MQG mini swap
After sharing a few sneaky peeks over on Instagram last month, now my swap buddy has received her quilt I can finally share the full finished mini that I made for the MQG swap!
So what is the MQG mini swap?
For anyone unfamiliar with the mini swap, it’s an annual swap between members of the Modern Quilt Guild. The only constraints are that it be no bigger than 24” x 24” and that it reach your swap buddy by the time Quilt Con comes around in late February.
This swap is a one-to-one partner swap, so once matched you get to know who you're making for and who's making for you and receive a short brief written by your swap buddy about their likes and dislikes.
Why join in?
Having joined the MQG as an Individual member in January 2020 (sadly there are no local MQG groups that meet near me) I was too late to join the swap last year, so as soon as sign ups opened in October I was in like a shot - I was determined to join the fun this year! Having seen pictures of the amazing minis being swapped at QuiltCon, I loved the idea (and challenge) of working to create a quilt based on someone else’s likes and not mine as a way of stepping out of my quilty comfort zone. Having had to cancel a busy year of in-person teaching when lockdown came into effect last March, I’ve really missed the one-to-one aspect of quilting and the sense of community that comes from taking part in quilt shows so this felt like another way to join in from home.
My swap buddy
My swap buddy was Denise @nisamckmaker who is also an Individual member based in the UK and it was so nice to be paired with someone else who doesn’t have a local group to meet up with in the true #makeaminimakeafriend spirit of the swap!
Designing and making the quilt
When I started designing the mini quilt, as well as the short brief on likes and dislikes we filled in as part of the swap sign-up my swap buddy very helpfully sent me a collage to help inspire me. I started to mull over the brief and decided that I’d start by picking a colour scheme and pulling fabric and then design around them (normally I go the other way!). I really wanted to include grey, purple and teal as Denise had mentioned that she really likes that combination, then decided to add white and a great bright aqua I found in my stash to bring in the bright skies and black and white architecture from the collage.
Now, anyone who knows me knows that I just don’t use grey in my quilts - I love rainbows and bright colours, and definitely not grey, so this was pretty outside my comfort zone! Having said that, this project may have actually convinced me to add in a little occasionally as I rather like how it brings out the other colours and changes tone slightly depending on what fabric is next to it.
The fabrics in my pull ended up all coming from my stash (hurrah for having a good supply of various solids to hand!) and includes Kona Enchanted and Moda Bella in Aqua, Iris, White Bleached and Steel.
Something else that was mentioned in my swap brief was Denise’s love of architecture so I really liked the idea of bringing those really strong geometric elements into the quilt. After mulling it over for a few days inspiration struck when I saw my copy of Modern Triangle Quilts by Rebecca Bryan of @bryanhousequilts on the shelf - I needed to make triangles! A core feature in all good architecture, the right angled triangle practically jumped right at me waving a flag saying “use me"!” so I had a good flick through the book and started sketching some of the block ideas into a 4x4 grid of quarter square triangle (QST) blocks as I love using these for adding interest and movement to a design.
After recreating my sketch in EQ8 (the quilt design software I use) and settling on final colours for each block, I realised that piecing this quilt conventionally was going to take way more time and mental math then I had capacity for while working a full time job and trying to get the Resonance quilt pattern ready for release. Foundation Paper Piecing was the only other option, and luckily I really like a bit of FPP! I know some people find it stressful but I really enjoy the rhythm of it and actually find it quite meditative.
Quilting & facing
With such a busy design, when it came to quilting I knew I had to keep it simple or risk overwhelming the quilt. A square grid set on the diagonal using 28wt Aurifil thread in Dove Grey was the perfect choice and really complements the design nicely.
To keep the seamless look of the top in the finished quilt I opted for facing rather than traditional binding which proved just a bit more of a challenge then usual! First I lost bobbin chicken and didn’t realise and “sewed” an entire other facing strip before I noticed, and then I somehow broke three needles in half an hour doing the under-stitching that’s key to a nice flat finish. It was a particularly trying afternoon, but in the end of course it all worked out with a little bit of (lot of) patience.
It’s traditional to use an invisible ladder stitch when sewing down facing, but never one to stick to the norm I opted for big stitch finishing instead using white perle cotton. I love the little extra visual interest it adds to a plain back!
Finished quilts
Here’s a peek at the mini I received - so many unusual techniques, I love it! I’d never thought to use buttons or embellishments in a quilt before, and I really like the 3D effect the folded sections give. I just need to find the perfect spot to hang it now!
And there you have it! I really enjoyed my experience taking part in the MQG Mini Swap and highly recommend it if you haven’t done it before.
