Finished for Friday: Cutting the Challenge Quilt

So it seems that I'm only capable of posting anything in Friday's lately, but at least that means I get to participate in Finished for Friday hosted over at Lit and Laundry's wonderful blog.

Some might remember that each April the Momcat and I take our annual (you can call two years in a row annual, right?) trip down to Paducah for the AQS show. We take classes, we see the show, we meet celebrities, and we buy lots of fabric. Very fun and festive. 

One thing we buy fabric for is our "Challenge Quilt" where we each get the exact same pieces of fabric and are allowed to add one additional piece of fabric to produce a finished quilt top by Christmas. I'm getting a bit of a late start on my project this year, but last week I finally figured out what pattern to use. After cutting and testing one block, I spent the last week cutting the rest of the jelly roll (this year's challenge fabric) and putting together little kits for each block! I finished them up last night for total of 36 blocks ready to go together!

Since it's a surprise challenge and the Momcat reads this blog (hi mom!), I don't want to post a picture of the finished block. But I can post a picture of the content of each block kit! This will keep her guessing!

Tonight I head off to join some of the other quilter's in my guild for a retreat weekend at a nearby YMCA camp. Some of the women have been there since yesterday, and I can only imagine how much they've already gotten done. I've packed all the block kits for the Challenge Quilt , as well as another piecing project and my John Flynn Quilt Frame! Needless to say, the car was awfully full this morning when I drove into work!

Be sure to check out what others have Finished for Friday!

Finished for Friday/Challenge Quilt

To play along with Lit and Laundry's Finished for Friday, I proudly bring you....the Challenge Quilt!

The Momcat and I committed to  this project back in April! When we went to Paducah for the American Quilter's Society Show (our first year!), we each got 10 fat quarters of the same fabric. The challenge was to use these fat quarters, plus one additional fabric to make a lap size quilt top. It had to be completed by Christmas, when we would reveal the quilts to each other!

Here's what the Momcat came up with. 

She's named it "Insanity!" I really like it, and think she should be quite proud.

And here's mine.

I used an Ohio Star pattern and did random strips of the colored fabrics for the sashing.

Here's a close up where you can see that a bit better. 

I can't believe how different the two quilts look! When we did the big reveal over Christmas break, I think we were both surprised at how the same fabrics could look so very different when matched with the two different fabrics and put together different. I never even thought about using a dark fabric, and the Momcat said she didn't think about using a light one.

Overall I think we were both very happy not only with how the two quilts turned out, but also with the overall process. We look forward to repeating the challenge this year, as we're going to Paducah again in April.

So what have you finished lately?

Finished for Friday

I'm so happy today is Friday! This week just seemed to drag by to me. I'm looking forward to getting lots of crafting done this weekend, and maybe going with the N-boy to find a new-to-me bike that actually fits me!

I'm participating in "Finished for Friday" hosted by Lit and Laundry again this week. My finish is just another dishcloth. I really enjoy making them because they're small and easy to carry around with me. And they don't require a whole lot of thought! I think next I'll use the same pattern but cast on more to make it wider and try and make a bigger dishtowel with a larger skein of yarn. I just love using the Sugar n' Cream variegated cottons!

Other projects on the docket for this weekend is continued work on the secret challenge project that the Momcat and I are both doing. I keep hearing rumors that she's been staying up until 1:00 a.m. to work on hers and is pulling ahead! Well we can't have that, so I'd better get a move on it while she's off working at camp this next week. I think I'll also pull out my new John Flynn Quilting Frame and see if I can get the N-boy to help me get it set up to practice on. I'm very excited about being able/inspired/willing to finish my projects more quickly and prettily, and want to get some practice in so I can do just that. I also have a nifty dress pattern that I'd like to make that I picked up at JoAnn Fabrics back during their memorial day sale. The N-boy picked out the fabric (brown with white polka dogs), so I think he'd like to see me make it, too.

I've been feeling pretty tired this week. I'm hoping its just from the return trip from California and the jet lag. I've also been feeling like there just aren't enough hours in the day. I'm sure this is something that we ALL feel from time to time. I think in part its because I look around at all of the wonderful projects people are working on and posting out here in blogland. I feel so inspired everytime I look at these, and want to try so many new things myself. But I know I have enough UFOs and WIPs to keep me going for a while without needingn to add any brand new projects. But maybe I should try and devote a little time each week trying something new or different that inspired me. This might help keep my creativity fresh and prevent me from slipping back into the quilting/sewing/knitting/crafting duldroms that I was experiencing earlier this year. With the N-boy's health continuing to stabilize/improve, this may be a good time for me to try some new things, too. Thoughts?

AQS Saturday and the Challenge Quilt Project

AQS Saturday wrapped up fairly quietly. The Momcat and I checked out of the hotel and stopped by Hancock's of Paducah one final time (third time's the charm?) and again ended up having to talk each other down from the edge of the fabric abyss! Once that crisis had been averted with minimal damage to our pocketbooks, we headed back to the convention center to go through the rest of the show and the vendors! We finished up with one of the "All Star Review" sessions at 2:00. This session was probably the most disappointing part of the entire show. It was super super hot in the atrium where it was held, due primarily to the failure of the hotel to finish its renovations. It was also very crowded and not particularly well organized. I think we saw some interesting things, but this is one thing I think we'll skip next year. Especially as we had a 7 hour drive back yet, and hit rain in Chicago. But we arrived back at my apartment safely and spend Sunday sorting and organizing all of the goodies.

Here is the pile of all of our stuff! Friday (the kitten) is helping us sort it.

One of the coolest things that the Momcat and I did was to decide on a surprise challenge project! At one of the fabric stores where the fat quarters were $1.75 each, we picked up two sets of ten identical pieces of fabric. Our mission: to each make a quilt of approximately crib size, the top of which must be completed by Christmas. We were each allowed to purchase one additional piece of fabric and could seek outside consultation, but all work must be done on our own. Well the Momcat told me earlier this week that she'd gone and bought her other piece of fabric and was getting prepared to start her project! Well we couldn't have that!

So yesterday I went to Erica's to get my extra piece (and bought a few other things, too). Here's a sneak peak of what I'm working on. I can't show the whole thing until we both reveal our completed projects since the Momcat reads this blog (hi mom!).

This project is a challenge for me because I chose a pattern block to start with, but then had to figure out the size of the finished block and the math for that all by myself. (I know, life is tough. But this is a new skill for me). If all goes well I'm even thinking about adding a pieced border. I finished 10 blocks this weekend and got almost all of my fabric cut. I'm hoping to make lots of progress this week while the N-boy is out of town visiting friends. Now if I could just get the cats to cooperate a little bit more and not try to sit on my fabric/ironing board/cutting board or sewing chair things would be a bit faster. Ah, well, I can dream...