Friday's theme turned out to be "improv." I ticked 2 small projects off the list, though it took several hours to do so, much of that time just pressing and cutting up little bits of fabric.

1.) The May block for Design Camp 2 [Think outside the block] swap.

The packet of fabrics I received from Mims contained beautiful warm cinnamon tones with a hint of yellow.

2.) The improv challenge block for PMQG.

When we received the cotton couture samples from Kathy Miller of Michael Miller Fabrics we were given 2 separate challenge options - making a block of an original design which will potentially be included in a quilt at the Michael Miller booth at quilt market this spring (being this month!); and/or making an improv block to go into a quilt that the guild will be constructing. This is my improv block (which I have to admit I had sketched out as an idea last month, but I did in fact construct it improvisationally!)

I think I needed a day of working intuitively. I might need one or two more days like that, but even more importantly, I think I need to get back to making lists, since today I spent a few hours just catching up on pressing fabric and didn't touch a sewing machine or cutting table at all. Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow.

After a thoroughly informative and inspiring visit from Kathy Miller, co-founder of Michael Miller Fabrics, during our February Portland Modern Quilt Guild meeting each of the guild members was generously supplied with 8 fat eighths of their new line of Cotton Couture Solids. Now, one could treat this as a lovely gift, no strings attached, but the real gift in it is actually a design challenge. Any member who chooses (and there have already been a few, uploading photos to the PMQG flickr page) is invited to design a 15"x18" pieced block using the cotton couture fabrics with which we were supplied and Kathy Miller will select about 16 blocks to be included in a quilt that Michael Miller will feature in their booth at Spring Quilt Market in May 2012.

I should have prefaced this post by saying that I found out this week that I did not have a quilt chosen to be part of the MQG Showcase at Fall Market in Houston this year. And so it goes. However, this information was a bit disheartening (although not at all surprising!) and at the same time is forcing me to endeavor that much more to make an impact. But I don't know quite how to do that.

So, I've been sketching in the ol' sketchbook, and translated a few of the more promising designs into EQ7 so that I could play with the colors. The ones I keep going back to so far are these:

(a variation on my "dorm room cots" pattern that I've been drafting)

(a new design)

(a mock-up of an improv block)

I went ahead and pieced a block, which I think turned out well, but not sure that it's a "challenge winner" (especially after seeing the blocks showing up in the group pool).

so, being the person I am, I'll be making one or two or four more blocks, over-thinking all the way, and have NO IDEA what they're actually looking for, and likely miss the mark.

Is this what it's all about??