First Reveal for Two-Sided Round Robin Medallion

Back in April, Bec (@skyberries) and I told the world we were having a two-sided round robin quilt off and then we promptly fell off the face of the Earth. Totally my fault, that blasted book just got in the way. But! Things are back on track. Bec and I are back on track. Today I’m sharing with you what I made for my medallion centre and what Bec made for my first border. You excited? I know I am.

But before you get to see the awesome (and trust me, it’s awesome) let’s have a recap of what’s going on. Bec and I are going to make two 70″ square medallion (centre panel surrounded by borders) quilts by taking it in turns to add to the quilt and then send it on to the other person. To kick off we each had to make a 20″ (finished) square centre. It could be anything we wanted and we could use any fabrics we wanted. The only two parameters we had: 1. You couldn’t tell the other person what you were doing and B. It had to be 20″ square.

Wanna see what I made? <drumroll>

I made a zebra. Yep, a zebra. Why? Because I thought it would be super hilarious. It’s so non-traditional and it would just make the biggest impact and hopefully make Bec laugh. I went with an all solids version because, hello!, solid rainbow yum. Plus I thought it would be a great way for Bec not to have to worry about matching prints when she added the next border.

I had been lusting after Juliet’s (of Tartankiwi) Zebra in Side Profile pattern for ages and so this provided the perfect excuse to give it a crack. Now… Let me say this, the pattern is amazing. It’s clear and it’s super fulfilling when it’s finished. But, paper piecing a 20″ block with this many pieces and the repetition of black and white can be soul destroying when you’re in the middle of it. I literally sewed this beast in a day. In.a.day. I have a time log of when I started and when I finished (thanks to chatting online with friends) and it took me TWELVE HOURS! But it’s so worth it. Like, so so, worth it. Look at that zebra – it’s a thing of beauty (even with the mistakes!).

Want to know what Bec made? Then click here. I highly recommend going to have a look because I couldn’t do it justice even if I tried. I’ll just wait here while you look… *whistles quietly to self*

Did you look? Have you stopped laughing yet? I’m still laughing about it. What are the chances! I mean seriously, someone do the math because I think it would be in the bazillions. We never talked about what we were making so we had no clue until they turned up and we got to open them. It just goes to show there’s a reason why we’re the perfect match to have a quilting tennis match.

So, now that we’ve got our centres we have to add the borders. Simple. No. Cue the biggest mental block in the history of all round robins. I had no idea what to do. None! In the end I took some inspiration from #100Days100Blocks and went with something simple and something that would introduce solids into the mix and keep the black and white theme alive. I’m concerned that it’s too dark, but Bec tells me she likes it so that’s all that matters. Oh, you want to see what I did… well you’ll have to head back to Bec’s place to see it. Click here to see.

In the meantime Bec has made the most perfect border for my Zebra…

She was posting these churn dashes on Instagram under the guise of them being for another project and I was so bummed because I just adored them. I mean, look how fabulous they are…

So when she gave me my quilt (because we were supposed to swap at our Wendy Williams class but I hadn’t finished mine but Bec had finished here) I was just so thrilled and happy and disappointed that I mine weren’t nearly as fabulous. I thought about fussy cutting but I opted in the end to go with something that would deliver the colour and provide me with room to move in the future borders because I so badly wanted solids in the mix.

So now our quilts are back with us and I have to come up with a border that will work with the awesome that Bec has given me but also hopefully stump her when she gets it back. I have some ideas floating around and it’s going to be interested to see how they play out. I do so love that our quilts are so similar yet still really reflect who we are.  But enough navel gazing, I’d better get cracking because my border has to be done before I leave for Houston! Ack!

WHAT ARE THE “RULES”?

Want all of that in a easy-to-read dot point list so you get it all in a nutshell, here it is:

• Fabrics: bright, modern, highly saturated focal fabrics with a scrappy low volume or white background
• Starting Block: 20″square medallion for the centre of the quilt
• Borders: each round separated by 1″ solid/subtle print border (added by the person adding the next border)
• Round Sizes: each quilt will have a 2″, 3″, 4″, 5″ and 6″ round – not in that order…
• Other Person’s Quilt: for odd rounds choose from 3″, 4″, and 6″ width of round
• Your Own Quilt: for even rounds choose from 2″ and 5″ width of round

WHAT ARE THE ROUNDS GOING TO BE:

• black and white (with one other complimentary colour if desired)
• traditional patchwork
• improv patchwork
• foundation paper piecing
• mystery (chosen by maker, different to other four rounds)

POSTAL DATES:

• Medallion (2 months-ish) – 1 August
• Round one (2 months) – 4 September
• Round two (2 months) – 1st November
• Round three (2 months) – 1st January
• Round four (3 months) – 1st March
• Round five (3 months) – 1st June