Thursday, September 11, 2014

CQI Heart DYB Round Robin 2014 - Set 4 Completed

Almost all of my stitching time this week was devoted to embellishing this block for Alexandra.  It was fun to work on such a pretty block.  (You may click on any photo for a larger view.)
This was the block prior to embellishment.
I began with the heart in the center, as I did not want my seam work to be in the way.  (Some of the beads were added after all other stitching was completed.)
Next I worked an uneven button hole stitch along this seam.  Beads and lazy daisy (detached chain) stitches created flowers and leaves.  The butterfly and its flight path (which includes another heart) were added just before the final beads.

A green feather stitch along this seam was the next step.  Once again, lazy daisy (detached chain) stitches and beads created flowers and leaves.  (This seam was inspired by a seam on a glasses case on Humming Needles.  To see that beauty, click here.  It is worth the visit!  You may also find Humming Needles on Etsy - I am not affiliated with Humming Needles, I am just a big fan.)
This next seam was inspired by the heart flowers Barbara created along a seam on the block she embellished by Alexandra. I began with the chevron seam and then added the flowers. In hindsight, I wish I had used a darker shade for the hearts on these flowers, but I do like them.
You may recognize the beaded up and down button hole stitch from a recent TAST post. Fly stitches and French knots made with 2 strands of a variegated floss created small flowers. I did not want these flowers to compete with the heart above them, so I liked the way they almost blended in with the fabric beneath the central motif.

Sharon B. of pintangle.com offers a newsletter now.  The first addition arrived in my email this week.  (You may subscribe through a link on her blog here, if you are interested.) One of the photos included seam treatments with groups of 3 lazy daisy (detached chain) stitches and two straight stitches.  There was a bead at the end of each straight stitch.  I loved the look of this seam treatment and adapted it to fit the heart theme of this block by replacing the beads with hearts.  I love this seam!

This herringbone seam was the final seam treatment.  Along one side, I created flowers with lazy daisy and straight stitches and added a Mill Hill petite glass seed bead to the center of each one.  On the other side, I added small hearts.  (The flower tops and hearts were created using the same section of a variegated cotton floss.)

I wanted to add more motifs to the block, but I also wanted it to fit in consistently with the other 3 blocks that had been embellished. The photo above shows the completed blocks to be mailed to Tahlia. Kathy S. (aka Clothqueen) embellished the purple block. Barbara W. embellished the blue block. Lisa B. embellished the green block. And I embellished the pink block.

I do hope Alexandra likes her blocks!  Today, I plan to spend some time checking out some of Alexandra's patterns on Craftsy.  I adore Halloween decorations, and some of her free patterns are Halloween themed.  The birds are also pretty amazing. Once I catch up on my current projects and UFOs (that can happen, right?!), I may have to try some of these patterns out.  You may find them here on Craftsy - or just look for Alexa's World on craftsy.com.  (I am not affiliated - I just find it fun to be in a round robin with so many talented ladies!)

Thank you so much for stopping by!
Renee

16 comments:

lynn cockrell said...

What gorgeous embroidery on this quilt block, Renee!

sharonb said...

Love the heart flowers Renee

Anonymous said...

LOVE the block! I love how you incorporated hearts into seam treatments as flowers, plus sneaking the heart in with the flight path. :)

Pamela said...

These are beautiful! You really have a talent for embellishment.

Wendy said...

such beautiful stitching. I love the heart with the mix of different flowers, and each of the seams is so clever and well stitched.

Mary Ann Tate said...

Lovely:) I love the little heart flowers.

Janie said...

That butterfly is wonderful!

Renee said...

Lynn, thank you! The 3 ladies that worked on Alexandra's blocks before me made planning this one easy.

Renee said...

Thank you, Sharon! I decided to check my email while deciding what to do on the next seam that could use hearts on flowers like Barbara used on her block and was inspired by the seam work on the photo in your newsletter. Thank you for the inspiration!

Renee said...

Thank you! To fit the heart theme, I considered lace and charms but I worried they would not fit in with the work on the other three blocks (and the charms did not fit in with any of the other colors.) So, I tried to incorporate a few ideas from the previous blocks and add some new touches with stitching. It was a really fun block to work on. (Of course, I love hearts...)

Renee said...

Pamela, you are so sweet! I am lucky to have so many on-line friends to inspire so many ideas. :)

Renee said...

Wendy, thank you! I must admit, I relied on waste canvas for several of the seams to make sure they were even. I felt it was worth the extra time!

Renee said...

Thank you, Mary Ann! The heart flowers are my favorites, too!

Renee said...

Thank you, Janie! I saw a similar butterfly (with three chain stitches for the top part of the wing) in a photo of a crazy quilt block once and had to figure out how to make one. I have a hard time getting mine to turn out even (to the point that I just accept I will be removing stitches and trying again before I begin - lol), but I do love butterflies stitched this way. Thank you.

crazyQstitcher said...

So many pretty seam treatments. All the blocks are lovely.

Renee said...

Thank you! I am very lucky to be in a round robin with such a talented group of ladies. Their work is lovely!