Helping Friends

A friend and fellow Misfit recently participated in a swap and had a rather rotten experience. Sometimes things like that happen I suppose, but I couldn't help but feel awful for her. I'm not going to go into any details about what went on, but suffice it to say that I was afraid that the doll quilt she received might possibly be a source of bad feelings for her. I wanted to make something to replace it. Something she would be happy to hang on the wall, to remind her that there are nice people in the world who really care about her.

I started chatting a bit with Amanda about getting some of the misfits to possibly make a block and send them to me. Of course, many of them jumped on board. This is such a great group of women who are always willing to help others. Amanda put together a tutorial for the block we would use (we settled on the Ohio Star block). We did a teensy bit of stalking to find out her favorite colors, and before long, I started getting beautiful blocks in my mailbox.

This was the block I made

Then I got several more

And this was the finished product.

I happen to know that she loves vintage sheets as well, so I used part of a vintage sheet I had for the backing.

 

We all signed our blocks so that Amy would know where they all came from. These blocks came from all over the U.S. and even one block from Tasmania! How awesome is that?!?! I am so happy to know all of these wonderful, generous ladies and I am happy to call them my friends.

Misfit Quilters DQS

Have you noticed that there are so many swap groups out there that seem clique-ish? It's more like a popularity contest. They have a million rules and the same people swap all the time, while so many others who have been waiting for a long time to participate, are passed up yet again. I believe that swaps should be for fun. And apparently, other people do too. A couple of my twitter friends decided to start a group for misfit quilters. You know, like the misfit toys? The ones that no one loves and sends them off to their own little island to be pathetic while not bothering others with their pathetic-ness? Well, we don't have our own island (damn it), but we do have our own swap now.

Our first swap is for a doll quilt (since that was the swap most of us were discussing not being allowed to participate in). A doll quilt is about 13" x 19" and I just love how adorable they look hanging on the wall. I got started on my doll quilt a couple nights ago. It took a little time to figure out what I wanted to make for my partner since I don't know anything about her. I have been reading her blog, and looking at her favorite photos on Flickr. After I got an idea of what she might like, I started cutting and sewing.

I decided to make a Dresden Plate (gasp). I know. I thought it was a little ridiculous since I've never made one - and quite frankly, I never planned to make one either. But I found a tutorial HERE that made it seem really easy. And you know what? It was!

Sewing the top of the wedges together and turning them right side out is ingenious! I used a pencil to poke the points out. The tutorial says you need 20 wedges. That's if you use the special ruler, which I did not. I made my own template by guessing on a size. So I ended up needing 31 wedges based on the size I made them.

I made a giant yo-yo for the center. That was the hardest part. I still have a bit more to do before I can start quilting it. I'm unsure of the quilting design I want to use and I'm also undecided as to whether I want to machine or hand quilt.

When all is said and done, I hope that my partner loves it and I hope that all the other swaps that didn't want us, regret passing us up. Just because we don't have thousands of photos on Flickr or haven't participated in hundreds of swaps, doesn't mean we are bad quilters. As a matter of fact, I have seen the work of my fellow Misfits, and I have to say, we are damn good.

Selina