Getting Back Into The Swing
All the way back in July I signed up to be apart of the The Easy Swap UK, that Nina over on BossyOz was hosting. The rules were fairly simple make whichever of the following you feel most comfortable with: Mini Quilt - 300 to 500 square inches, any shape
Zippered Pouch - any design but one zip must be at least 12"long or Tote Bag - to fit at least an A4 note book and to have at least one pocket. We had to fill in a questionnaire about colours, fabrics and designs we liked or were inspired by and things we would like avoided and then given a partner to make for.
This was my fabric selection for the mini, mostly bold Kono Solids as they best lent themselves to the Don't Call Me Betsy design I had chosen to make and casually threw in some modern funky prints just to mix it up a bit.
I have to say I didn't get off to a great start with this one, the first part which just so happens to be the middle section had me at a total loss when trying to get the last bit in!!
I when slightly off track and had to make some small adjustments to the pattern, but when it was all put together thankfully it couldn't be seen and made no difference to the overall design. After that it was plain sailing all the way, I know I am totally biased because paper piecing is just my most favourite thing, but having now tested out several of Elizabeth's patterns I honestly can not recommend them enough. The instructions are very clear and easy to follow, overall the designs come together quickly, there is so much scope to experiment with fabrics and the results are breathtaking.
There were a lot of different little sections that needed to come together, so like with many blocks the most time consuming aspect was cutting up all the squares and triangles, thankfully though with paper piecing accuracy of cutting is not essential!!
Originally the design had an orange and yellow star burst effect exploding from the middle, however as I was not using either of those colours I amended the fabric and colour placement to make it slightly more modern....well in my opinion anyway.
As a large block all the sections came together rather quickly and thankfully near enough all my points and seems matched up beautifully, if you're a regular reader you will know that I often struggle with matching up my points but that steady progress is being made. With the top all complete and measuring 24" squared, all that was left to do was back it, quilt it and bind it.
I absolutely loved making this mini quilt, the block has fast become one of my favourites and I will definitely be making it again, I have become a little bit obsessed (don't roll your eyes) with Medallion Quilts and this block might just become the centre of something I am planning.
As I said at the start of this post my mini arrived today from the person who was given me and what a fabulous job she did!! My most favourite colours Mint, Coral and Grey in my most favourite designer fabrics Tula Pink.
If you have been part of a this mini swap or another I would love to hear from you and see what you made and/or received.
Happy Quilting
Kerry xx
P.S In case you were curious everything is going wonderfully with my Special (squeal)
