Monday, February 1, 2016

Sunshine: An Orange Peel Mini Quilt

For my 5 year blogiversary celebration back in September, I gave away the chance to win a custom mini quilt. I chose the winner, Rina, using the Random Number Generator. I was thrilled with Rina's original comment: "I like bright happy colors that make you smile, no matter how rotten the day." Upon further investigation through email, I found out that she loves improvisation, orange peels, and dense quilting (much like myself, plus bright yellows and teal blues.


Based on her likes, I pulled out blues and yellow to make a cheerful, unique orange peel mini quilt. I never would have chosen these colors without her, and I'm so pleased with the result!

This design was one of the many, many orange peel ideas in my sketchbook (yes, there are several more orange peel quilts coming this year! I can feel it!). It features two different sizes of orange peels, using two different white fabrics. I sewed together strips and scraps so that the colors morph vertically down the quilt from light to dark to light.
 

Here, I integrated one of the only scraps I have of this long out-of-print yellow Outfoxed fabric by Lizzy House. It seemed like the perfect use, so I was happy to use it in Rina's quilt. Even though this scrap features a few darker colors, it doesn't detract from the overall design. At least, I don't think it does. :)


The quilting was simple and exciting to execute. I used Aurifil #2600 (Dove) to echo the path of the orange peels, like the wind, and I interspersed swirls here and there. As I often do, I left the orange peels unquilted so that they "pop" off the surface.


Rina emailed me to tell me that winning this quilt was better than winning the lottery. She made my whole week! Thank you, Rina!


In case you'd like to hear more about my approach to choosing quilting motifs for modern quilts, feel free to watch my scope from Periscope this weekend:



Linking up to Fabric Tuesday, Needle and Thread Thursday, TGIFF, Crazy Mom Quilts

In case you'd like to see all the orange peel quilts I've made so far, check out the hashtag on Instagram: #jsorangepeelcollection.

 I may not post again until the end of the week (we'll see) - I'll be at Byrne Sewing Connection in Doylestown, PA, lecturing on Improvisation from Tuesday to Wednesday! I'll be posting updates on Instagram (@quiltyhabit). I can't wait!

12 comments:

  1. There is nothing better than getting such awesome feedback about a quilt you made for someone. :) I hope you have a great time teaching. Enjoy your week!

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  2. What a fun quilt! The colors are great, like a vibrant sunset or sunrise over the ocean.

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  3. I love it, Jess.
    I think this is a treasure. If I had this I would be happy too. I did not have a rotten day. I did not get one single thing accomplished but.... I played with my grand baby for 5 hours. She never sleeps. She is a genius.
    So now here it is after dinner on the east standard time, and I think I might do a little sewing while watching War and Peace for the next four hours. The first two hours are last weeks episode, which I did not pay attention to properly, and then episode 3.
    I really really like this video. I wish I lived next door. I would be bombing your video haha

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  4. What a fun and beautiful mini, it definitely fits her quote.

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  5. So cute, and perfect. I think the outfoxed balances perfectly with the darker teal on the right (so no, it doesn't detract at all).

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  6. You know how much I love it and how so special I think it is. I hung it in my bedroom across from my bed so I can wake up and start every day with a smile. Thank you so much!!! Rina

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  7. Your quilt looks so good on that grey wall! What a lovely prize for a reader to receive. Great work.

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  8. what an awesome little mini! I love that fox fabric. I think the placement with the print is perfect, and makes the print look like an intentional part of the design, almost like the orange peels are winding around it.

    :) Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

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  9. A very fun and colorful mini! Makes me think of a sunny day in in the tropics. Beautifully done!

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  10. I love the outfoxed fabric which adds a great focus to the quilt - it's perfectly placed with the peels - very nice:))

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Let's start a conversation! I love comments and I'd be happy to reply to all who have an email address accessible. Thanks for commenting!

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