Tidy Up Tuesday - The Initial Challenge

Welcome to...  The 2019 DOQ Initial Challenge!!

This is Shawn:

Shawn is our Guild's Quilt Challenge King.  Each year (for the past 4 or so years) he has come up with an idea to... well... challenge members to make a quilt within certain parameters.

It's fun to think about.  Dream about.  Plan for.  The challenge for me is actually MAKING the quilt!!

In past years, we've done a Paint Chip Challenge where we chose our colors in sealed brown bags.  A Zebra Fabric Challenge had us all using the same print somewhere on the front of our quilts.  There was a Page Challenge for the Guild's 40th Anniversary where we gleaned inspiration from something found on page 240 (or 140, for shorter books) of a favorite book.

This year?  The challenge was for each participant to use their initial (or initials) as inspiration for a quilt.  Unlike other years, there were NO size requirements or other stipulations.  Your quilt could, quite literally, include your monogram.  It might be comprised of block names that begin with the first letter of your first (or last) name.  You can even link your color choice to your initials.  The connection is limited only by your imagination!

Deadline for the completed quilts?  The October meeting of the Durham Orange Quilters Guild.  Shawn devised this plan to attract members to the Annual Business Meeting. It's a meeting that is traditionally less attended.  Devious and genius all wrapped up into one!!  This year, the meeting will be held on Monday, October 21, 2019.  My goal is to have a quilt done by that time.  It's going to be SMALL, of that you can be certain.  :P

What can I do for the letter "J"?  There are any number of quilty things.  Let us explore the possibilities:

1. Jelly Roll Quilt
2. (Blue) Jean fabric
3. Jacob's Ladder blocks
4. Jade (green)
5. Jellybean prints
6. The letter "J"

Did you decide on being "obvious", Joyful???

Well... not exactly.  Meet "M" for Mosaic...

Brought to you by How to Draw the Letter M in 3D on YouTube.

... And "M" for my LAST name.  Now, THAT sounds like a plan!  I've wanted to try a mosaic technique for YEARS and this 3D version seemed like the PERFECT opportunity.  It just might be the making of a challenge quilt.  A completed one, perhaps.

My color selection?  Jack O' Lantern orange, of course:

That ties in nicely with my FIRST name.  "J" for Joy and "J" for Jack O' Lantern.  Orange is even on my "favorite color" list.  I call that a win-win!  Wouldn't YOU???

I'll let YOU be the judge of that.  Well... You and the Guild membership.  :P

Here it it in living color.  Fabric tiles stuck down with the aid of my friend's Sew Line Glue pen.  Thanks, Lisa!  I'm hoping that it MIGHT be finished just in time for Halloween or to brighten my studio any day of the year:

And then...

I needed to secure the pieces to the background.  Which is where another challenge came in!  My "Go To" machine had to go to the doctor for repair.  I tried to work with my "Quilting" machine, but wasn't pleased with the results.

Dee Dee to the rescue...

Upon hearing the dilemma, my friend allowed me to use her Pfaff to attach the tiny (fabric) tiles:

Quilting...

Binding...

Oops!!  I forgot to take a photo.  :o((


DONE!!!  With ONE day to spare before the Challenge was due.

Here it is on the table at Guild, waiting for additional competitors...

... Which arrived in dribs and drabs:

I would add the rest of the photos from the Challenge, but I've misplaced the cable that connects phone to computer.  Again.  :o((

SEW...

There you have it.  Another edition of Tidy Up Tuesday to close out this year's Guild Challenge project.  I've tidied away the orange fabrics and straightened up my sewing space until the next Scrapsplosion (thank you Mr. Domestic for that awesome new word!) 

This quilt is my first finish from my LIST for the Autumn 2019 (Ravelry) UFO Club.  It's particularly special to me since it's the FIRST TIME that I've actually completed a quilt designed for the Guild Challenge.  Yay, me!

Until next time...
CHALLENGE your quilting!!!