Doll Quilt finished and received by my partner

I actually finished my doll quilt a couple of weeks back, but what with starting so many new projects I haven't had time to post about it. My partner received the quilt last week and seems to be genuinely delighted with it, so phew!
I was making this quilt as part of the Doll Quilt Swap (round 10) on Flickr. This is the best swap around IMHO, the standard of work is SO high and incredibly inspiring.

Last time I posted about this quilt, I had finished the main part of the top. I then added that spiky saw tooth border before getting to work on some serious hand quilting!
It is lovely to work on something so small that you can quilt very heavily without going insane! I used red sashiko thread to pick out the 'stamens' (the whirli-gigs are supposed to be an organic, seed-poddy type of thing) and a mixture of natural, red and purple quilting threads everywhere else.

Here is the back.
I loved this 'Timber' fabric I bought from Mandy's Simply Solid shop, and couldn't bear to cut it up. It seemed to go well with my 'botanical' theme too. The leaf in the corner is covering up my partners name on the label (I used a mistake quarter block to make the label). As this is a secret swap it is important that your partner has no idea you are making your quilt for her and till she actually receives it.
I can now reveal that my partner was Ethne of Flaming Stitches blog. Ethne creates really original and unusual pieces and I have to admit to being a bit daunted when I found out I was making for her! But then I realised I was going to relish the challenge!
Ethne had lots of photos of leaves and seed pods in her 'favourites' and she was also very specific about the colours she liked - purples, maroons, greens and autumnal colours. Even so I was still a little worried that she might not like the design. But she does, hurray!

Everybody sends some extras along with their quilts (I do think that quilters suffer from a kind of competitive generocity!), so I made this pincushion out of the orphaned trial block I made at the beginning of the project. I really like the way this came out, it is on the large size for a pincushion - more like a very small footstool! - but I think the sashiko stitching really makes it. Plus I love using stuff up.

Ethne tool some lovely photos of the package I sent her after she received it, and she has kindly given me permission to use them here. I sent her that Kokka FQ, plus that 'measure-up' cosmetic bag which we sell in the shop. It really is made from woven tape measures, isn't it amazing?! Ethne is, very sensibly, using it for sewing supplies instead of make-up.

As well as taking a look at all the other inspiring Doll Quilts in the group pool, why not check out Ethne's blog too? She is busy organising a QAL based on the illustrations of Charley Harper, and producing some really interesting work herself.
Oh, and the best thing about having her for a partner was that she also lives in Scotland! So I could send the parcel really securely at a fraction of the price it would have cost internationally, yay!
Now all I have to do is wait for MY doll quilt to arrive! How exciting!!