Take it Further challenge January
Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 6:04AM | Sharon B | 361 Comments | in Challenges, Take it Further challenge Hi all here I am bouncing around after my small blogging break. Happy New year! I have not yet set out my goals for the new year but I am thinking it through as I go through the process of a work room blitze but more about that tomorrow as I know many people are swinging by for the Take it Further design challenge because the first of each month will be the day I post about it. So without any fuss this is the challenge ...
The key concept for January is a feeling we have all had, the feeling of admiration for another. Ask yourself who do you look up to and admire? Why? What is it you admire about them? This is a the first Take it Further challenge in 2008. Take the idea, develop it into a resolved design during that month and apply it to fiber or paper.
As I explained in the guidelines, every month there will be two options. The second option this month is a colour scheme. This means that if you don’t like the concept you can work the colour scheme or if you don’t like the colour scheme you can work with the concept. Or you can work with both.
The colour scheme for this month is below. I came up with it by using ColourLovers If you have not seen this site before and love colour do check it out as there is lots of fun to be had over there.
As promised I have a flickr group set up as well. The flickr group for the Take it Further Design Challenge is here
When you have worked the idea swing back to this page and leave a comment with blog or flickr address so that people can take a look at what you have been working on or done.
How did I come up with the idea? Just before Christmas during the cleaning the usual cleaning frenzy I was complaining about having to get into high areas of the rooms. Eve my daughter strapped on her stilts and proceeded to clean with ease! For those new readers to my blog Eve is a circus performer. I made a wise crack that now I have to look up to her and the idea for the challenge this month was born. Eve is a woman with Altitude!
Joking aside, I do admire her as she is following her own dream and its not an easy industry to be in. I also admire any entertainer who can make people forget their worries for a moment. It's a gift to be taken somewhere out of our everyday lives, to be made to laugh, to delight in music, or to marvel. Even if you step out of yourself for only a few moments an entertainer has given a moment of freedom and pleasure. I really admire people who can do that for others.
Eve certainly made me laugh as she cleaned. OK that is enough of my babble.
Also I have been tagged by Vero of Au Fil du Jardin and Neki of A Moveable Feast for the Make my Day Award. The rules are that I am supposed to tag 10 other blogs which I am going to do but not today as its going to be a bit hard to choose just 10 blogs. So give me a day or so to think about it. I am in the middle of a studio sort out but tune in tomorrow for news on that ...
Enjoy the challenge, I want to say its great to be back. I feel revived and I am cooking up a few plans for the new year as I sort stuff out in that room that is supposed to be a studio. Tell me apart from posting pics of my studio as readers have requested do have to confess to UFOs too?
She shudders and moves away from the keyboard, downs the last of her coffee to gather her strength, pulls herself upright and walks slowly down the hall. Squaring her shoulders she turns the door knob and pushes the door open determined to tame what is inside ...
Reader Comments (361)
great shots of Eve! Love the challenge you've set. I decided not to register for the challenge this year -- looked like you had lots of people and I did such a lousy job of following through last year, but I have the intent to follow along as I'm able.... Looking forward to playing with this month's idea ;-)
Nice to hear from you again, Sharon! That is an interesting concept, oh, you make us think again, love it! I wish you many happy days in the coming year!!!ox
Well! You certainly didn't start out with an easy challenge! The story about Eve is helpful though - I do tend to take things too seriously ;- )
Good luck with the sort out. DH and DS are doing the same in our garage...
well..if you are going to go the the trouble of weighing everything - you should include the UFO's...and if you weigh them in we really need to know what they are, don't we???
Does Eve do call outs...ive got a few spiderwebs in the corners....
Im glad the challenge has started, I hope I dont fall at the first hurdle!
Sharon, am I to assume that you don't want us to do a piece on you as a person I look up to and admire? lol. Actually, I have thought of someone (else). I mostly wanted to say Happy New Year to you and yours.
Challenge is the mot juste! You don't mean us to ease into this gently do you! My brain is shriveling already! By December 2008 I will either be all dried up or a genius! Happy New Year!
Just looked at the colourlovers website and I was wondering if your palette had a name which could be searched.
Great idea. Trying to think of who I admire and I must admit at the moment I am stumped but no fear I will be there at the end of the month.
I remember walking on stilts when I was younger, wish I could that now with our 9ft ceilings!
Hi all as to the UFOs I am back at the computer because I am downloading photos from my camera. LOL
As to the challenge - I did say concept hinting that I wanted people to think and people do have the option of working with the colour scheme if they don't like the concept.
Karen - as to "am I to assume that you don’t want us to do a piece on you as a person I look up to and admire?" It never even occurred to me - please don't!
What an interesting beginning. I'm so pleased I joined.
With great trepidation, I have started a blog. Hope you don't mind that I borrowed the tif name, since, at least for now, I only intend to use it for this challenge. And quite a challenge it is.
I'm going to be going through my own destashing, because we are going to move in 2 months, but I'm going to have a whole room for my stuff now. I am so excited! Between that and doing some projects for my daughter's wedding in April, I may have trouble keeping up at first, but I will try.
http://tifcynthia.blogspot.com/
Cindy B
LOVE the colours - and the Colour Lovers site is a real find ! THANK YOU ! for posting about it . Blessings for the New Year and thanks for organizing this fascinating challenge. I am still counting my pennies - hoping to take the Joggles class !
Are you aware of a way to cut and copy the colour scheme so that it can be saved for reference? I tried and was unsuccessful !
Well, wouldn't you know it - I drop out of TAST because I can't keep up then don't sign up for the new challenge and manage to complete it before it's even posted! So now I am sorry that I didn't sign up!! too weird - although I prefer to think that 'great minds think alike'!
Cheers
Hilary
Wow, not the sort of "key concept" I was expecting! However, I'm up for the challenge! I have done some initial explorations on the concept in what is now my Design Journal (a fancy term for a book where I note down ideas), and I have posted it in the Flickr group and on my blog, along with some explanations.
It is the first time I have ever done anything like this; so it was either get something out in public quickly, or completely chicken out if I allow myself time to work up all the self-doubts. Now all I have to do, is continue to think about who I admire, what sort of fibre "genre" I want to use, how to translate my thoughts to that genre, and actually do the work. Not a problem. Hah!
Jocelyn in NZ
http://pinsneedles.wordpress.com/
Marie
there is no block on the images - I just right clicked on it and saved it to my hard drive. You should be able to do the same thing
Cindy - Wow that was quick!
Well..now I beginning to think for to do, dear Sharonb, also Happy New Year to you.
See you soon!
Great start to 2008. I've posted a beginning to my blog. (Can I borrow your daughter for a cleaning day? Just a short 20-hour flight and I'll have her back in no time!)
pdc
yet there is an inner glow in her that foresees victory. " Vini, Vedi, Velcro"
i came i saw, i stuck around
unfortunately, not my original line:)
cheers,
neki desu
That is so weird... I was *just* thinking about this very subject! This is going to be interesting!
What a thought provoking challenge for January and a lovely way to begin the New Year. I also love the color scheme-perhaps I'll combine the 2.
I see Eve has your gift of creative solutions for daily challenges. She's given a whole new purpose to stilts.
Oh I want to see before and after pictures of the 'studio'. LOL ... I showed you mine!
I have a person in mind for the challenge just don't know where I will go with it. I love the colors and may just whip up a block using them.
While I was searching for information about making fabric books, I ran across a comment of yours, Sharon, about them being used as an "autobiographical record" or something to that effect. I certainly see this first challenge falling into that category as it will be a way of leaving my memories of my precious grandmother for my family. Thank you for a wonderful beginning.
Hi Sharon,
So glad you're back! And hope you had a lovely holiday season!
The theme took some thinking on my part but I came up with something interesting. I've blogged my first post on my concept choice and I will be working with your color scheme as well. This will be so much fun! I expect by the end of the year, I will have quite the interesting quilt to put together.
Thank you again for a fun challenge and I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I know I will!
Pam
Happy new year, Sharon. And thanks again for TAST and your courses.
Thinking about what I want to accomplish this year, I've decided to withdraw from the TIF challenge. There are several projects I've had in mind for some time and haven't been able to get to. With my limitations, it's just not possible for me to participate in the challenge and work on these other projects.
Of course, I'll be following along, enjoying what others are doing with TIF, and maybe I'll even jump in at some point, but I don't want to be committed to it.
All the best wishes for another productive year,
JoWynn
Thanks Sharon for giving the first choice. It will be an new discovery for me what to do with this TIF. It will really become a challenge :-)
see my blog.
Hi Sharon, nice to have you back.
If Eve happens to be in France, tell her she will be most welcome in my home, I too have some spiderwebs to get rid of...
What a concept... I'll take the easy way for a start, i.e. the colors, but I'll try to think over the concept too.
By any chance, do you have an idea of how many of us have completed the TAST?
Have a nice evening.
after the hollidays...i must to kick my brain to star thinking :D
good concept to the challenge...
Okay, off we go again. Will need to think about which to tackle though, both are challenging. The colour scheme is certainly not one I would automatically chose or relate to so maybe that is the one for me, I'll have to push some barriers here I suspect. I immediately see a 1950s floral design or............... keep the other ideas for my blog! I will be convalescing the second week in January (the dreaded gall bladder op) so lots of time to mull it over. Great to see everyone seems refreshed and raring to go.
Good luck everyone and I look forward to reading all those blogs
Margaret
hhtp://littleworksofart.blogspot.com
C'est déjà un défi pour moi de lire en anglais, ensuite de passer par un logiciel de traduction et après d'essayer de comprendre, je vais faire appel à des copines douées en anglais chaque 1er du mois.
J'aime bien le bleu, le violet et le beige mais un peu difficile avec les autres couleurs.
BONNE ET HEUREUSE ANNEE et merci pour ce défi
First Challenge post is up. Fabrics chosen. Sharon, wonderful concept for us to work. The residual joy that you won't see is the fabulous dialog I had with my family in brainstorming what Admiration would or should look like!
http://susanfordoozen.blogspot.com
Well the challenge has begun. Imagine my surprise when I came home from the quilt shop, opened my computer and discovered that the months color scheme option fit right in with the fabrics I have chosen. That would make it too easy, so I have chosen to go with the concept for the month. In thinking about the concept, I haven't chosen a specific person, that I admire, but rather, a character trait which tends to be evident in all the people that I admire, the ability to look at the world and the people in it always in a very positive light. (perhaps I admire this because I struggle so much to cultivate this in myself). This brought me to mind, some colors and fabrics that I am using in my latest wallhanging that just seem happy and positive to me. My idea, which I stitch into a fabric postcard once it is finalized, is a bit simplistic, but for now I am going with it. Sketch is posted at http://www.flickr.com/photos/tyquilts/
What a challenge you have set us Sharon. Great to get all those grey cells working after the holiday.
It's a good thing my husband doesn't read your blog. I have my workroom up in my loft and DH says it's going to collapse with the weight soon!
Okay, here we go. This will take a little thinking not only for the subject but whether to use paper or fabric.
Hi Sharon,
I'm new to this, is there an easy way to keep tracks on what everyone is doing? At the moment the only thing I can think of doing is either adding all the blogs to my feed reader (aka overkill) or regularly trawling through your blog comments. Have I missed something?
I've decided to go with the colour group -it's new to me and has already sparked off something completely different!
Linda
Subscribe to the comments on my blog using your RSS feed reader - click on the comments on the challenge post and copy that URL into your feed reader .Then when people leave a comment you get it in your reader .
As a side note it is also the reason it is important to leave your comment on that post as that is hat people subscribe to.
Also since you are new if you click on any title of a post it will take you to the individual page of that post. this means you can book mark just the posts that are announce the challenge each month. You can also use that web address to link to as well.
Linda
I have just realised that you can't subscribe to the comments
I move mt blog here 3 months ago and assumed you could do it
I will poke around and see if I can find a widget that will do it
Thanks Sharon - I've learned something new already!!!
Yikes it would help if I looked in my own side bar - the feed for comments is there
http://sharonb.wordpress.com/comments/feed/
subscribe to the feed in your reader and then when people post a comment you know about it
Ok, first I want to say that that color scheme is VERY interesting. The concept has me thinking. I thought early on that I would be doing 10" familyblocks in the color scheme each month that most fit the family member. My girls really have wanted me to make a family quilt.
HowEVER, now the having me sorting through my family and friends, jotting down the reasons I admire them. I'm thinking I will do this over the next week as we travel to Arizona to visit my brother and look at potential homes (no, the house hasn't sold yet!). By the time we return home perhaps I will have come up with something truly profound.........one can only hope!
I plan to use a piece of embellishing made by Jean Littlejohn as an inspiration. I have a lot of 100% wool felt that I will use, plus I will add some kind of thread or yarn embellishment using the Embellisher or by hand. I'll post pictures on my blog. The colors of my felt pieces will determine my color scheme.
Funny thing I have a little shoe box with samples of those very colours and a silk of a fairie to match. Right now I am trying to produce a Quilt in sunset colours so I didnot sign up for your challenge But I may do the assignments any how.
Hi Sharon, still thinking about the concept!! don't think the brain is back in gear properly yet.
Happy New Year Sharon! I had to move early with some of the challenge phases, ie. subject, color, idea... The older I get, the more I learn where my " mud gets stuck". You definately gave us thoughts for reflection. Thank you for mentioning the comment feed subscription. Now my only hope is that everyone will respond to this post with updates, vs your other blog posts. Thanks for being our "challenge momma"!
Jane
www.crazyhereandnow.blogspot.com
I posted a tutorial of sorts on what I think I'll do for this month of the Take it Further Challenge using the colour scheme. It's on delta braid/trim a traditional applique art form from the region where I live. This is going to force me to have patience and perseverance. You can find the link here: http://tundrathreads.blogspot.com/2007/12/delta-braiddelta-trim.html.
Hope you had a lovely holiday Sharon! Your fibre diet is something to aspire to (not yet, for me, though)!
Best wishes to you and your family, Sharon, for a fabulous New Year. And thank you for this challenge. I've posted a note on my blog outlining my thinking so far about the design concept. I hope to use the colors in the design - I just love them. Not sure about the link to my blog, but try this:
http://sewterriers.wordpress.com/
Happy smiles! Susan
An interesting challenge, and I hope I'm not in over my head. Oh well, that is kind of what this is all about, isn't it? Okay, I'm ready to jump in and give it my best effort.
Blessings to all, Louise
Happy New Year Sharon and everyone! Wow, this is a challenging concept! I feel like a total novice, having only come to all this (PLOS, TAST, TIFC etc) a couple of months ago. Still, my head has been full of ideas for the last 24 hours and this afternoon I will start to put pen to paper in my little design book (eek, never thought I would have one of those - I'm an ENGINEER, not an artist!) that I have bought for TIFC. Thanks for throwing me in the deep end, Sharon, let's see how well I can swim! Cheers Mara (in Beijing)
Hi Sharon - just thought I'd leave a note for any participants in TIF who have Photoshop, or Elements - I posted on my blog about how to import the exact colours in your challenge so you can play with different design ideas - sorry if that is teaching anyone to suck eggs - I am very much a beginner with PS, but love its possibilities for designing.
cheers
Hilary
http://hilarymetcalftextileartist.blogspot.com/
Thanks for the tip about subscribing to comments in your reader, Ill spend much less time trawling though your comments.
cheers (you'll probably get 100 less hits a day from me now)!
What a great challenge with a lot of possibilities-very good for me.
It's early morning and what comes up for me is that 2 women have meant a lot to me and that's my mother and Anna.2 friends who could smile one moment and cry the next.Their lives had the complexity that make one so happy.In every sorrow they found something to be thankful of.
In every thing they found a challenge.Anna had 4 small children when her husband died and she had to do everything herself after that.And she did.She was a very good at knitting,doing embroideries....and to be a farmer.And she could enjoy life.To see my mother and Anna in action talking and reflecting gave me courage to live and do handicraft and always try find something to enjoy.
The colours are very interesting too.Maybe I do a little quiltie withnthe colours represented in it or.......
Thanks for a good start of 2008