QuiltCon 2019 Charity Quilt Challenge

At our June meeting the other night, we had a lively discussion regarding next year's charity project and what we wanted to do for it. After much debate, we agreed we would be participating in the MQG QuiltCon Charity Challenge in 2019!

The theme this year is Small Piecing, and we thought that might suit us well as it would allow the participants to work on their contributions over the summer break, rather than having to hustle when we reconvene in September to try and complete the whole process by January for the QuiltCon deadline. So instead, we ask that those who wish to participate make one or more blocks following the guidelines listed below. The small nature of the blocks allows members to either shop from their stash or purchase fabric (please keep to the chosen color palette) without needing to use a large amount of fabric. This is a great scrap-buster project!

BLOCK: The block we will be making for this quilt is the Wonky Star block, which is an improvisational version of the Sawtooth or Eight-point Star block. It is approachable, forgiving and open to a very wide array of creative variations:  

Wonky star block by Wombat Quilts

FABRICS: The color palette for this challenge is set by the MQG and the palette they have chosen this year is as follows -  

Click to enlarge

For our block, we decided that the background of the blocks should be white or off-white with the stars being any combination of the remaining five colors. You do not have to use all of the colors in the palette! Careful choice of color can be used to make your small piecing really pop. 

Either solids or prints (or a combination of both) are perfectly acceptable. For the background fabrics, we encourage you to choose very low volume or tone-on-tone prints in white or off-white that will lend the finished product a scrappy but harmonious feel.

If you need a fabric-based point of reference, the coordinating solids would be:

• Kona Cotton : White, Bone, Pool, Honeydew, Petunia, Violet, Purple 
• Michael Miller Cotton Couture : Bright White, Soft White, Sea Foam, Limeade, Rose,  Lavender, Hyacinth
• Moda Bella : White, Eggshell, Seaglass, Kiwi, Petal Pink, Amelia Purple, Purple

SIZE: You may choose from a 3 1/2", 6 1/2" or 12 1/2" block. Your block may contain a single star or multiple stars, the star can be centred or offset, it can be laid out horizontally or on point. Regardless of the layout you choose, you must incorporate fabric of less than 1" width as an integral part of your design. Yes, you read that right, less than 1"... the theme is small piecing, after all! The MQG post summarizes it nicely: "Let’s say that small piecing would incorporate fabric pieces that are smaller than 1” in either width or length. So you might picture long, skinny strips, or little tiny squares, for example. [...] Small piecing must be an integral part of the design."

The possibilities are limited only by your imagination, but here are a few examples to get your creative juices flowing:

Multi wonky star by the Running Thimble

Wonky 9 patch by Nido Quilters

 

On point wonky star by Melissa Loves Color

If you need a bit more detailed instruction, here are a few tutorials that may be helpful:

• Wonky star block with random multiple stars
• Wonky star block with linear multiple stars
• Scrappy background, offset wonky star 
• Missouri Star Quilt Co tiny wonky stars (video)
• Missouri Star Quilt Co wonky stars (video)
• Scrappy wonky star (video - great for incorporating small pieces!) 

If you have a favorite wonky star tutorial or video, feel free to share it in the comments below!

CONSTRUCTION AND DEADLINE: If you wish to contribute a block (or more) to the project, we ask that you make your blocks over the summer break and bring them to the September meeting. We will be collecting the individual blocks at that time so we can move on to design and construction of the finished quilt top so that we have time to get it quilted and finished in time for QuiltCon. 

For those who would like to make use of fabric supplied by the guild for the project, or who would rather work as a group, Craft de Ville will be hosting two 'Crafternoons' specifically for this project, one on July 7th and one on August 11th. You are invited to come by and spend a bit of time socializing and sewing up some wonky star blocks. Supplies will be provided, but you are also welcome to bring along your machine and/or scraps to share with others. 

So there is your homework for the summer break! Raid the scrap bin for the colors the MQG chose and throw together a wonderfully wonky star block. If you'd like to share your blocks on Facebook or Instagram, please tag us so we can see and share your lovely work!