Made for Swaps: Dotee and Quilt Blocks

Time to show off some stuff I made for swaps.

First up, a dotee.

The title was Dotee with a Butterfly.  You just had to make sure a butterfly was prominent on the body of the dotee.  I received this fabric as an extra in another swap and it was just SO perfect.  The only problem was figuring out how to make the body.  I decided on a free form body that kind of ended up looking like a Shmoo.  I embroidered eyes on the face but it was just so flat.  Then I remembered I had a set of charms that are different glasses, so I added some sunglasses and that was it.  Perfect.

The flower on the front is a crocheted applique I also got as an extra (a while ago).  It just looked so cute next to the butterfly I had to add it.  That and the doll needed a bit of bling.  The tail features butterfly beads.  Overall it's not one of my most fancy dotees but I thin it's darn cute and a very "classic" style dotee.

Next up, Wacky 9 patch quilt blocks.

Hee hee, this is upside down (but you can still get the picture--double pun!).  I made two sets of three, but I'm only showing off the two I'm keeping.  No need to see all of them since one of each set shows clearly what fabrics I used.  Both sets are made from fabrics from the 12 pound fabric remnant box (purchased for the FY14 Charity Sewing Challenge).

For the record, I'm not a huge fan of civil war reproduction fabrics.  They're just so dull and matronly to me.  They do look nice together but I can't see myself ever seeking them out to make stuff.

The center fabric on the top block is very cute.  It's made to look like a cross stitch sampler.  I'm not a big fan of the other fabrics it's paired with.  Like I said, they go well together but on their own they are old lady boring.  As a whole, I like the bottom block the best out of the pair.  Each of the fabrics in the bottom block are nice on their own and they work well together, too.  And, the middle fabric is actually little tiny stars.  I think all three of these are technically christmas/winter fabrics but they didn't scream "christmas" to me so I went with them.  The flower print is the most "christmas" of them but the flowers aren't totally poinsettia so I think it will be ok.   (the only "rule" about these blocks is no blatantly seasonal and no religious).

Next up, Polaroid Blocks.

I only needed to make one for each of my two partners but I just couldn't bare to separate the cute kitties so I'm sending them both to my own partner (who really likes cats).  Also, the gray kitty one is kind of wonky.  I'm not sure if it really is constructed wrong (like the fabric was cut a tiny bit too short and then I used a tiny bit too big of a seam allowance or what) but overall the block is smaller than the others.  I think when the are all trimmed they can be made more even.  Good thing these are supposed to be sent untrimmed.

This was my first time making this type of block and it was super easy.  (maybe that's what's wrong with the gray kitty--it may have been my very first stab at this block).  The best part was, I have a butt load of 2.5 inch charms for my postage stamp quilt, so I didn't have to cut any of those.  Just cut the 1 inch strips (for the top and sides) adn 1.5 inch strips for the bottom and good to go.  The only "rules" for this swap were to use white as the edge fabrics and to not trim after you're done.

I'll be mailing all these out by the end of the week.  I just need to pack up the wacky 9 blocks and then cut some fat quarters for another swap so I can take a bunch of swaps to the post office at the same time.

Linked up at Cat Patches.