The latest Off Season Challenge comes from Chris Daly of Dye Candy. Chris was one of our sponsors for last season and if you haven’t seen her shop yet I definitely recommend a visit.

She offers gorgeous hand-dyed fabrics in all types of yardage

and beautiful miniature quilt jewelry. It’s definitely a must see shop for quilters!

Okay – onto the challenge.

Flower Splash from MoranArtandQuilts

FLORA

The theme of of the third off season challenge is "Flora". Size, Color, method and techniques are the participants choice. However the piece should be a quilt.

Quilted Wall Hanging in rainbow with Floral Applique from SieberDesigns

To read more about Project Quilting Here: http://kimscraftyapple.blogspot.com/2010/04/project-quilting.html and join the facebook group: www.facebook.com/projectquilting

THE RULES:

1. Have FUN! These off season challenges aren’t about winning a prize – they’re about being inspired to create something you may not have in the past. There are a lot of ways to interpret this challenge – let’s see if you can in a way no one else does!
2. Please remember that these projects need to be created during the time frame of the challenge.
3. If you need advice/tips/help (or you just want to give us all a sneak peak) with your project as you work on it feel free to post pictures to the flickr group: Project QUILTING WIP: http://www.flickr.com/groups/1430386@N24/
4. POST your entries with a description of your creative process, including where you are (ie, I create in Madison, WI) and the size of your project by Sunday, July 10th, 2011, at noon, CDT, to this flickr group – Project QUILTING with KimsCraftyApple: http://www.flickr.com/groups/1401824@N21/ OR email a picture/description of your completed project to {lapaceksorchard at gmail dot com} with PROJECT QUILTING in the subject line . (just over 3 weeks to finish the challenge)
5. Since we’re in ‘off season’ we aren’t having prizes/judges etc BUT if you do want people to truly critique (the good and the bad) your project post it to the Flickr Group: Project QUILTING – Critiques
6. If you have an idea for an ‘off season’ challenge which includes a miniature feature about you on my blog please email me at {lapaceksorchard at gmail dot com}.

Modern Flowers from KimsCraftyApple

by Guest Blogger, Amie Bressers


I’m not really much of one for color. Well, that’s not entirely true. I have two red chairs, and instead of a black car I went with blue. Admittedly, the red is dark and tempered with black, and the blue is prefaced with “graphite,” as in grey, but that’s gotta count for something, right? Maybe not, but I’m perfectly content with my neutral ways. I prefer to add splashes of color via accents, like the vibrant painting that stole my heart at a Berlin art show and the little green plastic alien that resides in the cup holder of my car. (Yes, the alien’s a stretch, but stick with me here. I have a point.)

This void of color has made its way into, or perhaps planted its roots in my wardrobe. In fact, as I type this I’m wearing my unofficial uniform: black turtleneck (substitute tee during the warmer months) and jeans. Boring? Maybe. But one thing my black canvas offers is a clean backdrop for intriguing accents. That’s where the color comes in. (Do you see how I did that, tied my decorating habits to my dress code? In know, terribly transparent.)



Lucky for me, I have Kim as a member of my family. She convinces me to go for the multicolored mittens rather than the shades of black and grey, and just last Saturday she gifted me with a pair of her Hoops and Loops Earrings as well as another pair designed just for me. I confess, Kim let me pick my colors for the Hoops and Loops, and I reverted to my neutral ways with black, white, and burgundy, but the silhouette of these earrings makes up for my lack of color innovation. I wore them today with the aforementioned black turtleneck and a ponytail, and they were the highlight of my whole look.


The other pair (ask Kim to make some for you, they’re adorable) offers an ocean blue ring with a tiny accent of yellow because I told Kim I’ve been trying to figure out how to wear the sunny shade. They’ll be the pair I wear with all of my black, white, grey, [insert any neutral hue here] summer dresses.


So will I be donning neon from head to toe anytime soon? Not a chance. No one should do that. Ever. Not even in the ’80s. But my life will never be completely devoid of Roy G. Biv.