And it's off!

Doll Quilt Swap III by Wendy
Originally uploaded by On a Whim | LittleWhimsies

Well, I did it. I finished my second little swap quilt in a month and just in time for the deadline! I'm off to mail it, far, far away. I hope it flies quickly so my partner doesn't have to wait too long. And I hope she likes it. It is very pastel-ish. It was fun to make. I bought a stack of Kaffe Fassett squares from Ebay awhile ago and have been afraid to use them. The large patterns and strong colors scare me a bit. Anyway, I thought they would work well in the Disappearing Nine Patch pattern, with a couple solids and a stripe. It went together very quickly. Quilting by hand took a little longer, but I'm pleased with the result. And I still have an enormous stack of those charms left, so I think I'll be experimenting some more to see how I can use them up!

Now I have to get busy sewing for Etsy. And I've been commissioned to make a T-shirt quilt. School will be over in no time and I'm beginning to panic (like I always do) that I will never get all my projects finished before school's out for the summer. So I'm off to sort out my sewing space right after I get back from the post office.

Bye Bye little quilt! Have a safe and speedy journey!

Spring Four Seasons Swap Quilt hangin' out in the magnolia tree

Spring Four Seasons Swap Quilt hangin' out in the magnolia tree
Originally uploaded by On a Whim | LittleWhimsies

Well, it's finally finished! It's been almost done for more than a week, just waiting for me to sit down and put the final stitches in. I always forget how busy this time of year is! I'll be mailing this one off on it's long journey tomorrow. I hate to see this one go, but it was lots of fun to make. I've got the Doll Quilt Swap III quilt all pieced; it needs a border. Then quilting, binding, etc. I'll get a photo of that one up as soon as the border is on.

I haven't posted since the quilt show in Chicago. I enjoyed the day there very much. So many lovely quilts... lots of inspiration there. How I wish my machine quilting skills were better! I did buy some fabric, not too much though and only a couple of patterns. I find I like to design my own quilts these days.

Happy quilting!

A Week Later...

And I've decided to finish my spring swap quilt as is. Thanks to everyone who left comments here and over on Flickr. I tried everything. I cut swatches of the various fabrics I was considering to cover the darker yellow and left it out on my sewing table. Every time I went by the door, I looked in to see if I liked the "current" combo any better than the yellow. Well, none of them grabbed me. I think I like the yellow; it's just different from what I usually do and it has taken some time to grow on me. So, after finishing my taxes (UGH!) I went back and started quilting and very quickly ran out of the green thread I was using. So, I'm off to JoAnn's in the morning to re-stock and then I will get this one done. I want to get the binding on by Friday; we have a car trip this weekend and I'll be able to finish the binding in the car. Still on schedule to mail by the 15th! Yay!!

And I'm so excited about the trip this weekend. I've convinced my husband that a trip to Chicago is a really great idea. Well, it is...especially when there is a quilt show in town! Never mind that it is supposed to snow(!!??) It has been so long since I've been to a good show. I've been to Houston a couple of times -- a real treat. I know this is a bit smaller, but the quilts will be there and the shopping! I'll have to be good and not spend too much, but I get such a thrill out of being in the midst of quilters and quilt stuff--I know it will be wonderful.

I've got another little quilt in the works. I've joined Round 3 of the Doll Quilt Swap. I'm going for something simpler this time, that maybe will be suited to handquilting. I've got a bunch of 4" Kaffe Fassett squares that I'm playing with. The color and patterns are very bold and a bit out of my comfort zone, but very pretty. I need a couple of solids and maybe a stripe to calm it down a little. Maybe I'll get it together and take it along to quilt in the car. I've got 5 hours up and 5 hours back and I really dislike sitting and not doing something while I sit. I've got some other things I have to do before the weekend, but I'll try to get this one done as well.

Can't wait to see more quilts up on Flickr! Happy Quilting Everyone!

Spring Quilt Needs Help!!

Spring Quilt Needs Help!!
Originally uploaded by On a Whim | LittleWhimsies

My almost completed doll quilt for the Spring Four Season Quilt Swap. I ran into a bit of trouble with the borders and need a little help. I want the quilt to be a rectangle, with asymmetrical borders. The HSTs were supposed to continue across the top and bottom outer borders, but when I put the 1/2 inch dark purple border in (it wasn't originally supposed to be there but I didn't like the pieced border against the pieced center) the math got messed up. So I think it can still work, but the yellow might be too soft.



These fabrics can be used for the darker yellow pieces in the outer border. I'm thinking one of the purples, or darker greens. I'm thinking I'll use the striped fabric to make the bias binding. I was just zipping right along until I realized the measurements weren't coming out. DH just doesn't have an opinion...

Any advice??