True Blue Quilting ...

 

These large quilt squares are the result of a fabric dyeing class I took a couple of years ago. The methods we used to manipulate the fabric produced the radiating designs that I find so appealing. Instructor Cindy Lohbeck led a class of about 25 members through every step, from folding and clamping to immersing the fabric bundles into a dye bath. And she did it all in a convention center classroom that had brand new carpet! We had strict instructions on what to do if even a tiny drop of dye landed on the carpeting. I believe we made it through the class with the carpet unscathed! Pretty impressive. Anyway, I transported these lovely, but still wet, squares home (again, without any mishap in the car's interior), then rinsed and dried them. And there they sat, in all their glory, in my fabric stash. Every now and again I'd get the squares out to admire them and consider how to combine them in a quilt. My plan was to make a quilt-as-you-go project (QAYG). I'd layer the squares with batting and backing, free-motion quilt each square on my sewing machine, and then join them together with narrow fabric strips to make the large quilt. It's a manageable way to handle machine quilting, and I always need practice at that skill. The quilt is reversible, which is a bonus. The reverse side, shown below, was made using commercial cotton fabrics in the same blue family as the dyed pieces. 

The dyed squares might be still sitting in the closet but for a fun project our local quilt guild came up with. It's called The UFO Project. Members were invited to list 6 unfinished quilt projects they want to complete in the coming year, and submit the list to our leader. She would then draw a number from one to six, and set a completion date two months hence. Our task would be to complete the quilt from our list that matched the number she drew and have it ready for show-and-tell on the appointed date. What a great motivator! Happily, I got to work on "True Blues" and finished it in time. There was an excellent response and 15+ members participated in the big reveal. Everyone felt good about getting a long-abandoned project across the finish line. That same night, our leader drew the next number and we have another UFO to bring to life. My next one is a project started in a class at the last big quilt show I attended before large events shut down in 2020. Stay tuned!