More on the Painted Canvas Challenge

I wanted to add more photos of our latest challenge since all of our quilts have been (temporarily) stitched into one larger, 72" x 72" quilt.  As a group, we played with the arrangement of the quilts until we had a cohesive, balanced design:

The finished product!

The makers of each, from left to right, are:
Row 1:  Maya, Chris, Kathleen, Nancy
Row 2:  Torrie, Joanna, Erika, Deb
Row 3:  Maureen, Patty, Lisa, Caithlin

Here are a few of the individual quilts.  (I'll add the others in another post.)

Caithlin's

I love how Maureen's (left) flows into Patty's (right)

Lisa's

Patty's (detail)

Maya's (detail)

 I hope you enjoyed these, and please remember:  comments are ALWAYS appreciated!

Unveiling the "Painted Canvas (AKA 'Name That Challenge') Challenge"

The Fiberexplorations group met earlier this month and everyone brought their quilts for the Painted Canvas Challenge.  Back in February, we got together and painted a large piece of canvas (cotton duck), which was later cut into a grid (4 across and 3 down). That's 12 sections, one for each member.

The challenge was for each of us to create a quilt, 18" x 24", that used at least 48 square inches of the painted canvas. Later, we'll temporarily stitch these 12 smaller quilts into one large 72" x 72" piece that can be entered into shows as a "group" quilt.

For the unveiling, we arranged our individual quilts on the floor, according to the original grid.  (For example, I had the piece of painted canvas from position #9 on the grid, so my quilt was placed in that position on the floor.)  One person missed the meeting, hence the "hole" in position #4.

The Painted Canvas Challenge

I'm always amazed at the wide range of design styles and the individual ways a challenge is interpreted, and this one was no exception!   In some of the quilts, the painted canvas pieces blend so well into the quilt's design that it requires closer inspection to find them.  We wondered if a viewer could figure out what the challenge was (or find the common theme) if we didn't provide that info.  With that in mind, I suggested that we rename this the "Name That Challenge" Challenge quilt.

Standing above these quilts in the fading light, I tried to photograph them, but wasn't very successful.  This shot of Chris' and Maureen's quilts was the only salvageable one:

On left: Chris's piece.  One right:  Maureen's piece.

Look for the "Name That Challenge" Challenge Quilt at this summer's Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show on Sat., July 13.

Progress on "Painted Canvas" Challenge

 We're unveiling our finished pieces for the "Painted Canvas" challenge at next Monday night's meeting.  It took me awhile to narrow down my design ideas, but I finally decided to base it on this sketch from my design journal: 
  

Challenge idea from my design journal.

When the top was finished, I needed to decide how to quilt it.  I had four ideas in mind, so I made this quick crayon sketch of the quilt . . .
 
 

 then auditioned each of the quilting designs (penciled onto tracing paper) over it:

Possible quilting lines, idea #4.

 I decided to go with my first idea, where the quilting lines curve in opposing directions:

Chosen plan for the quilting lines.

  Here's the finished top before it was quilted:

Quilt top, before quilting

 I plan to add LOTS of quilting lines in multiple colors, and hope it complements the happy feeling I already get from this quilt.

Painted Canvas Challenge

What has the Fiberexplorations group been up to?  Getting ready for our next challenge, of course!

On Sunday, our group got together at Deb's for a canvas-painting extravaganza.  Using only primary colors, we painted a large piece of 7-oz. cotton duck cloth.  We moved around the table, rotating from yellow to red to blue, giving each person multiple opportunities to use the three colors.

Lisa decides where to paint next.

 Then we added white highlights.

All hands in!

 The finished cloth, after adding bold strokes of black.

Layers build up as we added details.

Hearts, fireworks, flowers, leaves, swirls, ladybugs . . .

A truly collaborative project!

The paint has had a week to dry.  At our upcoming meeting Mon. night, we'll each receive a bag containing a portion of the painted cloth.  Stay tuned to see how we'll use it in our next challenge!

Please remember that your comments are always welcome and appreciated.