Challenging

The challenge for my local quilt guild this year was to use a half yard of this ugly fabric in a traditional or art quilt.  The majority of the half yard had to be on the FRONT of the quilt.

My first question was if I could over dye or paint the fabric

and of course the answer was a big fat NO!  

Marsha wasn't going to make it THAT easy!

It took me a long time but I finally decided to dye some pink and brown fabrics and make a free form quilt out of it.  I am surprised with how happy I am with the results.

I was going to call her "Straight up Ugly" in honor of the ugly fabric but decided that she has transformed the ugly fabric and so she is called "Straight up."

She has inspired me to want to make more quilts like this with other 

what-were-you-thinking-when-you-bought-that 

kind of fabrics.

Here are the quilts from the rest of the ladies. . .

. . .The art quilts:

 . . .the turtle on the right won the category. . .

Congratulations Marsha!

. . .and the traditional quilts:

 . . .the appliqué bird quilt was the winner in the traditional category. . .

Congratulations Nan!

We also had a lovely dinner, show and tell and fat quarter exchange.

 That is a LOT of rice noodles!

 Betty Jo doesn't want this quilt top and we immediately started arguing over who would get it, but she brought it to donate to the Deseret Foundation's Quilt Auction.  I was sorely disappointed.

 Carol made this using an easy reverse appliqué method.

 I love the colors in Peggy's quilt.

 Mardi's neighbor's young daughter came over to invite Mardi and her husband to her Christmas program because the little girl doesn't have any living grandparents.  The little girl and her sisters found out that Mardi was a quilter and asked their Mom to make them a quilt since she is a sewer, however she was saved because Mardi immediately volunteered for the job.  One quilt is finished and the other two are in process.  She will have all three done for Christmas.

They are some lucky little girls!

 Love this quilt of Lisa's!!!

Bold, beautiful colors!

She started it in a class at Asilomar.

She has sold it to a good home 

but brought it to show us before it left on it's new adventure.

 This is Florence's lovely challenge quilt.

 Ruth's challenge quilt is almost done.  

It is wool and cotton fabrics.

 Here are all the fat quarters just waiting to be opened, exchanged and exchanged again.  

The ladies can get a little crazy with their stealing of favorites!

The stealing makes for a fun evening.

 We had a very large group last night!

I think we all had fun. . . I know I did and

 despite this photo, Kirsten had a good time too.

She was such a sweetheart and got a good nap in during dinner.

Since she behaved so well I let people pet her after the fat-quarter exchange.

She thought she'd died and gone to heaven!