Charm Swap

Looks like I will be doing the paper charm swap, since that seems to be the consensus of the feedback that I did get.  I will get a sign up going first and see how many I get signed up before I decide on how many patterns each participant will do. 
Cuts will be 6”x6” so there will be 4 squares from each sheet.  I will most likely set it up where everyone will do 3-5 different patterns (depending on how many we get signed up) and will have you each send in enough for 2 of each pattern for each participant.  That would mean, if we have 10 people sign up, we do 3 patterns each, 5 sheets of each pattern will have to be cut up into the 6”x6” squares and sent to me.  So you would need 15 papers total to cut up and send, and you would get a total of 60 squares sent back to you. If we do 5 patterns, 25 sheets to cut, and you would get back 100 squares, etc.
I have created a Flickr group so everyone can post a photo of each of their patterns they will be sending so we don’t get duplicates of papers. There will be no theme, however, there will be NO solid color papers, each will have some pattern on it, whether it be an embossing of some sort, or a full sheet of say snowmen, but each sheet must be of pattern of some sort. As for a deadline to have your papers to me, we will see how fast we get enough people signed up for this.
I am excited, I have never hosted anything like this, or for that matter have seen/heard of a paper charm swap, but what the heck, let’s start a new trend!  Lets get this sign up started!  Will aim for 10 right now and then if we get more interest we can always add more to the list. I will edit when I get sign ups to add you on, so if you can provide a blog address, if you have one, that would be great. I will also need a way to contact you, so please make sure I get your email address as well. Your email address will also be the one I send the invite to for the Flickr group.  Sign up can either be in the comments here or by sending an email to myself at socalcraftingal@gmail.com  
When you send me your squares, I will also have you send me a SASE to send the squares back to you. Make sure that envelop will be big enough and have enough postage on it to get them all back to you.

The participant list!
1. Kami
2. Patricia
3. Shalon
4. Dana H.
5. Jill
6. Tammy
7.
8.
9.
10.

Knit Ruffle Dress

I got K’s new dress made. This is the first garment I have made using knit fabric.  I usually use cotton.  Last time I worked with knit I hated it!!  It is so stretchy and always bunched on me in the machine, so I dreaded working with it.  I found a pattern though that K just loved, she literally would walk around hugging the pattern package, so I knew I had to overcome my hate for knit and attempt to make it for her.  I got a suggestion from a friend to buy a walking foot, and I have to say it was definitely a godsend!  Worked like a dream.  Knit, you are again my friend, well except for cutting you! 

The pattern I used was the dress from New Look 6961.  I didn’t put the applique on it, only cause I don’t want to do that in knit because of my fear of it going all crazy bunchy on me, and I didn’t have the right interfacing to attach to it.  I am not completely happy with it, I think either the bottom ruffle needs to be shortened, or the middle ruffle needs to be a bit longer, it just looks off to me.  Also not fond of the material I used for the bottom ruffle. I am thinking of cutting off that fabric and attaching more of the plaid fabric or maybe I will pick up some yellow for that layer, if I can get it off of K that is…she wore it Sunday, I washed it that night after she was in bed so she could wear it again today (Monday) for school, and she still insisted on wearing it to bed tonight too.  I think she really likes it, hehe.

Thoughts On My Mind

I had a friend recently participate in a fabric charm swap, and it got me thinking of wanting to do one as well, but I can never seem to get into one on time before they fill up.  So it got me thinking, well maybe I will just host one here.  My only concern with that is, I don’t think I have the right following base to host a fabric swap, I believe most of my followers are paper crafters instead of fabric crafters.  So I got this bright idea, what about a paper charm swap?  Doing 6”x6” charms, we could get 4 out of each sheet of paper, or going 4”x4” charms we could get 9 out of each sheet.   What do you guys think? Would you be more interested in doing a fabric swap or a paper swap? Depending on how much interest I have in it, will determine the amount of sheets or yardage of fabric you will need to send.  Please leave some feedback and let me know what you all think. Would you like to participate in either of these types of swaps?

On a side note, I am working on a couple sewing projects, so look for those updates and photos in the next week or so.

 

Edited to add in a brief description as to what a "charm" is:

When you do a fabric charm swap, it is a precut piece of fabric normally in a 5”x5” square, and each person would get 2 or more of each fabric submitted, depending on the number of participants. Every person will receive back what everyone else submitted, and they would use those pieces to create an item, and then submit a photo of the item created using each piece/pattern. In the case of a paper charm swap, I would have everyone send me their sheets of paper along with a SASE, I would do either a 6x6 or a 4x4 precut charm and then I would send those stacks out to all participants in said SASE.

Skirt and Anniversary Card

My 4 year anniversary was on the 31st of August and I made a card for my hubby.  I was happy with the concept, as it turned out as I wanted it to, however I am not happy with the papers I chose for some of it, the frame flourish should have been a different, darker paper cause it blended way too much with the background.

I also had a very happy, yet sad day on Tuesday Sept. 6th, as my little sidekick K started school for the very first time.  My little girl is now a pre-kindergartener!  I made her a new skirt over the weekend and she insisted on wearing it for her first day of school. So that she did.  I used this tutorial to generally make it, I did change it up and fully line the whole thing and I will make further changes on it for the next one, but that is the general idea that I used to make it.  I was quite surprised that I found the fat quarters at, of all places, Big Lots for a buck! I bought 6 of each of these patterns, I cut up 3 of each and still have plenty of them left over.  K wears a 2T in shorts, 3T in pants but only for the length, has a 19.5inch waist, so she really doesn’t need that big of a round.  I had sewn a bunch around and then I measured it up to her, I wrapped it around and doubled over 2 of the strips to give it a little more fullness and a bit of twirliness effect to it, since she so loves to twirl.

And of course I have to post a photo to document K’s first day of school. She looks like a deer caught in the headlights in the photo, but still my little cutie.