More projects done!

I've finished and mailed my SAQA donation 12"square. The auction isn't until September, but it sure feels good to have it done and gone. I took several pieces of cottons, silks, and hemp; raw edge pieced them, washed them to shrink and then dyed the piece in golden brown. The silk takes the dye differently than the other fabrics so there's variation in the color. I added a bit of hand stitching.



My next project was another thats not due for awhile, but it's almost done. The APWQ show that's held in Tacoma, Wa in August has a fabric challenge every year and my friend Barb and I decided to participate this year. I haven't participated in this type of challenge in many years and when I got the fabric my first thought was "what was I thinking???". This is the fabric, a Laurel Burch print.



This fabric is not "me" at all. But hey, it's a challenge and I only have to use a recognizable amount in the eighteen inch square top. So I cut some circles out of the fabric, some more out of other fabrics, appliqued them on a black background and called it a quilt top. Then I started to quilt the black with black thread, oh my, my eyes are not as good as they were when I was younger. My sewing machine sits in front of a window, there is a window high up above my left shoulder and I have a light on the table. This was not enough - I had to put a free standing light directly in front of the machine so I could see what I was doing. This is how the set up looked.



Here's a close up so you can see the recognizable amount of challenge fabric.



Barbara's quilt is totally different from mine, hers is quite whimsical. When they are both finished I'll get a photo of the two together. I'm not sure if I'll put black binding on mine or a facing. It's currently 20" square so I'll cut about an inch off all around.