Detail 25

I enjoyed doing this one for a few reasons! The first one was that my order of threads arrived from Evening Star Designs. Beautiful variegated threads, and lovely to work with. Second, I found some gorgeous buttons in the button boxes at my Seniors Club, and third, I did this detail on the front of an small shoulder bag which I think will be very nice when it is finished.

Details 23 and 24

Both are supposed to be wisteria but could be mistaken for grapes! Detail 23 is done with 2mm silk ribbon and french knots that I wrapped either two or three times around the needle; detail 24 is the cast on stitch.

Detail 23

Detail 24

Cake detail

I made a large slab for a combined mother/one year old son's birthday. As a decoration for the mother I made a small bouquet of roses and for the little boy I made a blanket and teddy bear from gumpaste and used some sugar cubes for blocks. Looked cute and filled a big space on the cake.

Storing the stash - continued

I worked for a couple of hours last night and more this morning and I'm pleased with the little tab system. In the photo there are two plastic containers, one behind the other, and they are pretty much full of my stash of seed and bugle beads in one and buttons and charms in the other, so NO MORE SHOPPING Diane!!

Detail 22 of 100 details in 200 days

These are details 22a, 22b and 22c and the finished block. Can't seem to get it to click to the large size. It's on Flickr too, click on Flickr at the right. And these are the last of the details that will fit on my current block. As you will see above it is jam packed full, not room for anything more. Now, maybe the CQ encrusters and embelishers could fit more on! I'll take any suggestions for more beads, buttons or braid from you guys.

Detail 21

Here is Detail 21.

Storing the stash

Jeanette on CQforNewbies asked how do we all store our beads and trim. This question made me realize that mine are stored separately in small plastic bags and I am somewhat organized, but it still takes time to find what I want when I'm looking. I suggested to Jeanette to use paper labels as tabs. So I tried my suggestion myself. I have sheets of old diskette labels from the 80's (I save everything!)which worked just fine. Here's how I have been storing on the top, and here's just a few baggies with the labels on, in the bottom photo. You'd have to remember to keep the bags shut, but I think it would work.

New Project

I'm just thinking about it right now, but it's taking shape. I have a lot of Asian/Indian stuff in my living room. For instance, some furniture from Pier 1 that have touches of rattan, curtains that look like sari material, a decorative wall hanging that I made on the lines of one from Pier 1, and a wonderful hand hooked rug in the colours of my curtains. Well, my sister was visiting this weekend past and put the idea into my head that I should make something for the wall behind my sofa in crazy quilting. It would have to be quite different from the wall hanging. It would be a huge project. The piece would need to be 4' x 2' 6" and I would have to do it in one piece. All I have done so far is to get a piece of plain newspaper print the correct size and roughly mark a grid. I have a piece of muslin the right size too. I'm going to think about it awhile before starting just so I don't make any silly mistakes. Has anyone else done a hanging in CQ this big?

Details 19 & 20

These are yesterday's and tomorrow's details. This is the first time I've used 13mm silk ribbon, and it's lovely to work with. The rose is a bit more than

1 1/2" in diameter.

Detail 18

Not the neatest of work!

Garden update

Just look how well the lettuce have come along. I'm already picking them for sandwiches. They are so tender. I planted some more in the same container and they have already sprouted. The tomatoes too are so much bigger and have lots of flowers. Just hope there are enough bees to polinate them.

In the last few days my friend and I picked a couple of buckets of strawberries and the same day hulled, washed and made most of them into jam. There was enough over to freeze several containers of whole uncooked strawberries. To be eaten later with Nestles cream.

Detail 17 of 100 details in 200 days

Keeping up the pace! Here's number 17.

Detail 16

I still haven't mastered the bullion stitch. I have this thread under the bullion that shows. Am I doing it wrong?

Josh

This is Joshua, my youngest grandson, and me.

Taking photos

Here's a simple way to take close ups of your work. I saw the idea in either a message board or someone's blog, but I haven't been able to track it down.

What I have is a small opaque bucket from the dollar store. My handy friend made a round hole in the bottom the exact size of m camera lens so the camera sits level on the bucket. I use the "macro" setting.

Here are two comparisons of photos taken using the box and me holding the camera. The box has two advantages, one being that the camera doesn't move. The other is that the opaque plastic box seems to produce a truer colour eliminating the glare. In each case, the photo on the top are without the box, the bottom ones are with the box. For me the main thing is that I am not holding the camera, just pressing the button.

July 11/08 - Just a quick note to say that if you know where the original idea of the opaque bucket came from, I would really like to give them credit.