Thursday, August 02, 2018

Throwback Thursday - cubicle minis

It's Throwback Thursday again at mmm! quilts. You may have seen Sandra's announcement that I will be helping her host the October and December edition of Throwback Thursday. I'm very excited because I love hosting and Sandra is wonderful :-)

Cubicle Minis

From 2009 to 2012, roughly when I first started quilting, I worked on assignment at another department. It was a great opportunity in which I learned a lot and met some wonderful people.

I didn't post any of these minis, but I would have started making them about a year before I started the Quilting & Learning - What a Combo! blog and finished them in my first year of blogging.

It all started with a doll quilt that I made for a colleague's daughter (which I never took a picture of). After that I decided to make a little something for a few of my colleague's cubicles. These three are the ones that I have pictures of.

Roses and butterflies was made for Sharon. She's an ex-librarian and a real sweetheart. I used some of my favourite fabric to make this. I embroidered the bird and butterfly and appliqued the two roses from another fabric in that line. I then added chunky jewelry for some interest. I'm glad that I still occasionally see Sharon at information management (IM) meetings.
Butterflies and Roses for Sharon
I made this for Kara - she was a funny, vivacious person who lost her battle with cancer a few years ago. I don't remember where I got the pattern for this block, except that it was part of a larger quilt that I adapted. The flower was appliqued and I think the stem was couched.

I also made a quilt for her son. I did post that one. If you're interested in seeing it, the link is in the Related links section below.
Funky Daisies for Kara
This mini is the last one I made before finishing my assignment. It was for my funny, charismatic and kind boss, Karl. We all called him "Patron". You can see in this quilt his love of music, mustaches and retro. I added the VW beetles for something retro but I remember that he loved retro appliances in particular. Again, I'm always glad to see Karl at our IM meetings.
Patron mini for Karl

What I learned
  • I remember making Sharon's mini quilt. I had a few fat quarters from a fabric line that was just perfect for Sharon. Unfortunately I used the loveliest one for the backing. I still remember that lesson! That's why I appliqued a couple of the roses to the front.
  • I think that the first two minis were hand quilted while Karl's mini looks machine quilted. I would probably have used a walking foot.
Related Links
Linking Parties
As I mentioned, this post was written for Throwback Thursday with Sandy at mmm! quilts. I will also be linking to many other linking parties. See what others are doing! Linky TuesdayTuesday Colour Linky PartyLet's Bee SocialMidweek MakersNeedle & Thread ThursdayOff the Wall FridayFinished or Not FridayCan I Get A Whoop Whoop?Friday Fofo FunMonday MakingMain Crush MondayDesign Wall MondayMove it Forward Monday,




12 comments:

  1. Those are some fun little projects for Throwback Thursday!

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    1. Thanks! It's so much fun going back and looking at older projects.

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  2. I made a couple of minis for colleagues who switched schools back in the earlier 2000s too, made one for my classroom, and some runners for other colleagues who retired. These are wonderful and I love the personalized touches you gave them. I'm sure they are treasured, the one for the colleague who passed away, hopefully by her son as well.

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    1. Thanks Sandra. To me these are very personal and fun to make. My cubicle is full of these little treasures.

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  3. Every cubicle needs a mini—or many!! So sweet of you to make them for your co-workers with patterns that matched their interests or personalities. For many years I had a quilt hanging in my office at work—it just made it feel right to me. Until the Fire Marshall “outlawed” hanging fabric. (I think I’m still bitter after all these years.) I solved the problem by making quilt squares out of paper and framing them. Then a year later I retired and went home and hung quilts all over my house!

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    1. Good for you Janine-Marie! When I worked with these colleagues, we weren't allowed to have plants, which was very difficult for me, so thank goodness minis and such were ok. I can't imagine living in a cubicle 8 hours a day without making it over :-)

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  4. How wonderful that you will be co hosting with Sandra. I enjoyed reading about your cubicle minis , who you made them for and the techniques you used. It looks like you have always been ready to experiment and try something new.

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    1. Thanks Lisa. I'm really looking forward to co hosting with Sandra. It adds a little something without it becoming a huge something :-) And yes, I always need to learn and try something new, otherwise I get bored!

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  5. Nothing like a mini to dress up those cubicles - they're all very sweet!

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    1. Thanks Susan. One day, when I'm ready to leave, I'll take a picture of my existing cube. Even short walls can be decorated!

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  6. What thoughtful little minis and how fun to look back on them. Thanks for sharing them and the thoughts that went into designing them.

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    1. Thanks Dione. That's what I like the most about Throwback Thursdays. It's great to see what we did so very long ago (or so it seems).

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