Challenge 4 Art

I joined up with three other blogging quilters to do a quarterly art quilt challenge, which we're calling "Challenge 4 Art." We came up with the idea of this challenge group after being inspired by the Four in Art Group, who already have three projects under their belt. 

The other three talented quilters in our little group are:
Amy of Amy's Crafty Shenanigans
Claudia of Machen und Tun 
Susannah from fiberchick 
Be sure to check out their projects too when you're done here! I can't wait to see what everyone came up with.

I chose our first theme: Growth. Not long after picking it, I made several quilts with a lot of green. So even though my first thought was to create something leafy and green, I just couldn't stomach the idea of more green!

But I was really stuck on the leaf concept. I photographed these leaves in our yard (just on my iPhone, so I could blow them up and trace them).

 
I don't do much applique, but this seemed to be a prime opportunity. I wanted to create a rather plain/simple piece and then embellish it with dense machine quilting. Here's what I came up with:

I used some leftover Gradations fabric by Caryl Bryer Fallert from way too many years ago, and then a black solid. The piece measures 12.5" x 33", so it sneaks in under our 100" maximum perimeter. 

Close-ups of each block:

A disclaimer on this first block: My husband walked in while I was sewing this and asked why I was sewing a pot leaf! We are not growing THAT in our yard. It's a red maple or Japanese red maple or something like that--plants are not my thing.  

Confession time: one of my earlier ideas was to do just ferns, showing one all curled up, one slightly unfurled, and one completely open. Then I thought about the drawing and cutting it would require and changed my mind. I needed simpler shapes that were easier to identify! 

Confession time #2: I really didn't want to use this leaf, as it seemed too autumn-ish too me. But I was running out of time and I'm pretty sure the other photos I'd taken of leafy plants in our yard were actually of weeds, and I was too embarrassed to show off a weed! 

This is my favorite one! I think the stitching lines on the hosta leaves make them look realistic, and I had fun with the pebble quilting too. 

 What I learned from this first challenge: Sometimes the freedom to make "anything" is a little too freeing. I spent 98% of the three months we allotted ourselves thinking of an idea and 2% actually sewing. Also, I really need to watch the warping when I machine quilt densely. But...I really enjoyed experimenting with different machine quilting motifs--so much easier to manage on a smaller project!

Thanks for playing, ladies! Can't wait to pick our next theme and start brainstorming!