Orange Pile Challenge - Revealed!

I loved doing this quilt, from the very concept of digging out my own Orange Pile of fabrics, to the simple block design, and how it could be manipulated with colour, mixing the colours up, all through the frenzied facebook exchanges. I take my hat off to Pat Sloan for organising this challenge, because the results across the world have been amaizing!

I had SO MUCH orange fabric, I was almost shocked! Well, a girl has got to have a good mix of colours in her stash surely? (LOL) It was easy to choose a 'buddy' for my orange and then complete the team line-up. But when I got to mix up the colours even more, these blocks just spoke sherbet dib dabs to me! Or even a spot of Mango sorbet! Seeing what everyone else was doing through Facebook was very inspirational, and a good driver to push out my own boundaries. I was so pleased I could squeeze a little of my favourite colour, lime green, into this quilt too. Would I change anything? No, this quilt just speaks to me, and tells its own story of the process, to me anyway.

When it came to the setting, it was easy, it just had to be on point, no matter which way round you put it on the bed, its always going to be the right way round! The borders were a a little more challenging, I was going to use some of the turquoise flower fabric, but it just made it look 'dead'. Another rummage came up with the final border fabric, I just didn't have anything else that did it. I was determined not to have to go out and buy any more fabric, this little baby was coming totally out of my stash.

As you know, if you've read my earlier post, i tried a new quilting technique out on this one. It was great fun, and I have to thank Suzanne Earley for the push into something I absolutely love! OK, so again, another learning process, but I am so pleased with the results of this quilt. Quilting it was such fun, and so quick. I used Superior Threads Rainbows in Mango Mango. I love the way these threads shimmer, and the varigated colours were just perfect. Check out Mother Superiors Blog, they have some great reading. I've done this mandering feather technique again on another quilt, and I am truly a convert to Meandering Magic.

So my OP Challenge is finally revealed for all to see. I hope you like it as much as I do. It's made it to the bed, and its like waking up to sunshine not matter what the weather is doing.

Sneaky Peak

I thought I'd give you a sneak peak at the quilting on my OP Challenge. I'm busy sewing the binding on at the moment, but thought I would share some of the quilting with you, I was so thrilled with the results :o) This was my very first attempt at some from Suzzane Earley. And I LOVED it, it was so quick to do. It fills the quilt with soft curves of beauty.

I only practised on one piece of paper before I set about quilting. And I don't think I did a bad job of it either. (If you click on the pic you should get a better look) Yes there were a few wobbly moments, particularly when I had meandered all over the top and found handfuls of excess backing, I could have cried. Needless to say, because it is so heavily quilted, yes there are pleats on the back, but they are no where near as bad as I thought they were going to be. So, no, its not perfect, but it is a great learning piece, that from the front, I'm really pleased with, and I can live with the back too. So tell me, honestly, what do you think to the show so far?

Happy quilting :o)

OP Challenge Top Done

Well, after a great weekend, I can report that I pieced the borders for my OP Challenge quilt. Yeah !!! lol I also put borders on my Portugese Tiles. I also pieced the centre of a new quilt (now named Boston Diversion!) which used all the left over fabrics from my Boston Quilt. Boy, I was on a mission this weekend. But somehow I lost sight of my concentration, so proud that I had completed all the blocks for this new top. When I came to lay them together and join them, Wow, what a shock, horror set in as I discovered I had pieced 55 the right way and 57 in reverse!!! I hope you are all laughing, can you imagine the colour of the air?! lol So we came up with a plan. Needless to say, this was not the last of my frustrations with this top. Having laid them out after making new blocks for the centre to pull the quilt back together, I discovered whilst sewing rows that some of the blocks weren't even pieced correctly. I tell you, there was a significant amount of reverse sewing going on! (grin) Hence the name of the quilt! I am pleased with the results, and have come home with just the borders to add, as I didn't take them with me. And guess what I couldn't find when I got home? You guessed it.... the border fabric that had been put in a very safe place! I found it yesterday.

So I have been fed, watered, relaxed, laughed till it hurt, and sewed like a mad woman (I know, no need to state the obvious! lol ) It was a great weekend and I'm looking forward to the next one in May :o)

Yet more OP blocks

These are my final blocks for the day. And I'm really pleased with them, I LOVE the lime green it really adds an element of wow! Tomorrow I will look at mixing up all the blocks, and seeing what layout options there are. It will be interesting to see what everyone else has done too. I've also started to think about fabric for sashing, and borders. Sashing is proving challenging, but

borders, well, that's an easy choice :o) I've been surprised at how the orange is no longer overpowering with all the other colours that have been thrown in.

More... OP Challenge

We are back from swimming and these are some more of my blocks. They are very quick to piece, especially as I have already cut a batch of fabric, which makes it oh so much quicker, just the way I like it :o) I like the floral turquoise with the orange, it really lifts the colours. Its interesting to see what each block looks like reverse and with different corners too. They are big blocks too, 12" so its not going to take too many to make a pretty good size quilt. (I 'm not really a small quilt person myself, its gotta go on a bed! Right?)

What do you think? Have you had a look at any of the other participants yet?

OP Challenge

I've had great fun looking at the Blog hop sites, at all the fabulous fabrics that are being used for this challenge. I thought it was about time I knuckled down and got some of my own blocks started. So these are my first two blocks. I've already got some more cut with different fabrics, but the orange theme flows through them all :o)

I've got to rush off and pick up DD from swimming but I will post more this evening :o) Make sure you have a look at Pat Sloan's site to see what is going on. Just click on the button to the right.

Orange Pile Challenge

The second thing I did when I got home was to catch up with all you bloggers to see what you have been up to, and boy you've been busy while I was away relaxing (he he). So I ventured into the stash to get my OP fabrics in shape for the weekend. I had already chosen a buddy for my orange fabrics, except I had a choice of two! So I was delighted to see that to make an OP Team I could incorporate my second buddy into the scheme of works too. So the final line up is orange (of course!), turquoise and Purple as buddies or the fourth fabric, and the very palest lemon. I'm looking forward to see what we will be doing with them. Have you managed to get anymore of your own sorted yet?

Orange Pile Challenge

Its been a very productive weekend, on the quilting front and the housework front. I managed to get all the washing and ironing done before Sunday morning! (shock horror, ) Was I feeling ok? .... I guess I was on a mission.

I decided to participate in Pat Sloans Orange Pile Challenge. So here is a picture of my first sweep of my orange stash. Needless to say, they weren't all in the one place, that would be far too organsied. but at least they were all in the same room. What do you think to them?

How about joining in?.... its a virtual sew along retreat, should be good fun! The Link on the side will take you to Pat's blog.