Please join me in welcoming Kim Lapacek of Persimon Dreams as she shares with us Project QUILTING. It’s a super FUN challenge that everyone can participate in and there are some amazing prizes to be won too.
I’m really excited to be guest blogging on Quilting Gallery again! I have used this site numerous times for inspiration, guidance, and eye candy (quilts of course!). I hope that what I’m about to share with you also helps inspire you to create some amazing quilts!
Project QUILTING is a quilting challenge that I run on my blog. It’s based off my love for Project RUNWAY but since I don’t know how to make clothes I thought, “Why not make quilts?” I immediately called up my mother-in-law, Diane Lapacek, and recruited her to be the ‘challenge giver’. She always jokes with everyone that when I get an idea, she gets a new job.
How does it work?
During the seasons of Project QUILTING (we JUST started Season 4) my mother-in-law, Diane Lapacek, posts a challenge every other Sunday at Noon, CST. You have exactly one week to FINISH the quilt to fit the challenge. Yes – finish it – piece it, baste it, quilt it, bind it. I know it sounds scary and maybe even undoable, but trust me – it’s very doable and only a little scary. Then you get a week to ‘rest’ before the next challenge goes up.
The first project QUILTING Challenge went up on April 11, 2010. Since then I’ve hosted 28 Project QUILTING Challenges and 372 quilts have been created. Many participants have discovered that the key to finishing your piece is to think small. I have created 24 wall hangings, 1 diaper cover, 1 kite, 1 mug rug, and 1 bag.
I completely realize that ‘things happen’ and you can’t always finish a quilt during a particular week (although we’ve had quite a few hand stitched ones entered too…). If that happens – no big deal! Just join in again when you can and use the challenge you missed as an inspiration for a future challenge.
What types of challenges are there?
The challenges each week range greatly – sometimes it incorporates a classic quilt block, like the shoofly or log cabin.
‘Ebby and Augi Drive to Pensacola’ by Ebony Love (definitely recommend clicking on the picture above. Ebony made a quilt like a roll of film sharing memories from her road trip)
Other times the challenge is a theme – architectural elements, road trip, or Stars Over America for example.
‘Palettes’ by Quilties inspired by a trip to the hardware store
And then, my favorite challenges are the times we get to go on a little trip to an office supply store or hardware store to find inspiration. I don’t know how my mother-in-law comes up with these great challenges but I sure have enjoyed them.
What do I love about Project QUILTING and why would you love it?
Inspiration! These 28 challenges have inspired me to create some pieces I never would have dreamed of without the inspiration.
The quilt I made for the ‘Large Scale Print’ Challenge was accepted and displayed at the Madison Quilt Expo in 2011.
The quilt inspired by ‘Stars Over America’ made it to the finals in the NASA/Etsy contest and now hangs on the wall of the Kennedy Space Center.
I was very excited to have the Apple Tree quilt I made inspired by the Log Cabin challenge purchased for a child’s nursery. These challenges have inspired me to ‘think outside the square’. I had been in a rut before Project QUILTING started and was focusing on making what I thought ‘would sell’. It turns out, when I create by inspiration, I’m more likely to actually sell!
Why do people love Project QUILTING?
It gets my mojo running again as it sets an attainable goal for each challenge – I LOVE participating to get the creative juices flowing again! – Kristin H.
Love having a finish line to work towards. Plus, it pushes me to try new things with the different challenges. Can’t wait for it to start again! – Carolyn D.
It encouraged me to work daily, think outside the "quilt", met incredible friends, and motivated me to move away from patterns to find my voice…xoxo – Jennifer R
It was a great "jump start" to the year! – Lizz P.
Hope I’m not too late, but seeing everyone else’s interpretation of the theme is probably the best part, plus it really got my creative energy going!! Loved it!! – Becky J.
Since I haven’t been able to do a challenge yet, I love seeing the creativity of everyone who participates – always blows me away! – Melissa D
How do I join in?
Simple. Just head to PersimonDreams right now to see the first challenge. Take the challenge, be inspired by it, make and finish a quilt by next Sunday, January 13th at NOON CST, post pictures of the quilt (or email me pictures and I’ll post them for you) to the Project QUILTING with Persimon Dreams Flickr Group. Once you’ve done this your name will get put into a hat (literally) and you may be randomly chosen to win one of the great prizes from our sponsors that week! In just over a week you’ll have a quilt and maybe a great prize on it’s way to you – seriously, how can you beat that?
I hope I’ve sparked some interest in Project QUILTING with you and you decide to join in the fun! Feel free to help me promote this fun challenge by grabbing the button below and adding it to your blog.
All 28 of the quilted pieces I made during the 28 Project QUILTING Challenges. I’m so excited to be adding 6 more quilts to this mosaic by the end of March!
Find Project QUILTING on