Quilt Expo Modern Mini Quilt Challenge
There is a Quilt Expo in Madison, WI this September, and they put out a call for mini-quilts up to 24" square for a little challenge! I've never entered a quilt into a competition like this, and I didn't actually have to send it in, just take a picture, so I figured, why not take the opportunity to toy with some ideas!
I had this mid-century mod idea pop into my head, and I really wanted to try doing rounded rectangles that didn't have a seam where there normally would be one if you did it drunkards path style (even if you did them half circles at a time instead of quarter circles). It works! I made a half-circle template and rounded the rectangle edges. There are two keys to making it work. First, you have to sew them in strips, so if you see to the right, there is a little extra on each side for trimming down, but the goal is to only have a 1/4" between the circle and edge so the raw edges at the bottom of the outer circle get caught up in the seam allowance (hope that makes sense!
Second, and I'm still surprised it made such a difference, make sure to press the circles out. For some reason, I just could not get the background to lay flat if I tried to press them in, but as soon as I pressed towards the background? Perfect. It comes together pretty quick once you talk yourself into enough confidence to start sewing, but makes such a statement, especially with the facing instead of a bound edge. I used Kona snow for the background, and then Kona teal, wasabi, ash, and charcoal, and Cirrus solids in Coral for the end. It's backed in wasabi, because I'm apparently not allowed to NOT use that in a single quilt this summer!
I didn't end up placing, but I did get a Mini Marvels book as a random honorable mention! ou can check out the other entries here.
