And we call it Lazarus

Never have I been so happy to have my post returned to me.  Arriving home from work, what did I find waiting for me but this:

That's right!  My Mouthy Stitches tote that was sent off to its new home in Australia (back in October) has arrived back at my house.  I do not really understand why as the address was correct.  I am just happy to have it back.  This time it will be covered in tracking numbers so I can watch it on its journey.

I did have a replacement tote on my finish along list...guess I can check that off now.  Woo hoo!

Playin' With Hexies

I've been diligently stitching little hexies this week to make a super top secret goodie for someone special.  I made 8 little monochromatic "flowers"...

that will then be stitched together into sets of 4.  I really like the design in the middle that is created.  Won't that look nice with a little solid background fabric peeking through?  I hope so, at least!

With any luck, next week you'll see a finished pretty with these hexies stitched down.  I'm a bit nervous about that part, but it's time to put on my big girl pants and give it a try!  Wish me luck :)

It's Here! My Tote Has Arrived!

It's funny.  While I was stitching away making my Mouthy Stitches tote for my partner, I kind of forgot that someone else was making one for me!  I know totes were jumping up daily in the flickr photostream, but I was looking at them more as inspirational eye candy to give ideas on the many ways you can personalize the tutorial.  I had not been thinking of one of these bags as mine.

Still, the postie arrived with a gorgeous little package for me over the weekend.  It was PERFECT timing as I was feeling ill for the past few days and had formed a little nest on the couch.  I was there for days, but perked up as soon as my parcel arrived.  Look at what I found inside!

All wrapped up in green....

Wait!  Who is this little cutie?  

The wrapping paper quickly became Clarkson's.  Nothing makes him happier than a sunbeam and paper that crinkles when he sits on it.  That's one happy cat, right there.

The tote!  Look at this gorgeous tote! This beauty was made by Kerry of Penny Dog (the shop) and blog.  Do take a second to hop over to Kerry's flickr photostream.  She makes beautiful things!

Oh, this tote is so pretty!  Can you see the swirly quilting?  Can you see she even stitched little red flowers into the front garden of the house?  How awesome is that?  And the sheep.  The beautiful little appliqué sheep.  Awesome.

On the back you can see her FMQ skills with the loopy quilting.  How cool!

And inside is a delicious bright floral print.  I love this lining.  Love it, love it.  I don't know the print name/designer, though.  Can someone tell me?  Kerry?  I'd love more of this for the old stash.

I wish I was smart enough to take a photo of the key fob....Kerry made a beautiful selvedge key fob that is attached to my car keys...that are off with my other half for the day.  I bet he looks manly with that hanging out of his pocket :)  

Kerry, thank you.  Thank you to, co-mamas Susan and Hadley.  Mouthy Stitches Round 2 was a total hit for me :)

Mouthy Stitches Tote Bag: Finished!

Here it is, partner!  Will you like this tote?  I truly hope you do as I put a lot of time, effort and thought into this little guy.

As part of Mouthy Stitches, we are all making a tote bag using this tutorial.  It's a really simple, direct tute with lots of play room to personalize it as you go.  In Mouthy Stitches, we were to piece at least one side and spice it up for our partner so long as it resembled the original size/structure and remained reversible.  Want to see what I created for my partner?

I pieced this front using the Lone Starburst templates from Six White Horses.  The Chicopee fabric by Denyse Schmidt works here, I think.

I should say I didn't hang your bag on a diseased tree in the back garden.  The leaves are changing into their autumn oranges and browns.  Just in case you were wondering :)

The outer front and back were layered with batting and quilted.  The front is both hand and machine quilted to echo the star.

 

The back just has little 3 inch squares of Chicopee prints that made me happy on Essex linen.  It's quilted with little wavy lines in black thread.  Quilting wavy lines to look irregular is harder to do than you think!

The lining is Summersville with two pockets of Essex linen.  There's a little ribbon loop on the edge to hook your key fob onto.  I hate loosing my keys in the bottom of a bag and thought you might be the same, partner.

The other half of the lining is straight up Summersville.  The lining has a fusible interfacing on both sides to add to the stiffness of the bag.  It's still soft and has give, but it won't fall over as soon as you let go of the handles.

While I was out taking photos, the girls came over to see what the fuss was all about.  They were totally interested, but were not allowed to get too close!

There you go, partner.  I hope you like it!  I hope you use it often and that it holds up for you (eeek!).  I enjoyed thinking of you while I stitched away the past few weeks.

Mouthy Stitches Key Fob

Looking for the Mama Said Sew give away?  Click here.

As part of the MS swap, we are making a key fob as the one and only extra goodie to go into our parcel.  I have never made something like this, so I kind of made it up as I went along.

I wanted something semi-firm so that it holds its shape, but not too hard as I hate shoving my hand in my purse and getting stabbed by something at the bottom.  I decided to go with Echino linen/cotton mix and a bit of interfacing, which seemed to do the trick.

I got a little carried away and made two.  If I am honest, the only reason I stopped is because I only had two hooks from U Handbag.  Above you see one side, then below you'll see them flipped over.  I love, love, love the little car and scooter, but then realized maybe my partner wouldn't want to use it for her car keys.  Maybe a happy little bird would be better suited.

So, partner, might one of these float your boat?  Or will I try it again with something else?  Please speak up...I am more than happy to make changes as I want you to be excited when it pops up in your parcel.

Mouthy Stitches Progress

We are about half way through our stitching time in the Mouthy Stitches swap, organized by Susan, Hadley and myself.  As I am 1/3 swap mama, I absolutely can not fall behind in stitching my tote.  Want to see my progress so far?  A block.  One silly little block.  That took me 3 evenings to piece. 

This block was made using the Lone Starburst paper piecing templates from Six White Horses.  It is a very basic paper piecing project, but at times my brain could just not bend the way it should.  Anyway, it is finished and I am quite happy with it.  Clearly it still needs to be squared and trimmed, but I am on the way.

I used the Chicopee line by Denyse Schmidt for the star...mostly because the colors are pretty.  The idea is to use Essex Linen to frame it, for the straps and on the pieced back.  I think the little star looks nice there next to the grey.

Side note: Those of you in the Modern Stitches Bee know I am bee mama for November. I was playing around with the idea of a scrappy Lone Starburst for my month.  This was my tester block.  You'll be thrilled to know I would not even think of making you spend 3 of your evenings stitching this block.  Not in a million years.  A world wide sigh of relief was just heard here in Galway.

Now I need to find a lining fabric.  I like this stripe from the Ladies' Stitching Club as it picks up the blues and the plum purples.

I also like the floral print in Ladies' Stitching Club with the blues, plums and pieces of the pink that you see in a few of the purple prints.  I think you are a grand floral kind of gal.  Is this right for you?

And the final option is a hashed blue from Summersville.  Might this be more your speed?  

So, partner, what do you think?  Do you like the star?  Which is your favorite lining?  Send a little hint, please!

Mouthy Stitches Swap: Round 2

It’s time!  It’s time to kick off the second round of our Mouthy Stitches swap.  Are you ready to join in with myself, Susan and Hadley on this journey?

This time our swap will be a little different.  This time we will be swapping tote bags using this tutorial by Skip to my Lou.  Isn't it cute?  So, each and every one of us will make a bag following this pattern.  The twist is that you are to piece one side of the bag according to your SECRET partner's likes and dislikes outlined in their registration form and their inspirational mosaic.

From Skip To My Lou

With your tote bag, we ask that you make a keyring/fob as your one and only "extra" to send to your partner.  We ask participants do not make anything else as we do not want the added pressure to keep stitching (or spending!).  Just stick to the tote and the keyfob, please.  

We will be vetting participants in this swap to ensure everyone will actively participate in the group.  To join in, you must have an active, craft/sewing Flickr photostream with recent activity and examples of your makes and style.  If you are new to Flickr or have not uploaded in a long while, you are unlikely to be able to participate in this round.  We will have to find another way to sew together in the future....  

To register your interest in this swap, you must be a member of the Mouthy Stitches Flickr group.  Head over there and complete the sign up form in order for the Mamas to check your eligibility.  After you received an acceptance email from one of the Mamas, please head back to the flickr group and upload your inspirational mosaic.

My mosaic, for example....

Our timeline is as follows:

Saturday 8th September - sign ups are open until we have filled 75 spaces (and have the matching 75 forms completed).  We will close the registration form as quickly as we can after reaching 80 participants.  The last 5 will remain as reserves until we have finalized all participants.

Saturday 15th September Midday BST - All mosaics must be posted in the group pool; failure to do so will mean that the reserves will be called in.

Saturday 22nd September - Secret partner allocations will be sent to all swappers.  I can not stress this enough....this is a SECRET swap.  Do not contact your partner directly or spill the beans of your match!

20th-23rd October - international partners should post their makes.  Please be aware that you might be assigned an international partner and therefore may be responsible for international shipping rates.

23rd-27th October - domestic should head to the post office to send off their parcels.  

There you have it!  One month to stalk, ship and have fun!  If you are at all concerned about the timeline, please do not register your interest in the swap.

More information will be posted in the Flickr group after sign ups are complete.

Now get over there and sign up today!

Are you excited?

Can you hear the rumbling?  The buzz is building!

That's right!  The time to launch Mouthy Stitches Round 2 is quickly approaching.  We (Hadley, Susan and myself) had such a fantastic time in our first round of swapping zippy pouches that we want to do it all over again.  Only this time there is a little twist!  The three mamas have agreed on what we will all be making and the little extra goodie to accompany it.  It's a good one!  Still, we will keep that secret to ourselves a little while longer!

Sign ups for the swap will open in the beginning of September.  Keep an eye out in our flickr group or our blogs where we will announce the date to sign up.  Then, hop over to flickr and register as quickly as you can.  If we can judge by last round, this round will fill within the first 24 hours of opening, so be lively!.

Although we loved each and every one of the participants in our last swap, we will need to limit the number of participants in this round to the first 75 eligible folks to register.  Having 100-ish last time just became a bit too much to manage and for participants to keep up with in flickr.

We hope you want to join us.  This will be a great time!

Winter Stitching Wrap Up

I missed you guys!  I fell of the face of the planet for a week there, but I am hoping life gets back to normal this week.  How better to re-join blogging than by checking projects off the ever growing to-do list?  As you know, I was yet another list maker joining in with FairyFace Design’s Winter Stitching Goals List.  I find things like this to be completely helpful in giving me direction when I am overwhelmed.  To keep the list moving along, I also just joining in with Rhonda's Finish Along....and so far it's working!

Birdie Stitches: Finish the Quilt Top

Done!  I finished my Birdie Stitches top and sent it over to Elisa so she can layer, quilt and bind it for use in her house.  You can hear the whole story here, but in the end I'm super happy to have expanded my embroidery skills and thrilled that Elisa has a quilt she likes.  Win-win.

Brother’s Mixer Cover: Finish it as a Christmas Gift
Done!  I was lucky enough to visit this little mixer cover in my brother's pantry this past march and it's lookin' pretty cute there next to the ice cream maker!  

Sister-In-Law’s Bag: Finish it as a Christmas Gift
Well, I finished a bag, not THE bag.  This 241 Tote was her Christmas gift that was delayed until 2012 as the fabric took nearly 8 weeks to arrive from the states!  Eek!  So, I had to giver her an IOU under the tree.  Anyway, we're both thrilled with this finish.  My mom has already asked for one for herself!  

Blankets of Love: Finish Two Tops, Two Backs, Two Bindings

Done. I really like what Kat is doing with her local organization, so I tried to chip in.  I wanted to make two quilts for her, but the shipping would be nuts given the weight of the batting.  So, I made two tops, two backs and two bindings and Kat assembled and quilted our quilts.  It was my first time doing a DP, which then included a huge learning curve, but I got there eventually!

There was even a third quilt top made as part of our Do. Good Stitches CARE circle!

Bees: Contribute On Time

Done.  I'm in four bees now, a list that is quickly growing to six. I am still completely in love with them.  Let's be honest, though.  I think I've hit the maximum number of bees I can contribute to in any given month.  I won't bore you with all of the photos, of the blocks made, but if you hop over to my flickr page you can see them all!

Swaps: Finish Two Swaps

Done.  I finished my Modern Christmas Table Runner swap with Susan of Canadian Abroad.  Doing just this one project has kicked me off on the table runner path and there have been several more since: one for my Mom, one as a PIF, and one for my SIL!  Oh, Susan, the slippery slope you've put me on!

I also co-organized the Mouthy Stitches swap with Susan and Hadley, which was great fun.  It was my first pouch, first zip, first time organizing a HUGE number of lovely ladies.  We had a great time!  I made this pouch for my partner...and again several more since! 

Quilts: Finish Mod Logs, the Community Quilt and Start Chaos and Scrappy Stars

I fell down a bit in this category.  Mod logs is finished and used every day in our house.

The Community Quilt and Chaos are going no where fast.  They're now officially UFOs...I have to do something about that ASAP.

Scrappy Stars has morphed into Stargazing.  The top and back are finished and off with the lovely Trudi to get quilted.  I can't wait to see what she creates!

International Quilt Festival of Ireland: Finish Cúchulainn 

Done! I am quite happy to have Cúchulainn  finished it and handed it to the festival organizers.

Guest Post: Write One

Done!  I was super excited to contribute to Sarah's tutorial series by submitting a notebook tutorial.  It was my first tutorial...and it took WAY longer than I thought it would.  Still, I love these little cuties!

Off to link up with Sarah.  Hop on over and see what everyone else created this past winter!

Mouthy Stitches Delight

Woo hoo!  Woo hoo!  I have just received the most fantastic pouch ever from the Mouthy Stitches Swap!

My super top secret partner was Di of Random Thoughts...Do or "Di"....and she rocks.  If you have not been to visit her blog before, hop on over there!  She makes the most gorgeous quilts and always gives a nice glimpse into what she's got cooking or what is happening with her family.  Get on over there and give it a read :)

Want to see my most beautiful pouch?  Well it came in a great big box....

and when I opened it there was a little card peeking out at me....

....it was a sassy one!  Can you read it?  "Always wear a thong. It's the perfect excuse for never carrying cash."  Genius!

Di even played Easter bunny and sent a pile of deliriousness!  It's nearly all gone already!  Who ever thought of dipping marshmallow peeps in chocolate deserves a promotion.

Inside there was a little package wrapped in gorgeous ribbon holding the nicest little skein of twine!  I can't wait to use it to wrap a little gift!

What's inside?  Scraps!!!!  Yum yum yum!!!!  I love Malka Dubrawsky's A Stitch In Color line, but it never made its way to Ireland....until now!  I can not wait to start sewing with these pieces of gorgeousness.

But really, you want to see the pouch, don't you.  Look!  Look at this!

Squeeee!  I am so in love.  I love this Melody Miller print.  I love the purple zip with the charm.  I love the piecing down the sides.  I love its size and that it's boxy and can stand on its own.  Love it, love it, love it.   The back is also Melody Miller Ruby Star Rising.

Inside there are four of the cutest little pockets I've ever seen!  I stuffed them with fabric, of course :)

Di, thank you.  Thank you so very much for your thoughtfulness in designing this pouch, the care you put into stitching it and the energy you put into making the delivery just so much fun.  Thank you, Di!

Mouthy Stitches Pouch: Finished!

I hope my partner likes it.  I hope my partner likes it.  I hope my partner likes it.

I think I finished my Mouthy Stitches pouch...that is unless my partner sees it on Flickr and has a suggestion for me.  Is this part of a swap nerve wrecking for everyone?  I think I created something she will like. It's something that I would like to receive.  But now I wait on pins and needles hoping to hear she likes it too!  Anyway, I'll show you where I am for now:

I think my partner likes scrappy, brightly colored pouches with a neutral background. She seems to switch between greys and natural linens, but I thought on the grey the colors would really pop.  I made a paper pieced star using the Solstice Stars tutorial and then quilted a grid around it.

 She also has several bold, geometric blocky pouches in her mosaic, so I made a scrappy back that is also quilted in a grid pattern.

Both sides have batting to give them a bit of softness, but rigidity.  They are quilted with dark grey thread that is a little darker than the Kona so it kind of is visible, but doesn't steal the show.

Inside is an Echino print that runs the full length of one side (by my thumb) and is partly visible on the other side that also holds a pocket.  The pocked is Joel Dewberry Aviary print that is split into a large and small pocket.  The large pocket has a matching fabric covered button above it and a silky orange ribbon to hold it closed.  The bottom is boxed to stand on its own, which I think is just great.

And, of course, the pouch will come filled with scraps! My partner seems to like quirky Japanese prints, bold colors, bright patterns.  I hope she likes these!  There's a bit of Echino in there, Moda, Heather Ross, Monaluna, Erin McMorris, etc.  She's sure to find something to make her smile, right?

Well, partner, it was fun tracking you!  I hope I created something you like!  xx