Purple challenge

Aotearoa Quilters has been running a series of colour-themed 12" by 12" quilt challenges.  They've run a red version, and a blue version, and the most recent is a purple version.  I've finally gotten my act together and produced an entry!

This quilt was really made to allow me to continue my play with striped blocks, created by stitching 1" strips of fabric together, cutting them up, and sewing them back together again. I used a mix of prints and shot cottons in a variety of fairly intense purple shades for this quilt - I was feeling quite literal when I made my fabric selections!

I couldn't resist snapping a photo of the back of my piece before it was quilted.  I think I'll definitely have to do a "wrong sided" quilt someday.

 

Here is is finished, and you can see that even the back is purple!  Don't worry, the quilt will be getting a label, I just hadn't stitched one on when I took photos.

You can see I quilted this little mini quite simply, with a grid of straight lines spaced 1/2" apart.  I think it works well for adding texture but not distracting too much from the piecing.  Unusually for me, I thought this quilt cried out for slightly shiny thread, so I used a 30 weight rayon thread that I would usually use for machine appliqué.  It was absolutely fine for quilting, but I did use a Superior Threads 90/14 Titanium top-stitching needle because this quilt is quite thick in places with all the little pieces.

A simple solid slightly brighter purple binding adds a definite frame to the quilt without detracting from its essential purple-ness!  All the entries in the 12" by 12" challenge are hung together, and it looks really effective - I can't wait to see how other people have interpreted the purple theme.  The quilts will be shown at Quilt Symposium in Palmerston North in January 2015.

Have you made a quilt especially for a challenge before?  I rather enjoyed this challenge, and the size means it's not too much of a commitment!

Purple S-block Quilt (aka S is for Spurple)

Woohoo - I finally have a finished quilt to show you after what feels like quite a gap between finishes!  I started this quilt at the very start of February (in a class with Kaffe Fassett!!!), and I've been working on it fairly steadily ever since.

 

Now that it's finished, I absolutely love it.  This is a quilt where I really pushed myself with colour and fabric choices, and I'm truly happy with the outcome.  The process has given me a boost of confidence and I feel like I'm a better quilter as a result.

 

The s-block is so simple, but has such a graphic quality, especially when you follow Kaffe's advice and ensure that there is a good amount of contrast between the two fabrics used in each block.  I'm really pleased that I used fabrics that are representative of my stash, and there are lots and lots of favourites in there (including the border print, which I honestly wasn't expecting to use in a quilt - I thought I might use it for a bag!).

 

There are a few Kaffe Fassett prints in the quilt top, but the back is where his fabric really shines. This flower tile print has a paler version of each colour from the front of the quilt, which means it works perfectly as a backing.  I'm also rather proud of the fact that I matched the print across the backing - yes, it is pieced, and I dare ya to find the seam.

 

Most of my recent quilts have used a single fabric for the binding.  This quilt reminded me how fun a scrappy binding can be (and also I couldn't decide which colour to pull out of the quilt top to use for the binding).

With so much happening in the quilt top, this quilt really doesn't need fancy quilting.  I went with my favourite diagonal crosshatch, in a variegated purple thread.  This has given the quilt great texture without being too distracting (and also has the benefit of working well with my slightly dodgy piecing!).

So, if I could enter the 2014 Pantone Quilt Challenge, this would be my entry (even though the purples are not necessarily particularly close to radiant orchid).  I'm really excited to see what everyone has been up to when Anne from Play Crafts and I open up the linky for entries in a week's time!  Remember, entries are open until 11pm PST on 21 March 2014, so you still have time to make something (as well as quilts, we have categories for mini quilts and quilt tops).  Click here for all the details, including the rules, our wonderful sponsors and our fantastic judges.

Quilt Stats
Pattern: S-block quilt from Kaffe Fassett's books Country Garden Quilts and Kaffe Quilts Again
Finished Size: approx 72" square

Fabric: various, Echino Flower Bed in Purple for the border

Backing: Kaffe Fassett Tile Flowers in Turquoise

Binding: various

Pieced and quilted by: me

Linking up with finish it up friday at crazy mom quilts.

2014 Pantone Quilt Challenge - Reminder

With the middle of February past, the deadline for the 2014 Pantone Quilt Challenge is drawing near.  Today, my co-host Anne from Play Crafts and I are showing you the progress on our radiant orchid quilts and a few of the awesome quilts that other people are working on.

This Kaffe Fassett quilt using modern fabrics is one of my Pantone Quilt Challenge projects.  The purples in it tend to be slightly more on the blue side than the red-violet that is radiant orchid, but I love it just the same.

Next up is this gorgeous quilt from Erin aka @madbury13 on instagram.  Erin says "each plus is a different "purple" fabric and the backgrounds vary, but are mostly white tone on tone with some gray thrown in to hopefully (?) add some depth".  I think the use of different backgrounds is fantastic and definitely adds depth and interest!  I can't wait to see this one finished.

This lovely little colour study by Leanne from she can quilt has the most exciting backstory.  Leanne imagined, planned, cut, pieced, quilted, bound and washed this quilt over a single weekend, because she had the chance to test drive a long-arm quilting machine.  She's now the owner of her very own long-arm so this quilt has a lot to answer for!  I think the quilting is particularly fantastic.

This final quilt top is made by my real life friend Anne aka elmosmate.  The pattern is called Fractured Heart and is from Kathy Doughty's new book Adding Layers - Colour, Design & Imagination and looks truly fantastic in grey and purple.

If you're thinking about entering the 2014 Pantone Quilt Challenge, there's still time to put something together.  Remember, we have three categories, so you really don't need to have a big finished quilt in order to enter:

- Minis: shortest side under 30". Pillows, table runners, place mats, mug rugs, etc. will count as minis.
- Quilts: any size from baby to bed (shortest side must be at least 30").
- Just the Top: any size from baby to bed (shortest side must be at least 30").

The linky party for entries will be open from March 14 - March 21 2014 at both Play Crafts and On the Windy Side.  Entries will close at on March 21 2014 at 11pm PST and winners will be announced on March 26 2014.  Of course, the contest is open to all quilters everywhere - you just need to able to get your photographs online.  Make sure you click through to my 2014 Pantone Quilt Challenge Page for all the rules and other important information!

Please feel free to grab our button and share it on your blog!  If you're working on a project, you can add your pictures to our flickr group and if you're on instagram, be sure to tag your photos #pantonequilt so we can find them.

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<a href="http://thewindyside.blogspot.co.nz" title="2014 Pantone Quilt Challenge: Radiant Orchid"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKpv6tobKFuVsvdCWWCbW9kyxppztpa_2Sifp-EgLWL_YKTjk-t-rmPkU1tJgA6sQ3sppVCpl-iedxjbVqnTG1h2_yKQmRGBjsGZJj1WmMGLGZXf55ZKV7qHXcPk0hJ4cz3kCy9YZm3P-b/s1600/orchidbutton1.png" alt="2014 Pantone Quilt Challenge: Radiant Orchid" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

So, are you planning to enter the 2014 Pantone Quilt Challenge?

WIP Wednesday

Last week I showed where I had got to with the quilt I started in a class with Kaffe Fassett.  With a four day weekend, I was able to make plenty of progress and how have a finished quilt top.

 

I wasn't completely sure that I was going to like this quilt top, both before I started and while I was making it.  However, having it up on my design wall at home and getting the blocks stitched up really helped, and now I love it!  There are so many favourite fabrics in here, which I probably wouldn't have put together otherwise.

I know it's traditional to make the centre of a quilt and then choose the border fabric.  I was a bit nervous that my centre might not work with my intended border fabric, but I think it does and I'm so glad to be able to use that gorgeous Echino fabric in a quilt.  What are your thoughts on borders - do you pick them first or wait until you've made the centre of a quilt?

I've made the back for this quilt (I even matched the print across the two pieces using this excellent tutorial - the first time I've been bothered to do that), so now I just need to baste, quilt and bind this baby.

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced:

P.S. If you're feeling inspired by all this purple-ness, make sure you check out the 2014 Pantone Quilt Challenge, which Anne at Play Crafts and I are hosting.  Entries open a month from Friday, so you still have time to get something started!