the name “Frankenphant.” He has a very obvious seam but it’s partially hidden by the dark fabric and matching thread.

He’s still pretty cute, now I just need to finish his eyes and tail.

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