Pink Carousel Mini (swap)

I belong to a small swap group that swaps a "something" every 2 months.  Our last swap was a mini quilt, at least 12" on one side.  My swap partner Wanda is in the process of re-decorating / re-organizing her sewing space and plans to use bright pink and white.  She also told me she likes carousel animals.  This is what I made:

It measures about 21" square, dictated by the block size around the focal fabric in the center.  The fabric in the center is from the Carousel Dreams line by Cynthia Coulter for Wilmington Prints.  The fabric on the back is Carousel Dreams Ribbons.  The pink blocks are from my stash (each one is a different fabric).

I found a pattern online called "Carousel" by Fig Tree and Company and thought it would be perfect to go with the theme.  I was too impatient to wait for the pattern to arrive so I started making my own version which is not quite the same, but close enough :-).  I sent the pattern and some extra fabric (from the main front panel) to Wanda along with the mini. 

I shadowed quilted outside and within the blocks, but no quilting on the carousel fabric in the center.  I am struggling my way up the "tension" learning curve on my new machine but all things considered, I'm pretty happy with how this turned out.

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I also put together this quick little pouch.  Clovers and ladybugs, I think that's a perfect combination.

~*~ May your day be full of Love and Ladybug Hugs ~*~

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kat ~

Needle Book swap

Upon returning from my vacation, I found the most lovely package waiting for me -- a needlecase from my swap partner for this month, the lovely Leona from Leona's Quilting Adventure.  How beautiful is this??  I just love it!  

Front - ladybugs in the center :-)

Inside -- she sent all those notions with it and how cute are those button pins?!?

The back - more ladybugs!

She also included some more ladybug and bug fabric for my stash

Plus a pattern and a note pad.  How generous!!

This is the one I made for Leona.  The photos are a little dark :-(.

She told me she likes patchwork, solids and hedgehogs!

Inside front cover.

The hedgehog print was a little big, so I had to keep that inside.

I used it for the pockets and the binding.

Middle

Inside back cover

(I forgot to take a picture of the back --- it looks a lot like the front)

I hope Leona will enjoy this.  I also sent some hedgie fabric for her stash.  I'm looking forward to finding out who my next swap partner is and what our next project will be!

~*~ May your day be full of Love and Ladybug Hugs ~*~

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kat ~

Mug rug swap

Earlier in the month I shared this picture, which was a sneak peek of a mug rug I made for my friend Ida in my first ever swap.  I also posted some pictures of the *gorgeous* mug rug she had made for me.

Not only was I excited to receive such a beautiful gift from her, but I was tickled by the similarities between the mug rugs we had made for each other.  The only instruction was "mug rug" but as you can see, we both used similar colors, applique, a diagonal corner stripe and (my favorite part!) ladybugs!

I made her mug rug while on vacation in New York.  All I had (in terms of supplies) was my hexie kit -- paper hexies, needle, thread and scissors.  I procured a FQ bundle and started stitching --- completely by hand -- until I came up with this.  Instead of batting, I used 3 layers of craft felt in the middle.  (Two would have been more than enough, but live and learn!)

I hadn't really intended to do the entire thing by hand, I was just going to make a hexie... but once I got started, I thought it would be a fun challenge to see how much I could do.

Basting was the hardest part, nothing seemed to stay flat as I was hand stitching, but it worked out well enough.

If you look closely, you can see that I stitched "Made with love and ladybug hugs" (in addition to a ladybug).  Not only is it the name of my blog, but it's how I make everything -- with love and ladybug hugs.

I also sent Ida a small ladybug notepad, some shells collected on the beach near my house (in Florida) and a bottle of Adirondack maple syrup from Upstate New York, my favorite place on earth.  I hope she will enjoy all of them as much as I enjoyed making this for her.

~*~ May your day be full of Love and Ladybug Hugs ~*~

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kat ~