May 7, 2010

SEW Much Fun Swaps


Sew & Tell Friday













Don't Be A Square for Meg
April's STUD Swap couldn't be square. I spent most of the month thinking about the possibilities--circles, hexes. . . . after lurking around Meg's website I knew I wanted to use Asian fabrics. Finally, I went for simple--this great star. It was definitely easy until . . . .

The binding. I know, I know, IN THEORY the miters work the same way as a 90 degree angle, but it real life it took 2 tries and a lot of brain time. Turns out splitting this angle and matching it with the points was pretty much not ever what i expected. It looks ok, but I know it could be more precise. I did find some special rulers online for this purpose, but I don't have one yet--pretty sure I'll make more of these little mats. About 12 inches across, I really like the way this pattern highlights the fabric.

For April's Anything Goes Swap I made this:




I always wanted to try the Crazy Mom Quilts Zig Zag without triangles. SaraSQuilts likes blue and green and modern fabrics. Turns out following the directions (use the same fabric as half of each set throughout) would make the layout MUCH simpler. And I would have liked the color to go from dark to light--but it didn't quite work out. Still, this is another fun pattern with lots of possibilities.

Still lovin' these swaps--they're a great chance to try something new and get to know someone a little better. Up for May: Wish You Were Here (I got to pick the theme). Hmmm. . .should I do pigs, corn, cardinals, ice cream . . . .surprisingly, the options in Iowa are nearly endless :)

Gratitudes
  • My mother's sewing machine is on its way to my house (a special inheritance to be sure)
  • It's Friday--'nuf said
  • We all survived prom--and DS even had fun!
Amy over at Sew & Tell just had a beautiful baby girl, so I'm not sure if they'll be a spot this week, but there are lots of great links to check out anyhow--just click on the button in the side bar.

    10 comments:

    Kristen said...

    You did a great job on both of these! I love the centering of the fussy cut bird and that is an interesting way of doing a zig zag without triangles.

    Stop by my blog, I finished a project with the fabrics you gave away! Thanks again!

    Dayna said...

    These are really cute. Participating in sew & tell is helping me to learn to think outside the box. You ladies are teaching me a lot!

    Vicki @ DottyJane said...

    Great finishes! How wide do you cut your bindings? They look very neat:)

    Michelle said...

    Beautiful blocks, and your binding looks fantastic. :-) Sounds like a fun swap.

    Kimberly Tripp said...

    great job! I love the colors on the zigzag quilt. I've wanted to try that method too... my list of quilts to try will keep me busy for a lifetime :)

    Anonymous said...

    Wow, what beautiful blocks. I especially like the second one!

    Thank you for visiting my sew and tell. Have a great weekend!

    beth said...

    Glad you survived prom. I'd sure be looking for the mail, knowing a sewing machine was coming too!!
    Have fun with those little swaps!! Your projects look wonderful!

    Katie B said...

    I love your zig-zags!

    Leslie said...

    this looks great. i love the fabrics you used

    Anonymous said...

    These are beautiful! I love the zig-zag one! The Asian print one is beautiful, especially with the fussy-cut crane, but I adore the colors in the zig-zag. :-)