Year in Review, Part I

So, for a lot of last year, I was working on a project I couldn't share.  My fiber art group, the ArtCGirlz, did a challenge we called the "telephone line".   The idea is based on the children's game we called  "rumors" - where a word or phrase is whispered from person to person around a circle, until the words are revealed, and have usually undergone quite a change.   

In our challenge, each of us made a 9 x 12 inch quilt to be passed on to the next person.  That person (#2) made a 9 x 12 quilt inspired by the piece they got.  The first piece is then sealed in an envelope, not to be opened until the end of the challenge.  Person 3 gets person 2's quilt and makes something inspired by that, and so on.  There were 9 in our group.  Even a 9 x 12 quilt every month was a bit exhausting, but the work revealed at our meeting the other night was amazing!

So- in order, I think, here are the projects I worked on.

My original piece.

 I used the "Stupendous Stitching" technique to create my piece, using a fat quarter given to me by a member of the group a while back.  She challenged us to try bobbin work, and use a circle technique.  I started playing, but never finished.





















I got Kathi's first- on the left.  I immediately thought of the mosaic technique she shared with us way back when the group was new.   I wanted to add something to it, but loved the fabric I cut up and didn't want to cover it  up, so did a thread sketched flower. 
 Most of my inspiration pieces from here on  came from Kathi.  If we do this again, I hope we mix p the order so we each get one from everyone. 

Next I got Mary Lee's.  I had started something completely different for this, but it failed.  So I found this awesome piece of fabric in my stash and embellished it using Laura Wasilowski's "Joyful Stitching technique to embellish it! I only stopped stitching when I ran out if time.

The robin on her nest on Chris' piece made me think of spring- especially since the peepers were singing at the time.  So I  made a tiny peeper on what I imagined as a cat tail leaf, welcoming spring.

 The first thing I thought of when I saw Elaine's piece was a beehive hairdo, but all of my drawings were too cartoony for my taste.  Knowing Elaine's love of nature and flowers, I went with a bee savoring a clover blossom.  The wing extends off the edge, which is why I photographed it on black. 

The way Kathi arranged the eyeglasses on Mary Ellen's piece made me think of a Japanese pagoda, but that didn't inspire me.  So I used the colors- which as luck would have it, I had leftovers from an old strip piece project to play with.  I used a piecing technique from a modern quilting design to create the shapes, the quilted funky feathers over them.





















Kathi was away when it was time to swap again, but she sent me a picture of what she had made for Susan.  I admit, this one didn't inspire me at all at first glance.  So I pondered where to go for a few days and finally landed on the words flowers and moon in the quote.  I made a collage of flowers to be the moon, with a few blooms escaping.  But the moon looked like a white blob until I added the organza to create a crescent moon.

For Cynda's I received a piece from Mary Lee.  I have wanted to create a piece based on a picture I took at Crater Lake for a long time!  This was my opportunity!   Fortunately I had just the right fabric to show the beauty of the water there.  I think this is also my first landscape quilt!

My last piece- Lori's-  also came from Mary Lee.  The trees left me feeling blah, so I used the Bigfoot as my inspiration, and made a big foot- like a footprint in the woods.  I used some  oil pastels to enhance the edges of the foot and the quilted leaves in the background. 

 The reveal was so exciting- like a quilted Christmas morning.  As I opened each envelope, I was amazed at how beautiful the work was, and at the creative thinking of each of my friends!  This is the collection I received. 

Row 1 (L to R): Mine, Lori, Cynda
Row 2: Susan, Mary Ellen, Elaine
Row 3: Chris, Mary Lee, Kathi

We hope to enter them all in the Museum Quilt Guild show coming in October.  We just have to figure out how to mount them for hanging.  

You can see the whole collection at the ArtCGirlz blog in the link at the beginning of this post.

I am trying to assess everything I use that comes in plastic, now that plastic recycling is in crisis.  Many of our recyclables are being incinerated due to the volume and quality of items being recycled.  There are personal care products, laundry soap, kitchen items... made so no plastic packaging is required.  My husband will resist, but I am willing to try bar shampoo and toothpaste "pills"

We must stop using fossil fuels for every aspect of our daily lives.  Every little bit helps. 

I am grateful for:
Not having to cook much this week, even though I got a great new stove!
A kind and forgiving boss.
Special time with my grandsons!
I have enough- of almost everything. (except time)
None of the grumpy kitties bit me.  Good for both of us!