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Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Miniatures

Here are more of my past projects. I love making miniatures, and at one time made a bunch of them. A few are paper pieced but most of them are not. The designs come from an older book I have by Donna Thomas called Small Talk, published in 1991. Her directions are fantastic. They are done with the standard 1/4" seams, which are then trimmed to 1/8". Miniatures are lots of fun to make because they go together so quickly, you can have a completely finished quilt in a day or two, they take very little fabric, they make great gifts unless you give them to a non-quilty person who thinks they are a potholder, they look great on the wall or in baskets, draped over a miniature quilt rack or displayed with teddy bears and or dolls. They don't use up stash very quickly - that's about the only downside I can think of. They aren't hard as long as you can sew a true 1/4" seam - and are especially easy if they are paper pieced.

The first quilt, Cake Stand, measures 11" x 13". The second quilt, is Churn Dash. It measures 9" x 12". The third quilt. The Double Irish Chain measures 10" x 13". Cross-eyed Puss is my favorite. It measures 10" square. Shoe Fly is a little larger in scale with only 6 blocks - it's one of the "beginner" lessons - and measures 8" x 10". All of these quilts are from "Small Talk" by Donna Lynn Thomas.

The sampler was made in a class at a retreat called "Quilting By the Sea" sponsored by two Oregon quilt shops. I made it in 1992. It measures 10" x 14". It was a lot of fun to make.

The last two are paper pieced. The log cabin was totally out of my scrap "string' bin. It measures 16" square. This is the first time I ever tried using the back side of a fabric for a "light". It worked well! After all, you pay for both sides of the fabric. The Flying Geese is paper pieced, and was done in a guild class in the early 90's. It's a tiny 7" x 8". These two have been displayed a lot and are very faded. Just makes them look old - in my humble opinion of course!

If you've not tried miniatures but are a confident piecer you should give them a try. Bet you can't make just one!

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Gratitudes:

1. Quilting friends at my house tonight.
2. Dove ice cream bars for treats
3. A patient, understanding hubby
4. Co-worker friends
5. A shoulder to lean on when needed.

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24 comments:

  1. I can't believe the size of the Flying Geese quilt!! Definately something to try, but maybe not quite that small. I have noticed by picking up a UFO that my seam has changed quite a lot. I now do a 'scanter' (is that a word?) seam, but still not sure if it is 1/4"

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  2. Oh, these are enchanting! I don't have that much patience. Smiling about the miniature/potholder line!
    Hope the work situation can be settled to your advantage -- hopefully, retirement!
    Jeanne

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  3. Your little quilts are wonderful. The log cabin is my favorite.

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  4. I love miniquilts and have also made some of them. Yours are so beautiful. Love the log cabin and the baskets.

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  5. These miniatures are beautiful and I'm sure they will inspire lots of people to give them a try or to go back to them. Thanks for ALL the pictures! I like how the color is on a diagonal with the flying geese.

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  6. I can't imagine how small you have to cut the churn dash blocks!

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  7. you've got a beautiful collection of minatures...

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  8. The Flying Geese one is TINY - I almost did a double-take (because I scrolled through the pictures first) when I read it's size. They must make lovely displays.

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  9. Breathtaking !
    I've never tried miniature quilts.
    Up to now<, all were utility (bed) quilts (I stick on the idea to make "cuddle under" quilts for my children)...... but now you're tempting me !

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  10. I love the miniatures. I keep trying to pick my favorite. Nice gratitudes.
    Melanie

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  11. Those are just the best. I have started doing some miniatures but not that small. You are so right...making those little blocks is like eating potato chips...you can't just do one. Thanks for sharing those. Hope today is a good day at work!

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  12. I loved seeing all of your mini's - I am sooooo in the mood to make a few mini's (I saw a photo that had a wall of mini/doll quilts & I LOVED it.)

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  13. Your miniature quilts are just darling, I love them all. I understand your comment about 'non quilty' people and miniatures. I made one for a show a couple of years ago, and Cam's day care lady commented that it was 'a lot of work for a place mat!'. I just let it go, it's just too hard to explain!
    *hugs*
    Tazzie
    :-)

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  14. Your miniatures are lovely. Over the years I have done a lot of miniatures and I have also taught them. Miniatures are like your favourite snack. When you have one you want more :-) It is a long time since I have made any now. Hmmm - something to think about :-)

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  15. your are such a gifted quilter Patti!
    love your minis...

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  16. Oh gosh - these are all great. I tried miniatures in my early quilting career. Not enough skills - your photos have made me want to revisit and see what I could do. I love them all.

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  17. Thanks for the great minature quilt show!!! I remember that Donna Thomas book which makes me think I must have it somewhere!

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  18. Thanks for sharing your lovely miniature quilts. My favoutite is the log cabin quilt.

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  19. I MIGHT have 1-2 issues of Minature Quilts in my magazine file - I will have to look. I've never done a mini, but there is always a first - although I did make a table runner with little itty bitty paper pieced maple leaves, so maybe I did make a mini and not realize it! Certainly, your lovely quilts are inspiring - soooo tiny! Would be fun to take a photo of the Flying Geese with your thimble just to show size because those geese must by tiny! Thanks for sharing!

    Cheers!

    Evelyn

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  20. Love your show! I can't imagine working on anything this tiny. You are really talented!

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  21. These are all so cute, Patti.

    The work challenges--don't know what to tell you there but I know you long for the day when you can be home sewing and quilting.

    My brain thing came out with the same proportions yours did, LOL. Like minded??

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  22. Your mini quilts are tremendous. I love them all! Thanks for sharing.

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  23. Lovely miniatures! Thanks for sharing.

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  24. I love your mini's! Especially the little log cabin!

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