Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Challenge Accepted!

Here is the big reveal of the word challenge quilts my small sewing group created.  We had such a fun time making these.

My word is Bee.  Can you guess what each block represents?  Click the photo to see my baby bead embellishments.
We each picked a word and made 9 blocks to depict the word. We connected the blocks with the pot holder method.  

Thank you Wendy Reed of Constant Quilter who has a great tutorial.  Wendy makes incredible award winning quilts with this method.  She has a wonderful blog that always inspires me.

Norma's word is Cat~
Pauline's word is Eye.
Nancy' word is Time.
Fun, right?  what word would you use?  

Special thank you to Pauline for making our story cards.  They are just great.

Whig Rose Update:
Hooray!  I finished my last block.  I am setting them with a zillion HST.
Thank goodness for Triangles on a Roll.  They come perfect with no trimming.  Extra steps on the front end for great results on the back end are worth it for me.
I can't decide if I like them radiating, or going all the same way.  What do you think?  It's hard for me to be impartial when I see it so often.
I get a lot questions about adding lettering to my quilts.  I use Microsoft Word and print out the letters on the computer.  I enlarge them to about 350%.  

I also like to make plastic templates because it makes marking them easy and more accurate.  I don't mind extra steps that produce excellent results.
A Cooper Hawk came for a visit and we had a great view out the kitchen window.  
Have a Great Day!  
xo

28 comments:

Wendy Caton Reed said...

I think your group challenge is the most clever I have ever seen. And, of course I love that you finished them in the potholder method! Whigged out is my absolute favorite quilt ever!! I want to make one now!! I am partial to the radiating triangles, but either way this quilt is fantastic!

Pinkadot Quilts said...

These are amazing! What a fun group project. I have always wanted to know, what does "the bees knees" mean (-:
Your Whig Rose quilt is so cool. You are brave to use that chrome yellow but I think it makes the quilt. Good luck with all 7 zillion HST!

Kyle said...

Your picture/ word quilts are incredible! So clever and fun! Love the baby beads spelling out the phrases.

Karen said...

I agree with Wendy that your group challenge is ever so creative. Did you write about how you came up with word for each person?

Lori said...

Such a fun challenge!! I love each quilt! You ladies are so talented!!
I like the HST either way on your Whig Rose quilt. It is so appealing and graphic. That hawk is amazing.

Sharon Stroud said...

Radiating is my choice. Great job on everything!

Julierose said...

I like those hst's all going the same way--kind of a "circular" idea mimicking the Whig rose...
beautiful work on this and the "word play" quilts are so adorable...great work hugs, Julierose

Julee said...

I like radiating...I'm getting ready to put my very outside HST on my applique quilt now...even though I done the radiating I put the yellow HST facing the wide yellow border on both sides. try this and see what you think...

The Joyful Quilter said...

Those word quilts are SEW creative! LOVE!!

OTquilter said...

Thanks for the great post about our challenge. It was really fun to do; I really enjoyed the whole process: picking a word, researching idioms, and especially figuring out how to picture the idioms with fabric. Process, right? Now to put a sleeve on mine and hang it in my sewing room! I'm in the radiating half-square triangle camp; your Whig rose is going to be another masterpiece!

Susan said...

I love this idea of Wordplay quilts!! Each one is clever and well executed! And your Whig Rose is simply stunning! I think the HST look great both ways....you really can't go wrong!

Holly said...

All the challenge quilts are great, so creative. Congrats for finishing the fourth block. I like the hst all going the same direction. The hst paper is the best. I try to peel papers, iron & cut off dog ears as each sheet is finished to keep from doing a quadrillion at the end. But I'm fussy like that & like stacks of finished squares! Enjoyed your blog.

Chantal said...

The word challenge is so fun to see. You all did an awesome job with the word and with the applique. The baby beads are such a nice touch. Love it. Congratulations to all of you. Whig Rose is a stunner! Wow! I like that the HSTs are going in the same direction. Where they stop to change direction, it make me focus on the seam between the two blocks. Not exactly a part i want to concentrate on, you know I mean? Anywho! it's just my humble saying.
;^)

Janet said...

Radiating for me. Love the "word" quilts. Really took a lot of thought.

Janet O. said...

That is an incredibly clever challenge and each quilter did a really great job! Very fun to try and figure out the use of the word before looking at the "answer sheet".
Whig Rose is jaw-dropping! Oh, it just sings to me! Personally, I prefer the radiating HSTs, but they will look amazing regardless of how you do them.
I see hawks flying over fields around here seeking their prey, but I only see them resting on telephone poles, where they have a better view of the rodents. I don't know if I've seen one in a tree.

Barb said...

Thank you Sharon!

Barb said...

Hi Holly
Thank you so much for such nice comments. I also do all steps in batches for the same reason.

Barb said...

Thanks Janet - I like radiating too! :)

Quilter Kathy said...

These word challenge quilts are squeal worthy! So clever, so creative, so fun!

Angie said...

What a fun challenge! The results were so creative!
Thanks for the words on quilts tips. I had not thought of using plastic templates, but it's an idea I will have to try!

QuiltGranma said...


What a fun collection of quilts you shared! I like the radiating hst's. Beautiful, as always!

Barbara said...

Love seeing the results of your word challenge. What fun! Your Whig Rose blocks are gorgeous and all those little hsts are the perfect finishing touch. Nice to have a visit from a Cooper Hawk :)

Ruth said...

The challenge quilts are amazing! I don't think I could come up with anything like that. My mind isn't that good! Your Whig Rose quilt is so outstanding! I love it, especially the black polka dot petals. It's so much fun to see wild life near home. We have deer walking across our front yard a lot.

Nann said...

I like the radiating HSTs. The challenge theme is very imaginative. (I take it that your printer does the enlarging?)

Janet said...

The zillion hst's will be so worth it! It is absolutely marvellous :0) I love the themed potholder quilts too - such great interpretations of some of the expressions.

Randy D. said...

What a super-fun challenge for your group! I LOVE it!!
Thanks for sharing.
Your Rose of Sharon is looking fabulous. And all those hsts??? YIKES!~ and the same two fabrics???
Very impressive. I don't think it matters which direction they go in, as long as it's all the same! VBG
I'd love to learn how to do those letters. Maybe next time we are together... hint hint!! July isn't that far off!

liz said...

I like them going all the way around. The challenge quilts were fun to look at.

Cynthia@wabi-sabi-quilts said...

OH my goodness I love those word challenge quilts. Yours brought such a smile to my face. You are so witty and artistic! Love it! I have no idea what word I would choose. It would take me forever to decide, ha ha. I like the radiating hst best. That quilt is going to be another one of your show stoppers for sure!