A Pebbly Challah Cover

I took a break from chuppah-making this weekend to make a challah cover. In the middle of big projects, I often yearn for something small, easily envisioned, and finishable. Challah covers are perfect for this task, and I need to make a handful as wedding gifts. I used fabrics remaining from the chuppah to create this simple design.

At first I wasn't sure what fabric to use as the center and border. A plain white? A cream? A contrasting red? A bright anything? A pale blue floral? In the end, after multiple layouts, the cream with blue (a fq swap acquisition from Quilt Dad) won out, and I think it works well, picking up the blues in the dark colors without competing with it.

I like using challah covers to experiment with new quilting methods (they're small, after all, and therefore low-commitment). I opted for this pebbles design I saw cropping up in the blogosphere, notably here and here. I cannot claim to have mastered the technique, as I think I'll need to do it on a lot of challah covers before I try a larger quilt. I have yet to figure out the best way to move the fabric in circles or move from pebble to pebble (I'm all ears for tips). Nevertheless, I do like the look it creates.

I opted for a simple back, a yellow butterfly (or are they dragonflies?) pattern on blue. For the binding I used a turquoise and gold butterfly print I first used in a quilt for my brother, and now only a sliver remains.

In-progress chuppah pictures coming soon!