Pink Broken Dishes Doll Quilt

Pink Broken Dishes Doll Quilt

Back in the spring I joined up with the 2016 Doll Quilt Swap over at Humble Quilts and made a little brown broken dishes quilt for my swap partner, Heather in Florida. 

Brown Broken Dishes Doll Quilt

Whilst I was getting it together I thought I would work on one for myself, this time in a pink colour scheme, choosing from the lovely selection of traditional prints which Wendy sent me.  I had most of it together, but this little quilt has been hanging on the back of a chair for the past few months waiting to be quilted. This was its lucky week.

Pink Broken Dishes Doll Quilt

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Humble Quilts Mini Doll Quilt Swap 2016

Doll Quilt (13.5" x 15.5") made by Debbie Dodge

What a great way to start your day - a delivery from the postman with this delightful little doll quilt.  It has been sent to me here in the UK all the way from Delavan, Wisconsin, USA and has been made by the talented Debbie Dodge.

Doll Quilt made by Debbie Dodge

Debbie certainly nailed the brief on this one. I love the pink feature fabric and just look at that cute basket in the corner, it really makes the little quilt so special.  With the lovely quilt I got from Marcia last year, I am enjoying seeing my collection grow.

Doll Quilt made by Debbie Dodge

I posted details about the quilt I sent out to Heather in Florida on my blog last week and am pleased that everything has arrived safely.

Thanks to Lori at Humble Quilts for organising this international 2016 Doll Quilt Swap.  Giving and receiving these little quilts is such a pleasure and reminds me that I don't ALWAYS need to make big quilts!
 

Doll Quilt Swap, April 2016

Doll Quilt Swap - Brown Broken Dishes Quilt

It was such fun doing the Humble Quilts Doll Quilt Swap last year that I just had to sign up again this year.  Now that I know my swap partner has received her Doll quilt I can tell you a bit more about it. The reproduction fabrics that are required are about in the UK, just not as abundant as the USA, but with the extra fabric my swappers sent from America last year I had a bit more to play with and went with a traditional country style brown scheme.

Doll Quilt Swap - Brown Broken Dishes Quilt

I went with a broken dishes pattern for the centre which used up most of my brown charm squares and then added some borders. 


Doll Quilt Swap - Brown Broken Dishes Quilt Reverse

I am currently reading 'Mastering Precision Piecing' by Sally Collins and so I thought with this small quilt I would take the time to gain more accuracy, based on the tips in her book.  I spun the seams of my triangles and I even chose to mitre the corners on the border.  You will see from the photo that I was as pleased with the back of the top as the front!


Doll Quilt Swap - Brown Broken Dishes Quilt

I had hoped to hand quilt this little beauty, but fitting it into my current work plan wasn't happening.  I popped it onto the long arm quilting machine and I had a pleasant couple of hours stitching. As usual posts were popping up on the internet and the Humble Quilts Facebook page of photos of doll quilts which had already been received as part of the swap, which put me into a panic knowing it had to be sent across the Atlantic.  As it happens it only took 7 days for it to arrive, faster than something within the UK takes!

Thanks to Lori at Humble Quilts for organising the swap.
Also a Finish for Whoop Whoop and Crazy Mom!

Miniature Doll Quilt Swap - May 2015

Miniature Doll Quilt Swap - Marcia at Grammy Quilts

As you will have seen on my blog, early May was spent making a Mini Doll Quilt for a swap organised by Humble Quilts.  I was ahead of the game as I was abroad in late May/ early June, so having sent mine off before I left, I was looking forward to returning home to see what was waiting in the post.

Miniature Doll Quilt Swap - Marcia at Grammy Quilts

I wasn't disappointed. My swap was from Marcia at Grammy Quilts. Did someone tell her I LOVE scrap quilts?  She calculated that she has used 124 different civil war shirtings and reproduction fabrics, which seems amazing for such a cute little doll quilt.  There are some particularly cute red and white ones in there which would have been great in my Nearly Insane quilt....

Civil War Reproduction Fabrics - Grammy Quilts

Not only did she send me the pretty doll quilt, but she very kindly sent me some civil war reproduction charm squares for some future projects - a lovely mix of shirtings and repro fabrics.

Civil War Reproduction Fabrics - Constant Quilter

Also waiting in the post was another parcel from my other partner, Wendy at the Constant Quilter. Having read my blog and hearing about the shortage of civil war reproductions in my stash, she also felt sorry for me and sent a lovely selection - it seems to have every colour you could wish for! How generous everyone has been.


Miniature Doll Quilt Swap - Marcia at Grammy Quilts

What perhaps pleases me the most is that the quilt Marcia made me fits my mini quilt stand perfectly.  This has been sitting dormant for nearly two years waiting for a miniature quilt. Like everyone, I really enjoyed making the little miniature doll quilt.  Thanks to Lori for organising it and keeping it simple. It was my first swap and with all these lovely fabrics, roll on the 2016 Miniature Doll Quilt Swap!

For a peek at all the Mini Doll Quilts hop over to Humble Quilts!

Miniature Doll Quilt Swap - May 2015

Miniature Doll Quilt Swap - May 2015


A few weeks ago Lori at Humble Quilts put out a call for a Doll Quilt Swap. I fancied making a mini quilt.  I fancied doing a swap for the first time.  I resisted the first call, but by the second, I caved in.  So I signed up. There were a few rules, but the main one was that it should be Civil War reproduction fabrics and that it should look like it 'time travelled from days past'. 

Judie Rothermel and Jo Morton Civil War Reproduction fabrics

Once committed I went about choosing fabrics and a design for my miniature doll quilt swap.  However, it appears that I don't actually have any Civil War Reproduction fabrics (yes, I was surprised too, perhaps I should have checked first) so it meant searching online for some fabrics and waiting for them to arrive.  To add to the fun I ordered a pot luck  'Civil War bundle' from the Laughing Hedgehog.  I was really pleased with the selection they sent, which included some Jo Morton shirtings and some Judie Rothermel civil war reproduction fabrics.

English Paper Piecing - Irish Chain Quilt

 I procrastinated for as long as possible by doing a lot of online research about civil war quilts, but with the unexpected fabric search and knowing I had to send it abroad, panic set in.  I also knew I only had a few windows of opportunity to get the project done.  Finally, I ended up stitching an Irish Chain quilt, hand stitching it using English Paper Piecing.  Living in the UK, my knowledge of the American Civil War is largely based on what I learnt watching 'Gone With The Wind'.  Following through on this theme, Wikipedia informed me that the colours red and green are used symbolically throughout the original book by Margaret Mitchell.  So along with this and Scarlett's Irish descendancy, an Irish Chain seemed appropriate. 

Hand quilting - cross hatch

Conveniently, the UK government had decided to have an election early in May which gave me hours of stitching in front of the television watching the results come in through the night. Once hand pieced, I made up the quilt sandwich and I decided to hand quilt it with a cross-hatch, to add that 'days gone past' feel. Naturally this took longer than anticipated as it always does, but it was a joy to do and I am really pleased that I took the time to make this little quilt.

Mini Irish Chain Quilt - Doll Quilt Swap - 16" x 20.5"

Just to add to the panic, I noticed on the internet that several quilters taking part in the Doll Quilt Swap had already completed their quilts and had received them.  I am pleased to say that once labelled, this little quilt is now heading across the Atlantic to a recipient who is part of the swap.

Thanks Lori for organising the Doll Quilt Swap!  You will be able to see all the Doll Quilts made in the swap in a few weeks time over at Humble Quilts.

Joining up with Confessions and Crazy Mom Quilts.