My pouch for the Portland-Vancouver swap

When I first started chatting with the lovely Susan Beal, president of the Portland Modern Quilt Guild, we talked about having a swap between our two guilds to build a connection between modern quilt guilds in the Pacific Northwest. The Portland MQG-Vancouver MQG Pouch Swap is the result and here's the pouch I'm sending off to Portland. It's my first ever pouch and I'm very happy with how it turned out. I used some of my precious apples and pears print for the exterior based on my partner's colour preferences (actually, since she's American, she probably has color preferences without the u, doesn't she?). 

Inside, I used a Lizzy House stripe for the lining and zipper tabs. I followed the Easy Peasy Zippered Pouch Tutorial by Make it Perfect since Heather had recommended it at the VMQG meeting.

 This was the very first zipper I've sewn at home and the second ever zipper I've sewn. I bought a zipper foot for my sewing machine and it worked perfectly! It really was quite magical for me to see how it all came together because I've been quite intimidated by zippers.

The finished pouch measured 7 3/4" wide by 5 1/2" tall. I was able to fit in a couple small goodies for my partner. Now that I've given this pouch away, my daughter wants me to make one for her! She's already chosen the fabrics and even a few buttons for good measure. I'll be sure to share when it's done!

Happy 2nd Birthday, VMQG!

Can it really be two years since the Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild was founded? I can still remember the excitement of that first meeting where the crowd of forty-five quilters squeezed into Spool of Thread Sewing Lounge to share their quilting stories and modern quilts. Since that night, I've made wonderful new friends, been amazed by the fabulous quilts made by VMQG members, participated in sew-ins, and had monthly doses of inspiration and laughter. Thank you to everyone who has made the VMQG a life-enriching experience for me!

Tonight is our 2nd anniversary meeting and I know there are some delicious cupcakes ready for the party! I've got to do a few things to get ready and I don't have time to add a photo, but I hope to see you there!

Potholder swap (take two)

See Potholder swap (take one) to hear the tale of my lost potholders.

I am happy to report that I have finally completed the VMQG-FVMQG potholder swap and that my partner has her potholders! I went to the Lions Gate Quilters' Guild show yesterday and brought the potholders along just in case I saw my partner, and, lo and behold, she was the second person I recognized at the show! I was really happy with how this set turned out, but I had no problems giving them away as I had felt bad about the long wait she'd had!

I used the same basic plan as my first set of potholders, but made a few changes like taking out the grey and making the equilateral triangles a bit bigger. I actually like this set better than the first ones, so perhaps it was a good thing that Canada Post lost them? Nope, it wasn't, still sad about that.

Taking out the grey meant that I couldn't use all the extra grey bias binding left over from my first pair of potholders, so I spent a lot of my day at the May 26th Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild sew-in making tons of bias binding in green and blue. Now I've got lots extra for future projects!

I also remembered to put hanging loops in this set!

I'm so happy that these are off my plate and I look forward to working on some other WIPs!

Details:

8.5" diameter circles

Kona grass green, cactus, teal, azure, Erin McMorris leaf dot in green and teal

Batting: one layer InsulBrite and one layer cotton/bamboo blend