make it modern Jan.

I finally got the time to sit down & sew again for a few hours Saturday. That always makes me a happy girl! ;)
 First up on the list were the two bee blocks for the January ladies.
This is the  wonky/improv block for Kelie. I had a lot of fun with "new to me" style of block making! There may be more of them in my future!! :)

The second block is this "mama goose" block for Samantha. I'm anxious to see what she will do with these. HST are always fun to make.

This is my first block bee & I've survived so far! lol No seriously, I'm looking forward to all the new block's I will learn in this round.I'm already looking forward to February! 

PS Love Day swap

PS Love Day swap inspiration, a photo by Sew Peachey on Flickr.


I'm excited to be joining the love day swap with Bonnie over at the Pink Stitches blog! It's a little different than other swaps I've been in since partners aren't secret & we converse to find out what the other likes. My partner even happens to live in the next town over! We've been in contact & I have a good idea of what to make for her now.

This is the mosaic I made of all the gorgeous valentine themed things I could find. I'd love any one of these beauties!! Aren't those wonky hearts just the best?!

plus quilt

I'm finally sharing my finished Christmas plus quilt with you all! I got it back from the long armer 2 weeks before Christmas & got the binding all sewn on sitting under it one chilly afternoon. I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. The biggest quilt I've made so far, it's nice & long perfect for naps, festive & oh so, cuddly!! :)

  

                                     

 

I used 5+ charm packs in the top & just arranged them in a pleasing plus design.

I pieced the back with coordinating yardage & a strip of extra charm squares.

 Here's a close up shot where you can really see the snowflake quilting.

Before I go I need to share with you this little tree quilt made up for Christmas as well. I had to 

hang something in place of the modern maples mini. :)

And remember that little penguin mug rug I sent off in the mug rug swap? Well here is the gorgeous beauty I received in return!!! It's more of a mini quilt really & I've been enjoying on my wall. No mug will set on this!;)  

Happy sewing!! 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Wow. My last post was a fall inspired quilt & now it's all about Christmas! This is definitely my favorite season & time to decorate. :) I'll just let the photos do most of the talking today & maybe inspire you to create your own bit of Christmas cheer!

 A try at a christmas wonky star.

 I finally pieced the backing to my Christmas plus quilt & sent it off to the long arm quilter. Can't wait to get it back & use it this Christmas.

 Here's the chubby little penguin mug rug I sewed up for my partner in the holiday scrappy mug rug swap! How cute is he? I love how cheerful it is to sew with red & green!

 Obviously my partner was a penguin lover, so I used this fun print for the back.

 A black friday special online & this is what fell into my car! lol I'm planning a new holiday table runner.

 Using the leftover charms from my plus quilt I stitched up these two coordinating  pillows for the sofa. I love the new black yarn dyed essex linen! And I finally went out & bought myself a walking foot! What fun it was to quilt this, so quick!!

 I am so glad I took the extra few minutes to add invisible zipper closures. It keeps the back's looking so neat.

 Here it is next to the dresden I made last Christmas.

 I'll leave you with a photo of my baby having fun with a snowy day pompom craft we made! Don't they look so pretty all together? Ah, I love this season!!

Happy December to you all & Merry Christmas!!!

modern maple mini quilt

I'm joining in with the fun over at Amy's Creative Side & The Bloggers Quilt Festival! 

I'm entering the modern maple mini quilt I completed this fall & have hanging on my wall. 
I have to tell you here at the beginning that I am rather new to quilting, I've only made a few mini's & baby size quilts so far. I love the feeling of satisfaction after one is finished!!

Anyway, I was just introduced to this block pattern a few weeks ago when I saw a few of them popping up over on Flickr. I was so intrigued I had to make a few myself!!:) 
Since fall was already half over I knew I wouldn't have time to make a whole quilt so I just made up four blocks & sewed them together to make a mini quilt. 

I used essex linen for the back ground & a red FMF print, Sandy Garvis yellow print, brown Lizzie House print & a Micheal Miller print. I also used a bit of text print in the background of the MM print for a bit of visual interest. 

Again I  used two different binding scraps I had & love the other extra bit of interest it added!

Because this quilt is so small I was inspired to hand quilt it & I sure am glad I did! I love the texture it adds to the quilt.

 

Here's a detail shot of the quilt where you can really see the hand quilting & the texture it brings!

..............Bloggers Quilt Festival stats..............

finished quilt measures 18x19

hand quilted by me: Karen Peachey

Best category: hand quilted, wall hanging, doll/mini quilt

scrappy swap 2012

I was very honored to be asked by Kat to join her as co-mama in the scrappy swap 2012!!! She was my partner in the first round of the swap & we hit it off quite well! 

The swap is just beginning, as sign ups have ended & we are working on partner match ups & will be sending out partner information shortly.
It's a great small & no stress swap. All you have to swap is a fq worth of scraps, a small handmade goodie & a local goodie not totaling over $3.00. 

Here is the inspiration mosaic I made for my partner to give her ideas of what I'd love to receive. I am such a sucker for swaps & love the fun in stalking my partner to find out her likes & then sewing her something she'll hopefully! love!:)

pretty {little} pouch swap

Round 5 of the PLPS has just come to an end, so I thought I'd better show you all the beautiful pouch I received as well as the pouch I sent. 
This was the start of the scrappy gayg pouch I made. You can find the pattern here. 

 

My partner requested that the pouch be for her 13yr. old daughter & she loved greens, aquas & browns, so that is what I went with. 

The back has some special HR bits in it. (fishies & brown dolls!)

For the extras I made up this key fob & a tiny little snap pouch that I drafted a pattern for.

A peek at the inside & I even managed to remember to add a label!

I was very impressed with how well this pattern was written. This was the first time I made it & it went together like a breeze! The magnetic snap and all! My partner said in her thank you that her daughter just LOVES it & carries it with her everywhere!! It's so awesome when you know something you made brings another person so much joy!:) This was the complete package I mailed her then.

After waiting a month past the mail by date I finally received my pouch in the mail!!!! How gorgeous is this?? Amazing. My partner did & excellent job of "stalking" me & finding my likes out as look what else she included! A book on canning, (I had posted pics of my big canning shelf on flickr) a crocheted dish cloth (I had mentioned in another group that we were a part of that I'd love one) & some fabulous scraps from the pouch.

It was definitely worth the wait for this one! So beautiful! Check out that stitching on he leaves. Wow. 

It's the perfect size for my embroidery hoop, but I decided to use it to carry my epp project with me. Absolute perfection!! Yay, for another satisfied round in the pouch swap!