More goodie swap sewing!

This week has not been good for sewing. I feel like I managed to get hardly anything done, a combination of work, kids and still feeling under the weather. Plus feeling quite lethargic about it all! But yesterday evening I decided I had had enough of feeling uninspired, sewing-wise, and knew that the only way to "cure" myself was to go and do a small, fun project. I've been mulling over my mug rug for Partner no 1 in the Goodie Swap for a few weeks now and after seeing Judith and Fi both turn Lee's great block tute into a mug rug, I decided that was the way to go. I really really love Lee's tute and this block is a strong contender for my month in Sew Bee Blissful. My partner's colour are a little different from the sort of palette I normally like but I just love how they go together.  I mixed in some solids as I had them in the right shades, and I used lots of fabrics in this one - Kate Spain (Fandango and Central Park) more Aviary II, Loulouthi and more! I felt it needed a neutral border so added on a strip of Kona Ash and think it finishes it off nicely although this is measuring up as a very,very big mug rug!! Oh well, I don't think my partner will mind.

After finishing binding it, I decided to break out my new Perle Cotton which I had in an Iris/purple variegated colourway and did a little hand quilting in the Ash border - a line of small stitches on the inside and longer stitches on the outside. I like the effect although I wish my stitches were more even!

So, partner no 1 is now done. I think and hope she will be pleased with her package when it arrives!

I moved on then to Partner No 2. Now, I feel I know partner no 2's taste reasonably well and she has been very active commenting in the Flickr group which is always a help. I I know exactly what I am doing for her mug rug although I won't get to it till later in the week. I've been mulling over her goodies and I know that she would probably like the needle case I made for partner no 1 too. But one of the things I love about this swap is the opportunity to do different things for different people and work with separate colour schemes. So I have been looking for an opportunity to use Ayumi's patchwork wristlet tutorial for a while and decided Partner 2 would like this.

I used Kona Ash to make my feature fabrics stand out more and I think it has a fresh clean look that I love! This is the back - don't you love those seahorses?

And this is part of the front - I'm afraid that one of the feature fabrics will just make it too obvious to my partner so I'm not showing the whole thing!

This is a really practical little pouch. It has a wrist strap (matching the interior lining) and would be perfect to hold a few small things if you don't want or need to bring your handbag out with you. Its lined with some Modern Meadow fabric, with a pocket made from Kona Ochre. The pocket is divided and easily holds some cards, notes and a lipstick. Plus your phone and keys would fit easily in there too.

So partner no 2 - I hope you like it! More on the way for you - I have another (little) goodie in mind for you as well as your mug rug. Keep watching :-)

PS. If you're looking for my Kona solid giveaway for 5 half metres of Kona cottons, pop over here to enter! It closes tomorrow evening so don't miss out!

Linking up to:

Baby Buggy Blanket

So it's finally finished!!! My first attempt at a patchwork blanket worked out really well and I'm very happy with it. It's been a learning process and there's a few things I'd do differently to make it absolutely perfect but overall I think my idea worked out as I hoped.

It's made of 100% cotton backed with beautiful, soft minky.






The cotton and minky gives it a lovely weight.

It would make a lovely blanket for a baby girl for a buggy/car seat or in a crib, soft and snuggly on the inside and bright and cheery on the outside. It measures approx 100cm by 74cm. I could easily size up to cot size too.





I'm very excited that it's finally done and the whole process of designing it was really exciting!! One of the things I am loving most about my new venture is that it's challenging me to come up with ideas and there's great satisfaction in that. There's a world of difference between following a pattern and generating the idea yourself. It's the getting from idea to finished product that's most challenging for me, particularly as I am mostly self taught. But I really (really!!) love when it comes together as this did. All that's left now is to parcel it up and send off to my beautiful niece and god-daughter L to enjoy!!