Friday, December 3, 2010

It Had to be Orange

On Monday evening, as I was putting up our new block, I entered the Modern Quilt Guild Challenge.

The challenge was to make a quilt based on an inspiration.  You had to submit a photo of the inspiration.  In my case, the photo was athe inspiration.  It is one I had taken this summer.


Here is the quilt.  I have titled it, "It Had to be Orange."


Here is the story:

This challenge coincided with another challenge from my local guild. Their challenge was to use a color you don't like in a quilt. Thinking about those two challenges made me think of this picture I had taken earlier this summer. The picture is of the table I was sitting at while waiting for my children at swim lessons. I knew I needed to make it turquoise because turquoise is the color of the year, it's been wildly popular, and I have been impatiently waiting for its season to end. I purchased Kona cotton turquoise just to be sure I had the right color. I almost chicken out and went with aqua, but I persevered.


I thought about making the quilt a more literal interpretation of the picture, but I decided to go with a more artistic approach. I considering what fabric should go with my turquoise, I knew it had to be orange. While I haven't loved turquoise in quilts, I have always liked blue, so there are times when I was okay with it. Orange, on the other hand, has always been a challenge for me to use in quilts. Once I decided on orange, I went right to Hope Valley. I have fallen head over heels in love with the blue and green color way of this line and struggled to use the orange and pink color way. I placed my hope in the fact that I loved the rest of the line.

Deciding on the piecing came naturally from the picture. It reminded me of the diamonds in a lone star quilt. I have only made a lone star using half square triangles, but I decided that this was a challenge, and I pieced diamonds together. I quilted it with a swirly wave type design in honor of the swimming pool. In the end, I turned my quilt sideways because I liked the look better. I put orange minky on the back, so this is a quilt I love to sit under and read to my little ones. I am thrilled with the way it turned out, and I never would have made it were it not for the two challenges I received.

It was a really fun challenge.  I learned that I am not very good at piecing diamonds.  I even starched them.  My friend learned never to let me borrow her ironing pad while starching my diamonds because the Best Press that I picked ended up smelling a little too flowery for both of us, and she may need to wash her ironing pad to get the smell out.  Sorry Karen.  I also learned -- again -- that sometimes we just have to keep sewing and not judge the results until the quilt is finished even when its scary. 

To finish off, here's my favorite picture of my quilt.  I had two little helpers during my "photo shoot."  I call it that lightly.  My picture of the quilt didn't turn out great.  But I am not too worried about it.  I entered the challenge to have fun with the challenge.  I am pretty sure I won't win. 
 
 



13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your response to both challenges is wildly successful! I love the original photo as well as the quilt that resulted from it. Orange is a difficult color, and it looks fantastic with the pink and turquoise. Congratulations for persevering! Your favorite photo of the quilt is adorable, too.

A.J. Dub. (Amy) said...

Fantastic story! I think your quilt has a great chance of winning. I love the photo of the kids wrapped in it too. So sweet. :)

Kim said...

Now if this isn't the reason to make a quilt I don't know what is....it is already being loved!
Its a beauty.

Happy sewing

crickets said...

Oh my goodness, it's gorgeous! You rose to the challenge and IMHO exceeded both of them!

Those are two hard colors to use, but you did it wonderfully. Kudos to you for perservering even when you're not too sure of what'll happen on the other end.

Wilma said...

Your quilt is gorgeous! Good for you for your perseverance! I love the pic of your 2 helpers; my son tends to do the same thing. :)

Unknown said...

I think your quilt looks great! What a great challenge, and you did it!

Deb said...

I honestly think that your quilt has a great chance of winning. I love your interpretation and the colors you chose too. And I love the photo of the children too.

April M. said...

It turned out great! I'm proud of you for embracing the turquoise :)

Erzebat said...

I love it! you did a great job! btw...I love orange! I would rather use orange than purple (shuttering). If I had to do a quilt in purple, it would kill me. your little helpers are adorable! (mauh) Liz

Ann Marie @ 16 Muddy Feet said...

I love it, and I would have had to pick orange as well, cuz I don't like orange....anything! But I do love turquoise, and almost all shades of blue.

Annie said...

I am one of those strange folks that LOVE the color orange. I always want to use orange in my quilts, and then realize that others aren't as in love with the color. Your quilt looks awesome! Maybe I should try to do a green quilt, since I'm not a big fan of green... hmmm I love inspiration from others! Thank you for sharing your great story!

Quilter Kathy said...

Great job! it was fun to read about how you were inspired and created this very cool quilt!

Michele said...

What a fun quilt for a fun challenge! I enjoyed seeing the picture that was your inspiration. Amazing quilt!