Embrace Your Inner Orange

This is the wall hanging I submitted to the Utah State Fair Quilt Challenge yesterday. It’s one of the scariest things I've done all year. I’ve entered this competition every year since 2007, which makes this the tenth quilt I’ve offered to the judges for criticism or praise. So far most of their comments have been lovely, and the ribbons have been nice, too.There have been two blue and two white; the rest are all red. And yet every year the week before the state fair opens I fret that there won't be any ribbon at all. When they first showed us the challenge print last September, it seemed to be crying out to be displayed with more vivid oranges. Bright, clear oranges were missing from my stash, so most of the year was spent collecting prints in pumpkin, carrot and tangerine. The finished product contains fifteen different orange prints, plus one lime green to keep things interesting.