CQI Heart DYB Round Robin 2014 - Set 2 Complete

Kathy's CQI Heart DYB RR 2014 - embellished by Renee Y.

Yesterday, I finished embellishing Kathy's block in our Crazy Quilting International (CQI) Heart Do Your Block (DYB) Round Robin (RR).  (Click on any photo for a larger view.)

Kathy's CQI Heart DYB RR 2014 bare block

The fabrics were so fun to embellish! In her booklet, Kathy S. (a.k.a. Clothqueen) let us know we did not need to make the colors coordinate with the blocks others have embellished because each block will be used as a focal point in a set of place mats.  (I cannot wait to see them when they are done!)  So, I contemplated all kinds of ideas.  However, I just could not bring myself to stray from the pink and green theme Lisa B. (of ivoryblushroses.blogspot.com) created with her beautiful block. (It is pictured at the end of this post.)

In my experience, my pretty rayon flosses snag easily.  Metallic flosses can fray while stitching. For those reasons, this block uses only cotton flosses and size 8 pearl cotton.  (I have cross-stitched baby blankets with DMC cotton flosses and found they wash well.  In my experience, they have been colorfast, too.) I did opt to add the pink flower trim.  Each flower is securely tacked down.  And, I did my best to stitch around the raw sections that were cut, in hopes they will not fray when washed.

Like Lisa, I was planning to avoid the use of beads.  However, I do so love the shimmer beads provide.  The light pink Mill Hill Petite Glass Beads in my stash are tiny enough, I felt dishes would be able to sit on them with ease.  And, unless I am using one of the beaded stitches from TAST (Take A Stitch Tuesday), I always firmly secure each bead.  (When I began crazy quilting, I found three stitches through each bead with a single strand of floss held them firmly in place and knotting the strand of floss three times on the back side of the fabric made the knot large enough that it would not pull through the fabric.  By knotting after each bead, if one bead falls off, the others on the block should remain in place.)  I will send some of these beads on with the block, so Kathy will have matching beads just in case any of the beads do fall off in the future.

This was such a fun block to embellish!

After tacking down the flower trim and stitching tiny green leaves around them, I used waste canvas to evenly stitch the herringbone seam pictured above. Above the herringbone seam, 2 strands of cotton floss, straight stitches, lazy daisy (detached chain) stitches, and petite glass beads created a cute flower seam.  Beneath the herringbone, I added clusters of three French knots with size 8 white perle cotton.

After all of the seams were embellished, I added the tiny butterflies.  Two of them have hearts in their flight path to add to the heart theme.

The second seam uses a light pink size 8 perle cotton.  Buttonhole stitches created the ground and stems. (I later tacked the straight edges along the seam down with a single strand of matching cotton floss, as I feared they might otherwise snag when laundered.) Straight stitched leaves and lazy daisy stitched petals topped with pink petite glass beads transformed the seam into flowers.

I used a strip of waste canvas to evenly space the chevron stitches on the third seam.  Lazy daisy stitches decorated the top of each and a petite glass bead dressed up the bottom.  I might have left the seam as it was, but I could see a tiny bit of the threads used to stitch the block together along this seam and I wanted to hide those.  So, I added three small straight stitches for a stem and leaves and a tiny colonial knot for flower tops.  I loved the way that turned out!

Finally, I added two hearts to the bottom of the block.  (I contemplated adding more to the dark pink sections at the top, but felt they would detract from the central heart too much.)

Two strands of green cotton floss were used to stem stitch the heart and (later - after placing the flowers) add lazy daisy leaves.  Two strands of variegated pink cotton floss were used to make lazy daisy flowers and stem stitched roses.  (I added the petite glass beads and then added stem stitches for the roses.  I made the five lazy daisy stitches for the other flowers and then topped the centers with a petite glass bead.)

Now two of Kathy's blocks are embellished.  On Monday, I will mail them to Tahlia and she will be able to select one of the four remaining blocks to dress up for Kathy.  

Thank you for stopping by!

Renee

CQI Heart DYB Round Robin 2014 - Set 2 Received

Last Monday, I received my second set of blocks in the Crazy Quilting International (CQI) Hearts DYB Round Robin! I have been itching to share these with you all week.

This lovely set of blocks belongs to Kathy S. (a.k.a. Clothqueen - I add this to clarify, this is not the same Kathy S. that participated in the Winter/Christmas DYB RR with me last fall.)  Kathy's fabrics are absolutely lovely!

Lisa B. was the first to work on Kathy's blocks and she did a stunning job, as you can see below.  You can read more about Lisa's work on this block on her blog by clicking here. 

I love the way Lisa stitched each set of seams framing the heart so they matched and mirrored one another.  Her stitching is so delicate and even.  I encourage you to click on the photo to see a larger image and see more detail.  I only wish you could see it in person!

 Here are the remaining 5 blocks for me to choose from:

It was not an easy choice, but this last block pictured is the one I chose to embellish.  Now, I am off to make some progress.  This needs to be mailed by the first of July, I have two snowballs I need to complete and mail by the end of June, and I have another block on its way that I will share with you soon!

Thank you for stopping by!
Renee

CQJP 2014 April Block

CQJP 2014 April Block by Renee

It is a couple of months past due, but I finally completed my April block for the Crazy Quilt Journal Project (CQJP) 2014.

Here is how it looked before I began stitching:

I loved the idea of a block done primarily in blue and yellow, as I have seen a few that were simply gorgeous.  However, once I began, I found working on this block to be a challenge.

If you follow my TAST (Take a Stitch Tuesday) posts, then most of these seams probably look familiar.  My favorite seam is the one on the lower-right corner.  Incorporating the TAST stitches into the seam work was actually a lot of fun.  When I felt particularly stumped as to what to do next, I turned to the list of TAST stitches on Sharon Boggon's blog Pin Tangle to jump start the gears in my head and grind out some ideas.

Now, I am off to can some strawberry honey jam, cook 2 whole chickens on the BBQ (we have a Traeger, so they will be smoked - yum!), and try to carve out some time to work on my CQJP 2014 May block.

Thanks for stopping by!
Renee

TAST 06/10/2014

Last week was a break week for TAST (Take a Stitch Tuesday), so I tried out a few stitches from the beginning of the list found on the TAST FAQ page on Pin Tangle.

To see what others have been up to this week and to see the stitches I hope to share next week, check out the post and comments HERE.

Click on any photo below for a larger view.

TAST #10: Running Stitch

Last night I laughed at myself.  I skipped this stitch, because I could not think of how to incorporate it into my current projects.  Then, as I looked at the last few details to add to my CQJP 2014 April block (yes, I am WAY behind), I realized I had already added a running stitch!  The flight path of the dragonfly.  I use this stitch as a flight path for dragonflies, butterflies, and bees.

TAST #12: Barred and Alternating Barred Chain (I only have the alternating shown here)

I stitched the Alternating Barred Chain with a single strand of blue variegated EdMar rayon floss.

TAST #30: Cast On Stitch

After embellishing the seam with the Alternating Barred Chain Stitch, I added cast on stitches with yellow variegated cotton floss.  Next, I added tiny blue Mill Hill Petite Glass Seed Beads to the center.  (I discovered The Button Emporium in Portland, Oregon a few weeks ago.  I did not get many buttons, but I did add a few lovely trims, silk ribbon, and Mill Hill beads to my stash!)

Thank you for stopping by!
Renee

WIP Wednesday 06/04/2014

This week, I decided on a border fabric, cut the strips, and decided on a layout.  It is the same fabric I stenciled the words onto and used for the center of the blocks. 

There is a fair amount of seam allowance here, so the borders will be much smaller once they are sewn in.  My next step is to remove all of the basted seams around the edges of the blocks.  Then, I can begin sewing the top together.

To see what others have done this week, check out this post and the comments for WIP Wednesday on Pin Tangle. (Be prepared to see some eye candy! Sharon made beautiful progress on the hussif she is making.)

(Note to self: I may need to start getting up at 5 a.m. on Wednesday mornings to make these posts.  And to check posts on blogs I follow.  My computer access is SO limited with my hubby working from home.  Thankfully, my sister spoiled me with an i-Pad for my birthday, so I can keep up with emails.  I have tried typing posts on the i-Pad, but it will not always allow me to scroll up the page to read or edit anything I have typed. And, I can read posts on blogs, but the i-Pad is glitchy and rarely allows me to leave comments. So, I will be thankful I have the i-Pad for the Internet access it allows me, and try to work my PC access in for the rest!)

Last Week's Lists:

Short-term:

1. The wall hanging I plan to create with all of my CQI Winter/Christmas blocks
2. Complete my April CQJP 2014 block. All of the seams are now embellished!
3. Make a purse with my April CQJP 2014 block.
4. Embellish my May CQJP 2014 block.
5. Make a purse with my May CQJP 2014 block.
6. Complete a gift by the end of May June.
7. Freebie Santa and the Mouse Ornament -  Heaven and Earth Designs chart by Michele Sayetta and artwork by Scott Gustafson. (I believe the ornament is a portion of the chart "Santa and the Mouse.") Complete 100 x-stitches by next week. I think I completed over 300 x-stitches. This is what it looks like now.  (My hubby decided to rifle through my charts to find the photo of the project, as it was beginning to drive him mad, not knowing what it would be. The boys still do not know.)

 

Long-term:

1. My CQJP 2013 May block - better late than never?! (It is referred to as Block 4 if you follow this link.)
2. A crazy quilted hexagon to participate in my first swap with the World Wide Crazy Quilters Yahoo! Group
3. A change purse for myself  - I completed 3 more seams.
4. Have a count of at least 50,000 words for my CampNaNoWriMo novel.
5. Piece and embellish 2 "snowballs" for CQI Snowball Swap. Both are pieced. I need to baste seam allowance.
6. Piece June CQJP 2014 block.
7. Embellish June CQJP 2014 block.
8. Make a purse with June CQJP 2014 block.
9. Piece July CQJP 2014 block.

 This Week's Lists:

 Short-term:

1. The wall hanging I plan to create with all of my CQI Winter/Christmas blocks
2. Complete my April CQJP 2014 block.
3. Make a purse with my April CQJP 2014 block.
4. Embellish my May CQJP 2014 block.
5. Make a purse with my May CQJP 2014 block.
6. Complete a gift by the end of May June.
7. Freebie Santa and the Mouse Ornament -  Heaven and Earth Designs chart by Michele Sayetta and artwork by Scott Gustafson. (I believe the ornament is a portion of the chart "Santa and the Mouse.") Complete 100 x-stitches by next week.

Long-term:

1. My CQJP 2013 May block - better late than never?! (It is referred to as Block 4 if you follow this link.)
2. A crazy quilted hexagon to participate in my first swap with the World Wide Crazy Quilters Yahoo! Group
3. A change purse for myself
4. Have a count of at least 50,000 words for my CampNaNoWriMo novel.
5. Baste seam allowances and embellish 2 "snowballs" for CQI Snowball Swap. 
6. Piece June CQJP 2014 block.
7. Embellish June CQJP 2014 block.
8. Make a purse with June CQJP 2014 block.
9. Piece July CQJP 2014 block.

TAST 6/3/2014

This week, I managed to catch up on a few more stitches for TAST (Take a Stitch Tuesday.)  Sharon shared some lovely stitches with us.  To see what others have been up to, be sure to check out the posts and comments on Pintangle.com last week and this week.

To see a larger view, click on any photo.

TAST #8: Chain Stitch

Making trees is one of my favorite ways to use the chain stitch. I used 2 strands of a couple of shades of brown DMC embroidery floss.

TAST #9: Couching

Here, I couched down perle cotton with a strand of embroidery floss in a matching shade of yellow.

TAST #113: Beaded Feathered Chain Stitch

After making this seam with size 8 blue perle cotton and blue and yellow seed beads, I liked it, but felt it looked a bit too bold.  So, I built the seam in hopes of softening it up a bit.

 

TAST #114: Long Tail Chain

 I used this stitch to add small half-circle flowers to the yellow fabric along this seam, using a variegated yellow floss.

Variation: Long Tail Chain Whipped. I worked this with a size 8 variegated pink perle cotton and added a seed bead to the center of each "flower."

TAST #115: Beaded Long Tail Chain

 Next time, I would like to try this stitch with a perle cotton. I used a pink EdMar rayon floss here with small pink seed beads and filled the center with a larger pink bead. I do love the way it sparkles and catches the light!

Thank you for stopping by!

Renee