Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Contests Get Me Started

Recently I saw a posting, probably on FB, about a Quilt Contest.  Probably the only kind I raise an eyebrow about, if I may be so honest.  The Quilt Alliance is having this contest...themed "Animals We Love".   Pix of my start will be below the text. I am not positive I will enter this one, as I didn't enter the last 2 contests that got me started, got my juices flowing, got me INTERESTED in....well....everything!

In 2009, I think, I came across a contest....go to this link to see all of that wall quilt I made and finished.

Way back in the 1970's there was another contest.  Make a quilt about California, I think. Or what the state means to you....something along those lines. Back then quilting was still all about piecing, sandwiching and hand quilting.  So I made up a center of Bear Paw blocks. Then I made up a whole bunch of Pine Tree blocks to go all around the center Bear Paws.  The fabrics for both blocks just leaped off the shelves and into my arms. 2 different prints for each. [Not a lot of choices back in the day]

I then wanted to do Flying Geese to represent the Pacific Flyway. The Bear Paw was for the state flag, the trees for the ...well....pine tress of which I love.  The final thing I wanted to add was something to represent the Poppy, the state flower.  Of course there were no patterns for that back then, so my mom helped me try to create one.  BUT...I just couldn't find fabrics that suited either the geese or the poppies.  I was stumped.  I was disappointed, I did not finish that quilt.  In fact I recently gave it to Goodwill, the whole bag of stuff, my pattern drawings, everything.  I know, terrible.  But it hung over me, and no one in the family gave a shit about it, didn't see the importance of it to me....Well, except Mom and she is gone.

So maybe the 3rd time is the charm, and I will complete this one AND enter it!




Cat Colors
My project-keeping was getting out of hand...and all those ceramic dishes were weighting a ton.

So I 'filed' the threads for the tree and river piece I have been working on.
Back to the "Cat".  
These are the colors of my cat, Precious. [daughter named her long ago]
All woven tog.  First line of stitching done. Heavy thread, not something I would usually start with..
have to show the back
I am stitching to Batt.
I love those colors of the thread on the right...but I wasn't loving how the fabric looked going the other direction. So I broke out the sewing thread, "Essential" from Connecting Threads.
I am stitching in the same direction, but at the other end of the 'squares'.
Picture of the heavy thread, the row in the second from the top of the picture, that I didn't care for.
I don't know how much of the quilt I can show you, the rules state that the Alliance gets copyright's to the final quilt, but the maker keeps copyright to the pattern.  But hopefully I can show you progress pictures....
Have you guessed what my Animal will be?

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