Chocolate bunny quilt

Karen Musgrave's challenge quilt is hopping along. The vintage fabric we have to use includes brown, which of course made me think of chocolate, which led to the chocolate bunny fabric and the pile of Hershey Kisses foil wrappers in my stash. 

That's the vintage "challenge" fabric in these two blocks. (The strips with the pink and brown print.) It used to have a white background, but I painted over it with transparent SetaColor fabric paints in warm orange, pink and yellow. Much better with my usual colorful palette!

Scary chocolate bunny, glaring out of the garden patch.

Since I have a huge chocolate wrapper collection, I was able to select just the right pink, orange, gold and chocolate colors. I ironed them between plastic sandwich bags (dry iron, low heat, with a press cloth) to stabilize them for sewing.

Part of the challenge is to use Rayna Gillman's techniques from her new book, "Create Your Own Free-Form Quilts," which is why I have all these wavy, wonky strips. She calls them "therapy strips," and she's right. It's easy, mindless, fun sewing -- great therapy!

Now I have to decide how to finish it. I want to leave the irregular outline, but I might mount it on this veggie patch fabric (above). The colors really pop against black, but I've been getting away from black lately in my work. I guess I'd better have some chocolate and think about it.

To read about Karen's challenge and see the vintage fabric, go to her blog post here: http://connectionsbykaren.blogspot.com/2012/01/fabric-challenge.html

Have a colorful day