Project Quilting Season 7 Challenge 1: Confetti

Project Quilting Season 7 kicked off this week with the first bi-weekly challenge theme:  Confetti!  We have 8 days to come up with a finished, quilted project incorporating that theme...and otherwise, the sky is the limit!

I envisioned ticker tape floating in the sky and set out to recreate this vision using slice and insert improvisational piecing.  Kona solids ranging from warm buttery yellows through eggplant purple were sorted into 7 piles to create a gradient.  3-4 blocks were pieced from each fabric pile (and on occasion pulling 1-2 fabrics from the previous pile as needed for variety).  I love getting a preview of the overall quilt by looking at the scrap bin!!

Range of warm solids set on a backdrop of a beautiful cobalt blue

Using 1" strips cut from each pile and 6.5" squares of my cobalt blue background, I went to work slicing random lines into the squares and inserting my 1" strips.  For the most part, I pieced several fabrics for each inserted strip--including more cobalt blue to create the ticker tape floating in the air illusion.  Once all the strips were pieced back into the background square, it was trimmed down to 5.5" and added to the design wall.

Ticker Tape Blocks Laid Out   **please excuse the poor lighting conditions and color distortion for the first set of blocks

I then built up the courage to use some of my hand dyed fabrics to create an upper and lower border.  A print featuring flowers in similar warm colors was used for the backing.  A variegated Superior King Tut thread was used to free motion stitch an all over Zig Zag motif that added even more energy to the quilt top.

Details of Hand Dyed Fabrics, Free Motion Quilting and Backing

When it came to naming, I turned to Doug for ideas and inspiration.  He indicated that the strips reminded him of a ribbon like pasta...fettuccine.  We combined Confetti with fettuccini for the quilt title:  "Confetticini!"   

"Confetticini" Finished at 20" x 36"

Voting will begin later today/tomorrow, so be sure to vote for your favorite Confetti quilts!!