CQJP 2014 February Block

End of Day 9

This has been a fun week, meeting new bloggers through the Grow Your Blog Party, hosted by Vicki at 2 Bags Full.  (I strongly encourage you to check out her Pink Scarf Project that ran from October of 2012 through 2013. She dedicated a Pinterest page (CLICK HERE) to photos, and they are lovely!)  My GYBP post may be viewed HERE.

I enjoyed working on my January CQJP 2014 block so much.  I had no idea February would be even more fun! (CQJP 2014 stands for Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2014 - CLICK HERE to check it out, but be prepared to spend some time viewing some amazing eye candy!)

I finished this block in 9 days spending as little as 30 minutes to just over 10 hours a day (*blushing* I really wanted to finish yesterday and my family was having a total relaxation day, soooo...)  In total, you are looking at just over 34 hours of my life and I enjoyed every minute of it!  (Well, almost.  Removing waste canvas is a chore and takes me FOREVER.  Of course, I opted to use it on two sections - lol!)

One of my favorite things about crazy quilting is watching the bare block transform.  For this block, I took daily photos to share those daily transformations with you.  I cannot decide if I should bore you all with what flosses and stitches I used.  I think I will add photos of specific areas with a "What I added" section.  If you are interested, the information will be there.  If not, you can skip it.

End of Day 1

End of Day 2

End of Day 3

End of Day 4

End of Day 5

End of Day 6

End of Day 7

End of Day 8

Completed block - end of Day 9

Buttonhole flower seam - Day 9

What I added: Using 1 strand of EdMar Iris 079 rayon floss, I added the buttonhole "stems" and lazy daisy "leaves."  The "petals" alternate from 2 lazy daisy stitches to 2 straight stitches, using EdMar Lola 093 rayon floss.  (I have found the EdMar flosses at 2 quilt shops that sell Brazilian embroidery supplies.)  To dress the seam up more, I added seed beads.  I alternated between Mill Hill blue 02026 seed beads attached with 1 strand of DMC 794 floss and Beader's Paradise 10/0 Czech glass "rose" seed beads attached with 1 strand of DMC 963 floss. (The links will take you to Amazon to view the beads.  I found my rose beads at JoAnn Fabric for $3.99.)

Linked Chain Stitch Seam - Day 3

 What I added: Linked chain stitch using 1 strand of EdMar Glory 083 rayon floss.

Cloud filling stitch - end of Day 9

 What I added:  First, I stitched 14-count waste canvas into place, lining it up with the seam line between the blue and pink fabric.  One strand of EdMar Iris 218 was used to make the little pink securing stitches and EdMar Iris 100 was woven between them to create the cloud filling.  On Day 9, I dressed this section up with more beads.  I alternated rows between Beader's Paradise 10/0 Czech glass "rose" seed beads attached with one strand of DMC 963 and Beader's Paradise 10/0 Czech glass "lt. blue" seed beads attached with 1 strand of DMC 794. (The links to the beads go to Amazon.  Note: I found my beads at JoAnn Fabric for $3.99.)

Mauve ribbon - Day 9

 What I added:  First, I stitched on a section of mauve ribbon using 1 strand of DMC S800 (blue satin floss.) Next, I added three flowers using 4 lazy daisy stitches each, using 1 strand of EdMar Iris 018 rayon floss.  On Day 9, I added a Mill Hill 02026 seed bead to the center of each flower, attached with 1 strand of DMC 794.  The blue straight stitches above the ribbon were added on Day 8 with 2 strands of DMC S800 satin floss..  On Day 9, I added 4 Beader's Paradise 10/0 Czech glass "rose" seed beads attached with one strand of DMC 963.

Cretan stitch seam & heart - end of Day 9

What I added:  First, I stitched 14-count waste canvas into place, lining it up with the seam line between the blue and pink fabric.  Next, I used 1 strand of EdMar Iris 169 and the Cretan stitch.  Next, I added another row of Cretan stitch using EdMar Iris 100.  (I am not sure which took longer, figuring out how to line up the stitches so they would work the way I wanted them to, or removing the waste canvas - lol!)  Originally, I planned to have 3 small hearts in a row beneath the Cretan stitched rows.  However on Day 5, I realized the heart I began the day before was slightly over my seam line.  So, I took it out and sketched a larger heart onto graph paper.  I used a single strand of EdMar Iris 100 and cross-stitches to make the center heart and added the 2nd row of Cretan stitches.  On Day 9, I added pink bugle beads (from a set of beads and bugle beads I picked up at Michaels with a 40% off coupon a while back) to the rows of Cretan stitches.  And, I added 2 beaded flowers.  Each "flower" includes  hot pink seed beads (from my stash - unfortunately, I do not have the specific details) attached with a single strand of matching DMC floss and 1 Beader's Paradise 10/0 Czech glass "lt. blue" seed bead attached with 1 strand of DMC 794. (Again, I purchased these beads from JoAnn Fabric for $3.99.)

Spider web - end of Day 6

I told my 14-year-old, "Mutt", I planned to add a heart to my spider web.  His reaction?  "Mom, spider webs don't have hearts in them."  So, I asked, "What if it also says the word, "love"?  It would be like Charlotte's Web."  To which he replied, "Oh, that would be fine."

What I added:  Using a single strand of Finca size 8 perle cotton #1724 (light pale geranium - I found this at a local quilt store) for the long stitches, and a single strand of EdMar Iris 169 to couch them down, I created the web.  Then, I stitched in the word "LOVE" and the heart.  On Day 6, I added the spider (inspired by spiders in J. Marsha Michler's book: The Magic of Crazy Quilting: A Complete Resource for Embellished Quilting) using 2 strands of DMC E317 metallic floss.  I loved that it matched the shiny blue denim material on the block.

Herringbone seam - end of Day 9

What I added:  Using 1 strand of EdMar Glory 043 and a Herringbone stitch, I covered this seam.  On Day 9, I dressed it up with Beader's Paradise 10/0 Czech glass "lt. blue" seed beads attached with 1 strand of DMC 794 and with Beader's Paradise 6/0 Czech glass "pink pearl" seed beads attached with 1 strand of DMC 818. (Again, I found these beads at JoAnn Fabric for $3.99.)

Seam of center section - end of Day 9

What I added:  Using 1 strand of EdMar Lola 093 and a buttonhole stitch, I created stems.  2 lazy daisy flowers were then stitched in Edmar Iris 018.  On Day 9, I added two of the hot pink beads from my stash with a matching floss.

Chevron seam - End of Day 9

 What I added:  Using 1 strand of EdMar Iris 018 and a chevron stitch, I embellished the seam.  On Day 9, I added Blue Moon Beads from a 6" strand of beads found on clearance at JoAnn (I could not find them on-line to share a link.)  They are attached with a single strand of DMC 604.

Heart fabric - end of Day 6

 What I added:  I stitched on 5 Mill Hill 60479 glass seed beads with 1 strand of DMC white cotton floss and made stem-stitched roses around each using 1 strand of a different pink EdMar rayon floss for each rose.  The leaves were made with 2 lazy daisy stitches and 1 strand of EdMar Glory 403 rayon floss.

Upper right corner - end of Day 9

What I added:  Using a feather stitch and 1 strand of EdMar Lola 034, I embellished the seam.  3 lazy daisy stitches were added with 1 strand of EdMar Glory 004.  A straight stitch in the same floss filled each loop. On Day 9, I added two flowers using a Mill Hill 00358 glass seed bead attached with DMC 824 and 5 lazy daisy stitches using 1 strand of EdMar Glory 071.

Flower vine - end of Day 9

What I added:  Using 1 strand of EdMar Iris 079 and a linked chain stitch, I created the vine.  Then I twined 1 strand of EdMar Glory 071 (variegated blue) and 1 strand of EdMar Glory 083 (variegated pink), I made flowers using 5 lazy daisy stitches for petals and filled each with a straight stitch as I went.  On Day 9, I used  the bright pink beads from my stash attached with a matching strand of DMC floss.  (Note: I worried that the colors in this section contrasted too much with the lighter colors within the block.  My choices were to remove the entire section, or to add the colors elsewhere in the block to balance things out.  I chose to balance it out.)

Center flowers - end of Day 9

What I added: 3 bullion stitched roses.  I added 3 Mill hill 00358 dark blue beads with a strand of DMC 824 and encircled them with increasingly large bullion wraps with a single strand of EdMar Glory 083.  For the other two flowers, I attached Mill hill 02026 cobalt blue beads with a strand of DMC 794 floss.  I encircled one with bullion stitches with EdMar Glory 043 rayon floss and the other with EdMar Iris 0218 (the smaller, light pink rose.)  For the vines, I used 1 strand of EdMar Glory 403 to create a chained feather stitch to act as leaves and a vine.  For flower "buds" I added size 11/0 metallic pink seed beads with a strand of DMC 718 cotton floss.  (The link will take you to see the beads on Amazon.com.  However, I purchased mine for less than $4.00 at JoAnn Fabric or Michaels.)  This added more of the dark greens and vibrant pinks to balance out the flower vine.  (Note: The bullion stitch, which I have heard referred to as "that" stitch, was much easier using a Milliners needle, but I still had problems with it.  CLICK HERE for some tips with the bullion knot. Sharon Boggin at Pin Tangle suggests a straw needle.  Perhaps that was my problem?  I wish I had read her notes about the twist of the floss before I made these flowers.  For the record, my hubby really likes my flowers made with "that" stitch, but found the amount of time they took me to complete a bit insane - lol!)

Butterfly - end of Day 9

What I added: Using 1 strand of invisible thread, I stitched on this butterfly pendant.  (I think it was a Bead Gallery item I picked up at Michael's, but I am not certain and could not find it on-line.)  The day before attaching it to the block, I set the butterfly out on a piece of plastic wrap and coated the front and, later, the back with clear chip-resistant fingernail polish, as I did not know if it would tarnish and I plan to use this block to make a purse.

Thank you so much for visiting!

Hugs,
Renee