Schnitzel & Boo Mini Quilt Swap -via Instagram

I may not have been blogging much lately but I have been getting things done.  Of course there is work and home. We had one kiddo graduate high school this past June - Yay K!

Then there were a couple customer quilts to quilt (one is pictured below). They were both very pretty and enjoyable to work on. I hope I've done a well enough job to make them repeat customers!

Aside from the other two quilts I last blogged about, I have been working on quilt blocks for two bees I'm in, the Stitch That Stash Bee and a LA Traveling Quilt Bee.  To keep me from wondering what I have and haven't blogged about with regards to those, I will save all the block photos and post them at once for each.

But lastly, and the focus of today's post, are three mini quilts I have completed. I participated in the Schnitzel and Boo Instagram Mini Swap and boy was it fun. I ended up making 3 minis instead of one but all were enjoyable and I got to stretch my creative wings.   This was a blind swap so the recipients never know what they are getting until they get it.

First, the angel mini for a person who still hasn't received one (it may be in transit from AU or it may be lost, who knows?). She said Camille Roskelly was an inspiration and she seemed to favorite a lot of rainbow quilts.  So, being quite smitten with the swoon block myself, I made her a Rainbow Swoon. It took a minute to figure out the cutting and color placement but once I did, sewing it up was nice and easy. I liked it so much I had a hard time mailing it but her happiness in receiving it makes me happy in the end.

Second up, a mini for a gal that did not have a lot of quilty inspiration on her IG feed to help me figure something out.  I stalked her Flickr and Pinterest accounts and ran across an entire Pin Board devoted to Alice in Wonderland.  Not the Disney version either, but the more vintage looking Alice. That gave me some ideas about rabbit holes and quotes.   So I used the template pattern from my Rabbit quilt and made a black and white "hole". I hoped the color placement would give the visual effect of falling and gave a couple simple swirl quilting lines to aid in that effect.

Then I added 4 quotes but jumbled them all up so it's like a phrase search for the rest of the quote.  They read, "Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop."  "The hurrier I go, the behinder I get." "How long is forever? Sometimes, just one second." "You have to be half mad to dream me up." I called it "Alice's Jumbled Thoughts."

This was a fun one to make and very nerve-wracking.  I mean, what if that board was there for ideas for a friend's wedding shower or something?  Turns out, however, it was her board and she liked the mini and uniqueness of it all the more. Yes!

Last but not least was a mini that had me truly nervous about sending.  Again this person didn't have a lot of quilty inspiration on her IG feed but had some family posts and posts about her horses. She gave me a good idea of her likes on her sign up sheet and I sat to thinking about how to get her something more personal for her, I browsed her IG feed more closely.  I happened upon a nice shadow photo which she labeled "me and my shadow." A light bulb, I can make that. But how? How to make it look nice? Ahh, wonky strips of her favorite colors with the shadow overlaying it. Yep.  So I did it. Then sent it. Then stressed she wouldn't hate it or be disappointed.

Her response just served to remind me that when we listen to our hearts, we create quilts which truly touch people.  This is what she wrote when she posted her receipt, "possibly the most amazing thing anyone has ever made for me... another pic after I pull myself together." "I was hoping it was mine but hubs was skeptical saying the pose was so common it could be anyone (in response to a sneak peek I posted) with a horse so I talked myself out of it. I retired Gracie last year and it has been a very emotional thing for me, so this mini is particularly special."  I felt like I did something good and I love that feeling when I make a quilt. Yay!

The person who made for me was Eileen (IG: Luckycharm933635) and she hit it on the head! I love her paper-pieced creation with fussy cut fabrics and color choices.  How can this not make me happy, just look at it!

If you've never participated in a swap, consider it. If you are open to receiving whatever, you will probably enjoy it quite a bit.

Cheers!
Beck

Swoon Loving

My interpretation of the song Summer Loving from Grease? Check it out...

Swoonin loving, had me a blast

Swoonin loving, happened so fast

I saw a fabric perfect for me
Found a fabric cute as can be

Summer sun, something's begun
But, oh, oh, the summer nights

Well-a well-a well-a huh
Tell me more, tell me more
Was it love at first sight?
Tell me more, tell me more
Did the fabric piece right?

Well I will tell you more! I had been wanting to create a non-holiday kitchen wall quilt and struggled with what to create that would appeal to hubs while, at the same time, meet my desire for color and go with the kitchen design.  Finally,  it hit me. A swoon block from Camille Roskelley's Swoon Pattern.  

I started searching fabrics but couldn't decide which 2 out of the 4 star fabrics to use. I didn't quite have enough of one but found a substitute, can you see it? I ended up making 2 swoon minis and use one as a counter mat under my fruit and veggie bowls while the other is on the wall.

Wait, what does this have to do with Grease and Summer Loving? It's just that as I was sewing away, I couldn't stop singing this song. It was a pretty summer night and I thought I'd share.

Back to the story, I feel like these blocks come together fairly quickly and these two swoons didn't disappoint. I added a small border using the leftover triangles, then I grabbed one large backing and batting piece each, and loaded them up on the frame. I quilted the same design into both and now they are interchangeable. 

Wall or counter, it matters not! Maybe I better use up my fresh produce before it goes bad though, don't you think?

Cheers!

Becky