Another Christmas Gift to share!!

Hi everyone,

I hope you are all having a good day.

We got a lot of snow today.

After getting the kids to school, I shoveled snow for over an hour.

I have to do it again, but it's just a thin layer, so I will wait a bit.

I have one gift that I made for Christmas, that I haven't shared with you.

I made my sister a tote bag using echino fabric.
I also gave her a few craft supplies too.

She took a bunch of pictures for me and sent them to me.



This bag was really fun to make.

I love the weight of it.

It's made with deco. weight linen, inside and out.

I didn't use any interfacing,

so it's easy to fold and put in your purse

 if you want to use it for groceries or as a book bag.

It's easily washable and you just need to iron it when it comes out of the dryer.

Well, I hope you like it!!!

Hugs

OPAM finishes for May & Guild Challenge Part 2

Hi everyone, I have had a busy month. I have 10 completed projects this month. That's pretty amazing for me. Most are small projects, but they still take time.

I have my second guild bag finished too. I made the block on the front. I used a large button that I purchased. It looks really good on this bag. I made this block to match the block on the back of the bag. This block was made by another Guild member.

I managed to find fabrics that reasonably matched her block. I really like the way it turned out. Another bright bag done. Now I just need to finish my Country blocks Challenge. Only one day left.....ahhhhh! Too much to do and so little time.

Have a great night!

Ariane

Guild challenge Part 1

Hi everyone, I hope you all had a good day. Tonight I worked on one of the projects that I need to complete for our last guild meeting of the season. I  participated in two different block exchanges with the guild. I received 3 blocks made by guild members in bright colors, and 3 blocks in country colors. These blocks were collected over 3 months. I had to make a 4th block for each of these categories, to have a total of 4 bright blocks and 4 country blocks. The challenge is to have completed any project I want with these blocks and present them at our last guild meeting.

I decided to seperate my bright blocks into pairs. I made a bag this evening with my first pair of bright blocks. I think it turned out pretty cute and that it was a good way to use the blocks. These two blocks were made by the same person I think. As they used similar fabrics. I added the purple fabric which I purchased today at a LQS and a vintage button that I had already. I hope you like it.

Now I just have to make something with the two other bright blocks and the 4 country blocks. I will show you those completed projects in the next couple of days. Have a great weekend.

Hugs

Ariane

Completed two tote bags for the kids teachers.

Hi everyone, I have the other two tote bag finished. The first one is for my daughters teacher. I used Cotton Blossoms charm squares and a few fat quarters that I had in my stash to make this bag. I think her teacher will love it. She usually wears warm colors, so the bag should suit her. The second bag I made for my oldest sons teacher. I also used some Cotton Blossoms charm squares but in the aqua/orange colorway. I used some of the fat quarters I had in my stash to finish it off. I think it turned out nice. Both bags are a good size. They are deep and will hold quite a few books. I'm sure the teachers will like that. They always have so much stuff to bring to school and back home again. I hope you like the bags. I didn't use a specific pattern. I just made them. Made adjustments as I went, eye balled the length of the straps. You know....I just kind of did it without too much thinking. Anyways, have a great day. I'm tired now. I'm going to have an afternoon nap before the kids get home from school. My oldest has his graduation tonight. Thanks God he is a boy and I don't have to fuss so much.

Happy Stitching!!

Ariane :o)

I have pictures of my quilt and the bag I made today!!

Hi everyone, Yesterday I finished my Whirlygiggles quilt. I really like it. It looks much better in person. I glad I can finally share it with you.

I also finished two bags to give the kids teachers as gifts. I only have pictures of the first one I finished. I show you the pictures of the other bags tomorrow. The first one I made is for my middle guys teacher. She is expecting a baby this summer. So, I thought I would make her a big bag to use as a diaper bag or just a carry all bag. I kept it really simple. It's a very bright bag because I used the fabric "Snippets" by American Jane. I thought it was appropriate for a baby bag. I made the handles long. His teacher is quite tall. So I hope that she likes that. She will be able to have it over her shoulder. I made the straps wide as well. I used a big white vintage button that I got from the thrift shop. It really goes well with this bag.

I hope you like my projects. It felt like I sewed all day. But I'm glad I got lots accomplished. Have a great day.
Happy Stitching!!
Ariane :o)

The bag I made for my Snickerdoodle swap partner!!

Hi everyone, I hope you are all well. I forgot that I never showed you the completed bag that I sent to my swap partner Illene, all the way to Australia. She received it last week and she loved it. I loved it too. I designed the bag myself and made up my own pattern. I had a lot of fun making it. I loved the fabric I used. The colors worked so beautifully together.

I have so many projects on the go right now. I have a hard time keeping track. I think I'm going to make a list so that I can cross things off as I get them done. These are the projects I have to finish.

1) Hexagon Star quilt - This one will take a while since I'm hand piecing it, and it's going to be a queen size quilt.

2) Rocky Road to Kansas quilt - I have six blocks done. I'm only making twelve. This is going to be a lap quilt.

3) Girls block swap quilt - I have to piece the top together, I'm still short 6 blocks though from my sister.

4) Aqua Baby quilt - I'm done piecing the center panel. Just need to put the border on to finish the top

5) Whirlygiggles baby quilt - I need to finish the border and the top will be done

6) Baby boy star quilt - I haven't really started yet. But need to get going on this one since it'a a commissioned piece

7) Woodland Bloom quilt - This is a double sized quilt that I started for my daughter a while ago. I've got the top almost done. But I really don't like it. It's just not me. That's why I haven't finished it yet. I really have to figure out what to do with it because I spent a lot of money on that top. Hmmmm.....what to do???

8) Spring Blooms Mini Quilt Swap!!

WOW!!! I can't start any more projects. I need to get some of these done. Okay, I'm going to commit to getting as many of these projects done the rest of this month and in June. That's going to be my plan.

Well, I hope you all have a good night. I have to work on my projects now.

Happy Stitching!!

Ariane :o)

Snickerdoodle Bag Swap Received!!!

Hi everyone, I hope you are all well. I was very lucky to receive my bag swap today all the way from Australia. I received a beautifully made bag from Darlene. I just love the colors and the appliqued pocket on the front. I'm so lucky. She also sent me a gorgeous notebook cover and a hand painted card. To add to all this loveliness, she also sent me a copy of the Australian Country Threads Stitchery Edition Magazine. Wow!! I couldn't believe all I received. Thanks Darlene for organizing such a great, fun swap, and for sending me such wonderful gifts. This made my day!! Ariane :o)

Hand made gifts for my sister and my nephew

Hi everyone, I gave my sister and my nephew their birthday presents. They were very happy with them. I think a bit surprised too. I made my sister a nice big tote bag. It is really my favorite bag that I've made. It has nice long handles and it's big enough to carry a lot of stuff. The front pocket is large enough to put a big magazine or book. I'm just really pleased with the way it turned out.

I also gave her a Kaffe Fassett book and roll of fabric. She had told me that she loved his quilts. I know she really loved the fabric and book. I also gave my nephew a crayon roll that I made. This was my first attempt at making one of these, and I think it turned out really nice. I know he liked it. I also gave him some Kids KNEX. I know he will love these too. Now, I can add both of these items to my finishes for the month of March. I'm really happy with the way these turned out. The kids and I had a really good time with my sister's family tonight. All in all, this was a really good day. I hope you have a great rest of the day.
Happy Stitching!

Ariane :o)

9 Patch Mini Tote Bag

I made a mini tote bag for my "We the People Scrap Mini Swap". I used it as a gift bag to put all my fabric scraps, chocolates and the card for my swap partner. I couldn't show it before, because she had not received it. But now she has, so I can show you my nice little tote bag. I just made 2 nine patch blocks. One with a blue color scheme and the other red. I put the dark colors on the bottom and worked my way up to the light colors. I even coordinated the handles. I did stippling all over the blocks to add texture and interest. I think it is really nice. I can now add it to my list of completed items for the "One Project a Month Challenge". This is my third item done for February. Another thing is that I'm almost done hand quilting my Tumbling Block quilt for my daughter. I'm very excited to almost be done. Well, today was a very good day for me. It was nice to have a break from work and also accomplish a lot of the things I wanted to do for myself. I hope everyone has a great day!

Happy Stitching!

Ariane :o)

I have my first finish for 2009!

I finished the market bag that I've been working on. I have been working on it since the last week of December. I'm so excited to have it done. I can now add it to my list of finished items for my One Project a Month Challenge. I will also email May Britt to let her know. Next month I will try to finish one of my quilts. Hey! I might even finish one before the end of this month. It is only Jan. 12. Here are a few pictures. I did the embroidery a bit different for the front and back of the bag. I thought it would be nice and make it more interesting. As I mentionned in an earlier post I got the embroidery pattern from Cinderberry Stitches. It was meant for a smaller bag. But I tried to make it work for the bag size I wanted. I even put pockets in it. That's a first for me, so I'm happy about it. It was pretty simple. I would like to try to use a zipper one of these days. I've never done that before. That's the great thing about doing sewing, quilting or crafting, there is so much to learn. I love it.

Happy Stitching!
Ariane