Cat Treat, pocket tissue case and cards

Here's my latest square for a WOCS quilt.  This one has a cat theme and I picked out "Cat Treat" from The Trilogy since it looked so cute.  Kind of boring to stitch with large one-color blocks, but not so large over-all.  

Bonnie, one of the main quilters for WOCS recently completed her 100'th quilt for the organization!  Can you believe it?  I was very proud to have one of my squares used on that quilt, the ladybug I stitched a while ago.   Here's a photo of the quilt with my square on the left in the middle row.  Bonnie wanted to do something special for quilt 100 and I think she came up with a great idea.

In addition to quilts, WOCS members make all kinds of little accessories to give out to seniors and children in need.  Most are decorated with x-stitch designs, but  not all.  I was searching around for instructions for pocket pack tissue cases, mostly to see the finished dimensions, when I came across a super-cute version that looked easy to make.  I couldn't resist giving it a try to see if I could really make one that looked like the model.  Sure enough, this was really easy, looks like it actually has a quilt type binding even though it doesn't, fits the tissue pack and is a great way to use up fabric scraps.

Click here for the tute.

Labor Day weekend is my cousin's wedding and I made a little card to go with the wedding gift.  I had a bit of déjà vue while stitching it.  I think I stitched this design once before, but I have no photo of it and can't really remember the occasion.  Anyway, it was cute enough to stitch twice.  It didn't have suggested colors so even if this is my second stitch, it probably has a different color palette from the first.  The design is  "Basket of Flowers" from Appleseed Prim.  You can get the freebie here. 

Knocked out a quick birthday card to use a little later in the year.  I was searching for something else and discovered this little piece of stitching, so I thought I'd put it to good use.  This is a section of "de Tout Coeur" from Les Chalets de Perelles.  You can get the freebie here.  Hearts and champagne should go together well for a birthday celebration.

Cellphone Case and Traveling Pattern Winner

The winner of the Lizzie Kate "Wear a Smile" pattern and, hence, the next in line to stitch the traveling pattern is Angi at My Happy Memories.  If you haven't checked out Angi's blog, take a look.  She does some lovely crafting  including free original cross-stitch designs for you to stitch.  Angi, please send me your snail mail address so I send the pattern to you.

I spied these cute birdcase designs in my freebie collection while searching for something else completely.  I thought I'd make a birthday card from one of them, but after I stitched it up, I thought it was too pretty for just a card.  I had seen a tutorial with a slightly different method for sewing up a pouch from the way I usually do it and I wanted to try it out.  Plus I wanted to try a different closure.  The design was a perfect size for a cell phone pouch, so the project plans were set. 

The stitching is on 18 count hand dyed Aida from Sassy.  The floss colors have been modified since the contrast was not to my liking when I used this blue fabric with the suggested colors.   I used cotton batting and the piece is lined with no exposed raw edges.  The closure loop is made from a hair elastic, and I found a reasonably sized button in my button jar.  Makes a nice padded case for those who carry the phone and don't want it to get damaged.  Probably not ideal for those who are glued to the screen at all times.  Fits my Blackberry Bold nicely so I hope it fits whatever cell phone the recipient of this gift uses.

You can download the free patterns for the birdcage cards at the Making Spot.
The tutorial for the pouch can be found here at Elizabeth's Whimsies.