Friday, July 4, 2014

gravity - a mini quilt swap

Back in the May, I joined a project called the Schnitzel and Boo mini quilt swap. I have never done anything like this before and was intrigued. The photos of the previous round looked great. The thought of making a mini for someone I had never met, designed just for them, was the sort of challenge I couldn't resist.

If you follow me on Instagram, you'll be sick of seeing this quilt. But I wanted it documented, so here you go.


The quilt is still in transit, but don't worry, no spoilers here. I'll update later when the person receives it, hopefully with a picture.

After some careful studying of my unsuspecting recipient, I decided to go with a modern, clean-lined design, using cool blues and limes on a warm grey. I love grey as a background. It's a recurring thing.

I designed a pattern of five flying geese constructed out of half square triangles, three green based and two blue based. The lighter parts of the squares are low volume fabrics. Most of this was generated from scraps, which feels awesome. Oone or two prints as well as the grey were from my stash.


The simplicity of the design and the my study of the recipient called for some serious fun in the quilting department. This is my first time trying "matchstick quilting" after admiring it on several other quilts recently. It's like painting with thread. I love it.



I used a couple different weights and six different colors. 



I like how the backing turned out too.


And I even made quilt hangers and labels. (My least favorite task.)


Its name is 'gravity', a play on the flying geese and the movement in the thread.

Needless to say, I had a really hard time parting with it on Monday. I hope it's new owner loves it as I so loved making it for them.


I forgot to measure it post quilting, but before I started it measured 22.5" x 26". (I'm pretty sure it lost some width and height due to the quilting.)

Linking up for finish it up Friday with Amanda Jean

12 comments:

  1. I've been seeing matchstick quilting around, and while I love the effect, I DO NOT see me having the patience for it. I barely got through my last quilt, quilting every 1/2" to 3/4". Do you do this with a longarm or with a walking foot?

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    1. I wish I had a longarm. I use a walking foot. This quilt was a mini, so it was ok. I can see how a large quilt would be extremely difficult.

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  2. This is beautiful! I love all the thread colors in your quilting.

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  3. I have a longarm and find it really difficult to keep my match stick quilting rows evenly spaced- you did a great job on your domestic machine! Love the coloured threads too, I will have to try this next time!

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  4. visiting from crazy mum quilts. I love love this. The colours, the intense quilting. What an amazing project

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  5. beautiful! The recipient is sure to adore it!

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  6. Love all the details and care you put into this, it's stunning.

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  7. Beautiful...great colors and quilting.

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  8. Beautifully made; I especially like how you introduced colour into the gray by using different threads. It's still gray, but shimmering.

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  9. This is SO cool. I really like your designs. You've got a great aesthetic, and I'm excited to keep looking through your blog! Cheers!

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