Spectacular Swapping

It used to be that when it was quiet around here I was either too busy or not busy enough for blog posts. But then I started immersing myself in the world of Instagram, and Instagram swaps. And it is far easier to spam Instagram with what I'm working on than it is to write a blog post. :P

I want to try and post here fairly regularly again, and I have lots of exciting upcoming projects to share but first I wanted to share the amazing work done by my swap partners in the swaps I've participated in. I love them all equally, so I'll do them in swap date order so it doesn't seem like I'm playing favourites. :D

First up was the #littlequiltsswap started by Sarah Fielke where we all had to make a little quilt from her and Amy Lobsiger's book, 'Little Quilts'. This was my first swap and I've shown some shots of the quilt I made before but this time I'm super happy to show the quilt I received from my secret partner, @kathryn_a_j.

She chose the "Garden Paths" quilt pattern from the book, and I've never been able to do her quilt justice in the photos I've taken of it. It has some very special fabrics in it, and she even hand quilted it! This was the first time I'd ever had a quilt made for me, and it was also the first time I was able to even touch someone else's work so I couldn't stop stroking it when I received it!

Those aqua arrow sections are made with a Tula Pink print! <3

There's even a fussy cut little bird in the centre. And look at those gorgeous hand quilting stitches! So much love!

This golden fabric is so difficult to photograph, but it's one of my most favourites ever. The print on it is shimmery and metallic and we all know how much I love metal! :P

The back shows the lovely textural little puckers that handquilting gives.

The way the label is sewn on is such a satisfying sight for me. I love obvious hand stitching!

My second quilt swap was the #schnitzelandboominiquiltswap run by Kristi McDonough. It was slightly intimidating because it's one of the largest swaps but I'd had so much fun "meeting" people on Instagram through the Little Quilts Swap that I was kind of addicted! My secret partner for this one turned out to be @imlucky26 and he made me a quilt featuring vibrant Alison Glass fabrics and stunning free-motion-quilting. Two of my most favourite things!

These feathers floored me with their amazingness. I often look at this quilt when I'm trying to quilt feathers to help me try and make mine this good.

I love the way he paired these gorgeous Alison Glass prints with that dark grey background.And the texture of that back and forth matchstick quilting!

How cool does the back look?! It could almost be a quilt all by itself.

This was my first time seeing a label done like this. A folded square stitched into the binding at the corner. It's such a handy way to do it! 

More of that beautiful texture from the quilting. I have so much love for texture!

I may have gone on a joining spree after this (hey, I did tell you all I was facing my fear of joining. Looks like it worked! :D ) and signed up for a few swaps whose mailing dates were a bit close together. Oops. So last week I received two more quilts, and then I only have one swap left before it's back to working on my own stuffs again.

First up was the #igminioz run by @mrees2511. This swap was Australian only so it was a great opportunity to try and get to know a few more "local" quilters. My secret partner turned out to be @hopetn who made me a spectacular creepy/pretty (mostly pretty, but just the right touch of creepy. :D) paper pieced and heavily free motion quilted mini quilt.

Can I just point out the little flange in the border?! Such a cool idea. The colours in this are all my favourites. :D

The spider and skull (plus a few more skulls) are pieced into the background. What an awesome idea! I also love that she quilted spiderwebs, and a web strand making the skull dangle from the spider.

These feathers are breathtaking! And in purple thread they really stand out and take this to a whole new level. And what about that pebbling?! So much work! I still can't believe she did this for me! The texture is fantastic.

This star is a paper piecing pattern from Peggy Martin. I have the same Craftsy class Hope got this from but have never made anything from it yet. I'm a doofus because if the patterns are all awesome like this, why aren't I using them?:P

Say it with me..."TEXTURE!!!". :D

Another one of those super handy labels! My partner did a blog post about this quilt, here.

And then came the #rainbowminiswap. This was run like a well-oiled machine by Kate Basti. My secret partner for this colourful swap was @beckyproffittwright, who made me a quilt with paper piecing and tiny textural free motion quilting. Apparently it was her first time with both techniques and she did such a fantastic job I would never have guessed!

 
She featured some precious fabrics including Alison Glass Handcrafted, and Bari J.'s Petal and Plume.

Check out that awesome free motion quilting! So tiny! It must have taken ages. It feels amazing to touch. I'm so grateful she did this for me, as texture is the bestest! (As I'm sure you're all tired of me pointing out by now. :P )

There's also a really pretty petal design in the centre.

Those flying geese! That Alison Glass! That beautiful grass green! So much love!

Oh man, everyone's doing these super useful labels for me to use for hanging the quilts up. I'd better hurry up and clear out my sewing room(because it's become the "junk" room. Grr!) so I can hang them all properly!

There's even an extra rainbow on the back. Plus you can see more of that awesome quilting! :D

I am so grateful to all of my wonderful partners! I know my tastes are sometimes out of people's comfort zones but they all managed to make something that suits me perfectly and I am forever looking at their creations and wondering how I was so lucky. <3

I only have one swap left (#nerdscraftitbetter Couldn't resist that one! :D) which is due very soon, so I'd better get back to work on it! I had so much trouble with that one because I wanted to make my partner ALL the things! :P

-Strange.