I'm OK

I spent tons of time thinking about the "word challenge". I had a whole bunch of words jotted on my white board, some of which appeared here:

focus

complete

finish

tidy

organize

do

Although I do need to do all of the above, I really was not inspired to make a quilt with any of them. Then I finished a small gift for a friend "just because" in the middle of another project that I'm racing to get done. When I gave it to her, I realized that I sew to be creative and play. So whatever I do or don't do, however messy it gets and whatever I finish or not is perfectly

ok. 

Its not a big giant OK finishing at 12"x12"

The scraps are mine and from sewing friends. I bought the two different yellow ginghams in Germany when visiting my daughter in Berlin. I love gingham! On my first night there we went out for chinese food and my fortune cookie held the message: "The color yellow will bring you luck."

I really like the back. I got this fabric from a decorator sample book, so its a heavier cotton with a little sheen. My little quilt is labeled and signed and will hang above my sewing machine.

Balance!

Hi all!
I chose "balance" for my word because I'm always striving to keep the various aspects of my life balanced. Not necessarily succeeding, but striving! :)

I have a box full of leftover strips and random pieces conveniently located under my sewing table, so I pulled exclusively (and pretty blindly!) from that. I wanted to create a busy, uneven stripe look. 

I went from here: 

Where it sat on my design wall for a week--should I add a border? What color? Should it be pieced? Did I have time to play around with borders? Was that a crash and a cry from the kids' room, and should I check it out, or stay in my studio and assume everything is fine? Did my email just ping? Ten more work emails to deal with before we leave on vacation tomorrow. (Are you starting to see why I chose the word I did?!)

This morning, with the end of the month deadline looming, I jumped in. Cheery gold letters, because I want balance to be a happy thing, not a threat. Tilted stacked letters, because it adds humor to the idea of achieving balance. Gold thread straight quilting lines because I do love straight quilting, and I'm often too chicken to use bright colors on bigger quilts--perfect to try it here. 

And the binding and flange? Proof that I'm learning balance. I participated in the Challenge, found my 15 minutes to play on several days to make it happen, but didn't make myself crazy by trying to figure out a border. At the same time, I couldn't just leave it with no border and only binding, so I added in the flange. Hooray for compromise! (With 5 year old and 2.5 year old boys at home who seem to constantly bicker, perhaps that should be my word next year...) 

Fun challenge! And I've really enjoyed seeing everyone's word and interpretation!

Ellie Q

p.s. Have to share one more thing...my almost 5 year old has taken up quite an interest in quilting, which I love. He likes to pick out fabric and decide how big of a piece we'll use and where it will go, and then we sew on the machine together. Here are his latest four blocks; I think he's got a future in making fabric, don't you?!

Hearts Challenge

One of my sisters-in-law

is celebrating a milestone birthday

so I made this 12"x12" mini for her.

 It's hard to see what's

going on in this photo.

(The real thing is better!)

I wanted to put some "lace" and "beads"

around the the center heart

and used perle cotton #8

to chain stitch an irregular

ruffle-like design and then added french knots.

Before these touches, I machine quilted

channels using red thread.

Social

I finally got a picture of the finished quilt.  My word for this year is "Social".  My natural tendencies are to be an introverted homebody and this year I am going to make myself be a more social person.  I can not be such a hermit this year.  Now, don't be sad for me, I teach school and am around people all day long.  I run into people I know all the time at the grocery store and out and about and we can stand and talk for an hour or two.   I like people (well, most of them) and I enjoy going out with my friends on occasion, but when asked to join a group for a meal or out to a movie, most of the time I decline the invitation because to tell the truth, I would much rather be at home sewing or reading or just curling up on the couch with the furbabies. I even enjoy just being alone.  So, this year, to get me out of my comfort zone a bit and to grow "socially", I am going to try (fighting against everything that is in me) to say yes and join in a bit more. 

 

 



By the way, just this last weekend, I went to lunch with a group of ladies (I only knew one of them) even though I really, really just wanted to go home.  LOL I guess my word for the year is may just work. 

heart done!

Victoria, I loved making this yesterday afternoon! I am calling it heart strings and giving it to my five year old who starts school next week! Thanks, jess W


**
…A girl after my own, heart… already done! LOL! way to go Jess! ~V

Joyful!

My word for the year is joyful because I am learning to machine quilt which will make all my quilts a bit more joyful because I will be completing all of them! Don't look too closely at my quilting, this is a work in progress. - Linda F

hearts!

Just the challenge that I needed to get excited. My husband said my five minutes of play has turned into five days. Can't help myself. I love everything hearts. I am going to continue on to complete four hearts for a wall hanging. I will not plan anything except that and see what happens.
Thanks for the great inspiration.~ Kathryn A

PLAY!

Hi Victoria,

I took your class in December in CT.  This is the block I made there.  My word is to remind me to enjoy each step and not be in a hurry "to get it done".   It is also a reminder to step out of my comfort zone of following the rules all the time!  :)  It was a great class-thanks for the inspiration.

Susan

HEARTS CHALLENGE

A wee bit of HEARTS and PLAY going on over here… 

My daughter loved a small quilt I made for a swap, (yellow pic below)

So now, she requested one for herself...this will be hers for Valentine's Day(top, red hearts) I'm going to run hearts all around the square,  and a small border and call it a day… She has a spot on her wall for a small quilt "she says"… hint hint… :-)

I'm thinking that should be the next challenge don't you think? 

Free form,  scrappy, MADE FABRIC hearts! 

MADE FABRIC HEARTS Challenge!

Make a small Valentine quilt…as a gift to give/share!… 

12" finished or smaller. 

Deadline by end of February… 

Post your work, 

or email me a blurb in a email and I will post. (Do not send me Word docs…)

Label your post "Hearts Challenge" so we can easily find them all.

WRAP UP ON WORD QUILTS:

You all made some amazing WORD quilts!!! Did you flip through and see them all?
here's a direct link to all of them. Go be inspired!  if anyone else makes one, just email me, and I will post it.
http://www.15minutesplay.com/search/label/word2014


FAVOR?

I'd love signature block from my 15 Minute players…
see post here for details:
http://www.bumblebeansinc.blogspot.com/2014/01/pretty-please.html

newbie!

Kathryn A. sent me an email a showing her first blocks of Made Fabric.  She just rcvd my book and was so inspired! She said she's a newish quilter, but It seems to me, she has it going on just fine!
Love the color Palette! Way to go Kathryn!

Keep It Simple Stupid

My word quilt is complete.  I will not hang it on the wall, because I want to keep it in plain sight wherever I sew.  It could even be a super sized mug rug!

sharing...

...Slow to my own game!
LOL!
done-ish. aka: nearly complete!
Just have to finish a bit on the binding… thought I'd SHARE!
ha!

focus

Like Teresa, "FOCUS" is my word for 2014. Thinking about the challenge, I realized that I am too easily distracted by new combinations of fabrics, techniques and ideas. I tend to lose interest in a project once I can see how it will turn out. This year I will pay more attention to the act of making and completing something and not just its design. In life in general, I want to focus more on the people and things that are truly important to me.

My "made" fabric is a little more ordered. I had a bunch of narrow strips of varying widths which were sewn together randomly in stacks of roughly 2". These were then joined into one giant strip.  I folded this strip in half and sewed down one side like in a Jelly Roll Race. I kept folding the piece and sewing down one side until I had a large rectangle. It was a very fast way to make fabric. The letters were sewn using reverse applique.

It was great fun to participate in this challenge and I hope that the resolution to FOCUS in 2014 is one that I keep. Thanks to everyone for the visual inspiration!

Love . . . again

My word for 2014 is LOVE.

I did one here.

I am also in a Swap with our NYC Metro Mod Guild,

and the theme is LOVE.

I love how this one came out.  Even more than my first one!

All made fabric.

I may have to make another or me!!

Now just to quilt and bind it.

12 x 12

Each letter block finishes at 4"

Pieces!

 Playing with Pieces – Picking Up the Pieces – Bits and Pieces – Pieces of my Life

A bit of patience and perseverance and I have a banner for my sewing room.   It is 29” by 11” and made from scraps in the “lights” basket.   The sleeve is attached.  Although not perfect, it is finished and ready to hang over my door. 

Cheers to All and thanks for your photos and inspiration.    Elizabeth White

JOY!!!

Lisa F. finished quilting her cutie!

Grow!

This year I want to grow my business, grow as an artist, grow as an entrepreneur, and why not grow spiritually/emotionally, too?

(Physical growth, on the other hand, I'd like to leave to plants and flowers; that's one area where I'd prefer to shrink a little, thank you.)

This finished at about 15"x23", and awaits a hanging sleeve. I drew the letters with a Sharpie on a piece of freezer paper, then traced onto Steam-a-Seam2 to create the applique shapes. Each letter is a different green batik.

After I'd pieced and spray-basted, I snapped a photo, which revealed one lone patch of very pale citron batik that was much too light to blend in:

Whoops.

Fortunately, I had some small green leaf shapes left over from another project (finished over two years ago), that I'd had the foresight to stash in a little baggie in the green scraps drawer, which had been dumped out onto the sewing table for scrap-piecing the background. So they were right there when I needed them! If I'd had to go looking for them I might still be searching. They cover up the too-light piece very nicely:

I tucked some rick-rack around the center oval, just for fun. It's blue because that's what I had a right-sized length of.

Secret slap-dash piecing tricks: I did not applique the letters to the oval (they were fused, but not yet sewn) or sew the center oval to the background (which is a donut, with a big gap in the middle under the oval) until the quilting stage. The zig-zag stitching around the letters is all the quilting I did in the middle. Then I tucked the rick-rack under the purple purple edge (a folded bias strip) and stitched in the ditch between the purple and yellow and then along the outside edge of the purple to hold everything in place.

Scrap-piecing the background frame and getting it put together to the right size was the trickiest and most time-consuming part of the process. Overall, a fun, almost quick project. It will hang in my office as a daily reminder of how to proceed through the year.

Lori's Intent!

Just wanted to share my word quilt with you…INTENT! 
This was PURE play, as in no plan, no idea where I was headed next, just playing. I usually start with some idea, although my idea often gets derailed, but how much more fun it was this way! Truly, it will need some serious quilting, it's not exactly show-quality. Anyway, just wanted to share. Have a great day!
Lori E.

Posted for Lori.

PLAY!!!

Play is defined as: 

verb

1.   Play is to engage in an activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose. 

   synonyms:

   amuse oneself, entertain oneself, enjoy oneself, have fun;

2. Looks like I'm off to a good start! I made this little sampler over the weekend and realized that I truly got caught up in "playing" when my husband came home from work Sunday and stated: "You still playing with that?" Double thumbs up! Goal accomplished! (I also need to make more sampler size quilts).This was fun!

1. This little sampler represents everything I want to incorporate into my quilts this year:  pearl cotton, wool, buttons, ribbon, "made fabric", scraps, creative stitching, charms, long-arm quilting, fun binding, dimensional pieces, 3-D flowers. I'm sure there will be more, but ya get the picture.

With smiles!
Val:)

posted for Val.

Essential!

 .....ESSENTIAL.

As I was contemplating Victoria's word challenge, the word "essential" really appealed to me on a couple of different levels.  First off, it's so important (though sometimes quite difficult!) to focus on what is necessary, vital to life and personal growth - creatively and otherwise.  This project reminds me that sometimes simply creating is essential.  When I am so easily distracted by lots of ideas, demands and "shoulds", I want to heed the call of the essential in my life.

The other concept of essential is "reflecting the essence".  Whether cleaning the house, meeting an important deadline or just playing, I want all the things I do to reflect my essence.

It's great that part of the instructions were to complete this project QUICKLY!  Like I said, I had thought about my word, but when I was sewing with Mom and Gran over the holidays, I just grabbed some scraps from the projects we were working on and started PLAYING.  Before they knew it, I had some red made-fabric for the "e" and had played with some sewing machine stitches in a heavy cotton thread for the remaining letters.  The background city fabric came from a quilt Gran was working on for my niece.

This was a fun project because none of the fabric was mine - since we were at Gran's house, I was picking through her scraps :)  I even rummaged through my her craft drawers and found the world's tiniest black pompom for the dot on the i.

So fun to quilt such a small piece - it's about 11" x 22"......I used bright metallic turquoise thread for the busy city print. I love the little bit of sparkle it adds.  I also added some black pearl cotton chainstitch around the "e" to make it stand out even more and pieced the binding for some extra fun.
Thanks for the challenge, V!

posted for Kim H

RELAX!!

Dear Victoria!

Wishing you and all the 15minutesplayer a Happy New Year!

May this year brings you happiness in all you do!

In the last time there was a lot of tension for me.
I hope the new year is a little more relaxed.

Therefore is my word for 2014:

RELAX!

Have a nice day!

Greetings Katrin

SHINE!

My word is "Shine!". 

By this I mean:

...to put my best foot forward

...to be the best I can be in anything I do

...to 'put myself out there'; pursue new challenges and share my gifts

...and to help others shine as well.

I picked  from my stash of yellow and orange scraps to 'make' some fabric, 

cut the fabric into strips, and free-pieced the letters.

Posted for Cinzia

ENGAGE

My word?   So many choices ...  BLOOM, GROW,  BE, SMILE, CREATE, FOCUS.  I settled on ENGAGE.  I tend to be watcher, a looker,  an observer.  I can spend hours looking at other's works and be inspired.  But I need to engage myself to take that step past inspiration and put an idea in motion. 

I  work at a an Art Department in a local University.  Getting ready for the spring semester, one of the faculty  members asked me to scan some pages from Twyla Tharp's book "The Creative Habit".  Twyla stresses the importance of on making art a "habit".  Creating an habitual routine that you etch out each day.   My morning ritual is typically to wake up between 5am and 5:30 am every day - 7 days a week and go up to my sewing room and sew for 30-45 minutes before work( and for hours on Saturdays and Sundays!)  That had been my "creative habit" for months, if not years.  Since November, I've let that slack and in the past 4 weeks, if I sewed in the morning before work, it was a rare occasion. 

I promise to engage myself again into this "Creative Habit" of early morning sewing. Who knows what delightful pieces of work can come from my morning playing? Here's what I finished this morning before work:

 

Victoria, as always, thanks for the inspiration!  

 

Eileen

Lis'a JOY!

 I grabbed some of my hand dyed fabrics and whipped this up. Still have to finish it and perhaps, do a little embellishing before I can hang it in my wee studio but here it is so far! This year, I am embracing….. 
posted for Lisa F.

Focus!

Here’s the finished – FOCUS!  It was a lot of fun.  ~ Teresa

garden!

Coming to you live from Chiberia! (Zone 5 Chicago)

We had a real heat wave today it reached 0!!!!  woohooo!  We are counting down the days to our last frost free 

date here with anxious feverish anticipation!

Time to play a little and create the 1st handmade for 2014, the word I chose is "Garden", 

Im a gardener and have high hopes for this years vegetable garden and all the goodness and healthy

living it brings to my family.

This quilt is made from cotton scraps (there is one polyesther in there, can you spot it?).  The 

word is pieces of a wide felty yarn used to knit sweaters that I stitched down by hand with 

cotton crochet yarn. 

Hoping 2014 finds you steeped in inspiration to create! ~ Jessie

posted for Jessie

DO!

My word is a simple one - do!

I have to include the exclamation point to imply "do it now."  Whenever I (try to)start a project,  I waste time changing my mind about the quilt pattern, my fabric choices, etc.  Sometimes I never begin the project because of my indecision.  I even started looking in the dictionary for a different word!  

Instead, my word motivated me to go to may stash and pull out scraps of hot pink (my favorite) along with black + white fabric squares I had previously made.  I threw them on some batting and started rearranging and trimming until I liked the design.  I treated the made fabric like applique pieces and used spray adhesive to keep everything in place ~ I felt like a little kid again gluing colored construction paper onto poster board!  I sewed all the pieces down with decorative stitches and bound it with white twill tape. 

I wasn't true to the challenge directions (my letters are not the made fabric) but it's done and already inspiring me!  Thank you Victoria for such a fun challenge!
Posted for Diane

Keep moving

My word for the year -- maybe for my life --

is "move".

Move my body, move my life forward,

move some stuff around and out of my sewing room.

I used a fabric called Hot Flash that looks like it vibrates

and used various solids to set it off.

So the background of the letters is more made fabric

than the letters are.

I think the stitching around the letters also has the sense of movement.

 

K. I. S. S.

Keep It Simple, Stupid!

OR

Keep it Simply Solids...Keep It Short & Sweet....Keep It Slow but Sure

I want a slower, simpler, and sweeter 2014!

My word for 2014

 

After considering several words and almost deciding on PLAY this word popped into my head while out on a walk.  As we were walking along our beautiful coastal walkway a few days ago we met many people out walking and biking and 99% of them (all strangers) smiled and greeted us.  It was amazing how uplifting this was.  If you are happy I am sure you can be more creative.

This is made entirely of my made material.  I have a drawer full but have recently used up a lot of the brights in a quilt which is still in progress.  For this one I pieced together my 4" low value squares and then cut the letters out of a couple of my 12" squares.  I cut up the remainder of those squares to create the border.  The letters are hand appliqued onto the pale background and I have included some embroidered flowers and also free motion quilted with a flower motif - a first for me.

BLOOM

As per Webster's Collegiate Dictionary:  BLOOM - A state or time of beauty, freshness and vigor.

R E S O L V E

CONSCIOUSNESS

ATTENTION

ACTION 

CHOICE

These are the words I considered for 2014.

In the end I chose RESOLVE.

It's really a cue for all of the above words; 

a daily reminder

to make fixed, firm intentions

requiring discipline of mind & body.