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?