CQ Journal Quilts

I've made Journal Quilts each year for the last eight years but when I saw this year's additional challenge I seriously considered having a year off!
"Each month you are required to include an area not less than ½” square of a set colour within the quilt. For January to April you are asked to include a little bit of purple. For May to August you are asked to include a little bit of green. For September to December you are asked to include a little bit of orange."
These are the colours that I'm least comfortable with and as I've begun to use my JQ's to experiment with different techniques throwing new colours into the mix felt like a step too far.
But the penny dropped at a recent NW CQ meeting where a fellow member said that she has been combining her JQ's with the NWCQ group's theme, which this year happens to be pattern.
So, no technical challenge this year. My challenge will be to find an appropriate pattern and complete the JQ within that calendar month, something I've not done for several years and to have fun in the process. 2016 JQ's will be my downtime! To go with the un-appealling colours I've chosen a wacky palette which I'll use for as long as my eyes can stand it.
Judy Fairless led a pattern making session at NWCQ and peppers featured heavily. So here is January 2016 featuring my seedless pepper! (I might still knock those background colours back a bit.)

Pictorial Consequences finally finished

The 2011 CQ challenge is to make a small quilt representing part of a body, in the style of the consequences game we played as children. It seems that most of us who have completed so far have made the three parts required to make a whole figure. You can see these pieces and even play the body swapping game here - www.contemporaryquilt.org.uk/pictorial-consequences.html  Each section is 16" square

Unusually for me I have finished well before the July deadline, which should be good news, but it's actually taken me way too long to complete the pieces which were begun on a retreat back in February. The stumbling blocks were the usual ones of sleeve, labels and photography - I should know by now that a piece isn't finished until it is finished! Here she is - inspired by our granddaughter who makes us smile: