I love how colorful this turned out, and now that it’s actually warm outside, I can wear it. (Note: There’s actually snow on the ground in this picture.) Yay.

This Friday my old purse died on the way to my door- the zipper got jammed and everything was stuck inside (luckily Paul was home, so I did not get locked out).  So of course my weekend goal became making a new, simple purse. Believe it or not,  it is actually easier for me to make a purse than to find one I like (and can afford) in stores, so there you go.

Here she is. The purse is about 10″ x 10″ since I like to travel light. Everything I used came from my stash, and Valerie, you might recognize some of your scraps mixed in here. I decided that I wanted a neutral ground with strips of bright color, and I didn’t use a zipper this time because I couldn’t really find one I liked. The “sport/jacket” zippers are too big but garment zippers have really tiny teeth that don’t do so well either (see above). Since I really don’t travel too far or carry very much (and because I was feeling lazy), I decided to close it up with a little snap at the top.

It’s funny, but sewing is definitely a different animal for me. It’s more about the outcome (ie. a dress, a purse, a shirt) than the process, where with crochet and knitting I enjoy the process a bit more. Actually, I really enjoy the process with patchwork and quilting, too, but when I’m constructing something I get hung up on silly mistakes that I don’t want to rip out. I’m not saying that it’s bad or good, just different.

And most importantly, she sent chocolate. The sweetest little Lindt lambs. They were adorable. One was consumed immediately (see how she’s missing from the lower corner of the box?). So cute.  And I love the scraps that she sent. Here are my favorites:

They will definitely be nice to tone down some of the pink and orange overflow in my own stash. I kind of want to start another fun quilt, but I have a secret quilt project I’ve been working on that I am avoiding at the moment, so I feel guilty cheating on it with a selfish quilt.

Instead I’ve been working on this dress, Simplicity 2702 (using all stash materials):

And I knit a new hat for Paul. The old hat disappeared somewhere between here and San Francisco (boo!) but I whipped this one up with Elsabeth Lavold’s Silky Wool (yum!) over the weekend. It’s a tad big, but that only means that the next one will fit even better.

It’s still snowing. So I couldn’t just let him suffer for the rest of the winter (which as you may know, could last until July). Sigh.

*********Note: As of March 6, 2009– the swap is closed!*********

It’s that time again! Spring is approaching and what better way is there to rejuvenate your scrap bin than to participate in another super-fun Patchwork Swap? Here’s how it works:

What: A swap! Mail a package of  30-40 fabric scraps that are at least 3×5″ large (you’re welcome to send larger pieces, it’s up to you). You should send at least 25 different prints/styles.  These should be high quality, fun, designer prints. Please, please, send something that you would love to receive, not just the bottom-of-the-barrel scraps.  Vintage fabrics are fine as long as they are in good condition, and you’re welcome to throw in some barkcloth, canvas, silk, etc scraps, as long as the bulk of the scraps are quilting cotton. ALSO, you’ll send your partner one small patchwork item you’ve made just for them (i.e a pincushion, zip pouch, potholder,  softie, etc.). Feel free, but not obligated, to include extra goodies or notions if you like.

When: Sign up (details below) by March 6th, 2009 or before 40 people sign up. I’ll update this post to show that the swap is closed, but if you’re a loyal reader and you miss out, send me an email, I might make an exception. Within a week or so, I’ll email you your partner info, and post here that the emails have  been sent. You will need to mail your package by Monday, April 13th. If something comes up and you can’t meet this deadline, please let both me and your partner know.

How: Comment here and send me an email at patchworkswap-at-gmail-dot-com (with a “.” for “dot” and minus the dashes).  In the email, please  include the following info:

Full Name
Email address (Yes, I know it’s in the address line but it makes my life much easier if you include it in the body of the email)
Mailing Address
Whether you’re willing to ship internationally
Blog Address
Favorite colors and short bio (in case it helps your partner decide what to make you)

For the 2009 Swap, you’ll be exchanging the scraps and patchwork goodie directly with the person who sends their scraps/patchwork to you. There may be a few exceptions, especially if there’s an odd number of international swappers, but I think it will be fun this way.

Ready, set?  Sign up!

Edited to Add: Wordpress magically links to related posts, one of which is the “Patchwork Swap Closed” post from last time’s swap. This swap is still open– so email away! And please  dont’ worry if you haven’t received an email back from me yet- I’m waiting till they are all in to respond.

I am so excited to be reunited with my Bernina. Paul dropped her off for the birthday cleaning while I was gone and we went and picked her up this weekend. I dove into my scrap pile to start experimenting for an upcoming project, or rather, large undertaking, that I am planning. It was fun to play, and here’s the block I came up with.

Making this spurred me to go through my fabric. All my scraps seem to be too repetitive so I set aside many fat quarter sized pieces to be cut into strips. I almost always quilt improvisationally anyway, and I needed to add new stuff to the mix. I straightened my shelves and thought I was awesome at reducing the amount of crap until I turned around and saw the huge stack of fabric I’d forgotten about on the ironing board. Now my floor looks like this. Oh well. I think I’m going to organize another scrap swap soon– once I am feeling human again. So stay tuned for that.

Otherwise I’ve been working on this lovely Drop Stitch Scarf (free pattern!), which I found on Ravelry to use with my very fun yarn from Hill Country Weavers. I hung out with the Naughty Secretary herself, Jen Perkins, while I was in Austin and she took me to this yarn mecca that I somehow always miss when I visit. I had a hard time deciding on anything but two skeins of this in the sale section made me say, “Yes Please!”. You can read more about the shop on Craftstylish. I had a super great time with Jen, by the way, she took me to some of her favorite thrifts, then we ate mexican food, gossiped and shopped. It was a very welcome escape!

And last but not least, since I’ve been neglecting this blog, I thought I’d introduce you to Paul’s sketchbook blog, in case you’re so inclined. Paul is my boyfriend,  in case you haven’t been paying attention, and he’s been sketching up a storm. He’s drawing every building on Main Street in downtown Bozeman, and the results are pretty amazing. Below is another of his sketches, which he drew from his truck (it’s cold!). Check out more of his work over at Three Letter Word for Art. And please feel free to leave him comments!

p.s. Thank you so much for all of your kind comments about my upcoming book. I am as excited to see it in print as you are!

And now for the super simple crafty holiday idea I promised to share (just pretend it’s Friday!).

Ladies and gentleman, introducing The Colorful Scrap Wreath. I found a wire wreath frame (it looks like this, with 4 concentric, slightly raised wire circles) at Joann’s and it jumped into my shopping bag because a) I’d never seen a non straw/grapevine/styrofoam one before and b) it was $2 or so. Here’s how to make the wreath: cut your fabric scraps into pieces about 1- 1 1/2″ wide by 5″ long. Tie them around the form. Repeat 200+ times. Trim the scrap ends and fluff up the wreath as desired. Sew adornments on to front of wreath (I happen to have a bag of crochet swatches from a big project I was working on, so I used some of them. Bows, flowers, birdies, and rickrack would also suffice). If I had it to do again, I might try to stick to all green scraps, but it’s fun to look at all those fabrics from my scrap bin….

plus it kind of goes with my thread rainbow, so I’ll probably keep it up all year.

I love how they turned out, plus they were quick and I didn’t even have to leave the house. I wrote short messages on the back side and they are sitting in their envelopes, ready to be mailed. I will show you what was in the envelopes once they have all been received.

I also wanted to share these goodies I got from the lovely Lauren of My Aunt June. These are just my favorites of all of the things she sent me (I won her studio cleaning giveaway)– fun! I actually washed the fabric shortly after taking this picture. Halfway lazily, and halfway curious, I threw them in on hot with a sweater I wanted to felt, so they all turned a little bit more blue than they were before. But it looks pretty cool and wasn’t a total accident– and I’m happy with the results. I want to experiment a bit more with overdyeing (in a more intentional way) in the future. Like I need another hobby. I also love the sweet quilt covered lady on the ceramic tray– I have a stash of porcelaine markers and…well, again, that’s another thing I want to try and probably could live without doing.  If you are interested in seeing more of Lauren’s painted ceramics, check out her etsy shop.

We both bought a few more colors of paint for this round, which made it more fun. I predict there will be more in the future. It’s not so much about the outcome, but the relaxing process. And ok, maybe it has something to do with the cute baby over at Nicole’s house. For me, anyway.

I also wanted to mention that I’m doing a Sweet Baby Hoodie Crochet Along over at Craftstylish. It’s part of the holiday “Dare to Make It” Challenge. You know, dare to make all of your gifts! Anyway, if you crochet but haven’t crocheted a garment before, here’s the perfect small project to get you comfortable with all of the garment-making skills. Once you finish you will be totally ready to advance to making stuff for yourself. I will go through each piece step by step every week, plus I and am there to answer any questions you have along the way  (post there if you  have them, of course), so don’t hold back! I’d love to see some of you crochet along!

Speaking of holidays and making things, I’ve been going bananas (Oh, Rachel Zoe…) in the sewing room making bowls and more bowls. It is so relaxing and is helping me to keep a clear head right now. Sometimes I just want to make and I don’t want to think too much, and the bowls are just perfect for that. In fact I’m really missing having a ceramics class right now (I teach crochet at the same time it’s held, boo!) so this is my surrogate.  Again, if you happen to think you might get something from me this holiday, you should probably stop reading this blog right now. But you’ll forget by then anyway, so what the heck: Bowls!

I also thought I’d share these kitchen towels I’ve been crafting up. I ordered a couple of sets of Three Inch Squares from Starlit Nest and sewed them together into strips. I wasn’t sure what to do next till I found these kitchen towels, so I decorated one edge of each towel with a strip of squares. I figure they’ll go great with the bowls, and I really like all of the cute colors and designs (not to mention the pre-cut aspect of the squares! so addicting!). Check out Starlit Nest’s shop for a smattering of more fun fabrics (no, I am not getting paid to say that!)

Hope everyone is well and thanks again for your good thoughts.

House/hearts on fabric. I *love* the way these turned out.

Birds, XOXOs and more house-y designs on fabric and flour sacks. We used Pebeo Setacolor paints, which are transparent and work well on light fabrics. I though they’d look less grade-school than thick opaque paints. I bought a few more colors and hope to get to play with the potatos again soon, and maybe even experiment with sun printing. It’s funny, I used to have access to all of these supplies at work and it was a great way to learn about new products that I otherwise wouldn’t know about…. I actually had a dream this week that I was meeting with a representative of Jelly Yarns (? random) and talking to her about how I missed learning about new products and designing crafts that featured them. Le Sigh. I am quite busy with freelance things right now, but what can I say, I do miss editing and, dare I say, trade shows.

Anyway. Onto a quick roundup of recently completed crochet projects, in link form:
- My version of the Fuschia and Blues Jacket from Interweave Crochet (made for the class I’m teaching here. It was nice to follow someone else’s pattern for once!)
- Recycled Bins (I love these!) and Wrapped Wreath from the holiday issue of Crochet Today
- I’ve also got some crochet goodness coming up on Craft Stylish- be sure to stay tuned. I post my how tos on Wednesdays. And check out their “Make it Pink!” contest–for the month of October, they’ll donate $1 to the Susan G. Komen foundation for every pink craft project you upload.

Oh, and on a final note- thanks for all of the interest in the fabric bowls. However, I won’t be posting a tutorial on them (at least, not any time soon). Mainly because I think you should all go take a class at your fabric/quilting shop and support your local community (I do think we sometimes forget about that with the internet and all of its’ glory)–there is value in learning from a person. And because it’s already all written for you, in this book: It’s A Wrap.  And because, well, sometimes writing a tutorial takes the fun out of things, and I just want to enjoy making them. I hope you understand!