A few years ago, I participated in quite a few swaps through Instagram. They were a great opportunity to try new techniques and skills as well as a tool for meeting quilters from around the world. I came to a point where the deadlines weren't working for me, and I was giving away every single sewing or quilt project I was making. I needed to rein things in and focus more on some projects for us - particularly that growing list of big projects I wanted to tackle.
Now I do a couple of local swaps each year within and among my guilds and the Modern Quilt Guild MiniQuilt Swap. #makeaminimakeafriend is a highlight of my quilting year. I know some quilters who are dubious of the benefits of being a member of the MQG, this is one of the things I have been able to do because I am a member.
When I was first assigned this year's partner, I'll admit, I was a little intimidated. I had been following this quilter on IG for quite awhile. She has made a few quilts that are in my inspiration file. She makes quilts that are routinely juried into Paducah, Houston, Road to California, MQX and other quilt shows I have been working towards. Katherine Dossman is a great quilter. I'm a good quilter, but I'm not quite to great .... yet. ;)
I started this quilt three times before landing on what seemed like a viable idea. Along the way, Katherine was pushing me from afar. We exchanged a couple of emails about likes, dislikes, etc., and two days later she let me know she had finished her quilt for me! Yikes!
One of Katherine's quilts making the show circuit is based on the work of Bauhaus painter Piet Mondrian. A lot of modern quilters are fans of and inspired by Mondrian. I wanted to play with this, but not duplicate her work. I opted for another Bauhaus painter and screen printer Josef Albers. His works have a similar feel to Mondrian's but a slightly different aesthetic and color palette. I chose a more complex piece to use as inspiration for my swap quilt.
This was the resulting quilt. I am so happy with how it turned out. And, it paired well with the piece Katherine pieced for me.
I love it! It is awesome!
Here are some in-progress shots. First, I was so excited to be close to the end, I sewed the facing on the wrong side and had to start over. Finally, I was sewing along and all of a sudden noticed some insane lint bunnies.
It's only February and I'm already looking forward to next year's swap.
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