Fussy Cut - Project Quilting challenge 12.2

This week’s Project Quilting theme was Fussy Cut, which means to cut your fabric in a way that features a particular motif or design of that fabric. 

I did a lot of baking this past holiday season and each time I’d emerge from the kitchen coated in flour, I’d tell myself I really need an apron. So when I came across this fabric while searching through my stash looking for something that lends itself to fussy cutting, I knew what had to be done. 

The waistband was made by fussy cutting each square of the various veggies and sewing them into an appropriately sized strip. Then the remaining veggies were ultra fussy cut to create the appliqué along the hem.
 

My sis-in-law unknowingly helped me name this when she made the comment:

Everything's Better with Garlic

I create in Casa Grande, 

Arizona

Check out all of the entries for this challenge at 
Project Quilting - Fussy Cut
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Illuminating + Ultimate Gray - Project Quilting challenge 12.1

 I'm thinking about calling myself the Maven of Mug Rugs when it comes to Project Quilting challenges.  That seems to be my go-to item for the last couple of seasons.  And this week, the first in Season 12 of Project Quilting, is no different.

Our challenge was to be inspired by Pantone's Colors of the Year 2021, Illuminating and Ultimate Gray.  The only rule is the quilt must be predominantly yellow and gray.  

While searching my stash of fabrics for yellows and grays, I came across some squares left over from a charm pack of Malka Dubrawsky fabrics for Moda.  Many of which were gray and yellow with a bit of white thrown in.  Perfect!

My time, and my supply of charm squares was limited so I knew I'd be making yet another mug rug.  But other than that, I didn't have a plan.  I just started sewing the squares together to make half square triangles.  I laid those out into a diamond setting and mug rug number one came together quickly.  I liked it, but didn't love it.  

I still had half square triangle blocks left.  So I put those together to create quarter square (hourglass) blocks.  Trying to lay those out into some sort of pattern proved to be much more difficult than I anticipated.  So for the first time in my quilting life, I actually allowed myself to sew the blocks together completely at random!  And turns out I love it!

Malka Mug Rugs

Size: approximately 5.5" x 8" and 6" x 9"

I create in Casa Grande, 

Arizona

Check out all of the entries for this challenge at 
Project Quilting - Illuminating + Ultimate Gray
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Vibrant and Vivacious - Project Quilting challenge 11.6

For the final challenge of this season of Project Quilting, Trish gave us the theme of Vibrant and Vivacious.

Since we are trying to stay home as much as possible, doing our part to reduce the spread of the Covid 19 virus, I had all sorts of ambitious ideas.

But as so often happens, life had other plans and I wasn't able to start my project until Saturday, giving me just one day to complete the whole thing.


I recently purchased the pattern "A Gathering" by Barbara Persing and I thought one of her quails might make a good choice for something vibrant.   I changed my quail up a little bit, but it is based on a block from this pattern.

Nightenquail

Size:  approximately 9" x 10"
I create in Casa Grande,
Arizona

Check out all of the entries for this challenge at 
Project Quilting - Vibrant and Vivacious
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Give it Away - Project Quilting challenge 11.5

The latest challenge for Project Quilting is "Give it Away".  We can make anything we want, but the finished item has to be given away.  I loved this idea and immediately thought about making gifts for the wonderful women who work at the Senior Day Club where my mother goes once a week.  They take such great care of her, and all the other  and I'm excited to give them something tangible to show my appreciation.

Ultimately I will make a total of three of these, but here is the first one, and my entry for the current challenge.

Thank you to Maria, Vanessa and Alice for all you do!!!

Thank You Tote Bag

Size:  approximately 14" x 16" x 4"
I create in Casa Grande,
Arizona

Check out all of the entries for this challenge at 
Project Quilting - Give it Away
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Birds in the Air - Project Quilting challenge 11.4

Project Quilting announced the fourth challenge of the season as “Birds in the Air”, which is the name of a traditional quilt block that uses two sizes of triangles combined to make a square block.  We were directed to either use or reinterpret this traditional block in our project.  

I have had the pattern, “Harrison’s Daybreak” on my to do list for a few years now. It is the 2015 Row by Row pattern from Beginnings Quilt Shop in Hendersonville, North Carolina which I picked up during a visit to my sister-in-law that year. This was the perfect time to finally make it.

I modified the pattern a bit to change the size (and number) of background squares so I could incorporate the Birds in the Air blocks. But even then, the background squares were only 3”, so I decided to draft a foundation piecing pattern to make the Birds in the Air blocks.

I am calling this

Sunrise Sentinel

Size:  approximately 15" x 39"
I create in Casa Grande,
Arizona

Check out all of the entries for this challenge at 
Project Quilting - Birds in the Air
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Put a Heart On It - Project Quilting challenge 11.3

For this third challenge of Project Quilting season 11, our theme is "Put a Heart On It".

I knew going in that time would not be on my side this week.  I had already decided whatever the theme, I'd make another mug rug.  So that is what I did, but it’s also so much more than that to me.

Reading the stories associated with the projects from our last challenge "Team Colors", I was inspired to continue in that vein for this challenge and create a piece that related to something close to my heart.

A heart for my mother, who I love.  Purple for Alzheimer's, and coincidentally my mother's favorite color.  And fragmented, just like my mom's memories.

Feeling Purple

Size:  approximately 9" x 7"

I create in Casa Grande,
Arizona

Check out all of the entries for this challenge at 

Project Quilting - Put a Heart On It

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Team Colors - Project Quilting challenge 11.2

The newest PQ challenge theme - Team Colors - was announced this past Sunday, the very same day the San Francisco 49ers became the 2020 NFC champions and earned their place at this year's Super Bowl.  Pretty much anyone who knows me is aware I’m a lifelong 49ers fan. So of course my team colors challenge project had to feature red and gold.

We will be hosting a small gathering at our house on Super Bowl Sunday so I decided I’d make a table runner for the occasion. And since I’ve always wanted to try a bargello quilt, I thought this would be a good time to attempt it.

I used Angela Walters’ Modern Bargello pattern as my jumping off point and modified it a bit to fit my vision.

After the top was pieced, I struggled a bit trying to find a quilting thread that worked with all of the high contrast colors in my quilt. I got some good suggestions from the brilliant and creative quilters in the Facebook Challenge Quilt group but soon realized I wouldn’t have time for any ambitious quilting on this project. So I ultimately decided to go with matching thread on each of the fabrics and used a simple continuous curve pattern.  It’s a quick and easy quilting motif with the added bonus of creating some football(ish) shapes within the design.

I’m calling this piece

Super Bowl Bound

Size:  approximately 20" x 47"

I create in Casa Grande,
Arizona

Check out all of the entries for this challenge at 

Project Quilting - Team Colors

click the link and then scroll down the page to find the entries