ProjectQUILTING - Season 15.1 - Bird House

Bird House

Welcome to The Joyful Quilter!!  And... Welcome to the wonderful world of Project QUILTING hosted by Kim Lapacek @ Persimon Dreams!!  This is my 4th year of participation in the Challenge.  Trish Frankland @ QuiltChicken is the creator of the crazy challenges that participants will face during the next 12 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.  As I have in past years, I believe that I will be dragging along my friend LeeAnna @ Not Afraid of Color again this season, as she enjoys having a reason to stretch her creative wings.  Would YOU like to join me in this creative journey, too?  

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 15.1 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 15.1 BIRD HOUSE

This week, I’d like you to be inspired by the myriad places a bird calls “home.” As always, this can be interpreted many ways: birdhouses, nests, birdcages, and trees could all apply – and you may take this theme anywhere else your imagination roams! If you can explain the connection (however tenuous) we’re on board!

We don’t have many rules, but please make sure you read through them and understand what’s going on. If you have questions, ask. Join the Challenge Quilts group on Facebook for a lot of encouragement and inspiration.

But most of all, have fun!

Step Two...

Put on my thinking cap to come up with an idea that meets the challenge.

Why, Joyful???

I have a Brid House orphan block in my stash.  Would it be breaking the rules to start with that?  I don't think so, since it's only a block as opposed to a pre-done quilt top.

Step Three...

Gather supplies:

I reached for my Dark/Bright GREEN Quilted Scrap Basket, as Angela from the Rainbow Scrap Challenge called that for January's Color of the Month.

Tutorial for these baskets can be found HERE.

Step Four...

Review the rules:

RULE ONE: Use the inspiration of a bird’s house for your project.

You have one week to meet the challenge. Every challenge piece must be a FINISHED project seen through from INCEPTION to COMPLETION during the challenge timeline – that is, started on or after January 7, 2024, and linked up by noon Central Time January 14, 2024.  Each piece must stand alone as DONE to count toward prizes.

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 Five... Any ideas?

1. A quilt modeled after last year's Welcome to the Neighborhood.

2. A new quilt for my Words and Phrases series.

Step Six...PLAY!!!

Every quilt begins with a background, so I dug into my light neutral scrap baskets:

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.)

Within an hour of the challenge's posting, here is the background that I came up with:

Where to next, Joyful???

 

That's a good question.  Keep reading.  With 3.5 days remaining until the deadline, I moved this project to the next stage.  The background was assembled:

But, my Bird House needs a roof!

How about this one?  "Quilting by Committee", the survey says... Very jaunty! of the selected topper:

Then, as the clock ticked down...

A day later, completing the binding was all that remained:

I tested a few options...

 And...

This was the clear winner:

With nearly 40 hours until the deadline, I present my completed entry for PQ 15.1:

There is usually a reason that I participate in these challenges...

... And this time, it was because my entry will make a perfect donation for our guild's Silent Auction at the Quilt Show coming up this Fall.

There you have it...

Process, product, and the REAL reason for accepting this Challenge.

Follow THIS LINK to the Season 15 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. I'm pleased to have joined the Link Party with 12 hours remaining until the deadline.  Yay, me!  :o))

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 planned out shortly after the prompt was announce but was finished with fewer than 48 hours until the deadline.  I did manage to link up with more than a few hours to spare.  Quite a departure from most of my PQ entries. 

Until next time...

Challenge accepted!!!

Sharing with Cynthia

for

Oh, Scrap!

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.)