2021 Challenge, and Saturday Meet-Up

Do you have scraps? Do your storage bins look anything like these?

On November 13, 2020, members received an email introducing our Scrap Quilt Challenge 2021, thoughtfully created by Beth. We hope you’ve been thinking about participating!

The challenge will have us working with our scraps. Since many of us are staying at home, there’s no need to purchase a thing. Just use what you have, and make it modern. As a reminder, characteristics of a modern quilt are listed below. At least one to several of these characteristics are found in a modern quilt:

• Negative Space
• No Borders, unless part of negative space
• Minimalism, more negative space = more minimal
• Bright Fabrics
• Graphic Fabrics such as text print
• High Contrast
• Asymmetry, subject is not centered and symmetrical
• Exaggerated Scale, blown-up blocks or components
• Pixelization, very small scale – distorting an image to a fundamental digital composition
• Modern Traditionalism, applies other modern quilt design elements to traditional blocks
• Improvisational, often cut without using a ruler, and pieced randomly

By the way, this IS the list of modern quilt characteristics that we used for Show and Tell. Members are asked to indicate which modern element(s) are in the quilts shown. Here’s a link to this list of Modern Quilt Characteristics, in case you’d like to print it.

Here’s the link to the Scrap Quilt Challenge 2021 document that may be printed for your convenience.

Challenge Guidelines

1. Make a quilt top entirely from your scraps. Take a photo of the scraps you select to use and post on Instagram.
2. Make any size quilt.
3. Size of scraps used need to be less than ¼ yard, or a fat quarter. Please don’t use fabric yardage, except in negative space.
4. Maximum size of any patch (not a block) is 6½” or less, except for negative space. You may also piece your negative space from scraps by using values of the same color, or with all light values of pastels, creams and light grays. 
5. The quilt design must be modern: list the modern characteristics represented in your design
6. Negative space is required
7. To add a personal limit to the challenge, choose one of these design guidelines for yourself:

• Make it all improv
• Make it with angles such as 30°- 60° – 90° – 45°, as in half-square triangles (HST); half-rectangle triangles (HRT) triangles, diamonds, or hexagons
• Use only two colors, or only all neutral colors, or use rainbow colors, or use all warm colors, or all cool colors

Use Instagram – #cfscrapchallenge

• Post a photo of your challenge scraps along with the personal challenge you chose for yourself. Do this before beginning to sew.
• Share your progress! Use the hashtag: #cfscrapchallenge

Finished quilts are due at our scheduled March 2021 meeting (date and location yet to be determined). Prizes will be awarded.

Link to the Scrap Quilt Challenge 2021 document

December In-Person Outdoor Meet-Up!

We’re looking forward to our last 2020 gathering – IN PERSON – this Saturday! On December 12, at 1 PM we’ll meet-up at Lake Miona Park, 10501 County Road 115, The Villages, Florida.

Bring a lawn chair to set up six feet apart. Please wear a mask. And, if you wish to participate in our annual gift swap, wrap a $12-$15 quilting-related item and be ready to indicate whether you wish to join the one time gift swap, or participate in the Chinese gift swap (where an item may be “stolen” up to two more times).

Of course, you’re also welcome to bring your own snacks and drink.

Mostly though, we’re just looking forward to catching up with one other!