Fan Quilt - CQJP2012, Feb. - TAST Herringbone

This is the second of the CQJP2012 completed.  I know it's a bit early, but I'm on a roll with these fan blocks. I really love new projects, and I have to admit that my other stuff is suffering a bit because this is so much fun.  

I'm trying to make the bottom part of the fan block a bit special and I think this bias silk ribbon works really well with the roses.

I'm also using Carole Samples book for some unusual seam treatments.

I filled this whole patch with herringbone stitches, Week 5 of TAST

Here are four blocks placed the way I will assemble the whole thing when finished. The fan pieces are all silk from ties or silk blouses.  I interfaced the silk with the knitted iron-on interfacing that Ali Aller uses on her blocks. 

I was always wary of tackling a fan quilt: too much measuring, too many places it could go wrong, but I came up with a little helper. 

The top right is a paper pattern I printed off the internet. The pattern measures 8" x 8".  The left hand piece is a heavy quilting see-through plastic sheet. I traced the fan pattern and an extra inch all around to make the block 10" x 10".  I made holes in this pattern to indicate the top and bottom of the fan pattern, and I use a disappearing pen to mark through the holes.  The other two pieces are the sizes of the individual fan pieces with hem allowance added, the larger is for the outside two, the smaller for the inside four. 

Basically, I pin the 8" x 8" paper pattern to the 10" square muslin, and then use the paper pattern to place each fan piece, and then sew and flip all the fan pieces in place.  Then I place a piece of cream fabric on the top, overlapping the top of the fan, and then mark dots through the holes on to the cream fabric to indicate the turn and hand sew line.  Repeat for the bottom.

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.

Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2012

My first block finished!  

And the second one ready to begin.

Boy! these deadlines really make you work!


Check out CQJP2012's website here to see all of January's finished blocks.

Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2012 Challenge

This is my first block of the CQJP2012 challenge.  I had planned another project, changed my mind and decided to make a CQ fan quilt and use silk ties and plain silk fabric for most of the blocks.  To save the silk from distorting I used the knitted interfacing which I found in our own Fabricland for $5 a metre.  I had a few goes at piecing the fan part, and finally used paper piecing to keep it even.

On the outer curve of the fan I decided to use a large design, and found Carole Samples book a great resource.  I am well on my way with the stitching, but it won't be finished by the end of January.  February's block should be on time as I have no other stitching commitments.  

India's flag block

It's finished, and I think it is my favourite block to have worked on so far.  Part of the fun was researching Indian symbols and culture, and there were many to choose from.  Plus I have access to beautiful fabric in the multi-cultural area that I live.

The green and white sequined curved pieces came from a child's tunic.  The gold trim on the left decorated another garment, and the sequins and beads used for the peacock covered the sleeve of a lady's very ornate blouse.  

Banyan trees

Lotus flower

Henna designs

Elephants

Shisha mirror and words from the national anthem

This is the centre motif from the Indian Flag

The peacock.  

East End Cake Decorators - January 2012 Meeting

Sunday's meeting was fun.  Our planned demonstrator was not able to attend due to illness, but despite that, the meeting just evolved and we certainly filled our two and a half hours very well.

To begin with Glenys, our president arrived with a boxfull of British and American cake decorating magazines spanning 20 or 30 years, from another cake decorator who is retiring.  We pored over these until breaktime.

We each bring in a plate full of snacks to share, and Glenys had these amazing cupcakes that became rainbows when cut in half.  Of course we all needed to know her secret which she shared.  

After that Glenys surprised us with a quickie demo that she put together to replace the cancelled one.    

Glenys' demo was on pattern transfers.  She showed two methods.  First is the outline method shown at the top. Second is the method of piping the design and moving the frozen design on to the cake. 

Thanks Glenys for all the above!

TAST Week 3 Feather Stitch

Only one example of feather stitch for TAST this week.  I have been really busy getting my piece ready for the "Crazy Quilts are Quilts Too" exhibition on Thearica's blog, also the Indian flag block which is due at the end of this month.  This seam is just a little piece of my Indian flag block where I used beads for the feather stitch.

My CQI All about angels RR block is home

My block is finished and home, thanks to Debbie S., Joyce R., Laurie N. and Wendy R. for their pretty stitches.  I enjoyed working on all their blocks too.   This was a really nice RR, it went very smoothly and the blocks looked great.

This lovely swirly design and the cute button flowers above was and the seam above, embroidered by Joyce. 

Joyce added the crochet hat, Debbie, the crown, the purple seam and the tatted seam 

Wendy's daisies and green feather stitch seam.

Laurie's lace applique and lace trim on the seam

Debbie's littlest angel, Joyce's seam above and below.

Laurie added the monogram and the sequin seam. Debbie's feather stitch is on the left and daisies on the right.

Wendy's silk ribbon work and seam above

TAST Week 2 Buttonhole Stitch

Sharon B's second week TAST stitch is the buttonhole.
The little flower at the bottom of the top photo I learned from Sharon, and it's called Kiko's flower.  It's composed of a series of five sets of buttonhole stitches worked very closely together, with a bullion across the top of each set, and  straight stitches with a french knot at the end.

These three are buttonhole stitch rows of flowers.

Check out information on TAST on Sharon's website here.

TAST Week 1 Fly Stitch

A small contribution to the fly stitch possibilities, week one's stitch in Sharon B's Take a Stitch Tuesday.  

Information for the TAST Challenge week one can be found here:  


http://www.pintangle.com/journal/2012/1/3/take-a-stitch-tuesday-week-1.html

WIPocalypse January full moon report

I chose the flower quilt as the first project to tackle and I've made great headway with it.  I hadn't decided exactly what size it would be, but I settled on 3 blocks across by four down.  I had planned that each block would finish at 6" square, but instead I managed to make each block 7" square.  With that extra 1/2" all around that hadn't been embroidered, this has meant a lot of places where it needed a few more stitches and beads.  Most of the embroidery is completed, and next it needs to be backed after that. 


I'm pleased with my staying power with this.

Happy New Year

I spent a marvellous New Year's eve at my nephew Hamish's wedding to his sweet fiance Ali.  The view from the banquet room had a three-sided view of Kingston, Ontario's harbour.  The wedding was off-site and the next photo shows Ali's beautiful dress, back view.

The dress was full of flounces, front and back, and  she floated down the aisle.

Of course Aunty Di (me) made the cake along with my cake partner Verdie.  The cake is sitting on the Matthew tartan. The men in the wedding party all wore kilts and they looked stunning, and even the groomsmen who had never wore kilts before said that they felt good.  

These are huge roses.  This cake is 6" diameter, the flowers are each 4" across.  

It was such good fun, my sister Helena, her daughters Rohanna and Dahlia, Rohanna's husband and their little son drove up from New York.  The dinner was delicious, the DJ played lots of oldies, and just before midnight we had Times Square live on a huge screen and did the count down.  After midnight there was more food, pizza and poutine - it's a Quebec thing!  French fries, cheese curds and gravy.  And then the Kingston New Year's Firework Show began over the harbour.   It really was a night to remember.