Mini Kitty Quilts

One day in September my mother and I went to a quilt show and then to a nearby quilt shop.  Miss Kitty came with us.  She kept eyeing all of the orange fabric so I let her pick two fat quarters.  She happily carried them around the store.  She loved the orange kitty fabric the most.  My plan was to make her and Miss Bunny some matching Halloween draw string bags. Miss Kitty had other ideas.  

Miss Kitty played with the fat quarters all day.  She kept calling them her quilt.  She even wrapped up her pink fox in the fat quarters.  

The next day I added some flannel for batting and made them into an actual little quilt.  

It still worked out well for her fox who was all cozy when listening to Teddy Ruxpin tell a story.  

Miss Kitty calls it her Kitty Quilt because of all the black cats.  

I knew that Miss Bunny would also want a mini quilt.  I pulled out a minky scrap and some Frozen fabric my friend gave me to make this little quilt.  

It was Bunny approved.

Bunny also calls this her "Kitty Quilt" because it is used for her white kitty.  

It reminds me of when I had to do something very similar for my three boys.  

Just don't tell my daughters that the boys' quilts were much bigger than theirs.

XX,

Jasmine

Pinwheel Mini Quilt

After wrestling Cheetah's very large quilt I felt like making something small.  I pulled out some old bonus triangle scraps from my reverse star quilt.  

I made that quilt in January 2014, so it only took me 7 years to use up the scraps.  I decided to make pinwheels out of the little half square triangle blocks.  

I grouped the half square triangles into light medium and dark pinwheels.  Then I had to decide whether to add sashing or plain squares between the pinwheels with the limited fabric I had left of the low volume print.  I chose setting squares and barely had enough fabric.  One square is actually two rectangles sewn together.  

I decided on a mixed up layout instead of an ombre layout.  I pieced the blocks together using the webbing method.  

I decided to quilt it in the ditch and down the center of each block.  (The center line quilting hid the extra seam in the background fabric perfectly.)

I heard that Bonnie Hunter uses a 2 inch cut binding and I decided to try it out to avoid cutting off points on the pinwheels.  

The binding was stitched to the back by hand.  

The backing is a denim blue fabric I was given several years ago.  

This new mini quilt looks so pretty on my kitchen table.

Sometimes a small, fast, and scrappy finish is exactly what I need.

XX,

Jasmine

Mini Quilt Display

First, I would like to thank everyone who checked up on me over the summer.  My blogging break ended up being longer than I originally planned.  ;)  I had a fabulous summer filled with family, friends, and fun.  Now that the boys are all back in school, I plan on getting back to blogging.

When I shared pictures of my new sewing studio last May, I showed this stack of mini quilts I was hoping to hang on the wall.

Thanks to the help of my husband and Ikea, they are now on display in my studio.

I decided that I wanted rods with clips around my studio so that I can change out the mini quilts whenever I feel like it.  I used the Fintorp rails and the Syrlig clips from Ikea for my mini quilts.

My husband hung two rails on each side of my window for a total of four mini quilts.

He hung a fifth rail above my old cutting table near the door to display a fifth quilt.

Then he cut two rails a little smaller and hung them up together above my design wall area.  This way I can either use my design wall or hang up a quilt.  (This is Monkey's Monster Alphabet quilt I borrowed for this picture.)

I enjoy seeing a quilt more than an empty design wall.

Having my mini quilts displayed makes my studio feel so much more like home.

XX,
Jasmine

Flower Pot Mini: A Finish

I decided to do some more testing with a double batting on a mini quilt made from a panel.  I bought the small panel for 25 cents at my local quilt shop a couple years ago, so it was perfect for a test quilt.  I used a layer of Hobbs 80/20 on the bottom and a layer of Hobbs Wool on top.  I quilted it with Floriani's polyester embroidery thread.  I love how the thread sparkles in the sunlight.

The first thing I did was outline the prints in the panel.

Then I quilted in the background with small spirals.

I used a scrap from the backing of Floating for the binding on this quilt.  While I do a lot of bindings by machine, I like to sew the binding down by hand when there is a high contrast with the backing fabric.

I love how it turned out and can see more simple panel quilts in my future.  I had so much fun playing with the free motion quilting.

I think I like the Kona Snow backing as much as the front.

The puffy batting almost acts like trapunto without all the extra work.

This mini quilt finishes about 11 by 20 inches.

What surprises me with the double batting is how much stiffer the quilt is.  It is perfect for a wall hanging, but I don't think I will do it on a cuddle quilt.

XX,
Jasmine

Chaos Mini: A Finish

In my last post I mentioned that I had already used the scraps from my scrap quilt.  (That still makes me chuckle.)  I ended up with an extra block when I cut the scrap vortex into fourteen inch squares.  I decided to add 3 inch borders and quilt it the same way as I did my other Mini Vortex.  I even used the same shiny silver/gray thread.  It is the Exquisite polyester embroidery thread.  I really like the shimmer it gives the quilt.

Once again, I found a circle and started spiraling around it.  It is a pretty fun method to use on a mini quilt.  This one finishes about 20 inches square.

Another advantage to being here at my mom's house is the access to her stash.  She gave me the fabric for my backing.  She is so sweet.

It is a pretty Japanese screen print.

I decided to bind this in black like the border.  I thought about doing a red like the big one, but the red overpowered the smaller quilt.

I always love seeing the same block quilted in a different way.

XX,
Jasmine

P.S.  I will be linking up with some of the fun parties on my sidebar, including Oh Scrap.  Check them out to see what other quilters have been making.  

Four: A Mini Quilt

I recently finished this mini quilt which I started at Quilt Bliss last November.  It was from a class teaching four different methods to applique circles.

It was pretty boring until I added the quilting.  I love the texture from the quilting!

I used a Hobbs 80/20 batting and Aurifil thread in gray and aqua.  I quilted spirals on the circles with the walking foot on my Pfaff, and then quilted stacked swirls in the background.

I stitched the binding down by hand to the back using a ladder stitch, and I love the simple mini.

XX,
Jasmine

P.S.  Thanks to everyone who has wished me well with the move and building a house.  I have been spending as much time as possible in my temporary sewing room, but haven't had much time for the computer.  I have a few more finishes I hope to share soon.  :)

My craft room is the bonus room over the garage.

Mini Vortex: A Finish

I enjoyed making my Scrap Vortex quilt that I couldn't bear to just put away the rainbow scraps I had left.  Some had already been sewn into groups ready to be used as fillers that were not needed.  So I put the pieces on my design wall, just to see what they would look like.

Once I saw how cute it would be, I couldn't leave it alone.  Later that afternoon I had a finished quilt top measuring about 21 inches square.

Then on another day I pieced a batting and backing for the quilt.  I basted it and began the quilting.

Using my built in walking foot I outlined the center of a daisy and began spiraling outwards.  It seemed a little uneven as I was quilting, but once I stepped back I loved it!  After awhile I was able to just gently guide the quilt in a circular motion while I stitched pedal to the metal.

While I absolutely love the look of the spiral quilting, I am not sure I would do it on anything bigger than a baby quilt.  It was the perfect design for a mini, taking about an hour and a half.

I was so excited to get it finished that I did the binding by machine.

The blue fabric was leftover from the binding of the big vortex quilt.

In keeping with the similarities to the big quilt, I chose purple for the backing.  It is pieced and made with leftovers from two different quilts.

I used a silvery gray polyester embroidery thread for the quilting.  It seems almost metallic which is the effect I was going for.

I seriously love the texture on this quilt.

I am so glad I decided to make this mini.

And Monkey wants everyone to know that it is still big enough for him.

XX,
Jasmine

P.S.  I will be linking up with some of the fun parties on my sidebar including Oh Scrap! and Finish it Up Friday.