back to work

This year I joined a group of eleven quilters - our monthly challenge is to interpret a photograph by using (but, of course!) fabric and thread, then reveal our results on the group weblog, Interpret This! For this first month, the challenge was to choose a photograph of yourself and create a quilted piece to be revealed during the last fives days of January. During the rest of the year, the responsibility of selecting a photograph will be rotating among the group members and each of us will then 'interpret it' and reveal our results at the end of each month. Do go and check out the weblog, Interpret This! - take some time and get know the other quilters: Debra, Libby, Barbara, Beena, Beverly, jdemilo, Karen, Kay, Nellie, and Rian.

Selecting my photo for this first challenge was relatively easy. I started by looking at a series of photographs and when I saw "one" that grabbed me - one of those visceral reactions. My husband and daughter saw it and both thought it was sweet - not my reaction. I spent that last couple of weeks looking at it, researching pieces of it for clues to help me get to know the person in that photograph from so long ago. Yesterday, I finally sketched out five potential ideas and selected one of them today to create as a quilted piece, selected fabric and blocked out where some of the design element will go (in the photo above.)