#makeaquiltmakeafriend

I had such fun making this little mini for my partner in the Schnitzel & Boo Mini Quilt Swap!  She said in her interview questions that she loved foxes, and I took that and ran with it. I call him “Foxy”

FoxyMy original plan was to use the cross stitch block pattern by Pile O’ Fabric and the fox pattern by Making Life Prettier, but I wanted Foxy to be smaller and I was just not up for the tiny, tiny blocks that I really wanted to create.  I opted to use the fox pattern with solid blocks finished at 1.5 inches.  I quilted it with the crosshatch design to give the impression of the cross stitch blocks and added the Foxy borders with minimal quilting.

14372382927_3e9664b03a_zThe most fun I had with this one was string piecing it all together. I love string piecing because, for me, it cuts down on a lot of the piecing errors I am prone to make. I don’t often have a chance to use the technique, though, because I don’t make a lot of quilt with squares that match up quite so perfectly. I guess TECHNICALLY I string piece all the time, but this was sort of extreme string piecing:

14585241603_4499b59493_zI think it’s tough to see in this picture, but the rows are all joined at each seam and you won’t be cutting them apart.  The only bear is pressing the strips while they are all connected, but with a little practice, it’s not that problematic.  At this point you can just fold the rows over each and either glue baste or pin without worrying about which row goes next. I’m all for short cuts. Also it leaves you back looking nice in neat without a bunch of strings hanging around. The only caution I have is that you can’t press your final seams open when you sew the block like this, so if you’re someone who likes to do that, then perhaps this technique is not for you.

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