A Challenge...Sorta

My friend Mary made this quilt, which happens to be two sided, out of family garments, and thrift shop shirts. At a lunch meeting, a few of us saw this and got the idea that this would be fun to make...that's my story and I am sticking to it. Of course we were NOT collectors of family clothing, so Mary brought out huge bins and we dug around in them collecting from her collection. Such fun.

And then to make something using the motif of Friendship Star + clothing fabrics was the challenge. O dear. I thought this would be easy peasy and fun besides. But it was a horrible struggle. 

  I made this block and felt....meh.

I kept at it for two more days, disassembling patchwork and remaking blocks and HSTs, but nothing moved me. I complained via email and found a compatriot was also struggling. In giving her advice, I found a way out for myself. 

It dawned on me that I am motivated by the fabric and the shirt fabric wasn't doing it for me. So out came the good stuff, and I surrounded my little blocks with hand dyed colors and soon I was on a roll.

 I found a plaid in my stash that brought all my colors together like a plan and that saved the day.

And here is the finished top. 53.5 x 56". I have two friendship stars leftover from the bunch I made. I will donate them to the rest of the gals.

You know I don't ever, ever do challenges, but this one made me learn so much about myself and how I would prefer to work. You'd think I would know all this stuff by now, but noooooo.

It feels great to dig into my 'saving it for something important' stash and use these fabrics. So happy!