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Grafitti in Erie, Pennsylvania

 So I have a secret.  Well to be honest, it's not really a secret to anybody who knows me....I'm a bit competitive.  In fact, I'm so competitive that it could get completely out of hand.  About 10 years ago, I decided that I would no longer compete in anything...at all. That said, I do allow myself to compete

  The 2021 Calgary MQG Community Challenge Quilt,  with the signature "YYC" graphic was recently displayed at the Calgary Stampede.  Here's a few pictures from set-up.

It doesn’t seem possible, but as of tomorrow, there will only be 100 days left in 2021. Each year, I make a list (well, several lists) of “100 Things To Do in the Next 100 Days”. I keep all my lists in this book:

I always make one list starting on January 1st, a second list starting somewhere in the middle of the year, and the final list always starts on September 23rd. It’s fun to see how much I can get done in the final 100 days of each year. I’ve been doing this since 2009 ...

 I always look forward to the announcement of Pantone's color of the year. This year's colors really resonated with me...

Illuminating and Ultimate Gray. Both beautiful, separately and together. In fact, I have decorated my guest bedroom and bath in these colors. So it felt good to dive in and use them together in a small quilt. Small because the McKinney Modern Quilt Guild will be displaying them in the display case at the library again this year, as we did in 2019.

I actually made my quilt several months ago. After I pattern tested my friend Jane ...

The voting is over, and WOW! was it ever tough!

I’m amazed at the quality of all the entries, the clever ideas for using a panel, and the creativity shown in all the projects. I really appreciate all of you that jumped in with me and entered. It grew way beyond my expectations. We may have to do something like this again!

And now, for the winners . . . drum roll, please!

Honorable mention: Shirley Guier

Shirley Guier: North to Alaska

Shirley said she got this panel on a trip to Alaska. The cool color palette framed by the blocks that ...

Here we go!

I hope I’ve got this working.

I’ve tested it to the best of my ability, and I had My Cowboy try it, and if HE can get it to work, then it must be working — haha!

We ended up with 46 entries! I’m completely blown away by this! I really appreciate all of you who joined me in this challenge and entered a project. I kinda threw it out there simply to make myself use up something I had laying around, and it took on a life of its own, and . . . it’s been ...

Woohoo! But seriously, how is it April 30th already??

Do you have your Panel Challenge projects finished?

It’s time to submit them for the voting. I gave instructions for it in my last Panel Challenge update, but I’ll repeat them here. We already have 23 entries as of this morning! So I’m expecting a lot more over the weekend, as folks finish up. I’m so excited!

Here’s how to enter:

1. Email a photo of your project to me at shelly@prairiemoonquilts.com. An attachment works great. Once I receive it, I will respond to your ...

How are you doing with your Panel Challenge quilts?

If you want in on the Panel Challenge, the rules are HERE. You still have time to get in on this! Did I mention there will be prizes?

One of our prizes is from Needle and Foot — Bernie is donating a $35 gift certificate to her shop!

I’m slowly moving mine along. I finished cutting:

And started sewing:

And there’s a good week left, so I have plenty of time!

I didn’t mean for it to be a red and green quilt, but that’s how it’s ...

 LOL .... did that title of this post catch your attention?  Yes, I'm going to be doing a bit of hand quilting.  Only on small projects.

Like this small 24" x 24" wall hanging.  Yes, you can't see anything except for a glimpse of something beneath my stencils.  Why?  

This hanging is for an quilt exchange that I'm participating in with Humble Quilts.  The exchange is now closed with 70 swappers and I have already received the name of the person that this hanging will be going to.  Our work can be showed, but if the recipient reads ...

I finally got moving on my Panel Challenge quilt! If you want in on the Panel Challenge, it’s not too late at all. You can find all the info HERE and HERE.

I came up with an idea, and it turned into a throw quilt. Then I got to thinking that was too big, and maybe I needed to come up with a different idea. Then I decided why not? It’s OK to make it throw sized, and it’ll use up more fabric from my stash, right?

Besides, I plan to donate mine to my guild’s ...

 "What does love look like?

Wow! You guys are all in for the Panel Challenge! I way underestimated how much interest there would be in a challenge like this. This is gonna be fun.

Since there IS so much interest, and so many of you want to join in, let’s just make it official, shall we?

Here are the rules again, and below that, I’ll answer a couple of questions I’ve been asked.

1. Choose a panel to use for your project.
2. Turn the panel into a quilt of any size (or any project of your choosing — doesn’t have to be a ...

While I was working my way through The Final Countdown at the end of 2020, I unearthed a lot, and I mean a LOT of panels — I did not even realize I had so many! Since I don’t normally buy panels, I know most of these were given to me. Some of them are really old!

I obviously don’t use panels much, either, because I still have all these. I believe it’s partly because I have to think too hard to decide what to do with them.

I gathered them all up, put them in this box ...

Temporal challenges to create art abound on social media: 100 days of postcards, 52 weeks of collages, a year of daily ambient temperatures, etc. I wanted to begin 2021 with some sort of daily art prompt, but I didn’t know … Continue reading →

Today I’m back to announce the winners of The 2020 Final Countdown. I think this one was more fun for me than ever, even tho I gave us some hard tasks!

I love that some of you sent in pictures, and I’ve really enjoyed the great comments and wonderful suggestions. And it’s sooo wonderful to know that I’m not alone in my mess, and in my constant efforts to get things under control around here.

Here are a couple more before/afters:

Here’s a couple afters of that closet we saw in an earlier post ...

Loving all the photos you are sharing ( mainly because I love getting peeks into other people’s sewing spaces)! Here are a few more photos . . .

Some afters from yesterday’s befores:

Amazing differences, right? Like a breath of fresh air, I always say . . .

Some befores, and I’m showing you these, not because they’re before pictures, but because they’re really good ideas for fabric storage! They actually look fairly organized already, to me. And how handy is it to have your fabric all so accessible? Also, note the great lighting in this space!

Another before, and this is ...

How are you doing with your main work surface? Have you unearthed it yet? Still working on it?

Several of you sent me pictures, and it really comforts me to know I’m not alone in this mess-making habit of mine! Wanna see some of them?

Here are a couple before shots. I’m withholding names to protect the guilty!

Here are some afters:

And here are a couple of before AND afters. I just keep flipping back and forth between them, because the difference just amazes me!

And I do have to tell you that this one is Macy ...

Well, here we go! Are you ready for Task One of this year’s Final Countdown? If you missed all the details from yesterday’s post, you can find them HERE. I hope you’ll join us.

Some years I take it kind of easy on us, some years I don’t. This year I’m not making it super easy, mainly because I need some tough love for my own sake. (Basically, I do the things I myself need to do, and just drag you all along with me. Thank you for joining me!)

Also, all of this year ...

Wow! Our twelfth year doing this, and I’m STILL not organized! Haha!

I know a lot of folks are saying they will be glad to see this year behind them. Me, I’m of the mind that, just because the calendar is turning over, doesn’t mean things are going to automagically change instantly, or change for the better, even. But there is hope!

I saw a meme the other day that said: “You don’t realize how much of an introvert you are until a pandemic strikes, and your life doesn’t really change that much!” That would ...