Cobi's stumpwork block

Stumpwork is one of the most interesting ways to decorate a crazy quilt block.  Cobi's RR block has such a wonderful variety of techniques, all in one way or another three dimensional.    I asked for some advice from Gerry K since I had the spot directly above hers on the block, and when she suggested a long and short stitch bunny, my heart dropped at the thought.  Not my favourite stitch to be sure!  But working on other folk's blocks makes me try harder, and I tackled the rabbit.  In fact I had some fun, and found that the long and short stitch wasn't so difficult as I had imagined it would be.  Here's Cobi's block finished after Gerry (the blue birds in the nest and the painted button), Arlene (the bee skep and bees), Karrin (the squirrel on the branch) and my bunny and hydrangea blossoms.

Cobi's finished stumpwork block

Bunny in long and short stitch, and hydrangeas. 

Stumpwork RR - Gerry's Block

This block has been the biggest challenge I have given myself since I began crazy quilting.  Stumpwork itself is by far the most challenging of crazy quilting techniques, and I would never have guessed that two years after I began to crazy quilt, I would be tackling this type of embroidery.  The first photo is Gerry's block with Arlene, Karrin and my contribution.  The next photo is my work which tells a story, a true story about a sick bee.  Sometime in the 1980s, my mum was out in the country picking wild blackberries and spotted a bee in obvious distress resting on a leaf.  She watched it for a while and then placed a blossom next to it on the leaf hoping it could gain a little nourishment.  A little later mum said it was able to fly off, but before it went very far, it made a u-turn, flew back and landed on mum's hand as a gesture of appreciation, it rested for a moment and then flew off.                                   Real blackberry fruit and blossoms.

Arlene's Stumpwork CQI RR

Here's Arlene's block after Karin and I have completed our work on it.  My contributions are the calla lilies, the dragonfly and the cast on stitch flower seam in pink/maroon.  The calla lilies are worked on muslin in a hoop and sewn on later.  For the needlelace leaves I worked on a pad made up of several layers of heavy cotton covered with a layer of "press and seal" saranwrap.  Under the saranwrap was my pattern.  After the leaf outline and centre lines have been couched down, the leaf is worked on top of the plastic.   When the couching stitches are removed, the leaf lifts off. 
The dragonfly wings were also made the same way.  But I had loads of trouble keeping the blanket stitch around the wire flat, it wanted to spiral, and it took me several tries to figure out why this happened and how to fix it as you can see from the pile of discarded wings.  In my time I've done a lot of macrame, and the blanket stitch around the wire is really a half knot.  In macrame when you do half knots, say for a planter hanger, the work spirals.  When you do a full knot, or a square knot as we called it, the work lies flat.  So that was how I did the dragonfly's wings, and they finally stayed flat. 

Karrin's Stumpwork block ...... continued

I added a wheelbarrow carrying a fir tree that's waiting to be planted

Karrin's Stumpwork Block

Here's what I have been working on for the last few days.  This is Karrin's stumpwork block in a CQI RR and I am the first to work on it.  It's quite a small block as blocks go, 9" x 12" with lots of patches of different mossy green fabrics, so I kept my work fairly small.   The tree has a raised stem band and lots of bullion cherry blossoms. The pink, blue and lilac delphiniums are raised chain bands with wrapped stem stitch stems.  The chrysanthamums are whipped spiders' webs with french knot middles and various woven picot leaves. I used the cast on stitch for the pansies which are in a rockery on the block.  The sunflower petals and leaves are also woven picots, and the stem is the raised stem band.  The bee was worked on felt and then attached to the block. When I took the block photo my little bee was protected by a piece of organza ribbon just so he doesn't get damaged.  The wings are quite fragile.  One stitch I tried several times but I just couldn't get it right is the raised cup stitch.  Does anyone have any pointers?  Mailing out date is the end of March, so I still have time to maybe add something else!

Naked Stumpwork Block

I think that this will be the final block I need to make for the CQI RRs beginning in the new year.  This one is for the Stumpwork RR which I'm looking forward to participating in.  Stumpwork is 3-dimensional and you will see all kinds of things popping up from this block and the others that are also in this round robin.  I've been practicing some of the techniques on an earlier trial block  here.   So I'm all ready to go with the Bees, Butterflies and Beetles, the Asian theme block, and the Stumpwork block.  Still waiting for two more CQers to join in the Brazillian Embroidery  rr.!    I used a piece of material from my Christmas cracker from Alice as my centre for this block.