So this whole thing starts with a theme. This week's theme is "8". And. oh, I'm sorry! I meant to identify where you can find this challenge, just in case you wanted to jump in next week. Or any week between now and the end of March (I think). If you go to PersimmonDreams.com, it is call Project Quilting Challenge.
Anyway, back to me! ;-) I decided to use polka dotted fabrics and my idea was to have 7 polka (love the dots AND the dance!) dots, and one striped fabric. Seven dots and one stripe equals eight. So if you look at Monday's post you can see that I picked the dots and the background, but I didn't come up with a stripe from my stash of fabrics that made me happy. So I was going to go to a quilt shop that I was quite sure would have the perfect stripe. This particular shop is closed on Mondays, so I would go on Tuesday. Interestingly enough, even though it wasn't posted on her website (grrr), the owner had decided to have the carpet cleaned and so the shop was closed on Tuesday. Wasted trip. BUT on Wednesday she was open again (I called ahead to make sure!), and so I went again and I shopped. I found some more polka dots I liked. And in my defense, I am thinking that if at all possible I will use dots in all of the challenges and then the quilts will be a series. Am I right?
But I did not find a stripe I liked. I did get a quarter yard of a piece of fabric that worked for me color wise, but I couldn't quite make it work as a title.....7 Dots and Some Flowers? That "some" doesn't make any "8" sense. So I am really glad I only got a quarter yard!
Anyway, back to me! ;-) I decided to use polka dotted fabrics and my idea was to have 7 polka (love the dots AND the dance!) dots, and one striped fabric. Seven dots and one stripe equals eight. So if you look at Monday's post you can see that I picked the dots and the background, but I didn't come up with a stripe from my stash of fabrics that made me happy. So I was going to go to a quilt shop that I was quite sure would have the perfect stripe. This particular shop is closed on Mondays, so I would go on Tuesday. Interestingly enough, even though it wasn't posted on her website (grrr), the owner had decided to have the carpet cleaned and so the shop was closed on Tuesday. Wasted trip. BUT on Wednesday she was open again (I called ahead to make sure!), and so I went again and I shopped. I found some more polka dots I liked. And in my defense, I am thinking that if at all possible I will use dots in all of the challenges and then the quilts will be a series. Am I right?
But I did not find a stripe I liked. I did get a quarter yard of a piece of fabric that worked for me color wise, but I couldn't quite make it work as a title.....7 Dots and Some Flowers? That "some" doesn't make any "8" sense. So I am really glad I only got a quarter yard!
Well, then I had to go searching through my stash again. I could use a plaid. 7 Dots and a Plaid still works. In the end I spent far too much time angsting over what to choose. I auditioned several different plaids and some stripes that had not been previously considered.
None of these. But I did end up with one that would work.
When I was considering whether or not to engage in this challenge, I was pretty unsettled about the idea of being able to come up with a plan, do the work and complete a quilt in a single week. But I got the top done, and the back done yesterday.
When I was considering whether or not to engage in this challenge, I was pretty unsettled about the idea of being able to come up with a plan, do the work and complete a quilt in a single week. But I got the top done, and the back done yesterday.
I was origingally going to use this purple polka dot in the top, because I really like this piece of fabric. It is O-L-D, and I have really liked it for too many years (It is from the last century! ;-D). I know this because it had some pretty ugly fade marks along the fold lines.
So there was nothing left to do but cut around the fade lines and use the poor thing up. So now there are just a few little scraps in my scrap bin awaiting their turn in a scrap quilt. And the stripe is the one I chose for the front, and now it too is completely off of my shelves and the bits and pieces are in the scrap bin.
I layered up the quilt this morning, and this afternoon I completely quilted it. You might notice, if you compare which dots ended up in the quilt against the picture of the dots that I had originally chosen, that a couple got changed.
I layered up the quilt this morning, and this afternoon I completely quilted it. You might notice, if you compare which dots ended up in the quilt against the picture of the dots that I had originally chosen, that a couple got changed.
Tomorrow I will square it up, put on the binding and sew in the thread ends. It will be done in time for me to try and learn how to post the final picture using Flickr before 11 a.m. CST on Sunday......... I'm hoping for one of the prizes! Hey! It doesn't hurt to hope!