Thread Catcher and Embroidery Case

I made a thread catcher and embroidery case as gifts for this amazing sewer/crafter/embroider/geek figuring they would come in handy. I was intimidated going in because i'm better at crocheting then at sewing. I love sewing and just starting to teach myself embroidery but I'm still in the newbie stages. Quilting was my gateway drug into making things over a decade ago, but I was always trying to quickly work through things instead of paying attention to the details. Now, I'm all about learning and trying to improve technique each project. I spend a lot more time with my seam ripper but i'm getting progressively much happier with my results. 

Thread Catcher (pattern: http://lisabongean.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/thread-catcher-12.pdf)

Quilted Embroidery Case (pattern: http://sewshesews.wordpress.com/2011/02/03/quilted-needle-case-tutorial/) 

 I must have ripped out the top part of the case 5 times (minimum). I was learning how to get the lines straight and get the batting to behave to give it that quilted look. I had never used bias tape before so that and how to make the corners, etc was all new to me.

I'm really happy with the fabric print and color choices.  

Thor Amigurumi

I used this pattern http://overthebifrost.tumblr.com/thorpattern (with a few mods) to create an amigurumi Thor for a good friend of mine.  The hammer has a cardboard insert for stability. The helmet was blocked with a water and glue mixture over several rounds to make sure everything would stand up. I made the round armor pieces a bit smaller then what came out of the pattern.