Quilt Challenge Day 10 (the end)

We are at the end of the quilt challenge. It was supposed to be a 10 day challenge, but has taken me close to a month to complete. Talk about technical difficulties, family issues, and life challenges, including a bout of CoVid 19. Believe me, when you're sick from that, you don't care about your blog, your social media, or even your people. 

But this post is about these quilts, which really deserve to be together. They are sister quilts made for two granddaughters who really know how to be sisters. They wanted the quilts to be different but also to coordinate. Sometimes they share a room, sometimes they don't. And the girls have very different personalities. Anyway, here are the sister quilts. 

BTW, I can't match the girls to the quilts. I just call them the sister quilts and smile when I think of the girls. 

Aren't they "close but not quite" in color and design? You should see them on single beds in the same room. Perfect!

Quilt Challenge Day 8

 This quilt is the result of needing to use up scraps, in this case neutrals. To give it some contrast, I toss in lots of browns and just a few grays. I present to you, "Muddy Waters." It kept reminding me of the bayous and ponds in our area. Places where we went crawfishing, back when we were young. These days, we buy a sack of crawfish to boil or go to a restaurant where other people do all the heavy lifting and the cleanup. "Muddy Waters" is all improv--my favorite way to piece a quilt. It's fun, stress-free, and I get to make things up as I go along. When I'm finished with an improv top, I always quilt it using improv--whatever comes to mind is what I quilt, and I make it up as I go. I love making a "mistake" that turns into another motif!

Quilt Challenge Day 7

This happy cross quilt is one that I pieced on a trip to the Great Lakes. I always take a couple of easy kits that are cut and ready for sewing. When we return home they are quilted (or put into a basket where they may wait a bit too long.) I sold this one at a guild show a few years ago. It became a gift to a priest who was leaving one parish and going to another. Don't you think happy is a good description for this one?

Quilt Challenge Day 6

 And so it continues. Halfway through the challenge, I'm sharing this quilt that sold at a quilt show back when the museum was the sponsor. I don't know that this picture does it justice, but I barely managed to get this one. The technique, called "repeating Dresden plate" is one that I teach. It such fun to watch the plates create their designs as you put them together. Like magic!

Quilt Challenge Day 5

 I haven't forgotten about this challenge. Let me explain the whole "Mary" story. A real-life friend, who is also a Facebook friend, challenged me to show 10 quilts, probably in 10 days. I posted four days of quilts....four quilts. No one person liked, commented or otherwise acknowledged even one of my posts. Now it makes sense but at the time I thought I was just, well I'm not sure what I thought, but it was a little unsettling. No one? Not one like? Not a "uhmph"? So I quit posting. 

At Monday's guild meeting, someone mentioned that it might be a good idea. Nope, I interrupted. I posted pictures of my quilts. No one even bothered. At that point, several people started talking at the same time. "Well, I guess we aren't friends." "We are friends and you didn't post anything to me." "Maybe they aren't shareable." And so on. Hmm, I wondered. I got out my phone and sure enough, I solved the mystery. 

You know, I forgot that my posts are set to send to Richard only. It's just so I don't send out really ridiculous or obnoxious posts. A safety button, if you will. Safety buttons, however safe they are, won't allow you to pull the trigger. So while I did post my pictures, I also didn't pull the trigger. I suppose you could say I pointed the gun but didn't shoot. Well, shoot! (I don't like the analogy but I do use the expletive.)

So there. The quilt challenge mystery. Solved. In the meantime, I've been waiting for Facebook to catch up to the blog. Now my social media outlets are on the same challenge day. Five. It is day five, right? 

Quilt Challenge Day 3

A small modern quilt that I finally finished. (The tops are beginning to pile up somehow.) Quilting proved that straight lines are much too boring for me. Lots of fabrics, no repetitions.

Quilt Challenge Day 2

I made this quilt when my mom was fighting cancer and Alzheimer's. Life felt deeply depressing, so I designed it to give us both a little cheer. (I really need to take a better picture though.)

Quilt Challenge Day 1

I'm a scroller. You know how people post food and silly pictures and challenges and every little detail of their lives on social media? Well, this is my form of social media. The (I don't know, maybe 7?) people who come by.... you're my social media. I mean I have Pinterest and Instagram and, of course, Facebook. But Instagram is for when I'm stuck waiting and there are no old magazines from three years ago. Facebook is my grape vine, but I read with dubious interest. Pinterest, well, that's my game. However, I can play only so much, you know?

So, the reason for this post. A quilt friend did this ten day challenge of posting one or two quilt pictures every day. Just for fun, I suppose. A sort of online quilt show, if you will. Anyway, she actually named me as the next challenger. Now, how do you go about ignoring something like that? She named me! Okay, okay. I'm in. Here's what I posted. 

And there we are, the beginning of something I may not be completely committed to. 

Quilt Challenge Day 1

Thank you, Mary Coco.

I'll start with a quilt in progress. These are the first six rows of the Bernina Sugaridoo quilt along. Over 6,000 people from around the world are participating, so it's in pretty good company. I'm using indigos I've collected for a while, off whites and a touch of mustard. (Yes, momma, mustard.)

 

 

Cotton Quilters' Guild - February 2020

Welcome to the February meeting! We have lots going on. I have no idea how Maggie managed to get all this into one meeting. It was definitely fun! We started off by taking care of the business end of things but soon moved on to our January challenge. Each member got to choose a magazine from a couple of stacks that were passed around. Then we were told to turn to page 44. I'm calling it the Page 44 Challenge. Just because, there doesn't seem to be another title. On page 44 we were to find something that could be rendered into a block. (Turn the page if you have absolutely nothing.) I am not participating as I ended up with a mag that didn't spark my interest. I'm a little ashamed but I'll try to contain my regret. Time is too short, don't you think?

 These are the pictures I was able to get. 

Two of our members are participating in block of the month challenges. Irma is on the left and Pam to the right. They caught us up on their progress. 

Our February BOM is the busy bee block. 

And here is something that we're trying in an effort to get some of those UFOs out of the closet and finished. Members were to bring an unfinished project to the meeting, show it, and tell the rest of us what she challenged herself to do. I, for example, brought in the the Sherry Lynn Wood pieces that I wrote about here, explained what it was, and told them my challenge to myself is to return with a completed top. It's possible that some people will get farther than their challenges (I could have a completed quilt) but we encouraged each other to make the challenges possible goals. 

Of course, we had a learning presentation. Irma showed everyone how to make the fat quarter bag, which holds two regular-sized quilts. It uses six fat quarters, two yards of coordinating fabric and heavy elastic. I really want to make one, but where I'll find the time, I don't know.

And we moved on to Show and Share. Some of these may be tops that people brought in for the UFO Completion Challenge. So you may see them again. Can you tell which ones are quilted and bound? 

Voila! I figured it out....happily!

Remember that I went to a Sherri Lynn Wood workshop some time ago?


As you can see from this photo, I was a bit discombobulated by my work. I kept at it, but while there was something I liked, there was more I didn't like. People kept telling me it was good. That was nice, honestly, but I have to be happy from the inside. So I decided to put the whole thing on the design wall when I got home.

On the design board waiting for a plan

There it stayed and stayed. Life kept getting between me and it, including other pieces. Then last month I came up with a challenge for my traditional guild: bring a UFO/unfinished project to the February meeting with the intention of bringing it to an advanced stage for March. 

For example, I'll bring the SLW quilt pieces (that's my name for it for now) and tell the group I plan to bring it to a completed quilt top for the March meeting. Then in March I should commit to finishing the quilt for April. 

Reworking part 1

The problem was that I needed to get to a stage where I could make a commitment. What I had simply wasn't working for me, but I liked most of what I had. To add to the twist, I wanted to incorporate AHIQ's first challenge for 2020, hourglass blocks. 

I played and ripped and moved and added and subtracted and all sorts of crazy things for about three days. Then I read a couple of posts on the AHIQ blog and found the answer. Back to the design board, but with a plan I liked. Funny how a plan makes such a difference.

Reworking part 2

Reworking part 3

At this point (ready to go to the guild meeting) I have long strips of improv pieces that will be arranged in Chinese coins fashion. I've chosen a neutral brownish gray beige oddity for the background. 

  Final plan without the background

Once I arranged the strips in the order I wanted them, I pinned them with numbers, folded them neatly into a project box. Then added three stacks of magazines for the monthly mini (we buy tickets, the winners get to choose from the "minis" on the table until we run out) and even folded and stacked the two quilts I plan to bring for Show and Share. So I'm ready. Now to remember my phone, dues, and my stack of items. 

Build a Quilt Show -- Meet the people who make it happen

It takes a small army to put together a quilt show. In addition to men who are able to move heavy loads, figure out the archaic wooden system, and make the hanging system stand upright without falling on folks, there must be people to do a multitude of other things. 

Prepping boards to hang quilts include screwing cup hooks into 2x4s, sorting, labeling and putting clips on quilt bindings. Hanging quilts, keeping track of sudden changes, numbering them, creating a database, building, printing and folding a program. 

Hire judges. Arrange meeting time, lunch, and hostess gifts. Prepare rubrics, devise rules, math the scores, determine winners, pin ribbons/prizes.

Prepare for challenge blocks (which must be organized, introduced, collected, hung, tickets made, etc.) 

Sell raffle tickets for the opportunity quilt (which must be sewn and quilted; plus tickets created, passed out, sold, collected, etc.) 

Collect money at the door. 

Vendors are a whole entity of itself. Someone has create letters, forms and flyers, to send to prospective vendors. Collect, file and organize vendor information. Assign vendor areas. Check that everyone has a space, has paid for the space, and is not taking someone else's space. Collect door prizes. 

Collect door prizes, make sure everyone gets a ticket, pull numbers, announce winners, make calls to winners. Pass out prizes. Advertise vendors. 

Media people must inform the tourism commission, radio, television, newspapers. Facebook. Make and put out flyers. Build and put out signs. Get the word out by any means necessary.

Greet guests. Encourage people to "Do Not Touch the Quilts." Answer questions. Direct. 

Portapotty must be ordered, the truck must be met at delivery, a check must be available. Arrangements for pickup made.

A cake sale requires cakes and other sweets. So bake cakes, deliver, have salespersons who can cut, serve, and wrap cake. Someone who can collect money.

A treasurer must keep all monies separate, have change available, collect funds, make deposits, pay bills. 

Take down the show: remove and return quilts, break down and store quilt hanging system, collect stray items and return them, gather all the office supplies and cake items. Clean and restore room to original order. 

And there you are. People upon people who must work tirelessly for a week putting up and taking down a show so that the rest of us can enjoy the beauty of quilts.

Build a Quilt Show Series:

Getting Started, or A Bad Monday

The People Who Make It Happen

 Build a Hanging System

Procure Your Judges

And now my Red Is a Neutral challenge

AHIQ has a challenge going. Ann and Kaja discussed the possibilities and introduced readers to a couple of shows in which the makers used red as a neutral in their quilts. 

I love the idea! I really wanted to get started back in January but one thing and another got in the way. Finally, I lost my guild BOM blocks when they got caught in a flood of my doing. When that happened, it occurred to me that I could simply change the colors of the blocks and meet two challenges at once. 

So figuring it out took a while, but I rolled up my sleeves and got to work. I went from no blocks to five. At the time we had instructions for nine blocks. That left me four blocks when I went into the hospital. On Monday we received two more blocks, so I have to get back in gear if I plan to catch up.

I definitely do not have enough of these grays and blacks to make all the blocks, so I'll be adding more of these colors and mixing up the blocks when I put them together. Hopefully the quilt will have a coordinated scrappy look, not a disjointed messy look.

Do go by and take a look at some of the quilts other participants are making. I promised you will enjoy the show!

Minus Yards Challenge: and other goals

It's already 1/10/2017! I was planning to make plans for the new year. I guess it's time.  These plans will push me. Hard. But it's what I want for the year that I plan to retire. I want to grow, learn, read, make, write, do. 

Used in 2016:	97½
Added in 2016:	43½
Difference:	54 yds

• "Minus 100 Yards Challenge." I read a recent post on Something Rosemade  in which Rose challenged herself to use 100 yards of fabric above whatever she collected. I'm not that confident. I'm going to challenge myself to use 100 yards. Yep, that's it. Use up 100 yards of fabric from my stash.  (I almost did it in 2016.) Thanks, Rose, I think it's a great idea! 

• Increase content. I am an average gal. I can peck out about four posts weekly.  Oh, I can get five out, but not on a regular basis, apparently. I tried last year...I failed. I'll just shoot for my best and most but expect about four a week.

• More finishes.  Last year challenged myself to more small projects. Great win! I do owe two more king quilts to those boys of mine, so maybe those biggies and lots of littles.

From my scrap bin

• Use more scraps. When I said AmandaJean at Crazy Mom Quilts is my scrap inspiration, I was saying the right words. Wow, I used up some scraps. I'll use more this year.

• Keep track of fabric usage. Easy peasy: figure out how many yards I use for each project and keep track.  Win! I'm doing that again! Plus, it will help me stay on board for the "Minus 100 Yards Challenge."
• Pinterest. You know I like my boards. Winner! Going to continue through 2017. Hope you'll come along.

• Modern Quilting. Read more modern quilting books, maybe even write about them. Watch a few more Craftsy classes. Check out the free stuff on the MQG website. Definitely I want to sew more modern, improv quilts and this, I hope, will help me achieve that goal.  
• Read.  Read and read and read. Pick up those classics that I've been trying to get to. What a win that would that be! 
• Write.  Write on my blog but also write about other subjects. And write in a deeper way about my quilt journey. We'll see what I can accomplish in this area.

Things that went South in a burning basket and I won't attempt again this year.

Better photos. The impossible one. Really. I may have gottten worse. I tried a Craftsy class, huge failure. No excuses. I'm an idiot. Loss. Giving it up. Sorry.

And that's the plan. Or plans. All possible. 
Enough to push myself to read, write, grow, learn, do, make.

What plans have you made for 2017?