Sunday, May 15, 2011

A mini for Megan

Can I just tell you how psyched I was when Megan told me she was interested in a little mini-quilt swap between the two of us?  I was flooded with ideas almost from the get-go, after knowing Megan for a while and then perusing her Flickr favorites, many of which are part of my personal collection of favorites.  I knew I wanted to do something with a saturated rainbow, so I started sketching.  I got really excited about the things I sketched, so much so that I couldn't decide what to make.  So I made Megan choose - I emailed her and asked her to pick a letter (without seeing the sketches), A, B, or C, and she made a choice for me!  Here's the sketches....

Sketches for Megan

And here's what she wound up with...

Megan's Mini - Rainbow Crossing

I attempted hand quilting for the first time with some gorgeous perle cotton thread, which was interesting, to say the least.  The rocking motion completely escapes me, so I approached quilting this a little bit more like embroidery.  I really like how it looks, even though it's not probably the traditional kind of hand quilting, and I love the contrast it gives to the Kona Coal sashing.

Megan's Mini - Hand quilting detail - front

I added a simple Kona Coal binding, to allow the rainbow patchwork to really shine, and I really like the effect it gave the quilt.  I do like adding a contrasting binding to quilts, but for this one, I didn't want the binding stealing any thunder.

Megan's Mini - Hand quilting detail - back

My first attempt at hand-quilting...

Quilt Stats: 
Name: Rainbow Crossing
Size: 22" square
Fabrics: A rainbow of fabrics, including Patty Young's Sanctuary, Lizzy House's Castle Peeps, Amy Butler's Soul Blossoms, Anna Maria Horner's Innocent Crush, Amy Butler's Lotus, Laurie Wisbrun's Tufted Tweets, and many, many others, as well as Kona Coal
Quilting: Hand quilted with size 8 perle cotton thread
Pattern: I didn't follow one - but Corey wrote a similar pattern last year

I'll be linking up this mini finish with {Sew} Modern Monday.  Hop on over to get inspired by other recent modern finishes!

{Sew} Modern Monday at Canoe Ridge Creations

26 comments:

  1. Super cute! Love anything with a rainbow - great job. What a fun mini swap you two!

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  2. This is an absolute stunner. I especially love the rainbow border. Your swap partner is one lucky lady!

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  3. Lucky Megan! This is fantastic little quilt.

    P.S. I'm with you on the rocking motion. The few times I've attempted hand quilting, that aspect hasn't clicked for me.

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  4. Beautiful!
    I love the thin white stripes you added, they contrast so nicely with the Kona Coal!
    I tend to approach hand quilting like embroidery too, which I think its why it takes me so long. But I like the way it looks better than when I try the "rocking motion". And yours looks so nice!

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  5. What an adorable quilt! I love the rainbow colors against the coal, and you're right - this one needed a matching binding.

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  6. Awesome! I think you did a great job with the hand quilting--clean and pretty. I tried hand quilting yesterday and gave up--back to the machine for me. :)

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  7. Very, very nice. Love the hand quilting with the embroidery thread!

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  8. So cute! It makes me want to set up some of my own personal swaps, but then I remind myself that my sewing time has been steadily decreasing. Such a great idea though.

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  9. Wow this is gorgeous! I love how the coal and mini white borders really make the rainbow "pop. Great choice on the binding, and your quilting looks great!

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  10. Very Nice! I love the colors so much. Great work!

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  11. So beautiful! Good choice, Megan! And the hand-quilting looks great to me, even if it's not the traditional method. The end result is the important thing! : )

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  12. Hi Elisabeth! Very beautiful! I love all three and the bright colours are fantastic with the grey! I would love to make number C!
    Have a lovely time! Teje

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  13. Beautiful! I love the contrast of the bright scrappy fabrics with the grey sashing. The hand quilting looks fab!!

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  14. How cute. I love it. You did a great job on the hand quilting.

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  15. Very nice - bright and cheery.

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  16. Oh, I LOVE that!! So cute!! And the handquilting looks amazing!!

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  17. Lucky Megan! Great idea to do a private swap!!

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  18. How lovely to see your thoughts on paper and then the transformation of one of those into a fabric quilt, beautiful. Well done.

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  19. She made a great choice! It's so colourful, cheerful and lovely! Happy Quilting, Riel

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  20. So pretty! I love that you show the entire process from sketch to final product. I love what a box of crayons can do!

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  21. Wow - very impressive - great to look at!

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  22. I stopped by to comment on your BQF entry and boy you have distracted me! This block or mini quilt is SO BEAUTIFUL! I love it!

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  23. I love the design you ended up with, I probably would have chose that one if I could pick! The rainbow colors look wonderful with the gray, and the red stitching is awesome as well! Lucky girl!

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  24. I love it - great colors and the coal sets it off perfectly.

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Thank you for leaving a comment for me! I appreciate each and every one of them and try to respond when time allows. Your comments totally brighten my day :)


Welcome! I'm Elizabeth, mom to a mood teen boy and a chatty six-year-old girl and I sew for my sanity. Let's get to quilting, shall we?
The Epic Sampler BOM Club kicks off Oct 1st
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