The Minis Blog Tour

Hi and welcome to my stop on Pat Bravos Blog Tour. A while back Pat posted an open call of sorts on Instagram and I jumped at the chance to work with some of her beautiful prints. I was chosen (much to my surprise!) along with 29 other makers to create a mini quilt featuring Dare  and Essentials II  from Art Gallery Fabrics. My bundle had mostly blues with a splash of striking magenta thrown in. I set to work planning, which included flipping through my little stash of quilting books, drawing up sketches and a lot of searching on Pintrest for inspiration.  

I wanted to make something original of my own design, which is a real challenge for me. I am still trying to find my own creative style and voice in this community of incredibly talented makers. Each project seems to be full of trial, errors and growing opportunities which seldom leaves me fully happy with the end result. At the same time these less than perfect makes spur me on to try again and to try better the next time.

So here it is, a bit of a hot mess! The “Dare” was a play with the fabric title but as it turned out this mini was  a much needed inspiration for myself. As I started seeing some of the other beautiful minis on the blog tour I began feeling pretty insecure of my own. It’s so busy and bright and totally different than what I am used to making. I asked several of my friends for their honest opinions, I still had time to make another more simple project if it really was as horrible as my mind was telling me but with some encouragement and taking a step back (OK, a few steps back) I began to like it just a little.

There are many things I would change if I had it to do over again (story of my life!) but at the same time I kinda love it. The “diamond” boarder pattern would stand out more on a solid background but this way offers a lot of boldness and showcases more of the prints. Seriously gorgeous low volumes in this collection! I love the navy boarder I added to the edge and the mat style boarder around the words was a fun extra touch.

I lightly quilted each diamond with a pale mint Aurifil thread and used a stitch in the ditch binding method that you can find here. It finishes at roughly 18×18 for a nice wall hanging. I can totally see this pattern being a beautiful table topper with a vase or fruit bowl setting in the center made with colors to match your dining room.

The word applique was a fun challenge, printing, tracing, cutting, ironing, cutting again, more ironing, and finally stitching it on. I will definitely be adding more words to my projects down the road. And of course no work of mine feels complete without a little bit of hand stitching so I embroidered the “to be” on with a thick magenta floss. A little light accent quilting in the center for the finishing touch.

I had intended to share more of a “how to” post about this mini but in an effort to keep it real, I felt a more personal post was needed. Not all projects come easily, not everything turns out the way I picture in my head and sometimes it takes a bit of bravery to share my less than perfect makes. This mini may not go down as one of my “all time favorite makes” but I can’t help feeling a little bit (a lot a bit) inspired by it. Dare to be BRAVE. It takes bravery to make something from scratch, it takes bravery to post our makes and even our mistakes as makers and sometimes it feels almost like a dare when I set out to create something all my own. But how boring would the creative world be if makers never dared to try new ideas and weren’t brave enough to work out of their comfort zones? Makes me sad just thinking about it! So here’s my small attempt at branching out, trying something new, working out of my comfort zone and daring myself to be brave.

By the way, I think the names Dare and Essentials II are just so fitting! The Dare prints really are so bold and beautifully daring while the Essentials truly are essential for any sewing stash with their dots, stripes, rings and tiny flowers! Just beautiful! There is also a golden yellow color way which I *need*. Also if you have never worked with Art Gallery Fabrics, they truly are a cut above the rest and feel like nothing else.

One of my favorite parts of trying new fabrics is getting to share them with you! I have this bundle of Pat Bravo’s Dare and Essentials II fabrics, all fat 8th and smaller for one of you to add to your stash. You will love the bold designs and fresh prints, leave a comment on this post and I will pick a winner in the next week.

Thanks so much to Pat for including me in this fun blog tour and taking a chance on my creativity. To see all the beautiful minis click HERE for the full line up with lots more giveaways!

Thanks for stopping by!

This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to Nicole R!