A New Exchange

I came across a blog post for a doll quilt swap and I decided to go ahead and join.  It's been (I think!) YEARS! since my last exchange, I have been burnt out by them and I have a lot of blocks that need to be put together.  I don't recall ever being a part of a finished quilt swap however, and the small scale of 24" or less was appealing to me.

The likelihood that anyone that I am matched with actually reads my blog (except Mary... do you think we'll be partners? :) is slim, so I am going to go ahead and post my progress and thoughts on what I'm doing.

The first thing I thought about doing was something with hexagons.  Judy D, guess what?  I am using your cute little 3/4" hexies.   I know that top diamond has a hexie that wasn't placed exactly right, but they are small enough that I wasn't concerned about changing it:


I had an idea in mind which uses 13 diamonds. I actually sewed these fairly quickly, but I don't know if I can give it up after it's finished! I am going to keep on working on this and decide if this will be the doll quilt for the exchange (I have until the end of May to mail off).

But then... I came across this quilt:
http://www.stellarubinantiques.com/items/1222179/item1222179sra.html
Description: Double Pyramids pattern crib quilt (aka Old Maid's Puzzle)that is ever so Pennsylvania. The rust and yellow calico color combination is typical of Lancaster County where this was made. The blocks are nicely scaled to make a child size quilt. Excellent condition; circa 1880. Measures 37 1/2" x 39". Backing is a beautiful brown plaid.

I fell in love with it.  I don't have a red/yellow print, but I do have a lot of pinks to use in place of the red, and I used up my cheddar fabric for the yellow.  The center is a different pink print--slightly darker than the final border, I ended up using up both of those pink fabrics as well.  The repro fabrics came from my stash which I had been collecting to complete my Jane Stipple quilt, and since that quilt is all done, it was nice to come across an exchange that called for them.  They aren't my typical fabrics that I am drawn to, but sometimes I love the rich browns and other prints from the 1800's.  I was thinking about using up some shirting fabrics for this exchange, but that just didn't happen.  This quilt top is approx 21", the cute blocks are 3".


So which quilt will be exchanged--or will I make a third??  I really wish I had more madder prints to play with!