The table runner swap...

Using 'free' Wifi has meant that sometimes I haven't been able to catch up on the reading of blogs that I follow because sometimes there is a data limitation. But where we are at Wanaka, my darling DH has bought an incredible amount of 1 gigabyte for the 4 nights we are staying here. So I've had a great time catching up with reading blog posts. So now I know that Sue over at Quilted Hugs has received the parcel that I sent her last Friday. 

It was for the Table runner swap...we had to make a runner, using  charm squares. I had some Amelia (by Moda) charm squares that I decided to use. When I signed up for this swap, I added a number of ideas to my Pinterest Sewing Board...and I eventually chose one after a lot of deliberation. It didn't link to a tutorial so I had to work out how to replicate it :-) I cut some dotty charm squares into four and sewed them to the corner of 4 coordinating squares. Then I sewed them together in groups of four thus getting a dotty square in the middle.  

I had a jelly roll of the same collection that I used 4 strips from, to make the binding. It was fun to make and I plan to use the jelly roll plus the left over charm squares to make something else...perhaps a cushion. 

Swaps...

Blog swaps are an excellent way to 'meet' other bloggers as well as encouraging people such as myself, to revisit old skills and use these to create items to send to our swap partners. I had been a very keen sewer in my younger years but gradually did less and less. I started signing up for blog swaps in late 2010 and had so much fun that I signed up for some last year. But this year, I've outdone myself...there are actually very few that I don't sign up for! That's why I have 4 swaps due for posting by the end of April!

So I've been working steadily on these swap items and yesterday 3 were posted away. Unfortunately I can only tease you with photos that only show a snippet of these items as the items are still on their way to their new homes...

First the colour swap...

Something for a room in the house...

Something personal...

Something 'smelly'...

Something to eat...

Next is the Mothers Day Mini Quilt Swap

It looks like a muddy mark on that corner...but it's not! lol  I rarely work with browns or browny pinks so it made a nice change to work with those colours...

I drew up the design for this project, including a quote that I had found, but thought that my lettering looked very ordinary. I ended up writing to Jenny Elefantz and asking if it would be a copyright problem if I used her alphabet published in her eZine.

Jenny replied that the lettering was indeed under copyright but that she was very happy for me to use the letters as long as I acknowledged it...which I did of course.

Another swap is the Mrs Martin's Celebrations swap and yesterday I posted the Mothers' Day parcel away for that! Again the photos are quite enigmatic! lol

I'm just finishing off the Table Runner Swap which uses a pack of charm squares. It will be in the post in the next day or so...last weekend it looked like this...

Now swaps are 2 way things...I'm getting parcels from other people who were given me as their swap buddy. Already one has arrived! A table runner from Sue at Quilted Hugs and what a lovely surprise! It's lovely thanks Sue!

A beautiful range of fabrics...

I think that my other 3 swap parcels may come when we have left for NZ so my neighbour will be on alert ready for the postman, and I'll have some lovely surprises when I get home.