Have you challenged yourself?
 

What quilt have you challenged yourself to make that was totally out of your wheel house? Did you succeed or fail? And why?

I had never made a hexagon quilt before, but for some reason that is what I chose to make for my grandson 3 1/2 years ago. I machine stitched the center blocks to the outer hexagons, which by the request of my daughter were tractors, combines, pickup trucks, farm animals and cats and dogs and hand stitched all of the hexies together...made my stitches too close together and tighter than I should have (lesson learned should I ever make another one) and large because he could use it on a regular bed when older. It was a tough one, but overall I was happy with the results. So it was kind of a fail and a success.

When I first started quilting, I saw a block in a book that I liked. So I drew a square and freehand drew the 2 curved lines that criss-crossed in the middle. I did not know about piecing, so I appliqued each square (now I know they are called a block). 42 of them. I still remember! When I sewed them together, WOW. They created circles with each other. And they were perfectly symmetrical, even though I did not plan for it! Did I mention it was Not blue? Maroon batik.

Well... I got out of bed today!

Second answer, finishing a project is challenging enough!!

(And then my vision issues are a challenge. I feel in many ways that my best quilting is behind me, but that I still have years of great projects I can do. I'm just not going to be doing a lot of curvy points or a bunch of other stuff.)

Third (the long) answer, a lot of what I do in my quilting is a challenge of some sort.

From finding/collecting the fabrics to using them. As a thrift shopper, it was also a recreational activity, but I had to be open to what I got or that sometimes there was nothing good to get. But there is a definite zing! when you find a good score. I said recently in another thread that I think with a sufficient budget I can go into a fabric store and come out with a pretty good project to be. But I actually really enjoy making my various fabrics play nice together, for me it is part of what quilting is all about.

Sometimes the fabrics confound me and force me to go out of my comfort zone. Again, with thrift store shopping and a big bag of fabric you can afford to take risks that you just don't want to take with full priced fabric. Last few years I've been trying to embrace large prints when I really would rather work with more traditional calicos. Or at least my sharp vision self liked working with them. I'm finding things I can do, I love quilts that are "simple, effective, and suitable for large scale fabrics" even if the sewing isn't such a challenge, putting them together with thrift fabric is.

Recently we had a thread on Lemoyne Star. My "8-pointed" star was made not as much as a challenge but because I felt I needed some work on those set in seams. Not that I was really avoiding them but I hadn't done any lately.

One challenge that did not work out to be quilted is the first pixel quilt of a conch shell. First of all, it turned out too Huge because of the size of the pixels. Then, I ran out of background fabric, creating a missing rectangle at one corner! It is a wall mural in my workroom.

I've challenged myself a number of times just this year. I made a Elizabeth Hartman Dinosaur quilt for a little boy and I just hated working with small pieces but after making this quilt, I'm not so afraid of them now. Then I tried my hand at the Drunkards Path, curves were another out of my comfort zone but I made 2 oversized lap quilts for a couple so now I'm not afraid of curves. Now I'm working on Missouri Star's version of the Cathedral WIndows. I made a small runner to try it first and it didn't seem all that daunting but then I went for a queen/king size. I'll never make another one that size again. It's next on the quilt frame. I call that the quilt from hell.

I made a Double Wedding Ring using Donna Jordan's templates and instructions but I'm not happy with the way it turned out. I must have watched the video a hundred times and I still couldn't do it the way she did. I ripped out so many seams and it still doesn't look great. It's in a heap somewhere. I should probably look at it. Sometimes when I let time pass things don't look so bad. lol Oh well............

I made a twin sized quilt with lots of curves - 3 sizes. (Windswept quilt pattern) Only the borders didn't have curves. I had very little experience with curves so was looking forward to the challenge. Started with the smallest but if I had to do it again, I would start with the largest and then as my skills evolved, tackled the smaller ones. Skills grew but still need improvement. Learned to oversize the curves and cut down. That saved the quilt and allowed me to finish.

I did a Pam Bono flying Geese quilt, real geese not the block. It was tedious with all the pieces. My biggest challenge was keeping the pieces in order. I don't have the quilt any more as it was a gift. Here is a picture of the pattern from Pinterest.

I made a Judy Niemeyer - it is a big leaf and I think could be combined into something else but the class was the leaf. I struggled. Every time I got the rotary cutter and ruler out and started the instructor would say "uh uh uh" as in not correct. It became a joke. She was very nice. Small class. We all got what we needed. I finished it and then Sweet Son liked it and had it mounted and framed (I had quilted it) and turned it sideways, hung it on a wall, and always called it "the fish".