Challenges...

Thank you all so much for your comments and encouragement!  This post is entitled "challenges" for a couple of reasons:  first, I'm still trying to get my blog real estate in order, slowly but surely getting there.  Second, I have 2 challenge quilts to show you from my guild's 2009 challenge - (1) "The Color Purple" and (2) "You Give Me Butterflies." 

One day I was eating one of those little boxes of raisins, looking at the box (you know how you do, munching and reading the small print, trying to keep those raisins out of your cavity), when I said to myself, "I bet this would make the perfect purple quilt if I can enlarge it enough."  And so I did!  This one's called "The Raisin Maiden." 

After the fact, I realized I should have/could have made her a bit larger, she looks lost inside that large frame.  BUT, I figured the sun was an important part of the design, so there had to be room for it to shine down ...  AND I should have/could have placed the bottom of the basket directly on the border rather than floating it above it.  

Oh well, that's a done deal.

For the second challenge I searched the web for butterflies and I found a pretty butterfly postage stamp, I think it was from Brazil.  I added my own spin to make the colors "pop."  You might not be able to see it, but I put my initials and the year in the upper left corner, the way you see the country and year designated on a real postage stamp. 

I used a nickel as a template to cut out the little notches in the white border.  This one is named Butterflius Challengus, and it is 14-1/2 square.

Until next time, sew forth and sew on!
Linda