Creature Report, Creature Report

Okay, I admit it, the title of this post comes from the cartoon Octonauts and as I typed it I heard the tune in my head. Sorry....what can I say - I have kiddos.

But I thought it was appropriate since I am posting about some creatures I made for Christmas gifts. The snake and slug are from my patterns my friend Shelley designed and the elephant is from a Valori Wells sewing card design called Elsa the Elephant.

Kind of funny to make a slug, right? Except that I grew up in the PNW where slugs are a daily occurance. And I just happen to have a sister who, in fact, ate one when she was 2. Yeah, really. Gross! I'm not sure if I actually remember that or just the story of it. Anyway, Em has been gone a few years, but my brother named his daughter after her, so I when I first saw this pattern I thought how appropriate for Emily's namesake - Emilee Pearl - to have a slug to remember her by. This way the story of Emily eating the slug will never be forgotten. And the slug is awfully cute, for a slug. I really like how the flower with the bling in the center dresses her up a bit.

What new baby doesn't need a snuggly snake? My brand new nephew Baby Colby definitely needed a snake. It turned out a lot longer than I anticipated, but I think it turned out cute. The photo isn't great and I wish I'd gotten a better shot.

My niece Dorothy loves elephants. She has since she was little. So when I was in WA last summer and I saw this pattern and fabric, I knew just I had to make one for her. I think she's a sweet little elephant. And Dorothy seemed to love her, too.

In the bag....

Trying to get caught up on some projects I've finished the last few months. Here are three bags I made for gifts. The pattern is my friend Shelley's Infinity Tote design and I love how they all turned out.
This is the largest one I made. I made it as a diaper bag for my sister Maggie. It is huge, but she says it is perfect for all the stuff she needs for her little guy. I added a bunch of additional pockets inside for bottles and sippys and stuff like that. Maggie recently visited and brought her bag along with her. I love seeing things I make being used. It makes the time and effort worth it.

This one was made for my dear cousin Jenny for Christmas. every year we draw names for a gift exchange with the cousins on my dad's side. This year I got Jenny. I gave her some options and she chose a bag. All she asked was that it be bright and happy. Pretty sure I accomplished that. This is a medium sized tote, but still has plenty of room inside.

This beauty was made for my dear friend Erin back in Hawaii. She loves blues and oranges together and when I saw this bird fabric I knew exactly who it was made for. The photo doesn't do the fabric justice. It is really beautiful. I have enough to make one for myself, but I don't see that happening anytime soon.

Sewing Summit 2012

I miss Hawaii. A lot. But there are benefits to being on the mainland. Like being 2 1/2 hours from Salt Lake City, where they just happen to hold an amazing sounding event called The Sewing Summit. This year is only the second year of it and it sold out in 10 hours! They only sell 250 tickets so it is a small event, but the classes and teachers they have lined up are incredible. Thanks to a hefty tax refund this year I get to go! I was even one of the lucky 50 to get a $50 dollar discount by being in the first 50 to register. This will be my first trip away from the boys, but I think they'll be fine with Cory for a few days. And this mama gets to sew and learn new things and sew and learn how to make a better blog and sew and make new friends and sew. I'm reaching way outside my comfort zone and going by myself, but there are lots of others who are doing the same and I think it will be fine. Just have to get a roommate lined up and I'll be good to go.

Modern Mini Challenge Entry

I recently joined the Modern Quilt Guild Facebook Group and last month fellow member posted a link to her blog Ellison Lane Quilts where she is hosting a Modern Mini Quilt Challenge. The challenge included several weeks of tutorials and inspiration from other quilters in the form of a blog hop. This introduced me to so many amazing quilters out there. The talent is just unbelievable and I must say I was intimidated, but the prizes are so amazing I had to at least give it a shot. The requirement was that the mini quilt could be no more than 24".

"Squares of Blue and Green"
17" x 17"

I decided to challenge myself with using only fabric from my stash and to not over plan the design. So I chose three Kona Solids that I had leftover from a Christmas quilt and two table runners and a cream background. I cut 7" blocks and stacked them 3 at a time and just started slashing. I had planned originally to mix up the blocks when I put them together, but once they were all done I realized I like them grouped by background color better. This mini quilt measures 17" square and represents a few firsts for me: first time entering a contest, first time exclusively using solids in a quilt, first time sewing little pocket hangers on the bag for easy hanging (I'll be doing this on all my wall hangings from now on thanks to the tutorial from Amy Gibson at Stichery Dickory Dock.)

Here is a close up of the quilting I did. I used a long (4.5) stitch length and just echoed the lines of the blocks. The color in this picture is not as true as the photo above.

This was a fun, quick project and while my chances of winning are slim (take a look at some of these entries) it was fun to stretch myself a bit.

I'm also participating in the Craftsy Block of the Month, which is super fun and I'm trying to get more involved with my local guild. I'm doing a monthly friendship block exchange with them and that's been fun as well. I still don't get to sew as much as I'd like, but I'm discovering so much support and so many talented quilters out there that it keeps me going. I am just astonished at the number and quality of quilting blogs that are around now. I'm hoping to attend the Sewing Summit this year (if not, then next year for sure) to hone some of my skills and learn more about putting together a great quilting blog.

Modern Quilt Challenge

I've decided to enter a Modern Mini Quilt Challenge. I'm really excited and the amazing prizes are only half of it. The blog hop that is being hosted looks to have some amazing inspiration from some of the premier modern quilters out there.

Secret Santa

I have a list a mile long to get done between now and mid-December. But I couldn't resist signing up for Shawnee's Secret Santa Swap!

This is what I have to come up with by December 7th at the latest - for someone I do not know:

At LEAST One Handmade Item

Something to Read (book, magazine, poem)

Something for the Tree (garland, ornament, topper, skirt)

Holiday Goody (candy, cocoa, tea, coffee, chocolate)

Challenge: Include one gift for each letter needed to spell out a word from the season (SNOW, JOY, FAITH, LOVE, HOPE, GIFT, TREE, JESUS, STAR, SANTA, etc). We did this last year and it was SO MUCH FUN! Of course, the perfect gift for an "A" is an APRON.

Then, make this a special box -- gift wrapping, bows, the whole nine yards! Include a note identifying yourself with your email and blog address so your partner can contact you with her grateful thanks.

I'm excited to put something fun together and excited to see what I get in return. Below is the questionnaire I had to fill out.

1. What are your hobbies? Quilting
   
2. What are your favorite colors? I love most everything except purple and pastel colors. More of bold/bright or natural is my thing.
   
3. Do you collect anything? no, other than fabric and patterns, lol.
   
4. Are you allergic to any fibers or animals? no
   
5. Do you have any pets? 2 cats
   
6. Coffee, Tea, or Chocolate? tea (mint) and chocolate
   
7. What do you like to read? anything good that isn't too heavy/dark/disturbing. historical fiction and some sci-fi fantasy if it isn't too weird. I also love quilting/sewing project books. I have a wish list on the sidebar of my blog.
   
8. Do you prefer Cookies or Candies as a sweet? either - I have a major sweet tooth. dark chocolate over milk and white for sure
   
9. What is your favorite holiday treat? All of them. I love brittle, but it's too hard on my teeth.
   
10. Describe your favorite holiday tradition. the first Christmas we were married hubby and I got each other an ornament. We've done it every year since (this will be our 12th) and now we include getting one for each of our boys. I love unwrapping them every year and looking at what we've given each other. Some years they have to do with something from that year - a trip or something special from the year. I love the idea that in 50 years we'll have a tree filled with gifts to one another.
    
11. Did you believe in Santa as a child? yes
    
12. When do you open presents? Christmas morning
    
13. Do you put up a tree and when? If not, how do you celebrate? yes, first weekend in December
    
14. Does your tree have a theme? no - it's a total hodge podge, but most ornaments have a story
    
15. What has been your favorite gift to give? to receive? I can't think of anything specific. to give - I love to give homemade gifts. to receive - anything that took some thought - oh and fabric!
    

My Dream Sewing Room and a few other things....

Well, it's been a year since my last entry. Lame, I know. But we've been busy. Cory completed his PhD and we moved from Hawaii to Idaho where he got a job as a professor at ISU. While I miss many things about paradise, there is a lot to enjoy in Idaho. Like the fact that we were able to finally buy a home. And not just any home, this one came with a 13'x21' unfinished workshop that makes an AMAZING sewing room! While I day dream about finishing it someday with a ceiling and flooring and french doors into the adjacent family room, it works perfectly for now. It is huge and came with shelving and built in counters that are the perfect height for sewing and cutting. I absolutely love this space.

Since this photo was taken, I moved my two spare machines and made the area on the left a perfect kid craft area for Leif. And that back wall is where I eventually want to put French doors into the family room. For now, while he still has a lot of house projects going, Cory is using it as his workshop space. Which works fine for me. I have plenty of space in the rest of the room.

I've also joined the Port Neuf Valley Quilt Guild and enjoy my once a month guild meetings. They do a quilt show in the Spring and also a retreat, both of which I am looking forward to. While there aren't any quilters in my age group, it's fun and I know I can learn a lot from these amazing quilters.

I'm doing a monthly friendship block swap with the guild and I also signed up for my first online swap with the Flirty Apron - Fall Table Runners. I also just completed a Facebook Pay it Forward type swap that I signed up for several months ago - we had till the end of the year to complete our swap. So, while I have yet to find any sewing buddies here, I'm enjoying this swapping and hope to do more.

My Fall table runner for the Flirty Apron Swap. Since this photo was taken I have quilted it, just have to bind it and get it in the mail on Saturday.

These are bookmarks I made for my Facebook Pay it Forward Handmade Gift Swap. I used my oh so talented friend Shelley's tutorial. I did 6 sets of 3 bookmarks and sent them off to my friends in HI, WA, ID and Germany. I am going to start another similar swap for 2012.

I have a pile of projects to complete right now - curtains for the kitchen, our bedroom and Kian's room, a surfboard wall hanging for Kian's room, a duvet cover for our room, a huge pile of pillow cases and a slug and an elephant for cousin Christmas presents and a diaper bag and baby quilt. My goal is to have all that done by the end of the year. Unrealistic, but I'm at least hoping to get the curtains and Christmas presents done.

I have decided to keep my name of Patchwork in Paradise. While I no longer reside in the phenomenal state of Hawaii, I will always carry paradise with me wherever I go. So Aloha for now, all pau ( I must go bind that runner.)