The Artful Dodger

Summer Dotee Doll

 
This is my latest swap-bot dotee doll "Summer".  She's quite simple, but I'm very pleased with the way she came out.  Her face is placed on top of petals from silk flowers and her arms are made of silk leaves.  The fabric I chose looks like a flower stem.  While looking for beads to make her tail, I came across a container of letter beads, so I spelled out summer interspersed with pearlized seed beads.  Her hanger is made of thin white ribbon.  She came out as cute as I had envisioned her.

Cotton Crocheted Dish Cloths

 

I recently took part in two swaps that called for cotton dish cloths.  The first picture are the two I made for a sender's choice swap and the second is a de-stash cloth.  While I was looking for partial skeins of cotton to make this one, I came across an almost finished potholder, so I wove in the ends, added a hanger, and sent it along.

Christmas in July ATC Swap

 
I made two new ATC's for this swap.  They are supposed to look like Christmas presents.  They may not be very original, but that was the best my little brain could come up with.

Handmade Pouches

 
Meridith B (ThisIsMeAXId) sent me these pouches in a 'Sew What?' swap.  They are completely sewn by hand.

No One No Word Skinny

 
Here's the lovely skinny (a 3x5" work of art) from Fran C (Dougal375).  The restriction was that you couldn't have any pictures of humans or words on it - no one no word.  It's a lovely card, but I couldn't appreciate its beauty until I saw this blown up scan that shows all the great detail.

Pouch Swap

 
I recently took part in a swap called 'Sew a Pouch'.  You could make any kind of pouch with any kind of closure.  I received this great zippered pouch from Sarah F (sarahplease) covered with hedgehogs.  Hedgehogs are listed as one of my favorite things in my profile and it's always nice when some one sends something with hedgehogs.  The pouch below is the one I made to send to Natasha B (yogi77) in New South Wales, Australia.  She lives in a forest and said green was her favorite color, so I decided on a leaf motif.  She kindly gave me a heart for it.  She said she especially liked the appliqued leaf.

 

Scissors Holders and Needle Case

 
 This is the wonderful set of scissors holders and needle case I received from Val R. (flowerchild) in a 'Craft a Surprise for Your Partner' swap.  I was planning on making myself a nice needle case and was trying to think of a way to separate my 'good' scissors from my craft scissors.  These are the perfect solution.  The needle case opens out into a circle.   That and one of the smaller holders will go along with me when I travel. The workmanship is perfect and I love the color combination of aqua and lime.

Postcards

I've been participating in several postcard swaps lately and thought I would share some of them with you.  I've been trying to pick up a few cards everywhere I go so I'll have enough to participate in several exchanges.  I didn't realize how popular collecting postcards is, but based on the number of swaps listed on swap-bot, it must be.  With the internet available, where you can see pictures from anywhere in the world, you wouldn't think collecting would be so widespread.  But I guess it's the idea of receiving the card in the mail and holding it in your hands and stashing away to be enjoyed at any time that makes it so much fun.  

The cards I receive seem to fall into several different categories.  The first are the art cards, generally sold at museums, but I have bought some similar ones at bookstores.

The next group are the wildlife cards.  I've sent out several of Longhorned Cattle, since they seem to be such a popular representation of Texas.  Here are a few I've received:

 

Then there are the 'place' cards, that show a particular spot or tourist location.

 

And lastly are the cards that just don't seem to fit in any particular category.

 

There are also handmade postcards and free advertising cards, but most of the swaps want store-bought cards, some new, some vintage, some used, some sent pristine in an envelope.

New Poochie Bag

 
 I received this poochie bag from Donna M (dmarie) in the latest Poochie Bag swap on swap-bot.  I just love these little bags.  They're made from three fat quarters and are just big enough to carry a couple of books or your lunch or a small needlework project.  I love to see the fabric combinations people choose to make them in.  I've made several in bright colors I probably wouldn't use in a larger project, but they don't seem to be so overwhelming on this small scale.  They're made from a tutorial by Happy Zombie at http://thehappyzombie.com/blog/?p=368.  Try one, they're fun.

Pinwheel Quilted Coasters

 
Here are the coasters I made for a swap.  The person I sent them to said red was their favorite color and I choose the plant print to show contrast.  They are each 5 x 5 inches.  They were well received.  The ones below are the ones I received from Christine T (Csquaredcreations).  My kitchen/den is red and blue so they're a perfect color.  We made them from a tutorial available here: http://thelongthread.com/?p=725.  I made mine a bit different then the instructions.  I made my half square triangles by drawing and sewing a grid and I quilted them before backing them pillowcase style.

 

Vintage ATC's - The Ladies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Above are two ATC's from a Vintage Ladies swap.  I did the one on the left 'The Ministry of Silly Hats'.  The one on the right is the one I received from Cocobean.  I love the background and the glitter she added to hers.  It's just titled 'Vintage Lady'.

Purse Pouch/Drawstring Bag

 
A few weeks back I showed you a pouch I made out of sushi fabric.  It was for a swap and this is the pouch I received. It came from Alix F (Saucyknits).  Her workmanship is excellent.  I haven't yet decided what to keep in it, so for now it's on display with all my other swap-bot goodies.  It's made from a purse pouch tutorial found here:   http://7layerstudio.typepad.com

No One No Word Skinny

 

If you don't know what a skinny is, it's a little work of art similar to an artist trading card, but bigger.  It's 3 x 5 inches instead of 2.5 x 3.5, so you have a bit more room to play with.  This is one I made for a No Word No One swap.  It couldn't have any words on it and no human.  So I got out my punches and went to town with white and blue papers.  It looks a bit naked with no words on it but overall I'm pleased with the way it came out.

Christmas Ornaments

 
I received these ornaments in a swap.  I crocheted two little platypus, which were well received.  I love the ones sent to me.  The pink iced animal cracker covered with seed beads came from Nichole M (nichole2203) who's a member of swap-bot here in the states.  The owl came all the way from the UK and was made by Rachel J (tiaragoth).  I think they are both so cute and imaginative.  Thank you, ladies.

A Tote and a Note

 
I've been taking part in an ongoing series of swaps called "A Tote and a Note".  It's not that I really need any more totes.  They just become repositories for half finished projects and the more I have the more I can procrastinate.  But for some reason, I can't stop collecting them.  I got this one from Lorraine M (northqueen).  I'm always interested in the swap names some people choose for themselves.  Mine is simple - vlhafer54.  There are a lot that are just names, like mine, but many express their interests, such as CraftLoco, RadicalRecrafter or KnitKitty, or what's important in their lives like Mikkisgrmom or Maggiesmom.  But there are some that leave me curious - InsanePenguins, SevenSins or Blinkstriker22.