Mini quilt swap- Fabulous House Mini Received!

I got the nicest, cleverest mini quilt in a swap the other day! The theme was "house" and my friend Karen, Fun & Comfort Quilts, made me a super-cool POP-UP sand castle, is this neat or what? May I present "The Cat Pirates' Sand Castle"?! If you click on her name, you'll be able to read about the process of making this little delight.

This is the back, the fabric and the label are just wonderful! Oh, did I mention the dimensions? It's a mere 6.5" square when folded up! Amazingly small and precious! Making small things is much harder than making large things, if you weren't aware of that fact. Your own fingers can get in your way so much, it's very challenging.

And she included ALL this booty! Flannel skull fabric, which I love, a cute card, a rubber stamp set of a bird house and 2 sweet birds, CHOCOLATE, and some lovely fabric scraps and borders. I love it all! See the little sand castle there in the middle, folded up? NEAT!

When you open it, it's like magic! Oh, see the rock path? I've used that same fabric in the mini I made, too. In fact, Karen asked me for a tiny piece to use in this, I had no idea how she'd use it, but it's perfect here!

In each window is a different cat in some kind of swashbuckling, pirate-y pose. This one is my favorite- he's swilling grog, man. lol My kind of cat.

They're all super-cute though and one is in a dress, that's Nosey Parker! She looks like a pirate's wench, too. :) If you look at my Flickr photostream, you'll find photos of all the wonderful cats in the windows. Karen printed them out onto fabric and sewed them in, she's just a wonderfully creative lady!

Here it is again, for your viewing and drooling pleasure! I just love this, it incorporates everything I love so much- castles, 3D, cleverness, cats, the beach, pirates, I swear I almost hyperventilated when I opened it! I can't believe that people take all this time to make me the most wonderful of things! Thank you so much, Karen! I will treasure this forever!

And since it's a swap, I've made a little quilt for her, too. I can't show you yet, but I will soon, it's on the way to her now. Here's a little peek, though, of one thing that's in it.

I couldn't be happier with what I got from Karen, she put a lot of thought, time and effort into this, thank you so much, sweetie!

I received the most wonderful mug rug in our swap!

I am so lucky! I received the most beautiful, involved, detailed mug rug from my friend Angela, Tweedledee Designs, the other day! Not only did she send me an outstanding mug rug, she also sent a stack of beautiful Hawaiian fabrics, 2 drink recipe cards trimmed with cute lime ribbon (I love limes, how did she know?) and a very sweet note. The girl has wonderful handwriting too, something no one will ever accuse me of. lol

Looks great, doesn't it? BUT WAIT, there's more to show you! See the orange striped towel on the left side? It has a secret! I love secrets!

There's a person in shorts, laying half under a multi-colored umbrella, with flip flops and abook, on a cute towel. Star fish and frothy bubbles at the beautiful waters edge. Another umbrella to his right and then one to his left. If you lift up the towel.....

...you'll see NOSEY PARKER!!!!! She would LOOOOOVE the beach! Biggest litter box in the whole world, if you asked her! Easy to dig in, pirate treasure to be exposed and brought home to Mommy, etc.... Seriously cute, isn't it?

And here it is with my new coffee mug- it says SUNSHINE all over it! How perfect is that for the beach? Angela did such a good job on this. Not just in the construction of it, but in the "what would she like, really like, that says I took the time to find out about you and then went that extra mile to make it for you so that you would feel really special?" THAT is what Angela did! And by so doing, she touched my heart and I'll never forget it! Thank you, sweetie, for making this first mug rug swap a HUGE success for me!

Adding my cat to it- sheer genius, if you ask me! I've gotten 3 things now that have NP included or featured and I will treasure them all forEVER!

I can't get over what nice friends I have. I am so lucky.

The mini quilt swap, part 2!

Remember I showed you the piece I made, the mermaid looking thru the porthole? That's what I sent to Liz, and then a few days later, I received this from her. She does the most incredible work and she totally nailed my likes.... pirates, 3D, the beach, fabric, color, cleverness, everything! And, as you can see, she sent more! A set of coasters, 2 magnetic bookmarks and a really sweet beachy card. Booty, mates, that is what I found when I opened up the chest, er, package!

The most fabulous Capt. Jack Sparrow, check out the beads in his hair, the key in his hand, the ship on the water.....

...standing on the beach, glaring at the treasure chest...

...which is full of bolts of FABRIC! Is that clever or what??? I was dying, I thought that was so funny and unique and just incredible! The entire quilt is done with the most beautiful batik fabrics, and so many different ones. I just love this quilt, and I adore Liz for making it for me. The cleverness continues.....

To hang the quilt- 2 precious little keys that peek out over the top, they are so in theme, such attention to detail!

On the back, a little map is folded up and held closed with a dear little lobster claw clasp. SO precious. Unfurled, it reveals all the details of our swap.

Details blurred to protect the info from falling into
other treasure seekers' hands!

Big, huge thanks to Liz for totally making my day and week, for spending so much of her time designing and constructing this most wonderous piece for me, a piece that I will treasure forever! Thanks, sweet lady! I love your sense of humor and attention to detail!