Modern Mini Challenge

Hi!

Welcome to Day 11 of the Modern Mini Challenge blog hop!

I am really excited about this challenge and look forward to seeing how you push yourself to try something new.   Hopefully I can provide a little inspiration for you today.

Spiderweb Mini :: 20″ x 20″ square

When Jennifer asked me to join in, I immediately started thinking of what I could do to challenge myself.

I love that mini quilts give you a smaller scale to try a new technique, but also leave you with an amazing little work of art.

I started by brainstorming ways a quilter could challenge themselves:

  • Paper piecing
  • A traditional block design if you’re always doing modern and vice versa
  • Applique
  • A new and bolder color combination
  • Stepping away from set fabric collections and pulling favorite pieces to create your own collection
  • Using only solids
  • Improv piecing
  • Curves
  • A new way to quilt whether that be handquilting, freemotion, or straight lines
  • Creating your own original design
  • Precision piecing

There really are endless possibilities!    For me, I already had a mini in progress and I was trying to decide how to finish it.

I knew the perfect challenge would be to try a new quilting technique.

I have the hardest time with straight line quilting.   Probably because I’m impatient!

I’m not going to get better if I don’t practice, so the spider webs were straight line quilted.

I also have a tendency to just meander all of my quilts because I’m comfortable with that… hello, challenge calling.  I love pebble quilting, so why not give that a go?

The white areas were pebble quilted and while neither are perfect, I am proud of myself for trying something new and every time I look at this quilt I’m reminded that it feels really good to push myself.

That’s my newest mini, but I thought I’d also share the others that I’ve made in the past.

(P.S. Did you catch my off white star point!?  Aw, the fun of quilting.   Realizing after your done that you had a scrap of Kona Snow mixed in with your White!   LOL)

This is a little mini of my sewing machine, Pearl.   This quilt is completely appliqued.

This is the tiniest quilt I’ve ever made, postcard size.    I paper pieced the background and then appliqued the flower on top.

Potholders are minis too!

A bit of a picture overload, but hopefully you can find some inspiration amongst it all.

Please don’t miss out on this fun challenge!

I feel like so many of us wait until we are ‘good’ at  a technique before putting it into something we love.    Don’t do that, I think you should use something you love to try your new techniques!    Who is inspired by their ‘mess up’ fabric?   Not me.

Get out the colors that make you happy and the fabric that really gets your creativity going.  That’s what you need to use!    I find you do even better at a new technique when you’re continually inspired in the process.

xo, Lindsey

P.S.   The inspiration is still flowing, be sure to visit the rest of the bloggers on the hop!

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  • sukie

    Love love love your mini! We need to make each other something sometimeReplyCancel

  • Lovely to share the spotlight with you today. Your minis are so beautiful.ReplyCancel

  • Mina

    I love the fabric choices that you have used in all your quilts. I am just too nervous to cut into my good stuff!ReplyCancel

  • Your mini’s are SO adorable! The spiderweb blocks are amazing, and even after you mentioned the off-white star point, I couldn’t see it! Love your potholders too.ReplyCancel

  • Love your mini’s Lindsey! I wish I had your talent!ReplyCancel

  • Oooh great quilting, and lots of fun mini-minis too xReplyCancel

  • Jen is right , I am inspired by you!! I am so on board with you on straight line quilting – I get the unshakeable urge to just move that quilt around! But you’re right, it’s all about challenging yourself to try new things. And I love the end result! The straight lines always look great, and your
    pebble-ing is the perfect compliment!ReplyCancel

  • Maeve

    Love,love, love your mini quilts! So much color and design. Thanks for sharing all with us!ReplyCancel

  • Thanks Lindsey–a pile of inspiration along with a process approach and an attitude that says there are no mistakes, only design opportunities–love it!ReplyCancel

    • This would be the perfect quilt for my 16 year old. Hard to find omsething that is for that age, youthful and fun but not flowery. He loves bright colors. My son has a chronic illness and has to have infusions every 8 weeks. The quilt would be for those times, it can get chilly there! Also, I’m trying to figure out the blogging thing. Not as much time to devote to it but it will develop! This would be a fun project to highlight and make me spend more time on getting my site better organized. Even if I don’t win the fabric, it’s a cool quilt and I’ll probably still make it for my son . After the holidays! Thanks!ReplyCancel

  • bigmamaquilts

    I LOVE your strings! Any hints about what you learned for your flawless straight line quilting? You did a great job complimenting the straight lines with the pepples!ReplyCancel

  • Helen LeBrett

    I love your star string quilt, and no I can’t see the off white star point. (sometimes photos not being exactly spot on with color works to your advantage!!) 🙂 Your star string has me motivated!! It’s lovely and fun!ReplyCancel

    • I just want to say kudos to Liz for retiring. I can’t giaimne that being an easy decision except when she looked at her grandchildren. And I just caught a program with Mary and Marianne and think that it’s so great that they are working together. Keeps the more seasoned quilters mentoring the fresh finger pricked blood together and quilting alive in the younger generations! I am not young, neither am I older, just right at the perfect age and the new format is refreshing. I’ve searched online to know what had happened and there are some people out there bashing the new format of the show .I say to them, when you don’t encourage change, especially when it brings the younger generations into the fold, then you lose an artform that has been around for a very long time. Please keep doing the new format, having fun and tweaking as you go along .I want to see a truly rich span of generations in my quilting guild, not just the seasoned quilters.ReplyCancel

  • While I am not doing the mini challenge, I sure do love looking at everyone’s work. Yours is fantastic!ReplyCancel

  • i’m blown away.
    every single piece is so beautiful, inspiring, artistic.
    wow.xxxReplyCancel

  • I love the pebble quilting! I like that technique too and need to practice. And I love your pot holders! I made a couple recently but they are very plain compared to what you have shown here.ReplyCancel

  • Jennifer @ Ellison Lane Quilts

    Linds, you are such an inspiration to me every day. Your string quilt is awesome and the quilting is fantastic. I love that you did pebbles and straight lines. Oh how I wish we could spend some time sewing together. Please say you can come to the Sewing Summit this year!
    xo Thanks for being a part of the inspiration hop Lindsey.ReplyCancel

  • that is SO awesome!!ReplyCancel

  • omg…they’re so beautiful 😀
    i never tried quilting before cause i’m a crochet girl. but looking at this makes me want to try quilting too 😀ReplyCancel

  • I love love your minis – so much inspiration here.ReplyCancel

  • Your work is beautiful! Love PEARL!ReplyCancel

  • Ok, that is way too much gorgeous stuff in one post! I’m in love with your spiderweb quilt, it’s got to be the most stunning example I’ve seen so far.ReplyCancel

  • Lovig your newest mini : ) Awesome quilting tooReplyCancel

  • great ideas!! thanks.ReplyCancel

  • L.O.V.E. your mini’s, lindsey!! the potholders are super cute!! great job as usual!ReplyCancel

  • Hi! I love all your mini quilts! You have wonderful ideas and you are so talented with the result! Thank you for inspiration!
    Wishes from Greece! x TejeReplyCancel

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