August Finish

I did it! I finished my Double Dog Dare Ya Challenge entry.  It was down to the wire.. literally.  The day my entry was due was also my son's first day of Kindergarten.  It was a mad dash to get everything in order for school and finish my challenge but I am proud of the finished product.

Each entry had to include a write up on "What the theme Enchanted California means to you?" Here is mine:

     "The theme Enchanted California for me has always evoked thoughts of adventure and the possibility of riches. Similar to the pioneers who traversed the Midwest during Westward expansion, forty niners, early 1900s loggers, WPA workers and artists who came here seeking opportunity, we came here seeking our own slice of the Enchanted California dream. I have expressed this within this quilt depicting the historic Route 66 using the Road to California quilt block leading to the majestic redwoods and gold fields as well as our own golden opportunity (ie. Apple, Inc.)."

I am excited to say that I won Judges Choice Runner Up.  I think it's equivalent to third place.  Anyway, I won a small gift certificate to a LQS. It's about 1/4 of what I spent to make the challenge quilt but I had fun and will be entering it into our local quilt show but won't have it judged. I believe others who participated in the challenge will be doing the same.

August Goal

My quilt guild has a challenge this month and I started it awhile back... so I drew up what I wanted but that didn't work out.  At this point, I am committed to doing the challenge so I need to figure something out.  The theme is "what Enchanted California means to you."

It is my goal this month to complete my Enchanted California Challenge project.

For me, California has always represented the end all be all of where we (my husband and I) wanted to be; what we wanted for our lives.  Through our visits, we've discovered the majestic forests, picturesque beaches, rich history and diversity and the glamour of traveling historic route 66.   I want to throw all this into my project without being too literal such as in a fully appliquéd project.  Below is a sketch of what I am thinking.

The top block is a snowball variation called "New Snowball" that appeared in the boo 5,500 Quilt Block Designs, and will represent a historical take on the gold that the 49'er flocked to California to find exactly how we relocated to California for our own golden opportunity.  That opportunity was a once and a lifetime for my husband that believe it or not, came around again. That opportunity was a job at Apple, Inc.  I will appliqué a small apple logo inside the center of the blue block as a nod to the amazing opportunity.

The bottom block is called "Road to California" and will represent the historical route 66.  It's been the path of many seeking their own California dream and how we got here.  The beige/oranges are my interpretation of the desert scenery we passed through while traveling Route 66.  I intend to appliqué a route 66 highway sign on one of the half blocks.

Lastly, I want to put these blocks on point and frame them with a dark green fabric and some appliquéd redwood trunks.  The first site we totally fell in love with was the redwood forests in Northern California and it's always been one of the main reasons I wanted to live in the state.


The required fabric is the below blue/yellow Australian fabric.  The yellow fabric below it is some scraps left over from the Fun Day apron I was required to make and plan to use in this project.