The Quilt Asylum - Doll Quilt Swap

Our last swap at The Quilt Asylum was earlier this month. We had to make a "doll" (mini)quilt and it had to have circles in it somehow. Whether that would be in the fabric, design, or shape. I am always impressed with what others come up with.

I made three different ones before I decided on mine. I really decided it was best to keep it simple so my circles were in the shape of the sun, coconuts, and in the design of the fabric.

Kathleen did an amazing job with lots of beading. What beautiful colors, too!!

LaDonna was inspired by the current BOM by Quilt Soup.

I love that Juanita used the circles off the edges of fabric. What a fun modern doll quilt.

Yo-Yo's definitely fit the circle criteria.

Sherry made two using fabric with circles.

Ellyn used this beautiful fabric line...of course, anything with gray is wonderful to me.

This one is so cute! I think it has a bit of Australian flare to it.

Sarah did a bull's eye type quilt that I really want to make some day.

Our next swap is a tote bag and then I think we are doing Christmas ornaments. It really is a great way to keep motivated to sew. It also makes you think about what others would like.

Churn Dash Drama

The Quilt Asylum held a Churn Dash block swap recently, in which I participated. It is my first block swap and was quite a challenge. My first set of blocks would not come out to the 9 1/2" size that was required. After I had cut all the pieces and started sewing, I decided I should measure these blocks. Well, they ended up being put aside after I tried to rip some apart and work them into the proper size. That was way too time consuming.

I had started my Farmer's Wife blocks using the Marti Michell templates and decided this is exactly what I needed to make my blocks come out to the proper size. I bought the appropriate templates and started out to make my 84 blocks. After testing the size and finding the templates did indeed make perfect 9 1/2" blocks, I am now hooked on these templates.

Now the drama is what to do with these blocks. I don't know that I want to just slap them together, although, I really do want a traditional amish looking quilt someday. My thoughts are to cut them up and re-sew them together. Kelleigh has drawn up a couple of ideas for me and so I may play around with those designs and then decide. Bonnie had cut a couple of blocks up and sewed it in this manner.

It was fun laying out the churn dash blocks and organizing them by colors. Kelleigh enjoyed putting them in some sort of order.

Market Review at The Quilt Asylum

Market Review at The Quilt Asylum happens two times a year just 6 weeks after the quilt market. It is like Christmas...waiting to see the new trends and up and coming designers. These gals work so hard to get quilts and other items finished for us to see. It is such a fun time and there are always wonderful treats. Hope you enjoy the few pictures I have to share.

Modern Quilt Relish

Solids!!...or flats, if you prefer.

This & That - Winter Bliss

Modern Quilt Relish

Swoon - Camille Roskelley

Atkinson Designs - Texas Two Step

More solids!!!

Tablerunner Swap

I recently participated in a tablerunner swap through The Quilt Asylum. It is fun to have a challenge and a deadline that makes you actually get something done. I used Park Central fabric by Kate Spain mainly because I had some scraps of it left from my Sudoku quilt. I love the colors of this line, although, it does not match anything in my house. That's okay since I am swapping it anyway.

LaDonna combined a couple of patterns to make hers. The theme for the swap was "Summer" and this definitely represents summer.

These colors are so popular right now and Ellyn put them into play with her tablerunner. Super cute!

This one was so fun because it is two-sided. Way to be smart and get double the use out of the runner.

Kathleen had fun using a Gwen Marston approach to her project. I think it would go nicely with Fiesta Ware.

Sherry is always ambitious and does multiple items to swap. One pattern was by Pieced Tree and the other is the one using border fabric.

Our next swap is in August and it is a Doll Quilt and has to have a circle of some sort involved. There are lots of ways to interpret that rule.

Fresh Fabric Treats

Jenny Garland and Angela Yosten were at The Quilt Asylum today autographing the new Moda Bake Shop book.

This book features 16 new projects by some of the best Moda Bake Shop chefs which utilize jelly rolls, layer cakes and charm pack pre-cuts.

What an extra special treat to get my book autographed. This was such a fun day at The Quilt Asylum with Bring and Brag, Block Swap Reveal, and the autographing of a newly released book.

Pink and Brown Swap

Bonnie at The Quilt Asylum has started a block swap. Her first one was to choose a 6" block and make it using pinks and browns. The number you made depended on how many people were in the swap. They ended up making over 100 but in the end it was worth it. I did not participate in the swap but I went to the revealing because I wanted to hear about the next swap. Oh my!!!... these quilts were beautiful!!! It was so fun to hear how each of them came up with their final designs. I will just post pictures for you to enjoy. I did sign up for the next one and it is a 9" churn dash using black as the background and solids for the design giving it an Amish feel.

Looking forward to the revealing of the next swap.