Bitties and Calendar panel....

 Gosh, it's been a long time.  I haven't done much of anything lately but I have read a lot of books this winter!  Nothing exciting enough to recommend, but they kept me entertained while I huddled around the wood stove during our long cold spells.

I did sew a little- the bitty theme was "sewing" so I made this for group 1, a sewing bird, it's an antique gizmo also referred to as a 3rd hand.  The beak opens up in a real metal one and pinches onto your fabric, while the base clamps to your table.  This gives you a 3rd hand, basically.  Google it if you want to see a real one.  :)

 For group 2, I made a cat stealing fabric off the cutting mat.  

This has happened to me several times!

 I owed Kimmie a block so I made her a scarecrow for her Oz theme and 

thought he turned out pretty well.  

 Next up was the laundry theme- I made tiny little feedsack clothespin bags and hung them from a piece of rattail cording with 2 tiny clothespins.

 As you can see, it's March (banner above) and I made these 8 bitties for the new panel. These bitties came from all over the world, UK, Brazil, US, etc. 

 And this is the event tag for St. Patrick's Day on the 17th.

 Other than that, there's not much going on around here.  It's a warm sunny day today, in the 70's, but dropping down to freezing tonight and maybe a few snow flurries.  Spring can take it's time, I'd rather have a long, cool spring than jump right into summer!

Oh, and I joined a group on Facebook for decluttering the house, so I've been having lots of fun going thru things and getting rid of junk and donating good stuff to the doggie store!  That's time-consuming but rewarding!  I love simplifying the house.  Still have lots to do, but I have really pared down my clothing and the kitchen junk. It's like Spring Cleaning, only different.  That'll be later, after all the extra stuff is gone!

Long time, no blog~lots to show

 First things first- these adorable little animals were what I received in the FLiPS pincushion swap, from my friend Pattiann aka bouncypoodle at Flickr!  She made me 2 amazing creatures, a bunny with a hexagon carrot and a cat that looks a lot like our Murphy!  Bun-Bun and Murph-Murph are enjoying life with us now, and I just love them!

We have a long driveway!

Time for a rest....

...and a tickle-attack!

We left a light on for them! 

Made with German mohair and fully jointed, they are very special!

I took some time while the Bitty swap group was in hiatus to make a few things for me.  

A little tote for a travel sized iron-

  It unfolds to become an ironing mat-

 ...and it is pretty, too!  Fun little project, this pattern comes in 3 sizes!  It's by Sisters Common Thread

 Then since I liked that so much, I kept going- I made a whole matching set.  Yes, I love things that match and I love to make stuff like this.  I made an insulated cover for my little Clover stick iron, a tote to put it in, a small ironing pad for it, and a little tote with an attached lid for the tools and burn cream, ha!  :)

 The big tote- inside...

 ...filled, mostly...

Late addition- a tote for my swiveling rotary mat and ruler...

The zipper makes it easier to get in and out...

That's a lot of 1" squares!

 The tool tote, attached lid...

 Like the other pieces in this set, I had no pattern for this, just made it up as I went along.  The girls at Flickr really liked it a lot so I'm about to post a tutorial for it so you can make your own.

Inside-

We took the summer off but now the Bitties are back- this month, Weather.  I made a beautiful day. 

 And there's a tutorial out there for this little sewing kit- I made it longer and used 2 elastics to hold it closed. It uses plastic canvas inside, very clever!
 Here's the tute for this...  it's by "UK lass in US".

So that's what I've been doing, in addition to helping take care of my Mum.  Next up- my tutorial for that little tote with the attached lid!

Thanks so much, everyone.... and I'm ready to move forward, to quote a friend...

I very much appreciated all the kind comments from you all, I hope you can understand why it's taken me so long to get back to you and say thank you.  Honestly, I spent so much time here bragging on my Nosey Parker, I feel like this blog was more about her than anything else.  But I'm going to try to get back to doing things like I did, even though it won't ever be the same, not even close.  

OK.  

I've been a little busy these days with helping with my mother, but I've also had some time to sew.  I've made a few bitties and a lunch bag and a couple of mug totes.  Let me show you.  Bitty Block Committee is on hiatus for the summer, so I don't have as many as usual to show you.  

We did another go-round of the beach/underwater theme- I think this one fits quite well, since it's half underwater.  The message is their last will and testament and leaves ME all their fabric and quilting supplies.  Heh!

We also did a Farmer's Market theme and I made zucchini- you know how you get so many that you can't hardly give them away?  LOL  And I made one block to commemorate a funny occurrence I had with my mother at the store once when the clerk had spelled cucumbers as "cucmumbers" on the sign.  The laughter from my mother could be heard throughout the entire store.  ;)

 We also did a side swap called "Bitter Bitties" and I made a "You are the spinach in my teeth" block....

 and another one- "You are the gum on my shoe."  I did this one especially because Kimmie and Ruthie love the Wizard of Oz so much, and I thought it was pretty funny that Dorothy would step in it, even more than she already had.  LOL

 I made a couple of mug totes, for someone who goes to classes or work and wants to bring her own favorite mug with her.  This one turned out really well.... from this tutorial- by {me} and my thoughts....  I added the inside pocket.

 And this one is just adorable, from this tutorial- by Red Brolly, but honestly I think it would be better as a little purse for a kid, it seems awkward for a mug, too cube-like. The butterfly wasn't on the flap once a mug was inside, it covered part of the top of the bag.  I guess the flap could be made longer, but it would still be very deep at the top, not tapered like it is in this photo. 

I sent the first one to my partner in FLiRTS, she wanted  a mug tote or a lunch bag... So I made her a lunch bag, too, using this cute Edgy Veggy material that I had.  I found this pattern on Etsy. 

And I included a matching condiment wallet... I've sold tons of them in my own Etsy shop.

 

 I also made myself a new bag out of selvages.  I had worn my old one out, it was threadbare and shabby.  It has pockets on the outside but it's plain inside, since I use a purse organizer that fits right in it. I did this in a "quilt-as-you-go" style so I wouldn't have to make a lining.  I covered the inside seams with binding.

Thank you all again for understanding our loss and sympathizing with us.  We do appreciate you all very much.  Bizbee and Gravey have been getting a tremendous amount of attention lately and we really are treasuring them even more than ever.  A smooch/rub/head-butt from a cat is a gift, one we need and really enjoy.  

Bunches o' Bitties! And a great swap all finished up!

Lots of bitties to show off, since it's been so long....

This is for my friend in Brazil, Sil, she chose doors and windows for her month in the bee swap- I made her a little tree trunk gnome house, the doors open up to reveal the occupant.

And her other one is a taller block, a screen door that opens on to a nice beach.

In the bitty block swap, we did chickens one month- these are mine, everyone got to choose their color. 

 And one month, we did bees- this is my bee. 

 And in the interest of keeping it real and showing what a dumb butt I can be- I give you this- a perfect example of how reliant I have become on spell-check!  I made this block for the Sept banner for my perpetual calendar and after making it and writing the words on the test and giving myself a big fat red A+, I realized the next DAY that I had spelled "committee" incorrectly!  I showed this to my husband and we both
had the best laugh we'd had in a while!

 I ended up remaking the tiny notebook so no one would be able to rub my nose in it forever.  And then, I ended up putting the tiny pencil right over where the mistake would have been, anyway.  Geez.  I hope you're laughing at me, I know I would be if it was YOU!

Then, Ruthie picked Harry Potter for her bee month- I made her Luna Lovegood's SpectreSpecs....

 ...and Harry's cupboard room, under the stairs.  This pattern is from fandom in stitches, a great site full of fun free paper-piecing quilt patterns.  I shrunk it down to fit a 3.5" block.

 And I made the door 3D.

 And I received this wonderful package of goodies in our swap- FLiRTS- a quilted tote bag made by Julie, jgmehlin at Flickr.  She went crazy making me the most wonderful things in the whole swap!  Tote bag, sketch book with quilted cover, tissue holder, a piece of manatee fabric, just so much great stuff!  Thanks, Julie!

I love both sides of the bag!  Little cats are all over the place!

 The top zips shut.

 Inside, my initials!  No, I'm not into S & M!   And pockets, 4 of them!

 Sketchbook with pencil!

 The bag hadn't been out of the package for 10 seconds when Bizbee jumped into it!

 And this is what I made for the same swap, for my friend Kimmie.  She wanted a sewing machine cover really badly, and loves Wizard of Oz.  So my friend Jennifer thought I should adapt the Sew Out Loud block by badskirt amy block and make it a ruby slipper instead of a boot, a brilliant idea on her part, and that's what I did.  And I love how it turned out.  We had found some great pin fabric in TX in January and we knew that this would be the perfect use for it. 

 Pockets on both sides- in the rainbow spectrum.

 And the little electrical cord attaches to scissors and they store in the purple pocket. 

Kimmie really likes it and it fits her machine so all is right with the world of quilting and swapping.  :)

Thank you all for the nice words about my mother.  I was over there this morning and gave her a shower, she now has a really cool sliding chair/bench that sits half in the tub and half in the bathroom, making bathing so much safer, it even has a seatbelt.  My brother and her caregiver Nancy were both there, too, so we all had a nice visit after the shower, while Mum napped.  We kind of wore her out.  

Sorry for the marathon post and million photos! I think I'm caught up now, so I won't put you thru this again!