The deadline for filing tax returns for 2006 for is looming! Really, I should be crunching numbers and filling out forms. Bah. Instead, I sewed. Oy. Here are the latest additions for my 'Shop The Swap' swap shop:
Earlier on during the week, I toyed around with a bunch of quilt block combinations on paper because I wanted to see what I could come up with. This weekend, I cut out all the fabric pieces and stitched them up. Voila! Here are six of my favourites patterns: 
Spring is in the air! For April, CC and I agreed to swap fabrics and a couple of store-bought items. As usual, she spoiled me with all sorts of goodies:
*off to play with new FQs*
This is my latest haul of craft magazines, patterns, books, etc. at the resale shops!
Lingerie pattern book. I will not be making any of the items in this book, but I thought it was a hoot!
Assortment of old-time knitting and crochet patterns. There were several cool patterns in these books!
Quilting Resources. Since I'm a newbie quilter, I need all the help I can get my grubby fingers on!
I was having a particularly bad day (work and life in general) and found a mysterious box on my front porch that same evening. Turns out, my friend, CD decided to send me an unfinished queen size quilt that belonged to her mother-in-law, Ada (R.I.P.). It's beautiful, and I'm touched. All the piecing was completed by hand, and there are couple of blocks (actually, one kiss and half a hug...) which have been hand quilted. The stitches are perfect and even, and I can only hope that my stitchwork will be half as good. Thanks to Google, I was able to find out that the pattern for the quilt (Kisses & Hugs) was published by Quiltmaker in the Nov/Dec '99 issue (No. 70). The pattern may be viewed here.
The whole quilt...
Close-up of tiny stitches...
I've been pretty bad about taking pictures of all the wonderful items I've received in the mail, courtesy of the 'Shop The Swap' swap. Blame in on Spring. Or maybe not. The weather has been really gloomy lately, which makes it hard to get any decent lighting for photography. Here goes...
1. Darling Blue Birdie Pincushion
2. Melted Plastic Beads Bowl
3. Flower Necklace
I hate (yes, hate! hate!) cross stitching, but the patterns by Julie Jackson are to die for! Check them out here. One of the reasons I'm not fond of cross stitch, is because I lack the patience for tedious projects. Being able to complete a mini sampler in a matter of a couple of hours while I get to catch up on a couple of DVDs? Now, that's my cup of tea. 
While traipsing through various resale shops this weekend, I came across these gems...hidden among spools of threads. Vintage buttons! At 10 cents a card! If I was a bonafide button freak, I would have scooped up the lot of them. Since I'm not, I cherry-picked the ones I couldn't live without. See? I have will power *wry*
Actually, things were pretty tame. No wild parties, no oh-my-gawd-what-have-I-done makeovers, and no senseless shopping sprees either. I did sew a couple more zippered pouches (yes, my goal in 2007 is to downsize my stash of 200 odd zippers) for my 'Shop the Swap' shop!!! Since I'm also a wee bit of a *cough* fabric junkie, I had no problem finding a few pieces of fabrics to make the pouches.
Last night, I had the urge to draw and colour. Yes, I love to colour. Ain't nothing wrong with a little colour therapy! At the end of the evening, I finished two sets of shrinky dinks charms!
First up, we have 'Lab Geek Charms: Glassware Silhouettes'!!! There you have it. I'm a lab geek, and I'm darn proud of it!
Can you identify all the common laboratory glassware? The answers are at the bottom of this post :)
Next, we have 'Forest Critters: Hedgehogs and Mushrooms'. I've been obsessed with hedgehogs lately. They're dreary looking critters, and I needed more colour. Hence the mushrooms!
I felt much better after playing with my Crayolas! Oh, and here are the names for the laboratory glassware (clockwise):
1. Test Tube
2. Flat Bottom Flask
3. Erlenmeyer Flask (Conical Flask)
4. Funnel
5. Round Bottom Flask (Erlenmeyer Bulb)
6. Graduated Cylinder
7. Beaker
It's official. I have run out of excuses for not making a quilt. These pretties were bought pre-cut and ready to be worked on! I'll probably start with the 1930s reproduction squares, and when I'm feeling more confident, I'll work on the second set of squares *sigh* All I gotta do is figure out how to piece everything together! I wonder how long it'll take me to do that?!?
I took on the assignment of sewing a bifold wallet for a gal in Portugal. For special reasons. The pattern for this wallet may be found here. It didn't turn out too bad, I reckon! Time for show and tell!
Exterior, Front:
Exterior, Back:
Interior:
Lined Wallet Compartment:
Of course, a swap package from my craftroom wouldn't be complete without the addition of FQs! I included a vintage FQ, a Japanese FQ and several Hello Kitty items. 
I hope the package makes it to Portugal...soon.
CC and I decided to take a break from crafting. Hence, this is a 'strictly fabric' swap. She suggested a spring theme of yellows, pinks, and greens and I was happy to go along with that!
Goodgrief. What a weekend! I signed up for Craftster's "Shop the Swap" swap and had to come up with five items for my little Craftster shop. Oy vey. After watching numerous DVDs (to keep me awake as I craft) and drinking mucho cups of espresso, I'm done!! Here's a quick recap:
1. Blueprint Notecards and Envelopes
Back in July 2006, I made my first batch of blueprint envelopes and packaged them into a letter set for my friend, CD. After playing around with scraps of paper all weekend, I've tweaked the original design and they're now little notecards!
2. Everyday Wristlet
Nothing glamourous, nothing fancy. Just a simple wristlet that is tough enough for everyday use. I love this fabric! As usual, I winged it. Not a pattern in sight (Translation: I won't be able to recreate it). The multi-coloured dots are anchored by the brown background. It would complement any outfit! 
3. Patchwork Zipper Pouch
After trying several possible configurations on paper, I fell in love with this one! It's my first pieced patchwork in ages. The colours look kinda bright, but I love it. I think I'm just about ready to start working on my lap quilt!!
4. Lined Drawstring Bag
Yes, I'm kinda fussy when it comes to totes, purses, bags, pouches, and what have you. If I make them, I like to line them. It's much neater, and it'll eliminate the annoying bits of thread and fluff. Rant over. I used my well-loved Pucca drawstring bag (which was not lined...oh, the horror!) as a reference for creating my lined drawstring bag. Thankfully, I documented the measurements, etc. for this bag, so I'll be making a couple more...soon.
5. Voodoo Doll Pincushion
I wimped out. For the final item in my Craftster shop, I dug through my stash of goodies to find something. Back in December 2006, I made this little guy for one of my swap partners...but decided not to send it because I was worried that she would be offended by it. This was one of those OOAK items, but I think it wouldn't be too difficult to make another one! 
I think I'm ready for that nap now!!!
For this scarf, I used one skein of Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in Periwinkle. Knitting with this yarn was an awesome experience! The pattern for the scarf may be viewed here. I finished the scarf during my annual trip to Oregon, but it took me awhile to get around to blocking the scarf *roll eyes* Blocking is one of my least favourite parts of finishing a knitted item. I used 62 pins (yes, I counted) to block this scarf *mutter* 
Voila! The finished scarf. Purdy, ain't it?
The errant matchbox (from Canada) that took the scenic route (to my craftroom) finally arrived in my mailbox this evening!!!
I'm in Round 5 of the Ongoing Fabric Swap, and this gorgeous piece made its way to my stash! It's the perfect fabric for a shoppaholic and fabric junkie!!