Love day swap

 I both sent & received my wonderful package in the PS love day swap a few weeks ago & it's high time I share it with you!! I made this scrappy boxy pouch for my partner who wanted a pouch. I also made a scrappy pink heart mini quilt & an embellished tea towel for some fun in the kitchen! I threw in this fun pink glitter love plaque as well. 

It was fun picking out pink goodness for this mini. I combined a bit of hand stitching with a new style of quilting around the outside. I was very pleased with it & happy to report my partner was as well!

For the boxy bag I used a mini marmalade charm pack with a few extra coordinating prints. I firmed it up with interfacing & lots of quilting. 

A few fun & easy appliques makes a sweet addition to the kitchen.

This is the amazing package I received from Tammy!!! I was blown away with the sweet packaging & details!

A BEAUTIFUL table topper, quilted zippy, & two lovely drawstring bags filled with extra goodies!

A close up of the awesome zippy pouch with all my favorite things. Patchwork & dense straight quilting!

The amazing & beautiful table topper in action! I love it & am going to be disappointed when I have to put it away after valentines. :)

Another shot of the goodies. Loved those Godiva chocolate covered almonds!! Love the sweet washi tapes, Orla Keily soap, & a sweet set of napkins & plates.

I think I can say this swap was a success!! I loved the difference in knowing who & conversing with my partner on likes & wishes. I am definitely looking forward to the next Pink Stitches swap!:)

weekend fun

I didn't get as much sewing done this weekend as I hoped, but I manage to get a few things crossed off my to do list.

First of all I made this book page banner that will be used in our sweetheart banquet we are having at church this friday. I'm using lots of book pages in the decor as well as fresh fern fronds & little white lights. I'm really looking forward to seeing it all & hope it comes together as well as it looks in my head! :)

I also managed to finish the outfit for Olivias character/occupation dress up day at school this week! She wanted to dress up as a nurse so I made her this vintage inspired red cross uniform.

I used a simple pattern for the dress & made up an apron to go with it. The outfit is completed with a felt nurse hat/crown. She wanted to carry a clip board, so we found a small one of those this week as well. I think I'm looking forward to seeing her in it on dress up day, as much as she is looking forward to wearing it!!:) 

While I didn't get that much sewing done this weekend, I have been stalking my partner in the modern scrappy bits swap & trying to decide what I'll make for her! It's always a fun time!

I'm going to link up with Chase & her weekending! Hope you are having a fabulous one!

Happy sewing!

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