A bit of February warmth from Arizona

This is the lovely sampler that arrived today from Pam in Arizona. She said she thought I could use a bit of Spring. It has just begun to snow again, and it is so very cold here is St. Louis. She is absolutely right!

I love the textured fabric. I'm not positive, but it looks like a piece of vintage duck cloth to me, which is something I dearly love. Such beautiful detailing, from her expert machine stitching to the sparkling sequins to the hand-stitched message "SPRING". I especially love the touch of butterscotch(one of my favorite colors!)in the lace accent. Even the back is a lovely bit of patchwork. Perfect.

Thank you so much, Pam. It is a cherished addition to my growing garland!

It's a wrap

This is the last post for February. The next post will be March 1st, with the beginning of the March Swap and the announcement of the next free giveaway! Thanks for following along this month.

The links to the swap participants' blogs is in the right column over there>>>>>> if you would like to take a hop around to see some of the February samplers as they are posted. You can also visit our Flickr group page or find us on Instagram at #aswapforallseasons.

See you soon!

a "twofer"

I got a little behind this week, so today you will get a "twofer" (as in "two fer one"!). I have 2 special samplers to show you today, from 2 of our own swappers!

The first is a lovely sampler that was made by Elizabeth. She likes to find fabric panels with special little squares to use in her mini quilts. She found a bit of fabric with this little star fish and also some seashells that she is using to make a garland. She lives close to the see and loves all things beachy! I love the simplicity of it, and I'm sure it will look fantastic in her garland- do send me a picture of it when it's finished, Elizabeth!

The second sampler was made and sent to me by Sherry for Valentines Day. What a wonderful surprise! I will certainly be adding it to my garland. I love everything about it, especially all of the wonderful sewing and the vibrant color. Even the back is gorgeous! Thank you so very much!

what's in the pocket?

Since it is February, and since the colors of my sampler are red and pink, I thought a few little valentines would look cute in the pocket. I chose an adorable vintage valentine, a little heart embellishment, an image, and a valentine atc that I made. I wrapped it up in some sweet cherry printed tissue paper, tied it with baker's twine, and it's ready to go. I am sending it off to Jan today. I hope she likes it, and doesn't mind not being surprised! It's almost time to reveal who won't be surprised next month! March is right around the corner!

finishing it up

I hope you are all staying warm on this cold Monday morning! It is 15 degress and snowing here in St. Louis.

Back to the sampler...I decided to create a pocket on the front of the sampler with the eyelet trim and the quilt piece. After sewing the sides, I sewed a short line above the pink trim of the eyelet to form the bottom of the pocket. I sewed a cute little flower applique onto the center of the quilt piece, and then I secured the triangular quilt piece in place by sewing a button on the top 2 corners. I added another decorative button to the center of the rick rack and it is finished! I like the cherries so much that I didn't want to cover it all up! And by creating a pocket, I have a place to tuck in a card or tag... tune in tomorrow to see what I tucked in there and how I wrapped it all up.

back to my sampler... kind of

Yesterday, I sat down to work on my sampler. I decided upon the layout of my fabric pieces, and ironed them. I cut a piece of warm and wonderful batting for backing to make the sampler nice and stable. (I'll explain why tomorrow.)

At this point I must digress... Can we talk about needle threaders for a moment? I have a devil of a time threading needles, even with my readers on. I use needle threaders, which I have in abundance, until of course, I need to use one. At that moment, the only one I can find is the broken one that I won't throw away because it has the pretty vintage lady on the top and I might want to use it in a craft project. (I have never actually used one in a craft project.) I also keep handy a package of the handy dandy floss threaders. (You can find them in the toothpaste aisle.) They are perfect for threading ribbon through buttons, small holes, etc. They also work for threading needles when all I can find is one broken vintage lady needle threader. So I get one of the floss threaders out to use, and before I can thread my needle with it, I accidently knock it off onto the floor. I proceed to crawl around looking for it, only to discover that it is stuck to my arm.

Does any one else craft like this?? Lord, help me! And thank you for listening.

In tomorrow's post, I will actually finish the sampler. On Tuesday, I will show the presentation & packaging and send it on its way to Jan in England.

Happy Valentines Day!

To all of my swapping sweethearts...one of my favorite vintage Valentine images! Have a love-ly day!

think lucky thoughts!

Great Idea

Debbie shared this fantastic idea (and also this great blog) with me and I couldn't wait to pass it on! It is a perfect (and easy!) way to create a hand made card that coordinates with your sampler. I know that this swap is not about sending a lot of extras, but most of us like to send a personal card or tag along with our gift. I also enjoyed reading the blog. And you could seriously get lost in the blog links at the bottom! If anyone participating or following along has an idea for a post, a photo of a fabric sampler you've made or received, or just anything you'd like for me to share on the blog, PLEASE drop me an email at aswapforallseasons@gmail.com. I love getting ideas from you!


Adding this on at 6pm: I actually forgot to share the link that the scrap cards originated from. This is the blog that has all of the blog links at the bottom that I mentioned above. Sorry! crazymomquilts

wednesday wow

Today, a lovely ivory and white sampler featuring a heart. Such a pretty mix of vintage fabrics and trims. It is another from the HappyArtHappyScience Etsy Shoppe.

Five Most Common Embroidery Stitches || KIN DIY

Technique Tuesday. This is a delightful (and short!) video on how to do a few basic stitches that might come in handy as you make your samplers. Even if you already know the stitches, it's an enjoyable refresher. I hope you find it helpful.

Happy Monday!

This beautiful fabric sampler banner/garland was made by Constanza of peregrine blue. She is a lovely woman and artist whom I've been following on flickr for many years. Her garland is a lovely example of what we will have at year's end. Depending on how many months you choose to participate, yours could be twice as long. And no two garlands will be exactly the same. I find that very inspiring!

vintage valentine saturday...these are sew cute!

sitting on my desk

What is going on with my February sampler? Well, it is currently sitting on my desk. At least daily I move things around on it and think about it. This is what it looks like today. What was I just saying about being more spontaneous?

tbt

Another "throw back Thursday" sampler from the ASFAS 2011 Mini Fabric Sampler Swap. I made this one as a sample. I remember that it was way more simple than pie to make. I used a piece of an old quilt as a background. I rubber stamped the saying with a "Staz On" ink pad onto muslin. I added some lace sewed it all together on the machine. I added a few buttons (of course) and then pinned an old pansy brooch to the top. My mom loved pansies and they always remind me of her.

a Wednesday wow

Isn't this great? You could use a complete fabric piece such as this lovely vintage oval linen as your background as long as it is roughly 4 x 6ish in size. And such a great idea to trace (copy/free-hand) a simple image onto fabric and then do a simple stitch of some sort over the tracing. You wouldn't need to know any fancy embroidery stitches- a simple back stitch or running stitch will do. I will have a "technique Tuesday" with some tutorials next Tuesday.
You can find this sampler in this wonderful Etsy shoppe. I love the colors and the overall simplicity of this.

Who was born in February?

Jennifer Aniston 45, Abraham Lincoln, John Travolta 60, Vanna White 57, Drew Barrymore 39, Steve Jobs, Cindy Crawford 48, George Washington, Sidney Poitier 87. Do we have any February birthday girls in our group?

Happy Groundhog Day!

Well, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning, so I guess we had better burrow in and work on crafting for another 6 weeks! If the idea of 6 more weeks of winter bums you out, how about making these happy little groundhog cupcakes to cheer you up! You can find the recipe and some cute crafties here.

Inspiration

Need some fresh inspiration for your February mini sampler? I think these are lovely. The first one is my favorite. They arePam Garrison's "mini sampler stitched bits".

Looking at these inspiration pieces, I am reminded of something that I want to work on this year with my samplers.
I tend to over-think the placement of elements on a collage- whether it's a card, tag, mini sampler or whatever I might be making. The result is often a "tidy" look, (like a scrapbook layout) which is not the spontaneous look that I would like to achieve. Haphazard placement and irregular bits can add so much interest.

Happy February!

I'm excited to begin another Mini Fabric Sampler! This month I am making mine for Jan, who made that gorgeous one for me last month. I really want it to be special. I went back to my project box and started digging, and this is what I pulled out.

The fabric samplers do NOT have to be seasonal or themed, but it is very like me to do this anyway, without even thinking. Ask my husband about the paper towel thing. For example: Me- "Why would you buy a roll of paper towels with blue flowers for February? Didn't they have any red?" Him- "Paper towels are paper towels".) Au contraire! We've been having this same conversation for 30 years. I will try very hard not to go overboard with the Valentine thing on this fabric sampler. So please, when making yours this month- choose blue if you like!

See you tomorrow!