Friday, February 15, 2013

Air Mail and Bicycle Messenger

More swap results in!  This one was for Doll Quilt Swap 13 on Flickr.  I tried a few new things with this one and made it in rainbow colors.


"Air Mail" top

Back and label

This was  a chance to practice my foundation paper-piecing skills.  The airplane block is from a free pattern I found online by Penny Pennington here. The tiny flying geese were very easy to make but I'll admit -- the hassle is in tearing the paper off afterward.  Tweezers come in handy!  I used a Cindi Edgerton tissue paper pattern for them.  If you want to try your hand at some for free, you can send a self-addressed, stamped envelope (remember those?) to this address and you'll get some generous sample sheets of tiny, adorable blocks.  There.  That's my tip for the day.  Who doesn't love free stuff?

After I sent the little airplane over the ocean to England I received a shipping tube from Texas from Mona, Quilting Cyclist.  I think  a shipping tube is even more exciting than a rectangular box...don't you?



But even better was what I found inside:


Top

Back and label















Isn't it spectacular!  I just love it.


The embroidered quote and dresden were inspired by this free pattern post by Amy at  Nancompany.  The quilting pattern - which is really showcased on linen - was inspired by Lolablueocean's work on Flickr.





The quote is from Mother Teresa and goes, "We cannot do great things, but we can do small things with great love."  Perfect for a mini quilt and for daily inspiration!



Bonus! Fat quarter
Sew on!

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Reading Room

     January proved to be a prolific and harried sewing affair.  I committed to two mini quilt swaps as well as my first block bee and all three were scheduled to go out around the same time but my quilt guild has also picked up the production pace as now we have a block swap and project challenge every month.  Add to that my mom's birthday pillow, baby quilt, as well as the dye workshop and this turned out to be an abundant time to learn and sew.

The payoffs are so worth it though!  Here's the little quilt I sent off for the bookshelf-themed MiniQT Flickr Swap:



And here's the one my partner, Karen aka Sewgentle sent back:


We talked about many of our favorite books and she included some from each of us on the 'shelf for me.  What a great swap partner!  She stalked me good and included lots of special touches that are so me: flower-shaped button, text print, Paul Bunyan... I love the falling flower petals, the polka dots, the printed titles/authors, and the extra fabric.  Sigh.  It was a good swap.