I had a couple special ladies in mind when I made these two Tall Tales mini quilts. My daughter Britt and her best friend Anne. Childhood friends with a life long connection. In fact, it was Anne's Mother who taught Britt how to quilt, and Britt passed her knowledge and love of quilting on to me.
This one is for Britt. I reduced the pattern to 50% and picked a piece of fabric that I bought ages ago! The block measured 2 1/2" x 3 3/4" before the border. I loved the lime green monkeys and especially the one with the little pink bow tie.
With this one, I wanted to have a title for the spine. Something that related to her. When I found 'Sketchbook', I knew it was the perfect, perfect title. She's my little artist! From the time she could hold a crayon she drew and filled many sketchbooks. It was very appropriate!
Anne's was a little more difficult. This one was reduced to 75%, or 3 1/2" x 5 1/4" without the borders. Mission #1 was to find a title for the spine. It took a while but I found another perfect one! I paired it with Heather Ross' Briar Rose and viola! Perfect pairing!
The title is fitting because little Annie just got married! And you know they are both feeling the 'everything's better with you' feeling! They can write their own book together chapter by chapter!
Even though each book is tiny, they needed some kind of special quilting. I took this opportunity to try a new thread option. I've seen so many other people using different weights of thread that one normally wouldn't try. Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl has done this often with amazing success. She inspired me to give it a try. My little mini's are not on the level she does, but I had to start somewhere!
My quilting is as simple as it gets on these! Organic straight lines. I grabbed a spool of Aurifil Off- White 12 weight Wool (#8021) for the top and Aurifil Light Beige 50 weight (#2310) for the bobbin. I was curious, worried and pleasantly surprised at how well it worked with my machine and very pleased with how it looked on the top.
On Anne's book, I added a few lines of Aurifil Bright Pink (#2425) and Spring Green (#1231), both 50 weight. Britt's has the Wool and the Bright Pink.
You can get a better sense of the quilting from the back. I kinda of love this pink and green combination!
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| 5" x 7" |
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| 4 1/4" x 5 1/4" |
LINKING:
It's so cute Jayne! I love that you searched for the perfect prints and titles for each of your recipients.
ReplyDeleteIt’s fun to personalize little projects like this!
DeleteOh how adorable! I love them both and that you used fabric that suited each recipient.
ReplyDeleteThere are some projects that require a little more TLC! I think both were perfect for each of them…I’m pretty sure they will like them!
DeleteThis is such a great block. It's on my list. I am wondering how you are adding the titles to the spines?
ReplyDeleteIt’s a good block to have on your list! Cotton + Steel has great selvedges for the spine of the book. My books were reduced in size and the hardest part was finding type that would fit on the tiny spines!
DeleteSweet! The options are endless.
ReplyDeleteYour minis are fabulous, Jayne (no need to even try to compare!!). I *love* the attention to detail on the titles for the spines of the books, and I am so excited to hear you tried wool for the quilting. Eek, now I want to go play with that this morning, too!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed finding the right everything for each book! It took a while, but well worth it. With each block being so small, I knew it was the right time to try different weights of thread for quilting. Now to branch out a little more!
DeleteI have made this block. See here. But now, after seeing the cuteness overlaod here, I will go back and hunt for some fabric to fussy cut. I am sure there are more of these Tall Tales blocks in my future. Such an enabler...Hugs to you!!!
ReplyDeleteThose at so cool! Now I want to make a few of my own.
ReplyDeleteAdorable! And your quilting is wonderful!
ReplyDeleteSuch cute little minis. I'm glad you showed the different weight threads. I have heard people say they have tried it and was glad to see how well it turned out on yours. I want to give it a try too.
ReplyDeleteVery cute! Love those little monkeys.
ReplyDeleteYou have a never ending supply of new idea's and quirky gifts, this one is lovely Jayne, and so you.
ReplyDeleteThese are fabulous. x
ReplyDeleteI have a dozen or so similar blocks . I should really do something with these. Yours are really cute
ReplyDeleteThese are just really awesome!
ReplyDeleteCute as cute can be! Love all your fussy cutting xAli
ReplyDeleteYou make the most incredible small scale projects!
ReplyDeleteSo adorable and beautiful. I really like the sentiment behind how you chose this project, too. I found you through "Needle and Thread" linky party and will be following you now that I've found your blog. Happy sewing! Andrea
ReplyDeleteThis post has really inspired me. I love the block, and with so many grands, I need to make some. Thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteVery cute! And such a lovely idea to personalise them with those special titles!
ReplyDeleteThese are so sweet, Jayne! The spines, the colours and your quilting are just perfect!
ReplyDelete-Soma
These are adorable. I've been seeing a lot of this pattern.
ReplyDelete