Challenge 4 Art: Growth

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All growth depends upon activity. There 

is no development physically or intellectually 

without effort, and effort means work.  

Calvin Coolidge

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When the very clever and talented 'Ellie Q' of Color My World asked me to be a part of a small group who would create a mini quilt to a theme four times a year I jumped at the chance!   The idea of this challenge group was inspired by the girls of Four in Art Group who make amazing projects!  Challenge 4 Art, as our little group is called, consists of four fab people: Ellie Q/Lisa of Color My World, Claudia of Machen und Tun [who I met at Fat Quarterly Retreat last year where she taught me how to make a zippy pouch], Susannah from fiberchick - and me!!

Our first theme was 'GROWTH' and I thought of all sorts of things that I could make that represented growth but I also wanted to show my 'growth' as a patchworker/quilter. How would I show that?  Through paper piecing of course!

[Amy's] Crafty Shenanigans

My original plans for my mini quilt definitely 'grew' and evolved as I sewed it.  Originally I wanted to have three rows of three sprouts but I broke away from the group 'rules' of a 24" maximum mini and made a long skinny rectangular mini.  I'm the naughty one in the group!   The dimensions are 34.25" long x 7.75" wide.
[Edit:  the rules were for a maximum perimeter of 100"]

[Amy's] Crafty Shenanigans

A year ago I had never even heard of paper piecing and my first few attempts at following a paper pieced pattern had me in tears, literally!  Fast forward to me today and I am a paper piecing pattern tester, I am in two Block of the Month programs all to do with paper piecing and I now LOVE making paper pieced things!  I think it is fair to say that I have learned a new skill -- I have grown - and shown GROWTH - as a crafter.

Ikea fabric for backing of the wall hanging

I used several different white on whites to create the background.  I wish I had used white wadding instead of the natural because you can see the natural behind the white.  My scrap bins overfloweth so I used lots of different greens (I would say it is one of my favourite colours) for the sprouts and stems.  A piece of Kaffe Fassett Aboriginal dots was used for the binding.   I am practising my quilting and did some dense organic straight lines (aka wonky straight lines) which is my new favourite quilting design.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing how I interpreted 'growth'.  I love my new paper pieced skinny-mini!  Be sure to visit the other girls over the next day or so to see what they have created for the same theme! 

Happy sewing!!

Linking to Paper Piecing Party at Quiet Play!