August Mini of the Month, and Swapping Minis

Originally I had lined up 3 mini quilt swaps for 2018. Not one of them has gone/is going according to plan, and that is fine. Life happens.
First up is my August mini for the Mini a Month SAL with Wendy (constantquilter blog). I made it for my swap with Randy.
Randy (barristersblock blog) and I had decided on a basket theme for this year (which we were originally going to complete in May or June), in repro fabrics and somewhere in the vicinity of 12" square. This is what I ended up making for her.

I think this finished at a little over 11" square. The baskets finish at 2", and the pieced sashing is 1" wide.
I had a really hard time settling on the final design of this quilt. Initially I made 9 baskets and in my mind I planned to place them on point with a scrappy variety of setting squares. But when I tested it out, I wasn't excited about the results.
These weren't necessarily the fabrics I would have used for setting squares. I just grabbed some random mini charm squares to try out the idea, once the basket blocks were made. But it didn't click.

Next I tried eliminating one basket (remember the one that didn't make the cut?), and using leftover bits of 1" wide bindings to simulate sashing.

Hmmm, the navy blue sashing seemed too intense for these blocks, but I couldn't find any other color I liked with them any better.
Then something came to my mind. A few years ago Pam Buda designed a quilt named Every Little Bit. It was published in the June 2015 American Patchwork & Quilting magazine. It is a churn dash design, but the "bar" section of the block is foundation pieced with tiny bits of fabric. It immediately grabbed me, and I have longed to make it, but have been afraid to start it. You can see her post about it here.
I wondered if those foundations from that design would work as sashings for my baskets. I dropped 3 more baskets, pulled in some 4-patches for the cornerstones, and I had found my design!

This gives you a better size perspective of the work when it was in progress.

I used a vintage looking muslin for the setting triangles, so I could quilt some feathers.

I find I get in the zone when I quilt feathers. What used to make me crazy now soothes my soul.

This is what Randy made for me. Isn't it sweet? And I really like the corner blocks--very clever. You can see Randy's post about it here.

It is based on a Lisa Bongean design, and aren't those fabrics pretty?
Love the wool basket in the center.

The funny thing is, Randy and I have not received our quilts from each other yet. We agreed to share photos of them with each other so that we could post our August minis before the month is over. :)



My first swap of this year was to be with my friend Kris (lavenderquilts blog). We had planned to swap sometime during the first quarter of the year, and I squeaked under the wire, getting mine to her just before I went under the knife for shoulder surgery the end of March. 
Well, Kris has been a bit busy, what with vending at quilt shows, and basically rebuilding the fixer-upper she and her brother live in. I wasn't worried. I knew she would get it done.
Today, out of the blue there was a package from her.
She knows how to do presentation. 

Underneath all that pretty wrapping I found these delights. Lovely fabrics in two colors Kris knows I love, some Aurifil thread (which she also knows I love), the new book of Quirky Little Quilts from Temecula (aren't you sneaky, Kris?), and her wonderful little swap quilt! A very generous package!
 
Look at those beautiful chains criss-crossing the quilt (I love chains), and notice the fussy-cut centers in the setting squares. This quilt is subtle, and it draws you in for a closer look at the details.

Kris is new to longarm quilting, and she has quilted a pretty floral pattern across the quilt.
My quilt to Kris was my March mini (which you have seen several times). You can find it here.
My final swap for this year is with Mary (quiltin'grandma's blog). It was supposed to be happening soon, but we have mutually agreed to postpone for now. 
My sewing room is currently serving as a guest room, but I prepped some handwork, if I should find the time. But right now it is all about family! It will be over all too soon!
Until next time,
Janet O.

A real hodge-podge (which pretty much describes my life this summer)

I don't think life can get much crazier or busier than it has been this summer. It seems that when I need the fabric therapy the most, I get precious little of it. I did FINALLY get the border sewn on this little basket wall hanging made from the scraps of one of Mom's quilts, and pieces of a favorite shirt of my Dad's. No name for it, as yet.

I actually started one of the three SALs for which I have been saving patterns. This is the Temecula Marvelous Mini Monday. The blocks are all supposed to have a border or two, and I haven't attached any of those yet. As you can probably tell, I have been digging into the Kansas Troubles scraps to create these. The little centers are 2" before they get their borders.

The organizing in my sewing room closet continues. I bought one more little thread holder. I prefer to piece and quilt with 100% cotton thread. Aurifil is my thread of choice, for both. However, the color selection is often too limited, So I end up buying a lot of Mettler thread. It is a tad thicker strand, and it is lintier than Aurifil, but the color selection is wider, so I often have to use it. Gutterman thread is even heavier than Mettler, but sometimes it has the color that I can't find in either of the other two threads. I don't like to use it on minis, because of the thickness of the strand, but sometimes I have to.

This week is the local downtown merchants' sidewalk sale. There were FQs for $1.50, and bolt fabrics that were $5 per yard.  I didn't NEED any of this, but was happy to bring home a yard each of some fabrics by Lisa Bongean, Jan Patek, Kim Diehl, Judie Rothermel, and a couple of others (I am too lazy to go read the selvages again).

Last week I failed to show this bundle of goodies that arrived from Sandi, on a very draining day in town helping my Mom. Such a smile maker! Thanks to you, Sandi. Fun things just kept coming from the box. : )

Opinion Time:

Still in search of that elusive center fabric for my mini Dresden quilt. You can click to enlarge these photos and tell me if this striped fabric works for you. If so, should the stripes go horizontally, vertically, or on the diagonal? The top two in each example are just the rough cut circle, while the other four have been starched around a "perfect Circle". What do you think?

I have sent off my last swap quilt of the summer to its new home in New Zealand. It will be a while before it reaches that shore, but when it does, I will share photos.

One last thing, I have added another update to my Tuffet Tute in my "pages" below my header photo. At the very end of the post there is a link to a free download of Carrie Nelson's Sweet Liberty Tuffets pincushion pattern (Miss Rosie's Quilt Co.). She says it is officially out of print now, so she offered it on the Moda blog a while back, and I have linked to that page.

Until next time,

Janet O.

They just keep comin'!

Three more finishes! I can hardly believe it! (Yes, the sewing has been a bit frenetic around here lately.)
Summer Stars is bound, and I realized I had never shared a good photo of the log cabin mini when it was bound. (It had been in a group "finished" shot earlier, but it was pretty covered by other little quilts.) Plus, the 9-patch leader/ender demanded completion.

Finish #15:  I have wanted to have this one finished for a long time now, but had been at a loss as to how to quilt it. I think my best solution for situations like that is to start the ditch stitching and let the inspiration flow as I handle the quilt.

Finish #14: (I know, it is out of order) Love the little log cabins. This is now at home on the mini ladder in my living room.

Finish #16: This little 9-patch was made from the leftover logs, chopped into squares. The photo on the right gives you a size perspective.

Of the quilts in my recently basted batch, I have only ditch stitched this quilt and marked most of it for FMQing.

I didn't plan to get this bunch done as quickly as the previous ones--too much else going on. Besides, I'm getting tired of figuring out how to quilt everything. There is only one more I'm sure of, and then I may stall a while.

After all of this "dark & dirty" stuff, I had an urge to do something Spring-ish, so I grabbed a bag I keep stuffed with some of the more pastel repros, and I went to work with the scraps, making 2" baskets. This was the result.  Oh, I just realized that this makes Finish #17!! (I'm a little slow on the uptake.)

Didn't turn out quite how I had hoped--I think I should have used narrower sashing. This sashing finishes at 1/2" and the quilt is just over 8" square. That is too much sashing for such a small quilt. Those are pretty small feathers, too, but not the smallest I have ever stitched.

Love those grandkids!

But even if I am not enamored with it, I think it still looks sweet in its new home for Spring. I am calling it "Easter Baskets". Real original, huh? : )

And while the pastel scraps were handy, I made a few more ornaments to hang on my Shaker peg rack for the season. All of the pastel ones I have made before have been gifted away. These still need their stuffing and fluffing, but that won't take long.

With all of the finishes I've had this year I've been hanging little quilts in new places and tucking them in previously empty corners. Maybe one of these days I will do a post of where all of these quilts are ending up.
But first I need to convince my friend Gayle to share her little quilts and rugs all over her home--it is so much cooler than mine! (Are you getting the message, Gayle?)
And now I think it is time I woke up "the beast"! : )
Until next time,
Janet O.

P.S. Thanks, Mary, for this lovely batik that surprised me in the mail! One of these days you will learn to love batiks and you will be sorry you sent them to me. *LOL*