A Fabric Challenge!

My weekly quilt group held a fabric challenge. Two of us choose a challenging fabric at a local quilt shop. People had to use the fabric in any kind of project. The variety of projects will amaze you!

Bev O saw rock houses in the design and embroidered faces and doors on the fabric

When our member Joanne proposed the fabric challenge the group was willing to give it a try. Joanne and I went to a local quilt shop to select a fabric. We worked with the shop owner to find a fabric with lots of color and something most would not have chosen. When the group saw the fabric many were perplexed about what to do with it! But as you will see, they figured it out!

Shirley W. made multiple projects including a purse, a candle mat, a rug mug

Shirley W. used every bit of her fabric in these projects!

Lucy L. made a placemat 

Shirley L. made a color wheel

Linda W. made a pillow case

Linda P. made notebook covers

Karen C. made a baby quilt

Joanne B. made an original applique design. Note the use of the doily!

Sue S. made a sewing machine organizer; it goes under the machine and had pockets for tools

Theresa N. made a small quilt

Theresa N. also made a table runner

Verna's table runner

Madeline made a steering wheel cover for her car!

Cheryl's purse

Betty C. saw gumdrops in the fabric and found this Gumdrop quilt pattern

Sharon made a mug rug to match her favorite mug

Jan used the fabric in a Christmas ornament

Lucy made several projects including this fabric pin

Shirley K's wreath shows how the fabric against white becomes light and airy

Shirley K. transformed a Christmas wreath pattern into a spring-like wreath

Ladies saw turtles, houses,or gumdrops in the print; I saw mushrooms. I searched for vintage illustrations of wee folk painting mushrooms for my design.

I made an applique based on the illustration. I used fusible and hand applique, machine quilting, and also used colored pencil.

Quilt by Nancy Bekofske

The ladies look forward to doing this again! What will be next year's fabric challenge?

Almost everyone in the group participated!

Trunk Show

My sewing machine is waiting for repair. My sewing room is in turmoil after our move. I am the worst blogger ever, LOL.

But here is a trunk show of quilts from the closet: My Barbie Quilts.

Growing up in the 1950s, I of course had a love affair with Barbie. Or rather, Barbie CLOTHES. Dressing Barbie in those great outfits was most of the fun. The rest was the adventures we made up.

My first ponytail Barbie had those slanted eyes, and I thought they made her look villainous. She was NOT a heroine in our play. But the Bubble Cut Barbie was okay.

My Midge became 'The Boy From Mars', wearing the Gone Fishin' jeans and plaid shirt. Ken was a Dobbie Gillis clone, and Alan had plastic hair--ugh. My last doll was Skipper, so cute. Then I felt I was too old for dolls and they went into the attic. So I never got Twist n Turn Barbie or American Girl..

Horror of horrors, one day I came home from high school to learn that Mom had GIVEN AWAY all my dolls to the girls down the street!!!!! I was heart sick. No way could I ask for them back. After all, the family was large and the girls were sweet.

Years past and I was into my 40s when I made the decision I could play with dolls again. I made the first shown quilt by scanning Barbie, printing her on fabric, and dressing her. It is a small wall hanging. I later made another larger dressing Barbie quilt for a quilt guild ugly fabric challenge.

Once again I scanned Barbie and printed her on fabric. I fused he onto ugly fabric backgrounds. I used a collectors guild book to make clothes styled on her original fashions, but using more ugly fabrics. I kept to the ugly fabric scheme in the loud daisy border. Then I appliqued real Barbie clothes and accessories.

My Barbie Quilt won second place in the Capital City Quilt Guild Ugly Fabric Challenge. It went on to be juried into a major quilt show!

It is great to play with dolls, at any age.