Swaps and Gifts

Before Christmas, I had mentioned to Jacey that I don't have a hand knit hat for myself.  I make them all the time, but they are always gifts for friends or family.  So she suggested that we do a swap.  She would knit a hat for me and I would make a mini quilt for her.  So I planned, and planned, and planned some.  Ordered fabric and waited for it to arrive and before I knew it, Jacey was done with my hat and I hadn't even started on her mini.    SO I told her to hang on to my hat until I was done and we decided to do our swap when we met up in Birmingham in early February. I knew she shared my love for the TV show Firefly and it's companion movie Serenity.  And being the geeky crafter that I am, I used this as my inspiration for the mini quilt that I came up with for her. 

Also, like me, one of her favorite fabric lines is Goodfolks by Anna Maria Horner.  So I knew that I had to use this for her mini.  Luckily, I have a pretty hefty stash and I was more than happy to dig into it for her.  I knew I wanted it to be somewhat whimsical and I knew I wanted to incorporate wording of some sort into it.  This is what I ended up with.

I embroidered a quote from the movie that the character Wash says.  "I am a leaf on the wind, watch how I soar."  I used the Goodfolks for a paper pieced border on the bottom.  I am very new to paper piecing and have been intimidated by it in the past but I was really stuck on and idea I had in my head so I just bit the bullet, got over my fears and gave it a shot.  I am very happy with how it turned out.  And I think I will be trying this border on other things in the future.

And here is what I got in return!

This gorgeous, cozy hat in my favorite color!!  I love it SO much, Jacey, thank you! A couple of other gifty things to share with you.  One given and one received.  The beautiful Darci of Stitches and Scissors and I have been chatting back and forth since we met at Sewing Summit last year.  And I am so happy that we have become friends.  I was having a rough week a little bit ago and she made and sent me this beautiful mini quilt!! 

Thank you Darci!  I makes me happy every time I look at it! For Christina's birthday, I tried so hard to think of something that she wouldn't make for herself.  So again, I turned to my geeky side and decided to make a little mini quilt for her inspired by Dr. Who.  More specifically, one of her favorite quotes. 

I always have such a fun time making things for her.  Her tastes are SO similar to mine, I can o crazy making things for her and know that she will like whatever it is.  :) Being a part of the crafty online community has been such a great experience.  And I have met some of the best people because of it.