Mood Ring Reveal & A Giveaway

Three things you need to know about this post:
1. I finished my Mood Ring quilt top.
2. I curated a fabric bundle for Australian shop, Simpson & Scarlett.
3. There’s six metres of fabric to giveaway for an Aussie reader!

Nearly six months ago, I entered Australia’s First Modern Quilt Show, and well, I surprisingly won the Best In Show prize. As I was snuggling this celebrity quilt last night, I contemplated those initial moments of shock, later mixed with pride. It’s still one of my crowning quilting achievements, and has really opened so many doors since then. One of those doors happened to be right there at the quilt show! As I was perusing the fabric stalls, Kim Simpson of Simpson & Scarlett asked if I would be interested in curating a Molli Sparkles blogger bundle from the Riley Blake Designs Solids collection. It’s true, flattery will get you everywhere with me! I quickly said yes, and Kim kindly sent me home with a charm square collection of the full range.

I picked colours across the rainbow, ensuring lots of tonal and value variation. The Riley Blake Designs Solids have a smoother texture than Kona, but there’s a slight undercurrent of grey across the range. This adds an element of grown-up sophistication, even when playing with a rainbow palette. After I had decided on twelve colours (pink didn’t quite make the cut), Kim sent me a half-yard bundle to start exploring.

And explore I did! This was my first time using all solids, so I made a few sketches and just went for it. In the beginning, I was having all sorts of emotional quilting dramas, until Taylor Swift helped shake off my funk. Like the ubiquitous mood ring of the 70s, this quilt colourfully shows my range of moods through its creation. Serendipitously, when I started sewing it all together, it started reminding me of a multi-coloured gemstone, and you know I’d definitely rock that, no matter what the mood!

The modern quilting movement is all about solids (so they tell me), so I wanted to keep the whole project really geometric and angular to accentuate the array of colours. As much as I love a rainbow, I sometimes feel like they are relegated to the kid’s room, rather than the adult playground. For me though, this tonal rainbow feels urban and fresh, while still maintaining some of its playful charm. Because of all of this, there’s a strong emotional resonance for me of all the things I felt while making it. It really is my Mood Ring.

Now, here’s the part that’s even better than me finishing this quilt top! Kim from Simpson & Scarlett has generously offered to giveaway a 1/2 metre bundle of these 12 fabrics (that’s six metres, y’all!) to one of my Aussie readers. She’s also giving everyone a discount on fat quarter and half metre bundles if you want to buy straight away (plus, there’s free shipping in Australia!)

(Edit: Giveaway is closed.)

Fabrics used: Navy, Rouge, Pear, Lilac, Aqua, Lagoon, Bluebird, Vintage White, Coastal Blue, Daffodil, Cayenne, Purple

I’ve got the backing sorted as well, which I’ll show you during this week’s Sunday Stash as it is a new acquisition. As for the quilting? I was starting to think about orange peels, but I’m sure my mood will be swayed a dozen times about that one too!