Thursday, February 28, 2013

My Duffel

Last year I bought the Studio Cherie Duffel pattern with the intention of making one for myself right away. Didn't happen. I waited until a week before we went on our family vacation to Ruidoso, NM last month to whip one up.


I had so many excuses for waiting this long. It was an intimidating project, I was undecided on fabric choices, I didn't have time. In the end, it wasn't very hard at all. The most tedious part was making and attaching the straps. After that it came together pretty quickly. It's huge. It fits a queen sized comforter inside with plenty of room to spare.


Traveling handmade is so fun. It makes packing a lot less painful. And it matches my Multitasker Tote perfectly.


My duffel has already gotten plenty of use. It's perfect for quick getaways too. We took it to the San Antonio rodeo a few weekends ago. I can't wait to take it to Sewing Summit later this year. I see a pretty patchwork Weekender in my future!

Monday, February 18, 2013

Spiders


This month, I participated in Ros's Sweet Pouch Swap over at her blog. My swap partner lives in Australia and said that she wanted something with a pink/black/white combo. I pulled out my scraps and made these adorable star blocks.


I can't get enough of the scrappy look lately. I've been using it a lot with my projects lately. I love the combination of scrappy patchwork and straight line quilting.






I hope she enjoys this little pouch along with all the Mexican candy I sent her. I'll be back later this week for the Love Day Swap features!

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Love Day Swap Sent

I had so much fun hosting a Love Day Swap this month. I was blown away once again by the girls participating in this swap. Looking through all the awesome pictures in the Flickr Group, my heart swelled with pride at all the generosity and attention to detail that these girls put into their love packages. It's going to be hard choosing my favorites to feature on here and pick a winner from!

This past Wednesday, I had the pleasure of meeting up with my swap partner, Ruthie, for lunch a Subway. We exchanged packages in person and chatted it up until we lost track of time! Here's what I gave her:




Can you tell how much I love Valentine's Day??! Next to Christmas, it's my favorite time of the year. I say it every year and I'll say it again: Everyday should be a celebration of love! If you follow me on Instagram (@greenletterday), you've no doubt seen endless pictures of my works in progress and our gift exchange. The best part about a face to face swap is working on the presentation. It's true that great minds think alike because Ruthie showed up with a wicker basket full of goodies for me as well! (You can find her on Instagram too @threadofhearts)






I knew I wanted to make her a boxy pouch but besides that, I was stumped for awhile. I started off with the pixelated heart with the intentions of making her a notebook cover. The heart ended up being a big too large for that (even though the tiny squares were only one inch) so I went for a mug rug instead. I had already bought her a cute mug at Target along with a Starbucks gift card so the mug rug ended up being the perfect addition. I cable knitted coffee cozy was a last minute project. I had bought the pattern on etsy ages ago but was too afraid to try it because I'm a beginner and knitting and this pattern uses three needles! Like many other things I'm too intimidated to try, it ended up not being scary at all! It was a lot of fun to make and I look forward to making one for myself.




Along with the items pictured above, the basket included vintage fabric, some adorable embroidery scissors, stamps, stickers and lots of candy! Ruthie, I hope you enjoyed all your goodies!! Have a wonderful and romantic love day, friends!