Monday, July 28, 2014

It’s a challenge

Last weekend we held our annual informal Friends Challenge.  This gives us an excuse to meet together with friends we see rarely, travel to a quilt shop, and spend the day having lunch together, shopping, and sharing our interpretation of the year’s challenge.

This year the challenge was to make a piece incorporating a 12” block, a 6” block, a 3” block and a star. 

Here’s my piece:

Challenge 2014

The fan blocks are 6”.  The centre is made up of four 3” blocks, and the star measures 12”.  I foundation pieced the fan blades from my collection of plaid fabrics, naively expecting that this would “use them up”.  (We never learn, do we!)  Then I indulged in some feathers for the quilting.  The piece is about 25” square – haven’t decided whether it will go on a table or on the wall. 

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Finished at long last

Many years ago (at least 15, possibly 20) as president of our local guild  I issued a challenge to guild members.  Details are vague in my mind, but selecting fabric colours using the first three letters of our names was part of the challenge.  This  gives me L, O and U – from which I somehow produced a piece that includes purple, white, green and yellow.  Perhaps Lavender and Lemon?  What could the others have been?  I remember paging through my dictionary and being elated at finding a U word that fit the bill – I wonder what it was?

At any rate, the piece is finally completed thanks to the contributions of a friend who stitched the hanging sleeve in place yesterday.   The hexagons are patterns from Sara Nephew’s book Stars and Flowers: Three Sided Patchwork

This quilt is one of what I originally thought to make as a 12-month set of hangings to fit the space over the fireplace in the living room. Only eight more to go!!  (I do hope the rest don’t take me 15 years apiece…) 

Mantel quilt 3 hex

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