Skip to main content

Angel Mini

A week ago I was scrolling through Instagram on my lunch break and came across as shout out for volunteer angels for the #cottonandsteelminiquiltswap for the UK.

I was so excited to finish it and get it in the post that I
forgot to take my own photos, so Robin kindly sent me a few!
My head said: you already have a swap quilt to finish by the start of August which you've barely started and have no drive to even get out; your Cotton & Steel stash isn't extensive; you have a 17 month old daughter and plenty of commitments; you are supposed to be decorating this weekend because new carpet is coming on Monday...

My heart said: that stinks for the recipient, and when you were on the non-receiving end of a swap it was horrible. You should just volunteer and get on with it.

And this time the heart won. My journey from work to home is 20 minutes and because my new partner had given such excellent information in her sign-up form, by the time I got home I had a plan. I also had half an hour before I needed to pick my daughter up, so cut the fabric. Thursday night was our North East Modern Quilt Guild virtual sew along night, and by bedtime I had a finished quilt top. It was so refreshing to just sit and sew something beginning to end like that.

I used foundation piecing to get nice accurate Economy Blocks
 
I also lucked out in terms of fabric. When the swap started my C&S stash was mostly limited to the basics with the odd designer FQ. I had intended to buy some fabrics which my partner liked, but she hadn't been very specific so I had just used what I had. The parcel I received was incredibly generous and included a fat quarter bundle of C&S fabric, and I had also been tempted with a couple of Instagram destashes... so out of my new partner's four favourite fabrics I actually had two of them in my stash - the black and white cats and the Japanese navy print. And she said "don't be scared of black and white" and I had some more of the black and white collection. It couldn't have been more perfect! I also found that I didn't have quite enough of the Black and white basics fabric, so had to include the solid black - I'm so glad I did, because this quilt would have truly hurt the eyes otherwise!


On the Friday I basted and quilted it. I also made a little patchwork basket to go with it using this pattern, and rummaged in my scrap boxes to put together a scrap bundle. On Saturday I bound the quilt and on Sunday I posted it. Robin received the parcel on Tuesday! Less than a week start to finish - a happy recipient and a reinvigorated sender. Because it was exactly the kick I needed to get on with my other swap commitment!

Comments

Kay said…
Good for you!! It really is wonderful to do something amazing for someone else. I am sure your extra partner was thrilled with her special quilt. x

Popular posts from this blog

Hidden Agenda [A Finish]

This is very possibly my favourite ever finish - I know I've said that in the past, but this one is going to be hard to beat. This time last year, I attended a day long lecture/workshop with Tula Pink and it was inspiring. Having not really loved her fabrics in the past (but loved her patterns), I suddenly saw them in a new light, linked with my 2018 new year's resolution to try more fussy cutting). Fast forward 8 months and I confess that my Tula stash has expanded quite a lot. I found some UK shops with older ranges of fabric, splurged on a few destashes and found the odd piece of her fabric already in my stash. The plan was always (and remains) to make a Smitten quilt, but I'm well aware that I have plenty of fabric to make other projects as well! So when I saw the Hidden Agenda quilt pattern by Angela Pingle, this fabric sprung instantly to mind.... and we all know I love a rainbow! And what could be better than rainbowfied Tula? I was ably assisted by my friend Ti

365 Quilt Challenge 2016 [A finish]

I can't believe I've just typed that heading! When I made the block for January 1st 2016 I could not have imagined the journey this quilt would have taken me on. So make yourselves comfortable and grab a cup of tea, because this blog post may get lengthy! I'd seen the 365 Quilt Challenge on Facebook. I think every quilter on Facebook must have been aware of it. Loads of my friends had signed up and it kept popping up as a "Page you might like" thing. In the end, in November 2015, I joined the group, had a poke round. Decided it wasn't for me. One of the things that really put me off were the fabric requirements: you needed x amount of dark dark fabric, x amount of medium dark fabric, x amount of dark medium, medium, light medium, light, background.... I just couldn't get my head round those requirements. I'd looked at the mock ups on the wesbite and couldn't bring myself to pick a colour. I put it to the back of my mind. But I had obvious

All the Little Finishes

 I've had a few recent finishes - mostly smaller pieces and mostly not on my list to finish this year (because I've only just started them!) - lots and lots of pouches! Here's a round up... Three pouches I made for the kids for our holiday - all are the Seamingly Sane Pouch pattern, but I used the pattern add-on to adjust the sizes and customised with some straps and in one case, a pocket. These three pouches are made for our work Yubikeys when we travel to protect them - it's a slightly adjusted Aneela Hooey pattern - the peas are an inside joke! I knew I had pea fabric for a reason! A couple more Seamingly Sane pouches - the smaller one was a birthday present for my Dad, and the floral one was for me to protect my diary when I travel. Seven pouches made entirely from my scraps to hold EPP pieces pre sewing! This is the Peekapouch pattern by Sweet Cinnamon Roses. This is the Not So Little Zippy Pouch by Fabric and Flowers. The pattern is a bit of a challenge, but this

Labels

Show more

Archive

Show more