I recently took part in the international Modern Quilt Guild's (MQG) Michael Miller Fabric Challenge.
The Greater Western Sydney Modern Quilt Guild applied to the MQG for fabric and our members were asked to complete a "Skinny Mini" quilt of no more than 16" x 40" using the fabrics supplied by the MQG and 2 solids which we got to pick from a 'lucky dip'.
I used Pinterest for inspiration and found a quilt by Amanda Murphy called Sky Rise on the Sew we Quilt blog.
I struggled with this one - not sure if it was the instructions or my cutting but the first block simply looked wrong. It was at this point that I put it aside and got on with preparing for the Sydney Craft and Quilt Show. Once that was over and everything safely back home, it was time to try and meet the deadline for submission to the Modern Quilt Guild.
I checked that I was actually sewing 1/4" seems, swapped over my sewing machine, fixed an issue with the power and pieced the next block. It seemed more accurate but still not right. I ended up finishing all 3 blocks and then trimming them. Still not happy - but I have to move on.
I then decided to sew strips of fabric together for the outer layer to give the blocks more depth.
Using needle turn applique, I added the orange stripe to the block.
The final step was to add a 3" border so that the finished top was 16" x 40".
I then stripped the scraps together to make an interesting backing. I even managed to find some leftover wadding to fit.
Every 2nd Tuesday a small group of meet at a different house to chat and quilt. The next evening it was off to Julie with my 'mini'. Julie is an expert at pinning - so it was great to have timed things perfectly. In the 4 hours, I managed to pin the quilt and then complete the quilting. I decided to quilt diagonally across the quilt as it is more forgiving as you don't have to match seams to your quilting lines. I used the width of my walking foot as my guide.
The next evening, I used the last of the scraps to piece together a 2" binding, bound and stitched down. A quick walk down to the reserve to take some photos of the quilt in sunshine and I squeaked in with 24 hours to spare. I registered with the Modern Quilt Guild and managed to submit a photo of my effort. I didn't win - I was up against some pretty stiff competition - but I was thrilled to compete in my first international challenge.
Next weekend (31st August) the Greater Western Sydney Quilt Guild will be judging our Skinny Mini's - I will post some photos of some of the other amazing entries.