The Big Reveal and my August mini

Janet O. and I have been swapping little minis for a few years now.  It's great fun and I do feel totally honored to be the recipient of her masterpieces.  She challenges me in ways I never delve into-- and her minis are museum quality, IMHO!  

This year we chose baskets as our theme and I struggled for a while trying to decide what to make.  Mine  ultimately finished at 18"--larger than the 12" original goal but we can change the rules. Right??!!

Finally decided on pink baskets, using the Little Gatherings book for the initial setting and block idea.  I had many challenges on this mini which I guess is how we improve, right?  For instance, I marked one corner with an erasable pencil only to discover it wouldn't come off. RED pencil.  UGH.  Lesson:  test first!  Again, don't get too close! ;-))  Another lesson I think I've finally learned:  cut the background larger when you're going to appliqué!  My center shrank and I ultimately had to add a strip (which you can see a sliver of) to get it to lay flat!  Only took me 6 tries to figure out what the problem was.  Also, don't sew on corners until you're done.  Piecing on the diagonal is always challenging for me!

On the bright side, I had fabric I ordered from Needl Love which I just love and wanted to use for the borders.  I also wanted to break up the corners but didn't think I could handle 2" baskets.   ;-)

I really enjoy wool appliqué and although I'm not great, I think they are passable.  Still not crazy about my stem stitch but from a distance, they work. In fact, I should call this quilt "Baskets from Afar"!!!


These finish at 3-3/4"!  As I warned, some of the points got cut off but from a distance, they are just fine!  Good enough, I say!

I opted for mini-half-square triangles for the corners-- they're 1/2" finished and I sewed them into flying geese.  Again, please don't look at the corners. ;-(


All in all, I feel it was a success. I got Janet to promise to hang it so that she can't get up too close. VBG I'm not a precision piecer--some might rip out their work if their points get cut off, but I'm not one of those.  I did rip out one of the seams at least half a dozen times to get it to lay flat... But that's different.  I'm not one of those overly critical of my own work--I'm realistic.  It's not perfect but I'm okay with that.  Hope you like it.  I love it.  Hopefully Janet will too!
Wendy, here's my August mini, 2 days early!! ;-)

We are heading back up to the cabin tomorrow for two weeks.  I have spent a lot of time prepping my wool handwork for the long drive;  not sure what sewing projects I'll bring along yet.  We always enjoy Labor Day in Oregon-- the seasons start to change right before our eyes.