Things I Said I Would Never Ever Do

by Heather on November 11, 2011

1. Any more swaps

2. A Mini

The result…..I should just stop saying that I won’t do something anymore.

First, swaps. If you have never done a swap, they are very popular in the sewing/crafting world. You get matched up with a partner for the sole purpose to make something for them and send it off. In a perfect world, this is a great way to see something from another person’s perspective and to get something that you perhaps wouldn’t make for yourself. In reality, it’s stressful. I always worry that I am making something too simple or something in the wrong color or they won’t like it. And there is the small issue of actually having to complete something.

Usually my time leading up to a swap is something like this……think about signing up, think about it some more, ask someone else if I should, be pressured by a friend, and moments before the deadline, sign up quickly. Then receive my swap person, start stalking them, evaluate everything I can find from what they wear, where they live, the fabric they like online, any blog photos, etc. Pull out some fabric from my stash, set it out, look at it for a few weeks, decide that I don’t like it, add some more fabric, rinse & repeat several times until half my stash is on the table. Decide nothing is good enough, go buy more fabric. Get that home and decide that *I* like it too much to send off to someone else. Does this give you a clue to my issues?……I haven’t even decided upon a project yet.

And minis…..I see the label all the time. I immediately run this through my mind…. mini = small = little = child = dolls = clothing = I don’t do doll clothing. There are very few things that I don’t sew and doll clothes are one of them. Therefore I would tend to not do doll quilts, right? Again, perhaps you don’t want to see my thought process, its scary.

But after going to The Sewing Summit, I realized something. Minis are simply a way to try out ideas or to make something small, NOT necessarily something a doll would use. So my bins of samples from teaching are all “minis”, the wall hangings, table runners, notebook covers, zippered pouches, etc I have sold in boutiques are all minis.

So, in the last month I have joined the Post Sewing Summit Swap AND made a mini for it. How odd, right? And now I want to make another mini. Even more odd. I don’t know what to do with myself. I have a vision of Christmas pillows arranged on my couches and chairs, all being of the “mini” variety. I better get busy.

 

Here are some of the pictures of the mini I completed for the swap. I had been drooling over the projects I have seen on flickr from the book, “50 Fabulous Paper Pieced Stars” by Carol Doak. And since my partner said they had been admiring the same thing, I decided to actually USE the book that I had. Each state has their own star and when I find my scraps I can tell you which ones I actually used.

I like paper piecing. The precision is amazing and its so easy. Its not an efficient use of fabric and it requires frequent visits to the iron and cutting table, but if you can sew along a line on a paper, you can paper piece.

It was a dark and stormy day when I created this, and I only got a few good photos. :( The ones of the whole quilt didn’t work out too well. It was sent off to its new home earlier this week and I hope that she receives it safely!

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