Saturday, January 24, 2015

Sunset(rise) Challenge for PQ6

In January of last year I discovered a blog (persimondreams.blogspot.com) that hosted a challenge called "Project Quilting." It's based on the tv show, "Project Runway," except instead of only a few hours to create wardrobes, you have a week to finish a quilt based upon that week's theme. Beginning on Sunday at 1:00pm EST, she announces the theme for that week. The project you create can be any size, and it doesn't really even have to be a quilt as long as you follow at least one of the three rules she sets out and it's finished and linked to her blog by the same time a week later. The popular vote then begins. Everyone has until the following Friday to vote for their six favorites. The creation with the most votes wins the popular vote, and everyone's name is thrown in a hat to be drawn for other prizes. The next challenge begins again that Sunday-two weeks after the first one was announced. This continues for six challenges. 

Inspiration, challenges, prizes and competition with others while getting to "work together" with them? Of course I participated! Now I'm in my second season of participation, and we are in the second challenge of the year. The theme was Sunrise/Sunset. The first thought that came to my mind was the silhouette painting I had done with a friend of an African scene featuring an elephant and a tree. The background was a gigantic yellow sun setting amongst a red sky. I started with that by rummaging in my scrap pile for yellows, oranges, pinks and reds and began piecing them together. What emerged was a round yellow piece for the sun and the negative area in orange. Last summer I learned how to sew in a curve, so I attached the two together using that technique. I did the same after piecing blacks together, although this was with a much less extreme curve. In the mist of all this piecing, I took a break to take a run in the dusk of the day and saw my shadow. This made me decide to draw a picture of myself and use the outline to create a sort of self portrait on my quilt. Needless to say, I am quite proud of the result!
I had to take this picture in the gloomy outside light since it poured all day, but don't you just love it? That's my outline and it all pieced together so nicely. It ended up being 32" by 27" and I think it may turn into my first wall hanging. Here are some close ups:
..and the back of the quilt where the appliqué outine is..
..all pieces from what the colors of the sunset or sunrise would consist of. For now, I'm calling her "A New Dawn." Here she is laid down flat with Tate showing you the size.
What is your interpretation of a sunrise/sunset?

**Edit** My quilt is #53 of the link ups at http://www.persimondreams.blogspot.ca/2015/01/sunrisesunset-challenge-2project.html so please take a minute to go vote for "A New Dawn!" Thank you!