Forked Out!

It's that time of year when I make several small quilts to donate to good causes. I always make a 12" x 12" piece to donate to the SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) Benefit Auction in September and I always donate a small piece to the International Quilt Association (IQA) for their silent auction during the International Quilt Festival in Houston.  So this past week, I have been knee deep in tuning forks.

I ended up with 3 small quilt tops.  The first is for the SAQA Benefit Auction.  I'm calling it Singing the Blues (Tuning Fork #47).  This piece will be 12" x 12", but is currently 14" x 14" unquilted:
The second piece, Bahama Blues (Tuning Fork #48), will be auctioned off in Houston by IQA in November.  The colors remind me of the blue hole we swam in on Andros Island in the Bahamas last spring.  It is currently 18" x 20", unquilted:
I had made some limey green tuning fork units that I thought might work in Bahama Blues, but they ended up in a pile on my cutting table.  So of course, I made another piece with those (and a few more I made to order).  The colors remind me of the tremendously turquoise Bonefish Bay on Andros Island, so I'm calling it Bonefish Bay Blues (Tuning Fork #49).  It will be for sale on my website once quilted.  It is currently 17" x 22" unquilted:
Here are all three pinned to a piece of batting on my design wall.  I had to use batting to obscure the quilt I should be working on.  The quilt I hope to enter into the quilt contest at International Quilt Festival.  Can you say "Procrastination?"
Apparently I can.  But at least two of these pieces will go to a very good cause!

I'm linking this post with Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday, Confessions of a Fiber Addict and Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it up Friday.  Go see all the wonderful work there!
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Comments

Louise said…
You're absolutely right about those colors being very Bahamian! I hope the pieces fetch a pretty penny for your charitable causes :)
Rebecca Grace said…
First, I love your Tuning Fork series. Improvisational piecing is a technique anyone can learn, but in order to come out looking like art instead of like a mess, improv piecing requires serious design ability. Your work definitely falls into the art category for me, because the collage of bending fabric strips in blues and blacks evokes an emotional response, pulling memories out of the back of my brain. And I think, YES, that's what singing the blues looks like -- sorrowful but strong, like Billie Holiday singing Strange Fruit in a smoky nightclub.

Also -- may I ask why you are covering your IQF entry in progress? I've never entered a quilt show before, so I'm asking out of ignorance. Do quilts get disqualified if you post about them on the Internet prior to entering them in a show? Or have you been stung by other quilters stealing your ideas and entering copycat quilts into the same shows?
Julierose said…
I love your little quilts--that minty green just sparks them so well. Really beautiful work on these...hugs, Julierose