It's only been about ten months since I began joining swaps. This one, this one, and this one are the three main ones I've done. My latest swap, the Heather Ross Mini Quilt Swap, was my first with a fabric designer theme. I only recently discovered Heather Ross prints, but there are already several that I really love. One of my favorites, Mendocino, is soon to be re-released.
I had fun picking fabric for this one. I went with some prints from the Far, Far, Away collection, which really pop with a dark gray background fabric. I don't know where it will be hung on, but the low-volume binding I put on would would look really neat on a brightly-painted wall. I also went with the "Swoon" pattern that I used for my last mini quilt swap. It was great practice and went much better this time. I ignored the seam pressing directions and did what I thought would work, and it did.
But, before I ramble on too much, here is a look at the finished mini.
I had fun picking fabric for this one. I went with some prints from the Far, Far, Away collection, which really pop with a dark gray background fabric. I don't know where it will be hung on, but the low-volume binding I put on would would look really neat on a brightly-painted wall. I also went with the "Swoon" pattern that I used for my last mini quilt swap. It was great practice and went much better this time. I ignored the seam pressing directions and did what I thought would work, and it did.
But, before I ramble on too much, here is a look at the finished mini.
I had my two favorite men help me hold it up for photographs, and to add a little cuteness.
I had just enough fabric to fussy cut the princess into several different places. And there's only one spot (in the lower left) where she isn't standing upright.
I had even more fun deciding how to quilt the mini. I went with a thread color to match the unicorn fabric. I love the look of thread on a contrasting background, so most of the quilting is on the light pink and gray fabric. My favorite stitching motif is the triangular spirals on the gray background.
I even used some of the fancy stitches on my new sewing machine (more on that soon) to make a special tag with the maker, recipient, swap hashtag, and year. The tag doubles as a way to hang the quilt. There is a matching triangle on the other side. All it needs is a rod tucked under the triangles to hang it with.
And I must point out, of course, how nicely my corners match up. I found a really neat tip in the book Travels with Peaky and Spike by Doreen Speckman. In essence, you put the fabric right sides together, align the points that should align by pealing the fabric gently apart, then sew an inch or two just at that point. Check to make sure everything is still aligned. If it's not, you only have to rip out a little bit. If it is, then go ahead and sew the rest of the seam. It saved me a lot of work, let me tell you. And I got pretty, straight lines.
As an extra, I sent along a fat quarter-friendly mini quilt book with lots of patterns and ideas. I wrapped it all up in tissue paper and string and sent it off. My partner loved it, which I'm so happy about.
But now it's time to show you what I received from the swap. This is a sweet little mini with appliqued circles from several different Heather Ross collections, including the newest one, Tiger Lily.
I love the added tag on the bottom corner that has "Dream" hand embroidered in cursive. Paired with the hand quilting, this mini just screams "hand made," in the best possible way, of course. The grasshopper and the sleeping princess circles are my favorites, though the gnome comes in a very close second.
The extras that came with the mini are so neat. There's a little sewing kit with my even more favorite purple sleeping princess print and a scrappy pincushion, which has so many little details that it could have been the main part of the swap package. I mean, seriously, an appliqued strawberry with hand embroidered leaf detail? Awesome!
Well, that's all the swapping news I have for now, but I've got a couple other swaps I signed up for that I'll be able to write about soon. I'd love to hear about any swaps you've joined.
