So far...

Sixth Theme - Asylum

 For some a refuge and others a prison.

Cocooned & safe

 

or surrounded by friends,

 some may venture out

while staying in contact

 

 ready to return to the safety of familiar surroundings.

And this is why I work alone
and should probably live alone.
Apologies for the cryptic nature of the themes, they make all the sense in the world to me, until I finish and then I get worried that they wont make sense to anyone else.

With the overwhelming lack of interest I applaud those that have stuck with the Challenge and haven't once questioned my sanity - well not openly anyway.

Third Theme - K.I.S.S.

A reminder to self - Keep It Simple Stupid Sweetheart!

I wasn't sure the Third theme was going to happen this week as my creative mojo seemed to have done a bunk - pushed aside by thoughts of school lunches & workshop lists.

By Wednesday of this week I still thought it'd be presenting a plain piece of pink fabric however by not sweating the small stuff I made a start and by keeping it simple this block created itself.

The pink base is from the back of a mans shirt.

  I Vliesofixed & stitched a felted Christmas decoration to the centre of a hand dyed doily which was also Vliesofixed and in turn adhered (ironed) & stitched to the centre of the backing.

(Vlisofix cut to shape)

(Vlisofix ironed onto Doily & removing the backing paper ready to adhere to centre of block)

At that point I figured I was done however that would have been too simple and besides it was screaming for some squiggly scratchy machine embroidery - I obliged, also going around the outer edge of the Doily.  

 By stitching around the Doily I (accidentally-on-purpose) caused the Doily to blister & puff up - I packed this gently with polyfil & hand stitched it in place to the backing piece.

 I had three of the Christmas decorations and sacrificed another so I could dot the felted flowers randomly between the embroidered floral blisters.

The edges will remain raw & messy - for now.

Second Theme

'The Ties that Bind'

  Love & laughter shared with family & friends give me direction & purpose.

 

This block was borne from my love of mens ties.

I use them a lot in REinventions.

What I did:

After choosing the ties best suited to the overall look of the Quilt,

 I over-lapped them, pinned them in place & cut them to size.

It took a bit of manouvering over a couple of days to get the block to sit mostly square - this was helped by filling in little gaps & finishing raw edges with some bias binding. 

I'm not sure how square this block will sit when stitched to it's neighbour however I'm prepared to have it overlap or likewise trim it back to fit.

The free machine embroidery is a work-in-progress.

Eventually I'd like the scrolly-flowery-viney bits to join up in stages - it was hard going, stitching over lumpy thick bits so I'll come back to it later.
Next time I would remove the interfacing from the ties which would get rid of some of the bulk.

 

 Overall I'm pleased - ties aren't the easiest things to get to sit straight and my machine embroidery leaves a lot to be desired however it says what I wanted it to say in more ways than one 

and besides what's a challenge if its not challenging!

The Idea

Hi and welcome!

The Eco Quilt Challenge has been a thought brewing away for quite a while and I can't tell you the amount of times it nearly didn't happen!

Not being a traditional 'Quilter' I've endlessly doubted my ability to successfully create the sort of Quilt I'd want to live with, while inviting others to do the same.

Having suffered the angst of how I was going to present the idea in the hope it would appeal to others I have decided to just do it and hope you'll join me!

  The bones of the idea is really very simple;

to create a beautiful piece of fabric ie. a Quilt using garments & fabric we already have - the only thing that should be spent on this is time.

 With inspirational prompts from me, posted on this blog every 2wks, we'll spend the following fortnight creating our own unique blocks.

This is not a skills based project, anyone can join in - you'll need to have a sewing machine, the internet and the ability to thread a needle, oh and you'll need to have a passion for fabric, a penchant for 'filing' garments & fabric and enjoy a challenge!

This will be an interpretational piece of work where I will encourage you to use your imagination, stretch your sewing capabilities and learn new stitching techniques.
I have created a template & a pattern for all of us to use so there is guide to aide in forming the finished Quilt, it will be fascinating to see everyones interpretation of the guides & prompts when all stitched together at the end of the Challenge.

There is a seed of an idea to display the Quilts...



At this stage I see the finished Eco Quilt measuring approx. 138cm x 150cm - not so big however with a fortnight to complete each block it will take (again approx.) 18-20wks/5mths - or longer, if we're having too much fun and want a bigger Quilt.

A Flickr group has been set up for everyone to share their creations, ask questions, discuss & share ideas. 

If you are interested in being a part of this Challenge please leave a comment below then email me with your email address and I''ll send you through the Challenge Details, Pattern & Template guide, along with an invitation to join the flickr group.

 

 I'm so excited I've made a start...

and will have the first theme (prompt) up at the end of the week!