Happy Mail!

A dear blogging friend of mine recently sent me an email to let me know she had seen photos of my work in the Spring 2015 edition of the Embroidery Association of Canada's (EAC's) magazine, Embroidery Canada. 

I had forgotten that in late 2014, I emailed a few pictures of buttonhole seams I had stitched to Kerry Leslie, in case she wanted to use any of them in an article she was writing. I knew the article would be in an EAC publication, so I had no expectations of seeing it, even if any of my pictures were used. Being wrong can be fun! 

My friend from Magpie's Mumblings was SO incredibly sweet. She knew first-hand how exciting it can be to see your work in print, as one of her gorgeous blocks was featured on the front cover of the Spring 2015 Edition of the Crazy Quilt Quarterly Magazine. She mailed me her copy of Embroidery Canada so I could read the article. There were also photos of lovely work by Peggy Kimble and Betty Fikes Pillsbury.

As if seeing 3 of my photos in Kerry Leslie's article "Buttonhole Stitch & Blanket Stitch" was not delightful enough, Mary Anne also sent me these beautiful laces. I cannot wait to incorporate them into a few crazy quilt blocks! I just love them. 



Of about 9 photos I sent Kerry, she included the three below.

Broomsticks Buttonhole Seam

CQJP 2014 February Block

Floral Buttonhole Seam from CQJP 2014 February Block

I am feeling quite spoiled. I do encourage you to visit Magpie's Mumblings to see some of the beautiful eye candy! (Let me add, I am not alone in thinking so. Mary Corbet included Magpie's Mumblings in "The Big List of Embroidery and Needlework Blogs to Explore" on her blog! How fun is that?!)

Crazy Quilt Quarterly

Speaking of seeing one's work in print (which really is quite fun), did you know that Pamela Kellogg's magazine, Crazy Quilt Quarterly, is accepting submissions for its Spring 2016 edition? The deadline for submissions is November 1st.  If you miss that deadline, I encourage you to submit something for the Summer 2016 edition before February 1st! Details about submitting your work (including themes for each season) may be found here, at Kitty and Me Designs. 

For those interested, the Winter 2015 edition of the magazine will be released on November 1st. Pamela Kellogg released this sneak peek on her blog on October 5th. I think the cover block by Kathleen Klein is just lovely!

Please note: I am not affiliated with Embroidery Canada or Crazy Quilt Quarterly. However, I do love seeing eye candy and reading tutorials! 

Thanks for stopping by!
Renee

*Edited to correct spelling on a name.

TAST Stitches 15 and 16

TAST Stitch 15: French Knot

This week I added clusters of 3 French knots (made with a strand of pink size 8 perle cotton) beneath a floral seam to dress it up a bit. (You may click on any photo for a larger view.)

In the past, I have used this stitch for all kinds of blocks and embellishments. I really liked the way it turned out as a filler stitch on the camera block I stitched for a friend.

I think my favorite use of the French knot was on the block I embellished for Donna in the Winter/Christmas round robin we were in together. (There are about 6-7 hours of French knots in those little piles of snow!)

TAST Stitch 16: Wheatear Stitch:

This was my first time using the wheatear stitch. It took me a while to figure out how to add it to one of my current projects. 

In the end, I decided to use a strand of green size 8 perle cotton to extend the wheatear stitch down the length of a seam. Then, I alternated variegated pink hearts and seed beads to dress it up.

I did use waste canvas so my stitches would be even and I was pleased with how the seam turned out.

TAST stands for Take a Stitch Tuesday. It is a personal stitching challenge offered by Sharon B. on Facebook and on her blog, pintangle.com. You may read more about it here. Last week the French knot was introduced and this week the wheatear stitch was introduced. If you follow the TAST Facebook group, you know there are some incredibly inspiring examples of these stitches being shared. Thank you, Sharon, for offering TAST!

Thank you for stopping by!

Renee

Christmas Ornament

A while back, a friend of mine asked me if I would be interested in some scraps of silk. Of course I said, "Yes, please!"

This ornament was pieced with some of those scraps.

Most of my work is on cotton, so silk was a treat.

The winter lighting made this one hard to photograph well.

Now, I just need to cut out a back and sew it into a Christmas ornament. 

Today, I am joining the Monday Stitchery Link Party at Super Mom - No Cape! I do hope you will pop over to see the free embroidery pattern and to see the lovely work others have shared this week. If you have done any hand embroidery and have a blog, feel free to link up and join the fun!

Thank you for stopping by!
Renee

WIP Wednesday 10/21/2015

The same day I created the mermaid I shared last Wednesday, I sketched and colored in a little Halloween scene I planned to make into a fabric postcard or mug rug. Both projects will be quilted and bound into little mug rugs I will share next week.

My list of goals for next week might stress me out a bit, but there is some multi-tasking going on there. Three to four items should be marked off by tomorrow night. 

Thanks for stopping by!
Renee

Last Week's Goals:

1. Link up with the Monday Stitchery Link Party #28 at Super Mom No Cape on October 19th. (If you missed the party on the 12th, you may check it out here!) Done! If you missed the post it is here. 

2. Finish a project to add inventory to my Etsy shop. Finally finished! (For such a small project, it should have been done ages ago.) I will share photos when I add it to my Etsy inventory.

3. Complete my ICQC 102 course from Shawkl Designs.

4. Share a TAST Week 15 post on October 20th. I planned time in my schedule to work on a new sample for this week's stitch, but was called out of town to help a relative that morning. I will combine my Week 15 post with my Week 16 post next Tuesday.

5. Begin embellishing one of Annette's blocks for the CQI UTS Round Robin. The planning stages have begun. 

6. Finish a Halloween fabric postcard. (Or will it be a mug rug? Decisions, decisions...) This will be a mug rug. I just need to quilt and bind it. (Pictured above.)

This Week's Goals:

1. Link up with the Monday Stitchery Link Party #29 at Super Mom No Cape on October 26th. (If you missed the party on the 19th, you may check it out here!) 

2. Complete my ICQC 102 course from Shawkl Designs.

3. Share a TAST Weeks 15 & 16 post on October 27th.

4. Finish the Halloween mug rug.

5. Finish the Mermaid mug rug.

6. Share a 1 Xmas Item a Month post on October 25th.

7. Piece a project to complete and submit to the Crazy Quilt Quarterly Magazine by November 1st. (If you crazy quilt, click here to read about making a submission to the magazine.) Here is a sneak peek of the Winter edition to be released on November 1st that Pamela Kellogg shared on her blog. 

8. Create a project for the upcoming Christmas is in My Heart Blog Hop I barely made the sign up deadline for earlier this month at Seams To Be Sew. 

CQJP 2014 October Purse Completed!

Some of you may remember the We Support You Blog Hop I participated in way back in January.

For that blog hop, I made a quilt, a change purse and attempted to make a sew-in-frame purse for a dear person in our life that was battling cancer.

The purse I tried to make was my first attempt at making a pattern for a beautiful heart clasp frame I purchased from crazyquiltingsupplies.com. 

I accidentally sewed the top together with a 3/8-inch seam instead of a 1/4-inch seam, making the purse too small to fit the frame.

Front

Fear of failure kept this project on the shelf until this weekend. I dreaded it still may not fit the frame - even after a date with my seam ripper. Luckily, it did fit! 

Back

This was a learning experience though. Next time, I would angle the bottom out more. Boxing the bottom brought it in further than I hoped, so the frame appears to stick out a bit at the hinges. I do hope the recipient likes it anyway!

I just love Riley Blake Designs Think Pink fabric line.

Here, you can see a tiny bit of the pocket I added inside the purse. The stitches holding the frame in place are mostly hidden. I am trying to perfect that skill.

I found a silver chain and clasps to attach it to the purse in the jewelry section at Jo-Ann Fabric. 

This was my October block for the Crazy Quilt Journal Project (CQJP) 2014. My goal with CQJP 2014 was to make 12 purses using the blocks for each month of the challenge. One more is now complete and marked off of my mental To Do List!

I believe the sign ups for CQJP 2016 will begin in November. The challenge is to complete one crazy quilt block a month (the block must be a minimum 8-inch square size this year.) The idea is to assemble them into a quilt at the end of the year to "promote the art of crazy quilting".  I plan to finally finish up my CQJP 2014 projects so I feel comfortable participating in CQJP 2016.  If you want to see some more eye candy being created this year, take a look through the CQJP 2015 blog.

Today, I am joining the Monday Stitchery Link Party at Super Mom - No Cape! I do hope you will pop over to see the free embroidery pattern and to see the lovely work others have shared this week. If you have done any hand embroidery and have a blog, feel free to link up and join the fun!

Thank you for stopping by!
Renee

WIP Wednesday 10/14/2015

My stitching time has been limited this week. My main goal was to finish Kathy Shaw's free Intermediate Crazy Quilt Course (ICQC) #102. I almost made it! I have one more task to finish and hope to get that done tomorrow. Today, I finished embellishing this beautiful mermaid design. I am trying to decide if I will sew it into a fabric postcard or a mug rug. (I am leaning toward a mug rug - as it is functional.) I will be sure to share a picture when it is finished.

My sewing machine is out, so I hope to finish up several projects over the next few days. (For me, sewing feels like a chore, but I do love finishing off my embroidery projects.)

Last Week's Goals:

1. Link up with the Monday Stitchery Link Party #27 at Super Mom No Cape on October 12th. (If you missed the party on the 5th, you may check it out here!) It will be an update on my HAED Twilight Duel cross-stitch! I had 1,422 stitches completed when I last shared my progress. It has over 3,700 stitches now and should have more by then. Done! If you missed it, the post is here. 

2. Finish a project to add inventory to my Etsy shop. It is oh so close! It is all cut and ready to sew in the morning.

3. Complete my ICQC 102 course from Shawkl Designs. Almost! I have one task to complete.

4. Share a TAST Week 14 post on October 13th. Done! If you missed the post, it is here. 

5. Finish embellishing one of Kathy's blocks for the CQI UTS Round Robin. Done! If you missed it, the post is here. 

6. Share Annette's blocks for the CQI UTS Round Robin. (They were mailed to me earlier this week and should be here soon!) Done! If you missed it, the post is here.

7. Finish a Halloween fabric postcard. (Or will it be a mug rug? Decisions, decisions...)

This Week's Goals:

1. Link up with the Monday Stitchery Link Party #28 at Super Mom No Cape on October 19th. (If you missed the party on the 12th, you may check it out here!) 

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

3. Complete my ICQC 102 course from Shawkl Designs.

4. Share a TAST Week 15 post on October 20th.

5. Begin embellishing one of Annette's blocks for the CQI UTS Round Robin. 

6. Finish a Halloween fabric postcard. (Or will it be a mug rug? Decisions, decisions...)

Thanks for stopping by!
Renee

TAST Week 14: Stem Stitch

TAST Week 14: Stem Stitch

This week, I used a strand of white perle cotton and the stem stitch to create the snowy rolling hills for these trees.

Stem Stitch has become one of my favorite stitches.

I used it for the trunk and branches of the tree and for the fence in the landscape I embroidered for Donna in a CQI Snowball Swap.

Once I got the hang of making the stitches tight enough (this was a length issue, not a tension issue) to round curves, it became my favorite stitch for embroidering words. The quilt I finished at the beginning of the year gave me a lot of practice.

This fairly simple stitch can be used in so many lovely ways!

TAST stands for Take a Stitch Tuesday. It is a personal stitching challenge offered by Sharon B. on Facebook and on her blog, pintangle.com. You may read more about it here. This week, the stem stitch was introduced. If you follow the TAST Facebook group, you know there are some incredibly inspiring examples of these stitches being shared. Thank you, Sharon, for offering TAST!

Thank you for stopping by!

Renee

HAED Twilight Duel Progress Update #2 October 2015

The picture to the left shows my progress on the HAED Twilight Duel chart from August 30th - September 13th. The chart is based on original artwork by Ruth Thompson. 

This photo shows 1,422 stitches of progress, which was .96% of the full chart and 18% of page 1. 

As I began on August 30th, I thought it would be fun to take a picture of my progress on the 30th of every month until the project is complete. It could be fun to look back on a collage of the monthly progress when it is finally complete! 

I discovered a group on Facebook called Cross Stitch and Discuss near the end of September and joined in their Weekly Push event, pushing myself to work on this project September 28th - October 2nd. That made it all the more fun! 

Unfortunately, I have not worked on Twilight Duel since then. This is my current progress on the chart. 


My goal by October 11th: 4,300 stitches. 
Actual: 3,713 stitches. (587 stitches behind schedule.) 
The chart is 2.52% complete.
Page 1 is 47.36% complete.

My next update will be on November 9th, the 2nd Monday of the month. My goal for that date is 7,200 stitches - which will be 640 stitches shy of a page finish. We will see how close I make it!

I am linking up with the Monday Stitchery Link Party at Super Mom - No Cape! again this week. It is a great place to visit for a free embroidery pattern and to find links to more eye candy. If you do any hand stitching and have a blog, I encourage you to join the fun!

CQI UTS RR #2 - Annette's Blocks Arrived!

Look what showed up in my mailbox the end of last week! 

Annette Graves pieced these beauties with her lovely silkies.

Kathy Semone received this set of blocks first and embellished the turtle above. I particularly love her beaded stitch above the turtle and the fun swirls enhanced in the dark blue fabric beneath him.

Next the blocks were sent to Barbara Nicki Lee Seavey. I just love the golden highlights she added to the mermaids hair. As always, the use of her pretty laces just amazes me.

Now, I have the blocks.

It leaves me with quite a decision to make.

Which one do I want to embellish?

That is a very good question. 

I think I have decided. I am curious,

if you received these blocks which one would you work on?

For those of you wondering what a round robin is, this post may help. 

Crazy Quilting International (CQI) is a group that meets on Facebookand on Yahoo! You may see some of the work members have done at the CQI blog.

Thank you for stopping by!
Renee

CQI Under the Sea Round Robin #2 - Kathy Semone's Completed Block!

Today, I finished embellishing this block for Kathy Semone.

Above is a photo of the block prior to embellishment.

If you have followed my recent posts, you will recognize the mermaid above. I have been working on her as a part of Kathy Shaw's free Intermediate Crazy Quilt Course (ICQC) #102. She is also one of two free mermaid designs freely available at Shawkl Designs. (If you have finished ICQC #103 and are interested in taking ICQC #104, registration is open through the tomorrow, the 10th. Details are here.)

The green sea star charm was originally silver - I made it green as a part of ICQC #102.

Sneak peeks of this block were also shared as part of my TAST posts. I used barred chain stitches and satin stitches taught by Sharon Boggon at Pintangle.com.  The bodies of the jellies above were created with padded satin stitches, which is a variation of the satin stitch that is also taught through TAST.

Above is a photo of Kathy's two completed blocks. The one on the left was embellished by Barbara Nicki Lee Seavey and the one on the right was embellished by me. I do hope Kathy likes her blocks!

For those of you wondering what a round robin is, this post may help. 

Crazy Quilting International (CQI) is a group that meets on Facebook and on Yahoo! You may see some of the work members have done at the CQI blog.

Thanks for stopping by!
Renee