Doll Quilt Swap 7 Finished!

After searching my partner's website, I decided to use a traditional nine patch pattern and Civil War reproduction fabrics to make my project. I'm not sure why I've never used a charm pack before, but I found this packet at my local quilt shop and it looked like something my partner might enjoy.

I bought an extra yard of two coordinating fabrics for the backing and the border. After I laid out the charm squares, I began to understand why so many women enjoy using these pre-selected packets. All the tones of the fabrics blended together giving it a more professional look.

I cut each charm square into nine, 1 1/2 inch mini-squares.
Then I laid out the fabrics using lights and darks as in the photos pictured below.

I sewed the nine patch blocks using a regualr 1/4 in seam. It kept me on my toes to not sew over my fingers! I don't believe I've ever sewed anything so small, but it actually worked pretty well once I got the hang of it. Once the patches were sewed I laid the blocks out into a pattern for the quilt. I felt it needed something extra, so I used the half-square triangles in the corner to add a little character, and a pineapple paper piecing block in the center. If you would like to try this, you can find a free pattern online by Carol Coski.

Here is the finished product.....

....and a close up of the quilting.

For the back, I made an extra pineapple block, and made a quilt label which is hidden under the white piece of paper to protect our identity.



As I was looking at the fabrics that were left from this project, I noticed the selvege edge with the manufacturer's name. Just for fun I included that strip on the back of the quilt. Hope you enjoyed reading about my little project, and hopefully once this is received by my partner, I can add a few more photos.