This is what I received in the very last round of the CU later swap. It's made by the amazing Jill. It's all bunny, all super soft angora. My tactile child and I keep rubbing it on our cheeks. It is so good. She didn't say, but I suspect that it came at least in part from yarn Jill spun from her rabbits. She can do that, I know. See, I kinda want a rabbit that has hair that can be spun. I've had a crush on one since sheep and wool 2003. (I don't spin.) So I heard about Jill from friends long before I actually met her because she was really doing the rabbit thing.

Should I get a rabbit?

Have you seen the disapproving rabbits? Nope. No sir. I disapprove.

Dang, Lotta, your book is good.

I finally got Jeanne, now of Texas, as a partner in the CU later swap. She was my very last partner. The swap is now over. This bag went to her. The fabric showed up on my doorstep like six months ago, a generous little gift from petulant feminine, who was destashing. (She's not blogging now, but I owe her a postcard if only I knew where to send it!) Anyway, this fabric has been softly chanting Jeanne's name since the moment it arrived. It's been telling me things like, "Make me into something and I will be sweet plum pudding love!" Seriously. And now all its dreams have come true. It is the Lotta Jansdotter all-day tote, and it is in Jeanne's hands.

I only made one change to the bag, which is lengthening the handles. It needed to be a shoulder bag. Bags are generally more useful if they can be both toted and shouldered. I love the side pocket, and the bottle pocket. I also really like the little clippy key thing. I may someday make myself one of these. It would be really good for Saturdays when we leave the house early and come home late.

When I think of fall, the first thing that pops to mind is a maple tree covered in firey orange leaves. I'm guessing this is similar for a lot of other people. No matter how many wonderful fall memories I have, this is what springs to mind first. So when I started thinking about what to make for Chara's fall swap, the orange leaves were right up there in my brain. But, I've never been a huge fan of the color orange, the ubiquity of which in local culture makes it even less fun.

Enter fall thought #2: apples and apple pie. I have no problem with these whatsoever in any way, so I created for Stacey an apple-themed swap. Some cutie superbuzzy apple fabric played a starring role. It's stuck in the pincushion above, and in the patchwork pocket of the green recycled sweater tote below. I also sent Stacey a bunch of tiny white pumpkins (not orange!). I tried to photograph them, but I didn't really get a good one, so instead you should look at Sarah's gorgeous pic if you want to see what exactly I'm talking about. (I know you've all seen these, but go look at the photo anyway. It's nice.)

Stacey and I were on a similar wavelength while crafting up our swaps. We sent each other very similar bags--both green wool with a little something. She also knit up a warm brown scarf, and made this cool little notebook with a cork cover. Very cool! Stacey, you should do an instructable on that.

It's been a bit of a week, if you know what I mean. Things have been very very busy. Not sad or terrible busy, but happy busy, but just the same, I've been occupied. Last weekend I was away for a work conference, so that kind of threw things off, plus Brownies started this week, etc.

I'm still working on finishing a few projects. There's a good bit of hand sewing left, so until I can share all that, here's some really good mail I've received recently.

First is the above postcard sent to me for winning a comments give-away at Pyglet Whispers, Isn't it cool? I like to think of the ladybug as having stern/nonplussed eyebrows, Because you know, ladybugs have eyebrows. Thanks, Dani!

Second is the gigantic pile of scraps I received from Erin through the Scrap Swap. Let me tell you, that lady has some beautiful scraps, and she was very generous about sharing them. Thanks, Erin!

I arranged the scraps I sent her in "rainbow order" before I sent them. Looking at them, I guess I could do a little mini purl, last minute patchwork color wheel with them. That would be fun. I'm thinking that Erin's scraps are going to go toward some kind of chain quilt on a white background. Pretty.

It's about 10:00 here and I've only just finished putting Beebs to sleep. i let her stay up late with a movie and then she had a terrible time falling asleep because earlier in the day we saw a hearse go by and I decided to teach her the corresponding song. Great idea, Mom. It was just enough to produce the kind of scared, tired bedtime sad that requires your mother to sit next to you until you fall asleep.

Happy Beautiful Saturday! It is wonderful here, is it wonderful there? Days like this make me wonder if we would all be much more productive if the weather was always like early autumn. I've been up early, getting things done and liking it.

I'm host for this next round of the CU Later swap, so getting that going an picking a theme is on my list for today. See what I got in the last round? Karen knit me this most beautiful scarf in a pattern with lots of delicious texture. It's so cozy warm--I love it!

Karen chose the theme for the last round, which was "inside out" or maybe "hidden surprise" or "reversible". I can't remember exactly, but you get the idea. So, I made Sarah a Lotta sunhat. Actually, Sarah requested a sunhat, in a very Sarah-ish way, and I was happy to make her something I knew she wanted.

It was my third time on the Lotta hat, and I still like it. I have to say that the Simple Sewing book has gotten more use than any other pattern book I have ever purchased. Well worth it!

Oh, and aren't these special? Erica's grandmother made gazillions of these finger pincushions, and she and her mom found them up in the attic. Erica was kind enough to give one to me and to send one home for Beebs.

Today, I was going through my fabric scraps getting ready for this scrap swap, when I realized that I had completed a couple things last spring which I never shared on the blog. (There's nothing quite like a scrap of fabric to send you back to projects past.)

I had been envious of the clean and pristine dresser tops of other people I know because my dresser top was usually full of crap--stray pins, old clothing tags and their plastic bits, dust, spent lists, etc. I figured that if I made myself a nice quilty dresser topper, it would be a good place to keep my usual jewelery and it would keep my dresser tidy too. The blue triangle one is mine, and it's been working pretty well.

I also made one for Eva, but then almost immediately decided not to use it. She wasn't that into it, and she pretty much has her own dresser-top mojo going on, so I didn't want to push the issue. There isn't much room up there with all the dollies, jewelery boxes, and special rocks anyway. The thing is, now I have this pretty quilt thing that has been sitting in my closet. I think I'll take apart the quilt sides and hang it on the wall.

Did you ever have one of those swap projects that just didn't go the way you though it would? Yes, i know you have. This was like that. I like the end result. I think it's good, even though I'm feeling a little like a one trick pony with the pitcher plant print. However, it's not at all what I started out doing.

I had a great idea for Bitter Betty's Print It Yourself (PIY) fabric swap. It is so good that I think I'm still going to do it. I made up a design in Illustrator and had it all set to print. Great. All I needed was some new photo emulsion from the only place nearby that carries it, the local student-run art store. The local student-run art store was out of it, which no one there had bothered to notice, so it wouldn't be in any time too soon. OK. So if I ordered it right then from dick blick, it would still come on time for me to print for the swap. I ordered it, but the order didn't come. I checked my email for a confirmation, and there wasn't one, nor was there a charge to my credit card, and I got the distinct feeling that I did not actually hit the submit button on that last screen. OK, plan B. I though I would try those carve-your-own rubber stamps. I did, but I was pretty bad at it and found the whole process immensely frustrating. So what did I have left to work with? The North American Pitcher Plant screen from way back when.

It is a screen a like a lot. I will probably even use it again, but well, not what I originally intended.

A few other folks have posted their fabric and they are amazing. (Bethany links to them here.) I really can't wait to see what comes of all this.

I came home to a little surprise package today. I thought it might have been the little breads we got off Etsy for Eva's doll house, but duh, she already received those. The package came from Denise, who kindly and unexpectedly sent me these fat quarters. She has quite an eye for combinations, no? Hmm!

The package reminded me that I was tagged a good long time ago by pyglet (whispers) to name my favorite blogs. Well, goodness knows nobody can do that. So instead I'll share a couple crafty bloggers I knew before I knew their blogs.

Wordy Diva: Lisa was the first person I knew with a blog of any kind. She is an insanely gifted gardener, who is quite willing to share advice (and plants) with people who have never had a garden before. Our garden this year quite literally came from her garden, and after a party at her place last Saturday, I think we'll be looking for chickens, too. (I am so surprised by how into this Elie is.) We just need to get rid of one three-car garage.

Flit Knits: Jeanne ushered me into the craft blog world. I believe she said something like "Have you seen this new site, whipup?" And the rest is history. Jeanne knits and her knitting always comes out looking really good. She spins too, and then she sometimes does very brave natural dye experiments with her hand spun yarn.

leetle knits: Erica is a prolific and talented knitter. At knit night when a pattern or a gauge isn't right, she'll help you work the knitting math so it's all OK. So nice.

Just in case you were one of the people who got a nice error message when you visited this blog last week, So sorry! I've got it all fixed. Errors are so tacky.

AKA the Julie bead necklace from knitty. They were little and fun to make, so much so that I took them to the pool and someone I didn't know said that I was going to go blind. She was probably right.

I strung them on a thin fabric tube, then I tried to do more with it as a necklace, but pretty much failed. I tried adding other beads (smaller than Julie's), but that wasn't working for me. I thought that making knots in the fabric right next to the beads would make it more finished, but I didn't do that either. The necklace went to my friend Karen as is. She does more jewelery making than I do, so I'm sure she'll know how to gussy it up better than I.

Tomorrow morning I've off to the Bloomington Third Sunday Market. It will be my first trip of the year. I just don't know where the summer is going, and I feel like I am actively pulling at it's threads to get it to stay. Beebs is loving it though. She's going to a day camp that I like to call "dirt camp", she's eating like a horse, and she's discovered the joys of summer reading. It is so sweet to see her curled up on the couch with a book. It makes me a little jealous, and wistful for the afternoons spent on my grandmother's couch, still damp from the pool.

Keep cool...