Black and white swap

A few months bag I sunk my teeth into my 

first Instgram swap...

#blackandwhitequiltswap

For me it was a very positive experience so much so that i have since signed up 

for several others 

But today I thought I would share with you what I made and what I received 

First we had to put up our Mosaics for inspiration for out partners and this is what 

I had put up...

You see I love Black and White quilts,so I had a few already 

pinned to my Pinterest boards ...so off I went to find what i was looking for what I love....

too easy really 

I now have a Board just dedicated to Black and White Quilts with a splash of colour 

you can find it  HERE

Then I had to wait for the partners to be emailed out 

and all the other relevant information... check in dates....what Hastags to use.... 

who our swap mamma's are and most important 

swap partners Information...Likes...Dislike etc....so now it was time to go stalking...OHHHH I mean 

social research LOL

Yay I love Social Research you can get to know a lot about a person 

through what they post

for my first swap my partner was here in Australia so that was good 

at least we were both on the same time zone ...

I didn't have long to wait my swap partner posted her Mosaic and she 

had some beautiful quilts and mini quilts in her Mosaic 

My partner made a comment that she really liked one particular quilt 

in the mosaic....

I was excited, because I knew what I was going to make...

You see a couple days before hand I had purchased the 5 inch slicer template from 

the Crafty Gemini and it was on it way 

you can find it HERE

and I had been watching a few tutorials that Crafty Gemini had posted 

and I know this would work perfectly....

Now onto what my partner likes...she had made mention that she liked Cotton+Steel fabrics 

so the hunt begun for the fabrics...

this was not as easy as I thought it was going to be....

everything was in the USA and I wanted to Buy local....but unfortunately I don't 

stock them although I would love to....but being a small business i just could not do this time 

and nor does anyone else in the town I live 

so to the internet I went

I found a lady that live a couple hours from me and she was selling a nice little bundle of Fat Quarters...So i jumped on it....it was exactly looking for....

so that was it...it was time to get started...I just had to wait for the template and fabric to arrive.... 

yay they are here....

Now it is time to get creating....now bare in mind I had an Idea of what I wanted 

but it was not a pattern I had...it was an Idea I had in my head....

so I got cutting and and arranging

it was very much a improv quilting project

I must say I loved doing this mini quilt and I am very addicted to making Mini Quilts

they are Quick and you can display them more easily than bigger quilts....My wall is coming together nicely...Everyone Loved what i had made that come to my classes...

that we are now running this as a class for the month of September...

Now onto what I received from my swap partner...

This swap was a secret swap so the person we were sending to

was not who we were receiving from...

when I put up my Mosaic i made mention that I had been eyeing off the middle Bargelo 

quilt....but I would be happy with anything that my partner decided to make...

I was just happy to be part of the swap....

But my partner from @mysewbusylife on instagram 

absolutely blew me away....

the day my swap arrived I was teaching a patchwork class....I knew what it was so 

I put it down...but everyone encouraged me to open it...

Who am I to argue with my students LOL

so Open it I did...

I just stopped dead in my tracks and looked up and everyone 

they were all like show us...show us...but I was frozen...

I then turned the Mini Quilt around 

we were all in awe of what Faye had sent me 

it was the Bargelo that i had made reference to 

I was amazed and tis Mini had exceeded all my expectations 

there were some little extras too they were black and white themed 

just gorgeous 

I was over the Moon and felt very spoilt....so you can see that my experience what very positive 

so much so that I have signed up for a couple others....

I have signed up for the #overtherainbowswap...Now that I have received my Happy mail and my partner has received hers I will post about that in a week or so 

In the mean time head over to Instagram and check out the all the lovely Mini Quilts and show them some love and 

have a look at what everyone got up to or search #blackandwhitequitswap 

Happy Quilting ") N

Hi My Name is Nicole and I am Addicted to Swaps!!!!

So if you have been following along on my Facebook page or even my Instagram page 

you would be aware that in the last year i have been doing Sewing swaps 

with people all over the globe....

when i first started do swaps it was just after I joined the Crafty Gemini Quilt 

club...as I had never done them before i felt this was a safe place to start...So far I have swapped with people everywhere from Australia, England,Ireland,Canada and USA.

We get an email with our partners details and then we chat through out the month 

getting to know each other...it really has made in my opinion The Crafty Gemini Quilt Club 

a tighter quilting community...I love it lots of fun and great people too.

I have been doing them with the CGQC for 18 months now and have only 

missed 2...my experience was so positive that I met others that were doing them 

through the The Sewing Swap on Facebook they have a series of swaps happening every month

is could be table runners or blocks or just a fabric swap

I did a couple with them and I also joined up with their Birthday swap Club via this group.

how the Birthday Club works is, we each send a fat quarter to each person in the group in the month of the birthday 

so we all get 45 fat quarters as there are 46 in the group...

again I had a really good experience....and have met some amazing people 

in this group :) :) 

That led me to Instagram, I had been watching a FB friend Karen from Vintage.strings on Instagram doing all these wonderful projects.

 I asked her one day what they were for and she told me about the Instagram swapping.

 So a couple months ago I jumped in and signed up for my first swap

the Black and White Quilt Swap hosted by @shoppershaz....I had a ball making the mini quilt for my partner...I love the Mosaics that we put up for inspiration and how they different we all are 

it gives you and idea of what your partner likes...My partner gave me some really good ideas and clues to what she liked..she mention that she liked a kite shaped quilt in her mosaic...so that got me to thinking...I had just received my 5inch slicer from the Crafty Gemini and I thought that would work perfect for this swap...(pictures to follow in another blog post)...of coarse you don't know who is sending to you ...you only know who you are making for....and the continual posting of sneak peaks and progress is really fantastic as it keeps you guessing.....

I have enjoyed my self so much of the the last 18 months CGQC that I am still signing up for swaps each month...and My Instagram experience was soo positive that I have signed up for another 2 swaps 1.Over the Rainbow swap 

2. Falling for fall quilt swap 

and there are a couple that i am looking at :) :) 

I will keep you posted on what i am making and what i receive from my swaps 

below are just some of the things that i have received  and made over the last 18 months from the 

CGQC...I am still working on some of the block swaps and turning them into quilts I will post the pictures when they are finished :) :) 

Happy Quilting and Swapping ") N

Class Schedule July 2016

We have another Busy month 

of classes and creating 

as you can see we have finished up 

 our Farmer's Wife Quilt along 

so we have a few classes on offer this month 

BOOK FAST as places are filling fast

and we have limited spots 

We have been quilting away the days

over the last month....we are getting through

them and the Que is ever growing 

so get your finished quilt tops in 

sooner rather than later...

wait time at present is 

3 weeks but this can change due to 

demand :) :) 

Happy Quilting ") N 

June 2016 Class Schedule

Good Morning well it is the First day of Winter for us 

and we have a busy month ahead planned...

PLEASE NOTE!!! 

***We are not at the Nanango Markets this month as 

I have my Car booked in for a service so we will see you at the 

July markets :) :)  

But we will how ever be at the 

Kingaroy Car Boot Markets on the 19th of June

***Our Que for Quilting is ever growing 

so please get your quilts in sooner rather than 

later for a quick turnaround

Limited Spots 

So Please Book Fast to Avoid disappointment 

Happy Quilting N")

May 2016 Class Schedule

Classes for May 2016 

Please Book your spot now 

to avoid disappointment  

April 2016 Class Schedule

Class Schedule April 2016

Happy Sewing ") N 

Class Schedule for March 2016

March 2016 Darvanalee Designs 96 Alford Street, Kingaroy Qld 4610 Ph: 07 4163 6631 Mob:0429 55 1970 Opening Hours Monday to Friday 9.30am to 2.30pm  All Classes are $10 plus materials and include a light Morning Tea And Run from 9.30am to 12.30pm Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday 29 1 2 3 4 5 6 Closed Today Block of The Month Nanango Markets Site 65 6am -12pm 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Sit’n’ Sew Farmer’s Wife Quilt-a-along 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Sit’n’ Sew Sewing Machine Doctor is in Sewing Machine cover and mat  21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Sit’n’ Sew Mystery Quilt Club Closed Today Closed Today Closed Today Closed Today 28 29 30 31 Closed Today Notes: Classes are $10 plus Materials If you have any questions Please Phone Nicole on 0429 55 1970 or 07 4163 6631