One block's seams

These are all the seams from the block mentioned in the last post.  I purposely used more fabric pieces so that I would have more seams to embroider. 

Chevron, chain with hearts, and fly stitch with pearls

Feather stitch

Coral stitch

Coral stitch

Chicken scratch

Chain stitch "pea pods" with 13/0 Charlottes

Chain stitch with beads

Buttonhole stitch

Double cretan, chevron, coral, buttonhole and chain stitch

Chain stitch scallops and chain stitch with bullions

Chain stitch

Embroidering text.....continued

Here's the silk printed piece now attached to the block.  I tacked it down and used a thin needle and one strand of DMC floss to embroider tiny chain stitches within the outlines of the printed letters.  The next post will be the finished block.

Embroidering text

Silk page with two sets of lettering

I'm working on a baby announcement block for the latest addition to our family.  Lucas is my niece's first baby so that makes me Lucas' great aunt.  Three of my five grandchildren have blocks and I'm in the process of finishing the other two.

There is a lot of lettering needed on the block:  name, date and time of birth, and weight and length.  Getting the writing neat and even is tricky, and for the first couple of blocks I transferred the letters by tacking through a printed paper copy.  When I started using the silk to print off my own pictures, I also tried printing the text information on the silk.  For the lettering I used the font Comic Sans, size 30.  I chose pale blue ink because I will be using a pale blue thread, and chose the "outline" effect.

Close up of lettering

To get the best use out of the silk, I cut a piece of 8 1/2" x 14" legal size silk from the roll and adjusted the text and printed several times on legal size paper before I printed onto the silk.  To get two to a page, the format for each set of lettering is the same on the page using the landscape format.  When you are printing the second set of lettering, feed the paper into the printer from the opposite end.  Be sure to practice first on legal size paper.

Lucas' unfinished block

Most of the embroidery is finished, and the space at the bottom is where the silk piece with the lettering will be attached.  The printed silk page is cut from corner to corner so that each lettering is on a large triangle. 

Cathy's Tea Time RR block

Cathy's block after my additions

China Mug

What fun this was to work on!  Calthy's fabrics were all cotton and vintage.  The centre block is an embroidered teapot. The first thing I looked for was an area that could be a table, and I found it directly below the big teapot.  I added a beaded teapot, cup and saucer and a crystal footed cake plate with some Empire Biscuits.  The tablecloth is a little piece of lace with a scalloped edge.  Below the lace was my first attempt at a white damask tablecloth, but it looked too heavy, so I added the lace. 
To the left of the table is a large china mug with a rose design.
I also worked on four seams, chain stitch with pearls, stem stitch and lilac flowers, featherstitch with pink flowers and a herringbone with pink seed beads above the table. 
I love the empire biscuits!

Stem stitch seam

Afternoon tea with Empire Biscuits

Featherstitch seam

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?