Up for a Challenge?

My newest and dearest blogging friend Keren from:

has just posted her finished hand-quilted pillow!
I featured the almost-done project in my I Love Green post last Friday.  Take a look at her finished work of art:

Gorgeous, right?  And I must say her photograph really enhances the "puffiness" and needlework.  This pillow caught my eye because of all the green in it, but check out the other pillow she made:

Obviously Keren has some skills, not only with the technical aspects of such a project, but she has an "eye" for matching up colors and prints.  Could I do something like this??????  I don't know, but I'm dying to try!!!!

Keren and I started emailing back and forth, and a plan formulated! (insert evil laugh!)  She was interested in trying reverse applique (which is pretty much the only kind of applique I do) while I was interested in regular applique and quilting in general.  So now we are working on a project together!!!!  (insert squeal of delight!) 

Keren, a huge fan of retro styles (1950s) sent me some very cool retro patterns to use as inspiration for a common theme and I was very taken with this one:

This is the inspiration for our theme:
squares/rectangles with rounded corners
with circles.  Ya dig?

We agreed on certain parameters:

Project: Pillow cover, approx 50x50 cm (20 x 20 inches)

Design: squares/rectangles with rounded corners, optional circle in the center.

Color scheme: whatever you like!

Techniques to be used: Quilting, Applique, Reverse Applique (hand stitched and/or machine stitched)

Timeline:  The month of September
Voting: Everyone can vote via poll linky-dealio (high tech term!)
Prizes?:  Winner(s) receive bragging rights and a super-neato badge of honor!

So here we are in the Retro Pillow Challenge!  (insert applauding audience!)



Click here for more info



Would you like to join in?  Please!  We'd love to have you!  Comment on this post or email us and let us know.  We've made a wonderful hostess page with contact information here.  Keren has created some great tutorials to help us all with quilting (by hand and machine) and applique and patchwork:

How to Make a Basic Pillow Cover

How she put together her red/blue pillow with the applique circles.

How she made her latest green/blue pillow with the applique squares.

And I'm a slacker and have only done this tute:

Reverse Applique: The Ricochet Method

Update:  We've created a Retro Pillow Challenge Headquarters here.

Please join us!

And Keren, of course!