I follow The Sewing Loft on social media and back in June I saw a post on her website about a "Mini Swap". I have never participated in a quilt swap, so I thought I would give it a try. From past experience, I was a little hesitant as you don't always get back what you put into something, but I was willing to take a chance.

You could make a mini quilt (no bigger than a fat quarter), a mug rug or wall hanging. The pattern or style would be makers choice using scrappy fabrics. The coordinator would pair you with someone close to you to help with cost of shipping. I was paired with a lady in Georgia.

I just started doing foundation paper piecing (FPP)  and wanted to use that technique to do my mini quilt. My swap partner said she liked Lori Holt, so I used scrappy prints along with a pattern I purchased, Emma, by Rose Johnson, with Threadbare Creations. The pattern was to produce a 14" square, but I added a border to make it bigger.

I won't tell you how many times I had to rip this out and redo as there is definitely a learning curve to FPP, however, I did not give up.

The pattern I purchased was a PDF download, which meant I would have to print out my FPP myself. I bought some newsprint paper, which is very thin and printed out the pages myself.

The pages printed from newsprint type paper!

Cut out to use for my FPP

Below is my progress. The first photo shows several of the pieces laid out after completing what would become two of the block sections.You should be able to see the mistake in this picture. (I put blue where it should have been white).
I didn't give up, instead I kept ripping out my mistakes and kept going. Finished before border.
Final look after quilting on my Moxie and adding the binding.
Close up of the middle.
I just added a cream color solid backing and included little corner pieces that might help to hang on the wall along with a special label.
I make my own labels now, so that I can add a special touch to each quilt.
This was a challenge at times, but something I am glad I participated in. I hope my swap person likes it. When I mailed it, since she was a fan of Lori Holt, I included one of Lori's charms.