CQA's Gateway to Adventure Challenge

Here are our Guild's entries for CQA/ACC's Member Guild Challenge "Gateway to Adventure". Each CQA/ACC member guild selects one "winner" from their membership's entries to represent their guild. Each piece had to include a visible amount of  the chosen green fabric- Kona's Jungle Green and entrants could add three other fabrics.  Please look them over carefully and make your choice, then vote (for one only!) on the survey you will be receiving soon by email.
Editor’s Note: I have included closeup shots from those who sent them. For those with only one photo, please click on the image for a closer look.

AND THE WINNER IS...... #1 Hibiscus Adventures!!!! Congrats Nancy!!

1. Hibiscus Adventures
by Nancy Richards
Dimensions: 19" x 15"


Gardening is an adventure for me as I do not have a green thumb, but my hibiscus tree is somehow surviving and it produces beautiful blossoms. The challenge green matched the leaf colour perfectly and inspired me in my search among my photos to use as the pattern for this piece.

Some elements are three dimensional, I also did a little thread painting. The three additional fabrics are a pale blue, a yellow and a gradient pink.

2. Bird of Paradise 
by Jenny Adams
Dimensions:  17.5" x 17.5"


Imagine adventures to other lands with visions of these exotic Birds of Paradise. I found the green of the challenge fabric the perfect backdrop for these colourful flowers which grow in profusion in Africa.

The techniques used are machine applique and machine quilting. The three added fabrics were a blue, another green and a gradient yellow.















3. Gateway to Art Nouveau Adventure
by Lee McLean
Dimensions: 13" x 18.5"


Everything about this was a challenge and an adventure! First, how to use "that" green! Put it with a couple of nearby friends - teal and blue. Second, could I be inspired by a particular style? Draw and stitch a curvy design. Third, could I learn how Inktense pencils work? Colour and paint the white fabric to coordinate with the chosen fabrics,. Lastly, could I drive myself nuts with positioning the pieced binding fabric in the right places on a curved outer edge? Yes.
(Editor's Note- It is difficult to see the green, but it IS there - two stripes in the binding.)

4.  Looking for Adventure
by Trudy Corey  
Dimensions: 19.75" x 13.75"

I didn't have to look far for inspiration for this
incredibly green fabric. I have this
Neon Devil's Ivy in my kitchen... in this planter...
with this little frog holding on to the side of the dish.











I added the background and two other green fabrics.
The frog is entirely made of thread.

5. Cat-ventures in my secret garden
by Gail Mitchell
Dimensions:  20" x 14"






Can you see the secret flowers?















6. Jungle Gate
by Linda Glassford 
Dimensions: 17.5" x 16.75"






The name Jungle Green inspired my entry. I had long wanted to try the techniques in Simple Stained Glass Quilts by Daphne Greig and Susan Purney Mark. This seemed to combine my love of geometric designs with vegetation.

Show and Tell #5

Here's something a little different for today's Show and Tell.
Lee M. has finished up her term for the Foundation Visual Arts program at NBCCD, New Brunswick College of Craft and Design and reports that her sewing room is now cleaned up after a 3D construction project. "The objective was to design a piece that had unity and variety, with special attention to texture, rhythm and emphasis. Materials allowed were cardboard, craft paper and glue.

As social distancing morphed into "stay home," my design also morphed into a little imaginary village where walls are carved with a repeating motif, roofs are corrugated and plants are pleasantly genetically modified into odd shapes.










Above, sitting at the highest point there is the focal point, an origami crane, which the Japanese believe is a symbol of hope and healing during challenging times, looking out for the village inhabitants.

What an interesting project Lee!
A very different style of village!
Such creativity, thinking out of the box.. cardboard box, that is..

Show and Tell #4

Jeanne Kaye continues to be our Energizer Bunny...  I don't think she ever sleeps!! She has been
busy - enjoy her solo Show and Tell!

 "My sister gave me this kit for my birthday last fall, but I wasn't sewing then. It was a fun easy project, and the first time I had made Prairie Points in a continuous strip. Great method!"
(Editor's Note - Stay tuned next year, your Program Committee plans to share this technique with you!)








"I was desperate for spring on April 9, the day I sat down to make these lovely tulips - because outside it was snowing, and looked more like a Winter Wonderland than any signs of our longed-for Spring! Love this little runner because it looks so cheery - and hopeful!"









"Block of the Week Project - This project sounded like fun when it was advertised in early January,
so I signed up for it. I picked my fabrics from a fat quarter bundle that I bought in Dunedin FL several years ago, and supplemented it with the ivory background and Kona solids in navy and pink. And while it was fun to do, the real challenge is waiting for Wednesday to roll around each week, when the new block pattern is released. Don't they know that I would really like to get the patterns more quickly than ONE A WEEK? I persevere, and practice my patience which sometimes can be in short supply."






"The Fabric Cupboard in Moncton advertised a sew along with this Village pattern. The original plan included houses, roofs and the occasional chimney. I really like a light in the window, so I added a yellow block above each front door, to let everyone know that there are people in each house, strictly observing the new social distancing measures. We are alone, but together in our isolation. Word on the street is that Jacquie might have another sew along, and I am ready for that to begin! Bring it on!"




"I started looking at my batik tub, found quite a few fat quarters, then had to find a pattern to match. This is what I found, and when it is quilted, I think it will make a bright throw for someone's family room."








"This pattern (Delectable Mountains) was in an old quilt magazine, and having just ordered a fat quarter bundle of 36, plus yardage to coordinate from The Fabric Cupboard, I started cutting it all apart and sewing it back together! It is a King size quilt, and I have no idea where it might find a home, but I really like Moda's Kansas Troubles fabrics. And now I still have a great stash of leftovers from the 36 fat quarters, so I had better look for more patterns! Any suggestions?"

"I was searching for something- anything- to make and found a UFO. I was aghast, as I try very hard not to have any UFO's, but there we are. I had started this several years ago in Florida, but time ran out and we had to come home before I got very far. I had these five star blocks made; considered them; looked at the fabric I had set aside to complete the project; contemplated my interest in continuing; and decided a runner was in order! I like these stars, but I had moved on and lost interest in making any more."


WOW! Well done, Jeanne Kaye!! You ARE keeping busy! (Readers, what do you think? Does she ever sleep??)