Doll Quilt Swap

Label Love

2011-08-11T11:03:00.001+08:00

The doll quilt swap group always seems to have some really unique labels, and this round there is lots of fun labels!

Such sweet needlework done by Mollyjolly:

FlossieBlossoms made perfect use of a bitty block as her label:

Bouncypoodle's quilt back and label is almost as amazing as the front!

A very cute and colorful label made by DeeRooG:

A very suiting label from Lemon Tree Quilts:

A very cute butterfly label made by QuackQuack22:

For more inspiration of the lovely labels made during Doll Quilt Swap, you can check out this thread.

First To Finish!

2011-08-10T11:02:00.001+08:00

Today marks the first day you are allowed to ship your doll quilts! Internationally, that is! International quilts can be mailed Aug. 9th and must be sent by Aug. 16th. Domestic quilts must be mailed by Aug 23rd.
There have been some amazing quilts getting finished up in the group.

Look at this amazing cathedral window doll quilt that Lemon Tree Quilts finished:

Quack Quack 22 has finished not 1, but 2 quilts for her partner to choose from:

A colorful square in square doll quilt has been made by Four Monkeys Quilt, I just love the cool colors and stripey binding!

Another colorful beauty is this doll quilt made by Marilynkb:

Bouncypoodle made a 'Crazy Tumbling Pinwheel' quilt, and I think anyone would be excited to receive this one! The fun scrappy binding is so perfect!

Mindboggld created a doll quilt with such tiny details! Those squares finish up at only 1/2"!

Stunning just about sums up this fabulous quilt that Mini_Milly04 made :

Rainbows of color!

2011-07-27T12:46:00.000+08:00

Well I don't think the swap participants are afraid of color this round! Lots of bright, rainbow colored blocks have started to emerge in the group pool.
SpottedStoneStudio has been making progress on a scrappy rainbow flying geese quilt,

Living My Sweet Life was inspired by all of Mamacjt's colorful quilts and decided to make this wonky rainbow quilt,

MollyJolly has created a rainbow of churn dash blocks,

Fionapoppy has her quilt top finished up,

Marilynkb posted a sneak peek that resembles a rainbow quilt pie!

A Girl In Paradise has her quilt top finished up - and its fun and colorful!

~~alissa~~ has made several very colorful rainbow stars,

Patchwork Queen is working on a stunning combination of English paper peiced diamonds and solids,

Putting Pen to Paper

2011-07-25T12:21:00.002+08:00

The participants in the swap are starting to get some ideas flowing now!

StitchDutchess has sketched out a DQS11 possibility, here take on Wonky stars and will be using either Kona Ash or White for the background,

Bouncypoodle has an idea bewing with little floating pinwheels,

FlossieBlossom, a swap mama, has possibility for DQS11 using a pattern she found is a 1933 issue of Minature Quilts called 'Wheel of Fortune'

Pinkbrain and Mr.Chicken has an asymetrical design with stars and squares planned out,

Fionapoppy's initial idea is air castle blocks is 9 different colors,

Stacks of Fabrics

2011-07-24T11:17:00.000+08:00

There has been lots of sketches of what people are going to make and a some stacks of fabrics to tempt us.
Kate@Swim,Bike Quilt has a very lovely color palette with some of Anna Mariah Honer's new LouLouthi:

Amy's Creative Side has a great selection of greens,

Patricabstudio has a lovely selection of red, pinks and pale yellows and greens waiting to be sewn up,

BetsyLynne50 has two fabric selections, Anthology's Sweet Tooth & Hope Valley combined with Kona Ash,

Peonybliss has a rich combination of red, purple and grey pulled together,

Locodowo has a selection of fabrics in grey, blue with a hint of pink,

LemonTreeTales has some pretty oranges and will be using either hot pink or turquoise as the accent color,

It's Mosaic Making Time!

2011-07-11T03:30:00.000+08:00

Partner emails went out this weekend, so bebe's should know now if they made the lottery and got into the swap this round or not. A mosaic is a great way to inspire your partner with your quilting style, color themes you like and even bitty blocks that you love. Don't know how to make a mosaic? You can find out how in this thread in the Doll Quilt Swap 11 Mosaic Group.
I will start off with some of the most recently made mosaics:
Lots of color in BetsyLynn50's mosaic-

Lots of inspiration of quilts that can be made into bitty blocks in jmbmommy's mosaic -

Shecanquilt added lots of helpful tips about why she choose the quilts in her mosaic -

Suzettra made a mosaic full of lots of color, and nuetrals with pops of colors -

TagEButt has lots of traditional quilts in her mosaic -

{safieh} has a mosaic with lots of 'points', and traditional quilts made with modern fabrics-

Sewgirly! created a mosaic with beautiful quilt designs and color schemes-

Peonybliss did a wonderful job with adding notes to each of the quilts explaining what it is she loves, or why she choose to add them to them to her inspiration mosaic -

Swap Mama Introductions!

2011-06-27T11:24:00.003+08:00

And were off! With just a few days since signs up have been posted, there is already a lot of buzz in the group! I would like to introduce the swap mama's this round:

Susan- chickenfoot has been around in Doll Quilt Swap all the way since the very first round, and a Mama since DQS2! Just look at this inspiring wall of doll quilts :

Kimmie- quiltinkimmie is a lively Mama in this group, enthusiastic and full of sarcasm! Kimmie has been participating in DQS since round 3 or 4, and has been a Mama for the last 5 rounds. Just look at this beauty she sent out last round for DQS10:

Sue - suejoy70, is one of our Mama's all the way from Australia. She has been quilting for 15 years, and joined DQS in round 7, and has been a Mama since DQS10. Last round she sent out a stunning paper pieced quilt, with lots of amazing movement from the quilting:

Susan - flossieblossoms just started quilting a few years ago, but has been sewing/crafting and doll making for ages. She has been with DQS since round 6, and a Mama for the last 4 rounds. Flossie sent out a bright Rainbow Village quilt for the last round:

Kandra, mindboggld is a computer programmer and embraces her geeky side! She loves to embroider and quilt and has been participating in DQS since round 9, and joined as a Mama for the last round. For DQS10 she sent out a lovely quilt with wonky house, and cute hand quilted stars:

Helen, Mini_Milley04 is our second doll quilt swap Mama from Australia. She has been quilting for 8 years, and a DQS Mama all the way since round 3! Helen made a vibrant wonky stars mini for round 10:

Solidia, Modernsewl has been participating in Doll quilt swap from the very first round, and has been a Mama since round 8. She not only quilts/sews but also likes to scrapbook, crochet and garden. Here's a great collection of doll quilts she has made made for DQS and a few other swaps:

Carol, Mamacjt is our Angel Mama for the group. That means whenever someone gets a partner who flakes, or a quilt is lost in the mail, Carol makes and send them a quilt! Carol already has 3 (Yes, three!!) doll quilts made ready to be sent out as angel quilts for this round.

Partner emails go out around July 8th, so now is a great time to practice some mini quilt blocks, update your flickr stream with projects you have been working on, gathering up favorites to use in a mosaic if you are in this round, and most importantly- Stay Active & Participate in the Doll Quilt Swap Group!

Color My World!

2011-02-26T22:34:00.003+08:00

The DQS10 photostream is full of colorful and cheerful quilts that just makes me drool! I adore color and everytime I see our photostream I just have to smile :)!

This quilt by bumblebeans is completed and ready to go. Look at all that wonderful color and a rainbow of flying geese too!

And Emma_Louise's quilt is gorgeous with the colored bubbles and black silhouettes. I think the white background just helps those bubbles pop even more!

Oh and how I love these blocks of color from Spiced Coffee! The shadows just really add so much to the colored blocks! Gorgeousness right here!

The dollquilt that Flutter.From.Kat posted is divine! Loving those pinwheels so very much in those citrusy colors!

And this in process quilt by A Blond Quilts is so saturated in color that I simply can not wait to see how it turns out! And those blocks are sooooo itty bitty! Swoon!

And one of my very faves in process quilts right now is by DaveNJilly Wonky? Colorful? Fun? Yup it's a trifecta! Loving this little quilt so much and can't wait to see a kitty on the shelf.

Keep Quilting!
Kandra (aka mindboggld)

Crossing the Finish Line Early

2011-02-23T06:41:00.003+08:00

Is anyone else as excited as I am to see finished doll quilt pictures finding their way into our photostream?

Look at this amazing Tile Quilt by Di2Quilt! So many of us are wanting this beautiful bird to land on our doorstep!

Or how about this whimsical tree doll quilt by Ky in Tx? I know this would bring a smile to my face every time I saw it!

And oh how I'd love to have this colorful zig zag quilt by Jen of all Trades. Just look at that wonderful hand stitching! She says its her first time to hand quilt - I can't tell!

Look at this adorable elephant quilt by Lethargic Lass! Not only is it round, but the quilting shows the water being poured on top of him!

This silhouette bird set against such a wonderful and bright background is darling! Where the Orchids Grow really did wonders in all those little details - the bird, the kite, the butterfly, the flowers! Amazing!

And well, this quilt just has a warm spot in my heart. Of course it's the one I finished! :) I know my partner will love it, but it'll be hard to part with!

Stay tuned as we feature more finished quilts! Until then, keep quilting!

~mindboggld (Kandra)

Put your sunglasses on - it's rainbow time

2011-01-21T01:16:00.001+08:00

Well no-one is afraid of colour this time round so get your sunglasses on and have a look at these fabulous combos. Jenn (of all trades) has shown us these beauties:

Rachael (Rachaeldaisy) is never afraid of colour so we knew she'd be splashing out ith her doll quilt:

Leila (Where the Orchids Grow) has gone for a very similar look to Rachael:

Janice (Sewgirly) has also gone all rainbow on us but her lucky partner gets to choose between fabric lines:

And finally Karen (malama2006) has gone rainbow crazy and is already ten steps ahead of the rest of us with some cutting done and some layout under way.

Putting pen to paper

2011-01-19T19:10:00.002+08:00

The participants in the swap are staring to get ideas on paper now. Susan (Flossie Blossoms, swap mama) is thinking of a village in the mountains scene in rainbow colours:

Rebecca's Rags is thinking of raw edge appliqued pieced circles (that's a lot of adjectives right there)and stacked coins in the borders:

Kristy (Love Old Houses) has drawn some hanging things but are they lamps, Christmas decorations - and Kristy is concerned they might be too industrial. I say hanging lamps and I love them but is this one for me anyway?

Jessica (Sew Crafty Jess) is keeping her options open with sketches of pieced circles, haxagons and a string quilt - looks like she's thinking of rainbow colours though, perhaps against a grey or white:

And finally Kandra (mindboggld and also known as the Data Queen mama for being computer-tech-tastic) is planning gnomes, mushrooms, cotton reels and teeny tiny little quilts.

Stacks of fabrics

2011-01-18T17:10:00.002+08:00

So far we're seeing sketches, mosaics of what people are going to make and a few stacks of fabrics to tempt us. Shruti Dandekar (13 Woodhouse Road) has chosen some lovely soft colours in 1930s style fabrics:

Nichol (Hardy Party of 5) has picked a stack of natural tones. I am hopeless on colours so I don't exactly know why I'm trying to pin down what people have picked:

Leila (needle and dime) (who deserves a pat on the back for her cushion being "explored" yesterday - ooh dear, that sounds like a euphemism) has chosen a palette of soft greys and greens with pops of pink and orange:

Silvana (Silort), possibly the most skilled (or maravilhosa, as they say in Brazil - I'm trying to sound clever but Silvana taught me this word this morning so don't be too impressed) paper piecer on Flickr, has chosen a few palettes including these beautiful pinks and greys:

And finally Colleen, the Busy Bean (Ooh I wonder if she's noticed that rhymes) has set out some fabrics and a sketch all in one go. Now that is efficient:

And they're off...

2011-01-17T17:53:00.001+08:00

Partner emails went out to everyone in the Doll Quilt Swap yesterday over a 24 hour period, as we have mamas all around the globe. A few participants are already feeling inspired and have kicked off with some hints as to where they are going. Ethne (Flaming Stitches) has made a wonderful bird mosaic:

Amy (Allie Kat Mom) has given us a hint as to the direction she's headed in. Perhaps a quilt with a monument attached to the top?

Emedoodle has shown us her sketch pad with an array of ideas including "Raft with special thing" which has us all wondering what her special thing might be.

Natalie Leppard has produced this gorgeous inspiration drawing:

And finally Lily Rose has shown a tantalising pile of Innocent Crush, a very popular line in the DQS this round, together with a selection of possible solids. I'd be happy if she just sent me what she's got in the picture - she doesn't even need to sew it together if she doesn't want.

It's mosaic making time

2011-01-14T18:06:00.003+08:00

Hi, I'm Lynne, from Lily's Quilts, a UK quilter, and this is my first round as a swap mama in the fabulous Doll Quilt Swap. Over at the Swap, bebes have now received notification from the mamas as to whether they made the lottery and got into the swap this round or not. So now it is time to make a mosaic of inspiration. The mamas will soon email their bebes and tell them who their secret partner is and the inspiration is a great place to get ideas for what the bebe might make. Here are a few of the mosaics that have appeared over the last few days. If you click on the mosaics, they will take you through to the flickr pages where, in the description under the mosaics, you can find out who made each item in the mosaic. Not made one of these before? You can find out how in this thread on the Doll Quilt Swap 10 mosaic page.
We'll kick off with the most recent addition to the group, a mosaic made by Madame Samm, known to many of you as the person who runs the the fabulous blog, Stash Manicure:

The next one is made by my real life friend Mandy (Simply Solids):

An eclectic mosaic from Amy Badskirt:

An even more eclectic one made by Claire WoffDiTo.

And finally this mosaic, made by jgmehlin, which was my favourite mosaic - yes I faved a mosaic full of faves - is that weird? Either way, whether I'm weird or not, take a look at the mosaics in this group if you have a moment by clicking here and go and find yourself some inspiration for your next project.

Round 10 Blog Button!

2011-01-13T21:44:00.003+08:00

Welcome to round 10 of the Dolls Quilt Swap. The amazingly talented Amy has designed our blog button, thanks Amy! Feel free to grab the code at the side and paste it in to your blog.

Quilts in the New Happy Homes!

2010-09-18T09:32:00.011+08:00

Spottedstonestudio has hers from Carla in the studio.

Jmbmommy's wall of beauty including the latest addition from Lolablueocean.

Kristina has hers from Ryan up on the wall!

Kelly has hers from Pieceful Chaos in the perfect spot!

Craftingmomof1 has hers from Michelle Sews on the wall!

Karen loving her quilt from Hanies.

Karen with her quilt from Sunny.

**Note - I couldn't find the links to Carla and Sunny. If you know them, please leave a comment letting me know so I can link it back to them.

MORE finished quilts!

2010-09-10T20:50:00.008+08:00

By QuiltyBee.

By Michelle Sews.

By The Sewbot.

By kelp!.

By Scrapstudio.

By badlandsquilts.

By Modernsewl.

By Sharpshayla.

From Cindy to Helen!

2010-09-06T21:06:00.003+08:00

I apologize to those who also read my blog. The below post is from there. Cindy sent me an amazing quilt and an amazing parcel full of goodies. I have to share if you don't read my blog just how fantastic a swap partner she is!

I got the best mail today! A parcel from my partner for the flickr DQS#9. I'll admit I was a little suprised as usually I'm one of the last to receive, but this time I am amongst the first! I recognized the user ID on the parcel too from the group and of course with the logo on it, I knew exactly what it was!

It was from Cindy, who absolutely spoilt me!! Look at all the goodies I got! How did she know my blue erasable pen had nearly run out too?

Her quilting is just amazing. I was speechless, I would have been happy with just the quilt! The detail in her hand quilting is incredible and when you run your hand over the bird, the texture!

Little french knots? My hand applique knot knowledge isn't much so I'm not sure... the attention to detail though! It is just lovely!

And the label! What quilt is complete without an amazing label!

And this little birdie to match. I had to take this off Matilda who was playing with it, I distracted her with a parcel that Cindy has so kindly popped in for each of the girls.

They scored these little fairies! We discovered after I took this shot that their hands and feet have little magnets in them so the girls had great fun going around the house seeing what they would stick too!

And also these two little bags! The amount of work in these!! Bags are so tricky to make and she made two! The bigger one has zips and pockets and the DQS#9 logo on it! It's just amazing!!!!! Thank you so much Cindy for everything, I feel very lucky to be your partner. Now just to wait till mine arrives at it's new home, shouldn't be long now.

Labels!

2010-09-04T19:21:00.012+08:00

A quilting label is a very personal thing as this selection from round 9 shows.

By Ruthie Quilts.

By Natalie Leppard.

By Ochil Lynz.

By Mini-milly04.

By Emma Louise.

By Ktelschow.

More Quilts!

2010-09-02T21:09:00.012+08:00

Its getting down to the business end of the swap, time to post! There are quilts being finished everywhere, I'll admit I am struggling to keep up with the blog posts! Here are a snippet of a few recent finished ones....

By BetsyLynn50.

By JM1122.

By chocolate is the best medicine.

By sewtobed.

By Quilting Barbie.

By LauraJ_sews.

By lizzyhouse.

By maricopafabrics.

I Am Spartacus!

2010-08-30T20:28:00.003+08:00

Here is Kirk Douglas in his role of Spartacus. I feel like he is the only one reading this blog. Oh well, I don't mind, look at those LEGS!

More Finished Quilts!

2010-08-29T15:18:00.009+08:00

By Mamamary2.

By Red Canoe Designs.

By Mini_milly04.

By Lael in Alabama.

By Traceyjay.

By Quiltinkimmie.

Some More Finished Quilts!

2010-08-20T17:46:00.014+08:00

By scrapnchick.

By Mary.

By Bahamdawn.

By Sewgirly.

From TagEButt.

By Celeste.

By Amy.

By JenniferLGB.

Sweetteamom's Top 5!

2010-08-11T20:19:00.011+08:00

From sewlovetosew. I really like the soft colors of this one. And purple is my fave color!!

From fabricpile. I like thisbecause its hexies!! Love hexies. I love the 3 little flowers.

From lulabellP. The applique and quilting on this one is awesome!!! I hope some day that my quilting can look like this.

From smoochee. Love this one!! Love the whimsy. Love the fact that it has 3 parts. Really love the little gnomie house. I think this one speaks to everyones fanatesy that there really are magic little places out there.

From imagingermonkey. I like this one because well first its so freakin cute. And I love the whimsy of it.

More Finished Quilts for DQS#9.

2010-07-31T13:54:00.016+08:00

From Millie Quilts.

From thebellamodiste.

From Kristinawilberg.

From Ruthiequilts.

From Vivie95.

From Upstatelisa.

From Spottedstonestudio.

Houses....

2010-07-18T09:29:00.007+08:00

We have noticed a few houses pop up in some of the amazing quilts being produced. Looking fantastic ladies!!

By nmommy02.

By upstatelisa.

By tweedledeedesigns.

"How does your Garden Grow?"

2010-07-14T09:08:00.004+08:00

Another stunning Angel Quilt from the amazing Carol. This is her 2nd attempt at a quilt based on one of her very favorite designers, don't look now. This one was not a pattern, just her attempt at making something that looks like Kellie from Don't look now.

This was her first time quilting swirls. Not too bad, huh?

More Finished Quilts.

2010-07-13T14:46:00.012+08:00

By AFriend2.

By bearpawandbearpaw.

By ochil_lynz. All done! My partner has the very popular red crosses quilt from DQS8 in her mosaic (it's so popular I don't think I'm giving anything away by saying that!) but all I see when I look at it is lots of St. George crosses (England flags) and I am, incase you weren't aware, Scottish. So my first thought was a quilt of various St.George's with a sneaky wee Saltire (Scotland flag) in the corner. And THEN I discovered my partner is a soccer fan. And is watching the world cup. So these are all world cup qualifying teams! (France, Honduras, Denmark, England, Chile, Netherlands, Argentina, Switzerland and USA!)

Tweedledee Designs Top 5.

2010-07-10T22:25:00.008+08:00

A guest post from Angela of Tweedledee Designs with her top 5 quilts from previous dolls quilt swaps.

These are the quilts that made me understand that a doll quilt swap wasn't necessarily about the dolls. ;) Each quilt is a work of art in its own way and I love how representative they are of their maker. In no particular order (because there are too many wonderful quilts out there) here are my favorite five.

Made by emma_louise. I love this quilt because it is unique among a collection of quilts that have many things in common, yet appeals to almost everyone. Snow Dance has a beautiful sense of movement and color. I'm one of those people who would say that I'm not always a fan of batiks, but if they were always done in this fresh way I probably wouldn't feel so strongly about them. The colors are bright but not overwhelming with the white background. And of course the quilting is downright amazing. Top it off with the perfect rainbow stripe border (the lines in contrast to the curves of the applique) and you have a particularly beautiful quilt.

This next quilt probably tops everyones list and it's made by the lovely Tacha. This is just a portion of the quit and while the whole thing is absolutely beautiful, this is the part that takes my breath away. There is such whimsy in this little moment, but it is so relatable. This quilt opened my eyes to a type of "landscape" quilt that I would actually enjoy making. I am wowed by her ability to capture the feeling of the two characters in fabric. And it makes me want to have a picnic!

Made by FlossieBlossoms. I don't think that she ended up sending this one to her partner, but this is topping my list of all time favorite doll quilts. I love a good color wheel and the contrast with the black in a sea of white background quilts is wonderful. I'm particularly partial to it because I've had an idea for a pieced quilt that is so similar to this that I actually gasped the first time I saw it because I thought that it was already made. But our ideas are different enough that I will still pursue my own version. In the meantime though, this quilt constantly inspires me to continue my own work while appreciating the beauty of other's.

Made by jrcraft. I adore this quilt for celebrating the simplicity of solid colors and basic quilting shapes. The yellow and orange vibrantly stand out but are balanced by the blues and reds. Though there is a pattern, I don't even see it. What I see is beautiful color and interlocking shapes. A more modern piece than some might enjoy, but it is in perfect harmony with traditional patterns and quilting. A true blend of traditional and modern.

Made by Dontlooknow. This quilt is just so pretty. I admire many of the things that she makes and this type of applique is simply stunning. I love her use of fabric which I think is pretty courageous. The colors, the blend of stitchery and applique are amazing. Her work is truly art and the machine quilting is just the icing on the cake. It's truly a piece that I can stare at over and over.

Oh so many beauties out there and this season looks to bring a whole new series of favorites. I can't wait to see what everyone creates!

Some Finished Quilts.

2010-07-05T21:13:00.020+08:00

From Erin Learns to Quilt.

By Michele360.

Lilys Quilts has really made two quilts. The back say:
"OK so who is this quilt for?"
"XXXX who calls herself XXXX. Don't ask why she doesn't use her real name, none of them do"
"And who made it?"
"Lynne from the UK who calls herself Lily. Lily isn't her real name so why she called herself that, I do not know."
"And why did Lynne make this quilt for XXXX"
"She made it to give to her in the 2010 Flickr Doll Quilt Swap. Again, don't ask. There's a bunch of quilters who swap little doll quilts that dolls don't even get to play with"
"Mmm. Weird"

From mindboggld. She says, it's about 15 x 28 in. (might wanna view it larger :) ) There are imperfections throughout it, because I'm not perfect. I hope you think it adds to its charm. The black areas are quilted quite haphazardly while the white is evenly spaced french knots. The back is made of the ground material with a few balloons for the siggy part. The strings on the balloons are loose. The girl, kitten, flowers and bird are hand embroidered. My very first applique quilt.....

Some Animal Action!

2010-07-01T21:47:00.017+08:00

A butterfly from Lynne.

A peacock from Soukies.

A hedgehog from Sewjo2009.

Owls and mice from denawayne.

Waving cows and a puppy from Carol.

And wait, there are more! A cute birdie from Nanotchka here. An elephant from CASharp here.

Angel Quilt #2.

2010-06-27T14:33:00.004+08:00

Another lovely creation from Carol. A bit more traditional than her normal faire. Hand and machine quilted. I'm in awe of how quickly she can produce such masterpieces!

Freidasew's Finished Quilt.

2010-06-26T14:33:00.003+08:00

Freidasew has finished! With a design interpretation from Amish Inspired Quilts. Made with batiks and solids. Very pretty!

Angel Quilt #1.

2010-06-24T15:50:00.009+08:00

Look at this stunning quilt. Sewn by Carol who our Swap Mama Angel Quilt Maker. It is a new role for this round. Unfortunately there are always some bad swappers no matter how much we try and pick good swappers.... Carol's role is to make quilts for those bebe's who don't receive a quilt or are late in receiving. She is sewing a little stash to have on hand for such emergencies. Hopefully there won't be too many this round! This is the first one she has finished.

It is 18 1/2 inches sorta roundish, has 12 wedges, 95 different fabrics, and contains 121 colonial knots. Carol says "I use them all the time since they look almost identical to french knots, but are a ton easier to do."

We think it may be the first ever roundish quilt in the flickr's dolls quilt swap history. *sigh*

Kimmie's Top 5!

2010-06-22T16:21:00.001+08:00

Today we have one of the Mama's, Kimmie with some of her favorite quilts from past rounds "I didn't include rounds 1 or 2 because there weren't many with tags for those, and I didn't want to go through 4,000 photos".

From Round 3 by Lemon Tree Tales. "I love the vibrant colors in one of my favorite patterns."

From Round 4 by Needles-n-notions. "I love how this one makes you feel like you are right at the beach!!

From Round 5 by Don't Look Now. The colors and fabrics are beautiful, but what really stands out to me is that it has the most amazing quilting in it.

From Round 6 by Emma_Louise. I like that this one makes me think about my Grandmother's house. She had cherry trees, and this is like looking out her windows into her yard.

From Round 7 by Mini_Millyo4. Flying geese, rainbows, amazing quilting, what else does a quilt need? Its perfect!

From the last round, Round 8 by caitty1. This one is just too cute. Is it Little Red Riding Hood, or Jacob and Bella?

Lilys Quilts Top 5.

2010-06-21T13:46:00.000+08:00

We have a guest poster today. Lynne from Lilysquilts.

Hi, I'm Lynne from Lilysquilts and am new to the DQS this round.

If you have tried it before, join the Flickr group and sign up next time. It is the most fun, sociable, hilarious and supportive Flickr swap group out there (imho!). I had this idea that it would be fun for people to choose their all time DSQ faves for blog posts because every time I randomly trawl through the history of the swap, I find more and more incredible quilts and it would be fun for me (and others no doubt) to be pointed in the direction of other people's favourites.

I started off with a plan to choose my five fave Doll Swap Quilts EVER but only got as far as DSQ8 before struggling to choose between at least 20 different quilts so decided to choose my five faves from DSQ8 and here they are:

Maripenquiltmom's bird raw edge quilt. I love the combination of the beautiful windmill quilt in the background and the striking applique on top. The choice of fabric for the border echoes branch and I love that the branch extends into the border. Although an enormous amount of work has clearly gone into this quilt, the effect is very simple.

Scrapnchick's trees quilt. The simplicity of this quilt is genius - I love everything about it: the colour scheme, the different trees, the stitched trunks and the beautiful simplicity.

CampFollowerBagLady's red cross quilt. Lots of clever little details in this quilt make it so interesting: different quilting stitches on the crosses and the binding, different buttons, a few red on blue crosses, a few white on red crosses and a mix of hand and machine quilting. Again, the work in this quilt is huge but the effect is very simple and striking.

I had to include at least one of mamcjt's angel quilts and this is my stand out favourite - again it's so simple but the work in it is so neat and perfect that the effect is striking. To me this is what a doll quilt should be - striking, bold, innovative and beautiful too.

Sparklygreenknicker's house and tree quilt is my final choice because it is so pretty with the orange border, orange leaves on the tree and the ivy climbing up the side of the house. But with the black door and blank windows, it also has, to me, a slightly eerie feel which is very difficult to achieve in a doll quilt with such bright pretty colours. I don't know this if this was intentional or not but I like it!

Because I missed out so many fabulous quilts, from this round, it would be great to have a list of comments with other people's faves on DSQ8 - if you put all your faves from that round in a gallery, your gallery will soon be overflowing and you will struggle to limit your faves to five, let alone one.

The world's smallest quilt?

2010-06-20T12:42:00.000+08:00

Ruthiesquilts has made possibly the worlds smallest quilt!

She is leaving the top unfinished as it's going to be sewn into the quilt background!

And its hanging amungst the trees! Looking great Ruthie!

More sketches!

2010-06-18T16:40:00.001+08:00

The sketches keep on flowing.....

Windowshopmom is thinking "Floral border....not sure what fabric yet....the circles are composed of strips of various prints and will be appliqued on either grey or brown (like the block party quilt along blocks). The bottom right circle will be an embroidery piece. I'm thinking something with birds....maybe a piece by Revi Devi...."

Ktelschow was inspired by the Riley Blake Raindrop Stripe fabric because she thought it could easily be used as a backdrop. But what kind of scene would have that backdrop? A little girl walking home from school in the rain, who suddenly decides she doesn't care about getting wet any more, and enjoys the rain instead of avoiding it!

Smeegol has come up with her first draft of what she might be making for the DSQ. She wanted to do a bit of hand work so that she can work on it a bit on her vacation. The bottom center is embroidery and the bottom right is a hexagon block.

Sketches off and running!

2010-06-16T15:24:00.000+08:00

Sewgirly says "here is what I've been playing with. I want a long, narrow quilt with a long clothesline. I am picturing the items hanging on the line being made from vintage linens. The sun, clouds and grass would just be thread outlines. The background is light grey. It's all really rough and will probably change a million times!!"

Lilys Quilt says here is a world without quilt. Little quilts are being made to hang from washing lines suspended by birds between the trees. My original inspiration for these trees came from Sleighd's beautiful tree quilt here.

Craftychops is thinking applique raindrops with an umbrella made out of paper pieced selvage strips!

Flamingstitches just couldn't stop sketching! She admits she needs to make a decision and actually pick something to work on!

Bearpawandbearpaw is working on some initial ideas. I want to do a mixture of piecing and applique. I really like 'drunkard's path' so want to try making trees with this and applique stuff over the top.

Getting Ready

2010-06-07T12:26:00.000+08:00

Behind the scenes Mama's have been busy ~ streamlining, compiling, planning, listing, double checking and setting things up for the swappers of Doll Quilt number 9. A new blog button has been chosen by popular demand and the mosaic group is filling up with all sorts of ideas. I've made my mosaic and hope that my partner to be will be looking at it to find what I'm loving as of right now. Pastels, sweetness, birds, houses, and embroidery. And I'm looking forward to scoping out the likes of whoever I'll be sending to also.

First the other Mama's and I will be given our Bebe lists and we'll worry and work hard to pair everyone up with suitable partners. It takes hours of checking everyone's blogs and flickr streams hoping that the pairings will go smoothly and that everyone will have a fun time. I love doing that part! We also have some surprises in store ala "giveaways" ~ those details are being decided soon.

It should be fun for all.

DQS9 Blog Button!

2010-06-05T15:23:00.000+08:00

Doll Quilt Swap 9

2010-05-31T10:08:00.000+08:00

IT'S HERE!!!

Tonight sign ups start for the 9th running of the Doll Quilt Swap!! Woohoo!Please run, not walk to the nearest computer and sign up!

First of many from mamacjt

2010-02-20T12:15:00.001+08:00

DQS8 #1 "Think Spring"
Originally uploaded by mamacjt

Carol posted this early on as a possible quilt for her partner. As of today it has been viewed a whopping 899 times and faved 78 times! Wow~

The second one that we saw

2010-02-20T12:12:00.001+08:00

DQS8 #2 "Squared Up"
Originally uploaded by mamacjt

This beauty was mamacjt's second posting of a possible quilt for her partner.

Maybe a Gwen and Freddy?

2010-02-20T12:10:00.001+08:00

Gwen and Freddy anyone??
Originally uploaded by mamacjt

Maybe this one will be mamcjt's lucky partner's quilt...?

Maybe this is the one?

2010-02-20T12:08:00.001+08:00

Color Play
Originally uploaded by mamacjt

here is another possibility made by mamacjt...

Or this one?

2010-02-20T12:06:00.001+08:00

Colours on Linen
Originally uploaded by mamacjt

another by mamacjt ~

This was the one sent to ittybittyquilts ~ !!

How many ?

2010-02-20T12:05:00.001+08:00

Plain Pastel Pinwheels
Originally uploaded by mamacjt

Carol, mamacjt, has been awesomely busy this round of the doll quilt swap! Not one, not two, but many many doll quilts have zoomed through her sewing machine. I'll be interested to see which one is the one she will send to her very lucky partner.
This one?

More finshed quilts!

2010-02-18T13:46:00.000+08:00

With the deadline to post fast approaching, the quilts are starting to be finished! Here is a small selection taken from our flickr group.

This one is from weepereas.

Fun & Comfort Quilts made this one.

Rebeccasrags made this one.

Dee Roo has made two, one for her swappee and one for me!

Poppyprint has made this one.

Inspirational ladies! Just a reminder that you can start posting your quilts out now. Please don't forget to let your swap mama know you have posted and recieved. It makes it so much easier for us to track that everyone is happy.

Flossy's Quilt - First to finish!

2010-01-20T20:46:00.000+08:00

We have our first finished quilt! Flossybossy has finished this beauty. Hope it's coming my way!

Birds and Owls in the Trees.

2010-01-14T23:43:00.000+08:00

Well sign ups have closed, partners matched and the ideas are flowing! Birds and owls in trees are just as popular as ever, no wonder cause they are just so cute!

This is the idea I'm playing around with for the dqs8. I'm not the best artist, but it's an idea. Rebeccasrags.

This is just a rough sketch of my initial plan. The left will be fall/winter mostly burnt oranges, light browns, some golden colors with the right side spring/summer cool greens, yellow greens apples, birds and new growth. N@nci.

ladmquilter is playing with possibilities.

This is basically an owl in a tree on a hill overlooking a small village. This is just a VERY rough sketch. Having a hard time deciding. What kind of fabric would you use? Sweetteamom.

Announcing DQS8!

2010-01-01T11:44:00.000+08:00

Hey everybody!!
Its finally here, dqs8. Sign ups start at 3:00 p.m. central standard time, Saturday January 2, 2010. We are limiting players to 160, so make sure you sign up quickly!!
susan, your big swap mama

Final deadline for DQS7

2009-09-22T03:37:00.000+08:00

Tomorrow marks one week after the deadline to send within country. Hopefully most of us have mailed out our quilts!! For those that havent we have set a FINAL deadline of September 30th. If we havent heard from you by this day, you partner will go on a list. October 1st angel quilts will be sent out. We are hoping to wrap this round up reasonably quickly and not have it drag on for a couple months. If you dont send out by the final deadline, please still send your original quilt out when it is finished. The angel quilts are meant as an "im sorry you had to wait so long" but you are still going to get it!! there are a few instances where quilts never go out, and we understand that, in those cases the angel quilt is THE quilt.
Keep an eye out here for some posts from the swap parents with the quilts of all their bebes
and a little bit about their experience as a dqs parent
smooches!!

They've started arriving!

2009-08-25T05:20:00.000+08:00

That's right ... quilts are beginning to find their way to their new homes! I recently got word that the first quilt in my group has been successfully received, and it's a beauty:

This one was made by Amanda (amandahall25) and sent to Valerie (KnittingInPink).

I thought this would be a good time to catch up on some of the other completed quilts that have popped up in the Flickr pool recently. (Note: these may or may not be from my group ... I'm not sayin'!)

littlethingsforu just posted this little quilt, all finished and ready to go:

Hey Diddle Diddle Woolies recently finished up this quilt for her partner:

Here's a finished top (stunning!) by fellow swap parent mini_milly04:

Gorgeous colors by fissiett:

Cute mythical creatures by Arnden's Space (love those unicorns!):

A gorgeous start by country hill:

Some pretty tulips by parkcitygirl:

Whatisneversaid's cool design (which is now on my to-do list!):

Some BIP's (birds in progress!) from jenamoured:

And there are tons more in the Flickr pool that I couldn't even get to ... so go check 'em out!

And finally, I'm happy to report that I've finally started working on my quilt to send to my secret partner. I was inspired by some pillows that I recently saw at the store Anthropologie:

Here is my interpretation ... very much in progress!

How about you? Have you received your quilt yet??

Plate-a-rific

2009-08-15T00:03:00.001+08:00

Lame title I know..haha

I thought it would be fun to show some progress photos that highlight how many different ways you can use the same quilting design idea. This hit me when browsing through the DQS Flickr Group Photos. I am making a Dresden Plate/Wheely type quilt and so are a lot of others. Looks like we are all on the same wavelength. Check out the variety.

My in progress shot (I've actually got the top done, just didn't take a photo yet)

sleighd's multicoloured version!

Vivie95's beautiful pastely brights!

sparklygreenknickers' wonderful rainbow!

alison wonderlandQ's delicious pink rings! (love pink!)

Can wait to see your finished quilts ladies!

Happy Quilting!

More Finished Quilts!

2009-08-12T19:34:00.000+08:00

With September creeping up on us, it is great to see another batch of quilts finished. This swap produces such amazing talent.

The Banyard tree by mamamary2.

TagEButt has designed a quilt that can be hung either way!

A Peek At Donns's World reveals this quilt! All quilted, binding on, just need to wash/crinkle it and add the label. My daughter thinks I want to keep it for myself... my daughter may be right!!

By Laplandyellow.

This cutie is by AsiyahK. She explains, The raw-edge appliqued doll quilt features two panels. The bottom panel has a house with a cute little pup sitting on a quilt. The top panel has two doggies: one underneath the orange tree, the other chasing two birds.

This one is by Fun and Comfort Quilts. I'm calling it "Obaasan's Fans" (that's japanese for grandmother). The back is the blue fabric in the fans and binding. I'm not showing it because the label is back there and may give too much away...

First Finished Quilts!

2009-08-03T11:12:00.000+08:00

Flossyblossy stippled this lovely quilt. She said "Finished and is ready to go in the post. I know it's quick but I've been unwell all week so have had plenty of time parked on the sofa, stitching.I forgot to measure it accurately after it was finished but think it's about 18" x 20".

One of our swap mama's is leading the way with her quilt all finished! Millie Quilts is holding up this stunner!

Mamacjt has made two quilts in one! She says, "Finally I made a quilt that I think my swap partner might like. (A little sophisticated, a little funky and done with the colors she requested.) If she doesn't like this side though, she can turn it over because I made it reversible just for her!!"

Look at this beauty! Simply This and That has finished her quilt and titled it Summer Cherries. She says "There's a little bit of everything in this quilt. I love cherries, I love wonky log cabins and wonky stripes. I also love polka dot. I put some of my favorite kinds of fabric in it, a vintage piece which I love, and some batiks for my partner". More details and stunning photos over at her blog here.

Doll Quilt Swap 7, welcome everyone!

2009-07-17T09:51:00.000+08:00

Wow! its hard to believe that we are starting round 7 of the doll quilt swap! if i am not mistaken, i think the first round was in april of 2007, started by our lovely losabia(who i might add just had the most adorable baby girl). Sign ups started on tues nite, and we are filling up fast. i imagine we will reach enough players by friday nite. we are hoping to be able to have partners out on tues. we will keep you informed as to the time.

i just wanted to give you a little info as to who the mamas and the papa are this round. be kind to them, they do a lot of work!!!

john, quiltdad, is our first manquilter (i love that name) in the group. since john joined (when was it john??) we have had a number of other manquilters join our ranks, including scott over at bluenickelstudios. john has such fabulous taste in fabric, and quite the following on his blog.

helen, patchy work of mini grey, is just one of the sweetest people you would ever want to "meet" she too has been around dqs for ages, and this is her second round being a swap mama. she makes some awesome quilts

Laurajay, my new blog journey, is another talented and oh so sweet one of our swap mamas. she is a first time mama, so be kind to her! altho she has done a number of dqs's as a member, lauraj has a fun sense of humor, so if she is your mama expect a good time.

sarah, by needle and thread, has done some stunning quilts for dqs! she is a great swap mama, and a great inspiration. pop on over to her blog, she just hit her 50th post!

tracy, scrap happy quilts, is one of our swap mamas (and members) that loves civil war prints and retro 30's prints and likes to make 'em scrappy! she holds the honor of being the only member with her dad (tlewishindes) as a member too.

lisa, of Upstate Lisa, is a new swap mama who makes terrific quilts. Lisa lives in upstate New York, near the Adirondack Mountains. She's wife to Mr U, has three busy children and enjoys quilting, sewing, crafting, working out at the gym.

lynne, of the Patchery Menagerie is another new swap mama. Lynne is an artist who usually makes 0ne-of-a-kind quilts. She has a grown son and now lives with her cat, Millie.

and then of course there is little ole me, susan aka chickenfoot. i have done every dqs as a player, and have been a swap mama in every one except the first. can you believe lisa did all this on her own??? ack! i think this is my third time being big swap mama (think like big kahuna, haha). tanaya, themad1s was also a big swap mama for a couple rounds, i dont know why i cant think who the other person was. or maybe tanaya did it three times??

we are going to attempt to blog here each week, at least one of us i hope!!
we will be working our collective bums off this weekend to get you all matched up, so be patient, the fun will be starting soon!! promise!

your faithful swap mama
susan (chickenfoot)