My First Mini Quilt

I've been sewing alot just haven't had much time to post.  I joined the Mini Quilt Swap hosted by Kristi at http://www.schnitzelandboo.com/ a couple of months ago .  I have thought about this quilt every day since I got my partner assignment.  The swap is secret so no one knows who is sewing for who. 

One of the reasons I like to do swaps is that it forces me to try new techniques. 

The questionnaire from my partner said she liked mixing vintage and modern and liked a "rainbow" color scheme.  It also said she collected vintage Pyrex bowls.  From that moment, I remembered the bowl fabric from Lori Holt which she happened to list as one of her favorite fabric designers.   

So, the first thing I did was order this fabric.  I love how bright and cheery it is

I decided I wanted to do a Dresden design.  I carried the fabric all over town for weeks to find matching/coordinating fabrics for the petals or blades.  Here is the first Dresden I made.  I used the Stampin' Up! Dresden die to cut everything out...
 

Long story short, this Dresden didn't make it on the quilt.  I started to hand sew and turn all of the petals and give up quickly-- it just wasn't turning out like I wanted.  Then, I decided to make it round.  Well-- then it got wonky and I decided to just start over about 2 o'clock in the morning

I made a whole new Dresden and sewed the blades with points instead so I wouldn't have to deal with the curves.  The second one turned out much better... but somehow I could not get it to lay flat, so I had to add another blade to make it work (17 blades total).

I appliqued the Dresden on white on white dot fabric, did a blanket stich around the points and sewed in the ditch of the blades.  I then added the bowl fabric for a border....  Here it is without the center and binding.

 

I debated about the color for binding and center circle.  Part of me wanted to go with black and white dots but I finally opted for a grey and white dot instead.  I had a difficult time sewing the binding... remember what I said about forcing myself to try new techniques-- well I got a good taste of binding!  I did the whole thing twice and finally got it to look right.  Here it is the finished.
 

Here is the back. 
 

I added one little extra handmade item... one of my zipper pouches.   

Here is the whole package with a few little Texas treats from a few stores in our Historical Square in Downtown McKinney...  Texas Bumpy Road Popcorn from Mom & Pop Popcorn, Goodies Chocolate in the shape of Texas from Goodies, Obleas from Mexico, Texas Chewie Pecan Pralines from our state capital and finally everyone needs a Texas license plate with their name on it! 

I hope she likes everything.  It really was hard to let this go but I hope my partner enjoys it and loves it.  The package is being delivered today and I look forward to hearing from her.  Thanks for stopping by.