Friday, August 25, 2017

A Swap, a Scrap, and a SAL

My third little quilt swap this year was one that went across the ocean. Raewyn  (stitchingfarmgirl blog) and I had set up a June swap, and then real life set in. We finally pulled it off this month. After our long day on the road for the eclipse on Monday, I came home to this little beauty in my mailbox.
 
Isn't it sweet?? Amazingly, Raewyn had made note of the fact that I love this pattern, and she made me one! And do you see there is purple in almost every block. This gal played to my heart!! Thanks so much, Raewyn! You know I love it!
And it looks good wherever it goes.











The dining room table is where it currently resides, and it makes me smile whenever I glance at it--or stare at it in wonder. 
The colors make me think of mixed berries.
But this little gem did not cross the ocean alone. It was in the company of several other small treasures.
From a towel trimmed with Kiwiana fabric (representing flowering trees that grow on their farmland), to a bundle of Australian wool, a few New Zealand souvenirs, and an incredible appliqued journal!
Isn't it incredible? Such beautiful work! This alone would have been worth the swap, but I received the quilt, too!!

Oh, something is missing from the photo above. There was another treat. Raewyn and I share the need to be gluten free, so I know I can trust treats she sends. Good stuff!


I feel privileged to have been a partner in this swap. Raewyn has been a good blog friend for many years. She is an incredibly hard working woman, and a very talented and creative quilter. If you aren't familiar with her blog, I encourage you to check it out! See her account of our swap here.

So what did I send Raewyn? Well, I am sorry to say that it wasn't based on a pattern or colors I knew she loved. I just had an idea in my head and ran with it. This is what came of it.
I don't even recall the size of the blocks. Maybe Reawyn can tell us--are the finished pinwheels 1" or 1 1/2"? (You can see in her comment below that they are 1 1/2"--the quilt is 12".)
You can see the quilting in this photo of it, pre-binding.

I named this "Wind Farm", and I just realized I never explained to Raewyn why it is named that. When the top was finished, and I was studying it to decide how to quilt it, I realized it made me think of those areas in the west where you see the large windmills dotting the land, generating power. And even the colors between the pinwheel blocks made me think of the land and sky. In fact, from where we "car camped" on our jaunt to see the total eclipse, you could see just such a sight. At night there were red lights that flashed on and off on the windmills. That could account for the red in the pinwheel blocks. :)
So, there you have the swap. Now for the scrap.
When I put out a call a couple of posts ago, asking if anyone had a piece of the green fabric I needed to finish the sashing on my Love Thy Neighbor quilt, Barbara (myjoyfuljourney blog) responded immediately that she had a 5" piece among her scraps that she would be happy to send me. (If you don't know who Barbara is, you should! See an interview with her for The Quilt Show here.)
I calculated that with the piece she would send I would be able to cut 5 more sashings, and with my scraps and the leftovers from her piece, I could piece together the remaining 3 sashings. I often do the "humble piecing" thing, but it is more obvious on minis, so I avoid it on them if I can. But this is not a show piece (who am I kidding--I have NEVER entered a show), so I was happy to piece the last three sashings, if need be.
Then I heard from Eileen (no blog), and she will be sending along another piece that will enable me to complete the last three sashings without the need to piece them. WooHoo! Thank you to you both! You saved the day for me! Don't we always say it? Quilters are the best!

And finally, the SAL--Temecula's Marvelous Mini Monday. I had really expected  the layout last Monday, but what do I know? We got another block, with the promise of the finish next week. 
I made one of the block, and realized there was no contrast, so I made another. Pretty obvious which is which.

Now we have 20 blocks, which is a much more workable number (excuse the glare from the overhead light).
 
Of course, I had to play with layout possibilities.

If it turns out that I am not head-over-heels for the final layout, I think I know where I will go with this one. I'll make 5 more blocks, and I may or may not set it on point. We'll see.

Oh, wow. Another long, rambling post--and I am not finished yet. As to the scraps I offered, there were a dozen of you interested, so I dug up more scraps, and drew 3 names. Vic, mangozz, and Nancy, you will each receive a small bundle of scraps. I need addresses from mangozz and Nancy. It may be Monday  before I can get to town and pop these in the mail.

Until next time,
Janet O.

p.s. I just have to say that Blogger was giving me fits as I wrote this post. Whatever I typed would NOT stay in place. The words were dancing back and forth, and up and down. I have never experienced this before. Drove me nuts! I almost deleted the whole thing and walked away. Anyone else experience this?

25 comments:

  1. Janet, I just LOVE the quilt you received from Australia. That is a pattern I've been wanting to make as well! And all those goodies!! And I also love the windmills you sent. I know the scene you are describing very well. They are all over Central California.
    Your Monday Minis are looking great. I think your setting is adorable. Maybe make more of those 49-patches!! @#$@#$#@
    Sorry i couldn't help you with the green. Sounds like you found lots of other resources.
    Hope you have a great weekend!!

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  2. What a fun swap. I love the design of the one you received and her colors were so thoughtful It's so cute. The quilt you made is beautiful. Everything compliments each other and I can feel the motion in the quilt. So glad you could find some of the green fabric. It's funny but when I find something that hits all the right buttons, nothing else will do. Like you, I might do a shout-out for a fabric for one of my quilts. I love it but I only have a yard and am continually looking for something like it.

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  3. Lovely swap quilts, so nice to get a cute mini, but even better when it is in the colours you like and a favorite pattern.

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  4. Gorgeous swap gifts from Raewyn there Janet. I have had the pleasure of meeting Raewyn before & she is such a lovely person. Love all your mini's & so pleased you were able to track down some of that fabric you needed. Happy Weekend Janet.

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  5. Girl, you got some real goodies, didn't you? I'm sure you will enjoy them all! Your little blocks are looking really good. It will be fun to see how you finally get them put together. Have fun with them. ---"Love"

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  6. Oh Janet - Both swap projects are totally delightful! How lucky that the two of you were the perfect match! So glad you will be receiving enough fabric to finish the sashing on your quilt - quilters ARE the best!

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  7. Your Wind Farm mini is beautiful! And the quilting!!! Wow!! Raewyn's mini is stunning as well!! A heartfelt gift or sure! I have also been participating in Temecula's Marvelous Mini Monday quilt along- love your blocks!

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  8. Wow, your Wind Farm quilt is the perfect depiction of those ginormous wind farms dotting the western and midwestern landscape! We could hardly believe how many of them there were as we traveled across the country a couple years ago. Raewen's little quilt is a beauty as well. So happy that the needed pieces of that green fabric have been found so you can complete Love Thy Neighbor. Quilt bloggers are good and loving neighbors aren't they?

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  9. wow....both swaps are sooo pretty.....can't decide which i like best....glad you got the green you needed....and those tiny temecula blocks are super...right up your quilting alley!

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  10. Another good swap for you. I know you enjoy them. Your quilting is superb. I can really see it on the border of the quilt you made.

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  11. Great Swap once again. Cool to get stuff from far, far away. Glad someone else had the green fabric for the finish. Love the mini Album block quilt in Purples. They Windmills are located on Wind Farms, perfect name for your quilt. I made 6" hearts from that Temecula idea.

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  12. What a fabulous gift Raewyn made you! She makes such beautiful things. I bet the edible goodies didn't last long! Love the piece you made her, fabulous quilting!! Your houses and mini heart piece is rather sweet. The Marvelous MIni Monday blocks are so you and so cute! Blogger is either your best friend or someone who drives you CRAZY!! Kiwi hugsxx

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  13. Oh, my gosh, I LOVE the quilt Raewyn swapped with you!! A very, very happy quilt!! And a whole box of goodies from overseas - what a special treat!! And the quilt you sent her is just fun, especially with the explanation of why it is called Wind Farm!! Yup, and your Mini Monday SAL will be great with 5 more blocks!!

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  14. Great goodies there! Perfect mini made for you. Love your pinwheels gift for her. So glad you found/got/were gifted the green fabric you needed....those gals are great!

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  15. Oh my! What a beautiful little quilt you received in the swap. The one you made for her is gorgeous, too! You've been busy stitching away! I'm happy for you that you have enough green fabric now!

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  16. What a wonderful swap~ on both sides. You got a lot of fun goodies and a such a cute quilt! The quilt you sent to her was wonderful - the quilting was beautiful.
    I'm so glad you will got the green you needed!
    Your blocks are coming along great and it is fun to see them in different layouts.
    sorry to hear about your blogging troubles - that is so so frustrating! Isn't mercury in retrograde again?

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  17. What beautiful swap quilts. You both got a great quilt. I love all your projects. Hugs

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  18. Fabulous swap quilts and I love your blocks for the sew along. too! No problems for me on blogger so I don't know what happened to you!

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  19. Wow! What a wonderful swap for both sides. You each do such beautiful work. I love the quilting you did on the border. Quilters are wonderful and it's amazing what can be found in amongst the scraps.

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  20. It's so lovely to see the mini (and goodies) at your place Janet - and thank you for your warm words :-) I love the explanation oabout the naming of the mini you sent me - and the pinwheels finish at 1 1/2" square - perfect! I'm so pleased you found some more green, you'll be speeding along with that project now! Your Temecula blogs look great, I do like your possible layout and it will be interesting to see what the final one is! PS I finally got my blogpost written :-)

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  21. good to have found your bog popped over from Raewyn`s I have followed her for a good while now. 2 wonderful swaps you both made real beauties so admire mini quilt makers

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  22. I absolutely love both of those swap quilts!!!

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  23. Wow, what nice gifts and a beautiful quilt and quilted journal cover you received. Raewyn is very generous. But then, looking at Raewyn's post, so are you. Love those little Temacula blocks. It will be fun to see what you do with them. Thank you for choosing my name for the scraps. I'll send you an email with my address.

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  24. What a lovely package to receive from Raewyn! I love Wind Farm...especially the feathered border :)

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  25. Yes to the dancing words while typing-- I have been plagued by this lately; what's up with that? Your swap was amazing... both the gift sent (LOVE, LOVE, LOVE everything about "Wind Farm") and ones received! Precious and lovely. Your scrap quilt plea is one more story of how fellow quilters are among the very best, it is precious. I have taken a break for SAL's as I feel that I can't keep up and then I must admit defeat; I do love yours and those alternate 49 patch (!) blocks are simply terrific in the overall layout.

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