Roaring to the deadline

CherryWood Fabrics held a contest.  Need I say more.  Ummm...yes - sign me up.   Of course, there was a nice lengthy time to enter before the deadline (a few months, I believe).  Per usual, I chose the work under pressure manner of creating - so in about 36 hours before the deadline - I was in.

It started like this.   It even came with a permission slip to encourage me to cut into those GORGEOUS fabrics....

And like a fearless lioness - I did just that. 

The theme was Lion King, The Musical.  If you had a chance to see any of their challenge entries from last year, based on the musical Wicked - they were amazing.  If you didn't catch it - by all means take a look.  Spectacular work.  I put the link below but you can google it and get even more things to peruse.

I was going to use the circle of life reference as my inspiration.

Finding all things circular for tracing

Lots of good choices for color

I toyed with this design but it was far too simplistic.  Didn't have enough "oomph".

So I mulled it over a night (wasted hours....) and then I got really juiced up and figured out a more complex and interesting design.  Which required...

A nice 9 degree wedge

The wedge really started working for me and I wound up with this:

 

I harnessed my super power : "working really fast under pressure" and the design began to form:

And eventually became this:

I called upon my secondary super hero power: "quilting the snot of out of a quilt".

And thus:

Mufasa is raw edge appliquéd with lots of tiny, slow quilting moves.

Totally worth the time....

Of course, what kind of sewist would I be without a little thread controversy....  Also per usual, I goofed a little (a lot) and had to do some unsewing.  Which leads me to my next tidbit to share.... I'm making seam rippers!!

I have learned how to turn these on a lathe and polish them into beautiful sewing tools.  If you've ever  held one of these in your own hand - then you know how good they feel.  If you haven't - you should absolutely take one for a test drive.  They feel luxurious.  I hardly minded unsewing while using this!!  More on this later...

So while the Mission Impossible them music played loudly - and despite the temporary slow down for unsewing, I was able to enter the contest (and I still had and hour and a half before the actual deadline!!!).

I'm pleased with my result (although those toes need some polish....) ...  What are you working on???

Wicked Challenge:Cherrywood Wicked Challenge 2015

Roaring to the deadline

CherryWood Fabrics held a contest.  Need I say more.  Ummm...yes - sign me up.   Of course, there was a nice lengthy time to enter before the deadline (a few months, I believe).  Per usual, I chose the work under pressure manner of creating - so in about 36 hours before the deadline - I was in.

It started like this.   It even came with a permission slip to encourage me to cut into those GORGEOUS fabrics....

And like a fearless lioness - I did just that. 

The theme was Lion King, The Musical.  If you had a chance to see any of their challenge entries from last year, based on the musical Wicked - they were amazing.  If you didn't catch it - by all means take a look.  Spectacular work.  I put the link below but you can google it and get even more things to peruse.

I was going to use the circle of life reference as my inspiration.

Finding all things circular for tracing

Lots of good choices for color

I toyed with this design but it was far too simplistic.  Didn't have enough "oomph".

So I mulled it over a night (wasted hours....) and then I got really juiced up and figured out a more complex and interesting design.  Which required...

A nice 9 degree wedge

The wedge really started working for me and I wound up with this:

 

I harnessed my super power : "working really fast under pressure" and the design began to form:

And eventually became this:

I called upon my secondary super hero power: "quilting the snot of out of a quilt".

And thus:

Mufasa is raw edge appliquéd with lots of tiny, slow quilting moves.

Totally worth the time....

Of course, what kind of sewist would I be without a little thread controversy....  Also per usual, I goofed a little (a lot) and had to do some unsewing.  Which leads me to my next tidbit to share.... I'm making seam rippers!!

I have learned how to turn these on a lathe and polish them into beautiful sewing tools.  If you've ever  held one of these in your own hand - then you know how good they feel.  If you haven't - you should absolutely take one for a test drive.  They feel luxurious.  I hardly minded unsewing while using this!!  More on this later...

So while the Mission Impossible them music played loudly - and despite the temporary slow down for unsewing, I was able to enter the contest (and I still had and hour and a half before the actual deadline!!!).

I'm pleased with my result (although those toes need some polish....) ...  What are you working on???

Wicked Challenge:Cherrywood Wicked Challenge 2015

This is the kind of spontaneous publicity - your name in print - that makes people.

 I'm quoting Navin Johnson (Steve Martin from the movie The Jerk) upon seeing his name in the phone book for the first time....

"Nothing? Are you kidding? Page 73 - Johnson, Navin R.! I'm somebody now! Millions of people look at this book everyday! This is the kind of spontaneous publicity - your name in print - that makes people. I'm in print! Things are going to start happening to me now."

I'm that kind of excited!!!!  Two of my humble little quilts were accepted in the MQX Quilt Festival in New Hampshire!!!  I am beyond thrilled to have been accepted.  While I don't think I'll make it personally to the show...  If any of you attend - snap a selfie with one of my quilts and share it.  I'd love to see you (and my quilts)!

Quilt Death Star...

Detail shot of  Quilt Death Star

A shot of the sassy binding...

My second quilt is one I finished earlier in 2015.  Our Modern Guild held a challenge to take a traditional block and make it modern.  I chose to alter location of color, use modern color, and lots of negative space quilting.  It's a wall hanging size (26.5" x 26.5")

I just free motioned the corner block quilting.  It's a tad wonky but overall I think it worked with the theme.

Have you ever entered a show?  Here's words of wisdom for you.  You'll never get accepted if you don't enter.  Just try!!  I can't believe I got in- and I'm going to relish it!!!

My family needs better upper body strength

Ping says this one is her favorite so far.

The whining I've endured while photographing my quilts is hilarious.  If I'm helping a friend photograph a quilt, I suffer in silence.  Yes, my arms are like limp noodles when I'm done but I dutifully stand there in pain until it's done.  Buck up family....I'm not stopping the entering of contests because you can't hang....    I can see now...I'm going to have to put my family on an upper body exercise program.

But...on a more important note... I FINISHED MY LAST DEADLINE!  Death Star is officially done! Prepare yourself to be inundated with gratuitous quilt photos...  Get your popcorn and beverage, the show starts now...

I've used quite of few of these during the quilting of this quilt...

I love quilting on my Handi Quilter Sweet Sixteen Sit down model.

I wound up quilting the circles on my Bernina 440.  Don't get me wrong...I've said you  won't be able to pry my Bernina from my cold dead kung fu grip (unless you're making me quilt on it...).  Once I got the Sweet 16, I created the perfect set up for quilting.

And then there was the squaring up...  This is one of those parts I dislike.... it's hard to ensure you're getting it really square.  This part becomes really tedious...

But it gets done and then it's on to the binding.  I love the binding.  It was the only thing I liked to do by hand but now a days I machine it on.  I like the look just as much.

I put a LOT of quilting on this one.

I enjoy the design decisions you have to make.  It can be a little daunting...you want it to make sense where it's placed on the quilt.  I thought about this part almost as much as the overall design.

And finally....it's done.  This is the Death Star bc.  BC is before crinkle.  I'm always a little apprehensive that something will go terribly wrong in the washing machine...

It washed up beautifully and then...it's Death Star ac.  After crinkle.

Here's the sassy back of the quilt:

I added a little flair to the binding in two spots:

So that's my story today.  Finished a quilt.  It was a great day.  It's submitted to QuiltCon 2016 for the contest....fingers crossed it's selected!!

I'm linking up with Judy today at Patchwork Times - check it out!  On Tuesday I'm linking up with Alyce at Blossom Heart Quilts.

And on Wednesday I linked up with Let's Bee Social

Check these blogs out...

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