DQS11 Sent/Received!

I've been waiting forever to post this!! Here's the full story about the quilt I made for the eleventh round of the Doll Quilt Swap on flickr. I posted a while ago about the lovely quilt I received form Carol/Mamacjt, but now it's time to do a full reveal of the quilt that I made!

This post has been a long time coming, you see I mailed my quilt about a month ago - then promptly lost the tracking code slip. I freaked out about it for a little while until one of the swap mamas sent me a note to let me know that my partner had moved during the swap so her neighbor (at her old place) would be collecting the mail and forwarding it to her.

I still checked nearly every day to see if she had received it.

In the meantime I was also continuing to stalk my partner's blog. The worst thing happened, she has fallen ill and man it's just such a rough world you know? So I really wanted to cheer her up - and kept wishing more and more that she'd get the quilt and it'd at least be a little lift to her spirits. I commented on her blog post and we've emailed back and forth a couple times... all the while hoping she wouldn't put two and two together.... lol.

So she received it today!!!! The sweet little quilt that kinda stole my heart to send away - was sent to.... Maria / Mollyjolly!!! I'm so glad that she liked.it! I had looked at her mosaic for the swap and decided to try (for the first time) the new york beauty block... but I shrunk it down about 75%. I couldn't leave well enough alone right? It turns out I pretty much love that block! They are a heck of a lot of work for one 4" little block so it ended up being a label block for the back. I really fell for it.

For the front I was completely inspired by this quilt. I love the offcenteredness of a chunk of blocks. I wanted to go with subdued, gentle, pretty colors. So I weeded through my stash and scraps and was really impressed at how I actually was able to achieve that palate (though I almost never work with it!). I paper pieced the string blocks I think they ended up 2" finished? Maybe 2.5".

I added some hand stitching throughout and quilted it densely with lines about 1/4" apart. I tried to bind it a bit differently - using slightly longer visible stitches instead of the invisible ones I usually use. Note to self: it's actually a lot more work/time consuming/irritating to try to go through three layers of fabric (but not the front). In the end those stitches were pretty darling and totally worth it.... but never will I do that on a big quilt!!

Sigh. :) This quilt made me smile a lot. I actually waited until the last day to send it -- so that I could enjoy it a bit too! :) I'm so glad that it's finally in the hands of it's new owner and that I feel like I've made another bloggy friend. Long live DQS!

Linked up at Fabric Tuesday!

I'm the luckiest Doll Quilt Swapper!

Check this out!! Here's the package I received last week from Carol / Mamacjt. She makes the most amazing little quilts and this one is perfection! Check out that tiny pieced  border and all those french knots! She also sent a sweet handmade doll for Allie and a stack of amazing FQ's! I can't believe how generous she was! This   is really such a sweet quilt - it'll be hung next to my bulletin board in my sewing room! :) Oh and by the way Carol, Allie got a HUGE kick out of the candy necklace! She'd never had one before!

***

My DQS11 partner should be getting her package any moment now... I hope! So here's what happened. I mailed the package off last week (on the last mailing day at that), did the whole tracking code thing etc - threw the receipt in my purse. 

Flash forward to Saturday night at about 3am to me walking into the room to find Allie with a lollipop in her mouth, gum wrappers all around, and every single thing from my purse all over the floor (yeah this big girl bed thing is really trying). Not a big deal right? Well... also in the mix of crap on the floor from my purse was a package of size 13 hearing aid batteries - opened and missing a couple. Did I know if the package was full to begin with? No. Allie kept telling us, "I eat the batteries." Ugh. In case you guys don't know eating batteries could be pretty bad. We called the "Swallowed Battery Hot line" (yes there is  such a thing, and a real live person answered on the first ring). We were instructed to head right to the ER for an X-ray. Luckily the place wasn't busy and we got right in. No, she didn't swallow any batteries. Thank God! 

So in the haste of throwing the contents of my purse back in - I threw away a handful of papers and stuff, receipts etc. The tracking code was thrown away. AHH! I do hope it gets there soon because I'm worried about it! I am trying to take heart that I did put it in a ziploc with a paper that said, "if lost or damaged please return to:" with my partner's name and address. Cross your fingers! lol. 

CMQG meeting, etc...

Sunday was a busy sewing day! We had our July meeting of the Chicago Modern Quilt Guild. It was a sew-in which was pretty nice since most of us had hand work with us to do - it ended up being almost all of us around one table chatting and sewing. Sweet!

At the meeting we got to see everyone's mug rugs from the swap - it was pretty impressive! It was nice to get feedback about mine too. I'm always amazed when these ladies like my stuff... my style is much different than some of theirs and they've been at it for much longer than I. Such a great group! 

I decided to give away my "fish baby" quilt. My friend Alexandra is pregnant and due in a couple months... they're having a boy and that quilt is so cool and really boy-ish (as boy-ish as my quilts get). I did some bits of embroidery on it to make it a little bit more special for them.

At the meeting I had help from the other Emily - in choosing a binding fabric for my DQS11 quilt. Yes, I'm ready to bind it already! After the meeting I added a couple little borders of hand stitching too. I love it! :)

On a whim this evening (about...11:00pm?) my husband informed me that he accidentally told a friend that I was making their baby a quilt (I had made a little tag blanket and toy... but not a quilt...yet). So I decided to see what I could come up with on short notice (I don't really have a fabric stash... meaning I don't have many fabrics that I have even a full half yard of... let alone boy fabrics!). So I went with it. Thanks to my pinterest board for baby quilts I didn't have to think much before deciding on one to make. I finished the quilt top a bit ago... (took maybe an hour or so?).

One more point of business. I purchased some fabrics from our sale table at the guild meeting (everyone brings their cast offs and then we purchase fabrics that others didn't want - the proceeds go to the guild fund).. The fabrics were maybe considered "scraps" but I saw a use for them... I've bundled up part of them to be a little fat eighths bundle for you (a giveaway) and the rest are bundled for my niece for her birthday! More on that later - stay tuned!

Without Obligation.

I need to keep resisting the urge to share only finished projects. This place is mine, and my followers are just a bonus --- I don't want to feel obligated to be perfect. Which I certainly don't think my readers are expecting me to be perfect, but sometimes my own thoughts keep me from sharing more of the process.

With that being said, here's a little tiny thing that I tried out a couple nights ago. I was inspired by my DQS11 partner's fav's and also by the resounding "we'd like to see you suffer and make those really tiny" that I got in response to the post of my sketches. I tried the "new york beauty" block for the first time... yes... the first time ever, and I decided to reduce it down by 75%! That's right, this block finished at a mere 4" total!!

It was challenging, but I don't think it was all that much more challenging than the block would have been at regular size. It's paper pieced so that's great. The hardest part was sewing the curved inside and outside parts - since that's my first non-free/wonky curved piecing! Really that was only hard because my presser foot is so huge that it was hard to keep those tiny pieces under there straight (without sewing my fingers!).

I see myself making maybe one or two more of these - this one isn't for my DQS11 partner since I don't think she would appreciate my "in your face" color palate. :) She'll get one that's prettier and more spring colors!

DQS11!!

I'm in!

I've been waiting all week for partner assignments to be sent (today)... and I'm in! For those of you who aren't familiar, I'm talking about the Doll Quilt Swap on flickr. Since they have so many people sign up, a lottery is held to determine who gets to play each round. This will be my third round with DQS and it's by far the most amazing swap group ever! Everyone is very friendly and talkative and most of all - creative! 

Sketches of possibilities. That top left one is a triangle shape quilt.

I wasted no time this morning - I stalked my partner to seek out his/her likes and dislikes. I think I have a good start. I drew up a bunch of options to put out there (see if she bites on any of them). Then I stitched up a little practice (which will eventually go into my Scrappy Tiny Fun quilt). 

String blocks, paper pieced, unfinished 3" square, finished 2.5"

Since I've already blogged about my likes etc for my partner I won't go into that now. I'll keep talking about my ideas for my partner. This sample once again, is not at all in the colors that I'm planning on working with (I'm thinking lighter and pinks and such - very spring) -- unless he/she speaks up and says that these colors are what he/she wants!

Next up, a trial of a new york beauties block - in miniature (I'm hoping I can pull it off in 4" or 5" ... I'm not sure but it might work! It's a pretty huge challenge though since I've never even made a new york beauties block.... lol. It may end up as one tiny one for the label. But wouldn't it be cool to see 6 or 9 of those in tiny? We'll see! :)

DQS11 Hopeful...

Inspiration mosaic for DQS11

We won't find out if we're in or not until the 8th. The revision of the rules states that the doll quilt must be pieced and include at least 6 blocks (so not an art quilt). The quilts are to be 9" square - 18" square or anywhere between. This is exactly what I love - tiny piecing! I really hope I get in. This swap is chosen by lottery... so there are no guarantees. I'd love to get started though! Cross your fingers for me!!

For my potential partner, here's a breakdown of my current loves.
I like saturated colors of the likes of AMH, Tula Pink, and Echino (although really anything in that color style). I love grey. Light grey, dark grey and everything in between. I like tiny (this swap should be perfect!) I'd love the thought of a moderately simple block repeated in tiny tiny... or bold. Feel free to play with free piecing methods (the triangles and the curves there) as well as gees bend inspired (i love the thought of corduroy added in like the quilts of gees bend often had) I love words or text in any way - pieced, free motion quilted, or even embroidered. The quilt will likely live on my studio wall. :) Have fun and do what you love!