Tag: craftswap

#swapaddict · Holidays · Newsletter · Swaps

August News

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Hello, August!

It’s so cliche to start with “I can’t believe it’s August already”, but all summer I have felt like life is stuck in fast forward. I wrote “June” twice yesterday when signing forms at the doctor.  I am glad I decided this summer to take a hiatus from my craft projects, sewing orders and swaps because my kids are here 24 hours a day, plus I actually like leaving the house in the summer.  While my kids are happy to watch TV all their waking hours so I can work on projects,I do like them to see the sun occasionally. I signed them up for a bunch of small activities, all of which seemed to happen in the last three weeks. We have lived in the car and eaten a majority of our meals as picnics on park benches or en route to the next thing. Thankfully the bulk of the actives are wrapping up and they only have a few things left this summer, but we’re planning some family adventures for August, so I don’t know when I will get back to my sewing room. Continue reading “August News”

52 Quilts: Number 25 – Double Mini Swap Quilt
#swapaddict · 52 Quilts 2016 · Quilts

52 Quilts: Number 25 – Double Mini Swap Quilt

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Quilt 25 52

The most recent swap I participated in was a short turn around but it was really fun. The theme was “Double Mini” meaning it was a mini quilt that also had miniature dimensions. It couldn’t be larger than 8” on a side. I used a charm pack of Tula Pink fabric and this free Prismatic Medallion pattern (reduced to 50%)

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The hexagonal binding was a new challenge but I think the grey stripes is a fun addition.

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I didn’t quite get it right the first time, it was too small. But I finished it (and another) anyway, since I had it already cut out. I gave one to a friend and the second is hanging in my sewing room on my Mini Wall.

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There were enough scraps leftover to make a couple little pouches so I included one of those and some rainbow thread when I sent the package.

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52 Quilts: Number 24 – Team Ironman
#swapaddict · 52 Quilts 2016 · Quilts

52 Quilts: Number 24 – Team Ironman

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Quilt 24 52

I am such a delinquent blogger. I made this little mini Team Ironman quilt a couple months ago for my 2016 Birthday Fun Swap. The birthday girl of the month was a huge Marvel fan, especially Ironman. I made this mini quilt with a free pattern from Quiet Play.

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For the rest of the package, I included a Sew-Together bag by Sew Demented, which I did in Marvel theme.

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I included some fun extras, including a tumbler I decorated with vinyl and my Silhouette Cameo, a couple decals and some Ant Man and Iron Man goodies.

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52 Quilts: Number 19 – May the 4th Mini Quilt
#swapaddict · 52 Quilts 2016 · Craft Swap · Quilts

52 Quilts: Number 19 – May the 4th Mini Quilt

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Quilt 19 52

A few months ago I decided to organize a mini quilt swap of my own. It was a Star Wars themed quilt swap, with the shipping dates just before the Star Wars holiday, May the 4th (be with you!) You can see all the incredible mini Quilts on Instagram with the hashtag #maythe4thMQS (Seriously, how amazing are some of these quilts!)

I had 3 volunteers who helped me organize, so we were each placed on another team so we could participate in a blind swap. Then something crazy happened. One of my very favorite quilt pattern designers, Kristy from Quiet Play, signed up for my swap. I am a super Quiet Play fangirl so I was beyond excited. Then she started making all sorts of Star Wars inspired paper piece patterns for the swap, which was even cooler. Then something EVEN crazier happened, I got my partner assignment and guess who I was assigned to make a mini quilt for? Yep, Kristy. So. Intimidating. Plus, all those crazy cool patterns were totally not an option…

She requested a mini quilt for her son’t Star Wars room, so I decided to do Applique the main characters from The Force Awakens, Rey, BB-8, Poe and Finn.

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Personally, I think BB-8 is pretty much the cutest thing ever. I adore him. Rey, Finn and Poe are such great new characters, I thin they made a great quilt.

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I did some wavy line quilting to make the sand look more like sand, and added some lines in the sky. I haven’t really used appliqués for creating a scene in a mini before but I can see myself doing it again, I mean how cute did they turn out?

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The backing I just did some basic Star Wars fabric, and bound it with some Force Awakens text fabric.

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I did a special label, also with the embroidery machine, which was something new for me too.

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Before I sent the package off to Australia for May the 4th, I decided I should include something just for Kristy (since the packages was largely for her kiddos.) so I used her mini Death Star pattern and did a fun little rainbow twist and put it together as a zip pouch.

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Since the package needed to ship to Australia, I tried to find fun, lightweight extras for her kids, so I ended up sending Legos, stickers, tattoos, pencils and a couple small toys. It arrived on May the 4th, so the timing was perfect, and most importantly, Kristy loved it! (Whew, since I was totally sweating making something for someone who’s work I admire so much!)

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May the 4th Be with you!

52 Quilts: Number 13 – Adventure Time Pixel Quilt
#swapaddict · 52 Quilts 2016 · Craft Swap · Quilts

52 Quilts: Number 13 – Adventure Time Pixel Quilt

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Quilt 13 52

I sent two swap packages last week, and this is the second one. The theme for this swap is Cartoons of our Time, which included a few main modern cartoons: Adventure Time, Futurama, Gravity Falls, Phineas and Ferb and Steven Universe. My partner preferred Adventure time so while it took me forever to decide what to make, I finally decided on a pixel quilt.

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Unlike my last pixel quilt, this one was really trying to be a mini quilt, but it still didn’t work out quite mini. I used 1.5” squares to start, and increased the seam allowance to make the finished squares less than 1” each. All 6 characters started out the same size, but somehow got a little wonky so I improvised some sashing to even them out.

For the quilting I did a free-motion wave top to bottom which adds to the wonkyness. All in all I like how it ended up. I haven’t really ever watched Adventure time, so I had to consult with my husband about which characters I should include. I found peler bead patterns for 7-8 different ones and had him cull the selection. I suppose if I had scaled down to only 4 it could have ended up an actual mini quilt!

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For extras I included another Hour basket, made from the same fabric I used for the backing. I also made a little key fob, plus picked up a couple Adventure time Funko POP minis and a Mad-Libs book.

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52 Quilts: Number 12 – Mike Wazowski is on a quilt!
#swapaddict · 52 Quilts 2016 · Craft Swap · Quilts

52 Quilts: Number 12 – Mike Wazowski is on a quilt!

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Quilt 12 52

“I’m on a Quilt!” – Mike Wazowski

This little quilt is number 12 in my 52 quilts project, made for a Pixar craft swap on Instagram. It is also one of my favorite things I have ever made. I am a huge fan of all things Pixar and Monsters Inc is one of my all-time favorites, so when my partner said Mike Wazowski was a favorite, I knew I would have fun. I didn’t anticipate I would have so much trouble giving this one up!

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I started with the Mike paper-piecing pattern from Fandominstitches.com which is just about the coolest resources ever for nerdy quilt patterns. The pattern was only 10×10 though, so I knew I needed to add something. At first I thought about using the monster fabric I had for the backing and doing a border, but it seemed like it needed something else. I had a little pile of solid scraps when I was sorting fabric and they just seemed perfect for the doors at the opening sequence of the movie. I pieced them all and then quilted little door patterns onto each one.

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The backing fabric I have had forever, one of those things I saw in a remnant bin or something and knew I had to have it at the time, but had no real plan for it. It was perfect for this project.

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Around Mike I did a little free-motion stippling to give it a little texture. I am still no expert at free motion quilting but I think I am getting better.

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This swap required not only one medium-sized craft, but also two smaller ones. I made this little fabric basket, based on the 1 Hour Basket from Kelby Sews. The bottle-cap and balloon fabric was inspired by the movie UP, which is another favorite of mine and my partner. I added some Pixar Postcards, lip balm and a key fob. I also had a little fun with pearler beads and made the house from UP into a little magnet.

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I am so glad that Mike with one Eye found a home that will love him as much as I do. He was so much fun to see come together. I love the details of the doors and even more I love when an idea ends up better than I imagined.

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Disney Dudes Valentine Swap
#swapaddict

Disney Dudes Valentine Swap

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I am really bad at posting about the stuff I have sent for craft swaps, so I am going to try to be more on top of it. This is a package I sent at the beginning of February for the Disney Dudes craft swap, dedicated to all the men of Disney. My partner professed her love of Aladdin so I ran with it. I found this paper-piece pattern from Misha29 and apparently I got lucky to find the Aladdin-esque fabric on Etsy. (I later learned that it’s out of print and super hard to find.) It’s Lizzy House 1001 Peeps, which is delightful. I pulled the background color from the accent in the fabric.

Essentially I made this like a mini quilt but sewed it together with an envelope back and added a pillow form.

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Not bad for a street rat, right? His eyes were SO MANY tiny pieces. But totally worth it.

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One thing I really enjoy about swaps is finding little extras to include in the package. I recently got a Silhouette Cameo and decided to use that for small extras when I can. My partner included her favorite Aladdin quotes in her questionnaire so I put one on a mug with a little silhouette of the lamp. It turned out so cute.

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My most absurdly large extra ever was this Animator’s Collection doll, which is adorable but not exactly tiny. He was on sale when I was doing Christmas shopping at the Disney Store so I just could not resist him to go in the package too. My partner says she loved everything.

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52 Quilts: Number 4 – Princess Peach Video Game Swap Quilt
#swapaddict · 52 Quilts 2016 · Craft Swap · Quilts

52 Quilts: Number 4 – Princess Peach Video Game Swap Quilt

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Quilt 4 52

Sometimes I have a hard time deciding what I am going to do with a project but for the Video Game Craft Swap, I read my partner’s info and knew right away what I was going to do: Princess Peach Pixel Quilt. I found a pattern on Pinterest for a Perler bead pattern and used that to plan the quilt.

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The design has 700 squares, which I cut 2”x2” from mostly tonal fabrics I had in my stash. I did debate whether to make a mini quilt or a lap quilt, but I think the design would have lost something if I cut down the number or squares and if I just made them each 1” I might have gone insane.

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I used a shortcut method for the design. Once the squares were cut, I divided the pattern up into 20×20 pieces and arranged them onto fusible interfacing. After they were fused, I was able to fold each of the columns and stitch. It kept everything aligned and made stitching together 700 pieces much more manageable.

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I used this awesome Mario fabric for the back, which I made slightly wider with some fun polkadots on the edge and bound it with pink hearts.

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When I am starting a project, I usually have an idea of what the end product will be, but it’s not terribly often that the outcome is even better than I imagined. This one was really hard to send off, though I am confident it will be loved in its new home.

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I usually try to include a few extras with swap packages. Some of the swaps require them, others are optional. I think it is fun to find or create small things on the theme that the recipient will enjoy.

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I found the Mushroom and Question Block candies last month, and I did the Princess Peach decal with my new Silhouette Cameo machine. I made Pacman magnets with Perler beads and even made a little Pacman Keyfob.

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52 Quilts: Number 3 – Winning Love Rainbow Mini Quilt
#swapaddict · 52 Quilts 2016 · Craft Swap · Quilts

52 Quilts: Number 3 – Winning Love Rainbow Mini Quilt

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Quilt 3 52

I actually finished this the first week in January but since I made this spectacularly rainbow-y mini quilt for a mini quilt swap I waited to share. Last year I signed up for my first (of many) craft swaps and I got crazy addicted to swaps. I have enjoyed swapping so much, I have made lots of virtual friends in this awesome swapping community on Instagram and had a lot of fun. I even hosted my own little swap, the ROYGBIV charm swap, where each participant sent in 56 five-inch squares of an assigned color and everyone got back a rainbow assortment. This little quilt is mostly made from those fabrics, they were perfect.

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The Winning Love Mini Swap is inspired by last year’s Marriage Equality ruling and it shipped during No Name Calling Week. It’s honestly a little intimidating making something for someone who is talented and creative. I enjoy the opportunity to try out things I might not make otherwise and I hope that my work is appreciated by the recipients.

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I love the colors and I hope my swap partner enjoys the mini quilt. I found this super colorful, rainbow swirly fabric last year and I knew it would be a perfect back for a rainbow quilt. I had a tiny bit of the rainbow stripes that I was thrilled was enough to bind it.

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