Each year our quilters guild puts out a different quilting challenge at the January meeting. This year's challenge worked this way: Reach into the bag and pull out a paint chip. The color of that paint chip is to be used in a quilt of your choice (no larger than 36" square). You can NOT swap paint chips if you don't like your color. You are allowed to incorporate that color however you wish. You get a year to design and work on it. Present it at the December meeting and show off your creativity. The idea is to "challenge" you to do something different. Maybe try a new technique or work in a color you would never dream of working in. There are very few rules as the idea is to challenge you to be creative. I drew out a green paint chip and I thought it would go great with my kitchen colors. I thought about it a lot though the spring but had a difficult time deciding how I wanted to use it. I finally decided on a circular quilt. I found a green fabric in my mother's stash and put with it some of the yellow that is in my kitchen. I pieced together long strips of alternating yellows and green and then I used a quilter's ruler I had at home to cut out wedged shaped pieces. To make this 30" circle I needed 40 wedges. I then pieced these wedges together and ended up with this circle top.
I then had to back it and then chose to quilt it by stitching in the ditch. As usual I made my own bias tape for the binding using a complimentary green fabric. Circular quilts pose their own construction challenge as you end up with a "hole" in the middle in which you need to applique some sort of design. I appliqued a circle of the same green fabric I used for the binding and then sewed in a yellow flower shape.
I then chose to applique another piece of the yellow as a center of the flower. I am really happy with how it turned out. For the label I used my ink jet printer and printed on the fabric the information regarding the origins of the quilt. I turned that square into a circle and then appliqued it to the center back.
It fits just right on the dining room table as a table centerpiece; just what I designed it for. It looks great.
It did not really take me a terribly long time to make this. It did, as was the intent, make me try several new techniques. For example I have never 1) worked with wedges 2) turned wedges into a circle 3) free-motioned an exact design in a confined space 4) used fabric in my printer to make labels or 5) turned squares into circles. So I guess this year's challenge achieved its purpose. I am looking forward to the December meeting where I get to show off my table runner quilt and where I get to see everyone else's creativity. Then I am looking forward to the January meeting where we will be presented with another challenge. FUN FUN
