Page Buttons

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Blue Challenge

Happy Needle and Thread Thursday, friends.  I know I've mentioned that my first goal of 2019 is to empty my scrap jars.  It will take awhile, but I'm well on my way.  My Woodwork quilt completely cleared out my grays and greens, and now it's time to move onto other colors.  This week, I pulled out some blues for a specific purpose.  A local arts group is hosting a specially curated quilt show this spring called BLUE.  The show guidelines simply state that the piece should measure exactly 24" x 24", have three stitched layers, and showcase the color blue.  You knew I had to use my scraps and improv for this, right?  Of course I did.  It's kind of my thing.


Though I had the option of adding an accent color, I decided against it.  I played with color gradient to create depth in the center of the piece, which really draws the eye in.  I think that adding another color would have taken away from the effect.  I'm calling this one Abyss, which fits it well, I think.  The spiral quilting is fun, and I swooped each end of the spiral outward to add a little extra swirly texture.

I really didn't want to frame this quilt too much with the binding, so it is pieced with light blue and white solids to carry the improv look all the way to the edge.  It really just disappears, which is exactly what I was hoping for.


It's difficult to see in the photo (though a little easier on the back side), but I actually used three different shades of Aurifil 50 wt. thread, #2783 (Medium Delft Blue), #2815 (Teal), and #2710 (Light Robin's Egg) to quilt it, going from the center of the quilt outward, from darkest to lightest thread color.


The deadline for the show isn't until April 1st, but I figured that I should go ahead and get this done before I use my blues in a bigger project.  And, it's always nice to be ahead of the curve.

So many amazing projects were shared at last week's NTT.  Check out these amazing rubies by LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color.  I love these and I can't wait to see what they become.


Melanie at A Bit of Scrap Stuff showed off this super adorable quilt.  I love those sweet woodland prints!


And I love the simplicity of this quilt by Leanne at Devoted Quilter.


Y'all, it gets more and more difficult to choose the highlights every week.  Y'all just rock!  So, let's go ahead and get our party on.

1You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!
2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.
3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link.  
4. Spread the comment love far and wide!
5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!

*If you're new to the party, here's a helpful tip for linking up- select "Auto Crop"  when selecting your thumbnail photo.  For some reason, trying to crop your own image results in the dreaded "white question mark box," and we definitely want to see your awesome work!  :)


20 comments:

  1. It's SEW blue-tiful!! Great way to use up some scraps.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very pretty blue quilt. I love the spiral quilting and the scrappy binding. It truly does blend-in with the quilt top. perfect!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love your blue quilt! You're right, I hadn't even noticed the binding because it blended in so well.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love the improv! And your quilting makes it dance! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh, Into the Abyss is a beauty (great name, by the way). The quilting is perfect for it too!

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a fitting name for this mini! I love how you went from dark to light blue around the edges! I am in agreement about an accent color...it would have taken away from the 'Abyss' vibe!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I absolutely love your mini. The changing direction of your swirls really adds something. And that's the perfect use for a scrappy binding. It truly does make it look like the binding is part of the top. I love it!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Nice use of those pretty blues. The discreet binding was definitely a good choice. I wouldn't have thought of that.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Definitely a winner of a quilt! I'm having fun playing with red scraps with your improv method. Really like how it is turning out so far.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh, I love your blue quilt! Blue is my favorite color so I am a bit biased, but it is fabulous. Thanks for the idea as I may just try this myself (with blues, of course) one day.

    ReplyDelete
  12. great job on the blue quilt...beautiful

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love how the spiral quilting and chunky bits interact in the quilt!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Your blue quilt is fantastic, and inspire me a lot. Thank you so much.

    ReplyDelete
  15. You are so right about the binding blending in - great thinking and doing there! I love this (am a blue fan for starters!)

    ReplyDelete
  16. That's a neat flare to the quilting. It's a great piece, and kudos for getting it done ahead of schedule.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for your comment and for visiting! I read and appreciate every single comment, and I reply to each one as soon as I can. If you don't hear back from me, you might be a no-reply blogger. :)

09 10 11 12
Blogging tips