Project QUILTING - Quarantine Edition - Q.4

SPOTS


What are the details for this week's challenge, Joyful???

Trish was feeling a bit discombobulated and is having trouble tracking time.  Here's what she had to say about this week's prompt :

Honestly, I started with polka dots here. Because you can’t be anything but happy around polka dots – they’re lively, fun, a little giddy. Like champagne bubbles. Just what we need right now. But the more I thought about dots and how you could interpret them for the challenge … well, I thought we needed more.

What about imperfect dots? More like … spots. Like your favorite childhood puppy.  Like the markings on a cow. Like the speck on a map that means something to you. Spots.

Let’s see where that can lead you.

My reaction upon seeing the Q.4 challenge was...

Are you KIDDING me?!?!

I just made a spotty, dotty project LAST week!!!  Sigh... See:

What am I going to do, NOW?!?!

As I started my post, I developed a list of potential project names:

Dots and Dashes pattern
X Marks the SPOT
Tiny Bubbles...
Can you SPOT the Bluebird?

You just NEVER know what will spark an idea!!

Making that list of spotty quilt titles ultimately led me to this mug rug that I'm calling Spot the Bluebird:

But, wait!  There's MORE...

I revisited the baggy of scraps from last week's spotted project (and this week's mug rug!) and started pairing up bird bits with spotty bits.  After all, there are STILL quite a few more polka dot scraps in the bag that I can use for a more... um... challenging... PQQ Q.4 Challenge:

Pressing the random sewn bits was the next order of business:

There are even a couple of Dark GREEN dots for my RSC Quilter friends out in BlogLand:

By Monday evening the blocks were squared up...

... And I had a choice to make.  The layout above or below:

Tuesday afternoon, (thanks to confirmation from my newly returned design assistant!) I sewed the blocks into rows...

... But I managed to turn the top row around, ending up with something other than what I had hoped to achieve:

It's Wednesday afternoon, with the assistance of my handy dandy seam ripper, here is the re-finished top...

... And I've already cut batting, chosen a potential binding fabric (Thanks, Gayle!), and selected an off-cut scrap of backing fabric:

Then...

It was time for quilting...

... And (once I square up the quilt) applying the binding:

An out of the ordinary event then transpired.  For the first time in I can't even tell you how long... I stitched the binding down by hand:

I present my completed Q.4 challenge piece, Birds at the Window:

Is there a reason you participated this time, Joyful??

If you know me, you know there is ALWAYS a reason that I participate in these challenges.  This time??  I joined in because the sizzle of creativity coursing thru me during challenge week has been spilling over into the "off" weeks and it's somewhat addictive. 

Here is my freshly bound entry, gracing my Gallery Wire...

... And a shot closer in:

Looks even better as a Kitchen Quilt...

... And a close-up:

Now, I'm wishing that I had added sashing.  :o((

Off to link-up with the Challenge...

... With more than 2 days to spare!

Changed my mind.  I could have linked up, but chose to wait until Sunday.  Thank you to Kim and Trish for continuing to challenge our creativity during our Coronacation.  I really appreciate having something to focus on besides the day to day challenges of running  the house during a worldwide pandemic.  Got toilet paper?!

Sharing with Cynthia

for

Oh Scrap!

Until next time...
SEWing SPOTs!!!