Squeaking in 1 last project - Updated photos!

Hallo friends! It's LATE as usual. But I've managed to get 1 more thing finished before the Q4 FAL deadline - whew! I'm really excited not to have to "roll" this one over to next year.
In my previous (non-European) life, I had a sweet neighbor who was a tremendous help in my attempts to learn knitting. She was always available to pull out all my wrong stitches when I'd go visit her with a problem. She was quick-witted enough to not become so distracted by my small talk that she'd redo any section and tough enough not to bend to my begging for her to just "finish my stupid scarf." It is because of Mrs. B that I am 4 inches of my own knitting into a scarf that was started in 2012 and may never be finished. Gotta respect her.
I wanted to make her a bag for her own stitchy projects, and it's been on my to-do list for quite awhile. Mrs. B adores her kitties, so I decided to use the Catvent pattern from Oh, Frannson!

 My cool kid thinks she belongs in every picture taken around here.

I started with a large catvent quilted front pocket with binding, and built the bag from there. The back features a paper-pieced letter "b" and straightline quilting. The fabric is a random assortment of modern charms, Kona ash, and the handles and lining are from a line called Silent Cinema. It has closure ties and finishes about 17" tall by 15" wide. I used light batting and a very light layer of interfacing so it would have a little structure, but I think next time I'll go a little heavier with it.

 I hope Mrs. B and her kitties like it! I should totally send her my lil' scrap of a scarf and see if she can be guilted into finishing it now ;)

Fmt

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Schnitzel & Boo Mini Quilt Swap - What I Received!

Hi there! I have to say I had a pretty bad day yesterday. It started with an eyebrow "procedure" that always produces tears. This time I let myself be talked into "sugaring" which sounded sweet and painless. Have you had this done? It's like cold waxing - it hurts like a mutha!

Anyway, I then proceeded to Starbucks for a pick-me-up. I walked back over to my 5 month old car and put my coffee in the cup holder. After deciding to be a good girl and walk instead of drive to my next appointment, I went to grab my coffee and the cup sort of collapsed into the lid and I poured the entire thing into the passenger seat, floor and stick shift. I hope no one was in the parking garage with me cause I said a whole lot of loud, colorful things.

So, when I returned back home and cleaned out the car I was pleasantly surprised to see this waiting for me.

I wasn't expecting my Schnitzel & Boo package so soon! Melanie truly outdid herself and I am one happy camper!

The whole package

My marvelous, colorful mini

The combination of bright, colorful prints with low volume is exactly my taste and I just love it. I've already hung it right above my sewing area so I can always see it and smile.

Goodie bag!

I also was lucky enough to receive a silly mustache tote bag, a cool microwave basket (what a great idea for not burning fingers,) a tiny tape measure in a handy tin, a little notebook, a mini diamond ruler, some flower seeds to plant with my "sprout," a perfectly accurate HOT STUFF pin, a bit of Glimma (YES!!) and a taste sensation - peanut butter/chocolate Chex Mix. I'm not sure how my life has survived this long without them and I'm trying to ration myself. Do you like the way I tucked them into the tote bag, so you can't see they're open already?

Sneaky snaggle-toothed photo bomber

Thank you again Melanie for such a fantastic package and thanks again to Kristi @ Schnitzel & Boo for an awesome swap! I'm looking forward to round 3! 

FMT