The Communique Layout

Popularized by Rhonda Dort, who uses the layout in her classes, the Communique Quilt Layout works for both featuring large fabric and panel pieces, as well as a basis for multiple block designs.

About Me

Welcome to Mouse in My Pocket! I'm Andrea, a web developer living in rural America with her husband and daughter. I'm excited to share my life with you as I explore some of the great things about living in the middle of nowhere.  Be sure to check out the blog below to see a few of the things that are speaking to me right now.

20220128_135900-01

On the Blog

Cinamoroll Stuffed Animal

Temu Shopping Pros & Cons

By Andrea | December 7, 2023

After hearing friends and family talk about ordering from Temu over the last year or so, I finally broke down and tried Temu.  And since there is still a lot of argument over whether using Temu is good or bad, I thought I would share my experience. So far, my experience with shopping Temu has…

Read More
ghost story by Jim Butcher audiobook cover

Bookish Questions – What is your favorite genre?

By Andrea | June 15, 2023

I love reading most genres of books, and as a mood reader, the genre I prefer changes from time to time.  Right now, I find myself mostly reading Urban Fantasy. I’m currently making my way thru the audio editions of Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files.  I love listening to James Marsters as the narrator.  He…

Read More
squeegee painting in viva magenta, teal, gray, green, and yellow

Playing with New Art Techniques

By Andrea | May 31, 2023

I’ve been playing with some new painting techniques lately.  The most interesting so far has been squeegee painting.  It’s really a pretty simple process.  You add drops of paint to your art surface, then use a squeegee, or scraper to drag the paint across the page.  It’s quite interesting to see how the paint interacts…

Read More
digital pattern created in procreate that features both tigers and tiger lilies

Learning Procreate

By Andrea | March 13, 2023

I recently decided to try learning to use Procreate, a digital illustration app. It’s something I’ve been interested in doing for a long time, but haven’t done because Procreate is only available for the Apple iPad.  I don’t own one, and didn’t want to invest in one if it wasn’t something that I would really…

Read More
watercolor roses, petals, and leaves painted on watercolor paper

Making Patterns

By Andrea | February 15, 2023

I’ve recently been working on a new skill – seamless patterns using watercolors.  I’ve created seamless patterns in the past, but always worked completely digitally.  Thanks to a fun Skillshare class by @CatCoq, I’ve learned how to make seamless patterns from my traditional artwork. It was a really fun process.  I learned how to divide…

Read More
valentine hearts watercolor in pinks, red, and gold

Snow Day Art Projects

By Andrea | February 1, 2023

Thanks to an ice storm, Mil & I had a day off yesterday. Or more specifically, Mil had a day off and I had a remote work day.  Remote work days are a little hard when you’re home alone with a 5-year-old. She really wanted me to play with her, and had a difficult understanding…

Read More
society6 store screenshot

Art Prints on Society 6

By Andrea | January 27, 2023

A little while back, I decided to set up a webstore on Society 6.  The store allows me to create and sell prints of my work directly to customers online.  Right now, the store consists of a few pieces of my traditional art, along with a couple digital designs as well.  I’ve even chosen to…

Read More
pineapple quilt detail.

Pineapple Quilt

By Andrea | January 26, 2023

Thanks to the massive basement cleanup, I’m back to sewing when I have the time.  My 1st completed project is a pineapple quilt that I purchased fabrics for several years ago.  It’s based on a mini quilt by Lori over at Crossquilt, which I fell in love with when she shared her project in 2015.…

Read More
basement play area

Basement Clean Up

By Andrea | January 24, 2023

My sewing space is down in my basement and over the last few years, it had become a hot mess.  I couldn’t do any sewing at all, because there were boxes of junk and in all the empty space, and my sewing table was covered in Mil’s craft projects.  So, I spent all I did…

Read More
honeycomb mood tracker

More Mood Trackers

By Andrea | September 26, 2022

I’ve not been doing a good job keeping up with my blogging, but I do actively keep up with my journaling. And I’ve found that the journaling fulfills a lot of the needs that I was previously meeting by constantly updating my journal without the dopamine addiction to comments and interactions. That being said, I…

Read More

3 Blocks Away

By Andrea | September 14, 2022

So proud of myself.  I’ve actually been making progress on my spooky crazy quilt!  I’m down to needing to complete the sewing of just 3 blocks.  Of course, I’ll still have some embroidery work to do between the blocks, plus basting, quilting, and binding, but I MIGHT actually be able to get this quilt done…

Read More
10 on the 10th

10 on the 10th – March

By Andrea | March 16, 2022

Thanks to the lovely Daenel over at Living Outside the Stacks, I’ve discovered one of those fun old-school Blog Questionnaires. And I’m super excited to participate. This one is called 10 on the 10th, and is a list of 10 questions that we can answer to tell you more about ourselves each month.  It’s hosted…

Read More