Quilt Angel...

Yesterday when I collected the mail for work I found a parcel box key...and a parcel to me! Uh, I haven't ordered anything lately (I usually have parcels delivered to the work PO Box).  It's from the USA...what? An Angel sent a parcel to make up for the lack of one from my swap partner in the Small Quilt Talk Small Quilt Swap from last year...how kind...and it's just lovely...

Thank you Quilt Angel whoever you are, it was a lovely surprise and I'm very grateful for your kindness.

Happy Stitching...

More Secret Sewing - SQT Small Quilt Swap 2018

Found in drafts...from July!...time it was updated and posted...the first time ever it wasn't a positive swap experience from my side as disappointingly I didn't receive anything in return and so the post was left to languish in drafts...
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I joined in again with the (was Yahoo Group now Groups.io) Small Quilt Talk annual Small Quilt Swap.  This is the wee quilt I sent...

(The day I finished it the sun was actually shinning and it wasn't raining

so I took it outside and pegged it on the yard fence)

Her interests included beach/water, outdoors/camping, travelling and music festivals so I tried to incorporate those with the little embroideries...she also liked scrappy and I love to play scrappy so that was fun...I didn't take a photo of the backing fabric but quite randomly in Spotlight I found a fabric that was printed with words relating to camping/the outdoors and woodland animals and that so fitted the bill...hand pieced and hand quilted with a variegated Auriful 28wt thread, I had planned big stitch quilting in 12wt thread but the big stitch look didn't do it for me so ditched that idea.

The whole package...

The quilt is about 18" square (I think maybe 18 1/2" - anyway somewhere in that vicinity)...

Happy Stitching...

SQT Small Quilt Swap 2017...

Small Quilt Swap time rolled around in Kathy Tracey's Small Quilt Talk yahoo group and I signed up again.  My swap partner this year was Cindy and she told me the colours she liked were red, grey, pink and beige...and she didn't have a favourite block or blocks...mmm...what to make, what to make???  Books, patterns, appealing to the Deity of Inspiration but still a niggle of mmmm....consulting the Gallery of Google and came across some drunkards path block quilts...Ah Ha!  I've had those templates for a Very Long Time including a 3" block (remember Small Quilt)...a bit of a mud map drawn up for the layout and off to the stash boxes to find fabric in the four preferred colours.

The end result...

I didn't realise until way too late - like the parcel had made its way to the USA -

that the photo is a bit blurry, darn.

We agreed to add some "extras" and while out and out I picked up a Natalie Bird pattern from Quilters Harvest in Warracknabeal (sadly the shop is retiring on 30 June) for a table runner and some fabrics as a starter kit for the pattern...along with making a pincushion (Leanne's House pattern) and a hexie mug mat/coaster...

The top was hand pieced except for machining the long seams to join the four rows. Quilting took on a challenge in that nothing worked so I ended up "ditching" around the meanders of the design (and didn't take a photo of the back which showed it up nicely - ejit!) and planned hand quilting detail wouldn't work either...sometimes you just have to accept it is going to be what it is going to be and put it in the mail!...

I was very excited when my parcel arrived from Cindy...ooohhhhh what deliciousness lies in that box (after getting over the Customs opened the box heart attack!)...This lovely little quilt...

Cindy added lovely extras...

Lucky me! Another fun Small Quilt Talk Swap...this group is the best...

Happy Stitching...

SQT Small Quilt Swap - Extra

Demi & I also chatted about extra goodies in the swap parcel and we were both of the same mind with that one as well...you've seen what Demi sent me as extras but what did I add to Demi's parcel?...I tried to include as much "Aussie" as I could...

A pincushion pattern of Karen Cunningham's using EPP hexies and squares immediately jumped to mind...I had just enough of a piece of "Melbourne" fabric to fussy cut the hexies...

the Arts Centre and trams on one side...

the Aussie flag on the other the other...

 

Demi had mentioned favourite colours including navy and brick red...red linen and an Ink & Spindle (a boutique screen printing team in Melbourne) fabric that has been waiting for years for its turn - perfect!

I had so much fun making the pincushion I stopped work on the quilt! Must make my own one...

Cottage Garden Threads, Darrel Lea lolly and a cute little magnet were wrapped in a fat quarter of fabric, there was a magazine too but it didn't make the photo shoot...I bought the magnet and fabric at Quilters Harvest in Warracknabeal and I got one of each for both of us so when I use the magnet and the fabric I will remember the swap, I think the fabric might go with the fabrics Demi sent me which would be great to use it all in the same project.

Anyway, I hope Demi enjoys the little extras...I had fun putting it together...

Happy Stitching...

 

Small Quilt Swap - Incoming...

I was sooooo spoilt by my partner Demi in the Small Quilt Talk small quilt swap...as I mentioned in the Outgoing post we decided on monochromatic with white/cream for our colour scheme, main colour chosen by the recipient - I chose aqua, then decided that was way too hard to find and changed it to duck egg blue.  Demi went all out to find my colour - she used paint chips to colour match fabric...

A closer look at the pretty fabrics...and handquilting...

Demi added a swag of extra goodies...especially reminiscent of her area of the United States, a really interesting part which would be amazing to visit I think...

All together now...

Love it all...thank you Demi...

Happy Stitching...