April finishes ~ finally! :)

As April comes to a close I am happy to report that all swaps and bee blocks are finished as of today and ready to mail this coming week, woo hoo!

First up is my Modern She  Made swap package:

This Lonestar mini-quilt is definitely one of my favorite swap items I've made over the past couple of years. It turned out around 27 x 29 ~ not as "mini" as I was going for but hopefully my partner will like it!

I used this tutorial from Better Off Thread: http://betteroffthread.com/2012/08/19/scrappy-lone-star-tutorial-part-1/

I also made her a little needlebook based off of this tutorial from Nanacompany: http://nanacompany.typepad.com/nanacompany/2011/10/needlebook-tutorial-by-nanacompany.html

I've never made a needlebook before but it seemed like a cute and useful "extra" so I thought I'd give it a try. 

Hope my partner likes her package! I am a little nervous and super excited to see what I will receive in this swap!

Up next are my April Bee blocks for Aylin:

I have to admit that I couldn't figure these blocks out from the instructions at first and I was pretty stressed about them all month. I finally realized today, after asking again for additional instructions, that pictures were included in the original write-up but since I'd opened it in a web browser, all I saw before was text! DOH! After seeing the pictures it all made sense to me and I was able to whip up these 4 half blocks pretty easily. I feel so bad for making Aylin doubt her instructions and have to deal with my bazillions of questions!
I really like the effect these blocks create when put together and can't wait to see her finished quilt ~ the blocks I've seen so far together look awesome! Off to Germany these little blocks will go as of Monday/Tuesday! 

It feels good to have everything finished up on time and ready to send out! And it isn't even Sunday yet, woo hoo! 

I have to admit, even tho I shouldn't have, I did sign up for another swap. I know I know, this is my 4th big swap in a row on top of my 6 months bee and really stupid of me... but I can NEVER pass up the Pillow Talk Swap! The one time I did, I absolutely regretted it!!

So here is my inspiration mosaic for my partner:

I included a bunch of my all time favorites so I can't wait to see what she will make me!

My partner's mosaic is very interesting and challenging... so I need to do a lot of brainstorming before I get started. I'm hoping to pick a pattern and pull some fabric for her approval tomorrow. It feels good to have a whole afternoon/evening to work on something else after church tomorrow, now that the above projects are completed! This one is due June 1st so I need to stay on top of it so I'm not stressed out by the end of the month with this and bee blocks again!

I'm also doing a personal swap with 2 friends due by the end of June. We are making a large and a small item for eachother... I need to get going on those as well so I will be busy busy until the end of June and then no more swaps until Pillow Talk Swap comes up again!!

I've loved most of the swaps I've been in but I've tried out too many in the past year+ and haven't always been pleased with the result. I've spent a lot of time, creativity, and money on these swaps and really need to just back off for a while. I've learned which ones I love and which ones just are not worth it, and am ready for a break.

I've decided that I'm only making space in my life for the Pillow Talk Swap for the rest of the year and ignoring all others, no matter how intriguing they may seem! I have tons of personal projects that are waiting to be finished, plus new things I'd like to start for myself, my home, and my family... so that is what the second half of this year will be used for. 

Until then... stay tuned for more swap progress in May & June :) Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!