Rapid And Tiny Zakka Swap - May swap signups open!

1. Coffee Cozy Tutorial, 2. Coffee Cozy, 3. One for my sister, one for me, one for my sis-in-law. Just need buttons! :), 4. Hope mug cozy, 5. Coffee Cozy Sleeve, 6. Coffee cozy on Starbucks cold drink cup, 7. coffee cozy, 8. French Press Cozy, Coffee Cozy, Tea Cozy, 9. Tea Love Mug Cozy, 10. Coffee Cozies, 11. Coffee Cozy, 12. darjeeling mug cozy, 13. Aidan, 14. Argyle Reusable Coffee Sleeve, 1, 15. Tropical Garden Coffee Cup Cozy, 16. Coffee <3 a="" cozy="" cup="">

I'm excited to say that one of my little flickr swaps is starting up again.

The RATZ Swap (Rapid And Tiny Zakka) - is a monthly swap where we (the swap mamas) choose a quick and useful item for each month's swap. For the month of May we'll be swapping coffee cup cozies!

Our group is for swappers of any experience (even newbies), you only have to be a flickr member to join! (if you're not yet on flickr go sign up - there are a ton of fun groups and discussion boards there!). Head on over to the RATZ page to sign up! Sign ups will end later this week!

RATZ Swap Needle Book Received!

This week has been a whirlwind with my niece in town. I never posted about receiving this fabulous needle book!

This time around I received a sweet needle book from Kris / Zaynoo1! What you didn't notice? Yep - she sent to me last month too! I think it's a sign that we are a good swap match, since we were paired up twice in a row! And lucky me - because I received two super awesome swap packages! Thanks Kris! 

Finish it up week - and a giveaway!

Did you finish your stuff last week? I had a fun time trying to finish all mine! Here's what I managed to accomplish:

Pieced together my QAYG Bella Parade blocks - and bound all those seams. Cut binding for the outside edges.

Finished piecing my {Sew} Beautiful Bee quilt. Top complete!

Finished piecing my Bohemian quilt. Basted it too!

Started and finished some cute little needlebooks for the RATZ Swap!

Aren't they just too cute? One of them will be sent off to one of the Finish it up weeks's participants! Leave a comment here telling me what you finished (or what you attempted to finish) this past week. You'll get a chance to win that teeny adorable needlebook! Be sure that you're not a no-reply blogger though, so I can contact you if you win!!

RATZ June swap received, and other odds and ends.

Here's the lovely little swap package I recieved from Kris for the June RATZ (Rapid, Tiny, Zakka, swap)! They are so cute and perfect, and they came all the way from Germany! Pretty awesome aren't they? Kris totally had me pegged with the tiny piecing and the Heirloom fabrics! :) I'm really glad that they're mine!

Here you can see them lined up on my white-board in my sewing room. Yes those are the ones to be sent out to my partner below them. I didn't find the time to make a whole set of tiny, so I do hope my partner enjoys the button ones. I'll be sending the HST one too. :) I can't believe June is nearly over now! 

I haven't had a lot of designated sewing time recently. It's hard since I used to sew (or nap) during Allie's school day (about 3 hrs a day). Now not only do I not get that time, but I am also working more hours over the summer which means I'm exhausted more often than not! I'm hoping to get some good sewing time this weekend though!

Here's something I did manage to make. Earlier this week my work friend Mary came to sew, and so did Emily-- they finally met! :) I again didn't get a lot done when they were over, but I did manage to check over my old Singer machine (Wilma) so that a friend could borrow her. She's working well, although she's a little loud and slow (compared to my Juki!). I felt the need to give her a good test run, since I haven't sewn on that machine in a long time - so I made a couple tissue holders. One of them is going with the machine to my friend Martha - who's going to be sewing some wedding related things! :) The tag says "Something Blue" hehe. Doesn't everyone cry at weddings? Tissues are a must!

Rapid and Tiny Zakka Swap - June

I haven't mentioned it much here, but I'm a swap mama in the new-ish Rapid and Tiny Zakka Swap (RATZ). It's a monthly swap where each round a different small and useful project is chosen. Each round starts at the beginning of the month and we have to mail before the end of the month. It's been pretty simple and fun so far.

You may remember the teeny key-chain that I made last time around, I also received a super adorable key-chain from Diane. Total cuteness!

For the month of June we're swapping magnets. I've been working on some covered button magnets, but my heart is set on making some of the awesome tiny pieced magnets that I've been seeing floating around. I just haven't have the time/energy to work on them. I made some matching button magnets yesterday just in case I don't find the time to do the pieced ones. I did make one trial run of a pieced one - it took some time, and I used 1/2" Thangles - it finishes at about 1.5" square! Can you believe that??

If you're interested in joining us next month for the RATZ swap head on over to our flickr group. You must have a semi-active flickr account which includes sewing pictures, there will be a sign-up discussion going up soon. Also, our theme next month is needlebooks. Very useful and you could even use this little tutorial here! 

A tiny key chain has won my heart!

Here's the teeny little key tag I made for the Rapid And Tiny Swap (RATZ). I sure hope my partner likes it because it's adorable if I say so. 

Yes in total it measures 2" x 2.5" and those prairie points? They measure a mere 1/4" tall! And then there's the bike... and the back? Corduroy of course. And the ribbon loop? Velvet! 

Isn't it just too much!? I'm loving it (at least until I have to send it away to my swap partner!) The best part is that it only took about 20 minutes to put together. That's a lot of bang for just a little short nap time (or preschool afternoon in my case). 

Go on and check out the RATZ group there... we'll be starting up another round (and another project) soon! Happy swapping!! 

Rapid and Tiny Zakka Swap.

Click image for photo credit links!

 As the Doll Quilt Swap winds down (we're waiting for just a handful of quilts to be delivered), We swap mamas decided to start up a fast little swap. We've named it the Rapid and Tiny Zakka swap (aka RATZ), and we'll be picking a different tiny useful item each month. 

Above you'll find my mosaic - let's just say I love tiny so this is easy for me! I'm really excited and I'd like to try each one of these!! :) Good thing key rings are cheap! I know several people who could use a tiny bit of cute on their keys. 

Here's my first try. I obviously didn't pay enough attention to my fussy cutting here, so I won't be sending this one -- instead I gave it to my sewing/work friend Mary -- who coincidentally lost her keys yesterday. I made her promise not to lose it!