Some people make fun of my tendency to join groups. Did I hear a bandwagon? Let me jump aboard! But. there is something supremely satisfying about working within the parameters of a quilt challenge and producing a finished object.  So, when I heard my friend Becca started a new monthly challenge called Design Dare, I was anxious to join the fun.

Design Dare Guidelines

In a nutshell, each month we will see a photo and color palette. We interpret this in some format – sketchbook, fabric, threadplay, paper collage…the possibilities are limited only by your imagination.

The April 2018 debut image was a cupcake and drink umbrellas.

It took all of about 3 minutes for a quilt design to flash before my eyes.  I grabbed my sketchbook and penciled in some rough ideas.  (It must have been the extended absence from my quilt studio that helped inspire the design…I have not touched fabric or thread in about six weeks!)

Quilt Challenge Results

With a day off from school and nothing scheduled, I was able to bring my quilt challenge design to life in just a few hours.  I started digging in my scrap bin of 2-1/2-inch strips. Since this is just for fun, I wanted to keep it small.

You can see the elements from the inspiration picture that captivated me – the drink umbrellas and the cherry-topped cupcake! I did not follow the color palette very closely. The red in the cherry was my focal point. And, I gravitate more towards simple piecing than applique, so I decided to get the curves to appear with half-square triangles.

This photo shows the beginning of the design starting to emerge…

And here is my finished product for the April 2018 Design Dare quilt challenge.

Beach Umbrellas (quilt top, 14″ x 18″) by Andi Stanfield

Feel inspired? Get all the details for the Design Dare challenge at PrettyPiney.com

See how I interpreted other quilt challenges in this blog post.