Everyone Deserves a Quilt: Prizes

Showing posts with label Prizes. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 1, 2020

December Color Challenge

I can't believe it's December and we are sharing the last of our

2020 Monthly Color Challenge blocks.

This month's color is Red

and the bird is the Cardinal

For the pattern and block instructions,

head over to

Jen's Blog - Patterns by Jen

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I am thrilled that the featured bird this month is the Cardinal,

as that is the state bird of Ohio, my home state.

The picture above shows both the male (left) and female (right) cardinal.

As with many other birds we've learned about this year, it is the male who has the most vibrant colors.

The male cardinal is a brilliant all-over red, while the female is a pale brown with reddish tinges in the wings. Both the male and female have a reddish/orange bill that is surrounded by a black face. (My grandchildren say that these birds have a black mask.)

Both the male and female have a very thick bill and prominent crest. The thick bill and strong tongue allows the birds to extract seeds by crushing or cutting the shell. It's quite interesting to watch, and this video is awesome.

Cardinals can be found in backyards, parks, woodlots, and shrubby forest edges. They often visit bird feeders, but frequently perch a little bit away from them and swoop in inconspicuously to grab their food and go - a fun grab and go technique to watch.

We are very fortunate to have the right habitat for cardinals, and enjoy them frequently. I have to admit that winter is my favorite time to see them, as their bright red color contrasts beautiful against freshly fallen snow. I've been known to take a lot of bird pictures and love to share them here on the blog. Here are a few of my favorites.

This special cardinal spent the winter of 2017 with us. After sending off some pictures to Cornell Lab of Ornithology we were told that this is a partially leucistic female cardinal, or one lacking pigment in the crest feathers.

Every morning, as my husband and I drank our coffee in the back room, discussed our daily schedule and watched the birds, this one would eventually show up. She was quite skiddish and didn't dilly dally around too much. Before finding out the real story about her colors, Jack and I created some interesting ones of our own. My favorite is Jack's theory that she's just an old lady cardinal who, like him, is full of wisdom and mystery for the other birds to enjoy. :-)

Scientists have identified at least 16 different calls from the cardinal, but the one most often heard is a loud, metallic chirp. This call is made when warning other birds of their territory, when predators are near, when females approach their nests, or when both genders are approaching the nest with food for their nestlings.

Gee, do you think I am enthralled with cardinals?

I guess since I like cardinals so much, it's not surprising to know that I use a lot of red in my quilts.

This is one of my favorite red and white quilts. It's Prairie Star - a Judy Niemeyer pattern.

This is one of my favorite patriotic quilts -

Freedom Rings

This was made for the Blank Quilting American Honor Contest in 2017.

I make a lot of Quilts of Valor and there is always red in those.

Heart and Soul

is another favorite, and it was also made for the American Honor Contest.

Being from Ohio, I feel obligated to show a "Big O" scarlet and grey quilt.

This very bad picture is one of my favorite one block wonder quilts.

Here's another favorite quilt that used a lot of red scraps.

This scrap buster was fun too.

I was just a little short for the binding and threw in a little bit of red.

It was perfect and I have intentionally used this technique multiple times since.

Of course there is always red in Christmas quilts.

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I guess I should get back to the the Color Challenge blocks!

Here are my fabrics. Of course I purchased these from Once Upon a Quilt. I LOVE that red and wish I had purchased more.

Here are my pieces - cut and ready to sew.

The completed blocks!

These look much more complicated than they are.

For block instructions, go to

Jen's blog - Patterns by Jen

Be sure to check out the other featured bloggers this month.

Patterns by Jen

Pretty Piney Quilts

Kathleen McMusing

Create with Claudia

Quilty Creations by Fawn

Kathy's Kwilts and More

As Always, thanks to our wonderful sponsors!

Be sure to send some quilty love to this quarters sponsors who have donated some awesome gifts.

Thank You Sponsors!

Sponsors October thru December

Thursday, October 1, 2020

October Color Challenge

It's the first, which means that it's time for

October's Color Challenge block!

This month's color is Olive,

and the bird is the Ruby - Crowned Kinglet

For the pattern and block instructions,

head on over to

Jen's Blog - Patterns by Jen

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Isn't this a pretty bird?

As with many birds, it's the male who is brightly colored.

Ruby-Crowned Kinglets are olive-green with a very prominent white eyering. They also have a white wingbars, which make them easy to distinguish from other birds.

While the males have the red patch on their crown (thus the name Ruby-Crowned), it is not always visible.

The birds are relatively small, with large heads, a very short neck, and thin tails.

Their bills are small, thin and straight. The Ruby-Crowned Kinglets found in Alaska and British Columbia are slightly smaller and a darker color than those found in other parts of North America.

The Ruby-Crowned Kinglet lives in tall, dense conifer forest, such as spruce, fir, and tamarack. They can also be found in shrubby habitats and parks during the winter.

They are restless birds and move quickly through foliage at fairly low levels. Their wings are almost constantly flicking, which gives off a very energetic vibe.

This little bird packs a big punch when it comes to singing. Listen and watch this YouTube video that not only lets you hear the beautiful song, but the narrator describes the complex parts of the song. This is quite interesting!

Ruby-Crowned Kinglet Song

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I have used very little olive in my quilts. As a matter of fact, I can't seem to find any pictures of quilts in which I've used any significant amount of olive. You know what that means don't you? I have to find more olive fabrics and use this color!

Here is the olive fabric I bought at Once Upon a Quilt.

It is very pretty and I especially like the design.

Here are my pieces, cut and ready to sew.

This sure is a beautiful block!

Check out other bloggers who made this block.

It is always fun to see the different fabrics used.

Patterns by Jen

Quilty Creations by Fawn

Home Sewn By Us

Steph Jacobson Designs

So This Is Kentucky

Rainbows. Bunnies. Cupcakes

Kathy's Kwilts and More

Penny for My Thoughts

It's a new quarter which means there are new sponsors!

You will definitely want to check them out because they are providing

some awesome prizes.

Thank You Sponsors!

Sponsors October thru December

Tuesday, September 1, 2020

September Color Challenge

It's the first, and that means that it's time for the new

Monthly Color Challenge Block

It's Color Challenge Time again!

This month's color is Cinnamon,

and the bird is the Cinnamon Teal

For the pattern and block instructions,

head on over to

Jen's Blog - Patterns by Jen

Male (left) and Female (right) Cinnamon Teal

The Cinnamon Teal is a species of duck found in western North and South America. It is a small dabbling duck, with bright reddish plumage on the male and duller brown plumage on the female. It lives in marshes and ponds, and feeds mostly on plants. Both the male and female have a pretty sizeable head and a long bill.

As you can see in the picture above, the adult male has a cinnamon-red head and body and a brown back. His bill is long and black, and he has striking red eyes.

The adult female has a mottled brown body, pale brown head, brown eyes, and a grey bill. Interestingly, young and non-breeding males have similar coloring as the female, but their eyes are red. All adults have a sky-blue patch visible when their wing is open.

Cinnamon Teal dabble on aquatic plants in shallow water areas, especially rush seeds, pondweed seeds and leaves and salt grass seeds. They also feed on animal food, especially aquatic insects and mollusks. So basically, they are vegetarian with an occasional insect or two eaten.

Much like I'd like to do, nearly all Cinnamon Teal winter in Mexico and Central America.

Click HERE to listen the the Cinnamon Teal.

Be sure to listen to both the male and female sounds. They are quite different.

What symbolism is associated with the color Cinnamon?

That is quite interesting because throughout much of history there has been a bit of a contradiction regarding the color. Because the color is associated with the spice of the same name (a spice that was highly prized in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome and often given as a gift for monarchs), the color cinnamon was looked upon with high regard. But if the color was separated from the spice, it was often associated with poverty and humility because of the brown clothing worn by the lower class in ancient Rome and Catholic monks during the Middle Ages.

In recent years, the various shades of brown have been associated with nature and thus represent strength, stability, sincerity, loyalty, and honesty. While brown and most of its shades are often listed as a "least favorite color" by many people, it is often considered to be a neutral in the art and decorating work. Cinnamon can be paired with most shades of brown, and looks fresh next to cream or crisp white. It looks amazing when paired with other earthy shades like burnt orange, deep red, maroon, soft blue, and olive green.

Searching the internet for these colors has made me want to do some redecorating/repainting. I know myself enough to realize that will most likely not happen anytime soon, so I'll do what I do best. I'll use them in a quilt or two. If nothing else, this color challenge has made me become smitten with some new color ideas! :-)

Speaking of quilts, I have used various shades of brown over the years, including cinnamon.

Prism, pattern my Tammy Silvers made by Joanne Hubbard

Bethlehem, pattern by Doug Leko, made by Joanne Hubbard

Uptown Girl, pattern by Creative Sewlutions, made by Joanne Hubbard

Zen Table Runner, pattern by Jean Ann Wright, made by Joanne Hubbard

Back of Zen Table Runner

The cinnamon that I used this month was purchased at Once Upon a Quilt in Ft. Lauderdale. To be honest, this was the color with which I had the most challenging time picking. I'm sure the staff thought I was crazy when I kept asking their opinions of fabrics based on the names of a bird,and then I threw in a spice! If they did think I was crazy, they certainly didn't show it. For that, I am thankful.. 😘

I liked this fabric, so I bought much more than what I needed for this project. Imagine that!