Fast Fridays Challenge
I believe this group was formed in 2006 as the quilter's answer to Project Runway. The idea being that each month a challenge would be issued and participants would have a limited time to complete the challenge. What is really great about this group is that each monthly challenge establishes some goals in art and design. The group is extraordinarily talented. See their work here: http://fastfridayquilts.blogspot.com
I joined the group in September of 2007 with challenge #13. Still working on that one.
| Challenge 15 November 2007: Proportion and
Scale Mountain Roses The challenge as stated was about proportion and scale. Examples seemed to indicate that we might attempt to exaggerate proportions in order to emphasize something about the subject. The photo at right is one I had been thinking about using as the basis of a quilt for some time. It seemed like the exaggerated perspective of the fence might suit the demands of the challenge. |
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Size: 19.5" wide by 13.5" high
This is the result. I tried to exaggerate the perspective even more than the original image from the source photo. I also challenged myself to work faster and not do too much planning. I worked collage style, just cutting freehand from fabric for the trees, barn, grass and roses. I did use rotary cutting tools to cut the straight lines of the fence, but I did not measure anything, just cut by eye. I prepared a backing and batting, then pinned the tree, grass and barn pieces down and thread painted and quilted the surface at the same time. The fence pieces and the roses are fused.
I started thinking about the challenge on Friday and completed the quilt on Monday. Yippee! It was the first one I finished on time.
| Challenge 14 October 2007: Motion (with Embellishment) Windy Day at Nags Head A lot of things came to mind for this challenge. Laundry on the line, leaves falling, birds in the air. I think I kept coming back to the idea of wind. As usual, I started going through my photos to find something that might relate. My husband Bruce is a windsurfer and so we do have quite few photos of windsurfing. One of those cropped and enlarged seemed just right. |
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Size: 11.5" x 14.5"
I used my favorite Applique technique for this one: Upside-Down Applique. I printed an enlarged photo on paper and made a line drawing of the photo by tracing the elements of the photo. I used the line drawing as a pattern to re-create the the piece in applique. For the sail, I used a layer of organza over the colored pieces. The wake in the water is made from fabric and is thread painted to soften the edges and to embellish the surface.
When it was time to quilt the water, I used a variegated thread. Whenever the thread changed to a lighter color, I tried to quilt in some white caps. This makes them a bit random, as I think they should be. This was a fun project.
I was preparing for an out of town teaching job when this challenge was announced. When I came home, I was able to work on it, but was unable to meet the deadline. Though I tried to keep it simple, this one was about a week late.
| Challenge 13 September 2007: Architecture and
Depth I was very excited about this challenge because I really enjoy working on architectural pieces. I love Victorian Architecture and have done a series of Victorian Turrets. I had planned to continue making these but other things always seemed to get in the way. This was my chance to continue. My previous turrets have all been Journal Quilt Size (8.5" x
11") but this time I wanted to work larger. I actually did not think it would take
much longer to work larger than to work small. Wrong! I found out that each piece when it
is large takes on more significance to the outcome of the whole. This has lead to some
trial and error and changes in my fabric choices. |
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| 2006 Journal Quilts | Journal Quilts and Other Small Works |
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All text and images on these pages are
copyrighted by Susan Brittingham 2006,
and may not be copied or reproduced in any way without permission.
This page was created on November 26, 2007
Last update: 11/26/07
