Made for Swap

Update:  Here is a little bag I made from Anna Marie Horner's Innocent Crush fabric that I bought for the swap.  I finished my swap partner project and had some material left over.  Daughter #1 loved the material and asked for a little zipper bag.  Here she is!

Maybe I made the pin cushion below for the swap, but it is now MINE!  I don't think my partner would like this  material as much as something else, so I am going to make her the same thing in different material.  What a sacrifice!

This Love material by Amy Butler is so scrumptious to me, I am going to make alot of trial stuff in it for myself, for the swap. 

The pattern is from Sew Mama Sew and is easy and fun.  I overfilled the rice bag, but that can be remedied.

My Latest Projects-Branching Out

I am trying out some new crafty type of things.  Ever since I saw a picture of this pincushion caddy on a mosaic, it has been my goal to find a tutorial on making one.  And I found it! at Penny's.  It is awsome and I am in the process of making one.  Here it is in pieces.

And here is my final product.  It is really big and holds alot of stuff.  I love it.

I am making it out of the same material from an Amy Butler layer cake that has been laying around for a long time.  Don't even know what it is called... but I also made up a little zipper pouch to hold hexies with the same fabric.

ps.  The little needle holder hexie with the rabbit was a Christmas gift from Amy at House of Bad Cats.  She is awsome, and I hooked it onto the zipper so I will always have it on the go!

Another project is Spool Bird made out of Amy Butler's Love fabric.  He is going to be part of a set made into a mobile. http://www.flickr.com/groups/spoolbirdies/pool/ They are fast and really fun to make!

Gotta go to bed.  Good night, self.

Happy Birthday to my Hubbie!!

Ben turned 51 yesterday.  Daughter #1 and I took him to a snazzy Italian Restaraunt and gave him a gift card for Borders.

 I am totally into my eReaders (I have 3!) especially my brand new Kindle.  The buttons on my Sony are actually worn down so much that I can't read them.  Of course I use them by memory, so that really isn't a problem (I just complained so I would get a new one).

My first Swap for Make Mine Modern started yesterday and I am so glued to the computer to stalk my secret partner.  I am nervous and thrilled to participate in this kind of thing.  Hope I can fulfill my duties.  I keep telling myself that if I make something that she might not want, I get to keep it!!  Powerful motivation to just keep making stuff, right?

I bought some crafty type of books for reference (that, and I am a bookaholic).  My new books are Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts, Sewn Spaces, Cute Stuff, and One-Yard Wonders.  I may never make anything from them, but it is my Porn and I will be constantly looking through them and dreaming.

My New Logo

I must thank my best friend in the whole wide world, Pamela Myhre, for creating a logo for me!  She is the owner and empress of design for Icon Design in Boise, ID.  She designed my chick to look like me.  According to my girls, she succeeded.  Thank you so much Pamela!! I love it.  (She added the quilting goddess to the logo-not me). 

The Fat Chick became the logo because of my love of bird drawings and graphics.  I have been embroidering little fat chick tags for all of my quilts for a long time.

Trying new things

I was playing with some scraps of red and aqua, including pieces from a jelly roll of Giddy that I just got.  Anyway...I started cutting angles and sewing them together.  VOILA! a star pincushion.   Isn't it cute?  The other reason I tried to make a pincushion is that I received a couple of bags of crushed walnut shells (and some wool felt squares) from Prairie Point Junction.  It is really nice filler because the oil in the shells helps keep the pins smooth.  A also added wool batting to fill it up tight. 

 

What to do?

I adore birds.  I use them often in sewing patterns, ornaments, pin cushions, and you name it.

Ever since Christmas, I have wondering what to do with some funky little bird pin cushions that I made as prototypes for ornament swaps.  Both my girls loved my birds, so I have taken pictures of them for posterity.  To me, they look like fish/bird combos, but they are kinda cute.



the plaid scottie: The Plaid Scottie Presents: A 10,000+ Hits Celebra...

the plaid scottie: The Plaid Scottie Presents: A 10,000+ Hits Celebra...: "Since it's a mini tradition for Whiskers to be my 'fur Vanna' and pose with the giveaway items (here and here), I went to go fetch him once..."

Handmade Christmas Presents

  First I made Christmas Stockings for my brother and his wife.  These sort of match with the stockings I made for my sister's family last year.  One of my favorite themes is the Twelve days of Christmas.  So I used the Two Turtle Doves and Drummers Drumming for these.  These are all hand quilted.

Then I made my sister two standard size pillow shams to match the Japanese Indigo Quilt I gave her last year.

Current Projects

I am participating in my first real Swap!  It is the Make Mine Modern Swap.  That is the main reason I made this page.  Hence all the likes and dislikes stuff.

Also participating in the Houston Modern Quilt Guild Row/Round Robin.  This has been very, very fun and quite a learning experience.  It has made me step out of my comfort zone, and expanded my tastes in designs and colors.

A baby quilt for one of my husband's co-workers.  She is having a girl, but didn't want any pink.  I found and LOVE this Spotted Owl by Alexander Henry at High Fashion Fabrics.  Here is the quilt.