lucky duck!

yesterday, we had another great lamqg meeting. we gave our home goods swap items to our secret partners, and i think i lucked out on both ends! i got to make something for someone i hadn't met, so i was a little nervous. but luckily the super-sweet hollie seemed to really like the sewing machine cover i made her. and i liked it so much that i think i might have to make a similar one for myself!

and i really hit the swap partner jackpot on the gift i received. liz is one of my favorite quilters in our guild. she always has great, bold colors and really graphic patterns. she made me this amazing pillow, and i can't wait to put it to good use!




she really pulled together all of my likes into one BIG pillow! and bucky was a big fan, too. he couldn't stop sniffing it!

the state that i am in

things in my life are very transitory at this point. i am kind of feeling like i'm in limbo, and the state of my workspace is definitely reflecting my mood. when i step back and look at it all, it's an overwhelming mess. but i have to remember that there are moments of inspiration hidden among all the fabric stacks and unfinished projects. i just need to pull myself back together and get to work on it!

swaps and more swaps

i've been taking time off from work here and there to steal away a day or two for sewing. it's been really great and i've been able to get so much done!

i keep on saying "no more swaps!" because they can be a bit overwhelming sometimes, but i can't stop myself. too many great swaps keep on popping up and i love an excuse to sew something for someone else.

the lamqg decided to have a home goods swap, and i got a really cute partner that i wanted to make something useful for. i hope they enjoy the sewing machine cover i made! i also threw in some other goodies, because that's often the best part about swapping!




and i also joined the goodie bag swap on flickr, and i knew i really wanted to try making a jane market bag because i love the one i received in a previous swap. i decided to give it a try in colors that were more me than my partner so that i could use it if i messed it up too badly on the first try. but the pattern is so easy and went together so great that i'm going to give the bag to my mom for mother's day! i know she'll love it as a beach bag, and i plan on filling it with a towel, sandals, sunscreen and probably a good margarita mix!

solid state

thanks to the influence of things like the robert kaufman soilds challenge and people like alissa, i have been on a super-solids kick lately. i have actually been purchasing more solids than prints, which is pretty rare! cute patterns and prints are really my weakness, but lately all i can think about are all the great solids that are out these days.

my favorite right now is moda crossweave. i bought a half yard collection at the fat quarter and it's probably the prettiest bundle i've ever bought!




i also have been into more textured fabrics lately. shot cottons and ikat patterns are really appealing to me right now. most of these came from sew mama sew.




and, of course, i couldn't order fabric and NOT get a pattern. these are my favorites right now... so cute!

works in progress

i have so many projects going right now that i don't even know where to start sharing... i guess this is the one that is closest to being finished. it's going to be a big (20-inch!) pillow for my "make mine modern" partner. she is a big fan of the fabric line ruby star rising (and who can blame her?) so i bought a bunch of it and pieced it all together to make this:




another thing i've been working on is making labels for quilts. i usually just write mine out with a micron pen, but i decided to try out spoonflower for printing a pre-made label. here is what i designed:




i tried to make it pretty generic so that it could go with any number of projects. i can't wait to get my order! i have to wait an excruciating 18 days before it arrives, but i figured while i waited i would try some more techniques. if anyone has good label recommendations, i'd love to hear them!