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. 

My CQI Silk Ribbon Embroidery RR is home!

This is my completed block from the CQI Silk Ribbon Embroidery Round Robin.  It travelled far and wide.  From Canada it's first stop was Uraguay, then on to Australia for two stops, next to Ohio, USA, then home again to Canada.  The lovely work by Meg, Susan, Arlene and Candji is much appreciated.

Susan's cottage garden

Candji's lace and rose motif

Candji's cherry blossom branch

Arlene's lace motif, rosebud and chevron seams

Arlene's loopy ribbon flowers and fargo roses spray

Meg's blossom branches

Meg's peach and yellow roses spray

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.

The "Mo-tivator"

How about this!  Three projects finished this week.  My friend Mo arrived from Florida for the summer and once he had made his tour around my place changing lightbulbs and stopping dripping taps, etc. he got down to the "jobs"!  First on the list was my holiday block that needed to be framed.  This CQ block represents my three-part vacation last fall beginning in Breckenridge, Colorado, on to New Orleans and finishing up in Florida.  While he was working on that I got on with the tea cosy which I had stalled on when it came to lining and finishing.  The other is a beaded velvet camera pouch for my friend Jan who recently was visiting from Victoria, BC.  It is very satisfying to have these items crossed off the to do list 

2010 Making Memories Block for Breast Cancer

It's finished!  This is the Making Memories Breast Cancer Block that I began a week or so ago.  The naked block is shown in a previous post.  This was a lovely block to work on.  The fabrics were mostly rich satins, of white and deep cream.  All the embroidery had to be in pastels, and that is what I did.  First I beaded the centre motif.  Other seams in the photos are a chevron seam, an up and down blanket stitch seam, and a row of chain stitches with straight stitches and beads addded.   I tried a stitch I hadn't used before, the double knot.  I embroidered two paralell rows of double knot stitches and each row is laced with cream #8 perle.  I also used two rows of cretan stitches, added lazy daisies and wrapped again with #8 cream perle.  Below that seam there is a button and bead cluster which fitted nicely in the bottom corner.   

2012 Challenge Crazy Quilt

This is  one of the three blocks that will make up a wall hanging on the Asian theme that will be my Crazy Quilt Challenge for 2012. 

In between all the RRs that I have been participating in this spring, I've been adding the odd seam here and there to this block.  Another of the blocks went around in the Asian RR, and the third my sister is doing for me, so it will be an interesting mix of styles.

Making Memories 2010 Block

I pieced the block for the 2010 Making Memories Breast Cancer Quilt project and then forgot to take a picture of the naked block.  Well, it's almost naked in this photo.  The block has all bridal type fabrics, and the embroidery has to be in pastels - just up my street.

Meg's Silk Ribbon Embroidery RR Block

Here's Meg's finished block.  The naked block was totally blue.  Now it's beautiful, bold and bright, with loads of colour.  Susan, Arlene and Candji worked on it before I received it.  I had to "think big" to stay within the spirit of it.  The bottom right hand corner was left to do and I filled it with large orange and black pansies, a scalloped wrapped seam and some woven roses. 

We all followed the rules (no rules really except that it is a SR block) and there's not much that isn't silk ribbon! 

Small and sweet

Doesn't look like much work, but these twelve little 4" cakes and five dozen assorted cookies have kept me busy for the last couple of days......now, back to sewing!

Dorset Button

I've been wanting to make a Dorset button for a long time now, and finally came across some 1" diameter curtain rings which were about the size I wanted to start with.  It's quite a nice little object, and I'd like to try a smaller one next.  I'm not sure how I can incorporate this into a crazy quilt block though......any ideas?

My friend Jan

Me on the left and Jan on the right                     Jan on the left and me on the right

My friend Jan and I have been best friends since we met in our first year of grammar school in England at age12. Can you believe that we are nearly 13 years old in the photo above!
 She emigrated to Canada to be my bridesmaid and we were back yard neighbours for years and babysat each other's kids.   She moved out west many years ago, but we still managed to keep in touch and visit and attend each of the children's weddings in Las Vegas, Vancouver Island, Toronto, Port Perry, and Montreal.   And this week she was back in town for a visit with her daughter.  We met today for lunch and it was lovely!    

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. 

Susan's SRE RR Block moving on...

This Silk Ribbon Embroidery block is another CQI round robin that I am taking part in.  Arlene and Candji worked on it before me (Candji embroidered the garden in the top left, Arlene the watering can and flowers, bottom right).  My contributions are the rose tree and the yellow flowers below it. The scalloped seam above it, the lilac chain stitch seam and the blue herringbone seam to the right.  Now it is off to Meg for her finishing touches.

Cathy's Bees, Butterflies & Beetles RR Block - finished

This is the last of the BB&B blocks in this CQI round robin.  This is quite a large round block and most of the work on it is fairly small, so there is lots to see.   Arlene, Cathy, Meg and I worked on this block for Cathy. I wrapped a chain stitch scalloped seam with variegated silk ribbon.   I beaded the pink butterfly, did the row of SRE butterflies above it, and the chevron seam to the left.   In the centre of the block I did a needlelace/beaded butterfly.  It's wired so the wing does stay up.  On another patch I did a beetle showdown!  I put in the big beetle first and wondered what else to fill the block up with.  (No planning ahead here....)  In the end, three smaller beetles appeared and it became a bit of fun.   I also embroidered the lilac daisy and pearl seam which is above the butterfly and the below the beetles.