For the Love of Jane: A Swap Follow-Up

In my spare time, I enjoy devouring reading a good book.  And so, it seems natural that I would combine my love of reading with my love of quilting.  When a Jane Austen themed swap was organized on Instagram I jumped at the chance.

I've participated in other swaps before, but I was still a bit nervous to join.  Quilting/craft swaps can be addicting and also full of some risk.  You're assigned a partner, usually it's a blind swap and you make a small craft (mini quilt, embroidery, zippered pouc) and send it to your partner along with some goodies.  Some people go all out with their packages, while others forget to participate all together.  Others are really thoughtful with the extras they send and others, well not so much.  If you're interested in learning more about swaps, Karri of Berries has written some fabulous blog posts on the subject.  Here's her website: http://www.karriofberries.com/

I was given some of the following information on my partner: loves modern quilting, but wanted something inspired by the garden, Emma is her favorite Jane Austen novel, and she provided a Jane Austen themed pinterest board for inspiration.
Here's what I made for my partner:

I embroidered my partner's favorite quote and surrounded it with some appliqued flowers.  I also made a small mini quilt featuring an arrow to allude to her favorite Jane Austen novel/movie Emma.  Extras included lip balm, a few fat quarters of fabric, lace trimmings, and two Christmas ornaments I made out of felt and linen. (The deadline for shipping was December 1st).  Only later did I realize that I did not include any food/candy goodies as I had intended to (bummer!).


And here's what I received:

A very lovely mini featuring silhouettes of Darcy and Elizabeth. It was a very nice package with a lot of goodies (both delicious and fun).  Jane Austen magnetic poetry!  My only small disappointment was that the package lacked a bit of thoughtfulness, although full of Jane Austen themed items, nothing regarding my favorite book, Emma or favorite quote.

All in all, I enjoyed the process and would highly recommend joining a swap in your future.  Be careful, they can be addicting!  I'm currently signed up for one swap, but am keeping my eyes open for others in the future.  You can find them on Instagram popping up every once in a while.

Inspiration: Coral

Coral, coral, coral

 

I've had visions of coral dancing in my head the last few weeks.  Why?  I signed up for secret swap for the Sewing Summit later this month.  My partner's inspiration color is: coral.  Do you think I've nailed it?

I used some of my favorite Tula Pink Prince Charming hexagons to create this little needle book.  I loved the hexagons and chose to have the quilting echo the shape.  Loving the effect!

Second item highlighted a piece of Cloud 9 Fabrics and gave me the chance to use the Summer Madras Tote tutorial from Noodlehead.  I chose Kona Charcoal for the main and used the coral fabric for the exterior pockets and lining.  Anyone else a fan of fun colored linings?!?!  I know I am!

From my partner's Flickr page, she's not into a lot of patterned fabrics and so I am hoping that this mix of pattern and solid will be loved.

 

I will admit that I made a mistake, well technically two mistakes.  In my haste and excitement to make the bag, I made the handles with the Kona without any interfacing.  I am in the process of figuring out how to remove and repair the handles.  Any thoughts?  Can I "add structure" to the handles without removing them?  Oh dear, this is why I typically stick with quilting...  This is why we try new things; to learn!

Hope you have a fabulous Tuesday!

Linking up with Sew Cute Tuesday over at Better Off Thread!

Triple Zip Pouch Swap - Finished

For the first time ever, I decided to join an online quilt/sewing swap.  So far my experience has been a bit nerve racking as I picked out fabric for another person.  If I get nervous with my own fabric selections, how could I possibly do it for another person?

 

Luckily, my secret partner had a whole selection of favorite fabrics on her Pinterest board.  I picked the Cassettes in Gray from Riley Blakes' Geekly Chic line and chose the blue, Timeless Treasure's Rain Basin in Aqua.  The black is from my stash and I've forgotten who it's from...

 

 

People suggested using different colored zippers, but I felt like the black worked so well, I didn't want to jinx it.  What do think?  I almost bought fluorescent colors like the yellow, blue and green, but then felt it would be an overwhelming shout of 80s!

 

Oh wait, what are we making?  Stephanie over at Quarter Incher is hosting the Triple Zip Pouch from A Quilter's Table.  It's a really great tutorial and fairly easy to follow.  The only trouble I had was near the end when you sew the sides together.  Still not completely sure if I did it right... However, with great instructions, I was able to complete it in one evening!

 

Here is the finished product.  I'm keeping the goodies secret, as I already feel like a rule breaker showing it here :)  If you're interested in checking out other pouches, the flickr group is located here.

 

 

So totally awesome, right?  Like, totally, gag me with a spoon! (Insert other random 80's sayings here - did I even use the last one correctly?).