I headed to the post office last week with my Spicing Up the Kitchen swap package.  I've totally felt like I've been thoroughly see-through and that if my partner was trying to figure out what items are hers, she would know these are for her, but that's half the fun of swapping, to me - guessing what will be coming to your door...

Anyway, we were to make two items for this swap, a big and small item, and I think I sort of made two big items.  I didn't mean to - as soon as I Flickr-stalked my partner, I just knew that I needed to make her an apron and a runner, and I couldn't stop myself.  I was so excited when I got my partner for this swap - I got Kati of From the Blue Chair!  Don't worry, I'm not letting the cat out of the bag, she got her package over the weekend, and it seems that she's super happy with it.  Yay :)

This apron was super easy and adorable.  I first spotted it at Traci's blog, and I started with the same tute she used, but I kind of improvised after reading it.  I love these fabrics I used, they're so fun!  If these don't spice up her kitchen, I'm not sure what will.  They make me smile every time I see them - then again, just about all of Heather Bailey's fabrics tend to have that effect on them, especially these Pop Garden prints.



I also made her a table runner, based around three wonky square-in-square blocks.  I am not normally a fan of this color palette, but I really like these colors here in this runner, they're really fun.  I stuck with simple straight-line quilting here, aiming for a simple, yet sophisticated kind of look.  I'm really happy with how this runner came together.  When I got ready to make the back, I wasn't sure at all what I wanted to do, until I realized I had a ton of yardage left from the citrus Sanctuary print.  I knew that would tie the whole runner together, front and back, so I went super simple on the back.  I really like how the simple back lets the quilting shine through.



I can't wait to get a package of my own in the mail!  My partner still has a few more weeks before the deadline, not to worry.  I have no clue whatsoever who my partner might be, so I'm super excited to see what comes in the mail for me...

I'm linking up with {Sew} Modern Mondays over at Canoe Ridge Creations today, and I can't wait to see what everyone else has been making.