We love quilt challenges! One of the best we've seen recently was the CIRCLES challenge, which has been traveling the country. Put on by the National Association of Certified Quilt Judges (NACQJ), the challenge was to create an original piece (up to 20") using the provided yellow and blue fabric cut into circles. There were so many creative entries. Which are your favorites?
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Circular Fusion by Maribeth Schmit (Cedarburg, WI)
Circular Fusion is a fun exploration of traditional and modern quilt design and techniques. The blue and yellow circles (the theme of the challenge) are used as punctuation, the focus being on the asymmetrial circular design. The straight-line quilting adds order to the design.
Double Complements by Andi Perejda (Arroyo Grande, CA)
Complementary colors add interest to artwork, as do fascinating fabrics! Andi Perejda says, "I decided to add complementary colors to our blue and yellow colors, using fabrics I had printed and/or dyed. So, violet and orange were used in conjunction with blue and yellow. Thus, a double-complementary color scheme was born!"
Inspired by Joan Miro by Linda Rasmussen (Monrovia, CA)
Joan Miro was a famous 20th century artist who combined abstract art with Surrealist fantasy. Linda Rasmussen says, "When I saw the colors that were to be included in this piece and the challenge of a cricle theme, I searched the internet for art that featured circles and bright colors. Who popped up but Joan Miro? One of his pieces inspired me to make this quilt. I loved the color and the abstract nature of his piece... this is my interpretation.)
Circling the Sun by Cindy Seitz-Krug (Luna, NM)
Circling the Sun shows the planets in their orbits, with fabric chosen to represent their appearances. A corner of the sun was placed in the upper left, and thread painting was used to denote heat and flares emanating from the sun. The names of the planets were quilted next to their image as shown below.
Dot-Dot-Dot by Phyllis Manley (Plymouth Meeting, PA)
A really interesting clamshell design, where colorful circles punctuate the curves of the black-and-white clamshells. Phyllis Manley says, "Working with circles is not always a challenge. I enjoyed using the "fused interfacing method" to make clamshells, then applique onto the background. I did not want the quilting to interfere with the design, so outlining the circles was an easy choice."
Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2025 Quilt Arizona show.
