Saturday, September 12, 2009

It's Here! How lucky am I?

Look what arrived in the mail yesterday! How lucky am I? This project was made by Caryn, who saw a post I made about a doll quilt designed by Terri. The details are just lovely Caryn, and it will match perfectly in my family room. I haven't decided if I will use it on my oak coffee table, or will try to hang it on the wall....but I totally love it and will find a place of honor for it in my home!


In addition to the lovely quilt, Caryn also sent some extra goodies. How thoughtful! The packet of air freshner smells soooo nice, and I love the little scissor fob that she made for me. I have to confess that I currently spend much of my time traveling and working...and I just may end up attaching this to my laptop bag...to bring me a smile during my hours away from home.
Thanks for everything Caryn!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

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.