Giving Handmade

Giving handmade gifts can by tricky.  If you are a maker you know what I mean.  You work hard on something and you're never really sure the receiver will actually like it.  You've picked out the fabric and pattern and decided what to make.  You put yourself out there and give a gift you love.  I guess this is true of all gifts, but the material and time it takes to make something raises the stakes.  For the most part I've got a decent radar for who will appreciate a handmade gift, so I try not to worry too much about it.

Last Christmas I received a charm pack of fabric from a colleague who knows I love to quilt.  The pack was the Gooseberry Lane line from Kansas Troubles Quilters.  I know this person loves handmade things, and the gift was actually a bit lucky, I'll tell you why.  She picked the fabric, so I had to assume it was something she would like.  This little piece of the process made me feel confident in making her something as a gift. 

I decided to make a small mini quilt using my Temecula Minis Postcards patterns (unfortunately no longer available).  The pattern really fit the country style of the the fabric.  I used a matching red thread to quilt in the long strips, and stitched in the ditch around the blocks.  I also used their method for binding a small quilt, which you can see here along with some other tips. 

And in the end, she loved it.  A win for me and a win for her.  Now...how to get other people to buy you fabric...hmmmm.   

P.S.  She also got a cute market bag, free pattern by Sharon Holland here.  

Happy Sewing!