Tree Challenge due February 2011

For the past several years my friend Connie and I have come up with our own quilt challenges for the simple reason that 1) we can choose the theme and 2) we can choose the deadline or choose to extend it.

Our inspiration comes from quilts we see in magazines or at the Mancuso Quilt show. We have always been drawn to the quilts that depict trees in them so for 2010 we decided that would be our theme, Trees.

My Tree Challenge Inspiration

Deadline: February 2011

Materials: paper, fabric, metal, wood, ribbons, buttons, stickers, threads, paint, crayons, markers, just about any material that you need to create your tree.

Size: 8 1/2 by 11 is suggested but you can make it smaller or larger this is your creation.

If you would like to join our Tree Challenge add a comment here or send me an email at dclarkcreations@aol.com. I'll be happy to post your progress if you would like to send me a photo to the email address above .

Inspiration is all around you, as for me, I'm starting in my own backyard!



My Self-Portrait Quilt

Previous challenges we have come up with include a self-portrait quilt (spq). 

This challenge I interpreted very loosely  and Connie is still working on the details to her self-portrait. 

The pattern is an Elinor Pearce Bailey doll pattern I saw in Soft Dolls Magazine. I was drawn to the yoyo hair as I love everything yoyo and knew I needed to make this doll as my spq. Most all of the fabrics and embellishments hold a personal memory for me. Even the shoes are made using a black yoyo adorned with a gold bead for the buckle. 

Friendship Quilt Front

We also both made a friendship quilt that had to reflect our personality and then it was to be given to the other person.  These challenges test our skills and let us explore and share our creativity with one another. How lucky are we!

My friendship quilt consists of a series of fabric postcards. The front of each postcard is done using several embellishment techniques including a yoyo butterfly in the lower left-hand corner.

In the lower-right hand corner is an old key that we both used in our friendship quilt depicting the "key to friendship.



Friendship Quilt Back

 For the back of my quilt I wrote a small description and title for the corresponding postcard on the front of the quilt. Then I addressed and added a stamp to each postcard.  Luckily I had on hand butterfly stamps and return address labels so that the design on the front of the quilt carried over to the back of the quilt.  I totally did not have a pattern to go by and as I am not a quilter I had to use my sewing skills to put it all together.

Connie's Friendship Quilt

Connie's friendship quilt is absolutely beautiful and it makes me feel very special.