My Challenge entry & Iron Quilter Fun!

Today was GUILD day! Always a great day for me. Our annual challenge was due today and of course you know most of us finished this week, last night and many this morning! The challenge was called "Initially Yours". Martha's directive's were to use colors beginning with our initials up 10 colors. If needed we were to prove our colors with crayons, paint ships, nail polish colors, etc.
My initials are K=KIWI, D=DARK RED, E=EBONY & ECRU.
I used a Jane Sassaman pattern I purchased when I took her class last year. It is a really cool heart silhouette. I had to trace pattern to parchment paper, iron to wool felt & use an X-Acto knife to carefully cut it all out. I fused it all together and spent hours appliqueing the curvy edges on the machine.
The Kiwi is from a vintage 70's prom dress. The center envelope is a copy to fabric from a letter my dad sent my mother in 1957 from Fort Dix in the early days of their courtship. He had emigrated here that year from Ireland. I call it "LOVE LETTER".
Working within the parameters of a challenge is always interesting. I will be posting all the challenge entries on our guild's blog Museum Quilt Guild soon so make sure you click on it in my Favorite Blogs to the left.

A small group of us stayed after to do another little Iron Quilter exercise using Art Quilt Workbook's Innovative Piecing chapter as guide.  Each participant brings a sealed bag of fabrics, threads etc to switch out. We had 2 hours to make a 9" x 12" journal size quilt. Music playing softly in the background adds nice touch!

This(above) is what I was able to complete today with a bag of stuff that seemed to have been packed just for me! Mary Ellen included some funky fabrics! I like where it is going.
Two women actually did finish today!

This is Cathy's finished quilt. WOW! I love it.

Mary Ellen call hers "Wuthering Heights". YES, she did all this in only 2 hours!

Tomorrow I will be working on 2 projects that need to be mailed by Feb. 1st. My HOMEMADE gift for OJM with a Valentine's theme. I can't post a pic of it until she gets it. I am loving it!

I need to get my cover and back stitched up for my book RR. I painted the canvas and just need to gather some things to collage and come up with a title. This promises to be a really interesting RR. 5 women with very different artistic preferences all contributing to each others mixed media books!

I have learned:

1. I managed to maintain 15 lb weight loss through the yummy holiday's. That was my goal.
2. Project Runway's new season has begun.
3. I really love Olive Garden's Chicken con Broccoli! It is worth it!
4. 93 pts on SQUIRES this week in Scrabble! Used all 7 letters and made 2 words. Cool.
5. 
   
   Karyssa x-stitched this stocking for my son for Christmas. Sweet.