McDougall Cottage Wee Quilt Challenge


McDougall Cottage is a little place, here in Cambridge, where some of the original Scottish settler's settled.  There are all sorts of events there throughout the year and one that I try to participate in (at least the last 4 years) is the Wee Quilt Challenge.

Quilters from all over Canada and even Scottland are given a theme to work ewith every for their quilts.  This year it was "Plaids at Play" and we were given a piece of 'olympic tartan'  that had to be incorporated into the quilt. 

As usual, I had no idea what to do.  The themese are getting harder to do and my imagination seems to be getting smaller!  Finally, one evening, I was watching "Rob the Robot" with the kids and they were playing tic tac toe and I got an idea.  Why not do some sort of a game board!

There was no way I was going to applique x's and o's on a board (anyone who knows me and quilting - knows applique and I don't get along) and then I remembered Cher's wedding and our bridesmaid's dresses.  I'm not sure why - I just did.  On the back of our dresses we had 50 covered buttons (thankfully I didn't have to cover them but I did have to sew mine on 3 times to get them to sit flat and straight!) and I thought it might work to do that for 'checker pieces'. 

So off to Len's Mills for the items needed to cover buttons and after a few trial & errors and getting another piece of the 'must have tartan' this is the finished project.

It is small!  All of the quilts submitted must be under 26" square.  This one is 8.5 x 8.5 inches!  Each of those little squares is 1 inch.  Talk about working with wee things!

Yesterday I brought it to the cottage and at the end of May we have a Tea for the Quilters and all our pieces are judged (I KNOW my corners all match this time - but it wasn't my own machine and there was something wrong with the thread catching so I suppose the judge will comment on my poor quilting job) and prizes are handed out.  It then sits on display at the cottage till Labour Day weekend and we get it back, along with judges comments and an application for next year's event.

It is a neat way to get invovled in the community - I'm one of the younger quilters so I don't know if that's why they always centre me out... or maybe because I'm the only one who doesn't have an ounce of Scot's in me... and get to see some really amazing pieces of art.

Comments

Rich and Cher said…
I love that memory of you and the 50 covered buttons that you had to redo 3 times! One of those things that you can laugh about AFTER the fact :) Although I think I laughed then, too. Did you? Or was I laughing AT you? Probably...... :)
Tuesday, March 20, 2012 8:17:00 pm
Jennifer said…
Uh.. yeah.. you laughed then too :) I wasn't especially after the 3rd time. But now I'll remember that dress whenever I look at the checker board or the extra buttons that are in my sewing basket - never to be used again!!!
Wednesday, March 21, 2012 12:35:00 pm
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