Finished my Mini Art Quilt!

I simply can't wait! I participated in a Mini Art Quilt Swap on Craftster and I finally sent off my quilt today. My partner was really specific about what she wanted and I think I did pretty alright! First let me show the awesome quilt she made me:

It's a Gryffindor Crest! She chose my Harry Potter theme and did an excellent job. Can you believe it's only her first time doing paper piecing? I chose her Christmas theme and although I messed up a lot of it, I think I'm in love. It's super cute. It's a table square (like a table runner). She wanted something that didn't have a "top" in the design, meaning from every seat it makes sense. She also wanted the design to work with her possibly putting flowers in the middle or a center piece. So, without further ado....

In that picture you can see the layout, but it's really the details that make me love this Mini Art Quilt. Take a look...

It was a lot of fun using all the new stitches on my new sewing machine. There was an issue, however, with the decorative stitch that I used on the binding. It's all over the place. I think I may have some practice to do for that one.

How I did it: I didn't use a pattern. I just kind of made it up. It's around 2 ft x 2 ft. I've never done machine applique but I had a general idea. There is a good tutorial here. I prefer to use Heat 'N Bond.  (That stuff is AMAZING. I've been using it forever and it never ceases to amaze me.) That's pretty much it. Then just used craft batting. The back is the same fabric as the sky and I used double fold bias tape for the binding. Easy peasy. (Hint: If you need help with binding/bias tape, there is a great tutorial here. They do a hand sewn hidden stitch on the back instead of a top stitch. It depends on the look you're going for. I like do top stitches with a machine because it's quicker and I like the way it looks. In the picture above I did a decorative top stitch -- see the green swirlies on the red border? In her tutorial it would just be plain red.)

I thought it turned out pretty good! I think I'm done with swaps for a while, however. I've got another full size quilt to finish and an afghan I'm crocheting that I'd like to get done this year. Haha. Thanks for looking!

- Ms. 246