My quilting thoughts and inspirations sprinkled with a glimpse of life down on the farm

Sunday, August 27, 2017

A Mini Swap and a Show and Tell

I was thrilled earlier this year when Janet of rogue quilter invited me to swap with her...I've admired her work and her blog for some time and we both have a love of teeny tiny projects.
How exciting it was when the BIG day arrived - we'd each received our parcels - and we could open them!
The rules of the swap were simple - the quilt had to be under 18" square - beyond that it was creative license to do what we liked and create something we hoped the other person would enjoy.
What a thrill it was to open Janet's package - it truely was a heartsinging moment - wow!!
Don't forget this is a mini - it's actually only 12" square!
Look at those tiny pieced pin wheels!
Janet's workmanship is exquisite! Love love love :-)
Just to show you the scale of things!!!
But wait, there's more - also in the package was this gorgeous pin cushion!!
Plus some mini-charms and a tumbler template, wee pin cushion kit, and a delicious cake-in-a-cup mix!
Janet also popped in some green scraps after I mentioned once that I didnt
have much variety in my greens!
Thank you so much Janet, this was a fabulous swap. I so enjoyed it, it was fun making for you and an honour to have your goodies in my home ♥

In my rush to post my package (yes I was running late!!!) I nearly forgot to get out my camera but I did remember at the last minute!
In exchange I made Janet this Granny Squares mini. I had picked up that this was one design she wanted to make but hadn't yet - 
This one finishes at 18" square.
I felt it really needed sashing -  joining the blocks would have been very
messy  - but to keep it under 18 " meant it had to be extra narrow!!
Last year Janet very kindly sent me a copy of a mini quilts magazine which I hadn't been able to get hold of, so I decided she needed a little something extra. I put together this notebook for her.

And I couldn't post something from New Zealand without a kiwiana
decorated handtowel.
Janet has written about our swap adventures *here*. If you don't know her blog, do visit..it is always an enjoyable and inspiring read.

There was more excitement this week when we had our show and tell at The Country Yard for our Friday's Village QAL. This was Moda's Be My Neighbour which we adapted to include wee pieces of challenge fabrics that needed to be included in each block.
I apologise for the poor photographs. We have too many workbenches and pieces of furniture - so it's difficult to see the whole quilts.
Three of the quilts have been quilted; the rest were tops. (And a couple of people haven't go their's completed yet).
Five of them...

...another two ( the one on the right is also in the top photo)
And one on another wall.
It was amazing to see how different they all looked, and how the challenge fabrics worked with different combinations of colours, etc.
I took a few quick closeups to show the different border treatments.
Kerryn on the left and Nancy on the right.
Kerryn's birds flew off her quilt and ended up on Nancy's :-)
Ngaire on the left and Bernice on the right.
Ngaire added lots of extra applique - flowers and cats. Her's was quilted,
look how she cut the corners off!
Noeline enhanced hers with some stitchery.
And came up with a different border treatment.
Liz did some fun fussy cutting for her windows.
Inthia's was given a cheery finish with the wee squares in her border and a
totally scrappy binding.

I previously talked about mine *here*. The quilting isn't finished yet but I've
made a great start!
So this week has had some good highlights!!
And a roast and the rugby (yaay go the All Blacks, whew!) at our daughter's last night was a great way to round off Saturday.
I've finished my outside jobs for this morning already and the weather's looking a bit grim....might be time to get some sewing out, I think!
Happy stitches,
 

24 comments:

  1. lovely work to all of you with those gorgeous house quilts and I love the mini you got and the one you made.... I really struggle with tidy points corners on tiny quilts and thsoe all look perfect.

    Do you use rulers for your circle quilting and lots of stop starts?

    Hugz

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  2. what nice quilts that you show and I love the mini's those are super cool

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  3. Both yours and Janet's mini work is beautiful and so precise! How lovely to swap between friends. Thanks for sharing the Be My Neighbour quilts. I didn't have time to participate, but our guild did this as well and we get to see all the masterpieces next month. It is fascinating to me how each maker gives her quilt a different look and feel.

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  4. And now I don't need to make a Granny Squares quilt, because I have a beauty!
    What a fun swap! You were very generous and thoughtful and I still haven't stopped grinning when I look at the quilt and journal. Treats were yummy, too.
    Thanks for all the good things you had to say about your package. It was fun to put things together with you in mind.
    The display of quilts is fascinating. I really enjoy seeing the same pattern interpreted a variety of ways. I especially like the border of tiny squares, but you probably knew I would. :)

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  5. What a fantastic swap Raewyn, both of your quilts are beautiful! I can not begin to imagine sewing those tiny bits together!! You are both super clever ladies. Love the show and tell, it is always interesting to see how different people make the same quilt. Enjoyed some of the Rugby last night, was a nail biter!!

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  6. Cute minis. I can barely get a 12 inch pinwheel points to come together nicely, and seeing those is awesome. Gorgeous quilts. Love how each person made them their own.

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  7. two great swap so admire mini quilts and both these are wonderful, they are something way beyond me.Other swap pieces are lovely too. Will pop over and check out the blog. Good to see so many good neighbour quits really will have to have a go at it as all is downloaded, did you work out how much background is needed as Pat Sloan says it takes 6 metres and I think it was you who said that was incorrect.

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  8. The mini quilt is beautiful - such tiny pieces and I love the one you made for Janet, such lovely fabrics. A great swap and I shall definitely head over to Janet's blog. The house quilts have all turned out well - what a great show and tell. xx

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  9. Hi Raewyn ,wow such an awesome swap,boy such tiny perfect workmanship,you have both done some beautiful work there,love your house blocks,well done xx

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  10. Both are fabulous....lots of wonderful show and tell ❤️❤️

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  11. A beautiful swap and also the shown tops like me very much.
    Sincerely Steffi

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  12. The swaps are amazing. You both have a lot of patience to work with those tiny pieces.
    Thanks for sharing the photos of the village quilts, too. I enjoy seeing the variations made by each person in their quilt.

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  13. I love both the mini's in your swap! Terrific little quilts. The show and tell neighborhood quilts are truly wonderful. It really is amazing how different they all look. Happy to hear the outside chores are done and you are getting some sewing time in!

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  14. It's wonderful to see how different a quilt can look once each person adds their own fabrics and little touches.

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  15. Such gorgeous mini' sent and received! So beautiful..
    Love all the qal display. Great t see how others use favpbric and styles to complete their tops...
    Well done it you all!

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  16. What a fabulous goodie bag Raewyn, and your quilt from Janet is gorgeous. I also loved the little quilt you sent her. It is a favourite block of mine. I really enjoy participating in little quilt swaps, and am involved in one every year, with quilters in USA. Thanks for giving us Janets blog address. I will follow her also! :-)

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  17. Your goodie bag exchange with Janet had some beauties in there, I love both the mini quilts exchanged. A great collection of quilts for the show and tell, each one having a different look depending on the choice of fabrics.

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  18. My goodness, what an excellent swap for both of you, some lovely treasures there! And so small! I don't do "small" very well, but can certainly appreciate all the work involved. And isn't it great to see such variety from the one pattern, I love them all!

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  19. Aha... I see what you mean! The Friday village houses are very special - I saw Inthia sewing all those little squares for her border at the last Saturday sewing day. Great to see how they all came together so differently.

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  20. You couldn't have a better swap partner. Both quilts are so special. How lucky we are to have out quilty friends!

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  21. What a beautiful swap for both of you. Not sure if I would enjoy making one as tiny as the one you received with all those pieces.

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  22. Both mini quilts are gorgeous, Raewyn. What a wonderful swap.

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  23. The minis are so pretty.

    The neighborhood quilts are also fantastic. It is fun to see how different they are.

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  24. Two very lucky swap partners! Fun, fun neighborhoods!

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