MCQG 2012 Challenge

Well... if you know anything about me, you know I love to share.  Sometimes too much -- if that is at all possible!

It's time to create my Martin County Quilters yearly challenge.  This year is a bit different.  The theme is leaves and it must be scrappy -- oh, and it must contain the certified swapped member fabric.  I lucked out and received a piece of brown fabric.  I can work with brown, it's one of my favorite colors! But, scrappy?  uhhh... scrappy?  Me and scrappy don't usually get along.  I'm a big solid kinda' girl.  But, this is a challenge and if I'm not challenging myself what is the point?    So here's a peek at the rules and my swapped fabric.

I'm secretly laughing because up until a couple of weeks ago I had completely crossed this challenge off my list.  I was finally accepting the fact that I had no ideas, not even a stray thought and I wouldn't be participating this year.  When... suddenly... while walking down the hall... it hit me.  An epiphany!  I'm crazy busy with customer work, as well as my own competition pieces, and also my Journeys Thru Art projects.  No where in my little mind did I think I'd actually be following through with the MCQG challenge.  So now I'm wondering where exactly does this challenge fit into my already over sticky post-it world?!!

Warning:  If you do not want to see my MCQG Challenge -- stop reading now -- oversharing coming right up!  

Way long ago, back when this old broad was in high school, she had an amazing creative writing teacher, Mr. Crosby.  We weren't allowed to use lined paper because it limited your thought.  We were encouraged to write, doodle, graffiti all over our folders to stimulate creativity.  The windows were always open even in the dead of winter -- "cold air is better for thought".  An amazing teacher!  This was truly my most favorite class of all time.  He wrote in my yearbook and those words have stayed with me through all these years...  in a strong wind bend a little and your leaves will stay with you.  That was the epiphany... that little note written in my yearbook, almost eons ago!

So last night I was sitting here and poof.  I doodled out my idea.  It's pretty close to what's in my head.  But as we all know and understand the creative process, things will change, designs will be altered, colors added, things deleted, but here is my beginning idea:

Pretty cool, I think... but hey, it's my idea -- I'm calling it Bend!

And back to that scrappy thing... ugh!  Here are just a few scraps that I've pulled together:

So, what do you think?  Winner?  Good idea?  Sucks?  Let me know!