Seattle MQG Virtual Holiday Swap

It's been nearly a year that Seattle MQG has had to meet virtually. And while our meetings and sew-ins have continued to be a good time, it really hit hard when our holiday party, a traditional sew-in, handmade item swap, and all around good time, had to be held on Zoom too. But it was good to 'see' and hang out with so many guild buddies, and the swap did go on!

So the swap was a little different in that we were assigned partners weeks ago and then mailed our gifts to our partners ahead of the reveal at the party today.

Among other suggestions, my assigned partner, Noelle/@noeleandria, had quilted storage buckets on her wish list. I made the trio known as the Tub Family using the pattern by Rosie Taylor Crafts. I started with the large tub (7'' wide by 5 ¼ '' tall), making the exterior with scrappy rows in Noelle's chosen palette. For the medium (5 ¾'' wide by 4 ¼'' tall), I made each row out of a different fabric; and the smallest (4 ½'' wide by 3 ¼'' tall) was made with one exterior fabric only. 

The interiors were all the same - Spectrastatic in Wintermint from Giucy Giuce's Prism collection. The bucket bottoms were all made of Essex linen, and the bindings were all a stashed Quirky Pin Stripe. So those were a fun sew, and Noelle seemed to like them so yay!

And then, of course, I received a gift too! My friend Aline/@augustdreamsquilts made me a Book & Tool Folio and a coordinating Fold-Up Sewing Folio from patterns in Aneela Hoey's Stitched Sewing Organizers. Both were made in the beautiful "The Blue One" fabric from Marcia Derse/@marciaderse paired with Essex Yarn Dyed Homespun in Limestone, and for the record, they look terrific together! Both folios are so practical, and I can't wait to use them.

Oh! And notice the gorgeous handstitching on the front of the larger folio. It's absolutely beautifully done and it's a little nod to the Stitch Club we've both participated in these last months.

To say I'm pleased is an understatement. And all in all our guild afternoon together was quite different, but still a very fun time.