July 24, 2016

Big Finish: Mini Quilt to Swap

Foundation paper piecing
Modern quilters like to swap - blocks, mini quilts, pouches, all sorts of things. I've never participated in a swap because deadlines and expectations both stress me out. But when I heard that the Modern Quilt Guild chapters in Memphis, Nashville, Chattanooga, and Knoxville were joining together for a mini quilt swap, I decided to join the fun. Those of us who signed up filled out a short survey about our likes and dislikes in terms of technique, color, and style. We were assigned partners based on this information and given a couple of months to make and send a mini quilt.


My partner lives in Cleveland, TN, and is a member of the Chattanooga MQG. I found out that she's been quilting for 40 years (!), likes bold colors and prints, enjoys improv and twists on traditional designs, and prefers fall colors (not crazy about blues). For her mini quilt, I decided to make a few blocks from a quilt pattern called Garden Chevrons (designed by Kim Cairns) that had caught my eye in the March/April 2015 issue of Quilty. I knew I could size it down for a mini, and it was a good pattern to incorporate a variety of fabrics.


I liked the foundation paper piecing element of this pattern (it's one of my favorite techniques) but did not enjoy the partial seams required to get the hexagons to fit together. I came thisclose to throwing in the towel and starting over with a new pattern, but my friend and fellow Knoxville MQG member convinced me to push through the frustration. So I stepped away from it, and when I tried those partial seams the next day, they worked.

Quilted and ready for binding

Bound and labeled

A few additional treats for my partner

The mini quilt I received came from a member of the Nashville guild. It's amazing!


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