Guild Challenge 2025 – Color Outside the Lines


Daises by Lauren Piper @laurenthecakelady

8″ x 50″

Color Specifics: Lemon/lime yellows are not typical colors in my collection. The pattern idea was forming in my mind when I spotted the lemon/lime yellow. I tried to find analogous colors that had some contrast for the flowers and the leaves.

Artist Statement: Daisies was the result of my looking for a new approach for using hexagon EPP

Technique(s) used: English Paper Piecing

Quilted by Lauren Piper


Fibonacci Vice by Melissa Woodard @meliwoodcrafts

52.5″ x 84″

Color Specifics: I never use brown, and I have not used any of the other specific colors in this quilt before.

Artist Statement: It pushed me out of my comfort zone to incorporate brown with these otherwise beachy colors. “The fabrics gave me Miami Vice vibes, and I am a sucker for the Fibonacci sequence (Golden Ratio). This quilt features the sequence (1,1, 2, 3, 5…) in inset circles with the coordinating number of fabrics in each circle to the ration number it represents. Break out the t-shirts and linen blazers. Party in the city where the heat is on!”

Technique(s) used: traditionally pieced, inset circles, machine quilted

Quilted by Melissa Woodard


Illusion by Laura Brooks

34″ x 34″

Color Specifics: I usually use many bright colors so this was very different.

Technique(s) used: Traditionally pieced

Quilted by Laura Brooks


All the Colors in the Crayon Box by Jane Herlihy

32.5″ x 32.5″

Color Specifics: I usually choose a palette that is triadic or split complementary, afraid to get too wild. I made this quilt from leftover blocks from two previous pieces plus some sample blocks from a color workshop. Going with the theme, I decided to just throw it all in there — the saturated, the tints, the tones, the shades and the neutrals from all around the color wheel — in the hope that the black and white would keep it all from being too cluttered.

Technique(s) used: traditional piecing, machine appliqué, machine quilting

Quilted by Jane Herlihy


Us by Robin Thomas @rct_quilts

76″ x 46″

Color Specifics: I have probably used all colors along the way but using these highlighter colors in such large amount and all together is not something I typically do. I prefer colors with a little dingy and use brights as accents. This quilt uses only brights for the design

Artist Statement: Us is based on the newest mapping of the human genome. This infinitesimal piece of the human body connects all people together despite all the things that make us different. Courtesy of the National Human Genome Research Institute (genome.gov)

Technique(s) used: FPP, Traditional Piecing, walking foot quilting

Quilted by Robin Thomas


Color Wheel by Rhonda Namba

55″ x 55″

Color Specifics: Utilizing all the colors; primary, secondary and tertiary required me to really focus on the color wheel and identify fabric selections that helped me complete the color wheel.

Artist Statement: I volunteer at my granddaughter’s school in the art room. We have been working on the color wheel and each child made their own color wheel with collage materials. The project inspired me to create a quilted color wheel for the classroom.

Technique(s) used: Traditional pieced, machine quilting

Quilted by Rhonda Namba


Curvaceous by Sue Wilson

18″ X 25″

Color Specifics: My go-to colors are usually more vivid gem tones. For this challenge, I chose two colors I don’t typically use … pink and brown. I had already purchased a selection of the Windham Artison Cotton cross-weaves specified for the QuiltCon 2026 fabric challenge. I decided to use the “pink” and “brown” presenting fabrics. When I put those two together, however, I realized that the dark coral / white “pink” fabric actually leans toward orange … especially next to the copper / black “brown” fabric… and I DO love orange! So, maybe this is just a baby step out of my comfort zone. Whatever, I wanted to use those fabrics so decided to go with it!

Artist Statement: I was inspired after hearing Sarah Hibbert’s lecture. I gave myself a challenge… to create a collage every day for 50 days! I did it, and found it to be a very useful exercise. The design for this quilt was inspired by one of those collages.

Technique(s) used: traditionally pieced, machine quilted (straight line and free motion) on Bernina B770 QE+

Quilted by Sue WIlson


If walls could speak by Nadia Pshenitsyna @tell.your.story.quilting

40″ x 55″

Color Specifics: White and beige are usually used as a background, to enhance other colors. I used white as the main color and added layers and textures for interest. The quilt presents the texture of an old wall, with layers of paper, plaster and paint, each layer witnessing a story. The splashes of color encode the message in Morse code: Grow. Rise Up. Soar (on the left) and TMQG 25 (on the right).

Technique(s) used: Foundation and traditional piecing / longarm quilting

Quilted by maker


Summer by Erin Bell

16″ x 21″

Color Specifics: my focus color, deep pink, is one that I have not used before

Artist Statement: My focus color, deep pink, was inspired by a particular flower that caught my eye in a bouquet I bought this summer. The pink/green color combination I used says “”summer”” to me, thus the title. In addition to the new-to-me color, I decided to also try a new-to-me technique, improv circles, The book “”Inspiring Improv””, by Nicholas Ball, served as my jumping off point, although my method ended up somewhat different from his.

Technique(s) used: improv piecing, inset circle, machine quilting

Quilted by Erin Bell


Verdi-Graff by Michael Eason @quilchemy

35″ x47″

Color Specifics: This color palette is not something I am used to working with. I prefer bright and cheery colors. However, when I started working with my improv EPP method and I came across Lib’s Elliots Verdigris fabric collection, is drove me to challenge myself to see if I could make the colors work for what I wanted to achieve.

Artist Statement: Born from fragments of rhythm and rebellion, this quilt hums with the pulse of the street and the quiet order of geometry. Lines collide, colors breathe, and pattern becomes poetry. Rust, teal, and shadow weave together stories of motion and memory—moments stitched into balance. Through improvisation and intuition, chaos finds harmony, and fabric becomes a language of both defiance and grace.

Technique(s) used: This was constructed using Improv EPP techniques. Then machine quilted on my domestic machine.

Quilted by Michael Eason


Mid Century Mood by Stephanie Knudsen

58.25″ x 52.25″

Color Specifics: I found a few, unfinished, orphan squares in a free bin at the TQMG fabric sale. I liked the squares and thought they could become something because they came with some scraps of coordinating fabric. Brown was a main color, but I found a coordinating Mid Century/Jetson’s fabric from my sister-in-law’s stash that had a brown background. A visit to my own stash for some blue and orange fabrics and a run to the store for some brown fabrics, and I was off to the races.

Artist Statement: I loved the orphan blocks and a happy that someone else gave me n opportunity to give them a home.

Technique(s) used: The quilt was machine pieced and free-motion, machine quilted.

Quilted by Stephanie Knudsen


A Red and Scrappy Throw Quilt by Rebecca Dumlao (Dr. D) @RebeccaDumlaoAuthor

54″ x 65″

Color Specifics: This quilt uses blocks constructed by a friend. The unifying color was red. (Not a choice I would have made!) And the very scrappy blocks felt “busy” to me. So, I saw my challenge as creating unity… the layout of the blocks, the green border, and the red trellis binding really worked better than I expected!

Technique(s) used: Traditional piecing; used both longarm and machine quilting, including on the binding.

Quilted by Rebecca Dumlao (Dr. D); Blocks made by Jane Comer


Bright Spots Through the Veil of Grief by Hillary Emer

30″ x 42″

Color Specifics: The biggest way I stepped out of my color zone was with the use of black and dark green for the lattice overlay as a contrast to the brighter quilt underneath. I tend to use similar tones within a quilt.

Artist Statement: This quilt explores the interplay of contrast between light and dark, joy and loss. A playful and bright design evokes motion and spirit beneath a woven overlay that both obscures and reveals. The composition balances energy and stillness, color and shadow, creating a layered visual metaphor for how love and memory persist, even through grief of a beloved pet.

Technique(s) used: FPP, machine quilting

Quilted by Hillary Emer


Exothermic by Sara Young @spanishquilter

41″x41″

Color Specifics: I am not a fan of yellow… especially a bright yellow. Since I often feel like bright yellow in my quilts stands out too much I decided to embrace that feeling and make it the center of a radiating explosion of warm colors.

Technique(s) used: Traditionally pieced and quilted on a long arm using rulers.

Quilted by Sara Young


Warmth by Vicki Price @piecetymes

28″ x 35″

Color Specifics: I always lean toward cool colors by default. For this quilt I encouraged myself to choose only warm colors and titled the quilt to reinforce the sense of incandescence.

Artist Statement: I thought about the years I lived in Phoenix, and worked to capture that feeling of baking in the sun. The heat was like opening an oven door, swirling around your head, the creatures and plants enduring the harsh, sultry summers. I also love playing with improvisation, so I selected a gigantic heap of warm scraps and just sewed them in circles.

Technique(s) used: Mostly traditionally pieced by machine, with some applique.

Quilted by Vicki Price


Orange Grove by Deb Boer @Debbie.boer

33″ x34″

Color Specifics: I don’t like orange very much so haven’t used it much in the past and certainly haven’t used it as a dominant color. I was overrun with orange scraps so decided to try using them in a scrappy quilt.

Artist Statement: I was inspired by the orange groves that were once prominent in FL. I am committed to using scraps in many of my quilts. This quilt was entirely made of scraps, including the backing and batting.

Technique(s) used: Improv pieced, machine quilted. This was my first time quilting in a spiral. I enjoyed that and think it was a nice continuation of the “oranges” theme.

Quilted by Deb Boer


Climate Migration by Susan Reinhard @dontcallmesu

83″ x 89″

Color Specifics: I used a range of Kona Solids to reflect daily high and low temperatures for a year, and wanted the colors to reflect our challenging climate issues.

Artist Statement: Climate Migration follows the rhythm of a single year, each piece of fabric a measure of a day’s warmth and change. The “flying geese” become a metaphor for adaptation and fragility – echoing both birds on their journey and a planet in flux. The colors transform data into memory, numbers into color, and a year’s weather into a quiet mediation of movement, balance and belonging in a changing world.

Technique(s) used: FPP and Traditional piecing

Quilted by Meghan Morris


Complex Simplicity by Itnuit Janovitz @itnuit

20″ by 13″

Color Specifics: I challenged myself to use all the little bits of strip pieced scraps that I had from a project, and to find a balance of colors and contrasts that made the overall design seem uniform.

Artist Statement: Looks can be deceiving. Lines constantly interrupted by color; and yet unity brings simplicity.

Technique(s) used: Traditionally pieced, machine quilted.

Quilted by Itnuit Janovitz


Garden Path by Kristin Meyer

29″ x 29″

Color Specifics: My typical quilt uses a lot of white or black to contrast with the colors but in Garden Path, I only used colored fabric. It was a challenge to put colors together that don’t necessarily go together and even clash. Sewing the curves and keeping the points sharp was also challenging but a thrill to see when it came together. The shapes and FMQ bring motion to my quilt and using a fabric in more than one place draws the viewers eye around the quilt.

Artist Statement: Garden Path is the first quilt that I have created totally on my own, from conception and design to the final quilt. Completing this project was equally challenging and empowering. I am awed that I created this quilt and I love it! My husband and I visited the National Quilt Museum in March 2025 where I spent several hours studying Caryl Bryer Fallert’s quilts with their majestic curves, bold colors and exquisite free motion quilting. Upon returning home I tried her piecing technique but my results were not what I had hoped for. Then I was lucky enough to get the last spot in Ricky Tims’ August/September LocoMotion curved piecing class. What started out as an 8″ square road map quickly turned into a 30″ square pattern with more definition. I selected jewel toned fabric that I love and added colors that I typically avoid like peach and brown. Each seam is pieced and I did the hand guided free motion quilting on my HQ Capri sit down long arm quilting machine. The ribbon snake at the bottom the quilt was the inspiration for the purple garden path surrounded by ferns and leaves of all colors.

Technique(s) used: Curved piecing – Ricky Tims LocoMotion technique

Quilted by Kristin Meyer


Dancing with Halloween by Laura Poole @poole.laura

29″ x 30.5″

Color Specifics: I love both orange and gray, and was thinking of a soft tangerine, with contrast, for an improv class. However, my hands grabbed a richer orange, and a nearly black dark gray. I didn’t even think of Halloween until I noticed my improv started to resemble a jack o’lantern! I nearly scrapped it all right there, because I don’t like to do expected colors or holiday projects.

Artist Statement: I carried on with the improv piece, adding ruffles for dimension and playing with rough edges. I decided to add improv sashiko stitching for the quilting in the orange, and I’m so pleased with it.

Technique(s) used: improv traditional pieced, faced, machine quilted, improv hand sashiko

Quilted by Laura Poole


Penetration by Michele Kolb @micheleskolb

18.5″ x 29.25″

Color Specifics: I am not drawn to brown and tend to avoid it in my work. My palette was inspired by a trip to Alaska this summer. I combined three colors from landscapes we visited- icy blue, deep brown, and creamy white. Choosing to allow the icy blue silk thread for the quilting design to both contrast and blend as a design element definitely took me outside of my comfort zone!

Artist Statement: I chose to make this quilt design experimental in every way. I used multiple new-to-me techniques including inset circles/hoops, facing, and using quilting design as a primary design element. I started with a circle on the bicolored background, and developed the design improvisationally over several weeks, carefully adding what was needed to create a balanced effect until I was satisfied with the final design.

Technique(s) used: This quilt is traditionally pieced and machine quilted on my domestic machine.

Quilted by Michele Kolb


Please Remain Seated by Karen Jones Kepley @Karen_Jones_Kepley

55″ x 58″

Color Specifics: I created rules about the pairing of colors in the double complimentary color scheme, reds are paired with yellowy greens, purples are paired with greeny yellows.

Artist Statement: A disembodied voice demands compliance, but what if your seat is broken or disrupted? What if authority cheats at Musical Chairs, creating chaos to serve its own interests? This quilt explores the tension between chaos and constraint, balancing rules with creative flow. Improvisational blocks were crafted as mirrored pairs, some blocks fragmented with scraps, while others remain whole. The double complementary color palette amplifies visual tension. Quilt lines echo simple chair shapes.

Technique(s) used: Machine piecing, machine quilting

Quilted by Karen Kepley


Isometric Illusions by Heather Walters @Heat_Walters

42″ x 52″

Color Specifics: I never use the color wheel. But when picking colors for this project I started with a color wheel.

Artist Statement: This quilt is pieced entirely from diamonds, a shape that sparked memories of isometric drawings from my college architecture days. The design features a Penrose triangle rendered in bold gradients of blue, yellow, and red, creating an optical illusion that challenges perception. The minimalist black background amplifies the illusion’s depth, while diagonal straight-line quilting adds subtle texture and reinforces the geometric theme. This piece celebrates modern quilting through graphic impact, precision, and a nod to architectural visualization.

Technique(s) used: FPP. Machine quilted on domestic.

Quilted by Heather Walters


The Persistence of Nature by Anonymous

8″ x 11″

Color Specifics: I usually use very vibrant colors in my quilts and never any brown; so I decided to embrace brown. Of course I had to throw in some lime green.

Artist Statement: I recently went on a trip to Southwest Utah, and while hiking, I noticed small trees and shrubs that were growing out of what looked to be barren rock faces. It was stunning that despite what seemed to be overwhelming obstacles, nature persisted. It gave me hope for the future. Like ice forming and melting within rocks and creating fissures and erosion, I improv pieced my quilt to mimic how the rocks of Southwest Utah erode. The green in my piece represents the plants, which are thriving despite all obstacles.

Technique(s) used: Improv piecing, machine quilting

Quilted by maker


Ben’s Abstract Lion by Megan Bishop @megansewsforfun

9″ x 11″

Color Specifics: I would have never chosen these shades of purple and green because they read “Barney.” I find that I also tend toward lighter values of most colors, and these are much darker values than I would typically pull, especially next to each other. The appliquéd pieces in the center are a tetradic color palette.

Artist Statement: This quilt is a reproduction of my 5-year-old son’s artwork of a lion. He has had some specific challenges with drawing and coloring, so his completed piece was a huge victory. I was inspired to recreate his work by using some new skills of my own as well: improv strip piecing for the border, free motion quilting for the lion’s features, and applying a facing instead of a binding. I look forward to hanging these pieces side-by-side in our home.

Technique(s) used: Machine pieced, machine appliqué, improv piecing, free motion machine quilting

Quilted by Megan Bishop


A River Runs Through It by Joann Iannuzzelli @joanniannuzzelli

44″ X 43 3/4″

Color Specifics: Yellow is my least favorite color but I attempted to have it be the main color

Artist Statement: Created after attending a class taught by Sarah Hibbert on Freestyle Patchwork. She demonstrated how to cut and sew an improv curve. I liked the process so much I used it here for my guild challenge – Color Outside the Lines. In this quilt I challenged myself to use yellow. You will find muted yellows in many of my quilts, but I don’t usually use brighter yellows like in this one.

Technique(s) used: machine pieced; machine quilted

Quilted by Sara Young


Scraps Save Lives by Sashanna Hart @sashannahartmaker

42″ x 42″

Color Specifics: I challenged myself to create a quilt entirely out of my pink and purple scrap bin, using a variety of shapes, including triangles, L shapes, arches and checkerboards. I designed the colors to move across the quilt from light at top left, to dark at bottom right. When I finished the quilt top my son exclaimed, “You need to create a hashtag, #scrapssavelives!” And thus this quilt was born.

Technique(s) used: improv machine piecing, machine quilting, hand quilting, facing.

Quilted by Sashanna Hart


Rhymes with by Carrie N.

24″ × 24″

Color Specifics: Orange is not my color, not in any way, shape, or form. Using it at all was new to me; making it the focus was the particular challenge. Nonetheless, it seemed especially fun to combine it with purples as an unconventional color application for an otherwise very traditional quilt pattern.

Technique(s) used: Traditionally pieced by machine and machine quilted.

Quilted by Carrie N.


Can’t choose just one by Jenn @jennspittal

14.5″ x 28″

Color Specifics: I tried to use all the colors and then make them together read as “color” and the background sets of the white line. Artist Statement: I’m still trying to not buy fabric this year and couldn’t decide on any one color- so I tried to use all my colors together to set off the ribbon.

Technique(s) used: Machine pieced and quilted, appliqué

Quilted by Jenn Spittal


Supertrees by Stacy Whitney @overthemoonquilts

18.5″ x 24.75″

Color Specifics: I struggle to use orange in any of my quilts, so I took the aqua / orange color combination as the start of my quilt design. Orange was the only fabric I didn’t have in my stash for this quilt.

Artist Statement: After playing with the colors and curves, what I had reminded me of the Supertree Grove in Singapore. I decided to color outside of the lines by bringing the tree quilting outside of each tree shape, and to break the top frame of the quilt as well by extending the stitches onto vinyl inserted between the quilt and the facing.

Technique(s) used: Traditional pieced, machine quilted, stitching on vinyl, faced.

Quilted by Stacy Whitney


Orange Splice by Jessica Easterly @jeeasterly

26″ x 26″

Color Specifics: In an attempt to use my least favorite color (orange), I endeavored to incorporate the smallest amount possible by using the skinniest strips possible, punctuated by a beloved color (teal). I might like orange a bit more now, but I will always say “ugh” when I have to use it.

Technique(s) used: Traditional pieced; machine quilted

Quilted by Jessica Easterly


Luna by Tatyana Kelly @greytat

29″ x22.5″

Color Specifics: The coppery-orange is not a color I thought I even HAD. but when I pulled it out, it just glowed. I wanted to feature it without having it be overly dominant. I struggle to use prints, and was thrilled to be able to incorporate some scraps that coordinated but didn’t “match”. I love using khaki as a neutral, and it went well together as well as providing high light and dark contrast. Overall, the very muted neutrals were a good showcase for the copper.

Technique(s) used: Machine pieced improv (Sarah Hibbert’s class), hand quilted.

Quilted by Tatyana Kelly


Cajun Two Step by Sandy Maxfield

53″ x 48″

Color Specifics: I originally sketched this design in blues and greens, my personal color comfort zone. I realized that the blues and greens were not distinct enough in the medium values for the woven layers to be effective. I switched to an orange instead of the blue which really helped emphasize the illusion of the overlapping layers.

Artist Statement: This original design is based on the traditional “Crossed Canoes” block. It plays with dual color movement and creates the illusion of depth with interwoven layers. I listened to lots of rowdy cajun and zydeco music while making this quilt. The piecing and quilting seemed to evoke a swirling dance floor which led me to the title “Cajun Two Step.” Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Technique(s) used: Foundation paper pieced and quilted on a sit down machine.

Quilted by Sandy Maxfield


We Have Always Been Here And We Always Will Be by Katherine Setzer

19.5″ x19.5″ x 19.5″

Color Specifics: I traditionally work with dark colors (most frequently, Halloween fabrics) and sometimes very specifically in a “rainbow” palette, and would not consider myself a “pink” person. I did not actually have pink fabric for this quilt and asked for scrap donations specifically for this purpose.

Artist Statement: I got the inspiration for this piece in early 2025 as our political climate began to shift, and the people I love began to worry about what might happen. I kept putting off starting the project until I attended my first Triangle Modern Quilt Guild meeting in October and learned about the challenge. Nothing like a two-and-a-half week deadline to get a person moving!

This piece references the fact that queer people of all types have always existed, and will continue to do so, regardless of what our leaders choose to do about it. I took inspiration from the queer community’s reclamation of the pink triangle, a symbol used to denote queer people during the Nazi regime. Though this symbol was used more frequently to identify gay men and transgender women (rather than lesbians, bisexuals, transgender men, nonbinary people, or others), it was adopted by the queer community as a whole in the mid-to-late 20th century and continues to be used by many.

I don’t usually use a lot of color when quilting, so I asked my friends and people that I work with if anyone had any pink scraps that I could use, but I did not tell them what it was for. I was hoping to get a wide variety of ages and styles of fabrics, to symbolize the timeless quality of my statement and the variety of individuals found in the community. I didn’t use a pattern, but let what scraps I received dictate the composition. I am a big planner, so this was quite a challenge for me. Once I had my piecing complete, I hand embroidered my message on the top, quilted on my domestic machine, and bound it. I did not purchase any materials for this project – all fabrics were donated and all other materials were scavenged.

Technique(s) used: machine piecing, hand embroidery, machine quilting

Quilted by Katherine Setzer


Learning Curves by Kathlyn Miller @quiltingkat

20″ x 20″

Color Specifics: I am new to quilting and have only used precuts and fabric collections to create quilts. This is my first time creating my own color palette. I choose to use chartreuse and orange as they are colors I love but ones I stay away from for their bold nature.

Technique(s) used: Machine pieced, machine quilted (domestic), compass used to draw cut lines on fabric.

Quilted by Kathlyn Miller


Pebbles and Marbles by Collette Kinane

30″ X 30″

Color Specifics: Every single quilt I’ve previously made was comprised of BRIGHT colors and many of them – I use the full rainbow. Never before had I used white as a dominant color, and I’d never used pastels. Using bits of pastel color as a focus accent on an entirely white quilt was a major leap out of my personal style.

Artist Statement: Inspired by my niece’s first word to me (bubble!) and the remnant piece of vinyl I bought at last year’s guild sale, I sought to make a quilt that represents the magic of a bubble. Ephemeral yet insubstantial. Swirls of color and possibility.

Technique(s) used: Traditional piecing; FPP (pastel pieces); applique (orange peels, vinyl bubbles); hand quilting

Quilted by Collette Kinane


Persist by Laura Ganson @thedinosewrquilter

8.5″ x 35″

Color Specifics: Using brown was entirely new to me

Technique(s) used: Traditional piecing, improv, appliqué, raw-edge appliqué, machine quilting

Quilted by Laura Ganson


Inverted Larches by Rachel Brown @RDBeatific

24″x31″

Color Specifics: Looking through my quilts I realized I had never combined green and yellow. Green and yellow reminded me of larches in the fall

Artist Statement: Inspired by the pine forests in the fall when larches turn gold and yellow, but the other pines stay a deep rich green. This quilt uses prairie points to represent a richly textured woodland.

Technique(s) used: Prairie points and Quilt-as-you-go

Quilted by Rachel Brown


1 1 2 3 5 8 by Patty Dudek @elmstreetquilts

40″ X 40″

Color specifics: I wanted to play with how the black/gold color of the fabric looks different when it is paired with the green/blue or the dark coral/white.

Artist Statement: As a math geek, I love a good math quilt and the Fibonacci series offers endless possibilities for design. My quilt represents the sequence in the dimensions of the rectangles.

Technique(s) used: Traditionally pieced, hand quilted

Quilted by Patty Dudek

(Not eligible for Viewer’s Choice)


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