QuiltCon Charity Quilt Challenge

Can you guess what this pile of scraps is for? Yep. The QuiltCon 2015 Charity Quilt Challenge.

I designed the quilt our Boulder Modern Quilt Guild is making and must admit when I first saw the colors I was both sceptical and a little uninspired. Working with this palette was a challenge . . .  a good challenge, but still a challenge. I guess that's why it's called a challenge project right?  However once a few ideas started coming together, the colors also fell into place. Turns out most of the guild felt the same about the colors. Many said they weren't ones they would have put together and yet everyone ended up liking how they were working in our quilt. My least favorite . . . the burnt orange.

In contrast to the color challenge, I found designing with an alternative grid to be lots of fun. While many of my quilt designs are block based, I still look for creative ways to use the blocks and love exploring all the possibilities. Playing with blocks and alternative grid ideas while designing this quilt was no exception. I think the design works quite well and creates a lot of movement, especially with the addition of the partial blocks.

The next challenging part came with the construction. It's a paper pieced design which I always find a challenge. Really, what was I thinking? Definitely not my favorite type of sewing. No matter how hard I try, I always make a few mistakes. The fabric doesn't cover the entire area. I forget to trim the seam allowance before adding the next piece. I sew on the wrong line. You get the picture. And ripping out those teeny, tiny, itty, bitty stitches is a b___!  Everyone, including me, struggled at times. Let's just say seam rippers were in high demand.   : (

But thanks to the help of our fantastic members, we not only persevered, we conquered!   : )   This past weekend we whipped out ALL the blocks. Let me say that again . . . ALL 36 paper pieced blocks. DONE. Way to sew ladies! I was very impressed that everyone hung in there. No one even came after me with a rotary cutter for designing a paper pieced quilt. Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

Here's how it looked by the end of the day. I'm loving how the blocks and colors are working.

We'll be assembling the top at the next sew day in November and that should be a breeze after all the paper piecing. Yea! Then it's basting, quilting and binding. I think we'll be in good shape to have it all done in time to meet the challenge deadline.

Stay tuned here at SpringLeaf Studios and on our Boulder Modern Quilt Guild blog as I post about our ongoing progress.

I'm also curious . . . are you part of the QuiltCon 2015 Charity Quilt Challenge? If so, what has been the most challenging part for you and your guild?

Linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced. This is a big WIP for our guild. 

I'm also linking up with Sew Solid Sunday at Esch House Quilts. I don't always have a solid quilt to link up, but this one fits the bill. Check out the links to see what others are doing with all solids.

Colorful Colorado

I did it!  I got my challenge quilt done and delivered in time for the show next weekend. WaHoo!!!

"54 Fourteeners and Amber Waves of Grain"

Indian Peaks Wilderness in the distance

My understanding is four modern quilt guilds in Colorado participated in the challenge. We were given fat quarters of Free Spirit Solids in Tango, Saffron, Apple Green, and Hyacinth. Not the colors I would have chosen to highlight Colorado, but that's part of what makes it a challenge right?

the four given challenge fabrics

More than 50 solids were used altogether. I stopped trying to keep track but most were Kona Cotton Solids by Robert Kaufman. They are the easiest to find locally plus I have a Kona color card.

most of the additional solids used

The rules:  use a discernable amount of each color along with any other fabrics of our choice to create a modern quilt representing the theme Colorful Colorado. It needed to measure at 40".  Mine finished at 40" x 55" to approximate the proportional shape of the state.

My concept:

• use the mountain block from the logo I designed for the Boulder Modern Quilt Guild.
• depict 54 mountains to represent the 54 fourteeners here in Colorado. A fourteener is a mountain peak with an elevation of 14,000 ft or more. In researching the number of fourteeners, I discovered counts of 53 to 58 peaks with the most common agreed upon number as 54. 
• depict the eastern plains which are an integral, but often overlooked part of the state.
• use color to emphasize the Colorado sky from dawn to dusk. This provided a way to include the orange and yellow challenge fabrics as they are used in the dawn and dusk rows of mountains.

Working on this quilt was a great example of color study in terms of relativity. The three blocks below all use the same green in the mountain and yet all look quite different due to the color relationships. A little hard to see the color differences here but the green gets progressively darker in appearance.

I quilted large zigzags among the 54 peaks to suggest all the other peaks of the Rocky Mountains. It reminds me of seeing the mountains when they are a bit hazy in the distance.

zigzag quilting in the mountain section

The eastern plains were quilted with a series of curvy lines to suggest the waves of grain blowing in the wind. We can have very strong winds here.

gentle curving lines in the plains

To be really honest though, it was a struggle to finish this quilt for many reasons.

• I went with one of the first ideas I came up with and am not in love with the whole concept. Normally I would work through a design and explore several directions but didn't have the time for that on this one. Not feeling passionate about the design made it hard to stay motivated.
• I decided in order to pull it off, I needed LOTS of different colors. After 50, I lost count. This meant finding more solids which isn't easy at our local shops and when buying online proves quite hard to discern color differences.
• I thought I'd piece the mountain blocks improv but ended up going with a paper piecing method instead. I designed 7 slightly different mountains. Forgot to reverse the printing the first time but eventually it came together. You can see more about that process here.
• I quilted it in two sections and then pieced the sections together . . . new for me so I winged it. Thankfully it worked without incident. Whewww!
• I faced the edge rather than use a traditional binding . . . not as familiar with this technique but I like the overall finish.
• I lost a week.
• I procrastinated . . . haha, no surprise there.

I'm quite happy to have this one behind me now and am looking forward to a summer of projects I feel a lot more passionate about. Maybe even some non quilt related projects. Time will tell.

If you'd like to see all the challenge quilts, visit the Berthoud Outdoor Quilt Show this coming Saturday June 21st. Maybe I'll see you there.

one last shot before delivering the quilt shows Long Peak elevation 14,255ft. in the background.

I had hoped to have this finished in time to share on Esch House Quilts Sew Solid Sunday last month but missed the cut off so I'm linking up this month. Check out the great pillow Debbie made along with the tutorial to make your own.

WIP Wednesday

Working away on my biggest WIP of the week . . . my Colorful Colorado challenge quilt. I'm happy to finally see light at the end of tunnel. It will be done in time for the Berthoud Outdoor Quilt Show. Quilts must be delivered by June 13-14 (ack . . . 3 more days!!!) The show is June 21st from 10:00 - 4:00 in Fickel Park Berthoud, Colorado. If you live anywhere nearby come see all the quilts. Four modern quilt guilds in Colorado are participating in the challenge so there should be a good representation of modern quilting. I'll post more about the process and the show in the next couple of weeks.

I also needed to get my May Mid Century Modern Bee block for Carla of Grace and Favour done. She requested either arrow blocks from a great tutorial she did or feather blocks from Anna Marie Horner's pattern. Since most people were doing arrows, I thought I'd throw a feather into the mix. I love the look of these feathers once done but not the process of making a single one. I think the method of making multiples from strip piecing would be quicker in the long run. Still, it was fun to do and I love the result. Hope it works with all the rest. Thanks for your patience Carla.

As long as I was in the bee mood I decided to jump on June's bee block for Linda of Flourishing Palms. Linda is trying to wrap up an older UFO made of scrappy diamonds and asked us all to contribute some mid value blocks with a touch of orange thrown in. Now that Linda is "retired" she's uber busy teaching quilting, writing about quilting, and talking about quilting. Good luck getting fitting this UFO into your schedule Linda.   : )

Still one more June bee block to do for Denise and the Boulder Modern Quilt Guild Bee. A scrappy X block will be in the works soon.

And for all of you who have asked about a pattern for my Blogger's Quilt Festival winning quilt . . . it's coming along. As soon as the challenge quilt is done, I'll be wrapping up the final details. Thanks for all the interest and encouragement.

Linking up to WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced. Hop over to see more quilty goodness.

WIP Wednesday

After a very very off week, I'm happy to report my motivation is back and I'm working away.  : )

My biggest WIP this week is the challenge quilt I'm hoping to finish in time for the Berthoud Outdoor Quilt Show June 21st. Not much time left so I've got to get busy.

Four modern quilt guilds in Colorado are participating. The theme is Colorful Colorado and we need to use four given solid colors plus whatever else we want to interpret the theme using a modern style. I decided to go with all solids. A lot of solids . . .

I first thought I would use an improv method to piece my blocks. Seemed easy enough. But sometimes improv and I don't get along so well. So I decided on a paper piecing method instead. However paper piecing and I don't always get along well either. To make it a little easier, I made tissue paper templates of the two main pieces I would need. This helped tremendously. Only once did I end up with a piece of fabric that wasn't big enough to cover the paper. For me that's an accomplishment.

Next, I arranged the paper blocks on my design wall and added bits of blue tape to indicate which mountains should be snow capped.

Then I added the mountain fabrics to distribute the colors.

Next came lots and lots of cutting, lots and lots of piecing, and lots and lots of scraps. The waste is one reason I don't love paper piecing. It's also the reason I make mistakes because I try too hard to minimize the waste and end up cutting pieces too small. Nothing is more frustrating than ripping out those teeny tiny stitches and having your paper fall apart. That's why the tissue paper templates helped.  Not as much waste, but I still ended up with this lovely pile . . .

It's beginning to take shape, but theres still plenty to do. Here's a few of the blocks.

If it looks a little familiar your'e right. I used this same block for my Four-In-Art mini quilt last month.

Linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced. Hope by next week this will be a finish.
What are you working on this week?