NeedleCraft Plus/needlecraftplusvolume1.iso/quilt/quilting/q-chalng.txt

Text File | 1997-01-06 | 15KB | 273 lines

            QuiltNet & rec.crafts.quilting Frequently Asked Questions
                         Challenge Project Ideas

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Collection maintained by Gail Hall, [e-mail], updated
October, 1993. (Credit to Lisa Leutenegger, previous owner, for most of the
work)

To contribute to this collection, please send e-mail to the address
given above, and ask me to add your comments to the FAQ file on
Challenge Project Ideas.

Unless otherwise requested, your name and e-mail address will remain in
the file, so that interested readers may follow-up directly for more
information/discussion.

For a list of other FAQ topics write to: Lisa Leutenegger - [e-mail]

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>From: [e-mail] (Maryann Geiser)

        My quilting guild does a challenge project every year.  Lately they're
trying to branch out and get us to be more creative, so the rules are becoming
less structured.  These are the challenges that we've done:

  - Each participant is given fat quarters of 5 different fabrics.  You
    may add at most 1 more fabric and make a quilt whose perimeter measures
    exactly 160 inches.  (Fabrics for backing do not count.)  You may buy
    additional fabric of the original samples from a participating shop
    who has been asked to hold these fabrics for our guild exclusively
    until after the quilts are due.

  - After a few years, the above rules were relaxed a bit and the perimeter
    measurement was a range from 120 to 160 inches.

  - Last year, we were given the same basic instructions, but the fabrics were
    all solid colors with the encouragement to change the fabric as desired.

  - This year, the challenge was to create a quilt that tells a story.
    We were given a single fat quarter with the instructions to use the
    fabric in a recognizable amount somewhere in the quilt.  Perimeter
    measurement up to 150 inches.

In each of the above challenges, either the judge or an employee of the
participating fabric store helped choose the fabric.  In all cases the fabrics
were something that I would not have chosen personally, so they really
stretched my sense of color or texture or design.  We have gotten local
quilt store owners or locally famous quilters (not members of the guild) to
be the judge, and ribbons are awarded to the winners.  Members are instructed
not to show their challenge quilts to other members or to bring them to
meetings
to work on.  They are not revealed to the membership until the judging is
complete.  The creaters of the quilts were kept secret from the judges as well.
Quilters were inistructed to put their name, address and phone number sealed
in an envelope pinned to the back of the quilt.  The title of the quilt is
allowed to be on the outside of the envelope.

        These are some of the challenges that I have heard of but not
participted in:

  - FINISH IT!  Choose one of those project you put aside and finish it.
    I personally like this one because I tend to finish things that have
    deadlines.  I guess you would have to show your work in progress at
    the start of the contest.

  - Theme quilts.  A fabric was chosen (I'm not sure what exactly it looked
    like), and the quilter had to use this fabric in a quilt with an
    endangered species theme.

  - Make a garment.  Fabrics were chosen and the quilter had to make a quilted
    piece of clothing.  At least some part of the garment must have 3 layers
    (top, batting and backing) and be quilted.

There was a book published fairly recently (within the past few years) with
different challenge rules.  I have seen it but not looked through it.  I know
the folks who have set up the challenge for our guild have used it as a
reference.  I'm sorry that I don't know the title or author of the book.

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>From: [e-mail] (Cynthia Parsley Baehr)

Hi, I have participated in several challenge projects.  The basic rule is
that everyone starts with the same idea.  Generally this means that a
packet of fabric is given to each participant.  In most cases, the rules
state use the fabric in the packet, add one or two of your own choosing.

Some projects suggest a particular pattern, or one asked that you tell a
story, or one had a wearable art theme.

The packet is usually 4-5 fat quarters, usually there is a size limit so
that this amount of fabric is enough except for the back (though I once
sewed together all the scraps and used that for the back)  The usuall
size is 120" around the outside edge.  This allow for different shapes.

It is fun to see how everyone interprets the theme with the given fabrics.
They are usually very different even when everyone uses the same fabric.

One guild (a rather large one) had the
quilts judged by local pros.  This was fun, and I actually one a ribbon!

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>From: [e-mail] (Beverly Karau)

     My Intermountain Quilters (IQ) group organizes a challenge every
year and so far it's worked pretty well.  We have a committee pick out
five different fabrics and buy enough to make up packets for everyone
who is interested.  Each packet contains 2/3 of a yard of each
fabric, along with instructions.  We divide the total fabric bill by
the number of packets and charge each participant accordingly.  Our
rules are that the piece must be no smaller than 24" square and no
larger than 48" square.  The participant must use at least three of
the five fabrics and may add his/her own fabric--75% of the piece must
be of the challenge fabric.  We tried to insist that all the challenge
pieces be quilted by the deadline, but that didn't quite work for us.
We get pieces in every stage of completion.  I personally like to have
a firm deadline so I'll be sure and get the thing DONE.  I think the
challenge for our group is simply to be forced to use fabrics that you
wouldn't necessarily pick for yourself and to design something
accordingly.  We've had some absolutely gorgeous wallhangings come out
of these challenges.

We give our challengers about 9 months to complete their project
and have a big Christmas party to show off our pieces.  FUN!

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>From: Madeline Martin <[e-mail]>

Our group has done several challenges and it's a blast!  Usually two
members volunteer to coordinate the whole thing.  Here's the basics:
   1.  Determine a time schedule for the start date (usually when the
       fabrics are ready to distribute) and an end date (when all the
       projects will be returned for show-and-tell and judging.

  2.  The volunteers collect the fabric money (usually $25/person) and
      select and buy the fabrics.  We usually started with 5 to 7
      pre-selected fabrics and then can add 1 or 2 of our own choice.

      Typically we select one large scale print (sometimes two), a
      couple medium scale (varying contrast, color, and intensity),
      one or two small scale prints and one solid.  All of the fabrics
      should coordinate and compliment the large scale print.  Be sure
      to vary the intensity so that the fabrics "work."

  3.  The volunteers divide the fabrics (usually no more than 1/2 yard
      of any one fabric) and no less than half a fat quarter.  The fabrics
      are "packaged" in plastic freezer bags for distribution.  Nobody
      gets to paw through the contents of the packages to pick-out
      a "good one."  You work with what you get!  The "total yardage"
      per package runs in the neighborhood of 2 or 2 1/2 yards of fabric.

      Divide the fabrics into different amounts so the pieces are different
      sizes from the same fabric.  In other words, one person would get a
      fat quarter of a fabric and another person would get 1/3 yard of the
      same thing.  Vary the amounts of each fabric in the packages is what
      I'm trying to say!

      $25 sounds pricey but we use high quality fabric ($8/yard cotton) and
      after you figure in sales tax, it adds up.  We use any left-over
      money to buy prizes for the "best" challenge projects.  More about
      that later.

  4.  Distribute the packages, and wish everyone "good luck."  We haven't
      specified a theme; it's been an "everything goes" kind of thing so
      everyone gets to choose their own design.  It's amazing what comes
      back using the same fabrics!  The only rule is that nobody can peek
      at anyone else's project until the show-and-tell day/time.

  5.  Yes, challengers can exchange fabrics from their packages with each
      other.

  6.  Drop-outs can sell their fabric (uncut) to someone who "came in late"
      if they feel they can't finish the project.  There are usually other
      people who didn't get in at the beginning and now want to do it.

  7.  On the end date, everyone brings their project in a brown sack or
      concealed in some way and turns them in to the volunteers who
      secretly hang all the projects for the "grand display" when everyone
      gets to see all the completed projects for the first time.  It's
      wonderful so allow plenty of time for oohing and aahing.  Prizes
      are awarded for "most creative design", "use of color", most pieces,
      best quilting, etc.  The prizes are simple ribbons and/or gift
      certificates from our local quilt stores.

  8.  During our annual quilt show (last weekend) we request that all of
      the challengers bring their project for an en masse display.  We
      set-up a special area to display just the challenge projects and
      make a nice sign describing the challenge.  Viewers love to see our
      challenges each year.  This year we did a "merry-go-round add-a-border"
      group thing.  It was great fun and I'm looking forward to doing it
      again next year.

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>From: [e-mail] (Phyllis Post)

        Our group in Columbus, OH (Quintessential Quilters) has been
doing a challenge every year for at least 6 years.  The challenge has
been different from year to year and has produced some neat results!
Generally, we go for wall hanging-sized pieces or wearables.  One year
we were each given a packet of 6 shades of hand-dyed grey fabrics and
told we could add up to 3 more fabrics.  A couple of times we were
given several pretty far out fabrics to stretch us into using colors we
ordinarily might shy away from.  Two yearss ago we had to do something
with a striped fabric.  Last year's was fun and really different.  It was
called "fruit and fiber".  The rules were that at least one fabric had
to depict a fruit and that at least 3 different _natural_ fibers be
used (exclusive of thread).  I used cotton, silk and wool.

        Our group recently had a long discussion about challenges and
timetables.  Be sure you give everyone plenty of time.  Sometimes it can
take a couple of months just to come up with the right idea.  Don't
schedule the due date for busy times of year like September or December.
And let the group decide whether it has to be quilted and bound or not.
For our fruit and fiber challenge we only had to have the tops done-- and
that was important since design was really the key to this challenge.

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>From: [e-mail] (Linda H. Schiffer)

Have you seen Betty Boyink's book on organizing challenges? Also
there was an article in QNM sometime in the past year or two on this very
subject (or maybe it was American Quilter?) It was a good article...I guess
I can search for it if you don't subscribe to those mags.

I have participated in several challenges...most are at least partly a
fabric challenge: you are given (buy) a packet or piece of fabric, some or
all of which must be used in the piece. Sometime there is a theme given (my
guild's last challenge was "Mother Earth Rejoices") or the requirement to
use a particular pattern somewhere in the piece (a nine patch, an eight
pointed star, etc). Sometimes the fabric given is somewhat ugly or bizarre,
as a challenge in utilization. Sometimes you have finished size limitations
(24" sq or 40" sq, etc), to make it do-able. One year our group did a
miniature block challenge...the piece had to have at least 4-4" blocks in
it. Other times, the challenge is strictly a theme or pattern challenge,
with no fabric provided.

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>From: Marissa Vance <[e-mail]>

Arizona Quilter's Guild does an auction quilt comprised of challenge blocks
done by the various chapter throughout the state.  The officers of the
guild choose colors and fabics (usually 4-5 fabrics) and send the fabrics
to each chapter to make one block.  Each chapter may add/subtract about
two fabrics and must make a 12" finished block.  The blocks from each
chapter are then returned to the guild officers who find a volunteer
to make a quilt top out of the blocks, in a setting of their choosing.
Extra blocks are made into a smaller version and the person who sells
the most raffle tickets wins the smaller version.

You could choose on colors and fabrics as a group and purchase fabric and
split into fat quarters and distribute to those who want to participate.

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>From: [e-mail] (Kathy O'Meara Magnuson)

IQI has a challenge quilt "contest" each year.  This year is my first
exposure to it.  "They" announced it in October and repeated the sign
up table in November at the meetings.  It cost you $15 for the packet,
sight-unseen.  They were available for pickup at the December meeting.
(Or you could pay $18 and she'd mail it to you.)  The fabric packs
were put together by one guild member who owns a store in Wisconsin.
You may eliminate one, and you may add up to three more.  This year
you have to make a quilt (size 30 x 30, no variations!) or a quilted
garment.  For the former, the backing and bindings don't count, for
the latter, the lining doesn't count.  Submissions will be "turned in"
at the June meeting.  I don't have any idea if there any
prizes/ribbons/pats-on-the-back, or (if so) how they're determined.
I suspect that (since the June meeting is the end-of-the-year party),
it'll be a viewers' choice and that this will take the place of the
regular Show and Tell.  My understanding is that they're displayed,
en masse, at the guild's Quilt Show around Veteran's Day.  The 1992
Challenge Quilts are going to be shown at ?Quilt America? (Indianapolis).
I don't know if this is unusual or not.