A few weeks ago, my dad asked me why I haven’t posted anything on my blog lately (sorry, Dad, thanks for reading!). I had to think a minute. Have I been neglecting my blog? Why would that be? And then I realized.
Mini quilts.
Instagram.
Mini quilts.
I’ve been sucked into the world of mini quilt swaps on Instagram. And I have not done much else for the past month or so!
I’ve already shown a number of mini quilts in recent posts, especially the rainbow swap and then the Hello, Bear! mini, but there are more. Now, I’ve finished several designer-specific swaps: the Alison Glass swap, the Cotton + Steel swap, and the Anna Maria Horner swap. These swaps were fun because they utilized so many of my favorite fabrics.
Note: since these swaps took place on Instagram, a lot of these photos are phone photos. I didn’t remember to take photos with my real camera before mailing them off. I really hope these pics are clearer than the ones I did in the last post (also phone photos). They look fine on the phone, I’m not sure what happens sometimes. Maybe time for a newer phone…Anyway.
First up, I made this modern hexies mini featuring a whole bunch of Alison Glass fabrics (I used the modern hexes tutorial over at Modern Handcraft).
I sent one of these pouches (the blue one) as an extra. I kind of wanted the other (yellow zipper!) for myself, but it was claimed by daughter and immediately filled with rocks and other important items. Such joy from bits of fabric…
I received this lovely mini from my new instagram friend @kavitar. The circles — just awesome. Even the quilting is circles!
Then it was the Cotton + Steel swap. I had a partner change during this swap (my first partner never used Instagram, not even one post), after which I got stuck for a while. My new partner said she liked color order, so I pulled a rainbow of fabrics with the thought of making a rainbow of geese. Then I saw she’d gotten something like that in another swap, so I was stuck again! Finally, I used the same fabric pull to make this half-square triangle mini of my own arrangement.
I cut them big and used the bloc loc half square triangle ruler to square up. This is really the first time I’ve had any luck with HSTs, and I’m sure this is why. It pays to take the extra step. Of course.
I sent along this trivet/hotpad (pattern from Patchwork, Please!) as an extra.
And I received this mini from my partner @thesistyuglers. The colors are so fabulous, I can’t stop looking at them! And such pretty quilting.
Finally, I made this flying geese mini with lots of Anna Maria Horner fabrics. I used a paper piecing template that I found free on line (sorry, I forget where). This was also the best result I’ve got with pesky flying geese so far. This is the smallest mini, at only 15 inches square, but I like its simplicity, and I love the colors.
You know, mini quilts take longer than you’d expect. I spent too much time arranging these geese. Lots of iPhone photos trying to get a nice arrangement of lights and darks. In the end, my original plan didn’t change much. I’m not sure what that says…no need to over think it, maybe. Interesting to note that the two blues in the middle that look almost the same in color are so different in black and white (you can see it in the last two black and white frames, below).
I received this amazing mini quilt from @bellacoconut, all the way from Norway. It has so many of my favorite fabrics — plus appliqué, embroidered details, and matchstick quilting!
She also sent along this fold over clutch, which calls my name in so many ways!
I’m pretty sure everyone was jealous. Sorry, friends.
Swapping doesn’t always go great (apparently some people flake!), but I’ve been blessed with wonderful partners. Instagram has been fun for keeping up with them. Plus, I’m going to have an amazing wall of minis!
Hauling out all my fabrics for these minis made me want to make a full sized quilt out of each of these designers’ fabrics. Ah, if only I had the time…maybe if I quit doing swaps for awhile. Well. I am just finishing up one more, and then I’m out for a while…
Persimmon + Pear 