Chickens on the Couch

I made a version of this pillow for a recent swap. It was a very fun idea -- you send your partner a book she'd like (I sent two vintage Gladys Tabor books) and make a few things to accompany the book, based on the theme of the book. In addition to the book, I sent a little needlebook with roosters, goatmilk soap, and a few vintage chicken goodies.

I love working with patchwork fabrics and papers. It allows me to work with all sorts of different patterns and textures. I'm constantly amazed at how compelled I am to work with these materials.

Whenever I make something new for a swap, I try to make at least one extra for the Etsy shop. So the 2nd pillow is now in the shop waiting for a new home.

Lucky Parcels

I love making these little packets! They're regular swaps with the FAA (Fabric Addicts Anonymous) group on Flickr. The idea is to make up parcels for three swap partners based on the current theme. Sometimes the theme is a color, sometimes a subject. As you might suspect, the theme for the top photo is Apples. Usually I use opaque plastic Asian takeout containers (from Target). They're cute, inexpensive, and lightweight. However, I found the little baskets and thought they'd be appropriate for the Apple swap. The baskets contain fabric, a button card I made with apple buttons, apple-scented goodies (candle, lip gloss, etc), and wooden apples (most are hollow).

This is more typical of my usual "Lucky Parcels" (I love the name -- makes me think of a dessert at a Chinese banquet.) The theme was "Black & White." The parcels include fabric, ribbon, buttons, and a bunch of other fabric-related notions.

What I find so fun is the way the parcel itself is the best part of the swap -- everyone does them differently but they're always cute and clever.

Sewing Again

I've made fun of my dad becoming obsessed with his hobbies -- after all, that's the origin of our winery. But I am probably just as bad. Or maybe worse?

Last year I became obsessed with Artist Trading Cards. My garden didn't get planted and my knitting sat idle.

That obsession has now evolved. I've branched out into all sorts of arts/crafts as long as it's all about swapping with other folks via Flickr, Swap-Bot, or any number of private swaps. In fact, now I seem to enjoy doing lots of different things: paper arts (ATCs, artistamps, other mail art), homemade magnets, notecards, hand-carved rubber stamps, knitting... and I've even gotten back to sewing.

Actually, sewing was another obsessive craft I practiced long, long ago (in the dark ages) when I was a teenager. Almost every week I'd make something new to wear when I went out that following weekend. As is with SOME of my obsessions, I got burnt out on sewing. And I basically stopped doing it until now.

After getting into sewing on paper recently (I love it), left, and hand-sewing with felt, I've finally gotten back to sewing something with fabric on my sewing machine. Last week I made a tote bag for a swap on Swap-Bot called "Farmgirl at Heart." The swap called for four (or more) items with a farm/garden theme such as ribbon, buttons, or a tote bag.

I found some great fabric to make the tote bag: a heavy cotton printed with gardening tools like spading forks and shovels, another fun yellow cotton fabric printed with red roosters, and a very heavy yellow cotton canvas.

I've never sewed with a heavy canvas before, but my ancient machine performed well. I was feeling swamped because I'd committed myself to too many things that were due at the same time. But I still enjoyed making the bag. Because of the canvas bottom and handles, it ended up very sturdy. And, of course, I'm already thinking of the next thing to sew!