Another Color Wheel Obsession

I decided to have a central medallion and a center area of 24" in diameter. I chose a pattern I bought on www.crafty.com for $3.00 called New York Beauty/Curved Flying Geese. I originally saw the pattern on Pinterest. I downloaded the pattern and copied the foundation patterns using Carol Doak foundation paper in my printer. It went pretty fast because there was only four sections to work with.  Each section had 8 "spikes of color which means 32 colors in the color wheel. I found this great colorful plaid with black background which I used in the center of the New York Beauty block and the inner border to create the appropriate size of 24 1/2." I also bound the quilt with this fabric.

 Yes, I love the color wheel! I was doing color wheel themed art back in high school and it continues today. This quilt started in my 12 member block exchange group at Pine Street Quilts in Marinette, WI. Each moth one of us get to pick the block and fabrics and/or colors of the quilt. We have total control of the outcome which is nice sometimes! I chose my favorite block the Ohio Star, and since there is 12 basic colors on the color wheel I designated each one color (two fabrics) plus black for the background. I thought blue violet was the least enjoyable choice so I picked that color.

Then it was how to arrange the 12 Ohio Star blocks. Since yellow dominates over the purples I thought of the placement like the numbers on a clock. I put yellow where "1" would be and followed with the cool colors on the bottom and the warm colors on the top. I equate warm colors as visually lighter and cool colors as visually heavier. I am happy with my choice.

I quilted with black thread with lots of diagonals and stitch in the ditch around the spikes and geese. I did not add any embellishments because my plan for this quilt is a teaching tool for my color theory classes and it's about the color only.

The flying geese foundation piecing was very easy because all the lines are there to follow. Crafty is a pretty interesting websie-I encourage youe to check it out!!

2012 Hoffman Challenge Entry Award Winner!!

I entered the 2012 Hoffman Challenge for the third year and I received an e-mail yesterday from the curator letting me know my quilt called "1940s USO" was awarded the Best Incorporation of the Challenge Fabric for the Mixed Quilt Category. Oh Happy Day!! I made this last November and could not post it until now! This was such a fun project. I saw the large  purple floral (challenge fabric) as 1940s curtain fabric and I am obsessed with 40s/vintage hairstyles and that's how it began. I used my "Black Bob" pattern and after researching 40s style make-up and eyebrow shapes I changed the eye shape, brows and hair to fit the decade. I was a paper doll junkie as a child and my daughter (who is also obsessed with the 40s) gave me a big girl paper doll book of 1940s fashions which inspired the hat and jacket with the big shoulders. I made vintage earrings with beads, trapuntoed a fussy cut flower on the hat and ruched some variegated ribbon through it, added flower shaped sequins and beads in the hat, added a bit of purple with pink tulle to the hat like a fascinator and a few rhinestones aroulnd the borders. I added a mini flange near the binding which I had never done before. Most of the other fabrics are from Pine Street Quilts in Marintte WI where I work on Tuesdays. I prequilted the Convergence background before I fused the applique on and then quilted the applique over the other quilting. My daughter named the quilt when I saw her at Thanksgiving and I stared at it in my studio until I mailed it in June. I am happy it will travel for the next year and lots of people get to see it. Soon the 2013 fabric will be exposed and I can try the challenge all over again!!