Tuesday, March 6, 2018

"Small, smaller, smallest"... A Blog Hop

Sew Tiny Lanyard Pattern

Hi, and welcome to Quiltscapes!  The quilts I make are becoming smaller.  Is it just me, or has this happened to you, too?  When I first dabbled in quilting, I made quilts for everyone in my family.  King size, queen size, no matter that they dragged on the floor around the kids' beds.  Once those were made and everyone's beds were all covered, I thought, what now?  I was hooked and wanted to make more!

Next were lap quilts and couch throws. Then wall hangings and table toppers and table runners for every occasion/season/excuse imaginable.  Then came mini quilts, pillows, pot-holders, coasters and mug-rugs (didn't even know those were a thing!).  And now, I have a whole collection of nametags!


And then, there's that teeny tiny paper-pieced lanyard.  Sew cute, sew tiny, and I've been wanting to make a new lanyard for years!  Luckily, Carol @ JustLetMeQuilt has provided the motivation I needed with this week's blog hop!


My new lanyard includes blocks that kinda tell my story. Four kids: a son who served in the military (flag), and triplet daughters, poor little things, they've been color-coded their entire life (pink, purple and green).  Log cabin blocks and a little house represent the houses my husband has built for us.  Little songbirds because I love to sing.  Also three little spools (I have a thing for threes) and a little (ahem) "Singer" sewing machine to represent my passion for quilting and sewing (and singing).  These precious little paper-pieced blocks finish at three-quarters of an inch!

#quiltinsanity #takesjustaslongasregularquiltblocks

A few tips for teensy piecing:  Use a pattern that is super-simplified if going this small.  Solids or small tone-on-tone prints that read as a solid work best.  I used solid Confetti Cottons from Riley Blake Designs.  And, thank heaven for the Add-an-Eighth ruler which really helped in my paper piecing.  OK, they are a little bit fiddly, but I think you'll agree they are worth it, and so, sew dang cute!

My favorites are the little people with baby button faces, and I giggle every time I look at them.  And that sewing machine, eek!!



I used Riley Blake Designs' Confetti and Crayola cotton solids, with Vivid Kisses for the binding/back.

When I finished the lanyard, I had to make a new nametag to go with it, right?  No time to embroider or quilt, so I photo-shopped a few details of what I have in mind  (I pinned a safety pin vertically on the back so the hook could go through the hole for hanging).  Quilting small is so satisfying, and hey, it's technically still a quilt!  This one measures 4" square.


*GIVEAWAY ALERT*  I'll be giving away a "Sew Tiny" Lanyard pattern with a 1 x 6" Add-an-Eighth ruler and a swivel hook, and will draw a name from comments on Sunday, March 11th.
*UPDATE*  Giveaway ended and a winner selected:  Congratulations Martina!  

You may also purchase the pattern and supplies on my Etsy store:  Sew Tiny Lanyard.  Feel free to browse through my Snippets page for lots more small project ideas and tutorials.  Thanks for coming!  And thanks to Carol for lighting the fire under my tail!  One more "quilt" off the checklist!

Click the button below to go to a list of this week's full lineup on this sweet little hop.  Or swing over to Carol's small, smaller, smallest collection on Pinterest.




91 comments:

  1. Oh, my gosh. Your lanyard is incredible. I have always worked in minis, but nothing like this. Would love to give it a try. Thanks for the opportunity

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  2. WOW Deonn! That is fantastic, I love it! I Love that you put your family/interests on it. Thanks for sharing, I really enjoyed looking.

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  3. I love your Lanyard and badge, Deonn. It is so cute. Thanks so much for sharing

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  4. Wow! The lanyards are so cute and the blocks are sooo teeny ( which of course makes them even cuter!). I love your idea of telling your story in the blocks!

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  5. Oh wow!!! I can't even imagine do Ng something that tiny....gorgeous work!!!!

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  6. Oh My Goodness! So tiny and so cute! I don't think that I would have the patience to work that small.

    I am currently working with 1 1/2" squares and they are fiddly...going smaller than that really is insane. LOL

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  7. That lanyard is amazing! I love to make small quilts and am always downsizing patterns, but yours is truly tiny. Would love to try to make it.

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  8. Wow! This is awesome! Would love to win your giveaway. Thanks for the inspiration to create something so unique. akronne17@gmail.com

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  9. Holy cow those are teeny tiny pieces-you deserve an award!!

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  10. Oh my goodness! I need to Win it. I could never make one so cute!! I haven't conquered paper piecing. I avoid it all I can. It's you all over!! The 4" sewing machine is the best.

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  11. I learned a little more about you today...I didn't know you had an Etsy store for one thing. The lanyard with your "life" details is a great idea! I love the little button faces and the color coding is exactly what I did with my kids. It made life so much easier to know who's colored cup wasn't put in the sink. Your new name tag is so cute! You really rocked the small thing on this one. So many tiny blocks! Thanks for hopping with us and sharing your amazing lanyard. :O)

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  12. Wonderful..inspiring!! I can do it.

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  13. My jaw just hit the floor. 3/4" OMG that's amazing and they are done so precisely. Wow. Coolest thing ever. Thanks for sharing.

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  14. Wow, now that is small, those tiny blocks are so cute too!

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  15. That is crazy tiny!!! I love it!!! Thanks for sharing!!

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  16. Holy cow, Deonn, this is crazy good and just makes my mouth water. I just ordered mine!!!!!! I couldn't wait to see if I won. lol Guess if I do, I can have 2. Thank you!!

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  17. YES, so dang cute!!! I love this idea!! I wear a lanyard daily to work, how fun to wear something so sweet!!! Fabulous!!!!!

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  18. I love this!! What a great story it tells and I’m with you on the threes. I’m not sure which is my favorite. I am hooked on paper piecing can’t imagine going this small Wow!

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  19. Not so small and fiddly as that lanyard, but my quilting has gotten smaller. Now I'm older I find big quilts are just toooo much! I don't make anything bigger than 1msq now so mostly laprugs, runners, place mats and wall hangings that are easily manageable

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  20. I love the tiny Paper pieces lanyard. That takes some skill. Mini quilts are a huge straple for Instagram swaps.

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  21. This is very interesting, and would be a challenge and something I would !like to try. Thanks!

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  22. OH, my heart!! I love the tiny paper pieced images and what a very unique lanyard it made.

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  23. This is amazing! I’m at a guild meeting today and the presentation is on miniature quilts !! How cool !! Love your lanyard 💜

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  24. I love how your patterns tell the story of You!

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  25. Goodness, that is really tiny! I don't know if I could go that small.

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  26. OMGoodness! That lanyard is incredible. That is sooo tiny and must be quite the conversation piece at your guild meetings. I love that you did your "life" in minis. The nametag is also fabulous.

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  27. The lanyard looks like a fun project!

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  28. That is just awesome...you know I have to play with that now! How do you attach the name tag? A D-ring kind of thing??? I'm sure the pattern will tell me!
    I am so in LOVE with this!!!!!

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  29. Wow - teeny tiny! Nice work!

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  30. Oh my goodness!!! Making blocks that small makes you totally certifiable...as an insanely creative quilter!!! Amazing and now I want to try my hand at making a lanyard because I don't have one!!! I may need to make several now!!

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  31. Your lanyard is absolutely amazing. I love,love, love minis but this is the best! I made a lanyard with my name tag ( tiny quilt) for guild meetings. I made it into a tiny pouch to hold my $ for the raffle table as well as my tickets and a small pen. I think I need a new one with the sewing machine. Thanks for sharing- love your lanyard!

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  32. That is so cute! I could use one because I wear a lanyard for my office key and ID.
    oneoldgoat1962@gmail.com

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  33. Oh wow, that is tiny and sooo cute!!! Love your lanyard very much!

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  34. Very Clever. It looks like funny to make.

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  35. Oh my gosh. I don't think I've seen anything so cute and so small. I love it!

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  36. Wowza! Your lanyard is awesome and the itty bitty blocks look perfect ... not easy to do with such tiny pieces. You knocked it out of the park with the subject of this blog hop.

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  37. Sooooooo tiny, great job 💕

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  38. This has got to be the smallest piecing I've seen. I love the idea for a lanyard

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  39. Wowza! That lanyard is just amazing!

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  40. Love your lanyard! Love the story of why you chose the little blocks.

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  41. Oh my, that's such cute lanyard straps!!

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  42. So so darn cute! Amazingly small and fabulous! Great job!

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  43. Wow! Your lanyard is amazing! Sew impressive! Thanks for sharing!

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  44. Your tiny lanyard is amazing! So very sweet!

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  45. Unbelievable. What a wonderful creation telling a wonderful story.

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  46. OM goodness...small, smaller, smallest hardly fits here. :) "Teensy" fits perfectly. Love the sewing machine and all the wonderfully teensy PP things on the lanyard. You are a marvel.

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  47. This is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. I just recently learned to paper piece.

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  48. Love your tiny blocks. It's wonderful that they tell your family story.

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  49. That is such a cute lanyard. I love how it represents your life. They are so small. I’ve never tried such small blocks but after seeing how cute yours are, I might give them a try.

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  50. Oh my...now that is teeny tiny blocks of cuteness...i have made inchies before but this is on a level of its own.........

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  51. Oh my goodness! The lanyard is phenomenal. Precious log cabins and figurines.

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  52. OMG!! Wow that is an ambitious and stunning project!! I adore paper piecing and you have just floored me with those tiny pieces. The significance of the blocks for the recipient makes it so meaningful and extra special. You have truly taken my breath away!!!

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  53. WOW! Teeny tiny pieces, this is so cute!

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  54. Ahhhhhh, your lanyard is wonderful. Everything you create is wonderful. You have taught at our quilt show in Blackfoot and we all love you. I am not there this year because we are assisting the great people on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and I have started a sewing group. I have showed them your website and they are in love with your work as well. Keep it up, girl!!!

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  55. What a perfect mini project! I love lanyards, must think on this.

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  56. That lanyard and tag are a perfect combination for a guild badge.

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  57. Wow, such a cutie, I want to make one, thanks

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  58. Such tiny blocks, so cute. 24Tangent@gmail.com

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  59. I need to win this!! I went to your etsy site and it says sold out!!! I love it! If I don't win than you need to hurry and restock!!!

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    1. Oooh, sorry about that, Lori! All re-stocked and ready to go!

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  60. I can't believe how tiny those pieces are in the lanyard!

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  61. Oh, my goodness -- that lanyard is too much! I love it!

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  62. I love it. I need to make a lanyard and name tag. Thanks for the ideas.

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  63. What a wonderful lanyard. One could certainly use up a lot of tiny scraps. I want to make one.

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  64. Those are amazing! Love your lanyard! Nancy A: rangerer@sbcglobal.net

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  65. I just love the story of your lanyards, especially color coding your triplets! I did the same thing with my twins, haha.

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  66. OMG! I thought I made small paper pieced items but finishing at 3/4"!!! Wow. Your lanyard is super cute. The sewing machine is incredible. I've never heard of a add an eighth ruler. Maybe that would have helped me with the leprechaun hat. For tiny pieces, does one only use 1/8" seam allowance? I'm still learning.
    kthurn(at)bektel(dot)com

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    1. Good question, Tu-Na! The Add-an-Eighth ruler is great for constructing the block, then I trim around the block using 1/4" seam allowance, so they're easier to piece together.

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  67. This is so cute! I think you need to make me one. ;)lol

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  68. Oh, Deonn! That is amazing. I can't even imagine all the time you put into one of those. Just too cute!

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  69. That lanyard is beyond cute, amazing, wonderful! I love it!

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  70. Yowza! Love your lanyard! I’ve never seen one like this and now I’m putting this on my to-do list, so neat! Great job! Fingers crossed, hehe

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  71. Those are the cutest!! I love paper piecing!

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  72. This is absolutely adorable! I love all the cuteness!

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  73. I think you win for tiniest block! My mouth fell open when I saw this. Wow, well done! Super fun lanyard.

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  74. I have been so impressed with some of the projects on this hop and you are among those. Fantastic job.

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  75. I Love Love Love this Deonn. I'm one of the 14 people who added it to my cart on etsy actually. :) I love the phrase color coded kids, that's cute ... made me smile. I can't wait to be able to purchase this (am a bit broke at the moment) and make this wonderful lanyard. Sew Sew Cute!!

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  76. This really is an awesome lanyard! I know I would enjoy wearing one like that if I created it!

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  77. Love your lanyard! What an awesome way to use small pieces of fabric.

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  78. What fun! Love the lanyard, and the idea of choosing blocks that represent important parts of your life.

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  79. I can think of a lot of uses for something like that. I love it.

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  80. Your lanyard is amazing, Very impressed with the skills it took to create it. I love that the blocks have meanings from your life,

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  81. Wow your lanyard is awesome and those tiny pieces. Love how the different blocks represented your life.

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  82. Absolutely adorable! I love how you personalized it and told your story. (we have twins, and we color coded too!)

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  83. This is incredible! I really want to make it!

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  84. Lovely! Such amazingly tiny details!

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