Colour My World White

For those that are new to my blog, welcome to this month's link up for Colour My World Challenge. In a nutshell, each month we do a small project (e.g. your choice of block, mugrug, mini quilt) focussing on a different colour. Check out my Colour My World Challenge page for more info, if this is something that interests you. You can join in or pop out any month, and/or go back and do previous months' challenges.

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I've stated before that I'm not a fan of white. After What the FMQAYGQAL?, I can safely say that I no longer fear white though. I also love all the modern quilts with white in them, but wasn't sure how a piece with just white could work.

As with my black challenge piece, I thought doing something with texture and folding, as Ellen had suggested (Thanks Ellen!), would be a good idea. There's a fabulous folded flap quilt in Contemporary Quilts that I've been wanting to try for ages. Perfect!

The quilt in the book is much bigger than what I needed so I read through the instructions and then designed a much smaller version for my mini.

Here's a quick rundown of what I did: I used a 14 white prints cut in 1.5" strips by 15" (the background) and 12 2.5" by 15" solid white strips cut on the bias and folded in half lengthwise (the folds). I then sewed the solid strips between the print strips and ironed them all upwards. I layered the top on batting and backing. Next, I sewed up the middle with a decorative stitch, securing the folds to the background prints, the batting and the backing. I also straight-stitched up the sides, right at the edges, securing the folds on those sides. Next up was folding down the solid white strips (the bias is what made it possible to stretch the flaps down) and pinning them in place. I then lightly marked the sewing line in pencil and did a decorative stitch along the line, pulling out the pins as I went. Clear as mud, right?

I like how the background whites pop through with the flaps folded down. I wasn't sure how well the different whites would show in the photos, but it's not too bad. The solid white flaps actually look a little gray/blue in the photo -- white balance is off on my camera, I guess. How fun would this technique be with black flaps and brightly coloured background strips?

As with my other challenge pieces, this mini is 14.5" by 14"5", with a zig zag stitch finish along the edge. 

I'm so curious to what others have done with this colour. Frankly, I'll be amazed if anyone else links up this month -- this might be the toughest colour yet! 

September's Colour My World Challenge is orange. I might have done that on purpose in anticipation of October...think pumpkins, Fall foliage, Thanksgiving (Canadian), Halloween, oranges, cats...

I'm also linking up with TGIFF!, which is at Missy Mac Creations this week. For those new to my blog, TGIFF! is a touring linky party to celebrate quilty finishes. If you have a recent finish, link up, tour and enjoy the eye candy!