Blueberry Park {an instagram mini quilt swap}

mosaic 1 + mosaic 2

mosaic 3 + mosaic 4

I just couldn't help myself and went ahead and signed up for a mini quilt swap through Instagram - #blueberryparkminiswap.  Right away I got excited to start plotting and scheming.  While waiting for my secret partner email I started actively looking for quilts that inspire me that I could share as inspiration for my partner.  

The evolution of creating a swap inspiration mosaic

I started by looking through the vast sampling of mini quilts posted to Instagram, browsing on the web.  Each one that made me go "WOW!" or "Oooo, I like that" I opened in another tab.  I searched hashtags like #schnitzelandboominiquiltswap {an uber popular Instagram quilt swap} and #miniquilt and quickly it seemed as though I had a million tabs open.

Then came the sorting.  I started new windows for grouping my open tabs by like characteristics.  First I started with the blues.  I moved from there to the geometrics, then the stars, and finally the ones that didn't seem to fit with any of the other groupings {or could have fit but I had too many}.  Within each group, with much struggle, I narrowed my selections down to the top nine to get a nice 3x3 mosaic.  

The Blues

I started with the blues because, for awhile now, I've been infatuated by quilts pieced of various shades of blue.  I want to say it started with the bright ocean mosaic I pulled together, but I'm sure it was happening well before then.  In my notes that I included with the swap sign-up I made sure to say my preference for the blues and teals and the like all together.  

Geometrics & Stars

As I thought about the elements that caught my eye, aside from color, of the blues group it became clear I had a thing for strong geometric lines, triangles, and stars.  The crisp points make me happy and the precise piecing always inspires me to be more precise in my own work.  

Other Themes

I thought about the other things I included in my sign-up form... the ocean and swimming and reading as things I liked to do.  I probably should have included being outside too, but easily found a couple minis that totally capture that.  Across all the groups, the unifying theme is one of color against a simple background; careful piecing and clean lines.

As much fun as I had pulling these mosaics together I had even more fun when I got my secret partner email and could start dreaming up the mini quilt I would make for her.  The plan came to me quickly and I even started in on the piecing.  Since shipping isn't until March next year there'll be a long pause before I can share all the details... but it's going to be hard to wait.  On the other hand, I think I'm going to need all that time to get the quilt done.  Here's hoping I can break my tendencies and not leave things to last minute! 

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Details :: Blueberry Park Mini Swap

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