It's been practically a year since I did any real quilting of any kind; last summer I got on to the bag making kick that I'm still in, and quilting kind of fell from my radar. I've been meaning to get back into it all, and so I joined up with the Doll Quilt Swap II project to get myself motivated.
Like normal, I was supposed to send this out yesterday, but I just finished the binding on it this evening. It took some extra time to do all of the hand sewing on this, but I really think it made a difference. I was really on the fence about just machine quilting and binding it, but I know my work looks better when I take the time to do the hand work.
I couldn't decide if I wanted to put any borders or sashing in, and in the end decided not to, mainly because I was running out of time. In the end, I'm really glad I decided to skip it. I think it would have been too broken up that way. Maybe it's me being lazy, too.
I was seriously happy with how the backing turned out. It worked perfectly to just use the small amount of color so that you could really see the quilting from the back. Part of me almost likes the back side better than the front side.
Off to the post office in the morning with it! I hope my swap partner likes it as much as I do. If not, I suppose she can send it back to me. I wouldn't complain!
Oh how I love to get mail! Recently I recived the most beautiful swap from Claire of Needlebook.
I was so excited to get one of her delicate needlebooks. It's so beautifully made and I've seriously shown it to everyone I know. I was also thrilled about the two pieces of fabric that she also put inside. I've already got big plans for both of them! Thank you so much Claire!
I've been neglecting my poor blog! Even worse, I've not shown off my beautiful goodies from the Gifty 3 swap yet. Yikes!
Vicki from Turkey Feathers sent me so many pretty things!
I really felt very spoiled! She sent buttons, Amy Butler fabric, pom pom and tassle trims, darling patches, one of her amazing sachet peeps and a perfect heart needle book! I never realized just how much I needed one of those before; I'm carrying it everywhere now. I had so much fun with this swap--thank you Vicki for being a terrific partner!