ECQG Paint Chip Challenge
Every year, my guild hosts a challenge in which all members can participate. The challenge chairperson gets to determine the type of challenge and the rules. In recent years, it’s been some sort of art-theme challenge that generates a lot of beautiful art quilts. We have a number of talented quilters in the guild who’ve won ribbons and have received recognition at the national level. That would not be me, but my skills are on par with most of my fellow guild members.
At a recent charity sew day, one of my table mates shared that she didn’t participate in any challenges or shows because of the critiquing done by some of the “armchair quilt judges” in the guild. I totally understand. Several months ago, I excitedly shared a small quilt I’d completed on my Elna 782 with the ASR. I was proud to finally have something I felt was worth sharing because it had been a struggle for me to learn how to use the stitch regulator. One person immediately began to nitpick my quilting skills. A thick hide is definitely required if you put your work out there for others to see.
This year’s challenge has apparently drawn the most participants in recent memory. It’s a paint chip challenge. Participants received a paint chip (Behr paint sample card from Home Depot) in a sealed envelope. The color name is to be integrated into the quilt’s theme. Colors allowed are that paint chip (and all gradients in that color family) plus one additional color. White, black, and gray are considered neutral and unrestricted. Size range: 24″ x 24″ minimum to 48″ x 48″ maximum.
My color is a dark teal and Behr’s assigned color name is Out to Sea. The design incorporates my interpretation of a traditional Ocean Waves block. Here’s the top ready to be basted and quilted:
My quilt is based on a single block that is rotated to achieve the overall design. The colors are all in the teal family and positioned to add movement to the quilt. It took about five months to gather all my fabrics. They came from my stash, existing kits, local quilt shops and even Wal-Mart. The quilt contains 432 2″ HSTs that finish at 1-1/2″. I used the Bonnie Hunter Essential Triangle Tool and the B size Clearly Slotted Ruler to trim when needed. Purple was my additional color and positioned to create a secondary pinwheel design when all of the blocks were sewn together.
I quilted my project on my domestic machine – FMQ in a random swirl design using Glide thread. Binding was attached the traditional way to the front, but machine stitched down. A friend suggested I try the 1/8″ double-sided basting tape from By Annie to hold the binding in place on the backside in lieu of using Elmer’s glue. OMG! Much faster and no super sticky fingers. The hardest part was starting the pull strip on the basting tape.
