Christmas in August

Today I received a package from my secret partner in the Modern Swap, Kerry in Exeter, England.  The swap involved sending 6 fat quarters of fabric, a decorative item for our partner's sewing room, and a handmade gift.  Kerry is a very creative quilter and sent me some adorable gifts.

She made me this darling pin cushion caddy which will be perfect on my cutting table ~ a splendid place to park my rotary cutters.  And look at this Good King Wenceslas ornament she made.

There are some remarkable details on this little ornament!

She also sent along this fabulous handmade gift:

Quilted coasters!  Aren't these just too darn cute?

She also sent along fabrics from my very favorite designers:

Isn't that mini-bunting cute?  There is a booklet on quilts from the Victoria and Albert Museum collection, as well as a fat quarter of a limited edition print from the collection.  It's completed with postcard photos of Exeter, where she lives.

Thanks, Kerry, for your lovely, generous gifts!  I will certainly enjoy using each and every one of them.  I was certainly lucky to have been assigned such a wonderful secret swap partner. 

Pillow for Modern Swap

I have to stop signing up to participate in any more online quilting projects so I can do some sewing for myself!  I am finishing up this pillow for a swap I am in.  We are swapping a yard and a half of modern quilting fabric, something decorative for our partner's sewing room and a hand made gift. 

I know who I am sending to, but I do not know who is sending to me.  I have been reading my partner's blog to get some idea of her tastes.  She is a very talented quilter.  I hope she likes what I am sending her!  So, it's back to the machine to sew the pillow together and organize the rest of the package.  I borrowed the idea for this from my friend Krista in the Journey Round Robin bee.  Thanks for letting me use it, Krista!

Block Twelve for Moose on the Porch Quilt-along!

Yahoo!  The last block for this fun quilt-along.  This one is a little color crazy but I am almost out of fabric and I was absolutely determined not to use anything but the jelly roll.  Ahhh, done!  Well, almost.  Still have to do a layout and stitch it all together, but that is the easy part!

It is so satisfying to get to this point in a quilt.  The blocks are done and there is light at the end of the tunnel!

A Bee Block for Jen

This is another block for the round robin bee that I am participating in.  This block is for Jen in Canada.  She sent her starter block for inspiration and asked that we not make her block, but something inspired by hers.  She also asked for earth tones and asked that we use a piece of her hedgehog fabric.  This is the block I made for her:

This is my block with Jen's starter block:

and here are the rest of the blocks so far:

(Note to self.....iron that sheet next time before you lay the blocks out on it, girlfriend!  Good grief.)

As the round robin progresses it is becoming more interesting and a little more challenging.  This starter block came with three other blocks for me to consider in choosing my pattern and fabrics.  The next block I receive will have four other blocks with it.  Each successive block will have more visual elements to be taken into consideration in the design process.  I love the challenge of making a pattern that will complement the other blocks.  This project is helping me grow as a quilter and provides me with the opportunity to get creative!

Another block for the Round Robin Bee

I have finished my block for Monika in Germany.  She chose the paintbox block that Oh, Fransson! has made so popular.  Each block features fabrics in one color and there are two sets of borders that are a solid of that color.  The borders are irregular, giving each block a slightly different look.  Here is my block:

I have to admit that I have not used red in my quilting before.  I recently saw some very fun red and white prints in my LQS and bought a few so I decided to take the leap and make my block in reds.  Here is my block with Monika's starter block:

and here are the blocks that have been made for Monika so far:

I am not much of a photographer and this photo doesn't do this group justice.  Each block has some unique, fun thing going on in it.  A mermaid with seahorses and an octopus, two people used pretty printed selvages in their borders, some gorgeous purple batiks, and the black block features a gorgeous silver metallic floral in the center and is very sophisticated.  I think Monika is going to have a beautiful quilt when we finish!

Block Eleven

This is the eleventh block for the Moose on the Porch quilt-along.  I am running out of fabric in my jelly roll so I have a pretty crazy color scheme going on in this one.  It is a good thing there is only one more block to go! I am determined to make the entire quilt out of this jelly roll.  This has been a fun and very easy project.  I am glad to have a little time to sew today.  You know things are busy when you can't find 10 minutes to sit down at the machine.  I have two blocks for my Round Robin bee sitting here waiting for some attention.  I am hopeful to get at least one of them finished up today.

Block Ten

This is the tenth block for the Moose on the Porch quilt-along.  Two more blocks and it's done.  Well, almost.  There is still sewing the top together and quilting it, but we are almost there.

The instructions for this cute little flower block had some issues, but it still went together fairly quickly.  Which is fortunate because my youngest daughter is taking her driving test for her license next week and she has been sitting, tapping her foot, waiting for me to finish this so we can go out and cheat death....ur, practice driving this afternoon.