-pillow talk swap 9 complete!-

The past couple of weeks have been so tiring (the time change- it messes with everything!) and busy with halloween, soccer, and birthday stuff.  It just going to get busier- I know.  I am contemplating taking next week off of school to catch up on some projects around the house and to prep for Christmas.  One advantage of homeschooling...

 I haven't had much time to sew.  However, this past weekend I finished up my pillow for the Pillow Talk Swap.  I quilted it with swirls- they are a little "organic".  I hope my partner doesn't mind!  However, I do like the look and will try it again in the future.

I am happy to cross this project off the list, and I am looking forward to getting something in my mailbox in the next week or so!

For the back I used this gray text print.  My partner likes text prints, and I kind of felt bad for not using any on the front! ;0)

You can find my previous post on this pillow here!

Happy November and happy sewing!!  Time to get the Christmas crafty groove going!

-manual mode monday 2/52

I got started on my pillow for The Pillow Talk swap this weekend.  I have finished all my blocks using this pattern.  This is a fun little block to piece.  I decided to go with a bright, rainbowy mix of colors, and I am using varying shades of white and notebook type fabrics for the background.

 I was inspired by this color combo, and then decided to add a pop of orange to round it out a little more.  I think these kind of colors are to my partner's taste (at least, I hope they are!).   

Lens: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II 

F 2.2 1/60 ISO 800

I shot these all in manual!  Yay!  I found that I liked the overexposed look for these photos, as they made the rainbow really pop against the white.  However, as much as I like the blur, I felt like there was too much blur.  I tried fooling around with it to open the lens a bit more, but eh...  I would appreciate any tips if you have any thoughts!

-crafty fun-

1. Blackbird Fly by Poppyprint, 2. Hangin' With My Gnomie PTS8, 3. patchwork tote, 4. Scraparadise, 5. Triple dresden on Kona raisin, 6. glamour shot, 7. Spool Pillow, 8. Nicey Jane hexies, 9. SG quilt progress report, 10. IMG_6091, 11. Elephants on Parade, 12. hexagon pillow 2, 13. Pillow Talk Swap (ready to send), 14. My Pillow Talk Swap from Little Miss Shabby, 15. Pillow swap - finished!, 16. 100th post prize cushion

The baby is finally sleeping a little better.  She even sometimes naps at the same time as the two year old in the afternoon.  Bliss!  We are starting week five of school and getting a good rhythm.  So, I am excited to have a little more crafty time. 

I am joining in the Pillow Talk Swap this round!  This is my fourth time, and it is such a fun swap.  The pillows that come out of this swap are almost all swoon worthy!  So excited for a fun challenge.  I believe there are still a few spots left open currently if you have been wanting to join in on the fun of this one.

(image from Alicia Paulson at http://rosylittlethings.typepad.com/)

Ginny over at Small Things is also hosting a stitch along for Alicia Paulson's Winterwoods ABCs cross stitch sampler.  I love the slow pace of stitching this throughout the fall to have ready for winter.  I like more yarny and handstitch projects in the fall and winter.  There is something so cozy about curling under a quilt and stitching.  Not that we are really anywhere close to really needing quilts right now, but a girl can dream. ;0)  

Kids Clothes Week is coming up in October!  Yay!  I really want to make a few things for the fall.   Some skirts for the girls and maybe some pants and a vest for the little man? 

 Do you have any fun crafty plans?  

-pillow talk swap 8-

I finished my pillow!  I have to say that I really enjoyed making this.  I felt I had a vision for how this pillow was going to turn out, but sometimes my visions are flops.  I kept fretting over the background and whether I should put the dresden off center or not.  I am pleased with the overall effect though, and I have high hopes my partner will like this.

For the back of the pillow I used a coordinating print to the background of the front and made a simple envelope closure.

I kept the quilting on this pillow simple with random diagonal lines.  It already felt busy, and I didn't want to add more "busy-ness". ;0)  The pillow is 20" x 20".

Of course, as I was taking pictures, Josiah thought I wanted to take pictures of him.

Really, how I could I not?  Cutest little face ever.

-dresden making-

So I have my Fussy Cut Bee quilt top all finished and a backing ready.  Now I am just waiting for the inspiration to baste!  I am not the biggest fan of basting (who is really?!).  Plus, this quilt is meant for a full bed, and my house is just not set up with a whole lot of floor space in any of the rooms, so it is going to be a little squishy. ;0)

This week started off busy, but then one of the kids got sick on Tuesday and now as she is feeling better, another one is down for the count.  So I have a feeling it going to go down the line, and we will be spending some quality time at home.  My kids are catching up on all the TV watching that I usually don't let them have.  Gotta have some sort of perk when they are sick, right?

So yesterday I decided to work on my pillow for The Pillow Talk Swap.  This really is one of the most amazing swaps.  I think it has only gotten better over the past couple of years.  This is my third time joining in, and I am feeling the pressure to make something super fabulous.  My partner has a love for warm colors and text fabrics.  I had an idea in my head, but then I found this dresden while browsing and fell in love.  I have never been that big of a dresden fan, but this took it to the next level.  The rainbow isn't really my partner's thing, so I made my main dresden in reds, oranges, and yellows, and the second dresden with some neutrals.  

I was playing around with background fabrics, and I found this one.  However, I only had a 14.5" piece, and I tried playing around with borders.  It just wasn't hitting the right note for me though.      

So I went digging again, and I came up with this text fabric.  I like that it is smaller and a little less busy, while still being different from a solid background.  The plan today is to work on this a little more while the sickies watch La La Loopsy!

So it starts...

First, I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I know we did!  When we came back from our Thanksgiving adventure this awesome little mug rug was waiting for me in the mailbox!  My partner from the Scrappy Mug Swap did an awesome job, and all the little details are just perfect.  I admit to having a hard time putting my mug on it. ;0)

So far, I have made one (just one) present for Christmas.  I embroidered this little cutie onto a pillow case.  These little jump rope friends come from this Japanese book from PinkNelie on Etsy.  I highly recommend this seller for Japanese books.  She has a great selection, reasonable prices, and fast shipping.  

I have lots of plans from Christmas presents, but honestly I am feeling a little craft burn out.  So I am not going to stress about them and instead kick back with my girlies and partake in a little pony tea party...

A Pillow and a Pincushion

I have finished putting together my pillow for The Pillow Talk Swap. I admit I agonized over this too much, I think. I just don't like it anymore! Hopefully, my partner will, and she won't notice all the mistakes that I can't stop looking at. I used Oh Fransson's tutorial for the block, and it went together well. It wasn't as difficult as I thought, but it was time consuming. My triangles also stretched a bit. Any tips on how to stop that? I did have fun trying out different stitches for this pillow on my new machine. I added some piping to give it a little more of structured look. I really like the look of the piping contrasting with the white.

For the back of the pillow I used some Anna Maria Horner Good Folks that I have had in my stash for awhile. I really think it compliments the front of the pillow well. I was going to put in an invisible zipper, but got pillow burnout and just went with a simple envelope closure.

After I finished the pillow I decided to play with my scraps and make a "practice" pincushion for The Scrappy Pincushion swap. This was literally made only from scraps, and I like it so much I think I might just send this one of to my partner. I was inspired by these pincushions on Purl Bee, but I changed it up quite a bit. I left the edges ragged for a more "scrappy" look.

Swap Talk

I finished my blocks for the Mod Bento Block Swap! I used almost exclusively scraps for this project except for some of the Kona solids I used. I always love busting my scraps. You can see the other two sets here and here. I am thinking of making a table runner for the dresser in my sewing with this project. So far all the blocks everyone has made look great!

I also got my partner for the Scrappy Pincushion swap. I was thinking of using some of these Rural Jardin charms and some linen for this one. I have been really been inspired by these two French ladies recently.

Last but not least I received my pillow from The Pillow Talk swap from Mary on Lake Pulaski! Isn't it great? She got her hands on Sweetwater's new line, Pure, at quilt market and used it for my pillow. It goes perfectly in our living room, and I couldn't be more pleased. I am working away on my pillow for my partner and am almost finished. The closer I get to finishing the more nervous I get about whether my partner will like it or not, and if she will notice all the blunders I have made putting it together!

Some Pillow Talk

Sewing has been slow around here. We had a sick little guy with a cold last week. Poor baby. I thought sleep might never happen again! This week we are back on the potty training wagon... aye yi yi.

However, over the past weekend I did start working on my pillow for my partner for the Pillow Talk Swap. I started out with the star above. I was using a pattern from Martha Stewart's new sewing book. I got this far and then was supposed to add some squares and triangles to make the pillow top. Well, try as I may it wasn't going to work. Why do Martha's instructions never seem to work? Is it just me? I looked online for tips, and the way other people put this block together made it clear that Martha's way really wasn't going to work. So I thought about appliqueing the star on, but it really huge..22 inches! I didn't really want to make a gigantic pillow. So, this idea was scrapped. Although, I am saving the star and think I want to make a wall hanging with it. The fabric is too pretty...

So, I moved on to a completely different idea. I was dead set on using Modern Meadow for this pillow, but it just wasn't feeling like my partner. Can you guess what this is? I still have to quilt the top and put it all together. I am still unsure of how I am going to quilt it.

I have been enjoying this swap so much I went a little crazy and joined two more: The Scrappy Pincushion Swap and The Mod Bento Block Swap. There is still time to join both of these, if you are interested!

I am sorry this blog has been so neglected of late, but I am hoping to post more and start doing more pattern reviews again of patterns that I carry in the shop like I did last summer. If anyone has one of the patterns I carry and wants to do a pattern review, I would love to have you guest blog! Just send me an email at mvansciver at gmail dot com! Also, please do check out the shop. A whole slew of new patterns have come in over the past week or so.