Quick update

You can see a process-update on Dancing Star here.

Quiltdivajulie

Not avoiding the difficult bits this time

What a fabulous idea for a new challenge - I'm in it. I love the idea of working in series (doesn't it sound ARTY) so I'm going to use this one for inspiration again.

But this time, instead of avoiding those little half square triangles, I'm going to make them. I'm going to make lots of them, and they're going to be small. Oh my goodness. At least I won't have to worry about them being wonky. My little triangles are always born with a certain ... natural liberation.

Lynley

My project

I have had an idea for awhile now that's loosely based on Browns' collection #004:Bars Variation-Lancaster County, PA c.1915.  I'm just making a wall hanging again.  

I like that you keep adding challenges.  The first one felt like I was just getting my feet wet.  Eventually, I'd imagine we'll have to push ourselves to newer ideas.  Great idea, Tonya!!  What's the deadline for this one?

-Wendy

And So It Begins

My inspiration quilt(s) for LAGT2 are

from The Quilts of Gee's Bend (pages 40 and 41).

A while back, I shared a post on my blog

about a future quilt named Dancing Star.

Along the way, those fabrics ended up

back in a box on the shelf . . .

They are perfect for this challenge!

"from this point on, no rotary cutters" - check

"Go for a Gee's Bend meets

Amish Improvisational Lollapalooza" - double check

"Use leftover strips and pieces

but work from here on out

only using scissors or tearing "- check 

And so it begins!

Quiltdivajulie

Liberated log cabins

I'm stalled on my challenge project Be Well (it needs tieing, but I want wool yarn that will felt and I haven't found any yet) but I spent a little time today playing with some black and grey blocks given to me. I thought the contemporary prints needed a bit of traditional solid so I turned them into log cabins. Not sure what's next with them, but here's a little variation on the liberated Amish quilts. Somehow I think if an Amish woman was given some printed blocks, she might be tempted to include that free fabric in a quilt.

Oops: I just read Tonya's new "rules" for the next challenge. I met some of the criteria, but I have to admit to using the ruler and rotary cutter for the final square up.

Next Challenge?

You guys have made some absolutely awesome quilts. I am sooo very proud of you. I admit I've been neglecting to write a post because I'm embarrassed that I didn't finish a quilt top myself. eek. If you haven't finished either, keep working at it - I bet you'll make a great quilt.

I have to tell ya though, the letter tutorials are no longer at Quiltville. I had Bonnie take them down in anticipation of the book. (self-promotion: Word Play Quilts available December 7th) So if you still want to add letters to your quilt top, you can wing it and figure out your own great ways to make them. Or wait for the book.

If some of you want to keep playing, we can come up with another challenge. I figure we can just keep working in this blog. new folks can join in if they want.  I'm thinking of it as "One Step Beyond" Amish or maybe Improvisational Amish.

As in, I'd love to see you take another step, push yourself a bit further. I figure you're challenging yourself, so you can decide just how far you want to go with it. So depending where you are in the liberated spectrum, you could:

• make your quilt actually wonky this time. 
• piece crumbs together to make new "fabric"
• don't make all the blocks the same size, change them up. 
• use half blocks as well as whole blocks.
• Go for a Gee's Bend meets Amish Improvisational Lollapalooza.    
• Use leftover strips and pieces - but work from here on out only using scissors or tearing.
• No rotary cutters or rulers used whatsoever.

"Rules" to this challenge:

• use solid fabrics (or solidy, mottled, marbled, batiked, hand-dyed). this time you can add prints if you want.
• state which quilt(s) from the Brown collection is going to be your inspiration OR be a rebel and pick an Amish quilt from a different source.
• you don't have to use the same inspirational quilt that you did before, although it might just be fun to work in a series...
• you do not have to use letters - just to make that clear.

What do you think? Anyone want to keep playing?

Using my New Skills

No, this isn't liberated, or amish. But this is the next quilt I made after taking the LibAmish Challenge.

 I NEVER would have put words in my quilts had I not worked through this process and watched everyone else's quilt evolve. I LOVE the word in this quilt and so has everyone else. Underneath IMAGINE I quilted "a world without Breast Cancer" My friend is doing a 3 day/60 mile walk to raise funds and this is my donation to her journey. She's walking for all of us! My goal is to have this quilt raise $1000 and everyone who has seen it has gone crazy over the word. Thanks to everyone on this blog for sharing and encouraging!
Sharon

baskets

The quilting is finally done.

The binding is almost complete.

I sure had fun with this one!!!

Ready for the next challenge!

Lime it is!

Lime it is!  thanks for your input Ladies, I'm really proud of the way this came out.
Thank you Tonya for a inspiring challenge!
Happy sewing

audtions

Okay.....auditions.......

which one?  I'm leaning towards the lime green :0).

What color to bind?

My little quilt came out to a 36 inch square.  It is based on plate 60,  page 110 from "Amish Abstractions",
and I also took inspiration from Rene a fellow Amish get together member.
Well I am NOT a hand quilter but I finally got through with all I am going to quilt on this little jewel and now have to decide what color to use for the binding.  What do you think?  Black, a lime green from the center, or turquoise?   Thanks and Happy Sewing

Night Dreams

Side one of my Day and Night Dreams Quilt is finished. I tried to use darker colors like blue black, navy and deep violet in this quilt top but my brain just couldn't work those colors in. I love bright, clear colors and gave in to a selection of my favorite color pallets. My idea for this quilt came from my passion for color. I love to dye fabrics and find it very hard to sleep on nights when my dye lots are batching. I just can't wait to see the results. I often use more dye solution than is needed so I can get faster results.

This pattern was inspired by the Bricks in Bars quilt made by Ada Gingerich of Arthur, Illinois. The inspiration quilt is featured on page 114, Plate 62 in the Amish Abstractions book published by Pomegranate for the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

Wishing you sweet dreams from Wisconsin! Chris