Polka Dots and Rick Rack Swap Partner revealed

I signed up for Sharon's Polka Dots and Rick Swap. For this swap you had to make (sew or craft) something with polka dots and rick rack. The deadline isn't until Nov. 15th, but I have so much sewing left to do before Christmas I decided to get it out a bit early. My partner was Barbie Jo from Life With Cleo and Me. She is just the sweetest person! Those of you who aren't familiar with Barbie Jo should know that she designs patterns for quilt, needlepunch, stitchery, and rugs. I was a BIT nervous sewing for her, as I am sure she is quite the expert! At first, I thought perhaps Sharon had cracked her head when she assigned my partner. Didn't she read the fine print at the top of my header, it says BEGINNING QUILTER. LOL, I just put that worry aside and got to sewing. (Actually, I called my mother and she said to quit being so much of a worry-wart as she always likes what I sew.)

I was really pleased with the purse I made. It was my first time using this pattern, Manhattan Handbag by Pink Sand Beach Designs. By the way, it is a great pattern and makes a nice big purse. The directions are easy to follow. I looked and looked for some cute polka dot stuff to go with it, but I had a hard time. I did find some adorable thank you notes with polka dot envelopes.

I ended up making the EASIEST, CUTEST, MOST DARLING-ever tissue cover with some of the purse scraps and a really fast and fun checkbook cover using both of the tutorials I just linked. Let me tell you, I LOVED both these little gifty projects and will be doing more of them in the future. Many thanks to Amanda Jean and Craftapalooza for the tutorials. I love tutorials.

All joking aside, a special thanks to Sharon, for organizing the swap. I know it is a lot of work and I really enjoyed it!