A Tale of Two Minis

When you are a newbie, there will be a lot of things that you do for the first time. Participating in a mini quilt swap on an online forum is one of them.

Fairly simple rules - under 24" square and  anything goes. Full freedom.

After making Sun City that took forever I wanted something simple.  Meet Rainbow Bites.

Rainbow Bites - Sashing in progress

Rainbow Bites is a simple concept.  Nine squares made up of 16 squares.  The essence lies in having enough variety and contrast among those 16 squares.

Gather all your red scraps and pick out 16 fabrics. Cut them into 2" squares. Arrange and rearrange till you are pleased with the arrangement.  Stitch them together, square and put aside.

Purrfect!!!

It sure was fun to pick out and fussy cut fabrics. 

Some of you may think that this would be a great stash buster.   Let me warn you, that this little thing will NOT make a dent in your stash.  Hardly anything. Here is why. For each block, you need 16 squares 2" side.  So, what you will do is empty your monochromatic scrap bin (let's just do one color at a time) and find 16 different fabrics.

Bee Crabby :-D

Do not, please, do not open scraps for more than one color at a time. Only after you finish one color block and put away all those scraps, should you open the scrap bag for next color.  Ask me how I know.

A little birdie fishing for a compliment?

You will have major tidying up to do after you make each block.  I spent a LOT of time picking out the colors and tidying up. Since I did not tidy up after each color, I had a MAJOR mess and had to redo major sorting as well. UGH!!!

Ok, Pumpkin!

Yes, it is worth it. 

Matching sashing lines

Pinned carefully

Checked twice

How can something so small inspire so much joy?

Quilted!!!

Quilted simply in wavy lines, and used a  rather boring fabric for the backing, since it will be up on the wall, where it won't be seen.

Used dark navy solid for binding. 

Rainbow Bites

I love this little gem so much, I have decided to not part with it.   In fact, I have registered this little beauty for the quilt show in June!!!

So here is the quilt I made for the swap.

Ocean Crossing

Quilt Swap Mini

Of course there is more to Ocean Crossing and the Mini Quilt Swap process.  However, somethings are best left unsaid.  I won't be participating in any more swaps. 

Honestly, I am happy to make charity quilts.  The expectation of receiving something in return (which is the essence of a swap), is not for me.

I'd like to hear from you. Did you participate in a swap? What was your experience? 

Now, if you do not care for sales, do not want to know about Craftsy classes available on a discount and other freebies, STOP READING NOW!!!

Ready for some excitement?

I do have a few things to share with you.

1. March is National Craft Month, and Craftsy has grouped complementary classes together. These bundles are now discounted starting at 50% off for the next few days. Hurry, the offer ends Sunday! 

2. Bag of the Month deal. Side Note Satchel project kit is 40% off!

3. National Craft MonthGiveaway. Win a mystery supplies box for you and a friend!!!

This blogpost contains affiliate links.

Valentine's Day + Love of Fabric

Valentine's Day is just around the corner.  Love is in the air and so are commercials for candy, chocolates and everything pink.

And red...lots of red.

Come on people - love is a multi-hued expression!!!

Have you heard the saying - To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides?
Now, that evokes images that are bathed in yellow.

Sunny...so orange too.

When you miss your loved one, aren't you feeling blue?

And if you are jealous, doesn't it equate to being green with envy?

A life filled with love is a colorful life.  A life devoid of love is colorless.
This is reflected, in much too obvious ways, in Indian culture. A widow wears white.  Similarly, black is considered the absence of color (joy) in other cultures.

Today, I want to share a very personal story with you. A story about Love and Color.

It was a Saturday in 2007 when Paul proposed to me.  We were in love. I knew we would get married.  But the moment he went down on his knee and asked to marry me, changed everything. Suddenly, I had this overwhelming feeling of being immersed in happiness.  Like a blank canvas magically filled with colors.

The next day, I was attending a meditation and prayer event.  I wore a green saree with a red border.  I felt like a bride. There was just one thing missing.  I had no bangles. I wished I had bangles.  I wanted red glass bangles to match the border of my saree.  The bride is incomplete without bangles.

No one else knew that I was engaged, because it had just happened the previous evening.  Folks at the meditation event did not know that I was even dating.  So what happened next is completely magical. Shilpa came up to me and handed me a small rectangular cardboard box. It contained 12 red bangles. I just looked at her, completely stunned. How did she know? She did not, but the universe knew what I needed. I immediately but carefully slipped the bangles on to my wrists - two at a time. The bride was complete. Filled with color, I felt complete!!!

I am sure that when my heart is full of love, magical things happen around me.
On this Valentine's Day, I wish that your life is filled with both Love and Color!!!

You may have guessed that I am working on a rainbow mini quilt.  Those are the pictures. They show my love for color, usually expressed through colorful fabric.

Now a bit of news about my love of colorful fabric - I became a Craftsy affiliate. Yay!!!
I have loved Craftsy for a while now. I have mentioned Craftsy classes and supplies on my blog and have also whole-heartedly recommended them to fellow quilters.

Then what is new, you may ask.  Now, if you click on any of the affiliate links on my blog and buy something, I will get a tiny commission from Craftsy for directing customers to them. 

And this brings me to the really exciting news - the Craftsy Sweetens My Life Blog Hop.  Check that link and you can see the various giveaways and the detailed schedule.

This is the first time I am participating in a Blog Hop and I will be sharing my Craftsy love and some giveaway goodness right here on my blog on Valentine's Day.
Hint: There are freebies :-)

Hope you will stop by and check out the goodies!!!