Thursday, March 22, 2012

Swaps - leaving and arriving.

Baby geese

I have finished the Baby Geese mug rug. It is a 7.5" square. It is made with bits of many colourful cottons and Kona white. I quilted it with Superior Threads King Tut white thread. I used a paper pieced pattern from Bryerpatch which is here and reduced it to 50% but any of the many patterns for a circle of geese would work.

Baby Geese

This mug rug is for my secret partner in the spring round of the Scrappy Mug Rug Swap. I though a rainbow of baby geese would work. Originally I planned a colourful border of tiny squares but they overwhelmed the baby geese. I remembered that I was trying to work on less is more, and left the baby geese to fly so far above the ground that the colours on the ground are lost.

Baby geese

 I quilted it densely in a cross hatch grid of organic straight-ish lines. The dense quilting makes the ring of geese pop forward and adds to the impression that they are flying far above the ground. Well I am hoping that you get that impression.

Baby geese on pointe

It looks great hung on pointe too. I feel slightly bad about the impracticality of this little mug rug as I cannot see anyone putting a cup of coffee or tea on it. I continue to consider the idea of including a coaster for my partner.

For me - from Lori

Look at that beautiful mini quilt. It is about 24" square. It is made of orange, red and pink solids on a grey background. It arrived at my house on Wednesday night from Lori who blogs at Adventures in Fabric. Lori was my partner in the For the Love of Solids Swap Round 2.

For me - from Lori

Look at that lovely paper pieced star. She said this was her first time paper piecing. I think she is a natural! I had asked for these warm colours and I love stars. Early in the swap we were asked to pick three words to describe what we wanted and I said modern, graphic and bold - this quilt is perfect.

Coffee Cozy and beautiful fabrics

And look, she also sent me a coffee cup cozy and beautiful fabric. I am the coffee girl, that cozy is going to see some serious use.

For me - from Lori

A parting photograph. It is really hard to get my camera to handle these colours well. It is just that much better in real life. Thank you Lori.

Edited: I am linking up with {sew} Modern Monday and the button on the right.

Best,

Leanne

37 comments:

Debbie said...

Love your little geese - what beautiful work you do!! I really like the dense quilting - love the hand it gives the finished project!!

felicity said...

The flying geese do indeed seem to be flying high. What a gorgeous mug rug! And you really scored in the swap - those colours are indeed fantastic and the piecing is incredible!

Alisa said...

LOVE your mug rug!

ara said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
araceli said...

Have a fabulous job, I love!!!!!
Besos.

Manda said...

Love the geese! :)
Your parcel looks great too :)

Unknown said...

I'm in love with the goslings. It's just incredible. And those colours... Wow!

Susan said...

No one in their right mind would be putting anything on that beautiful mug rug! How tiny are those flying geese pieces?!! And the solid swap mini is stunning! Win-win!

Mrs Flying Blind... said...

Your mug rug is completely amazing!!!
Love the mini you received too xxxx

Anonymous said...

Your mug rug is absolutely beautiful. Love the quilting and the colors against the white. Such nice, nice work. Your mini you received is just so pretty too!
kiki-itssewkiki.blogspot.com

Teje Karjalainen said...

Both quilts are amazing!
Your white is really special and I love the way how the circle pops out!

Judith said...

I love your baby geese mug rug and the quilting is just divine.
And that mini quilt you were the lucky recipient of is just out of this world. The colours together with the background really make this very special.

Shevvy said...

How the hell do you do things on such a teeny tiny scale? Love it.

beaquilter said...

now that's a flying geese in a ring!! it's gorgeous!! love the one you receieved too, just lovely! and is there a pattern for that cozy somewhere? is it velcro at the end or sewn together?

Fiona @ Poppy Makes said...

Your baby geese mug rug is just absolutely stunning! You have a very very lucky partner!

Tamie said...

Your geese are stunning. Your partner is one lucky individual.

Richard Healey said...

Your mini geese is just fantastic and that other quilt you show is great too. I have such a hard time doing small detailed things but this makes me want to try even more thanks for sharing.

http://richardquilts.blogspot.com
http://trackmyshows.blogspot.com

Archie The Wonder Dog said...

I love the mini geese!!! And your swap quilt is also stunning!

A.J. Dub. (Amy) said...

Both of those quilts are amazing! The quilting on your baby geese quilt looks fantastic.

What Comes Next? said...

I love your baby geese mugrug - such itty bitty little geese, and so beautifully done. The quilting sets them off wonderfully. It may not get used as a mugrug, but it will be enjoyed. The quilt you received is stunning - graphic, bright, bold - just wonderful!

Svetlana said...

Love your flying geese, they look fantastic, and the quilting is making them pop even more. And the mini you got is so wonderful, too. Love the color combo and all that paper piecing, just gorgeous!!!!

MariQuilts said...

Wow Leanne, your flying geese mug rug is amazing. Also, I love the quilt you received...beautiful colours.

Mary Menzer said...

Awesome flying geese! They must be tiny if that is a mug rug. Not so sure I could work that tiny.
I loved your FLOS items! You were definitely one of the lucky receivers!

Judith, Belfast said...

Wow L! Your baby geese are totally stunning! I can't believe how tiny and accurate they are - awesome! There's no way I would be putting any liquid anywhere near it! And you got a gorgeous quilt too - love those warm colours. Jxo

Annabella said...

That mug rug is amazing - you can`t be practical when being creative even in a mug rug swap. That`s the rules but a coaster sounds a good idea. Love love your mini and it looks fab in the photo so must be amazingly awesome in the flesh. I`m still waiting and starting to drum my fingers!

Lori said...

You have no idea how glad I am that you are pleased with your FTLOS mini! And by the way, I have been hoping that you had me as a partner for the Scrappy Mug Rug Swap or for the Doll Quilt Swap. Your projects are amazing! I only hope I could be the lucky recipient of either of those items!

Go-Go Kim said...

I love the flying geese and am in AWE of the beautiful paper pieced star quilt!!!!! Those colors are fab!!!!!

Heidi Staples said...

These are so beautiful!!

Canadian Abroad said...

I can't tell you how much I love that mug rug, Leanne. It is simply amazing in all aspects. And didn't you get a wonderful package from Lori! Luck you, and well deserved.

Rhonda the Rambler said...

If its not too late you should seriously consider a coaster! I would never utilize that as a true mug rug! Gorgeous! And the one you received....let's just say its worthy of you!

www.randomthoughtsdoordi.com said...

Leanne, that circle of geese is just stunning and yo are a very lucky recipient of that gorgeous solids mini. I had my eye on that one for a while.

Megan said...

Eeeeeepppp!! It's all beautiful! Love that mini circle of geese SO MUCH! :) Thanks for linking up to {Sew} Modern Monday and have a great week!

Jessica Kelly said...

Wow! Those geese are just stunning, lucky partner :-) Love the mini you received as well, those colors are beautiful!

Claire Jain said...

I agree. Who would put a mug on that?! It's amazing :-D Thanks so much for the inspiration!

Katy Cameron said...

Totally love those baby geese and the cross hatch quilting!

Fab incoming package too :o)

Kirsten said...

Love those little geese and the quilting looks wonderful! Lucky you receiving such a cool mini quilt for the FLOS swap too!

Kristy QP said...

Love love love the flying geese. The quilting really makes it pop - just beautiful!