a chance to encourage

Over the years, I've witnessed an amazing thing in the online quilting community, and that's when someone is going through a particularly difficult time, support comes out of the woodwork. Whether it's made items like a quilt or financial support, it's there. I've seen it over and over again. Which brings me to an event happening this weekend - an auction to support Stitched in Color's Rachel Hauser and family after new baby Eleni was born with some serious complications. I know Rachel best as founder and co-participant in the charity bee do.Good Stitches, and she has shared openly on her blog if you hadn't heard about what she's going through.

As a way of adding my support to Rachel and her family, I've donated the Motley Wheel mini quilt I made a few weeks ago. Made with the new pattern by mama love quilts, it measures 20" square, and I am happy to ship anywhere.

Many handmade items, as well as beautiful fabric offerings, have been donated for the auction. It all takes place on Instagram - just follow @auctionforeleni and you'll find all the details there. The auction starts today at 4pm EST and goes for just 24 hours. So peek in on the action, and if you are so moved, consider contributing in some way. Here's a chance to support and encourage one of our own.

Motley

When Nicole/mama love quilts emailed me a few days ago and told me her new pattern was ready for testing, I totally did not expect to hop right on it, with QuiltCon less than a week away. But with a couple of free hours Saturday night, I thought, "I'll just get started." And before I knew it, I had the top done!

The pattern is The Motley Wheel, which finishes as a 20" color wheel mini quilt. I had never made a color wheel, which is probably one reason I was so excited about it. There was paper-piecing involved, but the easiest kind, and Nicole gives good direction about color placement. Once the quadrants were pieced and trimmed, I even found the corners a breeze to sew on, due to their size. So if you're skittish at all about curves, feel confident trying these.

One of the options given in the pattern is the choice of an improvisationally pieced low-volume background, or a background using just one fabric, which is what I did. Since Nicole's original color wheel had the scrappier background, I thought I might as well test with the other option, plus I had a print I really wanted to use - Gramercy's NY Circuit Ashen by Leah Duncan for Art Gallery. Something about it told me it would be awesome here.

I really debated on the quilting, and I think there are a lot of patterns that would be fun to try on this mini, but I finally decided on a spiral for the 'rainbow,' using Auriful 50wt #2843 (palm leaf), which definitely shows, but isn't stark. Plus I used it on my City Sampler quilt, and it worked beautifully there.

For the background, I used Auriful 50wt #2021 (natural white) to create a starburst type of effect, quite similar to what I'd done on my Riley Blake Meets Mango early last year. I couldn't decide what to do on the center circle, so I left it alone for now, finishing the mini off with more of the Gramercy, letting the color wheel really stand out.

 

Quite simply, this mini was a joy to make. I highly recommend Nicole's pattern - look for it to be available for sale shortly. Meanwhile, check out #themotleywheel on instagram to see several versions of the pattern already in process. I can't wait to see more!