The Circle Game Quilt

My completed Circle Game Quilt

Further to my post the other day, I realised that I hadn't provided any specs about my Circle Game Quilt.

The pattern booklet.  Available through all good quilt shops.

Pattern: "The Circle Game" by Jen Kingwell

Fabrics Used: 

• I have used a mixture of fabrics by the Kaffe Fassett Collective which includes Kaffe Fassett, Brandon Mably and Philip Jacobs.
• The black & white spot is "Spot On" design #14868 by Studio RK for Robert Kaufman
• The grey is "Architextures" by Carolyn Friedlander for Robert Kaufman.  I think it was the "Shale" colour. 
• The charcoal is "Quilter's Linen" screen rint D#9864 by Robert Kaufman
• The Sashing - is a Kaffe Fassett print called "Freckles".  It looks yellow in some photos but it is actually a very pale lime green with flecks of red, pink, brown and green through it.

Techniques: Jen's quilts can be made using a variety of techniques and I am sure that everyone does theirs differently.  I estimate that at least 85% of this quilt was sewn by hand.  There were a few simple blocks which I machine pieced but mostly I hand sewed them.  I did machine piece the borders and the sashing.  It has taken me approximately 12-months to complete this quilt.  

Quilting: I have hand quilted this quilt using Aurifil threads in a combination of 40wt, 50wt and 28wt that I ordered through Ms Midge.

The individual blocks:

Block 1

Block 2

Block 3

Block 4

Block 5

Block 6

Block 7

Block 8

Block 9 - this is one of my favourites

Block 10

Block 11

Block 12

Block 13

Block 14

Block 15

Block 16 - another one of my favourites

The finished quilt top:

Here is the flimsy hanging up above my bed prior to being quilted.

Miss Amity's "schexy pose" - it's a shame I had the window open when I took this photo as the wind blew the right hand side, but Amity's pose is just too cute!

Basting & Quilting:

My mother helped me baste the quilt in the craft room at her retirement village.

About to pin baste

Ironing and basting

These are all the Aurifil threads that I used to hand quilt this quilt.

Hand quilting

Hand quilting

Hand quilting with Aurifil

Hand quilting with beautiful Aurifil threads

When I was too tired to hand quilt, Miss Amity took over for me ;0)

Kaffe Mini Quilt Swap

One of my favourite swaps this year has been the Kaffe Mini Quilt Swap which was hosted by Leslie Piper via Facebook.   I have recently developed a love of Kaffe Fassett's fabrics as I have been working with them to make Jen Kingwell's Circle Game Quilt. Kaffe's fabrics are loud, bright and happy.

This was a secret swap. I was making a mini quilt for someone, and someone else was making one for me.  I did not discover who this was until my parcel arrived.  Partners were assigned in mid July and we had until October to send our gifts.

Our mini quilts could feature only fabrics from the Kaffe Fassett Collective (KFC) -- Kaffe Fassett, Brandon Mably, and Philip Jacobs. We could use solids or near-solid fabrics (including shot cottons!) in conjunction with KFC fabrics, but the aim was to let those beautiful prints really shine!

Our mini quilt had to be no larger than 24" on each side, and no smaller than 12" on a side.  If we wished to include extra goodies with our mini quilt (scraps, notions, candy, etc.), that was entirely up to us, we were not obligated to include anything other than our mini quilt.

What I Sent:

My assigned partner was Denise {@hotpossum } in Western Australia.

I actually didn’t know Denise so I set about Instagram stalking her straight away.  I was very happy when she sent me a friend request so I could then legitimately add her as a friend without it looking obvious that I was her secret partner.  

Denise had given me pretty much free reign to make whatever I wanted in the swap as she hadn’t specified any particular favourite prints, designs or colours; but now that we were Instagram buddies I set my secret squirrel investigators to work.  They quickly discovered that she was a fan of Jen Kingwell.  Although she did not have the Circle Game quilt pattern, it was on her wish list to make one day.  Immediately I knew what I would make for her – a block from the Circle Game Quilt.  I decided that Block 16 offered a lot of scope to play with and set about making it in rainbow colours.  The top was entirely hand pieced.

The Mini Quilt that I made for my partner was based on Block 16 of The Circle Game by Jen Kingwell.

The parcel that I sent to Denise

Included with the mini quilt was a block of Lindt Chocolate; a key fob; a coin purse made out of miniature hexies; some charm squares of Kaffe Fassett fabrics; and a pin cushion.  Everything was wrapped up inside a fat quarter of Kaffe Fassett fabric and then tied with coordinating ric rac.

What I received:

I didn't post a mosaic for this swap, however I did create a Pinterest  board to give my partner an idea of my tastes.  

My secret partner ended up being Brenda Moore { @eroomkb } from Wilmington, North Carolina, USA. 

The mini quilt that Brenda made was based on the pattern "Kool Kats Kwilt" by Patti Carey and I absolutely LOVE IT!!!!!

The quilt label on the back of the mini quilt

The "extras"

The awesome "Extras" that Brenda included in my parcel included some Peppermint chocolate tea bags (they are delicious too); a Dilly Bag made from one of my favourite Kaffe prints - "Swirly Baskets"; a mini lint roller; a gorgeous lion mug; a toy for Amity - they are cat toy tea bags filled with catnip; some mini Nutella satchets; Junior Mints AND a block of Dove peppermint swirl chocolate; some hand cream; and a lovely bundle of Kaffe Fassett fabrics in various sizes. 

This is a mosaic of the photos that I posted on Instagram as I opened the parcel.  I was completely and utterly blown away by Brenda's generosity and how carefully she had chosen each item to reflect my likes and personal preferences.  What was even more exciting is that I had signed up for this swap with my friend Norma in America, and by chance, her parcel arrived at the same time as mine and we opened them together and shared the experience on Instagram.

Other photos from this swap can be viewed on Instagram using the hashtag #KaffeMiniSwap