Hopeful Homemaker

Hand sewing is here to stay, I think.  I did not think I would still be doing so much of it when I first started my Aerial Grove quilt last year, but I’m totally hooked.  My current project is yet another Carolyn Friedlander  pattern, the Collection quilt.


It’s divided into nine sections and I’ve completed the first two.


The first was fast and simple; the sections are designed to become more difficult as you go.  I chose to use three prints instead of two, and enjoyed sewing with the very soft color palate.


The second section was fun too – four long strips with little arches.  Once again I used more colors than the original quilt and I enjoyed working with colors I don’t use often.  I haven’t planned this quilt out; I’m going to let it evolve as I go.


It’s nice to have started this pattern that I’ve been intimidated by for so long!  Now to prep section three!

In the Birthday Mini Quilt Swap Part 1, I shared some mini quilts I made for a small group of friends in 2016.  Today I’m sharing what they made for me.  **None of these mini quilts are my work!  They are gifts from talented friends that I now have hanging in my home.**

The first is this mini hexagon quilt, made by Kristin.  It’s a reminder of the Kathy Doughty workshop we attended, and I love the colors and especially the fussy cutting.


Jennifer made these awesome little half square triangle blocks and finished them off with really great straight line quilting.


I also love the bright blue binding.


Pamela also took some inspiration from the same Kathy Doughty workshop and made some fun paper doll style blocks.  She actually made them to represent each of my eight children, and I love it.


She took the time to embroider each of their names on their block.  It is such a gift of thoughtfulness!  My kids love looking at this one.


Jill did some amazing piecing to make this mini medallion.  I love all the colors in it and am amazed that she made me something so awesome.


Look at her quilting!  It’s such a beautiful keepsake!


Anna made these lovely flowers.  I have loved this Sarah Fielke pattern and was so surprised to open this mini version!


Look at that darling gingham binding with a crochet edge!


I love the scrappy design, too.


I have a wall in my laundry room where I hang all my mini quilts.  Sometimes I just stand there looking at all of them and smile.  It’s so fun to have these thoughtful gifts from my friends keeping me company while I work.  This swap was a great way to celebrate birthdays.  I feel like the luckiest girl ever to have such awesome friends!

Last year a few of my friends and I decided to swap mini quilts as birthday gifts during the year.  It was a lot of fun to sew for one another and see the lovely gifts that resulted from our efforts.  This post contains photos of the mini quilts I made for my friends.

The first and second quilts I made were versions of my Mini Prosper quilt .  Kristin requested hers in Art Gallery fabrics (pictured above) and Jill loves purple, so I made them each one.  Somehow my pictures of the purple version have disappeared so I only have photos of the mini I made for Kristin.


I love this print on the back, and I especially love the goofy photo I snapped of my quilt holder when a gust of wind took us both by surprise!


When Pamela’s turn came, she didn’t want anything related to stars or dresdens and she liked low volume fabrics.  I decided to try the January Quilt Block by Lady Harvatine but it was larger than I wanted.  I reduced the measurements and tried again and ended with this mini quilt:


It’s a terrible photo, a bit blurry and with bad lighting – evidence that I finished it the same night I was to deliver it, hence a rushed picture snapped on my phone before I dashed out the door.  It seems I’m often on that kind of schedule when I’m sewing gifts.

Another late night finish (and resulting poor photo) came with Jennifer’s mini quilt.  She didn’t have many requests, so I thought about how much she loved watching the sky from the house she lived in.  At the time they were preparing to move so I made this quilt to remind her of the sunrises and sunsets she’s enjoyed from that place.


I particularly enjoyed making this one and would like to explore the sunrise theme and this color scheme again sometime.


For Anna I decided to use the Glitter quilt block from Jen Kingwell’s book, Quilt Lovely.  I chose a bright, happy color scheme and also did a little bit of fussy cutting.


It was a fun project and I’m happy with the results.  It also reminded me that I should get my own Glitter quilt blocks back out and finish that project!


It was a lot of fun to make these five (only four pictured, though) quilts for my friends. Sometimes I step back and marvel a little at the amazing women I’ve met because of this hobby.  I know it’s that way with most things we get involved in – we end up with friends and associates that we’re honored to know and learn from.  I love this group of women!

Next up will be the Birthday Mini Quilt Swap, Part 2, where I share all the pretty mini quilts these wonderful friends made for me!