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A Fortuitous Delay: My Pantone Quilt Challenge Entry

3/18/2014

 
Pantone Quilt Challenge | Berry Barn Designs
I came at this challenge in a very circuitous way. Around the same time the 2014 Pantone Quilt Challenge was announced, my daughter brought home a bookmark that she'd painted at school. And guess what? She'd used lots of "radiant orchid," as well as some nice warm greys. It inspired me to doodle a mini improv quilt design with dark skies and blustery snow blowing from the left, slowly blending to a spring field of purple flowers and clear skies on the right. I pulled fabric and got started.
Pantone Quilt Challenge | Berry Barn Designs
my original fabric pull and the bookmark my daughter painted
Now, having recently "mastered" (over-confident much? ha!) curved improv piecing on my Cosmic mini quilt, I figured I could do this new very curvy improv no problem. Um... yeah, problem. Lots of problems! It started off ok, and then slowly became a mess of warped seams and not-quite-what-I'd-envisioned. I scrapped it and moved on to the many other projects I had lined up this month, and didn't think I'd find time to circle back around.
Pantone Quilt Challenge | Berry Barn Designs
Fast forward to this past Monday. Having confirmed my appointment just a few days earlier, I eagerly arrived at my LQS to get started longarming my Wee Wander quilts that I've been hurrying to finish in time for my daughters' two April birthdays... only to find out they had me on the schedule for NEXT Monday! Big mix up! Now the earliest date that I can fit in with the store is a week into April, so one will be a belated quilt, but one will still be on time. I was so excited to finish and share them with you all, but it'll be a few more weeks. Darn!
Pantone Quilt Challenge | Berry Barn Designs
please excuse the very wrinkled duvet and shams, but I wanted to show that the little splash of teal in the floral matches just perfectly!
Silver lining? My entire day freed up, and I had time to start something new. I've been itching to make a purple quilt for my bed this year (never mind the Pantone color - I just really *love* purple!) but I have my heart set on - you guessed it - a block with curved piecing that I recently fell in love with. So what did I do? Made a practice block and turned it into a cute 18" x 18" throw pillow for our bed! After I finished, I realized I'd used 7 different purples and 3 different prints, and those happen to be my two most favorite numbers of all time, plus I easily worked in some teal to coordinate with our duvet, and some hot pink because hey, what plays better than purple and pink? 

In the end, my terrible scheduling error Monday turned into a really wonderful 2014 Pantone Quilt Challenge entry quite by fortuitous accident : ) And I found out the block is very doable, curves and all, so now it's time to start pulling for my new pet project...
Have you whipped up anything for the challenge? Are you feeling all the gorgeous shades of purple popping up thanks to the Pantone pick or do you have another favorite you're using a lot lately? And if you haven't yet, hop over and check out the amazing entries at Play-Crafts and On the Windy Side!
2014 Pantone Quilt Challenge
Crystal link
3/18/2014 12:24:00

This is gorgeous!

Sarah link
3/18/2014 12:47:32

Thanks, Crystal!

edith csokmay link
3/18/2014 12:46:39

what an absolutely gorgeous pillow . . . color, design, fabulous work. :)

Sarah link
3/18/2014 12:50:06

Thank you so much, Edith! It was a fun project : )

Jess @ Quilty Habit
3/18/2014 13:16:34

This is gorgeous! What is that flower print? Great job!!

Sarah link
3/18/2014 13:53:03

Thanks, Jess! It's my new favorite and what I wish I had ten yards of - Joel Dewberry's Dainty Daises from the Bungalow collection!

BillieBee link
3/18/2014 15:25:41

That's one great pillow!

Sarah link
3/19/2014 01:29:23

Thanks, Billie!

Jessica link
3/19/2014 13:46:31

So sorry you didn't get to work on the quilting for your girls. :(
Your pillow turned out beautifully!! :)

Sarah link
3/19/2014 14:41:17

Thanks, Jessica! It all turned out well in the end : ) And after all, what kind of quilter would I be without a few UFOs hanging around? lol

Kristel link
3/20/2014 02:14:49

LOVE this cushion - it's so beautiful! I love the colours, especially with that pop of teal from the floral.

Sarah link
3/20/2014 03:33:45

Thanks, Kristel! I am really in love with that Joel Dewberry print right now : )

Lorna McMahon link
3/20/2014 07:43:55

Sweet! Love the curved piecing! What a fabulous design. And you chose the perfect fabrics! Sorry to hear there was a mix up in the quilting schedule. Looking forward to hearing how the longarming goes!

Sarah link
3/20/2014 08:06:19

Well, it would be going better if I had my own machine, Lorna ; ) I'm headed to MQX in two weeks... sort of tempted to cancel my appointment and just buy one for myself! And thank you - this was a fun quick project. I'm going to use the block a little differently when I do the big quilt, but now I know the curves for this are pretty easy!

Kim S. link
3/21/2014 12:38:54

very pretty!

Sarah link
3/21/2014 13:27:05

Thanks, Kim!

Katherine link
3/22/2014 04:59:06

Yummy! What a gorgeous design and delicious fabrics, Sarah. Your pillow is just beautiful, so can you blame me for having a crush on it? :o) Well done!

Sarah link
3/22/2014 08:19:37

Thank you so much, Katherine! Not anywhere near the design level of your piece, but still so much lovely purple ; )

Mara
3/22/2014 10:20:20

Yah! That really is fortuitous, and it turned out wonderful, excited to see a whole quilt.

Sarah link
3/25/2014 13:49:20

Thanks, Mara! It'll be a while, but now I'm excited to plug away at it : )

Adrianne link
3/25/2014 17:37:48

Your pillow is really wonderful and I'm glad things worked out so you had time to make it! Thanks for playing along with the challenge!

Sarah link
3/26/2014 00:23:31

Thanks, Adrianne! And thanks for hosting : ) Seeing all the amazing entries has been so fun!

Anne link
3/26/2014 12:42:29

Fortuitous indeed! Your curves look absolutely amazing here! I love that you went with such an unexpected print, it's gorgeous and as you pointed out, matches your bed perfectly!

As for improv curves, I find that every once in a while it helps to do an almost straight line to get everything going straight again. A friend said "every 10 seams" which I find helps a lot. :)

Sarah link
3/26/2014 12:53:52

Thank you for the tip, Anne! I think I had too many skinny back and forth curves. Next time I'll have to work in some straight : ) And thanks for the compliment, and for hosting such a fun *purple* challenge!

Elizabeth Dackson link
3/27/2014 05:51:54

So pretty! Love the solids mixed with the little bits of prints :) And I love that you used the word "fortuitous" - it's one of my favorite words!

Sarah link
3/27/2014 11:47:21

Glad I made your vocabulary day, Elizabeth ; ) And thank you - this was a fun project to pull fabrics for!


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    Sarah Nunes @BerryBarnDesigns
    Welcome! I'm Sarah. As a milmompreneur maker, wherever I go, I quilt, teach & sew! ​{Bio}  
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