Stuff for OKCMQG...

Madrona Road Challenge mini-quilt

As I mentioned in my last post, OKCMQG was participating in the Michael Miller Madrona Road Challenge. While initially set up as a (national) Modern Quilt Guild challenge prior to QuiltCon, ours is an unofficial spin-off, and smaller—under 24" x 24". We were provided several fat eighths (9" x 22") of fabric from the line (and I bought a little additional yardage to complete my design). We were permitted to use matching solids, but only patterns from the line. To avoid inadvertently copying someone else design, I made it a point to NOT look at other challenge solutions online. (See note below.)

I decided on my design pretty quickly. The idea was to create a macro version of their Broken Herringbone pattern. I chose to use one pattern for each of the solids in the pattern. The 'big' detail I insisted upon was replicating the precise angles and proportions of the original. Most of the time, one would use 90-degree angles for this kind of layout, but THIS pattern was 95 degrees and I was determined to match it! After more work in Photoshop and Illustrator than I should probably admit, I discovered a big error in my layout and had to modify that. I was reminded how often our brains fill in what we think we see even when it's clearly different from what's there. Perception becomes reality, for sure.

Under the heading of 'save everything,' I used an old (bought it in college) adjustable triangle (once used for hand lettering and drafting) to cut my strips. Shown is how I substituted each solid for a pattern. Once I got all of the top pieced, I had a nice wide strip left over that I used for the backing. I did simple straight line quilting. As it worked out, the front and back layered nicely and, seen below, there's an interesting translucence. Yay!

After finishing the mini quilt and before showing it off at our April meeting, I finally looked at the other challenge solutions online. Here are three of its siblings. Even though there are just a few from hundreds created, maybe there's really nothing new under the sun. I enjoyed it all the same!

Here are some of the challenge pieces shown off the other night. Emily showed hers off in March, and Shana did TWO, but I don't have photos.

Cuppy cake!

One of the girls in the guild had her birthday last week. She loves cuppy cakes. I promised her a special treat because I couldn't get her a real cuppy cake for her birthday. It's mostly knitted, but the whipped cream was crocheted. I made a few adjustments to the pattern due to yarn thickness. Pearl-top pins make this an even cuter pincushion! Happy Birthday, Shana!

Next post—my foray into paper piecing my newest Block of the Month subscription!