Tag Archives: mini quilt

• 8 Comments

•

My next mini swap in the queue is the Home Sweet Home Mini Quilt Swap. The shipping deadline is Wednesday. Eek. So this is not only a September goal, it's a 72-hour goal. Luckily, I've got some time in my schedule to sew sew sew today and tomorrow.

This is the first swap I've been in that we've been assigned partners and we're making for each other. I generally am so excited about what I'm making that I show it off while it's in progress, since nobody knows who will be receiving it. This time, I'm making for Brittany and she knows it. (And she's making for me.) So, I'm not showing much along the way. In fact, this glimpse below is all anyone will see before Brittany receives her package.

I designed my mini and included one pieced curve (gasp!). Since I'd never done this, job one was to figure that out. I cut pieces from my hand-drawn templates and then pinned the heck out of it. I think it was a mistake to piece it with the outer curve on the bottom. It was a puckered mess when I finished. Oops.

I shared on Instagram and Amanda and Jessica both recommended Leanne's curve sewing tutorial. Oh my gosh! Game changer. I never would have attempted to pieces a curve without pins, but her short video illustrated it beautifully. Here's the result of my second attempt. No pins were used in the making of this one.

Overall I'm happy with it, but it is just a smidge shy of the intended size. I made one more (oh, cause I've decided to make this mini twice, one for Brittany and one for me) and cut my pieces larger than necessary so I could trim down to 2" by 3.5". (Unfortunately I didn't pay attention to the position of the shape of the fabric as much as to the pattern on it when trimming, so it's not quite symmetrical, but I think it'll be fine.) Here's my third curve.

Now on to all my straight seems. Stay tuned for my big finish after it reaches its destination. And after that I'll be wanting to sew all the curves! This little piece and Leanne's tutorial opened up a whole new world of possibilities. Once again I'm glad I've used a mini swap to push myself beyond my normal quilting skills.

Do you participate in quilt (or other craft) swaps? What's your favorite part?

Linking up to ALYoF September Goal Party.

• 20 Comments

•

Hello! It seems I inadvertently took the month of August off of blogging. There were many reasons, but not because I wasn't sewing. I have lots to show you and September should bring back a more regular blogging schedule. One of the things I've been working on is my Halloween Mini Swap package. It was my August ALYoF Goal to get it finished and mailed. I hosted the Halloween Mini Swap on Instagram as a means to finally dig in to my Halloween stash of fabrics that I've never cut into. In the end, I made my partner a mini and a mug rug. I also bought some new Halloween fabric. Part of what I've noticed about my Halloween choices is that I like loud, busy prints... so they don't all play so nicely together. Once I pulled in a non-Halloween fabric (Tula Pink True Colors Makin' Waves in Ink) I had a much easier time designing my mini.

I had a Swoon quilt in the queue for myself. Fabrics selected. First blocks cut out. But I hadn't actually made a Swoon block yet. I'm so glad I chose to make a one for this project (this one is a 16" block). I love how I was able to fussy cut the feature fabric ("unhappy hour" from The Alexander Henry Fabrics Collection 2004). Here's the back. I went with a quick fused label (since it's a mini that won't be washed frequently) and I accidentally forgot to put on hanging corners. :-/

And the mug rug is Odd Socks by The Tartankiwi. I printed the pattern at 133%, making it about 6" by 8.5".

Here's the package all wrapped up and ready to ship. I included a variety of other goodies, and wrapped them in a fat quarter.

My partner should receive it tomorrow. I can't wait to see what she thinks!

 

Here's the awesome swap package and mini that Adrienne made for me!

 

I'm linked up to the ALYoF August Finishes Party, Bernie's Handmade Halloween at Needle and Foot, and to the Finish Along Q3 Finishes Party. See my whole Q3 goal list here.

• 12 Comments

•

While there are still quite a few WIPs needing my attention, with looming swap deadlines my August goal will have to be a swap mini. I'm hosting my first mini quilt swap on Instagram, the Halloween Mini Swap. Our shipping window is the second half of this month and there's some great stuff in the works. Confession time: I haven't started sewing my mini. I have narrowed down my fabric. Here's what I'll be using. The main fabric is "unhappy hour" from The Alexander Henry Fabrics Collection 2004. The reason I chose to host this swap is so I would actually use some of my (never before touched) Halloween stash fabrics like this one. Not sure the specifics on the orange spider webs and the top fabric is Tula Pink True Colors Makin' Waves in Ink.

I'm linking up to the A Lovely Year of Finishes August Goal Party. Look for a finish from me in a couple weeks and progress pic along the way on IG.

Thanks for visiting!