Those of you who are on Instagram may have seen references to the handmade birthday club. I missed out on it for the first signup round but when my friend Lisa (@modern_balabusta) posted another signup list for a late to the handmade birthday party, I jumped on the train. Basically you have a group of makers who agree to send a handmade item to each other in their birthday month. The group is arranged with only (mostly) one person per month so the participants don’t get overwhelmed.
Lisa’s birthday was April 27th and I got my gift mailed off a few days late but it was the first gift so she cut us all some slack. It was so fun to get to make something for a fellow sew-er who I know will enjoy the value of a handmade gift! Based on Lisa’s list of preferred fabrics and after perusing her Pinterest boards, I made her this mini quilt as her main gift item. Isn’t it so cute?

I’ve always wanted to make a plus quilt and it was quite easy once I sat down to do it. I didn’t follow any pattern; just cut out 3.5″ squares and arranged them on my design wall until I liked the arrangement. Then I sewed them together- making long rows, then sewing the rows together. I decided on a straight line quilting pattern down either side of the seam allowances using the side of my walking foot as a guide (about .5″ from seam). The finished quilt measures at about 18″x24″.
I picked up a few fun office supplies at target to coordinate with my gift and threw in one of my hoops that I had made up already. I think it’s a fun gift and I hope Lisa enjoys it!