Extra Special Mini Quilt

Someone very dear to me had a special birthday recently and now that she has received her present I can finally blog about this pretty project that I've been showing you peeks of on IG.

I began pondering ideas for this project months ago and remembered having seen a Friendship Star pillow designed by Little Miss Shabby for a Sew Mama Sew feature that would be just perfect for making a mini quilt.

There are a mighty lot of pieces in what becomes just an 18.5" panel but ... all in the name of friendship.  See how much those little pieces shrink in from their original layout once you've stitched all your seams?  Always surprises me that.

The piecing was all quite straightforward and most of the points are fine, just a few didn't meet my high expectations.  After all, when it's for someone special you want it to be perfect, don't you?  Sorry friend, though I know you'll be the last one to look for the faults.

I wanted to hand quilt this mini just as the original had been.  As you can see above I used quilter's tape to mark my stitching lines.  I had a few questions about this when I posted this pic on IG.  Yes, it's like masking tape (and is helpfully a quarter inch wide) but is low tack so that while it sticks in place well enough to allow you to quilt, it won't leave an adhesive residue to ruin your fabric.  It is recommended that you don't leave it on a quilt for more than 24hrs.  Obviously that's not an issue for a small quilt like this but if you are doing a larger one, don't be tempted to mark up the whole quilt with tape before you start stitching.  It's better to tape off one manageable area at a time and that way you avoid leaving the tape on too long.  I like to use the tape especially at this time of year when the light is bad and seeing a hera marker crease on white (or kona snow in this case) is hard on the eyes.

I think the hand stitching makes a lovely feature of the quilting and this quilt was the perfect size for making that manageable.  Besides, who doesn't love a bit of perle?

After quilting and trimming the mini, I added little hanging corners at the top and a pretty pink binding. I just love that Scrumptious backing fabric too!  All of the fabrics in this mini are from Bonnie and Camille lines.  As you know, B&C fabrics are probably my most favourite and often sparingly used, but for a friend as good as this one I was happy to delve deeply into my B&C box and use lots of pretty and varied pieces from Ruby, Marmalade, Vintage Modern and Scrumptious.  I have to say it is really fun making for someone you know enjoys your favourite fabrics too.  This little mini is fabric eye candy overload for me!!  

After all that, she needed a special label to mark the occasion.  I decided that it was worth the effort of making a little heart porthole label for this quilt - 'cos it's really sweet. 

So, there you have it.  One special mini quilt which I'm hoping will remind someone what a star of a friend she has been to me and how much I wish her every happiness as she celebrates her birthday year.