And The Challenge Winner Is....

I thought I had mentioned The Challenge in an earlier post.  If I did, I can't find it now.  Oh, well....  The Challenge was issued during our drive back from Shipshewana in late June.  Deb challenged Kathy and me to see who could finish the most projects in one month.  Today was the Day of Reckoning - and what a feast for the eyes!

We had lunch first - always a good way to get together.  After catching up on family activities - car breakdowns, sweaty kids playing soccer, sweaty parents watching soccer, and other summer fun, back it was to review the projects.

Deb, who moaned about not having done very much, went first.  She took out one top, then another, then a table runner, then another table runner, then a pillowcase, and then the Farm Quilt.  She's always trying new techniques - the table runner on the edge of the couch is made from strip piecing three fabrics for the center diamonds - my kind of piecing!  For someone who hadn't done very much, she did quite a bit in between ferrying kids and visiting colleges with her son.  Here's her "not very much."

The quilt in Deb's lap was constructed using a tubular technique - way cool way to make half square triangles.  Take two squares of fabric, sew all 4 edges together, and then cut into quarters.  Way Cool!

What you can't see very well is the cute Farm Quilt - a kit she purchased at Shipshewana.  Just look at the hillside below -  

The faces on these animals are just wonderful!  I like the piggy faces, too - but can't get the picture rotated properly.

I went next.  Here are the results of my efforts.  The two Bazillion quilts - done quite quickly as they were panels, a Mickey Mouse quilt (in blue), a Minnie Mouse quilt (in pink) and a raw-edge applique block for a CSQ member on reaching 80 years young (looks like a part of my shirt - the colors are a perfect match!).  My first attempt at raw-edge applique and I loved the way it came out.

I still love those Bazillion dinosaurs - all the bright colors.

Kathy finished up the Show-and-Tell and boy did she have some stuff to show!  She wins the prize for completing the UFO that had been a UFO the longest!  She remembered moving it from her old house to her current house.  And she's been in her current house how many years - since 2003 or thereabouts, I think.

Kathy loves flannel and true to form, she has two flannel quilts - the plaid quilt that will be a raggy one (that's the UFO that is now Finished - well, almost - still needs to have the seam allowances cut so they ragg).  The other flannel quilt used a charm pack she supplemented with the wonderful purple flannel bought in Madison, Indiana last winter.  Who knew purple could be a neutral?  My favorite, of course, is the brightly colored pinwheel quilt that was inspired by a quilt we saw at Lolly's.  Lots of work (and rework) went into that quilt.  Well worth the effort, I say.

The most creative item was the jeans purse Kathy made from the remnants of one of her son's outgrown pairs of jeans. 

Don't you love the detail work on the purse strap?  That's using the cool tool she bought during our Shipshewana trek.  I forget the name of it but it makes chevrons out of several layers of fabric.  I'm so impressed as I often buy tools and then they sit around forever before I use them.

So, who won the challenge?  Kathy - for completing the oldest UFO?  Deb - for completing the greatest number of different projects?  Or me - for having projects closest to absolute completion with binding almost finished?  I think we all three won as we each got several projects completed and enjoyed another afternoon talking sewing and quilts.

Cheers!

Margaret