More Mini Quilts

I think I will continue with the topic of miniature quilts started in my last post. What I really like about making mini quilts is that they are a small project and don't require the commitment that a large quilt does. That does not mean that they are easy and can be made in very little time at all. Small quilts can be more challenging than large quilts due to the tiny pieces and can take a considerable amount of time to make. This mini quilt was made from a kit that I bought at a quilt show. I think it was the Lancaster, PA show in about 2003. It was one of the first quilts I made on my new Janome 6500 in 2004.

I liked the antique reproduction fabrics in the quilt as well as its scrappy look. The blocks are 4 inch blocks, which makes some of the pieces fairly small. I made these blocks by using accurate cutting and accurate piecing. When making blocks this small you need to be really accurate. Being off by 1/8 inch in a 12 inch block may not be too bad, but being off by that much in a 4 inch block can be a disaster. It was really easy to be accurate when sewing with my new machine and the 1/4 inch foot that came with it. I also learned to slow down when sewing to try too be more accurate.

My favorite book on the topic of making miniature quilts is called Small Scale Quilt Making by Sally Collins. Her quilts are totally amazing. You can see her quilts on her website at http://www.sallycollins.org/ Be prepared to be blown away by her quilts. If you saw a photo of one of her quilts and no one told you it was a miniature quilt you would think that it was a full size quilt. Her choice of colors and fabrics is great, too. Sally usually hand quilts her miniatures. I usually machine quilt mine. In fact, mini quilts are good to learn how to machine quilt on since they are not too difficult to move around. This is much easier than moving a large quilt around.

Chris