Tag Archives: quilt swap

Mega Projects and Mini Minis

September 23, 2015 kittywilkin 15 Comments

Things have been busy behind the scenes here at Night Quilter, and life has been cruising along the way life does. With many big projects about to begin (Farmer’s Wife Sew Along, Sizzix Design Team tutorial posts, a quilt project reveal, etc.), when I saw Michelle Bartholomew post about a mini mini quilt swap on Instagram, the “I love cute little finishes” within me jumped and clicked its heels. I immediately offered to swap mini minis with Michelle. (Look up #miniminiquiltswap on IG to see the current swap stream and jump right in).

Michelle is deep in the mini mini quilt swap game, so hers was already complete and she must have popped it right in the mail because it has arrived already! I absolutely love how tiny and adorable this mini quilt is.

The hearts on the binding are the final touch, in my opinion. So tiny. So perfectly wonderful.

The mini mini quilt idea really resonates with me right now, too. Making a teeny tiny mini mini quilt to swap with a quilty friend gives you an opportunity to try new techniques, new color combinations, quilting styles, etc. without investing too much time or fabric. You also get to make a connection with a quilty friend, sharing a piece of yourself and decorating your walls with pieces of your quilty friends while you are at it. Surround yourself with inspiration! I have really enjoyed the mini quilt swaps in which I’ve participated, but the time investment is more than I have to give right now so I have been firmly resisting the urge to join in on additional mini swaps. The mini mini, though, is TOTALLY doable. Remember #sewtake20? #sewtake20 and make a mini mini! I hope to cover my wonky-sized craft loft walls with them, eventually.

This mini mini is so tiny it fit right at home with all of the little flowers in my garden. It lightly sat upon the cosmos leaves and snuggled with the borage.

So what mini mini am I making to mail back to Michelle?

I showed her some of the little mini quilt bits I had started to see if any appealed to her and she chose one of my Chawne Kimber-inspired sew small Roberta quilt starts.

It is far from perfect, but with those little 1/8th inch wide sections, it’s a mini mini work of love, and I think really fun aesthetically. I plan to free motion quilt it in a spiral, bind it somehow, and mail it off!

I’m linking up with Lee’s Work in Progress Wednesday at Freshly Pieced. It’s been a while since a link up for me, but this blog is about to get hopping! I’m excited to show you the projects on which I’ve been so secretly working. Soon…

Quilting

Modern Hexies Mini Progress

December 17, 2014 kittywilkin 18 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share a commission.

One of the secret projects I have in progress is actually not entirely secret. It’s for the Schnitzel and Boo Mini Quilt swap. I suppose I can share all of my progress photos, I just can’t say for whom the quilt is being made! We’ve had a long string of uncharacteristically dark days here in midcoast Maine (it usually snows every few days with lots of sun in between), so I’m sharing photos taken with my iphone. Instagram has a wonderful array of filters and adjustments that help bring out the light and color in an otherwise dark space. Many (all?) of these are repeats from my Instagram feed, so I apologize to those of you who also follow me on IG. Just think of it as an inspiration flash-back de ja vu color explosion!

After I finished making English Paper Pieced (EPP) hexies out of the Anna Maria Horner True Colors fabric line, the foundation and inspiration for this Modern Hexies mini quilt, I decided I needed some supplementation.

evolution of a modern hexies mini quilt — Fabric pull for supplementary hexagons.

I cut out my chosen ones, and was all ready to EPP some more gorgeous hexies.

Next, I played around with layout and decided upon an Instagram-approved arrangement. It was decided that the bottom right dark blue-white hexagon would be best removed. I had been struggling with it already, upset that I didn’t have the perfect transition fabric to make it “work” in the flow, but hearing other IG friends and quilters suggest removing it helped me make the final decision. Out it went.

Next, it was time to start actually gluing! Yipes!

Nicole at Modern Handcraft’s pattern is fantastic. This is such a simple and “easy” method, yet the outcome is so fabulously gorgeous. I love the aesthetic of the borders between each hexagon, and the range of possibilities is endless. I didn’t have the suggested Aleene’s Fabric Fusion glue (Get yours here–affiliate link), so I used Fabri-Tac, which I had already. Boy was it a stinky and stringy experience! The glue would bubble up on the tip of the bottle by the time I got the next hexagon trimmed and de-papered, so it was quite a sticky process. Next time, I will definitely try Aleene’s, since I love the all-purpose glue for just about any other craft project. Sticky stink aside, I finally got all 44 hexies glued down, in a little over two hours.

I layered, basted, and was all ready for quilting! I only got a few passes done with the quilting before my sewing window ended for the day, but I’m very happy with my progress. I can’t wait to see this quilt completed, and I definitely will be making another one (or ten) in the future!

Update: I have finished the quilting and I’m getting ready to bind! I will show the quilt in its full completion after the recipient has received it (most likely… maybe sooner if I just can’t wait!).

Question for those of you who have participated in mini quilt swaps before: Do you stitch on a hanging sleeve, or leave it as is in case the recipient would prefer to clip it or hang it in a different way?

I’m linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced’s WiP Wednesday!

Quilting

Schnitzel and Boo Mini Quilt Swap: I’m in!

November 18, 2014 kittywilkin 3 Comments

When I first began quilting, I had no idea about the vast network of social quilting that happens over the internet. Now that I’ve been quilting and “in” the quilting blogosphere, Facebook world, Instagram, etc. for a while, I’m realizing that there are SO many ways to quilt socially over the internet. Just to name a few of the social quilting modes I’ve seen so far beyond the network of conversation and support found on blogs and Facebook, there are quilting bees, round robins, mystery quilts, friendship quilt swaps, and mystery quilt swaps. I’m sure there are many more to which I’m not yet privy. But this week, I did it: I joined my very first quilt swap!

Very early in my quilting days, I saw Instagram posts about the first two rounds of the Schnitzel and Boo Mini Quilt Swap, and have to say I was a little bit jealous of the fun back-and-forth, inspiration sharing, progress peek photos, and of course the gorgeous finished mini quilts being mailed around the world to unsuspecting recipients. When I saw people begin to post about joining in on Round 3, I bit the bullet and signed up! Now I’m proud to say that I am among the Makers of Awesome, and have already started plotting the quilt I will be making for my secret partner.

I’ve also put together a mosaic of quilts I love to help the secret partner who will be making a mini quilt for me.

mini quilt swap inspiration board — Inspiring quilts by (from top left to right): 1. Carolyn Friedlander 2. Modern Handcraft 3. Brooke from Pitter Putter Stitch, 4. Modern Cozy, 5. The Sewing Chick, 6. Simple Sewendipity, 7. Jen from Bettycrockerass, 8. Shape Moth, 9. The Charming Needle

I’m building up my inspiration board as I see more quilts I love, so you can see it as it grows by following the board on Pinterest.

Most of the communication with this swap is happening on Instagram, which is really fun since it’s such a visual platform. It’s a bit confusing to me (so far) to be addressing a mystery partner, and half of the time in reference to the person for whom I’m making a quilt, and the other half of the time be referring to the person who is making a quilt for me. I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it eventually, though. I’ve already decided what quilt I will be making for my partner, and I’ll show a few sneak peeks along the way. If you want to follow along with my (and almost 1,000 other quilters worldwide) progress, follow me @nightquilter on Instagram, or browse the hashtags #schnitzelandboominiquiltswap and #makeaquiltmakeafriend.

This is going to be fun! Any advice for a newbie quilt swapper?