Embroider-bee Progress

I'm one month from my deadline on the embroider-bee. To refresh, I make four quilt blocks with embroidery and patchwork for four different people, and I get four blocks (from the same people) in return. I've only completely finished one block, but I am nearly done with the next two. I feel pretty good about my chances of finishing on time. Just like in college, I work pretty well under pressure (aka, I'm used to procrastination!).

The block I've completed is here:

I used a Sublime Stitching pattern (from the stash), which I definitely want to stitch up again for myself! The scraps are from the stash, and I really love the little pieces!

Here's a closeup of the little guy. Love!

Here's a sneak of the second block. I finished the stitching, but I don't want to reveal until I finish the patchwork. You can see a little sneaky peek of the stitching, though. I drew this one myself, so I promise, it's not too complicated!

Here's a pretty big peek at the third block. I purchased this design from theflossbox on etsy. You can find some really cute designs in her shop. I would love to stitch the state sampler set someday.

Speaking of embroidery, I'm completely smitten with these pillows.

(Marsh)Mallow

I got to see one of my favorite pups a few weeks ago, the beautiful Mallow dog, who was freshly shaved for the summer.

I visited with Sarah and Austin to celebrate Sarah's graduation (for a second Bachelor's degree), and while I was there, Sarah made these incredible cupcakes.

They are Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Banana Frosting.

People, these are delicious cupcakes, and I could seriously have eaten a bowl of the forsting. It was so light and airy (Sarah reduced the amount of powdered sugar by a whole cup, and you could probably use even less without missing it), and looked like, you guessed it, marshmallow.

I'll have some crafty FOs to share with you soon. Enjoy your weekend!

Winning

So, first, let me just say thank you to the 521 participants. I knew Heather Ross fabric would get your attention, but I was still floored by the response! I'm happy to say that even though there is only one big winner, I have decided to make a few extra owl pouches, to show you all how much I appreciate you. I also really appreciate your kind words. They made this week much better than it could have been!
And now, I get a three day weekend to find some calm, and some craft.

So, the big winner of the Mendocino fabric, the owl pouch and the homemade cards is...

Comment #314, Jessica! Jessica has already responded to my email, so I'll be sending her package shortly!

And now for three additional pouch winners:

#62 mamafox
#113 Flowerofshona
and
#499 Kama!

I've sent you each an email, so please send me your information to claim your owl pouch!

Thank you all for coming to my little space this week. I will definitely participate in the SMS Giveaway day next time. This has been fun! I hope you will check in with me again sometime!

XO, Jacey

Giveaway Day

This week will be pretty rough at work for me. To take my mind off things, I'm celebrating Sew Mama Sew's giveaway day with a nice little package for you. I'm also four posts short of four hundred, which seems like a great excuse as well.

For starters, my sister made you this set of cards.

I'll also make you a pouch like this one.

If you win, you can choose the colors, and I'll make you your very own owl pouch. I made this using Keyka Lou's pattern, which is mighty adorable.

I'm also giving you some of the widely popular Mendocino fabric by Heather Ross. You'll get four half-yard cuts and one fat quarter. Yep, that's right. Over two yards of the out of print Mendocino. I'm sharing this lovely bundle with one lucky winner, just because!

To win, just leave a comment! International entries are welcome. Please make sure you leave your email address so I can contact the winner. I will accept entries until Wednesday at 6:00 PM CST. Only one entry per person.

Thanks for stopping by, and good luck!

ETA: Comments are now closed.

FO: Pretty Little Pouch

Now that my partner has received her pouch, I can share the secret. If you remember, I received this pouch from Amber in the swap. Little did we know, I was her partner, too! Typically, in a blind swap, you are matched with two people: one to give to, one to receive from. The mods accidentally paired Amber and I up both ways. When I received her pouch, I was surprised! It was even more fun finishing her pouch, though, knowing that I would be able to reciprocate so quickly.

I stitched up some hexagons using a rainbow of fabrics. Hexagons were a first for me, and very fun.

I decided to sew them together in rows, and I used Kona Medium Gray for the background fabric. I love the quilting I did, which was just to frame the hexagons in an abstract way. I'm also pleased with the handstitching.

The pouch is colorful, and I honestly had a hard time parting with it.

I used this green elephant print for the lining, and a bright purple zipper to finish it off.

I'm really happy with it, and Amber loved it!

I'm glad to have another swap crossed off my list.

Psst. I mentioned a giveaway is coming up, and I'll be posting it this weekend, as part of Sew Mama Sew's May Giveaway Day! Stay tuned!

Casting On: Red Hedera

I couldn't resist.

This skein of Madeline Tosh sock yarn has been sitting in the stash since last fall.
Granted, I have several projects on the needles, countless skeins of yarn, sitting patiently in the stash, but this gorgeous red hue was calling to me. I blame Lolly and of course, Project Spectrum. It got me thinking about red. Lolly said it best when she talked here about being mindful. Take a moment. Breathe. Enjoy the color in your life.

So, I did. I took a moment, and this weekend, I cast on for a long-admired Knitty A pattern, Hedera.

I love the simple four row repeat, and I LOVE the rich, saturated red.

I worked on this briefly on Saturday, while I was in Austin. Up next, I'll have some pictures to share from Sarah's graduation party. She made incredible food and Vodka-Thyme Lemonade. Whoa. That's the only word for the lemonade. And also, delicious.

Wonky Bee Progress

So, I mentioned here about the Wonky Bee, and then I forgot to share what's happened since then.

April was my month to plan the bee blocks, and I absolutely love my blocks!

Here's a photo with Melissa's and mine. I've actually received all 10 blocks (five other members x 2), but I haven't been able to get a picture of all of them together yet (Melissa's blocks are top right and bottom left, mine are [obviously] the other two). I think this is going to be a really fun quilt. I just need to make a few more blocks and then I'll put them all together!

May is Melissa's month, and she chose wonky house and tree blocks.

These were really fun to make. I think I prefer my house block over the tree.

In the next coming weeks, be on the lookout for:
-a finished sweater, nearly three years in the making
-some embroidery
-a giveaway(!)

FO: Goodie Bag Swap

Did everyone have a nice Mother's Day this weekend? My sister and I took my mom out Friday night for pedicures and Mexican food. It was a great night, and now I have green toes!

I finished the bag for my Goodie Bag Swap partner this weekend. My partner has been quiet during the swap, so I just went with my instinct (and her color specifications) to make this bag.

I used a free pattern by Artsy Crafty Babe called the Pleated Tote. It's a great pattern, and I think I will definitely have to make one for myself some time soon. It came together in one afternoon. I used a light/medium interfacing, but used two layers of it (fused one to the interior, one to the exterior) to strengthen the bag.

I used Quilter's Linen for the exterior (it's a little darker than the photos show), and a Studio E Etchings print for the lining. Angela said on flickr that the lining fabric looks like fireworks. Yes, exactly. Or dandelions. Either way, I love it. As you can see, I also used a piece of Anna Maria Horner's Woodcut from Innocent Crush for the pocket.

I also used some AMH for the straps, as well as some Monaluna Mingle. I used a button from the stash, and voila! The bag is complete.

I think the handles are my favorite part. I hope my partner likes the bag, and of course, it will be filled with some goodies, still to be determined. I may have to make one of these little guys to send along.

I'm linking up to Canoe Ridge Creation's Sew Modern Monday today (something new for me!).

Sewing FOs and Progress

After receiving the adorable owl hexies from Amber, I really couldn't get them out of my head.

I used them to make this pillow. It's not exactly what I wanted, but I really like it. I hope I did the little owl justice. I used a scrap piece from Joel Dewberry's Modern Meadow (I have lots of this line stashed; I eventually plan to make a quilt using all the prints I have), and the circles are from Kumari Garden. I like the hand-stitching I added.

I used a fat quarter of this Amy Butler Soul Blossoms print for the backing. The pillow is 14" square (I used a pillow form from Ikea; it's been in my closet for at least a year).

I took this picture of my bed, which holds most of my homemade pillows (I didn't make the solid aqua one; that's a Target purchase). I'm using my Grellow+Pink quilt as a bedspread at the moment, and loving it.

I also made this Kindle cover for my sister over the weekend. After shopping together on Saturday morning, she picked out this stashed Ruby Star Rising, and we picked coordinating solids.

The inside uses a second piece of Ruby Star Rising fabric, some Kona Eggplant and some Laura Gunn Painter's Canvas. I used this pattern from Birdiful Stitches on etsy. I liked the pattern, and it's cool that you can sell items made from the pattern. I don't think mine looks very polished, but I'm guessing that on the second (or third) try, it will look better. Specifically, my flaps aren't quite straight, and I had to top stitch at the top of the pocket, which shows on the front.

I've got one more piece of sewing to show you today.

I worked on my Single Girl quilt recently, and I now have completed the top halves of my rings. It feels good to make some real progress on such a big project. By the end of May, I would love to have the quilt top assembled, but I may be dreaming there. We'll see!

Wordless Wednesday

FO: Apple Ishbel

Given that my last knitting FO of the year (which was also the first one of the year, so YIKES.) was finished in January, I'm proud to finally have some finished knitting to share.

This is my third time to knit Ysolda's Ishbel, and this time I used a fabulous alpaca/cashmere/silk blend of yarn. I loved knitting with it, and if it's possible, I think it got even softer after washing.

The resulting shawl is so snuggly. My only modification was to eliminate the last two rows, as I was dangerously close to running out of yarn. I knit the large stockinette and the small lace. It felt good to finish some knitting, since I've been spending so much of my free time on sewing and quilting. I have two other nearly-finished knitting projects that I'd like to get wrapped up soon.

Raveled here

I've also committed to participating in Lolly's awesome Project Spectrum again. I enjoyed the project back in 2009, and I'm looking forward to some inspiration each month to focus on one color. I doubt I will completely adhere to this, as I have some ongoing projects and things I want to accomplish, of course. I've started a pinboard to get me in the red state of mind.

I also created this mosaic on flickr (click through for photo credits). I painted my fingernails red yesterday, too. Sometimes, it's the little things.

If you'd like to play along, please join in!

In non-crafting news, I did some much needed house cleaning this weekend (okay, I know that doesn't really qualify as news, but it was mandatory!). I also recently joined a gym, and I've been trying to go at least twice a week. My yoga class yesterday left me really sore, but in a good way.