The quilting group I’m in challenged each other to make a quilt, using one color as the predominant color for that quilt.  We used the color wheel to pick out the colors we needed to make a good display representing the color wheel. We put each color on a piece of paper, dropped them in a bowl, and drew slips to see what color we were to use. I drew green. The challenge was to come up with an idea based on our color. ANOTHER CHALLENGE WAS THAT THE DESIGN WAS TO HAVE CIRCLES OR ARCS AS A PROMINENT DESIGN.

I was really excited about this challenge, as I started brainstorming what I wanted to do. I had been wanting to do the little frogs that I had taken pictures of at the Nebraska zoo. They are so cute with their bright red eyes. So, I decided to go with that. Red is the complimentary color to green, so that would make them pop. I also found through the years that I love quilts with circles. So, I was really looking forward to designing this quilt.

I decided on the size I wanted the frogs to be and then drew patterns, making them decreasing in size, so I could make it look like some were further away from us, giving the illusion of depth. I tried sitting them on leaves but I couldn't find anything I liked, so I tried perching them on the circles.  I liked that better and it gave the circles a reason to be there. I decided on some tropical leaves.  I had purchased a circular template. I used it to cut out circles from a manila folder so I could arrange them around the quilt until I got a look that I liked.

Once I had it all figured  out, ironed down, it was time to appliqué and quilt. This took more time contemplating then it did to do the actual quilting. I started with the leaves. They were easy to figure out. Then I did the frogs and the circles. The background was difficult. I decided on a spiral look in some of the circles and wanted some of the quilting to be circles like the images.