HOURGLASS
Welcome to The Joyful Quilter!! And... Welcome to the wonderful world of Project QUILTING hosted by Kim Lapacek @ Persimon Dreams!! This is my 3rd year of participation in the Challenge. Trish Frankland @ QuiltChicken is the creator of the crazy challenges that participants will face during the next 6 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 for the past two years, 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?
FAIR WARNING: 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 15.4 can be found at THIS LINK:
Step One...
Respond negatively, in the form of a loud groan, as the Hourglass block is one of my least favorite to make.
Step Two...
Read the instructions to see what is required of the fourth challenge. Here's what Trish had to say:
PQ 15.4 HOURGLASS
It’s one of the most common yet foundational of geometric shapes: the hourglass. Just two triangles stacked tip-to-tip. Put them inside a square and it’s a block even beginners can sew.
But it’s also a symbol
embued with meaning – representing the passage of time, a reminder of our inevitable mortality.
She went on to say the following:
... let’s instead consider the hourglass as an idealization of the womanly form and the lusty virtues of youth. (There was more, but you'll just have to visit Kim's blog to read the rest of the post for that!)
Step Three...
Reevaluate and consider the possibilities. This could be interesting.
Why, Joyful???
Well, I'm feeling a LOT better about the project. You will see the reason for that as you read on. It's definitely proving to be an interesting challenge!
Step Four...
Head to the studio to gather supplies:
(Although, at this point, I don't have a CLUE as to what I might do with those fabrics!) I'm not even sure what color I want to use this time. My only thought is that I really don't want to use any of the scraps in my RED Quilted Scrap Basket. That's the Color of the Month for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, but I have decided that I really don't want to include it in this week's challenge quilt:
Tutorial for these baskets can be found HERE.
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Step Five...
Review the rules:
Rule One: you must use an hourglass SHAPE in your project, but you do not have to use the exact hourglass BLOCK.
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 February 18, 2024, and linked up by noon Central Time February 25, 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.
Step Six... PLAY!!!
I began by sorting through a scrap bag sitting on the floor in front of my scrap station. I looked for bits that would spark some sort of idea for my project. (Nope! Nothing yet.)
Step Seven... PANIC!!!
Yep! I've sorted through the RED basket AND through the bag of florals and I've still got absolutely NO IDEA what to do. Off to grab another of the bajillion scrap bags in my studio...
Step Eight... Get to work!!!
With only 3 days until the deadline, one of the floral fabrics called to me and I selected a coordinating piece from my scrap stash:
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.)
I cut a couple of strips and tested out my idea:
The clock was ticking and just 48 hours prior to the due date, I decided that my idea might work, so I stitched the quadrants together:
After trimming it looked even better:
The next task was to choose backing, batting, and binding scraps:
With only a single day until the deadline...
My entry was layered and ready for quilting:
With little more than 18 hours before the deadline, my entry is...
Quilted and ready for binding:
Finally, my project was done...
I'm SEW pleased to present my completed entry for PQ 15.4:
~ 7" square
Here's the back and, as you can see, my quilting accentuated the Hourglass theme:
There is usually a reason that I participate in these challenges...
... And this time, it was because I needed to face a quilt block that I typically try to avoid (at all costs.) ProjectQUILTING gave me a challenge prompt and it felt personal this time! Yes, I made a small project and only made a single block, but I met the PQ challenge - my own challenge at the same time. As a bonus, I enjoyed working with an unusual color combo which was encouraged by the floral print:
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.
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 begun about 4 days after the prompt was announced and was finished with not quite 24 hours to spare! My post wasn't ready for release until 9 PM the night before the deadline. Since I have a thing about releasing my post on Sunday, it waited overnight for its scheduled release time and then I will join Kim's Link Party.
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.)
Joining Cynthia
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