Work in Progress Wednesday 07/29/2015

I am afraid I have no progress to share. In the past 2 weeks or so, I have only had 20 minutes to work on stitching. However, this FUN Halloween block arrived in my mailbox this week. Donna Abrams made it for me and every time I look at it I smile!



July has been a whirlwind of a month and more of an emotional roller coaster than I have ever experienced. That being said, I must admit my heart is full and I am so incredibly thankful to be blessed with such amazing relatives on both my side of the family and my husband's.

The day before my little sister arrived for her visit (it had been 4 years since we last saw one another), we had a death in the family. It was one we knew would arrive within the next few months, but it was still hard to say goodbye. So, I was a bit of a mess with happy tears and sad tears. Making life busier, but more full, we have had the wonderful opportunity to spend time with a Dutch relative that flew out for the services and to spend time with family here in the US. 

Next week, I will have time to sleep and stitch and finally finish up my ICQC 102 class. This month we are spending treasured moments with family we do not see nearly often enough and enjoying every second.

During this insanely busy time, I am incredibly thankful to both Sandy and Donna, as I owe one a UTS block and the other a "snowball" swap, but they have both encouraged me to take my time and focus on family. 

Here are a few close-ups of my wonderful Halloween block from Donna.

I love the black cat!

If you have followed my blog long, you may know how much I love embroidered spiders and embroidered trees. These are fabulous! The moon and eyes on the bat push it over the top!

And I LOVE all things PUMPKIN. (Seriously. It is my favorite food.) This jack-o-lantern is a perfect touch!

After seeing the pictures, I am always surprised to see how small a 4-inch block is. So, I took a picture with a quarter to give a bit more perspective. This is a fantastic tiny treasure and I just love it!

Thanks for stopping by! (Now I'm off to cook dinner for 10. Fun times!)
Renee

Last Week's Goals Week before last's goals:

1. Complete 250 x-stitches on the HAED Santa & the Mouse chart (which is no longer available, but it is a part of this chart at Heaven and Earth Designs.) 

2. Link up with the Monday Stitchery Link Party #15 at Super Mom No Cape on July 20th. (If you missed the party on the 13th, you may check it out here!) 

3. Finish a project to add inventory to my Etsy shop. 

4. Embellish a snowball to swap with Donna A. in July.

5. Piece a pincushion to swap with the Crazy Quilt Divas on Facebook?

6. Share progress with the ICQC 102 course from Shawkl Designs.

7. Share pictures of Sandy B.'s blocks from the CQI Under the Sea Round Robin. I told her if she did not want them, she could "return to sender" when I mail them to her - lol! She has plans for these babies! Just wait until you see them... This is the last set for this round robin, which means with the next rotation, my blocks are coming home!!!  Done! - If you missed it the post is here. 

8. Share a TAST Week 2 post on July 21st.

This Week's Goals:

1. Complete 250 x-stitches on the HAED Santa & the Mouse chart (which is no longer available, but it is a part of this chart at Heaven and Earth Designs.) 

2. Link up with the Monday Stitchery Link Party #18 at Super Mom No Cape on August 3rd. (If you missed the party on the 27th, you may check it out here!)

3. Finish a project to add inventory to my Etsy shop. 

4. Embellish a snowball to swap with Donna A. in July.

5. Share progress with the ICQC 102 course from Shawkl Designs.

6. Complete and share pictures of Sandy's blocks from the CQI Under the Sea Round Robin.

7. Share a TAST Weeks 2 - 4 post on August 4th.

8. Piece 3 blocks for the next CQI Under the Sea Round Robin that will begin on August 15th. (I have 3 I pieced for the first round robin, but changed my mind and made 6 others, so I did not send them out.)

9. Share pictures of my beautiful Under the Sea blocks that made it home!

CQI Under the Sea Round Robin - Sandy B.'s Bare Blocks

This is the last set of blocks for me to embellish for the Crazy Quilting International (CQI) Under the Sea (UTS) Round Robin I am participating in. 

Sandy B. pieced these beauties. Mary B. was the first to receive them and she embellished the gorgeous block pictured above. Just look at that jellyfish and the cluster of shells along the bottom.

Sandra T. received the blocks next and she embellished this gem. I love her appliqued seahorse and the jelly fish.

Kathy S. received the blocks after Sandra and she embellished this darling block. I love the lace seahorse hiding in the seaweed and the jellyfish are so much fun!

Next, Nicki Lee S. worked her magic with more of her lovely laces. That fish is just amazing.

These ladies are all so talented using clusters of buttons and shells. (That is not my strong point...)

This is the block (the one above) that I have chosen to embellish.

That will leave this block for Sandy to embellish when the blocks return home to her.

This has been such a fun group of ladies to stitch with that it is hard to see this round robin end. Nicki Lee just finished embellishing a block for me, so my blocks are already on their way home! We have all enjoyed this round robin so much that we have decided to have a sequel. Sandra T. is unable to join us in the next round, but the very talented Annette G. will be stepping in. (Just wait until you see her blocks!) 

For anyone new and wondering, CQI stands for Crazy Quilting International. This group of stitchers across the globe meet on Yahoo and on Facebook. There is also a CQI blog.

For those wondering what a round robin is, this post may be helpful.

Thank you for stopping by!
Renee

Work In Progress Wednesday 07/15/2015

Mug Rug Christmas Block 1 progress 07/15/15

This week I had very, very little time for me. Don't get me wrong, it has been a good week, but full of errands and chores. As a result, I did not accomplish much stitching at all. (I did not add a single stitch to Santa and the Mouse...) 

Mug Rug Christmas Block 1 progress 07/07/15

Last week, I shared the mug rug I am working on (pictured above). This week, I did manage to add buttonhole stitches to the applique on the mug rug I am working on. I also added a few snowflakes and a handful of Mill Hill "ice" petite glass seed beads. (These are tiny enough that I do not believe they will interfere with a coffee cup sitting on them.) 

This mug rug still requires a bit more sewing to add the next details. Then, I get to quilt it and bind it. 

I also managed to squeeze in about 20 minutes of stitching for the snowball I am creating for Donna through the Crazy Quilting International (CQI) Group, but I am keeping that a secret. 

We have guests arriving on Friday that will be here through the end of the month. I am SO excited! Although I am carrying my list of goals forward, I might be a little bit MIA. We'll see!

Thank you for stopping by!
Renee

Last Week's Goals:

1. Complete 250 x-stitches on the HAED Santa & the Mouse chart (which is no longer available, but it is a part of this chart at Heaven and Earth Designs.) 0 stitches this week.

2. Link up with the Monday Stitchery Link Party #14 at Super Mom No Cape on July 13th. (If you missed the party on the 6th, you may check it out here!) My post is here.

3. Finish a project to add inventory to my Etsy shop. Pattern progress seen above.

4. Embellish a snowball to swap with Donna A. in July. I managed to put 20 minutes of stitching into it.

5. Piece a pincushion to swap with the Crazy Quilt Divas on Facebook. The way this month is going, I am not sure I will have a pincushion done by August 1st. I may have to wait and participate in the next pincushion swap!

6. Share progress with ICQC 102 course from Shawkl Designs. If I manage to utilize my time very wisely today and tomorrow, I hope to have progress to share next week! I really, really want to do the next step in the class.

7. Share pictures of Sandy B.'s blocks from the Under the Sea Round Robin. I told her if she did not want them, she could "return to sender" when I mail them to her - lol! She has plans for these babies! Just wait until you see them... This is the last set for this round robin, which means with the next rotation, my blocks are coming home!!! I have taken the photographs, I just need to post them for you to admire!

This Week's Goals:

1. Complete 250 x-stitches on the HAED Santa & the Mouse chart (which is no longer available, but it is a part of this chart at Heaven and Earth Designs.) 

2. Link up with the Monday Stitchery Link Party #15 at Super Mom No Cape on July 20th. (If you missed the party on the 13th, you may check it out here!) 

3. Finish a project to add inventory to my Etsy shop. 

4. Embellish a snowball to swap with Donna A. in July.

5. Piece a pincushion to swap with the Crazy Quilt Divas on Facebook?

6. Share progress with the ICQC 102 course from Shawkl Designs.

7. Share pictures of Sandy B.'s blocks from the CQI Under the Sea Round Robin. I told her if she did not want them, she could "return to sender" when I mail them to her - lol! She has plans for these babies! Just wait until you see them... This is the last set for this round robin, which means with the next rotation, my blocks are coming home!!!

8. Share a TAST Week 2 post on July 21st.

TAST Week 1: Fly Stitch

White on White Snowflake made with 16 fly stitches & 9 petite glass seed beads.

This week, Sharon B. at Pintangle.com began a new round of Take a Stitch Tuesday (TAST). 

What is TAST? It is a guilt free weekly challenge. You set your own goal as to how many stitches you plan to try each month. You may find more details at the link above.

Week 1 is the fly stitch (click here to see directions.) I most frequently use fly stitch to create snowflakes, like the one pictured above. 

Fly Stitch Seaweed

This year, I also discovered fly stitch is perfect for creating curvy seaweed on under-the-sea blocks, too. I first tried this out on the block I embellished for Nicki Lee for the Crazy Quilting International Under the Sea Round Robin we are in together. 

Flower Vine created with fly stitch, flower sequins and seed beads.

I had so much fun with the seaweed that I decided to try creating a flower vine for an Oregon State University orange and black crazy quilt block I am working on.

Dragonfly created with couched wings filled with fly stitches.

I have also enjoyed using fly stitch to fill in dragonfly wings. The one pictured above was added to a camera block created for a dear friend.

If you are participating in TAST, I would love to know! 

Thank you for stopping by.
Renee

Joyful Embellishments, TAST Week 1, and Stitchery Link Party 14

Almost all of the crazy quilting I have done recently has been either under-the-sea or Christmas themed. I have been itching to stitch a floral seam or two. So, I pulled this Oregon State University block out of hiding and went to work.

On July 1st, I completed this seam from the Joyful Embellishments group Valerie Bothell is running on Facebook. (The stitches are also listed on her board on Pinterest if you are curious but do not use Facebook.)

On July 2nd, I completed the seam above, also from the Joyful Embellishments group. I recently purchased my first flower-shaped sequins and I was SO excited to finally try them out. These orange ones were in a multi-colored package I purchased from Thearica on Facebook. (I honestly cannot remember if I found them at Supplies for Crazy Quilts and Other Crafts and Handmade Needlearts or at Supplies for Crazy Quilts and Other Crafts 2 and Handmade Needlearts.) I had so much fun with these. I love the way they play with the light.

A few days later, I used a fly stitch to create this vine and added little white sequin flowers I purchased through the closeout sale at Sew Victorian Crazy on Etsy.

This block has been loads of fun to work on. Unfortunately, I have had very, very little stitching time this week. But at least last week I caught up on a few Joyful Embellishment stitches while making progress on a future gift!  

I am linking up with the 14th Stitchery Link Party at Super Mom - No Cape. If you hand stitch anything and have a blog, I encourage you to join! The free embroidery pattern this week has lily pads! There are also some gorgeous projects on the blogs that have linked up this week.

Today, I learned that Sharon Boggon at Pintangle.com has started TAST again (Take a Stitch Tuesday - you may read more about it here) and Week 1 is the Fly Stitch. It feels like cheating, but I plan to join in with the TAST Facebook group and share the flystitch flower vine above.

Thank you for stopping by!
Renee

Piggy Bank Savings Challenge

While visiting the blog Tanya Quilts in Colorado last week, I learned about the annual "Piggy Bank Savings = Money for Quilting Challenge" at Val's Quilting Studio.

I decided it was time to empty out our "piggy bank" (a.k.a. sun tea pitcher) and sign up for the 3rd annual challenge. If you are interested in joining the fun, you have until August 1st to sign up. You may find all of the details here on Val's blog.

After discussing the challenge with my hubby and discussing a couple of goals for the money we would be saving through July 6th of 2016, I think we decided we would split the money we saved. My half would be used for crazy quilting supplies. His half would be used for golf (or possibly brewing supplies.) He said, "One of them sounds fun!" I agreed.

It would be fun to pinch pennies together!

Renee

Work in Progress Wednesday 07/08/2015

Last week I had completed 15,735 stitches on Santa and the Mouse. It was 89% complete.

This week I completed 435 stitches, bringing the total to 16,170. It is now 92 % complete. Only 1,482 stitches to go! (Sorry. The picture is a little yellowish from the sunlight when it was taken.)

Just think, within the next few weeks, I will finally finish this project and you will finally get to see something different! When Santa and the Mouse is done, I plan to pull my CQI Winter/Christmas Round Robin blocks out to finish up that wall hanging. It just needs snowflakes (lots and lots of snowflakes), binding and a hanging sleeve or loops and it will be ready to display this Christmas!

Last Week's Goals:

1. Complete 250 x-stitches on the HAED Santa & the Mouse chart (which is no longer available, but it is a part of this chart at Heaven and Earth Designs.) Exceeded 250! Pictures are above.

2. Link up with the Monday Stitchery Link Party #13 at Super Mom No Cape on July 6th. (If you missed the party on the 29th, you may check it out here!) I will be sharing my progress on the Heaven and Earth Designs QS Red Hearts cross-stitch chart I began on June 4th. Done! If you missed it, here is a photo of my progress. 

3. Finish a project to add inventory to my Etsy shop. I made more progress! I plan to design 48 Christmas mug rug patterns. My goal is to design them in a such a way that they may also be assembled into blocks for a quilt top measuring 48" across and 56" long. (I will not know how well that will work until I finish all 48 blocks, though!) Beginning August 1st, as I complete each 7-inch long by 8-inch wide block, I will add the mug rug pattern to my Etsy inventory. If the quilt idea works out, I think I will call it my Mug Rug Christmas Quilt. Here is a sneak peek at my progress on Block 1: Merry Christmas. 

4. Piece a snowball to swap with Donna A. in July. Done!  

5. Piece a pincushion to swap with the Crazy Quilt Divas on Facebook.

6. Share progress with ICQC 102 course from Shawkl Designs. I have been itching to work on this class. With the projects above, I could pick them up for a few minutes in between interruptions and demands on my time or take them with me to appointments. I need some uninterrupted time to work on this class and I think I just may have some on Thursday. I cannot wait!

This Week's Goals:

1. Complete 250 x-stitches on the HAED Santa & the Mouse chart (which is no longer available, but it is a part of this chart at Heaven and Earth Designs.) 

2. Link up with the Monday Stitchery Link Party #13 at Super Mom No Cape on July 13th. (If you missed the party on the 6th, you may check it out here!) 

3. Finish a project to add inventory to my Etsy shop. 

4. Embellish a snowball to swap with Donna A. in July.

5. Piece a pincushion to swap with the Crazy Quilt Divas on Facebook.

6. Share progress with ICQC 102 course from Shawkl Designs.

7. Share pictures of Sandy B.'s blocks from the Under the Sea Round Robin. I told her if she did not want them, she could "return to sender" when I mail them to her - lol! She has plans for these babies! Just wait until you see them... This is the last set for this round robin, which means with the next rotation, my blocks are coming home!!!

Thank you for stopping by!

Renee

HAED QS Red Hearts Progress - July 2015

On Monday, June 8th, I shared my first 6+ hours of progress on the Heaven and Earth Designs QS Red Hearts cross-stitch chart I began on June 4th. (QS = Quick Stitch. At 46,990 stitches, this is a small chart for HAED. Oh, HAED has a Fourth of July sale going on. You can save 35% through July 10th if you are interested.) 

As promised, I am giving a new update on the first Monday in July.

The photo above shows my progress on Page 1, which is 25.73% complete. 

This photo shows the full project, which is now 4% complete.

On the first Monday in August, I will share another update!

QS Red Hearts Progress:
June 4th - 8th: 494 stitches in 6.23 hours
June 9th - July 5th: 1,523 stitches in 18.15 hours
Total: 2,017 stitches (of 46,990) in 24.38 hours

I am linking up with Monday Stitchery Link Party #13 this week at Super Mom - No Cape! I encourage you to check out the darling under-the-sea themed embroidery pattern offered and to see what others have shared this week. If you have done any hand stitching and have a blog, you are welcome to join the party! Check it out here.

Thanks for stopping by!
Renee

Work in Progress Wednesday 07/01/15

Last week, Santa and the Mouse looked like the photo above.

Today, I am happy to say 9 of the 15 columns of this chart are complete. (And each column from here on out will get smaller and smaller!) The chart was 87% complete last week and is now 89% complete.

One thing I have learned... Stitching with 2 threads over 1 on 28-count fabric was not my best idea. If you look at the picture above, you can see just beneath the stitches at the top, the bulk of the threads has squished the fabric together, making the holes difficult to distinguish. (It is a lot easier to see in this close-up than when I am stitching!) This has made working on this piece a bit of a challenge for the past couple of weeks. Luckily, the end is near! 

Here is my progress this past month. With my goal of 250 stitches per week, I will be done by August 25th. I aim to finish sooner!

Last Week's Goals:

1. Complete 250 x-stitches on the HAED Santa & the Mouse chart (which is no longer available, but it is a part of this chart at Heaven and Earth Designs.) Done! Completed over 350 stitches. See above.

2. Link up with the Monday Stitchery Link Party #12 at Super Mom No Cape on June 29th. (If you missed the party on the 22nd, you may check it out here!) Done! You may view my post here.

3. Finish a project to add inventory to my Etsy shop. I have been working on a new idea here. Making progress! I do have a coin purse embroidered and ready to sew together, too.

4. Share a post for the 1 Xmas Item a Month blog. Done! You may view it here.

5. Share an update on the ICQC #102 Class I am taking from Kathy Shaw at Shawkl Designs. Done! If you missed the post it is here.

6. Piece a snowball to swap with Donna A. in July.

7. Piece a pincushion to swap with the Crazy Quilt Divas on Facebook.

This Week's Goals:

1. Complete 250 x-stitches on the HAED Santa & the Mouse chart (which is no longer available, but it is a part of this chart at Heaven and Earth Designs.) 

2. Link up with the Monday Stitchery Link Party #13 at Super Mom No Cape on July 6th. (If you missed the party on the 29th, you may check it out here!) I will be sharing my progress on the Heaven and Earth Designs QS Red Hearts cross-stitch chart I began on June 4th.

3. Finish a project to add inventory to my Etsy shop. 

4. Piece a snowball to swap with Donna A. in July.

5. Piece a pincushion to swap with the Crazy Quilt Divas on Facebook.

6. Share progress with ICQC 102 course from Shawkl Designs.