NEXT CHALLENGE

Hi Girls
I have asked Julie to set the next challenge.
Delia
I am sorry it is a couple of days late.
Do you agree if we make this challenges 3 months not two?
If so it will be due on the 1st May.
Delia

Delia #9 Challange Black and White

Sorry I am late posting. I just forgot the dates.

 This is my black and white challenge. It is a queen size quilt. I made it with the fat quarters I was given in a black and white swap a few years ago. I added the bit of red to give it life.

I also make this centre with some of the scraps that were over.

This was fun making.

Keep stitching

Delia

Jackie's #8 Challenge Oriental

I'm sorry this is so late. I was in Europe from mid Nov. to the beginning of Dec. & in Mexico in Jan.

It's a wall hanging done with machine embroidery (Kimono Art by M'Liss Rae Hawley). The hanging is done in cotton with a silk border. The thread is Sulky.

Joan Duggan #9 Challenge Black and White

I I call this "The Missing Piece". It is four feet square. The idea came from a bead project I was working on. The beads don't look anything like this - it just evolved. The black outlines are Japanese Kumihimo braids that I made from some thick and thin yarn which gives it an uneven texture. The hand dyed puzzle pieces are all stipple quilted. I like the contrast with the commercial black and white fabric. The shadow outlines aren't exactly what I'd hoped for.

Sue M #9 Challenge Black and White

For once I have finished my challenge on time. I started off thinking of Zentangles and this led to my final design.

It is inspired by one of the pieces my youngest daughter made in her final year of high school.

I've added a picture of the actual statue below. This piece, along with a few others are now residing in our garden. Quite a talking point amongst visitors when the see them for the first time.

I have used a variety of black & white fabrics to create the torso highlighted with black sating stitching.

The quilt measures 19 x 14.5" or 48 x 37 cm

Delia #7 Challenge Celebrate

I know I am late but this is my celebrate challenge. I am celebrating a dream trip that I took a couple of years ago to Canada. I brought this panel in Vancouver and have now put it together. It was not a big panel but I loved it. I did not want a wall hanger. So I cut each picture out and then added fabric strips around them to make it bigger. I now have a quilt I can cuddle up into at night and remember my trip.

It is 52' square.

Keep Stitching

Delia

Delia #8 Challenge Oriental

This is a postcard I made. I used a piece of bamboo for the feet to stand on. I cut the person out of fabric and used ribbon to do the umbrella. Quite simple but effective.
Delia

Next Challange due 31st of Jan. 2012

Hi Girls
Jaon has asked me to post this for her.

I would like to go back to colors. I would like the next challenge to be Black and White and one more color (any or all shades of that color).


(i.e. Black and white and red, or black and white and green)

I would like to take you up on your offer to post to the groups.

Thanks,

Joan

Sue M #8 Challenge The Orient

Sorry to be late revealing my challenge quilt. Life has been conspiring against me this weekend. My photo editing program decided not to work, I had to remove and re-install it.I'm happy with my little quilt, it's a very simple design, I think it may need a bit more quilting though. I'm thinking of adding some reeds or grasses in the bottom left hand corner.
The quilt measures 18.5 x12.5 inches.

Cheryl #8 Challenge Orient

This convergence quilt was made with fat quarters. Being a fabric junkie, I tend to purchase things only to say “What the heck am I going to do with this?” 

Typically you would use 4 different fabrics, but I really loved the Japanese print so in using 2 fat quarters of the same print I was able to keep both the koi and the flowers.

The gray fabric reminded me of stones in a pond. Selecting the 3^rd fabric to not interfere was a bit more difficult. I bought this fabric a long time ago. It’s actually white-on-white, but I was messing around with staining the fabric and soaked it in some red wine. Turns out, it was just the color I was looking for! 

The piece measures 34” x 30”

Margaret #7 Challenge Orient

The wall hanging is called Aspirations2 and the symbols from the top are prosperity,frienship,happiness,longevityand courage.

Margaret

Margaret #6 Challenge Our of Africa

The bag is for the out of Africa challenge. One of the ladies in our quilting group has a niece who does medical voluteer work in Africa and she brought back some fabric for her aunt to make some quilts for fund raisers so some of the fabric in the bag are left overs from that, the fabric had a very different hand to it but interesting to work with.
Margaret

Jackis #7 Challenge Celebrate

I decided to write the word "celebrate". I wrote "celebrate" with black ink and a 1/4" calligraphy pen. Then I traced it on black fabric using a light table and white pencil. Then I did reverse applique with different coloured fabrics underneath. I decorated it with foil, shimmer spray, pieces of glass, & 'jewels'. It's about 12"x12".

I hate to be late but this time I am caught out.

I have to admit I have been away most of the last two monts and have not done the challenge.
In saying that I am away again next week and I will take a machine wiht me and see if I can make it while away. It is my husbands fishing trip so I am hoping I can do some sewing.
I hate to be late and it is not me but this time I am caught out.
Delia

Cheryl #7 Challenge Celebrate

This was a very difficult challenge for me. At first I thought “Celebrate! There are so many things I can do!” it was more like too many things I could do and my mind couldn’t settle on one or how I wanted to represent it. I started off with a very literal translation, which led to a more philosophical translation, but then how to express it? I finally decided I wanted to do something with text. So without divulging the crazy workings of my brain I decided that my challenge would represent that Life is a Celebration, whether moments in time or the journey. I decided upon the journey, which reminded my of one of my favorite quotes, something one of the yoga instructors ends our class with:

Be Aware of your thoughts, for your thoughts become your words.
Be Aware of your words, for your words become your actions.
Be Aware of your actions, for your actions become your habits.
Be Aware of your habits, for your habits define your character.
Be Aware of your character, for your character defines your destiny.
                                                                             Author unknown

Since transcendental thinking got me this far, I decided to do something with  the ‘Om’ symbol.

It is reverse appliqué (I think that is what it is called-first time I have done this!) but I like the effect of the ragged edges after washing. I won’t bore you with all of the philosophical references I was making here. I love denim, and if I were a fabric, denim would be a good representation of me. I need to add some beading or bling. A jewelry-making friend is going to take me on a field trip to a bead shop, but I need to decide what I am eventually going to do with this piece. I may distress it a bit more…I was thinking of making a portable carrying tote to take supplies to class, kind of like the needle rolls. Hmmmm......

Bern Challenge #6 Out of Africa

Here finally is the quilt top for my Out of Africa Challenge quilt, The blocks are mostly from a swap I did about ten years ago with my online Southern Cross Quilters group (Scquilters for short). I sent out feature fabric that I had bought in bundles from the Unique Spool quilt shop in the US. These are what I call African tribal fabrics, made in Africa with African themes and bright colours.

My own block that I sent out with the African tribal fabrics is the yellow sunburst block, which is the third block from the left in the second row from the bottom of the quilt. I just love making the sunburst blocks and they are dead easy using paper piecing.

interspersed the pieced blocks with the African tribal prints and some suitable batiks and I am quite happy with how the quilt has turned out. I will say that I got lots of exercise running around the bed in the guest bedroom, constantly swapping the blocks over to make the colour balance work.

I am going to name the quilt " I know a place in Africa: in memory of Karen Blixen (author of the book Out of Africa)" since I loved the book and the film and more importantly Karen's spirit. The book was written in Karen's pseudonym of Isak Dinesen but I preferred to use her real name in the title of the quilt.

Here too is the back of my quilt. I learned from a wonderful fellow Australian quilter, Adina Sullivan, years ago, to try to match the backs of my quilts to the subject/colour of the quilt top. Quilt blocks that did not quite "gel" with the ones in the front were included as well as two prints, one of African women, that I had collected years ago, were used in the back. My friend Dolly is going to quilt the quilt for me on her Happy Jack quilting frame. I don't mind quilting small quilts but this is a queen size bed quilt! Leave such tings to the experts I say!

Sue M #6 Challenge

It has taken some time but my African challenge quilt is finally ready for display.

As you do, I did a google search for Africa and came across the Tinga Tinga drawings and paintings.They are the inspiration for my quilt.

The quilt measures approx 14.5 x 14.5 inches (37 cm square).

Miriam #6 Challenge Out of Africa

Miriam

Jackie D.#Challenge 6 Out of Africa

I've finally finished my Out of Africa Challenge. I enlarged a drawing from the internet. Then I coloured it with black water-colour oil pastel and quilted around the zebra and quilted the background. It's 15.5 inches square.

Tammy #6 Challenge Out of Africa

I took a class on African embroidery in April, so this was a great chance to use what I learned there. I loved the bright colors against black, seems to be one of my favorite colored combos.

Gudrun #6 Challenge Out of Africa

 Panel by North Cott, captured my imagination .
It was my first attempt at Trapunto  & thread painting.
It has been lanquishing.   I used bamboo from our garden, & found
broken camp bracelets to hang.

 I
 
It hangs above our dog crate.....the animals corner :))

Can not post in comments

Hi Girls I have been trying to post to your challenge but the blogger keeps looping me around to the sign in. I think they are all wonderful and I had hoped this would have been fixed by now.
I see two girls have managed to post a comment.
Is there a special way you have done it?
Delia

Delia #6 Challenge Out of Africa

I have been wanting to do an elephant with this technique for ages. So was perfect timing.

I drew the elephant out on sticky paper and then ironed to the black. Cut the pieces out with sharp scissors. Cut the elephant out. Placed a piece of yellow underneath the elephant and ironed together.  I than placed it on another piece of background and edged the piece with an African material. Thread painted around the cutouts and the elephant. I mounted the piece on a canvas.

Keep stitching

 Delia

Joan #6 challenge Out of Africa

Out of Africa - When I found the tiger fat quarter, I knew I wanted to use it. I used a curves technique that I learned in a workshop. The hardest part was getting the pieces to iron out flat.

Michele B #6 Challenge Out of Africa

"Lucy's Bones"


When I thought of this, I thought of Africa as the source of humanity, and the fossils that inform paleontology, especially Lucy. I thought at first of using images of the bones, then while playing around with an apple core template thought about how much they remind me of bones.

I'm glad I stopped at six pieces for the background! I love the look of the apple cores stitched together, but they're a real pain. It's all hand stitched - raw edge.

Sharon M #6 Challenge Out of Africa

For this challenge I experimented with color. I thought the blue zebra print was fun and I liked the purple fabrics with it. I changed my picture from a sunny day to a moonlit evening. I used some different yarns to embellish the grass and zebra manes and tail. I still have to quilt it...still thinking about how I want to do that.

Cheryl #6 Challenge Out of Africa

This was fun, and the timing was perfect! For this challenge I tried color discharging. My mom learned this technique in a class where her subject was a zebra and the results were amazing. Since she was coming to visit in early June I thought it would be fun to do something together AND get a tutorial. The discharging was a learning experience and I also had a chance to use some inks and paint for detail.

I have to give a shout out to my mom who is my inspiration. She has been a quilter for over 30 years and is very talented. Almost four years ago she lost the use of her left side as the result of a stroke. Not only did she have to learn to do everything with one hand, being a lefty she had to train herself to become right-handed. She has shown me courage and determination that I could only hope to possess. Below is the zebra she created in her class just a year ago. I am also including her African mask that she made as part of our project (my flash washed out the photo). She has since finished the project but I only have a photo of what she did while here.

Go Mom, I Love You!

This is the Zebra she did in class

Here is the African Mask

It's just about time Girls Important read before posting

Hi Girls

Can I ask you when you post to use the following format for the challenges.

This way they will all be kept in the right labels as in #6 Challenge.

I have been going through changing the ones that were not right but still have the earlier challenges to do.

This way if someone wants to look at the challenges it will be easy. They can at a glance see all the Challenges by looking down the side of the blog.

Example for Challenge postings below

In the Title line

Sample

Delia (your name) #6 Challenge  Out of Africa

In the Labels at the bottom of your post

#5 Challenge Delia (your name)  note no space after the #

For any other posts please put your name in the Labels area.

Thank you
Delia

Juat about time to reveal.

Hi Girls only a day or two and we can reveil our quilts.
It is exciting isn't it.
Delia

Out of Africa

Hi Girls how are you going with this Challenge?
Delia