3 Pincushions Swapped

The pincushion swap that Beaquilter is hosting HERE has been fun this month. 

I made my January and February pincushions and sent them out. The one for February was being sent to Norway and I wanted give it enough time to arrive. Guess it got there a bit early, but the recipient was very happy. 

So here is what the mail carriers have delivered: 

My January pincushion went to Bea. 

My February one went to Laila. The design I made was a 4-patch flower with 3-D leaves on each side. 

The one I received from Laila arrived today and she made it in my favorite colors! 

New Year for Quilting Goals

Welcome to the new year. I wish each of you quilt-filled progress as you make your way through each week of 2016. 

Goals. Setting goals for the start of a new year is something I have done (and many of you as well) for many years. Sometimes I succeed in accomplishing one or two; but I am human, and thus there is always room to improve each year. 

So, as I ushered in the new year quietly at home with my hubby, I set my quilting goals. 

First, I will try to keep my design area more organized and put things where they belong when finished using them. I want to progress in creating and not have to spend time searching for a tool or such.

Secondly, I bought a planner and will use it to stay on top of schedules and deadlines. Those birthday and holiday gifts, guild challenges, blog posts and pattern designs will get done in time!

And lastly (I don't want to have too many goals to keep in my mind), I am going to finish projects I begin.  

On January 1, I participated in the Merry Mayhem Mystery Quilt. One of 7 clues was given each hour. I worked diligently on each step of the process and after breaking for dinner, I was determined to meet my goal of finishing projects. Below is the top I completed in one day! 

I am following the EmbroiderIt blog in a series of 6 exercises (one per day) about enjoying the moment and enjoying the process of being creative. It is simple but has given me perspective on how to work better and more efficiently. Check it out.

I finished the January pincushion for the swap in which I am participating and sent it out today. That is a good feeling. I can't show it until my swap partner gets it. HERE is the link. 

Happy quilting.

Mini Quilt, Pincushions and Christmas Blog Hop

Yesterday I revealed my last Four-In-Art Mini quilt for this year. You can link HERE.

Two of the three pincushions I made for the swap hosted by Beaquilter.com arrived to my partners. I can post those photos now.

And one I got from a swap partner. I like snowflakes and "snowpeople".

And the Christmas Is In My Heart Blog Hop, hosted by Marian of Seams To Be Sew, begins November 12. You can see the details HERE.



I continue working on my wall hanging for the guild challenge. I found the background fabric that I ran short of at a fabric store not far from home. Yeah! I squeezed the final brown tiles from what I had painted...glad I didn't have to paint any more. 

Here are a few more pics of progress.

More hand stitching.

Some real shine!

Pincushion Swap and Free Pattern

I joined BeaQuilter's pincushion swap for July-August-September 2015. 

I  made and received pincushions for/from the July and August swap partners. 

I look forward to the September deliveries. 

I am not sure what type of pincushion I will make for September.
I have a number of them on my Pincushion Board on Pinterest.

Here are the two I sent.

To Monika in July

To Judy in August

I designed the pattern for the turtle 

and if you click HERE you can download my free pattern 

from PatternSpot.com. 

If you download the pattern, 

please leave me a comment or send an email - patchworkbreeze(at)gmail(dot)com - telling me where you live (state or country is enough). 

Thanks. 

And the two I have received.

From Monika in July (top and bottom)

From Pauline in August

I want to remind you that in just ONE WEEK we begin

20 designers have created quilt patterns for wonderful rows 

for you to download...FREE!

There are giveaways from wonderful sponsors. 

And a Facebook group you can join HERE.    Put in your request to join. 

My day of reveal will be Sept. 22, 2015. 

Sewing and Mail

This is a catch-up post. 

A little over a week ago, I received this pincushion in the mail from Laila in Norway. She sent a postcard, too, so I could see where she lives.  

My pincushion swap partner, Debra, received her pincushion from me about the same time. This pattern was one I found free on the website for the magazine SEW IT. . . TODAY.

And a few days later, I got my October pincushion from Debra. She embroidered her own ribbon tag to sew into the seam to remind me who made and sent it. That was a clever idea. 

This pincushion swap was organized by Beaquilter.com. And it is still fun. I enjoy looking for new pincushion ideas. 

SEWING BEE 

I organized a sewing bee for today. The 3 ladies who came helped sew potholders (8" square) for the church craft bazaar. This is a photo of some of the 15 we got finished. It was nice to get together and simply chat while sewing. 

I put together some orphan blocks and made a placemat set from them this evening for the bazaar. 

Thank you for stopping by. Happy Sewing! 

Class Project and Bunny's Arrival

Stack N Whack

For demonstration during the class I taught today, I decided to get a very early start on Halloween by using this fabric:

to make my hexagon kaleidoscopes. 

 And this is what I made: 

It is a 59" long tablerunner. It will fit down the center of our dining room table. . . .OR 

I could make it up as a twin size bed runner for a child's room. 

I have enough of the Halloween fabric left to make a few pillows to go with it. 

How do you think I should purpose it? 

BUNNY PINCUSHION

I also got an email from Karyn that the bunny pincushion I sent to her in the swap arrived today. She said she LOVED IT and does not think she will use it as a pincushion. That's ok, I am sure the bunny can sit near her sewing machine giving her tips. 

I want to thank Bea for hosting this pincushion swap and coordinating all of us. We start the next round of swaps very soon, I got the swap chart today. YEAH!

Thanks for visiting and 

Relax and Quilt!

More Pincushions

Pincusion Swap Update

The January pincushion I sent to my swap partner arrived and she was very please with it. This little bunny was not difficult to sew and the directions were very clear and easy to follow. I used wool from an old skirt and I felted it. The stuffing was polyester and the carrot was heavy polyester felt. My daughters each have asked for one, for simple decorations, so I will be making more of these cute bunnies. This was a fun swap and I thank Bea for organizing it. I have signed up for her next 2-month swap!

I found the pattern in the February/March 2014 issue of Sew-It. . .Today magazine. There is a projects and lessons tab on their web page. There is a little felt acorn pincushion that I am going to try. I like this magazine because the price is very reasonable and there are a number of project patterns in it. 

Pincushion Swap, W of B, and Recent Projects

My Pincushion Arrived Today!

The mailcarrier came to the door this morning and I was so excited! My daughter got a book that she ordered which would not fit in the mailbox. But, on the top of the stack of mail was a small package with a foreign stamps and a declaration sticker! It came from Norway!

     

It was my pincushion from my swap partner, Turid. And how cute it is--in my favorite colors!

I had fun making the two pincushions for my swap partners. I blogged about the pincushion I made for the December swap partner HERE. I won't post photos of my January pincushion until it arrives at its destination. You can be sure that I am going to make some more pincushions--it is so fun! Bea organized this swap and you can see the variety of pincushions that have been exchanged through her two swaps HERE.

Women of the Bible Block of the Week

I joined the on-line Women of the Bible BOW study. I had seen a few blogs where quilters had mentioned this study and posted their block photos. I worked through the first week's lesson on Eve. Here is the block I made for Eve. I am very happy with the results. I am trying to use the many scraps I have, so my quilt will be scrappy. 

Recent Projects

One project that I did not blog about yet was the pillows I made for my nieces and nephews for Christmas. My parents (who are no longer with us) had a bedspread or bedcover made with knotted designs. It was not in the best shape, but I cut 18" squares from it and made pillows. I put zippers on them for easy washing and a nice pillow form I bought from JoAnn Fabrics which had a zipper on the cover. I do not have pictures of the 8 pillows I made, but they all were similar to this one. These 20-something relatives were thrilled to have these and I was very happy to pass on something to them that belonged to their grandparents. 

The organizing of my sewing area and storage room is progressing--but slower than I expected. However, I discovered some items I had put away after my dad passed away 5 years ago. In a box were my dad's ties and his Auto Workers Union jacket with its patches and some other patches he had. My goal is to make a pillow for each of my sisters with his ties and a lap quilt for my brother with his Union patches.

Have you ever put something away, only to discover it some years later? Did you complete your project?