Spit 'n Polish

So? What do you think? I spent a LOT of time yesterday working out some design changes to the blog. I'm not sure it's a finished product quite yet, but there are some changes happening in Poppyprint Land that required a bit of an upgrade, I felt.

Most importantly, I have a fantastic partner who's joined us here! Tammy of Marmalade Fabrics, purveyor of fine modern fabrics & funky patterns and provider of first-rate customer service, has come to play. I recently had the pleasure of ordering and receiving a wonderful package from Marmalade and am very excited to toot Tammy's horn. You'll likely be doing the same thing when you see what she's given me to share with one lucky reader in the next Birthday Month giveaway (tune in Friday for details). Check out Tammy's well-stocked shop by clicking on the Marmalade button up there on the right! You might want to jot down your favourites or even start a wish list....you know, just in case.

Summertime isn't traditionally super productive in my sewing room - I like hanging out with my kids and doing fun summer activities. Just this morning, T and I enjoyed a gorgeous bike ride in the demonstration forest. We were treated to a special siting of a doe and her twin fawns! They were in the shade of the forest, so I wasn't able to get a photo, but you can get the sense of the ride in this one:

Mr. Casual (no cars on this road, so no-hands is a preferred option)

There are a couple of small things I needed to sew up before our week away. First is Meghan's June block for the VI Bees. Due to the mail strike and general tardiness of Canada Post, I didn't actually receive the fabric until June 30th, so I'm anxious to get this back to Meghan so she can piece her husband's patriotic quilt!

And next up is this passport holder for a friend. This friend is able to piece ridonculous quilt blocks, but claims anything remotely bag-like is out of her realm. Poor dear, I took pity and said I'd make one for her next trip....plus she's got twice as many kids as I do, so in theory I have more time. Oddly, our rates of productivity tend to show the opposite (she may have 2X the offspring, but she also makes twice the amount of stuff I do!). It's entirely possible I've been had. At any rate, this is her RSR passport holder (based on my memory of the Runaround Bag pattern by Lazy Girl Designs).

zip front

slot pocket back

Oh! And what's that I see in the lining? Liberty, you say?

That's all folks. Next task is preparing my fabric for the VI Bees. I picked July. What better month to receive 12 quilt blocks in the mail than your birthday month?