Catching Up

I haven't been blogging much this week, for some reason. I have some catching up to do! Actually, most of this stuff is from farther back than just this last week.

Before I went to the quilt retreat (almost a whole month ago! where does the time go??), I made some gifts to take to my friends. I found a cute pattern that I really liked, so I made everyone some little bags.

These are all done from this pattern , and they all finish @ 4" x 6". I obviously got tired of piecing all those little squares, but I also wanted to personalize each bag. So, upper left is Pat's, and she is a Beatlemanic (like moi), next is Kate who loves purple and 30's fabrics, then Jeanne who is as bright and cheerful as these Mary Engelbright fabrics. On the right, there's Pam's bag, and we all know she loves purple!

Bottom row left is Jill's bag. Jill and I hand-dyed this red fabric together, and I did some improv piecing for her. Middle is my bag, also done with hand-dyed fabric that I made. (I jazzed mine up with some beads, embroidery and prairie points.) Then on the right is Roberta's bag. I also hand-dyed and sun-printed this fabric. (Roberta makes wonderful hand-dyed fabric too!)

Here's a bigger picture of my bag. I made covered buttons for all the bags. I love covered buttons, except that was the start of my messing up my thumb. Duh, I finally went and got the little hammer after a few buttons. Slow learner, I guess. Anyway, I think everyone enjoyed their bags. I use mine for my mp3 player and/or my cell phone. It could also be used for sewing supplies.

I also made a couple of snap wallets. (You can click on the pictures to biggify them.) I found the pattern for these cuties here. I had a heck of a time doing the snaps, so DH did them for me. The next ones I make will have velcro fasteners. I love the look of the snap, but it's too hard for me to unsnap easily. But, these only take a few minutes to make, and are a lot of fun.

These are great for lots of things, but I'm using mine for carrying all those store cards that don't fit in my wallet anymore. You know, like Costco and Petco, the library, etc. The cards fit just perfectly.

My DH, The Potter, has been a busy guy here. He just recently completed a custom order for me. I ordered a new set of dinnerware. There was nothing wrong with the old set, except we only had 6 of everything and now we need at least 7 when we have the rest of the family over. And, spoiled rotten that I am, I was just tired of them. I mean, what's the point of having a potter in the family if you can't get some new dishes now and then? Right?

So, here's what he's done. This is a service for 10 (except for 4 more dessert plates that didn't fit in the kiln for this load). He always makes extra of whatever he's doing, in case something doesn't come out.

And here's a better picture of the wonderful glazing that he did. I had a hard time making up my mind as to what I wanted. It actually took me 2 months and many test plates before I was happy. (I'm lucky he loves me - I think he got tired of all the testing!) I think the dishes came out beautifully! I'm loving using them. Must be time to invite the family over!

One last thing. A while back I made and sent some little 9-patches to Bumble Beans for a charity project she was working on. The quilt, titled "Nothing But Kisses", is all made and quilted and is now up for auction at the Born In My Heart auction. Click on over to her blog for the explanation and a direct link to the quilt auction, and take a look at the really cute quilt she made with all the 9-patches that were contributed to her. I hope they make loads of $$ on it!

Edited to add: here's the direct link to the quilt auction!

I've been busy this week with some actual sewing and other fiber-related things occuring. I'll have some photos to show you in a few days! Stay tuned. . . .