Doll Quilt Swap ~ Tiny Stars, Tiny Baskets

Hello from the cold rainswept beach! Time to show everyone our adorable doll quilts made/ sent/ received for Lori of Humble Quilts second doll quilt swap. So much fun! But nerve-wracking too...will she [unknown recipient] like this? Or this? Will my sewing be nice enough? Can I finish on time? I'm not a worrier but I do like to please people, so I put a lot of thought into my quilt.

First I have to show you the wonderful quilt I received from Barbara Black.

Isn't it beautiful, such a perfect miniature.

Love the fabrics. The center squares are 2" so you can imagine how small the pieces are. Barbara said the pattern is from Temecula Quilt Company.

And Barbara's beautiful hand quilting. Such a smart idea, she used a subtle stripe for the setting triangles and followed the lines for her quilting. Her quilting is so amazingly straight and even, I had to look closely to be sure it done by hand.

Love the little stars and how the colors go so perfectly with my prim things...

For my quilt to send to Becky, in Iowa, I designed and made a Cheddar Tiny Baskets quilt. This was inspired by a conversation with Lori during last year's doll swap, where I mentioned I wanted to make itty bitty Baskets.

 In this year's Rules Lori mentioned that the quilt should look as if it had travelled through time. That guided me to make a little quilt that would look like a mother made it for a child over a hundred years ago.

Colors from ''her'' scrap bag--the little girl's pink pinafore, the brown of mama's long apron; Papa's dark blue workshirt; red that was treasured for a quilt back, and sadly, dark lavender half mourning, for those who lost their lives on America's battlefields.
I always wash my doll quilts for that pucker-y rumpled look.

The Baskets are  a 4" finished block. I made the pattern, it was easier than looking for one to copy aaaand I didn't want to do the baskets on point, the most common way.
I made this Evening Stars first, using antique madder blocks and antique turkey red cotton solid. But no.

I used a favorite calico on the back and---hard to part with!---indigo shuttlecocks print, a scrap from my friend BJ for the binding.

Here is BJ's quilt below. I don't know who it went to but lucky BJ got her quilt from our Lori. Note the cool backing she used.

Some doll quilt thoughts--- I've collected doll quilts for years though I sold all but two of my antique doll quilts. DQs fall into a few rather specific categories: Heirlooms with applique, silk, chintz, English piecing, fringe for a cherished doll, usually very old; perfect miniatures with scaled down version of larger blocks;  make-dos from single orphan blocks or cut from a larger worn out quilt and rebound by Mama; and sweet small quilts, not perfect in scale but made with care for a loved child or grandchild. This last style is the type of quilt that speaks to me and that I try to reproduce when challenged. (Rarely do we find a beginner's quilt, the myth that the little girls sewed their doll quilts is perhaps just that, a myth?)

Lastly, maybe you'll share your opinion. These are two antique doll quilts from my Pinterest board. When the challenge / swap began I had hoped to make one of these favorites, I've been gathering the fabrics for a long time. BUT are they right for Civil War to 1900 style? Or they look too 1930-40? If you got a little quilt like this---would you have been displeased, considering the swap's parameters?

antique from Pinterest

antique from Pinterest

What's your own favorite type of mini quilt? Or do you love them all?

Thank you, Lori, for the fun swap! Thank you, Barbara [and Dorothy last year] for sharing your tiny treasures with me. I'll love them always

love 

lizzy 

gone to the beach............

Weather note: It's June. It was 46* last nite. Today it is 51* with constant rain. I'm a bit sorry I took the flannel sheets off the beds. But sunny day tomorrow.