Lately, I have been enjoying finding other quilters on Instagram using quilting hashtags. It has been so inspiring and fun! As a bonus, I noticed many people were making mini quilts (and so many other things I want to sew LOL). But they were not just minis for themselves… they were participating in swaps. In a swap, you make a mini quilt for someone, and someone else makes on for you. Its usually done secretly and based on a questionnaire you all fill out in the beginning. Its free and looked like loads of fun! But I didn’t know how to join one. One of the awesome quilters I started following was Kristi over at Schnitzel and Boo (here). She started one and welcomed everyone, so I jumped in!
My swap partner was Leona (see her blog here). She is already a very good quilter herself and participates in loads of swaps! I was a little intimidated at first. I wanted to do something familiar to me, but still in a challenging way. The fact that it was mini was already a challenge, but I wanted to push myself. I decided to do half square triangles, which are familiar to me, but using small squares and in a rainbow gradation which I have not done before. I decided on a design pretty quickly thanks to an inspiration I found on Pinterest (here). I used Briar Rose collection by Heather Ross since my partner mentioned her in the questionnaire.
I quilted using a wonky straight line technique.
I added triangle snuggle areas so she can hang it using a dowel if she wants 🙂
Also, along with your mini, its common to send another small handmade good and some little trinkets. My partner loves hedgehogs so I purchased THIS pattern off of Etsy and adapted it into coasters for her! They came out super cute!
Here is the finished swap package! I sent adorable buttons that made me think of Orla Keily (a designer I love and own one of her diaper bags) as well as a little magnetic tin for notions. I can confidently say it was a success and Leona seemed to really love it!
And here I am… awkwardly.. with the mini LOL
Happy Quilting!!
~Leasa