Carribean Kid....

In the last post my sister, Helena, at 2am, was working on making a "mock up" of the fabric and embellishments from one of our latest Special Edition cq block kits.  

Of course you would have your own "kid's" picture in the middle, this one is my grandson Elijah.

This one we named "Carribean Kid".  

The kit contains 12 pieces of coordinating fabric, lace, beads, sequins, buttons and charms.  

The late night bedtimes paid off - we have several Baby Heirloom Crazy Quilted Block kits in my Etsy store.  Check them out.

Ten after two a.m.............

As is.   Not cropped or photo-shopped.

Wowwwwwww~  I've had to use a fire hose to put out the flames, my one-of-a-kind were so hot, they disappeared off the shelves in a flash.  In total we created over thirty One-of-a-Kind Limited Editions.  We've come to end of this special fabric and will have to wait awhile to replenish the stock.

No stopping this Sister Act, though!  When the creative juices begin flowing, watch out, and watch this space.....below!

This looks familiar to some of you, but for new visitors to my blog, this is the basics of an Heirloom Crazy Quilted Baby Block, that can be used as a unique wall hanging, a special decorative pillow, or a cover for the baby's first photo album.  

This is our new way to help you visualize your finished product.

What you see here is a mock up of the block using some of the fabric, trim and embellishments that are included in the package.  These are just placed in position (not sewn) to give an idea of how to put it together, bringing out the beauty of the elements, including baby.


The package also contains a pdf booklet with step by step illustrated instructions plus many colour photos of embroidered seams, etc.  Batting and enough fabric to back and bind the block is also included, as is your baby's photo and birth details printed on silk fabric.  A colour photo of our mock up will be included in each package.  

Pink and green is just one of many colour selections that are available.  Several colour choices will be ready on Etsy by the end of the week.

You can see some finished blocks here. 

1 a.m Helena cannot stop!  

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A week or so ago, I wrote that my sister is visiting and I mentioned then that she came across my small selection of unique fabrics and offered to do something with them.  

Well, my sister and I are still in the midst of these gorgeous beaded, sequinned and richly decorative fabrics and we're still having a wonderful time with them.  There are little sparkly bits of sequins and beads all over the floor, the result of chopping them up for the One-of-a-Kind selections I am now selling in my Etsy shop.  The first six packages that we made initially flew off the shelf, so we knew that not only did we love these fabrics, they were beautiful to others too.  So that inspired us to continue.

It's so much fun choosing pieces that go together, arranging them, and magically it seems, a name for the selection is born.  

This has been a labour of love because to put each selection together takes a lot of choosing, arranging, deciding which piece goes with each other, and what the story is behind the fabrics.  And each selection, ultimately, feels like a piece of art just in placing the pieces together. 

So here are some of our latest selections put together, on  Etsy there are more photos of the fabrics.  

The precious piece of beading in the centre was the inspiration for this selection.  Below the beading is pleated organza which reminds me of Jean Butler in Riverdance.

After Helena put this together, she called me over to look.  At the same moment we both said to each other "Russian Roulette".  A little telepathy here.

Aunt Maude is sitting primly in her stuffed parlour chair.  She reached deep into her closet (at least 60 years back) for just the right outfit to greet her many guests.

Northern Princess started out as "Soft Spring", but somehow as we were working on it, we mislaid two pieces of fabric, and therefore we had to substitute two others.  Suddenly we had the "Northern Princess".  

Here's a link to my Etsy shop. 

WIPocalypse February report

My goodness, this month slipped by so quickly.  I didn't get as much done as I expected.  There's still a lot of UFO's needing attention.

These I did manage to attack:

Baby block tutorial:  I made good headway on this tutorial, I'm about half way through that project.

I'm up to this point 

Handkerchief Quilt:  Got some expert advice on how to begin assembling, which I am seriously scheduling for this coming month.   My Seniors group also hand quilts for a fee, and I they will do mine. 

Crazy Quilts ARE Quilts Too

On Thearica's blog Pigtales and Quilts you can feast your eyes!  She has put together a crazy quilt show and competititon that will inspire you.  Many of us Crazy Quilters have submitted an item for the competition or for display and it is well worth the visit.


I have entered, but I cannot divulge which piece I chose, but I can tell you it was a joy to make along with many other pieces I have worked on since I discovered crazy quilting by accident in 2008. 


I was Googling silk ribbon embroidery and came across photos of SR embroidery on some incredible crazy quilts.  From that moment I was hooked!  It  led me quickly to CQI (Crazy Quilting International) an online group that organizes round robins, swaps, competitions, and retreats held in Colorado.  I've been three times, each time renewing friendships, learning lots, sharing expertise and having enormous fun.   In four years of CQing, I know I have improved. 


 When I made my very first block my supplies were only one bag of mixed beads from Wallmart and a small selection of DMC floss.  Here is my very first block:    

After four years and now a houseful of fabric, beads, embroidery threads, I'm still CQing and loving it.  I've found great ways to use crazy quilting:  the next three blocks are birth announcements for three of my grandchildren, and after that some other pieces of my crazy quilting.  

Brynn

Elijah

Emily

12" x 22" story of my summer holiday 2011 - five days in the Rocky Mountains, Colorado, a weekend in New Orleans, then on to Nokomis, Florida.

An under and over-the-sea block

A pouch for my camera

A teacosy from four square blocks

A traditional tea cosy

 One thing leads to another, and I also had a go at making dotties, little dolls with character that usually get traded.

An angel

another angel

and a witch.