Each year Quilt NSW has a Suitcase Challenge were members create quilts 40cm x 40 cm to a set theme. 

This year's theme was - Repurposed, Recycled, Reloved

When I saw the prefix RE of the challenge words I immediately thought of the song Do Re Mi from the musical The Sound Of Music. It's one of those fun songs I remember singing at school and I did love the movie. 

For those who aren't familiar with the song here are some of the lyrics: 

Doe, a deer, a female deer
Ray, a drop of golden sun
Me, a name, I call myself
Far, a long, long way to run
Sew, a needle pulling thread
La, a note to follow So
Tea, a drink with jam and bread
That will lead us back to Do, oh, oh, oh


As you can see Re or Ray is described as "a drop of golden sun".
So I set about making a golden sun using various materials, an old shirt, hessian coffee bag, woolen blanket, 60's brocade, a bit of silk sari all on a base of old blue denim jeans. 
My home is solar powered so as I sewed with these recycled fabrics I thought of how the suns rays are repurposed into the energy that powers my sewing machine, lights and the radio that keeps me company as I sew.

To continue the Repurposed Recycled and Reloved theme I made the backing from an old shirt. The hanging sleeve was inspired by a post LeeAnn of Nifty Quilts posted a few years ago.

Simply cut off a sleeve and sew it on, button, label and all. 

I know raw edges make some people nervous but I love that I can use a collage style with these smaller quilts. I wanted a rugged, worn look with this quilt and the words to look as though they are cut out of paper.  If I need to wash this little quilt for any reason it's just a matter of gently hand washing in a sink. Fraying just adds to the effect and texture. I know because I tested it on a quilt I made last year by putting it in the washing machine. It turned out just fine.

To see the other entries in this fun challenge visit QuiltNSW's website here. Make sure you click on each thumbnail to see the quilt properly and read the inspiration story that goes with each one. It's wonderful to see the variety and clever interpretations of the theme. 

And if you'd like to see some of my challenge quilts from past years hop over to this post to see what I made for "Mini Modern" and "Colour Collision". 

Next years theme is Remember. Hmmm I wonder what I'll make for that one.