Christmas Swap Sign Up

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With Halloween behind us, it's time to start planning our Christmas Swap!


This swap will not be anonymous (mostly because it's too much work for me) and you will be required to have a Flickr account. If you are interested in signing up, email me at greenletterday at yahoo dot com with the subject line: CHRISTMAS SWAP. Include the following information in the EXACT FORMAT. I will be copying and pasting your information to your partner so make sure it is accurate!

Full Name

Address

City, State, Zip

Email address

Flickr Username

Any additional links (blog, FB, Pinterest) you'd like to include

And if you are willing to ship internationally

I will leave sign up open for about a week. Please spread the word to others who might be interested in participating. Once the sign up is closed, I will be assigning partners and you will then have about a month to send out your packages. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Happy Halloween!

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Paper Piecing

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It all started with this little block.


I hadn't anticipated the corners being chopped off as I was piecing it together. I ended up making a quick zippy out of it but was still unsatisfied with the result. I posted the picture on Instagram in search of some advice and was pointed towards paper piecing. Deep down, I knew this was the solution but was hoping there was another way. I have been terrified of trying paper piecing! The more I thought about it though, the more I realized how silly I was being. I started sewing as a way to challenge myself but somewhere along the way, I stopped doing just that. I stopped teaching myself new things and stuck to playing it safe. So I looked up a few YouTube videos and this foundation paper pattern by Patchwork Notes and I practiced until I got it right!




After awhile, it wasn't so scary anymore! In fact, it was quite addicting. I went over and bought the Sew Ichigo "Latte To Go" pattern and sewed it right up!






Could this pattern be any more perfect for a mug rug?? I didn't think so. I hope you've been inspired to face your sewing fears and challenge yourself to try new things! Have a fabulous weekend!

A New Fall Bag

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I'm taking a break from all the Halloween posts to show you my new fall bag. I had been hoarding this gorgeous Anna Maria Horner print for something special and decided it was time to cut into it.


I couldn't be more pleased with the results. I paired it with a new print from her Field Study collection. I love how easy it is to mix and match all of the AMH lines.


I got the pattern from this book. It's called the Floral Bag and it's really easy. I think I like it because it's very similar to my Hellen Bag. This is the "small version" and it's quite big so I can't even imagine how huge the "large version" is.


I also finished my fall quilt top this week! Wooo! It took me a few months to finish the blocks but since I didn't get to go to Sewing Summit, I decided I might as well be productive and get them done!


I sewed up a quick patchwork backing yesterday so it's all ready to be basted and quilted. The pattern is called Skipping Squares by Cluck Cluck Sew. I'm so excited to pull it out of the dryer and snuggle up with it! Hope you're having a great Sunday!

Halloween Swap Features & Winners

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I had soooo much fun hosting the Halloween Swap this month. Everyone did such an amazing job, it was so hard to pick just a few to feature out of over 100 photos! Here are some highlights from our Flickr Group:



1. "Ghastlie" apron ready for swap partner!, 2. Halloween Coaster, 3. Finally ready to ship, 4. Notepad & Pen, 5. Halloween Swap 003, 6. To hold goodies!, 7. Skull Apron, 8. Ready to ship in the morning!, 9. I made polymer clay "sewing pins" to go with theme!, 10. Untitled, 11. Halloween Swap, 12. halloween swap, 13. Halloween Banner (3), 14. for my Halloween swap!, 15. Swap mini bag, 16. Teacup Pin Cushion with Handmade Clay Pins from Ruth(Thread of Hearts)

These were such a fun group of ladies. I was blown away by all the creativity I saw in the Flickr Group and looked forward to checking it every week! You can check out what I received from my partner, Katie, on her blog Craptastic. She is the best!! I wanted to thank all the participants by having a little giveaway. The winner of this fun little goodie bag is...


Amy Kendrick... Congrats! I'll be mailing it out to you this week :)

And the winner of the Halloween Giveaway is...

ThreadofHearts... Congratulations! I'll be emailing you later today for your snail mail addy :)

Thanks to everyone who participated in both the swap and the giveaway! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!

Halloween Giveaway

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I think it's time for a Halloween giveaway!



One lucky winner will win:
- A large star block zippy made by me
- A canister of Haunt sugar polish (Witch-Wife)
- A variety of Halloween straight pins made by me






Haunt has quickly become one of my latest obsessions. These sugar polishes are so luxurious and they smell insane. A friend and I made the cute Halloween pins this week with polymer clay. They were so easy and fun to make- tutorial coming soon!

To enter:
- What will you be dressing up as for Halloween? (1 entry)
- Follow Pink Stitches blog (1 entry)
- Like Pink Stitches on Facebook (1 entry)
Leave one comment for each entry and include your email address if it isn't available on your profile. I'll choose a winner next Friday, Oct. 12 and announce it along with the Halloween Swap features! Good luck!

Halloween Swap Sent

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As you now, I'm hosting a Halloween Swap this month to start off my favorite season (I'm a hardcore fall freak). I'm sure you've heard me speak of Katie many times before on this blog. She's one of the first bloggy friends I ever met. She won my very first giveaway! We've been friends for almost two years and have been swapping almost as long. Katie and I arranged a private swap for Halloween/Fall and she received her package today! So now I can share what I sent.




The handmade goodies were so fun to make. I mostly used Lizzy House fabrics with the exception of the Chicopee dots on the strap of the boxy pouch. I had originally made a patchwork version for Katie but I loved the pumpkin one so much, I had to send it to her! I made her a patchwork coffee cozy using Jeni's fab tutorial. And I used this pattern for the star crocheted trivet.




I went a little crazy adding extra treats- I couldn't stop myself! Target is evil. I almost died when I saw those mini spatulas. I know Katie loves to bake so those were a must. I also sent her a ton of candy (I filled the boxy pouch with a lot more!) including some of my favorite Mexican candy called Pulparindos. Sooo good!

I hope this package helped put Katie in the Halloween spirit. It was so much fun putting it together! I've got a little surprise giveaway for you tomorrow so don't forget to stop by! In the meantime, you can check out some of the other cute projects from the Halloween Swap in our Flickr Group.

Halloween Goodies

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I've been working on some fun goodies for the Halloween Swap. I really enjoyed making the jack-o-lantern boxy pouch awhile back and I wanted to see how it would look in a patchwork version. I love them both! I also made another crocheted flower trivet in Halloween colors. So fun! Have you started any Halloween or Fall projects?

Anyone up for a Halloween giveaway? What would you like to win??

Star Pincushion

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My dear friend, Amy has the cutest tutorial for a star pincushionon her blog. I've been wanting to try it since she first posted it so I made one a couple of weeks ago to send to a friend. I had so much fun digging through all my teeny tiny scraps to make the mini star block. I'm glad it's going to a good home (along with a lobster Bella Pouch)!

Greetings from Disney World

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Just stopping in to say hi from the happiest place on Earth! You can follow along with me through Instagram @greenletterday!

Halloween Swap Sign Up

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It's that time of year again! Halloween is next month and we are kicking off fall with a handmade swap.

As usual, for this swap, you will be responsible for sending at least one handmade Halloween item to your assigned partner. This handmade item can be anything (zipper pouch, mug rug, table runner, tote, etc.) as long as it is made by you! And ofcourse, I always encourage sending extra goodies.

To sign up, email me at greenletterday (at) yahoo (dot) com with the subject: Halloween Swap. I will need the following information from you in the EXACT FORMAT to make it easier for me to copy and paste to your assigned partner.

Full Name
Address
City, State, Zip

Email address
Any additional links (blog, FB, Pinterest) you'd like to include
And if you are willing to ship internationally

I will leave the sign up open until I return from Disney World (Sept. 12) and will assign partners shortly thereafter. I will also include a list of additional guidelines for the swap. Once you recieve your partner's information, you will have four weeks to mail out your goodies!

Please help spread the word by posting about this swap on your blogs or facebook pages! Looking forward to hearing from you!

Around Here Lately

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Life has been hectic lately with the upcoming Disney trip. I had originally planned on making a Studio Cherie duffel bag to take as a carry on (I even bought the pattern) but that didn't end up happening. I did make a few more Smash Book Fanny Packs for the shop though!



My sweet hubby got me the new Nikon CoolPix S9300 and it is amazing! I didn't want to haul around my enormous DSLR while walking around Disney World so I really had my heart set on this smaller model. Even though I couldn't get it in pink, I thought it'd be a great opportunity to have my husband actually pick up the camera and take a picture of ME for once. Always behind the lens... never in the pictures! As I predicted, he feels more comfortable with this one. I made a camera wristlet using an old Keyka Lou pattern and some Sleeping Beauty fabric by Heather Ross. I also made a matching Jane Market Tote for souvenirs.



I made a new iPad sleeve with one of my favorite Echino prints, using Amber's awesome tutorial.

And I was also dying to use these brass zippers that I got a couple of weeks ago from Zip It on Etsy. I made this quick padded zippy using another Heather Ross print to carry my camera accessories.




I read EIGHT books within the month of August, which explains my lack of presence in Blog Land, including The Darkest Powers series (great reads!!), The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (sooo good!) and the two Divergent books that are out. If you haven't read these books, I definitely recommend them if you're into dystopic literature like The Hunger Games and Unwind. They are amazing books!

I'll be back very soon with a blog facelift (yay!!) and a Halloween Swap Sign Up before I leave to Florida! Have a great long weekend and Happy Labor Day!

Smash Book Fanny Pack

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I'm sure the whole world has heard of Smash Books by now, right? I used to scrapbook all the time before I dove into sewing. I don't have as much time (or rather, MAKE as much time) for it now as I used to, so Smashbooking is the perfect solution for me.

A couple of days ago, I got a request for a custom order "fanny pack" for Smash Books. The customer sent me a sketch of what she wanted and I thought it was a fabulous idea. This is what I came up with.



I think it's the perfect accesory for a Smashbook lover. It's a great size for taking pens, markers, washi tape, and photos with you wherever you go to work on your books.



She ended up choosing the green one, but the blue one is still available in my Etsy Shop if anyone is interested. I'll probably be adding more when I return from my Disney trip. I'm hoping to make a purple one with these adorable spiders before then though!

Speaking of my Disney trip, I'll probably be a little MIA for the next couple of weeks in preparation for that and also while I'm away. But I'll be posting regularly on Instagram (@greenletterday) and on Facebook so you can find me there! Have a great weekend!

Nursery Versery

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I am in love with this new line by Heather Ross. It is the softest linen blend I've ever gotten my hands on. I couldn't resist cutting into the little mice right away. I made a drawstring bag from Jeni's pattern (my favorite ever!).

I paired it with a yellow print from Denyse Schmidt's new line, Chicopee. The strings are Sketch in Lipstick. Soo bright and pretty. I love these three prints together, they make me smile.

I also made this boxy pouch out of the pink spiders. They were begging to be used! This pouch is huge and perfect for my knitting projects.



I bought some of my favorite prints from miss matatabi on etsy. She has the full collection available. I'm so going back to buy the little mice in green before they're all sold out!

Wide Open Zipper Pouches

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We're going to DisneyWorld!! That's right, the trip is booked and all plans are set. We will be going at the beginning of September and with that being said, all I've been thinking about is travel handmade! On the top of my list were these set of three wide open zipper pouches.

I used Anna's tutorial and it is fantastic. The design really makes the most of your pouch and it is so easy to find what you're looking for inside. The medium sized pouch is perfect for cosmetics. You can fit full sized shampoo/conditioner (with room to spare) in the large size. And I think the small size would be great for hair accessories and jewelry.





I've also added a couple more Bella Pouches to the shop. I think they are perfect for taking to amusement parks so you won't have to haul around your large handbag. Don't you think?

I've got a lot more great stuff to show you this week. I've been a busy bee! Until then, have a great week!