pincushion swap: what i sent + new giveaway winner

In March, I took part in a pincushion swap organized by Claire over at Claire's Crafty Blog. For my swap partner Ina (who lives in the Netherlands--my first international swap!), I made this succulent pincushion out of felt.

The pattern is taken from this excellent tutorial for an appliqued succulent sachet, created by Laura of Bugs and Fishes (I love Laura's blog and felt projects!). All of the elements are handsewn, and the pincushion is stuffed with leftover quilt batting.

In other news, I never heard from Kristin, the gal who won my giveaway day pinback buttons (sorry, Kristin!), so I've gone ahead and drawn another winner.

Congratulations, Kitten Delicious! I'll be contacting you to get your address so that I can get the buttons out in the mail to you ASAP. Thanks again to everyone who entered!

quilting project: little trees quilt

After much slacking on my part (and a failed attempt at using stretchy seersucker as a quilt backing--not a good idea, in case you were wondering), I've finally--finally--finished my little trees quilt.

I made it using this Purl Bee tutorial by Sharilyn of Lovely Design, which was based on one of Sharilyn's lovely quilts.

I used a combination of new and vintage fabrics for the trees. Each trunk is made from scraps of Japanese fabric featuring sheep on a brown background. I tied the entire quilt with dark red pearl cotton and used black binding tape on the edges. The back features a green fabric I picked up from the remnant pile at the fabric store.

P.S. I have yet to hear from Kristin, my Giveaway Day winner. Kristin, please e-mail by Wednesday, May 26 (tomorrow), to claim your prize. If I don't hear from you by then, I will draw a new winner on Thursday. 

giveaway winner!

Thank you so, so much to everyone who entered the giveaway and welcome new followers! After taking out a few multiple comments, I used random.org to select the winner.

 

Congratulations, Kristin!

Kristin, please send your mailing address to saltyoat [at] gmail [dot] com, and I'll get your package in the mail.

I loved reading everyone's comments and suggested cross-stitch motifs (boy, do you guys love owls!). Some of my favorite suggestions included a goat, poppies, records, and an elephant. 

Didn't win but still want your own set of "I "*heart* U" buttons? Head on over to my Etsy shop and pick up a set.

cross-stitch project: anchor button

Here for the Sew Mama Sew! giveaway? Check out this post for a chance to win a set of cross-stitch pinback buttons. Thank you so much to everyone who's entered so far, and for all of the eclectic and creative suggestions on cross-stitch motifs to try out (bacon is among my favorites so far)! Keep them coming!

This past week, I continued to play around with the button maker a friend lent me and turned my newest cross-stitch design--an anchor--into a big ol' button. The design is simple (it's the first one I've ever created from scratch), and I used cream aida cloth and red floss to stitch it up, to fit with the nautical theme.

giveaway day!

Welcome, Sew Mama Sew! readers! I had such a blast doing giveaway day last December, that I've decided to do it again. Today, I'll be giving away a set of three cross-stitch pinback buttons, one of the new products that will be available for sale in my Etsy shop in the coming weeks.

Each button is one inch in diameter and is made from brown and cream aida cloth that I found during a thrifting trip last year. The three little buttons spell out the phrase "I *heart* U."

There are two ways you can enter to win these pins (though there is only one entry per person):

1. Become a follower of this blog (or let me know if you already are) or subscribe to it using a feed reader (or let me know if you already do) and leave a comment below. 

or

2. Leave a comment and tell me what cross-stitch designs you'd most like to see on buttons. Patterns? Woodland creatures? Pancakes?

Be sure to leave your e-mail address in the comment form (it will remain invisible) so that I can contact you if you win. I will ship internationally, so this giveaway is open to everyone. The giveaway will end at 11:59 p.m. CST on Thursday, May 20, so be sure to leave a comment before then. The winner will be announced on Friday, May 21. Good luck!

renegade craft fair + cross-stitch buttons

In case you haven't heard (though I'm sure you have), Renegade Craft Fair will be coming to Austin for the first time this weekend. I went to Renegade in L.A. last year and had a blast, and I'm super excited to attend the Austin version.

Not only am I looking forward to checking out all of the vendors, I'm also excited to see my first line of cross-stitch buttons for sale in The WonderCraft's Airstream trailer boutique, Stella.

Pinback buttons featuring letters, semicolons, and math symbols stitched onto thrifted pink and brown aida cloth will be for sale, as well as sets of buttons that say "I *heart* U." All of the buttons are mounted onto book pockets, which are left over from our wedding invitations (which I'll post about someday!).

If my sewing machine decides to cooperate (and it hasn't lately, so who knows), I may also have some handmade napkins for sale this weekend too.

 

For those of you that can't make it to Renegade, keep an eye on my Etsy shop, which I will be stocking with buttons and napkins in the next few weeks--and of course feel free to contact me with any custom button requests.

P.S. Thank you to everyone who has left lovely comments the past few days. Sorry it took me until now to figure out how to have them show up!

embroidery project: not for all the tea in china

For those of you lucky enough to be in the Seattle area on Friday, you should stop by Assemble Gallery and Studio's May Artwalk Extravaganza. In addition to the opening of their show of Emily Katz's embroidery work, Assemble is also hosting an embroidery contest with the theme, "Not for All the Tea in China.

I visited and fell in love with Assemble during our trip to Seattle, and I'm so excited to have the chance to participate in their contest. My piece, which is currently untitled, will be on display alongside the other entries starting on Friday. 

The eleven-by-eleven-inch piece of fabric features cross-stitch text in the center (the first time I've ever done cross-stitch on a surface other than aida cloth), French knots (of course!), large isolated chain stitches, and buttonhole stitches (which I learned how to do during an embroidery class with Rachel Hobson at The Stitch Lab).

I chose the design after a lot (a lot!) of deliberation. I ultimately decided to stitch a phrase that was a variation on my husband's response to the question, "What wouldn't you trade for all the tea in China?" The flower frame was inspired by the Liberty of London line of products that recently hit Target shelves--and the floral storage box I picked up from the clearance shelf during a shopping trip last weekend in particular.

For those of you that can, I do hope you'll stop by the event, check out the entries and vote for your favorite one, and support a great crafty and creative space.

UPDATE: Though my piece didn't win the contest (you can see the winning entry here), it did sell. Thank you for all of your lovely comments, both here and on Flickr!