"Out of the Box" Challenge

It's DONE. And done is good! Last fall our Guild suggested that members challenge themselves this year with something that is new to us and out of our usual "comfort zone". There were no other "rules" - the choice was our own and we could challenge ourselves however we wished - colour-wise, skill-wise, technique-wise, whatever... I decided I would work with an unusual (for me) colour and I would try a new technique. As often happens, I spent a long time trying to come up with an idea. Then I saw something on Pinterest that caught my eye. It was a small quilt called Primitive Pumpkins designed by Rita Briner, and it had been published in the Fall 2011 issue of Quilt Sampler. It took me a few months to track down a copy of that issue - thanks to my friend Sue W. of Bathurst who kindly offered to loan me her copy, and thanks also to my friend Donna C. for delivering it !!
If you know me at all, you probably know my least favourite color is orange, so I knew that this would be the colour I would work with. And I wanted to not only use orange, but to make something I actually liked which was predominantly orange. I also decided it would be scrappy - meaning I would use a number of orange fabrics- I used orange orange, yellow orange, gold orange, rusty orange, peachy orange, coppery orange, red orange.. and I must say, I was a little surprised to find so many oranges in my stash. (As you can see the pieces are small so I have not significantly reduced my oranges...) Gathering the blacks was quick and easy. The only fabrics I purchased were the mottled black and the brown print used through the middle and in the border, and the green for the vine.
 I re-worked the design somewhat. The original design had the dark diagonal section off-centre, which also meant that there were more orange/black half square triangles on one side than the other. Call me anal, but this bothered my eye (apologies to Rita!) so I made the two sections even with the diagonal section centred. I also made the hst's smaller (2" instead of 3") and the borders narrower. The original design called for wool appliqué, and that was my plan until I had trouble locally sourcing the wools and time was growing short, so I decided to stick with cottons and do hand appliqué (which I have never done before, so also a personal challenge). I used the pattern for the pumpkins as given (original size) but felt the addition of some embroidered vines was needed. I stitched these in a variegated green cotton perle from Stef Francis - one of my favourite threads for embroidery. 
I enjoyed piecing the base- nothing too difficult or taxing there. Of course I used Thangles for the hst's - my fav. method. Placing them to get a good balance of the varying oranges was easily accomplished on my design wall and stitching it up didn't take long. So far, so good! From this point  on it was all "new territory"... Having never done hand appliqué before, I figured trying to quilt the piece after the appliqué was added would not be the easiest, and when no one replied to my question I posed on the blog here about why I shouldn't do it, I went ahead and quilted and bound the piece. (So all you hand appliqué experts out there- don't tell me now that I did it wrong!! lol) I backed it with a pretty fall print that I've had for a while.

The vine was a bias strip which was needed to allow the smooth curves. I folded in both edges and basted it in place before stitching it down. I added the pumpkins next, using the interfacing method. The pumpkins were drawn on a very lightweight interfacing, stitched to the right side of the fabric, slit and turned right side out. This gives you a smooth folded edge and the interfacing adds very little extra weight or thickness. A good portion of the pumpkin appliqué was done in the car on the way to and from Halifax last week. Then I added the pumpkin stems and before stitching them down, I added the threads for the vines so my knots on the perle cotton would be under the stems. Once the stems were appliquéd in place, I did all the vine embroidery.

Now the leaves. I purposely left these till last as I was not sure how I would do them. The original pattern for the leaves (to be done in wool) would not work as they were too small with too many curves (think oak leaf style). After trying a slightly simpler shape with both the interfacing method and freezer paper method with little success, at this point I was pressed for time so had to go with a very simple leaf. Not my preference but hey, at this point, (less than 36 hours left) it will have to do! I used the freezer paper method of cutting leaf shape out of freezer paper and pressing fabric over it, so that the seam allowance is turned under, then freezer paper is removed and you have your shape all ready to apply, with edges turned under. Twenty leaves... the last one was finished at 3:25 yesterday afternoon- a whole 3 hours and 5 minutes to spare before meeting time!! lol
So.. overall I'm happy with it. Despite all the orange, I DO like it, and even though my appliqué is not perfect, I am happy with it for a first effort. It measures 30.5" square.
This was a fun challenge for our group; 23 people took part, not a bad response. I liked the fact that there were not many "rules" - we could do whatever we wanted, as long as we challenged ourselves. And I think a little challenge now and then is a good thing...

Piece (and appliqué!)
Linda

"I like the challenge of trying different things and wondering whether it's going to work or whether I'm going to fall flat on my face." ~ Johnny Depp

Out of the Box Challenge

It's time to show you my progress so far on my Guild Challenge piece, lest you think I should put my machine up for sale. There hasn't been much time for sewing lately but I did get this together this week. The challenge is for us to do something that's out of our normal comfort zone, to challenge
ourselves with a new technique or whatever... to stretch ourselves skill-wise. So I chose two "personal challenges". First was to do something with orange. I hate strongly dislike orange. All my quilting buddies know that I do not "do" orange. If we are doing a swap or exchange, or blocks for each other, they all know - no orange for Linda. So I figured it would be good
for me to force myself to do something tasetful with a color I find very DIStasteful. (I don't even eat oranges, but that's another story..) So I have pieced this base with many orange and black 

half square triangles. Like red, I discovered orange does not photograph that well. This photo is not a true representation of what I have (some here look a little too red)... so you'll just have to trust me on this one . There is a good variety of oranges- bright and dull oranges, yellowy oranges, rusty oranges, red-oranges, gold-oranges, coppery oranges.. okay, you get the picture- for a person who doesn't sew with orange, I found a darned good selection in my stash without having to buy any. (I did solicit a few from my friend Susan D - thanks darlin'). This square presently measures 24"- it will be a bit larger as there are two borders still to go on.
My second challenge is to add some appliqué. My first intention was to do some wool appliqué, but now I'm having second thoughts. I might try some hand appliqué with cottons instead. (I have never hand appliquéd, so don't be expecting great things!!) Still not 100% sure.. so you'll have to stay tuned to find out... What are you working on?

Peace,
Linda

If you do what you always did, you will get what you always got.

Another finish and a new start...

Another book read and crossed off my list. Mistress of the Sun by Sandra Gulland is the story of Louise de la Vallière (known as "Petite") who becomes the mistress of the Sun King,  Louis XIV, in his younger years. This is the first of Gulland's books I have read, but it won't be the last; I have now added her well-known and internationally successful  Josephine B. trilogy (the story of Josephine Bonaparte) to my list.
If I had to determine the genre of this book, I suppose it is first historical fiction, but it is also a story of love and passion - the story of young Petite who falls hopelessly in love with Louis XIV. Petite rises from the lower ranks of French aristocracy, and becomes a lady-in-waiting in the French Court. Her passion for horses and two "chance happenings" bring she and Louis together. Before long they give in to their desires and become lovers. Petite soon realizes that, as Louis says, "all is not what it seems" in the French Court. Can their love endure the challenges of lies, deception, betrayal, evil and sorrow ? Petite is more in love with Louis the man, than Louis the King... Can she hold on to him as their love begins to unravel?
Gulland has developed her characters so skillfully; it is easy to feel the intense emotions that grip the characters. Many fascinating details of life in the time period, and in the French court, are evidence of the author's dedication to meticulous research. I love a story written with attention to detail.. this one fills the bill.
Mistress of the Sun  also gives a look at the beginnings of turning the country hunting château of Versaie into the grand Palace of Versailles, although not in much detail. To Dance with Kings by Rosalind Laker goes into much more detail on that, and it's on my "Read Soon" list. I visited Versailles many years ago, I'd love to go again... I'm quite sure I'd appreciate it a bit more now... and I'd certainly take a LOT more photos...

Last batch of Half Square Triangles, made with Thangles

I have started working on my Guild Challenge project, which must be finished for our May meeting. We are supposed to do something "Out of the Box", meaning out of our comfort zone, something we don't normally do. So I have chosen to work with a color I rarely use, and a technique which is quite popular these days, but I have never done it (well actually, I did try it once but never finished the piece.... so I'm giving it another try.) I don't really want to reveal what I'm doing, but I'll give you little updates and perhaps some sneak peeks... First step- 80 HST's made, all scrappy. Tomorrow, more cutting and some strip piecing, then I hope to make some headway on piecing the top together, or at least get it all laid out. I hope other members are doing this challenge - it's always fun to view them all and see what others have done to "push" themselves. I haven't heard many people talking about it - let's hope there is good participation  - maybe everyone is keeping their project under wraps like I am...?
While cutting fabric today, I came across something I had never seen before- on the selvage of a recently purchased VIP cotton were the words "License is required for any use beyond individual consumption." Have you ever seen that on fabric before? It was a first for me...

Peace,
Linda

"And though she be but little, she is fierce." ~ Shakespeare