So, we did a thing – a Summer Quilt Challenge for our teachers and staff with a raffle to benefit The Center for Empowerment and Education, a local organization that works to end the cycle of interpersonal violence and provide services for survivors of domestic abuse and sexual assault. A big topic for a quilting blog, I know, but quilting is love, and there is always room to spread some.
All of our teachers and staff, and some friend of the shop got together and rolled two dice. The first die dictated what color they had to work in – Monochrome, Two Color, Low Volume, Rainbow, Warm Colors or Low Colors. The second die dictated the area of the shop that they could pick fabric from – Modern, Color Wall, Batik, Kaffe, Sale Trailer, Florals. We donated all of the fabric with the exception of Susan Deshensky’s quilt which was made with Island Batiks provided by her amabassadorship, and customers who wanted to play and received a discount.
We worked on our quilts all summer, and kicked off the raffle at the end of September. The drawing is October 27, 2023 at 4pm so you can still get tickets for $10 each and you can pick which quilt you want to try to win! Let’s see the quilts!
Greenville, by Susan Deshensky
Susan Deshensky of Lady Blue Quilt Studio made this fall stunner using Island Batik fabrics, which were provided as part of her being a brand ambassador for the company. The quilt measures 64” x 64” and will keep you warm all autumn long. Quilted by Cotton Candy Fabrics.
City Lights, by Harvey Fierstein
Harvey Fierstein may be best known for his work on Broadway and beyond, but we love him for his quilting talent. Harvey rolled low volume and floral, and this is about as low volume as Harvey gets! This gorgeous lap sized quilt brings the excitement of city lights to your decor.
Pixelated Rainbow, by Erin Byrne
I rolled Rainbow and Color Wall. As a modern quilter I love to create texture with fabric, thus, this pixelated rainbow quilt. Plus, I wanted to show off our Kona cotton collection, given we have all 365 colors. The quilt measures 55″ x 55″ and would make an awesome wall hanging or throw quilt to add a touch of color to your decor. (I’ll blog how to make this another day!)
Sunny Days Ahead, by Stacey Murren
Stacey is an art quilter and teacher that has created this piece to remind us all that sunny days are ahead. The quilting is embellished with specialty threads to bring a touch of shine. We love the message of this quilt, and she did a great job bringing her role of batiks in warm colors to life.
Arctic Adventure, by Roni Gearhardt
Roni rolled cool colors and color wall and came up with a great themed quilt using polar bears. This quilted ensemble will be sure to delight any youngster. Featuring a lap quilt, travel pillow, pillow case and two books, the quilt and pillow also feature machine embroidery.
Toward the Sun, by Sandy Chadwick
Sandy rolled warm colors and sale fabric. She made an astounding art quilt that would make a stunning wall hanging with Sandy’s interpretation of sunflowers adding a cheerful reminder to always look ahead to any room.
No Boundaries, by Julia Price
Julia rolled rainbow and color wall. This happy and scrappy rainbow quilt would make an excellent wall hanging or throw quilt. Featuring every color of the rainbow, it speaks to a bright future.
Modern Trip, by Donna Johnson
Donna rolled warm colors and batiks and chose to make one of our favorite patterns. Donna’s batik trip around the world leverages strong batiks in a gradient of colors to bring warmth to whatever room it is displayed in.
Modern Cool Violet, by Mary Elm
Mary rolled cool colors and modern fabric. The colors are definitely in her wheelhouse! Mary’s cool modern violet quilt uses plus signs to relay a message of hope to whoever is fortunate enough to win this beauty.
Cool Puzzle by Clarene DeRosier and Warm Puzzle by Jensen DeRosier
Mom and son duo of Clarene and Jensen rolled cool and rainbow and warm and rainbow respectively. How fun that they made matching quilts, that if someone one both could be a couples set. Using the Irish puzzle pattern, these throws feature bring modern fabrics and a textured background that give them lots of interest. And the quilting is fantastic!
Get tickets for cool puzzle or warm puzzle
Sea Escape, by Dee Mor0
Dee rolled monochrome and color wall. Her monochrome vision of a day at the beach brings cool sophistication to this large lap or twin sized bed quilt. Quilted by Cotton Candy Fabrics.
Garden Party, by Kim Spinelli
Kim rolled low volume and floral. She always wanted to make this lap quilt and she did it in a soft palette with a pop of navy blue. The quilt works as a wall hanging or generous lap quilt and will fit into any design scheme.
Red and Blue Garden, Tote About and Coronation by Polly Sorrentino
It is hard to beat Polly’s enthusiasm. For her quilt, she rolled two color and floral fabrics and made this three-yard lap quilt that is glorious in red and blue with a bit of vibrancy added with the focus fabric and quilting by Cotton Candy Fabrics. But she wasn’t done. She also made a stunning tote that has two bonus zipper pouches inside, and a fun bench pillow commemorating the coronation of King Charles.
Get tickets for Red and Blue Garden or Tote About or Coronation
Warmth of a Star, by Kate Broomhead
Kate’s jumbo star in a pretty coral palette measures 72″ x 72″ would look great on a twin bed, over the back of a couch, or on an open wall as a focal point. She had rolled warm colors and the sale trailer and did a fantastic job! Quilted by Cotton Candy Fabrics.
Sun Path, by Brian Perrotti
Brian rolled warm colors and Kaffe fabric. This large graphic piece utilizes bright colors with bold flowers and a black and white stripe and applique to create a one-of-a-kind wall hanging or throw quilt. Quilted by Cotton Candy Fabrics.
Kitty in the Garden, by Katy Oakhill
Katy rolled one color and floral, and she sure did make great use of her theme! Katy’s purple floral quilt uses adorable fussy-cut kitties as the flower centers to bring a touch of whimsy to this traditional flower pattern. This large throw would also work on a twin bed.
Swirly Splendor, by Dorrie Panayotou
Dorrie rolled rainbow and color wall and used fabric from one collection, Pearl Splendor. This scrappy large throw quilt leverages a fun swirly fabric to add consistency to this colorful piece. Quilted by Cotton Candy Fabrics.
Modern Bricks, by Lizzie Varda
Lizie’s throw quilt features a variety of modern fabrics in bright colors to create a stunning throw quilt. This fits perfectly with her roll of the dice which dictated her quilt be warm colors and modern fabric. Quilted by Cotton Candy Fabrics.
Same Sky, by Vicki Pede
Vicki made this batik stunner using blue, teal and green batiks and Erin custom quilted it to help the shapes pop. It is striking as a wall hanging and snuggly as a throw quilt. Quilted by Cotton Candy Fabrics.
Sunny Plaid, by Jen Gray
Jen rolled warm colors and Kaffe fabric. Her fun throw quilt features a bright plaid made from Kaffe Fassett fabric a with a sunny yellow floral background. She really did find the perfect fabrics! Quilted by Cotton Candy Fabrics.
Get tickets for Sunny Plaid
The response to this fundraiser has been amazing which is so meaningful as 100% of the proceeds will go directly to CEE. I have to thank several people for the support in pulling it together:
- All of the makers whose who participated and created the beautiful works being raffled.
- Elaine Cox, Ashley Dunn, Samantha Flynn, Linda Cummins and Julia Price for their support in structuring and operationalizing this fundraiser.
- Perri Prosky and Jillian Fredette of ThinkSisu for their help and support in promoting this fundraiser.
- The Board of CEE for their support in selling raffle tickets and promotion.
- Harvey Fierstein for photography help and cheerleading.
- Everyone who purchased tickets to support the CEE mission
Tickets are available through October 27 at 12:00noon, and the raffle will be drawn at 4pm. I’ll share a winners list here, but you can also watch the drawing live on our Facebook page. at https://www.facebook.com/cottoncandyfabrics
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