My Completed Challenge Entry...

Brynwood Needleworks - Patchwork Pachyderm

I can finally share what I created for our guild challenge this year!

I worked on it until midnight Monday, and from 9 am until 4:45 pm yesterday.

I finished it a mere 15 minutes before I drove out to the meeting. whew!

Brynwood Needleworks - Posey, The Patchwork Pachyderm

I quilted a large, stuffed elephant that I've named the "Patchwork Pachyderm".

She measures 36" from the trunk, all the way back to the tail, and 24" tall.

The last feature I sewed before I left was attaching the eyes and eyelids. I

found the eyes on Ebay and they were shipped to me all the way from...Sarasota!

As of 10 am today, she has a name. Handsome suggested "Posey", so that's now
her name. I added this photo because she also got eyelashes this morning! I know
elephants have long eyelashes, so now she's a proper patchwork elephant!

Brynwood Needleworks - Patchwork Pachyderm

If you look closely here, you'll see that I did an outline of the sun on the elephant's forehead. I found some really lovely trim for the headpiece. Sorry that it was a little late in the day for great photos, but I wanted to get a few before I went to the meeting. The center head and trunk is actually gray and not "tinted" as it appears.

Brynwood Needleworks - Patchwork Pachyderm

I really love the elephant's tail!

I found a rayon cording in the jewelry section at Michaels. 

I decided on the length, doubled it and then repeated nine cuts. Then, I folded all nine sections in half to double that for a total of eighteen strands. To braid, you need three strands, so I just counted out six strands of each and used those in groupings of six to make my braid. I tied off the fold at the top, and then again at the end of my braid. After I'd created the braid, I hand stitched the tail to the elephant's bum. Easy!

Look closely at the quilting pattern on the fabric blocks and you'll notice little elephants (with their trunks held high). The only places I didn't quilt the elephants was the dark gray fabric on the foot pads;  "under" the elephant - belly and inner legs (those were a simple meander); the gray on the end of the trunk and the ears. (hmmm. It might have been simpler to just say where I did quilt the elephants. lol)

Brynwood Needleworks - Patchwork Pachyderm

The Patchwork Pachyderm is on the table in front of Paula's First Place winner.

I weighted the elephant foot pads with crushed walnut shells for stability,

and I went through six pads of polyester fill for its "innards". I was

asked that question a lot last night. "How many bags of stuffing do you use?"

Brynwood Needleworks - Gray Challenge Entries (less one)

My friend, Kathy captured a photo of all of us with our quilted projects.

First Place winner - Paula Bonfig's "Aria At Dawn" 

(far right - see blue ribbon)

Second Place winner - ME!!! (seated center front)

Third Place - April Blood's "Shades of Gray"  

(seated next to me - see white ribbon)

Brynwood Needleworks - Gray Challenge Entries

Kathy missed the quilt on the far left of the photograph above. It's a patriotic butterfly.

Brynwood Needleworks - Patchwork Pachyderm

I'm tired and happy, but I'm grateful that our members liked my elephant enough to vote for it in our blind competition. (They didn't know they who created what.) I earned second place because they voted for the elephant, not knowing it was mine. There were a lot of beautiful entries, so I'm humbled that they liked mine enough to vote for it. (Thank you, Ladies.)

Brynwood Needleworks - Tag and the Patchwork Pachyderm

I brought it home from guild last night and set it next to my chair. Tag gave it his "seal of approval", which only involved sniffing it and then sitting down to smile at me. 

I'm going to start my day cleaning up the chaos in my studio. It got a little hectic as the deadline for this challenge loomed ever closer. I didn't do the usual tidying up as I worked. Then I might spend the rest of the day doing absolutely nothing.

I Think I Can, I Think I Can...

Brynwood Needleworks - Flowers and Acorns

  I'm so far behind schedule, I can't even tell you. But, you know me... I'm like a dog with a bone...I just can't give in. I'm going to keep after this until I meet my deadline...or I f-f-f-fail. (A dirty word in my vocabulary.) I'm doing my absolute, die-hard, best to complete my challenge project.

Brynwood Needleworks - Flowers and Acorns

Showings, second showings, and an open house...all events that cut into my sewing time. Precious time spent spent from my machines and fabrics.
Tick tock...tick tock...my deadline is 5:00 pm Tuesday night.    At that time, I'll need to pack my Explorer with my usual laptop (for taking meeting minutes), a few other things I need to take along...and hopefully, my challenge project will be the last thing I load into my vehicle.
I have to run now. No time to waste.  I'm going to need a wish and a prayer (or two) if I'm going to get this done.

Strike Up The Band...

Brynwood Needleworks - Handsome's Grover Snare Drum

Handsome's first band concert was yesterday afternoon. We spent a delightful afternoon together...he, onstage and me in the audience. Suncoast Concert Band's first concert of the year is always patriotic in honor of Veteran's Day and all those who have or are serving in our armed forces.

The band played to a sold-out and enthusiastic audience. The music began with our National Anthem and ended with America, with marches and other favorites in between. It was a perfect day to spend a Sunday afternoon, and a great start to our music season.

We'll have more of the same this evening, when he performs with the Venice Concert Band for their first concert. I haven't heard them yet, so I'm looking forward to their program.

Brynwood Needleworks - Challenge Embroidery

In my "non-music" time last weekend, (of course) I was working on my challenge piece. If I want to have this finished in time, I'd better FOCUS. If you're looking for me, you know where I'll be...when I'm not applauding my husband.

Sunshine On A Gray Day...

Brynwood Needleworks - Gray Challenge Piecing

I'm not going to be able to share every step of this process with you. When it comes time to submit my entry, they'll be judged without knowing the identity of each creator. I know that more than a few guild members read my blog, so I'll have to stop posting about it before I give away my entire project.

It's okay for now, though. I know there'll be a lot of grays in the room the night of our guild meeting, so at this stage, I'm not giving anything away.

Brynwood Needleworks - Gray Challenge Piecing

I spent yesterday cutting and piecing fabrics as I prepared for the next step. This is going to be fun, but it's also going to be labor-intensive between now and the date I turn in my completed challenge piece. 

 

I may share little "peeks" as I go along, but I admit they're going to be purposely vague. I know you'll understand. You guys are great that way.

Have a great weekend!

Working Out The Kinks...

Moda™ Water Garden fabric assortment on the grid base - on my ironing board

On Saturday, I showed you the fabrics I'll be using for our guild challenge. I know exactly what I want to make, but I need to make a miniature version first. I want to make sure that the basic design works.

Of course, I don't want to use the actual fabric I'm using for the finished piece. (I've learned that lesson the hard way!) Instead, I pulled out a Moda™ Honey Bun (1-1/2" strips of all the fabrics in the line...like a Jelly Roll, but narrower strips), and my Pellon™ Fusible Grid (820P) and got busy. The fabric is from my stash, and it's called "Water Garden". Don't you love the dragonflies?

The way this works is that I cut my 1-1/2" strips into 1-1/2" squares. Then, I played around, placing the squares in a pleasing pattern on the bumpy, fusible side of the 1" grid sections. I had to be careful not to iron past the fabrics so I didn't get fusible goop on my iron. (Success!)

Once everything is fused, all I had to do was fold each line of fabrics and sew until I'd sewn all the widths of squares, and then sew them lengthwise. I ended up with sweet, little 1" blocks.

Look at all those tidy intersections! That's the benefit of using the fusible grid. Everything stays put and there's no distortion. I love this stuff!

 

Next step is quilting, and then I'll start cutting. (Did I say "cutting"?!! Yes, I did!) You're starting to get curious now, aren't you? (giggle)

Sometimes Things Aren't Black Or White...

 Sometimes, things are gray.

Such is the case with our November guild challenge.

Every year, Disconnected Piecers Quilt Guild holds a challenge for our members. This year, the challenge is to create something quilted using background fabric(s) that only contain shades of gray. 

We are allowed to use other colors in our project, but any fabric used in the background can only have gray or shades of gray in them. No colors, and nothing that doesn't read "gray".

This is only a sampling of the gray fabrics I have in my...ahem...inventory. I've had my project in mind since the challenge theme was decided. Now that November is inching ever closer, I need to turn my thinking in this direction. 

All the projects that members submit for this competition will also be displayed at our 2016 quilt show in February.

I can't wait to start sharing peeks as I work on it. When I'm finished, I may even share a pattern for what I'm making. I'm very excited about this idea I've conceived and am looking forward to the entire process. I hope you'll follow along as it becomes a reality.