Seasons :challenge 2, Project Quilting season 7

morning snow light

When this second challenge was announced I did what I always do when I need inspiration.  I look at my photos, then I googled it and read definitions and look at images.

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It was exactly what I was imagining but was having trouble drawing out.  So next I picked backgrounds from my stash to match each of the seasons. 

Sofia helped me pick.

 I also decided to use my Denyse Schmidt stash for the applique elements in the design.  I found a great Flea Market fancy print for the trunk and branches of the tree. 

 The I picked out 2.5" and 5" squares to cut out the flowers and leaves.  Good thing I have a giant stash of charm squares from all the swaps I have done.  I got out my Sizzix Big Shot and my favorite Tim Holtz Tattered Floral die and a Westminster Sunflower/Poinsettia die. 

 I cut out the pink flowers for the spring red bud tree and the green and yellow/orange leaves for the summer and fall sections. 

 For the winter section I free hand cut some gray turned to the back side. I glued everything down with applique glue. Then I got stuck. Should I finish the top, baste and quilt? Or should I free-motion applique?  

Well I was leaning that way and Kim of Persimon Dreams encouraged me  so I did.  It turned out great!  Tomorrow I will starch it good and figure out the borders, backing, basting, and quilting. Right now it is 24" square.  I really love it! 

I quilted vertical wavy lines for spring and summer (thanks Laura Davies for the idea),

FMQ leaves for fall,

and snow flakes for winter.  BTW the piles of snow are also a Denyse Schmidt.  I just used the wrong side of the fabric.  Its a great technique to use in any quilt!

 All on an awesome Viking Sapphire machine a friend gave me!  It was so generous of her and its amazing what I can do with a machine that actually wants to FMQ!!

I used the same brown Hope Valley print for the back and the binding.

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• title: Seasons of Change

•  Size: 28" x 28"

•  Designed, pieced, quilted by Colleen Yarnell

• Location:  Lewisville, NC

•  Inspiration: Project Quilting Challenge 2:Seasons

Click here to see the other quilts made for this challenge and vote starting at non central time for your favorites.

Keep dreaming...Colleen

Sofia giving me her approval on another quilt I'm planning.

Project Quilting Season 7 Challenge 1: Confetti

And she's back !  At least today.  Instagram has taken my online time but I will still try to blog a few times a month.  Hopefully more than last year.

So it is season 7 of Project Quilting! 

 Hard to believe!  Challenge 1 Confetti was a lot of fun!  Once again I will attempt something no matter how small and try and do double duty as needed.  This week I combined it with my Mother's birthday.  

Mom and Dad at her birthday dinner at Ryan's Steak house. 

To Start with I have to take you to Saturday January 2.  Gina of Trailer Stash Fabrics had her first BOM class using the Quick Curve Ruler by Sew Kind of Wonderful.  Now I am not really a specialty ruler kind of a quilter and I dont do curves well.  Well not anymore! Ive become obsessed with the QCR! 

  It is almost magic how the curves sew themselves! Every first Saturday of the month we will do one of the Curve It Up sampler quilt blocks.

Gina's Curve It Up sampler made with Cotton & Steel

 The first block is the churn dash. I had chosen two sets of fabric to use with the BOM.  One set is Cotton & Steel Tinsel plus other fabrics that are Christmasy in their collection plus their snowball background.

The other is Liberty Lifestyle prints that I have lots of large scraps of from my friend plus a silver Kona background.  

Sofia approves of my Liberty fabric pull!

But then I went home and Sunday picked another set of fabrics-Denyse Schmidt Ansonia FQ bundle with a cream background!  

So I have 3 quilts to make a block at a time this year!  Awesome!

Well I wanted to keep making more blocks with the QCR so I made the table runner pattern Gina had given us at the class minus the curved border. 

 The fabric I used was covered in snowflakes like frozen confetti for the theme of Project Quilting challenge 1.  

I finished it up as a present for Mom's birthday.

I Still wanted to make something more!  So under the free patterns on Sew Kind of Wonderful's website I found the free Poinsettia pattern.  

Its made using the drunkard's path block.  

Once again it sewed up so easily!

 And it made a great pillow for my sister! Again using scraps my friend gave me.  I love other peoples scraps!

 I used a 20" pillow insert from IKEA called Ullkaktus.  They cost $3.99 though I had gotten some green ones for $2 this summer. 

 Very soft and squishy!

So that was my marathon of sewing the first week of January 2016.  Project quilting Challenge 2 is posting right now so Im off to plan!

Keep dreaming,

Colleen

This is my Dog nephew Smitty!  He is such a sweetie!

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