Hadley Spotlight Challenge: Parthena Wollen

I had a really hard time picking out my inspiration because I wanted to try many different patterns.  The curves, the blocks, the pops.....just so many new techniques and shapes to try. I finally decided to focus on  Denyse Schmidt's pattern Flock of Triangles. It was the orange that drew me. I figured I would use  the orange and browns in Hadley to make my quilt. Well, my vision did not turn out like I thought it would so I changed the color scheme.

Still sticking with the Flock of Triangles, I decided to use all the beautiful Hadley fabrics. After cutting out the triangles and putting them together, I realized that the quilt looked too busy.  I wanted to throw in solids but didn't have enough of a variety of solids to throw in there.  (Did I mention that I was trying to use the fabric stash I had, and not buy any more fabric to complete this quilt? A self-imposed challenge for which my husband is probably very thankful!)

Anyway, I split the triangles, or birds, as I saw them, into pairs. I had them going in one direction like Denyse's quilt but then  moved them up, down, and around. I wanted the triangles (or birds as I lovingly call them) to show movement in different directions so I came up with this. Not exactly the Flock of Triangles pattern but definitely inspired by it and a multi-directional life.

 My family and I are constantly in motion, whether it is moving to a new house (this summer), getting new jobs, and/or trying new things. Our pathways seem to always be changing and pointing to or following different directions. Whichever way you hold up the quilt, triangles are flying off in all four directions. I like that. This is going to be my quilt and I'm calling it Pathways.

The back..love gray and brown

Hadley Spotlight Challenge: Jessica Nunn Daniele

My quilt is named "Hadley Hides the Ice Pops". I was inspired by two of Denyse Schmidt's patterns from her "Denyse Schmidt Quilts" book - Ice Pops and What a Bunch of Squares. Neither patterns was followed exactly, but both were used for inspiration while I drafted my own version. The name is three fold - obviously Hadley is the name of Denyse's new fabric line that we were given to play around with. The Ice Pops part is a direct reference to the Ice Pops pattern. The "hidden" part is a reference to the brown squares hidden in the Ice Pop rectangles. The name makes me think of a impish little girl named Hadley, hiding ice pops in the freezer on a hot summer's day so she doesn't have to share them with her siblings. It makes me think of a simpler, carefree time, which is also what the fabric line made me think of when I first saw it.

I joined the guild after the yummy fabric bundles were handed up. I saw the challenge on the Facebook page and Sharon so kindly offered me her leftovers. Since she was so generous to share, I wanted to make the most of the fabrics. I chose my favorite prints to feature on the front. I then took all remaining fabric and cut it up into "bricks" to piece together a back. I used Denyse's paper bag method to piece together the back. I'm usually very neurotic about arrangement, so I made myself be more random for this. The last little bits went into a scrappy binding. All fabric put to good use!

This challenge was a lot of fun for me! I'm very happy I joined the guild and get to participate in fun challenges like this.

Hadley Challenge Spotlight- Kathy Reale

This summer I enjoyed reading "Quilting With A Modern Slant" by Rachel May and was inspired by Denise Schmidt's quilt called "Hope as the Anchor of the Soul (Mount Lebanon
Series #3). 

 I love its simplicity, texture, and colors. For my quilt, I changed the design quite a bit and used all the patterned Hadley fabrics to make the 'spin wheel' which was seamed and appliqued with raw edges.  I used Kona cotton color #91 Steel for my background.  The quilting in the round was a challenge and my circles are a bit wonky but it was fun to make. This is the 4th quilt I have ever made and the largest (87"x 97").  I can't wait to use it on my bed this winter!  Special thanks to Denise for the fabrics and inviting us to the challenge, my family for all their help along the way, and to the SCMQG for all your support!

Note: At our last meeting, Kathy named this quilt "Bedspins", which we all thought was great. I hope that is what she is calling it, as it seems fitting! 

Hadley Spotlight Challenge: Suzanne Thivierge McGovern

In July, I began mapping out a project for the Hadley Challenge. In early August , I started to doubt my timing and questioned whether I could finish on time.  I returned to Denyse Schmidt's books for new inspiration. I decided to whip-up a doll-size "Postage Stamp" quilt . I wanted to be sure I had something to submit  and I happen to like working small-scale.

It  was fun making this spontaneous little quilt.  It worked up quickly and I was happy with the finished product.  So, I stuck with it and just kept going.  I made four and sewed them together.  

I added one light and dark solid fabric from the generous stack of Hadley fabrics.  Using Denyse's bag method, I separated the fabric into lights and darks. This eliminated any tendency to obsess over color and placement. I promised myself I would not edit any of my pulls---no matter what! 

Hadley Challenge Spotlight- Michelle Lieberson

Everywhere I turn lately, I see the Orange Peel pattern. It's in clothing, wallpaper, rugs, even on a paper coffee cup that I used at a hotel recently. I am in love with it, and the way it makes your eye see different patterns, sort of an optical illusion.

I’d been thinking of making Denyse’s version from her latest book, Modern Quilts, Traditional Inspiration, but I didn't want to do needle turn appliqué.  I wanted to try a technique that I haven’t tried before and I’d been doing a lot of curved piecing lately. I opted for raw edge appliqué after I found a ruler called Leaves Galore which made it super easy to cut out the petals.

Deciding on which fabrics to use wasn’t easy, I love all of them. Back in June, I attended one of Denyse’s workshops, so I decided to improvise and just started cutting some of them, putting them together as I went. The result is an Orange Peel pattern that starts off in the center then starts to go crazy, mixing up the fabrics, and even the pattern.

I'm calling my quilt "Petal Play" since I spent so much time playing and arranging the petals. 

I have only fused the petals so far, and will sew the appliqué on as I quilt it. The back is finished, I just have to quilt it. I'm planning to continue the quilting pattern into the border. 

I want to thank Denyse for giving us not only this challenge, but also for sharing the Hadley collection with us. It was very generous of her. It has been so much fun seeing what everyone else in the group is coming up with. Each one has been so different from the other. Our guild has only been together for less than a year, but everyone is so enthusiastic, and happy to share their ideas. It's very inspirational. I can't wait to see everyone's projects all in one place this coming September. Keep your eyes out for details!

Hadley Challenge Spotlight: Jennifer Zanini Greely

Choosing one of Denyse Schmidt's designs to use with her new Hadley fabric was tough. I am drawn to complementary colors these days, and love working with orange in particular, so when I saw Denyse's Crazy Star pattern with lots of orange and blue in her book Modern Quilts Traditional Inspiration, I knew I had to make it. I chose to follow her color scheme relatively closely, utilizing most of the orange/brown fabrics from the Hadley line and supplementing them with coordinating fabrics from Denyse's Modern Solids line. As Denyse works locally here in CT, I was lucky enough to stop by her studio and purchase solids for the star and enough yardage of a beautiful bright blue for the background that matches the tiny blue dots in some of the orange Hadley fabric. 

As a relatively new quilter (about a year), this was my first project involving foundation piecing. I opted to paper piece instead of using muslin, and it worked great, though when tearing off the paper I quickly saw the reason for using a smaller-than-usual stitch length. Next time! The fabrics in the star were chosen at random, having stripped the fat quarters into random widths and then paper piecing together using a method similar to Denyse Schmidt's brown bag technique. I simply arranged the strips into three piles based on value from Light to Dark and grabbed within those stacks at random. Arranging the final blocks was my favorite part of the process, as I didn't exactly know how it would look until the pieces on the design wall screamed Done!

I'm in the process of quilting now, using an echo-star design, and the final size measures a square 65"x65" (a bit smaller than in the book). The backing I chose is Urban Flannel, a Valori Wells design from several years ago that is also made by Free Spirit Fabrics, the manufacturer for Denyse Schmidt's Hadley fabric. My kids will love winter mornings hanging out on the couch under this warm, bright and fun quilt, for sure.