EEE a Swap with All the Good E Named People*

*Yes, I know there are lots of pretty AWESOME E named people but it is just us 3 here ;)

OK, so my name is Emily, I have a friend named Emily and a friend named Elaine...we swap stuff and we call it the EEE Swap.  Emily actually wrote a great post about our EEE swap a while back when we started and did our first swap at QuiltCon (see the first picture).  We originally all met each other as part of the Chicago Modern Quilt Guild but THEN Elaine just had to up and move to California!  So in anticipation of seeing one another in person again we decided to make some little gifts.  After MUCH thought I made the gals some pillow covers.  

Here we are at QuiltCon receiving our lovely swap items!

I hand drafted some paper piecing patterns for the pillow-tops and I really like the way they came out, so much so that I used the same idea for my Doll Quilt Swap Round 13 quilt.  As always choosing the fabrics was one of my favorite parts of this project, and I ONLY used things in my stash. 

The backs were pieced from scraps.  The finished size of these covers fit an 18" pillow form.  As you can see in the first picture I received a beautiful tote bag (that I use almost everyday) made by Emily and a pretty idea pouch made by Elaine (I bring this one to fabric shops with all my sketches and fabrics if I need a match).  

Sooooo of COURSE we could not stop swapping there.  Since the next QuiltCon is not until 2015 (and we knew we could not wait until then) we decided to continue the swap as a birthday thang.  Elaine's birthday came first and I was STUMPED on what to make her until I thought about something for her adorable kiddos.  So I made them one item of clothing apiece.

T got an Oliver and S Bubble Dress in size 12-18months.  I already had the cute hippos on hand and got some matching pink for the top.  I love how cute and simple this pattern is and the hippos, I mean c'mon!

I decided to make B some pajama pants using the Oliver and S Bedtime Story pattern.  This is definitely my go to pattern for pj pants and I love the contrasting hem and waist.  These are a size 3 with 4 length and I used some fabric I already had...ya it's a theme, using what I've got makes me smile!

Then, around came Emily's birthday...one Allie two great Allie items!  Above is the Oliver and S Ice Cream Dress, another favorite that is super easy to make.  I love how this dress lets the fabric shine, in this case some great Echino.

Allie also got a pair of Class Picnic Shorts, size 7 (of course another pattern by Oliver and S).  I had never made these shorts before and as always Oliver and S did not disappoint with great instructions and an uber cute and well finished final product.  Emily actually had previously purchased the fabric for these and I just got to execute her idea for the shorts.  The story goes that Emily was going back to her hometown to visit  and she would be stopping by an ice cream stand that she worked at for MANY years and Allie would be wearing these shorts of COURSE!  The print is by Thomas Knauer and the cones look so groovy in those colors!

Now of course my birthday has come and gone and I have received some beautiful gifts...but we shall speak of those on another occasion, because there are a lot of words in this post.  Thanks for reading!