Doll quilts sent and received!

Amongst all the chaos of my recent life, I did actually manage (just) to get my DQS11 finished and in the mail by the deadline! And here it is, all 14 inches of it. You can read more about this quilt here, including a wee tutorial on English Paper Piecing.

Here is the back, I used the Riley Blake FQ I have been hoarding for months. As you will see, if you look to your left and right, it is the backdrop to this blog!

Once I had chosen the back it was easy to work out which fabric I should use for the binding. I am pleased with how this lime dotty fabric worked out.

Here is the finished top. Each of the diamonds is just over 1" in length. I began by tacking the papers, but after a suggestion from Dolores I started using a glue stick - much quicker! But you can't re-use all the papers as they don't always come off the fabric whole.

There is so much going on in this little quilt that I decided it needed a very simple hand quilting. I quilted round the smallest hexagons which made the stars 'puff-out', which I quite like.

After a tip off on a DQS discussion thread I bought this doll bed from Ikea (£13). I plan to paint it and make a mattress, pillows etc. (it came with that blue pad). After admiring the little quilt on the doll bed I packed it all up with these extras...

 ... popped it in the post and eagerly awaited the doll quilt I would receive!

 In the meantime, Simon made himself comfortable on the waiting doll bed.

And then on Thursday the mailman brought me a package from The Garden City, Michigan.
Look at all this lovely loot!! Thank you so much Laurie (Ladmquilter)!
Not only did I get the most gorgeous doll quilt but she was very generous with her extras - all that pretty fabric (can any of you tell me who makes this?), embroidery silks, and I very sweet handmade origami needle case pouch!


I love this quilt! When I saw it in the group pool I had commented that it was 'so ME!'. And it is! Laurie said she wanted to make something that would fit in with my mosaic, and it totally does. The colour palette is my absolute favourite and I love the appliqued circles inside the pinwheels.
And I especially love the hand quilting with silks. Thank you Laurie, you made me the perfect doll quilt!!

And how amazing does it look on my doll bed?! In the absence of an actual doll (on the 'to-do' list along with mattress, pillows, etc.), Panda has been helping me model the quilt. 

Despite the fact I have not had quite as much time as I would have liked to devote to this round of the DQS, I have still really enjoyed making and (even more so!) receiving my doll quilts. Thanks to all the Mamas who make it all possible and roll on round 12!!!