Creative Play 2023 #1 - Icon/Symbolize

This year, I’ve decided to challenge myself to a bi-monthly (6x a year) creative adventure. I’ll be sharing more details in my newsletter and on my blog, but here’s the gist of my self-imposed constraints for my first personal creativity challenge:

🔹 My first prompt will be “icon/symbolize” (noun/verb format for flexibility).

🔹 The piece should be approximately 12″ square.

🔹 Limited to 6 colors, including background.

🔹 “Deadline” of Friday, February 24, 2023.

Creative Play Challenge #1 in 2023 with Rachelle Handmade. Engineering symbols and descriptions written in blue ink on a white piece of paper.

The first prompt is “Icon/Symbolize”, so I pulled a couple symbols from my days in construction engineering. They’re both simple, yet versatile. 


Creative Play Challenge #1 in 2023 with Rachelle Handmade. A digital outline of a geometric quilt block without color.

I decided on an on-point/diagonal layout for the block. The smaller shapes require it to be foundation paper pieced if I want to keep my sanity.

I’m really enjoying this process! I love the small size and trying to economize all 144 sq. in. of allowable space.

Creative Play Challenge #1 in 2023 with Rachelle Handmade. A digital geometric quilt block in color palette of dark pink, pink, orange, and yellow.
Creative Play Challenge #1 in 2023 with Rachelle Handmade. A digital geometric quilt block in color palette of dark purple, blue, purple, and teal.
Creative Play Challenge #1 in 2023 with Rachelle Handmade. A digital geometric quilt block in color palette of black, pink, orange, and yellow.

After I finalized the design, I tried out a few color palettes. 

First, a dark pink background with pink/orange/yellow. it doesn’t pop as much as I’d like.

Second, a cool color palette. I’m digging it, but I’ll save it for another project.

Third, my go-to black background. Meh. Too normal for me LOL.

Creative Play Challenge #1 in 2023 with Rachelle Handmade. A digital geometric quilt block in color palette of dark blue, pink, orange, and yellow.

Feeling a bit like Goldilocks at this point, I tried a dark grey-blue and decided this color palette that was juuust right.

Creative Play Challenge #1 in 2023 with Rachelle Handmade color palette in dark blue, pink, orange, and yellow with fabric names on an index card

I make my usual, easy-peasy project color card for handy-dandy reference.

(Cut swatches from your fabrics. Dab a bit of glue stick on the back and paste em to a 4×6, or larger, index card. Sew them down each side and label each swtch. Ta-daaaa!)

Creative Play Challenge #1 in 2023 with Rachelle Handmade. Foundation paper piecing FPP foundations with colored markers and color palette in dark blue, pink, orange, and yellow with fabric names on an index card

I print my foundations on inexpensive (read: very cheap) copy/printer paper.

I use permanent markers to mark where each color is located. Regular markers tend to bleed and I can never find my pencil sharpener to use colored pencils LOL.

Creative Play Challenge #1 in 2023 with Rachelle Handmade. Foundation paper piecing FPP foundations with fabrics in color palette of dark blue, pink, orange, and yellow. A pair or scissor and skein of teal floss sits adjacent.

I really enjoy the precision and intricacy you can acheive with foundation paper pieceing (FPP) compared to traditional piecing.

Creative Play Challenge #1 in 2023 with Rachelle Handmade. A completed geometric miniature (mini) quilt in color palette of dark blue, pink, orange, and yellow.

I pieced my block and managed to match up 97% of my points. Close enough…done is better than perfect!!

Creative Play Challenge #1 in 2023 with Rachelle Handmade. A completed geometric miniature (mini) quilt in color palette of dark blue, pink, orange, and yellow.

Next up, a quick sandwich & spray baste. I love basting mini projects! This is looking better than I had hoped.

Creative Play Challenge #1 in 2023 with Rachelle Handmade. A completed miniature (mini) quilt in color palette of dark blue, pink, orange, and yellow. The quilt has a straight line quilting design pattern.
Creative Play Challenge #1 in 2023 with Rachelle Handmade. A foundation paper pieced quilt with straight quilting lines. Fabrics are dark blue, pink, orange, and yellow.
Let’s chat about quilting designs. Sometimes, they can make or break a quilt.
 
I partially quilted (and subsequently ripped out) two different quilting designs on this piece.
 
First, I started with an arrow-esque quilting design. Meh. Too boring. Rip ‘er out, Rachelle!
 
Second try…I started sewing a straight, vertical lines design, with the potential to make it into matchstick style. It clashed with the 60-degree lines of the triangles…Rip ‘er out, Rachelle!
 
Finally, I sat on the couch and turned on the tv, putting the piece on the floor to ponder. I really don’t want to play another round of “Rip ‘er out, Rachelle”.
 
Creative Play Challenge #1 in 2023 with Rachelle Handmade. A completed miniature (mini) quilt in color palette of dark blue, pink, orange, and yellow. The quilt has a spiral quilting design pattern.

Looking back through pic of some of my older quilts, I found my first pattern…”Amplify” with a simple spiral design…hat would look great!!!

Creative Play Challenge #1 in 2023 with Rachelle Handmade. A completed miniature (mini) quilt back. The quilt is finished with corner triangles using a facing technique. A label shows the title, date, and designer name.
I decided binding would be too distracting for such a small piece, so I faced it using my go-to tutorial.
 
 
I pulled the facing and triangles from my scrap stash. Backing was a fat quarter pulled from the “purge” pile.
Creative Play Challenge #1 in 2023 with Rachelle Handmade. A completed miniature (mini) quilt in color palette of dark blue, pink, orange, and yellow. Three spools of thread in pink, orange, and yellow sit adjacent.
Here is the final result of my first Creative Play Challenge #RHCreativePlay2023.
 
I’m sooo happy with how this piece turned out and I had sooo much fun with this project.

Creative Play 2023 #2 - Icon/Symbolize

Creative Play Prompts in 2023 with Rachelle Handmade
Creative Play Prompts in 2023 with Rachelle Handmade

Next up is Challenge #2 with the prompt/theme of “Nature/Organic”.

No size limitations, but at least 50% of the front of the piece should be recycled or upcycled materials. Bonus points for the backing, batting, and binding being recycled!!

Follow me on Instagram at #RHCreativePlay2023 for progress pics of my next project. There will be another summary blog post here at the end of April with process pics.

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