Grow a Garden (pouch) + a giveaway

At our monthly Ann Arbor Modern Quilt Guild meetings, we often have a swap of a handmade item or several fat quarters of fabric.  Items are to be wrapped or disguised but not labeled, so part of the fun is wondering what goodies are hiding inside the macaroni box, old tin, etc.

We conduct our swaps in a "Yankee Swap" format (like a white elephant swap). First we draw numbers, and each participant has a turn choosing a wrapped item.  The next person then has a choice of choosing an wrapped item, or "stealing" a previously unwrapped item from someone else.  If your item is stolen, you may choose to to unwrap a new item or steal from someone else.  The process continues until everyone has had a turn, and the first person to choose has a chance to steal any one of the opened items or keep what they have. Previous swaps have proven to get quite competitive; Emily's Christmas ornament and Jenna's Mendicino notebook cover provoked some very exciting swaps!

For our March meeting, participants were asked to make something with a "spring" theme.  Part of what I like about having a theme to work with is it encourages me to work outside my comfort zone.  In this case, I ended up using a color combination I might not have started with on my own.  I am very drawn to warm tones, but for the "spring" theme, I went looking in my stash for greens and yellows. 

The front of the pouch is a patchwork courthouse steps block.  I selected a number of prints and solids in yellows and greens, along with some black and white.  I included some fun text, ruler, and graph prints, imagining the process of planning a spring garden, planting seeds, and watching them sprout and grow.



I chose Joel Dewberry's Woodgrain print in brown from Aviary 2, and lined it with a green solid. 



Natalie of Greenleaf Goods was the lucky recipient of this pouch at our guild meeting.  Hope you enjoy it Natalie! However, I had so much fun making it I had to make a few more.





One of these pouches is up for grabs, for YOU, one of my readers! Leave me a comment telling me your favorite part about spring. That's it, easy! If you're following my blog, I'd love to hear from you, and I'd also love it if you told your friends. So, for a second entry, let me know if you mention this giveaway on your blog, on facebook, or on twitter (you can find me there: @woollykat). International entries are welcome.  Giveaway ends this Sunday, April 15 at 11pm EST, when I will choose a random winner. 

I'd link up to {Sew} Modern Monday, but Megan is pausing it while the Festival of Half-Square Triangles is going on! Today's Festival of HST host is Erin at Two More Seconds. Head over there to check it out!

Have a great week!
~Anna :)