mini quilt

Swap Projects Finished!

| terriaw

I took advantage of the three-day weekend to finish my swap projects that were coming due.  For the Friendship Bag Swap, I made this one for my partner using Rachel’s tutorial and some Hello Betty fabrics I had left over from projects for my shop.

friendship bag for my partner

I included a couple goodies for my partner’s sewing room too. I think it’s a fun bag for fall, so I hope she likes it.

I made this mini quilt for my partner in the Summertime Mini Quilt Swap. My partner listed her preferences as Americana and Civil War reproduction fabrics. I don’t have any of those types of fabrics in my stash or much experience with those themes, so I used some fabrics from the Zippity Do Da honey bun I won from Moda earlier this year.

summertime mini quilt for my partner

This was my first attempt at making a log cabin block! I know, can you believe that after making quilts for ten years, this is the first time I’ve ever made a log cabin block?!

backing on mini quilt

I am happy to report that I put a simple label on this one, which is a first for me. I do hope she likes what I came up with.

I tend to be a procrastinator so it’s a relief to have these finished and ready to ship. I’m not signed up for any other swaps (yet), so I’m going to work on projects for my shop and  for the holidays.

Mini Quilt in the Mail

| terriaw

I came home from a boring day of work yesterday to a package in the mail. What a great way to brighten up my day! It was a mini quilt from my partner in the Spring Blooms Mini Quilt Swap.

Mini quilt from my partnerMy partner was Syliva. Her card says she is a mixed media textile artist. Boy, I’ll say – with the beautiful work she shared with me! This mini quilt offers a mixture of fabrics, applique flowers, various threads and machine stitching, as well as hand stitching, all creating different textures and patterns.

Sylvia's card

Check out her blog and more of her beautiful works of art. Thank you so much, Sylvia!

By the way, have you signed up for the Summertime Mini Quilt Swap? I think the deadline was yesterday, July 6, but you might still be able to get in.

Mini Quilt for Swap

| terriaw

I finished the mini quilt for my swap partner for the Spring Blooms swap:

mini quilt for Spring swapI used fabrics from Heather Bailey’s Pop Garden collection and the celery solid from Amy Butler’s quilting solids collection.  The backing fabric ended up matching that solid perfectly.

back of mini quilt for swap

Our mission was to make a Spring-inspired mini quilt. I always love the spring green color when plants come back to life here in the midwest, and the little pops of color here and there as flowers begin to bloom. I like this mini so much that I might make another one for myself, considering I have a bunch more of these fabrics in my stash. I sure hope my partner likes it!

Mini Coin Quilts

| terriaw

I spent a couple hours on Saturday practicing my free motion quilting again. (I hope you’re not sick of me practicing this – I can be compulsive.)

FM practice on minis

This is how I spent my Sunday – enjoying the beautiful outdoors while finishing my latest round of mini quilts.

how I spent my Sunday

I cut these charm squares from the Daisy Chain fabric collection, and had a pile of scraps that I made into these mini quilts before I even started the real quilt.

Daisy Chain charm squares

Here are the finished minis:

mini coin quilt(front of the mini mini)

back of the mini coin quilt(back)

The one above is small enough to be used for a placemat or hot pad (measures 11″ x 13″), and the one below is big enough to be used for a table topper or a doll quilt (measures 23″ square).

my other mini coin quilt(front of my other mini coin quilt)

back of my other mini coin quilt(back of my other mini coin quilt)

I really love the colors of these fabrics because they remind me of sea glass, which I have only seen in magazines.

photo of sea glass in Coastal Living

Seashell hunting is fun whenever we visit the ocean, so it would be fun to hunt for sea glass too. Where do you even find sea glass? Anyway, I am quite happy with how these projects turned out, so now I’m feeling another sewing project addiction developing!

Mini Quilt Monday Contributions

| terriaw

I know, technically it’s not Monday anymore. But Monday was a holiday, so technically, today is my workday Monday. What better way to get back into the swing of things by sharing my new mini quilts.

I really love seeing all the mini quilt projects being created these days.  When I first learned how to quilt, I started with minis, which was quite fun.

Stars in the Snow mini-quilt(Stars in the Snow, made in 2000)

Here are my newest minis, which I finished over the weekend, and I love for the quilting practice and for using up scraps:

my three new mini quilts!The first mini is a string-pieced pattern, based on Rachel’s tutorial. I changed it slightly by using different widths of strips. I just love how this one turned out! I quilted about 1/4 inch from the seam of each string, and then a few random lines down the middle of a couple wider strips.

mini string pieced quilt(front)

back of string pieced mini quilt(back)

The second mini is a triangle-square block pattern, using scraps from my coin quilt. I love how this one turned out because I love these fabrics, especially with the clean, fresh white.

triangle square mini quilt(front)

back of triangle square mini(back)

The last mini is a disappearing nine-path using scraps from my Ava Rose quilt.

mini disappearing 9-patch(front)

back of disappearing 9-patch mini(a plain white backing to highlight my new free motion skills)

I am so happy with how each of these turned out, for different reasons. I either love the block, love the fabrics, or love the quilting. I have more ideas for future minis, so I’m off to play. Thanks for stopping by!

Dreaming of Small Quilts

| terriaw

I have owned this book, Little Quilts, for about ten years. I always love browsing through it, daydreaming about what to make next.

It was one of the first quilt books I ever bought, and a couple of my first quilt projects were these mini-quilts that have been on our nightstands for many years.

I loved the name of this little quilt so I just had to make it: “Stars in the Snow” I like to hang this one in my cubicle at work during the wintery season.

I recently bought this newer version of a small quilt projects, called Bits and Pieces, and I can’t wait to try a few quilts.

I want to make this one because it’s called Box of Chocolates-

I want to make this one because it reminds me of our garden, with the green grass and foliage dotted with splashes of color from the flowers. It’s called One Patch Garden.

I want to make this small quilt because it’s a great way to use up miscellaneous scraps. It’s called Waste Not, Want Not.

There are 18 patterns, organized by squares and rectangles, triangles, diamonds and curves. What another sweet book!

PS – The more I think about it, the more I realize these small quilt projects (average size is 16 x 20) would make great subject matter for a swap party. Anyone else interested?