Rays of Summer - After all the pieces were up on the design wall I decided I wanted the finished quilt to be round. It still needed another design element so the kaleidoscope triangles were added around the outside. About then I realized I would have to solve another problem in order to hang it on the wall so all the points didn't flop inward. The only solution I could think of involved sewing little triangle pockets on the back at the end of the triangles to hold dowels that radiate from a home made disc (kind of like a tinker toy) that my nice husband manufactured for me. I really enjoyed this project and the finished piece looks great above our fireplace.

Butterfly Effect - I'd never done a pictoral quilt like this one and didn't know quite how to piece it, so I decided to fuse the elements together and satin stitch. The blue in the hands on the butterfly wings and the spots on the wings are two fabrics from the Fabric of Life Projct. I had a lot of fun with this challenge and like the fact that it also helped raise awareness of a good cause.

Fish - The quilt featured in QNM was made by Debbie Boyd called "Gazing Into Clear Water". I loved the design and colors and didn't change the design except to make it a little smaller. This was my first quilt and I remember getting lots of helpful advice at my local quilt shop on how to make half-square and quarter square triangles. The help they gave me was invaluable since I was pretty much clueless at the time. Thank you to Mary at The Sampler in Chanhassen, MN.