CQI Winter/Christmas DYB RR - Completed Block for Melody

Block pieced by Melody and embellished by Renee

I believe this is the first time I finished a round robin block on the date I needed to mail it out.  I must say, I absolutely LOVE the colors and fabrics Melody used to make this block.  And I had a lot of fun embellishing the block.  That being said, I found this block to be one of the most challenging ones I have done to date.

Melody's block before embellishment

I came up with idea after idea for this block; yet, when I reached the next section, I found the threads I planned to use were too dark, too light, or simply did not go with the colors in the block.  So, the wheels in my little brain began chugging along until another idea caught hold that would work.  For the record, this block made me think and re-think.  I liked that. (I think - lol!)

Hopefully, Melody will like the end result.

The first step was couching silver metallic DMC size 5 floss over the silver tree in the center.

The white Ric-Rac seam stitched with blue metallic floss and lined with silver and blue seed beads was copied from my favorite seam on the stocking I made for the Evening Star Designs 2013 Winter Challenge.

The poinsettias in the upper-left were fun to add - using 4 mm white silk ribbon (I use RiverSilk) and blue beads.

Sparkly buttons I found buried in my stash were surrounded with DMC white rayon floss lazy daisy and straight stitches ended with white beads - in hopes of looking wintery.  Swarovski Elements 4mm Bicone Blue Bell Mix beads separated each of these wintery flowers.

Above the tree is a seam embellished with two snowflakes using white rayon floss and silver metallic floss.  A tiny white bead sits at the center of each.

The seam to the right of the tree is small blue metallic snowflakes, separated by clear white beads.

I wish the photo showed how the fabrics, threads, and beads play in the light!

Melody's block - close up of upper-left corner

A feather-stitched seam with white rayon floss embellished the seam between the silver and blue fabric.

The snowflake trim, I purchased at www.eveningstardesigns.net when I purchased the 2013 Winter Challenge Kit.

I made a small silver snowflake using DMC metallic size 5 floss.  Then, I used a silver metallic thread to make smaller star-shaped snowflakes around the rest of that blue and silver patch of fabric.

Melody's block - close up of the bottom-right corner

This was one of my favorite additions to the block.  Most of my blue shades did not fit the block, or blended right in; so, I simply HAD to go to a quilt shop and pick up a few new shades of EdMar floss!  (An excuse to buy CQ supplies!)  The blue uneven buttonhole uses one of those flosses - EdMar Iris #212.  Silver metallic floss and beads were used for the snowflakes, and white seed beads adorn the rest of the buttonhole stitches.  I thought of this like a streamer with paper snowflakes hanging from it as a winter decoration.

I found this Holiday Glitz Swirl Snowman Charm (part of a set of 3 charms) at JoAnn Fabric and thought it was absolutely adorable.  (I hope Melody likes it!)

Originally, I planned to add a small tree here.  However, the threads I have did not want to cooperate with the fabric colors.  So, I decided to finally try using bugle beads.  Obviously, I need more practice, but I still like the way this snowflake turned out.

For this tree, I twined one strand of DMC metallic white floss and 1 strand of Edmar Glory #071 (a variegated blue) and used a stem stitch for the tree trunk and straight stitches for the branches.  I couched the longer branches down with a single strand of the DMC white metallic floss, and added curvy stem-stitches with two strands of this same floss at the bottom for a snowy ground.  I had to be careful because the lighter shades of the variegated blue did not show up well on the pretty fabric below (I removed a few branches that blended in and carefully avoided those stretches of the variegated floss on the rest of the tree).  It was a fun, easy tree to make!

Thank you so much for stopping by to see what I have been up to.  I do hope Melody likes her block!
-Renee