Fabric Bag Swap - Pam Chasen, Montreal, Canada

A beautiful silk bag has arrived for our swap from Pamela Chasen in Montreal, Canada. Pam writes, "I enjoyed creating this bag. The lining is cotton that I dyed. The outside is silk, hand-dyed by me using shibori techniques. The background silk surface of the pouch (front pocket) is also handmade by me, embellished with Angelina fibers, mesh and other threads. I also made the cord of the bag by twisting three different fibers and machine sewing them together. I hope the recipient of this bag enjoys using it as much as I enjoyed making it." I am sure they will Pam : ) thanks so much! Here is a new close-up that I scanned because the flash of my camera did not let you see the work on the pocket Pam created as you should . . . . click on any picture for more detail.

Mother Goose ATC swap - 1st & 2nd place winners!

. . . Well, everyone is a winner, really . . . . as each participant in the Alpha Stamps Mother Goose ATC swap will be receiving a free gift from Leslie at Alpha Stamps when I send your swaps home to you! Also, everyone will be receiving their Mother Goose ATCs in a little hand stamped and painted ATC Folder I have created for you, just because I felt like it! There is a photo of my first mock-up of this folder on my website if you'd like to see. I'll post some photos here eventually, but for now, I will let the actual folders for this swap be a surprise!

But, wasn't there something else, you say??
Wasn't there mention in the swap call of a special first prize for the most creative artwork; a Mother Goose Tote bag printed on 2 sides?? Yes! This was mentioned! And since the deadline for this swap was Saturday, all the swap entries have come in and I have just now gotten all the swaps scanned & uploaded - sorry for my delay! We are finally CLOSING on our new home tomorrow & I have been busy with that instead. Without further ado, I would like to announce the First Prize Winner, She will receive a Mother Goose Tote Bag, perfect for holding books, art projects or whatever ~ donated by Leslie Elledge of Alpha Stamps . . . . . the winner of the First Prize is the person who created this ATC:

SANDY BABB!! of Quill Cottage

I thought Sandy had the most creative and most exceptional Mother Goose fabric ATCs of the whole wonderful bunch. You will be amazed to learn that this was Sandy's first ever swap, and the first ATC's that she ever made, wow! Sandy did do some investigating & learned about ATCs via the internet, and you can read about it here on her blog, Quill Cottage - This is where she also tells us how she created her wonderful folded & pop-up ATCs!

* Congratulations to Miss Sandy! *

I will be sending you your Mother Goose Tote bag from Alpha Stamps with your ATCs that you'll receive in trade, later this week. : ) You'll also receive some collage bits from me!

***

Additionally, I thought there was one more set of ATCs that were really different & creative - enough to merit a 2nd place prize winner in this swap. A large goodie bag of collage pieces will be sent to the person who created these beautiful ATCs:

MARY ZIMANY!! : ))

Mary's ATCs are so wonderfully different and beautiful - so creative, I wanted to award her a small prize too. Congratulations, Mary! I will send you your extra special collage pack with your ATCs. I hope to get the swaps in the mail by Thursday or Friday . . . I still need to physically swap them & pack them up, adding the gift from Alpha Stamps. I will keep you posted on my progress, and please wish me luck that all goes according to plan tomorrow at the closing! We have been renting here until now when the owner was ready to close . . . it should go A-OK.

I so enjoyed this swap - you all amazed me at what you did with the Alpha Stamps Mother Goose images, wow! : ) creatively yours, lenna

Mother Goose ATCs - Vicky Martindale, MI

From Vicky Martindale in Michigan, this is the final scan for our Mother Goose Swap! We had 23 participants complete their Alpha Stamps fabric ATCs and get them in on time - hooray! Vicky used images from the Queen of Hearts #1 sheet in sepia; so lovely!! Thank you, Vicky.

Below are all of Vicky's ATCs - click on the scan for more detail!

Mother Goose ATCs - Rena Matus, CT

From Rena Matus in my home state of CT, 6 very cute Humpty Dumpty fabric ATCs! Rena hand stamped Humpty Dumpty onto fabric to create her ATCs. You can see the rubber stamp she used that's offered by Alpha Stamps, HERE. I really like these, Rena. Thanks for your great ATCs! Rena also included a funny poem on the back of her ATCs. Click on the scan below to read it! (hmmm, it's still kind of small!) It reads ~ The Rewrite ~

"Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, this little egghead was just too darn cute to have a great fall. So out came the blankets and out came the sheets, and the Royal eggcatchers caught Humpty before he hit the street." : ))

Mother Goose ATCs - Melissa Woolsey, OR

From Melissa Melissa in Oregon - hand stamped and sewed, 'Laugh Little Dog' fabric ATCs! I love them!! Melissa used the Mother Goose Little Dog Laughed rubber stamp from Alpha Stamps, so cool! She added embroidered flowers and beautifully hand-stitched them together. Thanks so much, Melissa!!

Mother Goose ATCs - Vickie Trancho, NY

From Vickie Trancho in NY - ATCs with a door! This close up, above shows a fabric sheet image Vickie used from Alpha Stamp's My Lady's garden. Don't you just love all the fibers Vickie has added to her ATCs? See the photo below to get an idea of ALL of Vickie's fabric ATCs - click on any photo for more detail. Thank you, Vickie for your contribution!

Mother Goose ATCs - update

Just a note to let you know I have a few more packages here to scan, but I have run out of time tonight!! I will finish uploading the rest of the ATCs & updating you by monday . . . . if you have any questions let me know. I have to finish my little folders to contain your 5 ATCs you'll receive . . . I am waiting for the gift sheets for each participant to arrive from Alpha Stamps (on their way) and of course I have to physically swap all these babies & package them up! Not to worry, it will be great fun. I will keep you informed, but plan on sending everything out to everybody by Thursday at the latest. You have all done a fantastic job - There will be an announcement too, after the final scans are uploaded for the first place winner of the Mother Goose Tote bag from Alpha Stamps for the most creative artwork!! Stay tuned - I will be back with more scans soon to finish this swap up - thanks!! : ) lenna

Mother Goose ATCs - Cynthia Zdanzukas, CT

Cynthia Zdanzukas dropped these beautiful ATCs off in my mailbox to make sure they got here on time! Wow, I love the sweetness of them. Cynthia said that she was quite busy and really had to carve out time to create these, but she was so glad she did. She had a lot of fun! Cynthia used fabric sheet images from Alpha Stamps My Lady's Garden, Quite Contrary #2 and Queen of Hearts #4 - wow! Really so soft and pretty. Thak you, Cynthia!! Here is more of her art below; click on any scan for more detail . . .

Mother Goose ATCs - Ginny Ballou, MA

From Ginny Ballou in MA, her first fabric ATCs. We would not know this if you didn't tell us this! : ) Ginny used images from the Alpha Stamps Mother Goose Book Covers fabric sheet. This sheet and also the Queen of Hearts sheets, fabric or cardstock - seem to be very popular with my Mother Goose swap participants!

A close up of one of Ginny's ATCs is below. Thanks so much, Ginny! Click on the scan for a close-up view.

Mother Goose ATCs - Cynthia Weed, WY

Cynthia Weed has sent in TWO sets of very cleverly designed Mother Goose ATCs. Two sets of 6 is really fine with me . . . there are plenty of MG ATCs to swap with and I can send 10 back to Cynthia, have an extra one for Leslie at Alpha Stamps -- plus an extra one for me - Wowser! Thank you, Miz Weed!
Cynthia used images from the fabric sheet Queen of Hearts #3 - see them along the bottom left of this "just cooking"ATC??

I really like the way Cynthia combined various images and you'll see that the words she used are really different too. Even the BACK of her ATCs are really interesting!! I will show you . . . click on this scan to see it better.


Shown here are the fronts of the 2 sets Cynthia made : )

Fabric Bag Swap - Ruth Lane, MT

Ruth Lane in Montana sent in a bag that she created from a recycled wool sweater . . . that she also felted!!! Wow. It has these beautiful felted flowers with beaded centers as well. Awesome! Ruth owns a shop in Whitefish, Montana with her sister Rebekah, called The Purple Pomegranate. Yum! Click on the link to learn more; they showcase decorative arts & fine crafts. Thanks so much for taking the time to participate in this swap, Ruth!

Fabric Bag Swap - Patricia Schweitzer, KY

From Patricia Schweitzer in Kentucky comes a wonderful vintage tea towel bag! Patricia started with a hand-embroidered tea towel and added beaded accents herself. Then she braided 3 lengths of silk ribbon to make a handle, and sewed the bag together with a nice lining. Thank you, Patricia! See a close up of the bag below and click on any image to see more detail.

Fabric Bag Swap - Frieda Oxenham - it's here!

Frieda's bag is here! Because of the postal strikes in the UK we were worried about this beautiful bag making here to swap on time . . . but here it is! Frieda has written a wonderful post about how she created her bag and you will find it on her blog, Frieda Quilter Musings. She has decorated both sides of the handmade bag, each side done differently, although on the same theme of romance & lovers I know she is so fond of. She freely admits to being a romantic, and "believing in love and happy ever after!!" She makes me smile. I took a number of photos to share with you here, but there are more on Frieda's blog along with more explanation! Thank you, Frieda. I am so glad you were able to join this swap!

Mother Goose ATCs - Janice Perkin, UK

From Janice Perkin in the UK, hooray! Despite postal strikes there, Janice's lovely ATCs have arrived here in the States in plenty of time. Janice chose images from the Alpha Stamps fabric sheets Quite Contrary #1 and #2 AND she added pressed flowers and real shells!! Here is a close-up of one of my favorite ATCs of Janice's below - click on the scan for more detail.

Mother Goose ATCs - Victoria Wormell, CT

From Victoria Talcott Wormell in CT (another talented student of mine!) we have 6 beautiful fabric ATCs using the half-sheet from Alpha Stamps called: My Lady's Garden. I love the fabric Victoria chose to pair with the strips of music score and flowers that come on this fabric sheet. Thanks, Victoria! I'm looking forward to receiving your fabric bag too. : ) The scan of ALL of Victoria's ATCs are below; click on any image for more details.

100th Post! (and the Alpha Stamps gallery)

I keep forgetting to tell you that I am also posting all the Mother Goose fabric ATCs for our swap sponsored by Alpha Stamps, on the Alpha Stamp on-line Gallery. Click on the link and look under Swaps for Lenna's Mother Goose Swap! It's nice to view them all together, and Alpha Stamp aficionados can make comments there too, so check it out! : ) lenna

Fabric Bag Swap - Cat Dodt-Ellis, ID

Cat Dodt-Ellis from Idaho has sent in a beautiful felted bag that she knitted herself and then felted. Oh my goodness! When I got the idea to host a fabric bag swap it was a small pebble of an idea that I thought sounded good and had potential. All of the participants have really knoocked my socks off with the variety and artistic vision and ideas that everyone has shared. You have all risen to the challenge & made my pebble of an idea turn into a bunch of shiny, beautiful faceted stones!!

I hope you understand what I am trying to say . . . thank you all!

I thought it might be a little hard to see the nice big shape of Cat's felted bag, so I enlisted the help of my 2 five month old kittens, farfel & star. They thought Cat's bag was rather cozy and did not want to get out!!

Mother Goose ATCs - Dottie Mucha, CT

Dottie Mucha was able to hand deliver her ATCs directly to my mailbox, wow! Since we have moved, Dottie is now a neighbor of mine, what fun! (and so easy for art swaps!) In fact, Dottie will be attending a local workshop I will be teaching called "Quilties" at Sew Inspired in Simsbury CT in just about 2 weeks. : ))

Anyway, Dottie so kindly dropped off 7 ATCs; an extra one for me, 1 for Alpha Stamps - and then Dottie will receive 5 in exchange later this month. Dottie's ATCs are created from The Peter, Pumpkin eater fabric sheet from Alpha Stamps, and she has stamped "The PICK of the PATCH" over the images - it looks just right! Thanks Dottie.

Fabric Bag Swap - Jo~Ann Reichert, PA

From Jo~Ann Reichert in PA, an absolutely lovely fall-themed wool bag! Jo~Ann wrote to me when she shared her bag making process:
"Lenna, This purse was purchased. It's wool. All the leaves were made from vintage suit jackets, washed and felted. Then they were cut out and embroidered. The lady is from Luna.com a company who has beautiful victorian photos. She is free motion stitched under a veil material.The acorns are real but gold embossed on top and glazed. Hope who ever gets this likes it. This was fun and exciting, as all your swaps. Jo~Ann Reichert, Butler, Pa. "

Isn't it wonderful? here is another close-up photo of Jo~Ann's bag for our swap. Click on the photo for more detail & enjoy!!

Mother Goose ATCs - Fiona Brockie, Scotland

From Fiona Brockie in Scotland, 6 wonderfully stitched and put together Mother Goose ATCs have arrived, despite the postal stikes in the UK. Thank goodness Fiona snuck them through during a break in the strikes, which were declared illegal! Fiona has used Alpha Stamps fabric sheet images from the Queens of Hearts 1, 2, and 3 sheets! She has also used a great decorative heart stitch to embellish her ATCs.

The 2 ATCs above are my favorite, but you can see all of her ATCs below. Just click on the scanned picture for more detail. Thank you, Fiona!

Mother Goose ATCs - Mary Zimany, CT

Mary Zimany is a student of mine who has taken quite a few classes from me in person here in CT. I have not taught a lot locally over the past year or two -- some of the local stores have closed and I have moved (twice!!) but Mary has kept in touch with me and I consider her not only a student, but a friend. My husband Steven & I always wait with anticipation to see what Mary will do with my swap themes! Steven is quite partial to Mary's art because she has created a number of personal pieces for us . . . I will add some photos of a pocket tag book she made for us below. ANYWAY, Mary never ceases to amaze me with her creativity! I waited for Steven to get home from work last night & we opened Mary's package of ATCs for the Mother Goose Swap together, and ooohed and ahhh'd! Click on the scans for more details . . . these ATCs are so different. I love the way they are put together a little 'off-kilter'. They are stained (tea-dyed??) and layered, with perfectly wonderful messy edges and Mary has used netting to hold shrink plastic pieces in place! wow, Mary!!!

Below (blue, with stars!) is Mary's Book she made for us. It was an extra book she included when sending in her swaps for a Book Swap I hosted in 2005... right before Steven & I got married! I remember her enclosing a note explaining she had copied the photos off of my website - ONLY for the purpose of creating the pocket book for us - it was a surprise!! This is one of Steven's Favorites! I should explain that the cover of the book is a copy of a small canvas collage I had quickly made and gave to Steven the first week of our courtship. Looking back, we both marvel that the rubber stamp I used "What If?" was more appropriate than we knew at the time! Thank you, Mary.