Year of the Horse
Welcome to The Joyful Quilter!! And... Welcome to the wonderful world of Project QUILTING hosted by Kim Lapacek @ Persimon Dreams!! This is my 6th year of participation in the Challenge. Trish Frankland @ QuiltChicken is the creator of the crazy challenges that participants will face during the next 8 weeks.
Sassy @ Farm Quilter got me started at the beginning of Season 11 by inviting her readers to join in the fun. I accepted her invitation and the rest is history. I'm not sure if I will be dragging along my friend LeeAnna @ Not Afraid of Color for this season, as she has had some other things on her mind recently. Would YOU like to join me in this creative journey? I believe that LeeAnna is up for the challenge, but we'll have to wait and see.
BEWARE: It's a wild ride, but oh SEW rewarding!
Challenges are given and start to finish you have ONE WEEK to complete your project. PQ 17.3 can be found at THIS LINK:
Step One...
Read the instructions to see what is required of the first challenge. Here's what Trish had to say:
PQ 17.3 YEAR OF THE HORSE
Chinese New Year is coming up on February 17, and we're entering the year of the horse.
This week I'd like you to find your inspiration there - in the turn of a year, in the animal, in our hopes and desires for the near future.
Step Two...
PANIC!!! Just a little bit. Do I have any horse fabric? Will I be able to make a horse-themed project if the answer is no? I think horses are beautiful creatures, but they have never been "my thing." Wish me luck on coming up with an idea to meet this challenge!
Step Three... Relax.
I decided to stare by rereading Trish's prompt instructions. Slower. Perhaps, I'll go for the abstract concepts she mentioned or... Maybe I'll just go on a hunt for some horse fabric to remain firmly planted in the literal prompt suggested to us.
Step Step Four... Any ideas, Joyful???
Well... Once the fabric search turned up this fabric...
I was able to let ideas flow.
Step Five...
Review the rules:
Rule One: Find your inspiration from the turn of the year, in the animal, in our hopes and desires for the near future.
Projects need to be created during the week of the challenge (started on or after February 1, finished by February 8).
Your project does not need to be a traditional quilt, but must meet at least one of these three requirements:
Incomplete or unfinished does not qualify. Every challenge piece must be a FINISHED project seen through from INCEPTION to COMPLETION during the challenge timeline.
Link up by Sunday, February 8 at noon CST
Each piece must stand alone as DONE to count.
Your project does not need to be a traditional quilt, but must meet at least one of these requirements: include patchwork, include appliqué, have 3 layers stitched together by hand or machine.
Incomplete or unfinished does not qualify. Every challenge piece must be a FINISHED project seen through from INCEPTION to COMPLETION during the challenge timeline.
Step Six... Gather Supplies:
As a nod to the February Color of the Month for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, I'm hoping to use some of the scraps in (Yucky) GREEN Quilted Scrap Basket. Tutorial for making a basket of your own can be found HERE on the blog:
Step Seven... Search for the "perfect" scrap of fabric!!!
I saw it in the recent Scrap Infusion from Cheryl (or Candy or Ruth S.), but I'm afraid that I might have passed it on to Carol.
THREE DAYS LATER...
Step Eight... Admit defeat!!!
That scrap of horse fabric is NOWHERE to be found. :o((
Step Nine... PLAY:
With the fabric purchased specifically for this project. I'm not happy about the fact that I felt compelled to go out and buy horse fabric, but there you have it. This is what I bought:
Once the focal print was in the house, supporting characters were auditioned:
Here is a bit of my construction process...
(Scroll down to the bottom of the post NOW, if you don't care to see a blow by blow of the making of my quilt.)
What's the plan, Joyful???
That's a really good question.
Two MORE days passed...
Before the design process began in earnest. This was my starting point:
On Saturday afternoon, with less than 24 hours remaining, things happened quickly...
I determined that the "grass" fabric wasn't working in the developing quilt layout. Fortunately, my Big-ole-Bucket of Batiks coughed up two colors that coordinated well with those found in the horse print:
However, I was not quite satisfied, so the altered the layout:
While I liked the portrait shape of the layout above, there wasn't quite enough of the scraps I'd selected so another adjustment needed to be made, but was quickly sewn up afterwards:
Backing and batting scraps soon fell into place. Pin basting followed:
For the quilting, I did something I haven't done in quite some time...
I did some free motion quilting!! Perhaps, not well, but DONE is better than PERFECT!!
After the quilting was done, the quilt was squared up for binding:
Scrap options for said binding were slim. There wasn't enough of either of my top choices:
The choice very nearly became the horse print, but...
I found a fabric in my stash that worked well with the light side of the quilt...
As well as with the dark side of the quilt:
By the time all that was done...
It was time for bed. The limits of safe sewing time had already been tested. I head up to the studio right after breakfast in the morning to make the final binding decision.
Wonder of wonders...
(Considering late start) I managed to complete my entry for PQ 17.3. Here it is:
My project measures 24" wide x 15" tall.
There is usually a reason that I participate in these challenges...
... And this time, it was because I'm stubborn and refused to throw in the proverbial towel on my entry and miss the ProjectQUILTING challenge deadline for the first time since in all the years that I've been participating!!
There you have it...
Process, product, and the REAL reason for accepting this Challenge.
Follow THIS LINK to the Season 17 overview. Check back on the Challenge release days (or sign-up to be notified automatically) and there may be one that YOU just can't resist.
It's a SHORT turnaround time!
Depending on the size and complexity of your project, that doesn't HAVE to be insurmountable. With a little creativity and a few evenings, you really CAN do this! My project was a long haul this week, but was finished with LESS THAN 2 hours until the deadline. I thought last week was a little too close for comfort. This one only made the Link Up with just less than an hour and half to spare. YIKES!
Until next time...
Challenge accepted!!!
Remember: If I can do this, YOU can do it, too!
(Plus, there's a spot to post your completed Project QUILTING inspired projects AFTER the deadline for any of the challenges.)
