Wow, cabaute, great haul! From both partners - now THAT's a good day!!
Well, I had a good day too - I received from my not-quite-official-partner, bann88 - she was about two days short from being able to officially sign up for this swap, and so we agreed to "swap along" with you guys so she wouldn't miss out on the fun. Now, she is a newbie to Craftster and a newbie to sewing - she's only been sewing about two months. But you would never know it - SHE'S ALREADY DONE A ZIPPER!! That's impressive - I think when I started sewing, it was probably at least six months before I tackled a zipper! Get ready for some pictures here -
First - this is what came out of the box she sent everything in. Pretty blue packages tied with lovely sunflower ribbon, and Hello Kitty ribbon because her daughter wanted to help, and her sweet little girl picked out the Hello Kitty ribbon for two of the packages - SWEET!
I started with the small ones and worked my way up to the largest one - the first one I opened revealed four fat quarters! One is Asian lanterns - and all of them are so pretty, I can't wait to find the perfect project for them:
Next little package, a cute little ZIPPERED pouch! See the cute little scrappy patchwork way she created this! She's a talented sewist already! This little pouch is perfect for me - I'm going to use it in my purse to contain chapsticks and barrettes and hair ties, that normally wander around my purse like nomads:
Next I opened a blue wrapped package to find a bag of Craisins - one of my favorite snacks. I love cranberries year round, not just at Thanksgiving! I didn't take an individual photo of the Craisins, but you'll see them soon enough.
Finally, I opened the largest package only to find a very nicely crafted, wonderfully quilted and appliqued bag! Look at this - I just LOVE it -
Front ( I think this is the front, I like it as the front):
bann88 cut out a bird shape from the quilted strips on the bag, and used the pretty dark coffee brown for the background - she stitched around the cutout to secure the quilted front to the background fabric. SO clever, I've never tried this! It looks so cool.
Then the back, remember that little bird that she cut out of the front panel, well here he is on the back! Rough edge appliqued to the back - it looks so pretty, like a mirror image opposite of the front!
I'm blown away that this is bann88's first time swapping, unofficially!, and two of her beginner's projects! She's already good at this sewing stuff!
Here's a group shot of the ribbon and the package contents including the Craisins!
My partner, bann88 picked the perfect things to make for me and I love her techniques - both the scrappy pouch and the bag are constructed of fabrics that I just love, and they are altogether so pretty!! PLUS THE EXTRAS SHE SENT ME-FAT QUARTERS WHICH I LOVE TO GET!! Thank you for swapping, bann88 - YOU ARE ALREADY A GREAT SWAPPING PARTNER TO HAVE!!! I am looking forward to seeing more great things that you create!!
