Making mini patchwork quilts

When you've a stack of single bed size or lap size patchwork quilts that'd been patchworked but not quilted, all of 'em waiting for you to finish them and put them to use or give as presents, it's immensely satisfying to make these teeny-tiny pieces of patchwork. Not even a full day's stitching and you've something completed. Of course, these mini quilts aren't going to keep you warm at night, but they do have a practical purpose. Kind of.

This one measures roughly around 2 and 1/2 inches wide and 4 inches long. It has a calico base, then scraps of material sewn on, sewn over, stitched and re-stitched. I was going for a boro style.

The back's reasonably neat. What I found was that the more I stitched into the mini quilt, the nicer it became to push the needle in and out of. The different layers of material become like one, and I liked the way the horizontal running stitch and vertical running stitch went over and under each other, forming these geometric patterns.

I used two strands of embroidery thread, and tried to mix up larger stitches and smaller ones.

Now, I did say the mini quilts had a practical use, and that's because I think they can be used on the front of a greetings card. Either a plain card or one that has a 'window' cut into it, as shown above. The cut-out provides a perfect frame, and double-sided tape would keep the mini quilt in place. You could also turn one of the mini quilts into a gift tag or fold it over, add a felt page inside and make a teeny little needlebook. I'm sure you could come up with other ideas.

Have a great weekend. Bye!

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