March Madness

The goal in February was to finish Poppy's quilt, and you already know about that. I managed to pull off a couple other finishes, too.

These are the blocks I made for my fellow bees in this round of the 3x6 bee.

It's intimidating to make something for people I don't know. It helps when they're chatty on the discussion threads. I study their request forms and what they've made on Flickr or on their blogs, then I start pulling fabrics from my stash in their colors. Then, the fun of creating takes over, and I try out different combinations until I'm happy with the product. There are lots of discarded pieces that end up in my scrap organizer!
Now I look forward to getting squishy envelopes in the mail with blocks from around the world. Our hive has a pinwheel theme, so all the blocks are going to have a sense of movement, and should be fun to put together!

I also made these cute booties for Maggie's baby shower. Handmade, stylish, cute; I knew she'd love them.

Now it's March, and the first thing I want to finish is for another swap.

Armchair Pincushion
Hedgehog embroidery: Stick it Here

This time it's a secret swap; I'm making a requested item in requested colors for someone I don't know. I can gather clues about her likes and dislikes, and she says she likes bright colors. Her photo mosaic, though, listed these specific colors.

Popular + and x blocks for pockets

I was torn between the sea glass colors pulling me toward something elegant, and the requested armchair pin cushion pulling me toward something cute.

Grippy asterisks on back

And I wonder if I violated the spirit of the "For the Love of Solids" theme by embroidering, and quilting flowers, and using a print in my secondary item.

Cute little thread catcher with
Lizzie House hedgehogs

Finally, I say enough's enough, it's cute, it's done. I'll add a few goodies to the box: little scissors tied to that ribbon, a measuring tape, cute butterfly pins for the pincushion. And a See's lollipop, because that will sweeten the deal.