Doll Quilt Swap 5

Of the many swaps in which I've been participating these past few months, the Doll Quilt Swap is one of my favorites. It's amazingly well-run, many of my favorite quilters are regular players, and the creations are always unique, colorful, amazingly creative, and inspiring. I just wrapped up Doll Quilt Swap 5 and I am excited to show both what I sent and what I received.

First, take a look at the jaw-droppingly drool-worthy quilt I received from krom_mama:



This beautiful creation from Sarah is absolutely perfect for me ... perhaps because of the sneaky recon work she did ahead of time. She showed a few sneak peeks over on Flickr and tricked me into giving her my opinion (which, of course, was that I loved it), so she knew she was on the right track.

It's been living on the back of our chair-and-a-half until I get a chance to hang it. Looks right at home, doesn't it? And, as a bonus, it was appreciated as part of our Thanksgiving decor this past week. (Actually, this was our Thanksgiving decor ... but that's OK : ).


Thanks so much, Sarah! It will be cherished.

Now for what I sent off to my partner (who shall remain nameless until the package's receipt is confirmed) ...

I've had flying geese on the brain, mostly because of Amanda Jean & Sarah's Tokyo Triangles group over on Flickr. I was also inspired by a recent issue of American Patchwork & Quilting. I love this cover story Christmas quilt, and when my partner indicated that she would like a Christmas quilt, it all just clicked!

I started with 2 charm packs of the "Winter" line by Minick & Simpson for Moda. Turns out the charm squares were the perfect size to cut up for these flying geese units. I've really enjoyed seeing what different kinds of small quilts that I can make from charm packs ... they're affordable, and I really enjoy working with all of the different prints within a line.

I'm very happy with how this quilt came out. Quality-wise, I think it might be the best finished quilt I've made yet. I was even happy with my binding!

Once they knew there was a photo shoot going on, the kids wanted to get in on the act :

I wasn't quite sure how I wanted to quilt this one, but I wound up just following one of the patterns created by the flying geese and stitching in the ditch. I love how the zig-zag pattern came out on the back:


With the Christmas season upon us and a completed project in my hands, it was really difficult to convince myself that I did indeed have to put this one in the mail!