Project Quilting Season 11 kicked off this past Sunday with the theme of
Notable Numeric. There were numerous design possibilities considered: multiplication charts, selvedge edge numbers, FMQing dice game, digital numbers on a calculator, math games, numeric codes, Sodoku, roman numerals, and
Sesame Street's pinball number count (and yes that song definitely played in my head throughout the week!)
I set aside Friday afternoon/evening for my
weekly studio session with the intention of working on my entry. In preparation, I completed all my packing for my upcoming workshops and lectures, wrapped up all my meetings and follow up work to clear the way for dedicated studio time. I guess the universe, or at least Pacific Gas & Electric (aka PG&E, the power supply company for most of Northern California) had other ideas which included an unplanned 10-hour power outage for my neighborhood!
Luckily, I had a few hours on Saturday afternoon before my flight, so I pulled out some scrap paper and began doodling numbers 1-9 with the goal of creating filler designs that:
- Utilize the numbers as I normally write them
- Disguise the number through stacking, twisting, rotating, and interlocking
- Find a way to stitch several motifs consecutively without breaking thread
Some designs were immediate successes, whereas other numbers required multiple reiterations before finding a design that I liked! Below you can see all my experiments: the good, the bad, and the ugly!
In honor of the frequent blackouts in my neighborhood, I chose Michael Miller's Black Cotton Couture solid for my quilt top and
Superior Thread's Glow in the Dark Nite Lite thread in pastel yellow (it also comes in pastel pink, blue, green, purple and white). Photographing the glow in the dark thread proved to be a challenge but hopefully you get the idea from the two photos below (top right and bottom left).
In just a couple of hours, I managed to stitch out a large pound sign (aka hash tag) to create a 3x3 grid, fill in each 5" square with one of my nine free motion filler designs, and attach the binding. The remainder of my dedicated "studio" time was spent in the San Jose airport and on a Southwest flight.
Just as I was finishing the binding, my in-flight beverage, snack, and cocktail napkin arrived. Finally the universe was in sync with my sewing plans!
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| 9...ha ha... |
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| 8...ha ha... |
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| 7...ha ha... |
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| 6...ha ha... |
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| 5...ha ha... |
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| 4...ha ha... |
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| 3...ha ha... |
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| 2...ha ha... |
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| 1...ha ha... |
And here is my finished entry for Project Quilting 11.1: Notably Numeric...
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| Digits & Doodles, Finishes 16" x 16" |
There will not be any voting this year due to a change in the Link Up program. However, I encourage you to check out all the fun interpretations of this week's
Notable Numeric challenge (90...ha ha...entries and counting!)
Only 7...ha ha...days until the next challenge theme is unveiled...hope you can join the fun!!
That is really creative! I love the 5s best, I think. We had a predicted nasty ice storm with likely outages here yesterday (Saturday) that amounted to nothing much. Guess you got our power outage?!
ReplyDeleteThank you Katie. The 5s might have been my favorite to stitch out! They remind me of jigsaw pieces. Glad you didn't lose power during the ice storm!
DeleteThe connecting numbers are great! 2s & 5s especially. I like the hilly 3s in the practice paper too
ReplyDeleteThank you Becca! It was fun to explore different ways to connect and interlock the digits. The 5s may have been my favorite to stitch out! There were several possibilities for the 3s and I may need to revisit the clam shell variation again!
DeleteVery creative and unique. The stitching is perfect.
ReplyDeleteAww...thank you Danice. I enjoyed skipping ahead to the fun stuff: free-motion quilting! I am really pleased with how the stitching pops against the solid black!
DeleteThis is a great piece for this challenge. Also a good FMQ practice. The sync with SW napkin may be a sign that you'll win a prize. I hope so. I was busy sorting scraps for a QOV project, and the sorting & cutting parts has taken over my life this week. Planning to be able to participate more often this year. I love seeing all of the creative responses to the challenges.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kay. I am glad I was able to make it work this week and explore some new FMQing motifs to add to my repertoire! I look forward to seeing what you create in future challenges this season!
DeleteIf we had viewer's choice voting this year, you'd get my vote! This is clever and creative! I probably would not have been able to tell that these were numbers if I hadn't read your post. Good luck with the future challenges! I look forward to seeing what you come up with next!
ReplyDeleteAwww...thank you! I am looking forward to the upcoming challenge themes and seeing what they inspire!!
DeleteYou always find a way to create whatever the obstacles thrown in your path. This quilt is darling. Love the glow in the dark thread. How did you discover that? And your list of possible number ideas is amazing. This is part of the reason you will never run out of ideas. Congrats.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ann! I've had the glow in the dark thread for a few years now...just waiting for the right project! My comedy improv studies really help me to quickly brainstorm a variety of connections to almost any suggestion an audience member may toss out during a show!
DeleteThis is really amazing Mel!
ReplyDeleteThanks Hilary--always a fun chance to play with some free-motion quilting and come up with some unconventional filler designs!
Deletewhat a great way to create designs! LOVE this! It turned out amazing!
ReplyDeleteThanks Kim! Another great prompt pushing me to explore a new design. Thank you for hosting PQ!!
DeleteOnce again, you have inspired me in so many ways! I look forward to your blog posts! Love the idea of using numbers to create linear patterns. Next, on to the 26 letters of the alphabet! Keep up the great work!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jeanne...I am delighted to hear you are inspired by my posts. These challenges inspire me to explore new designs and techniques and I am happy to share.
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