Fractal White Tiger April 2016 Update

This has been such a busy, crazy month - and a very crazy week. I went out of town for a few days earlier this week with my husband. I took my Charting Creations "Fractal White Tiger" project with me, hoping to make lots of progress while my husband was in meetings (it was a work trip for him.) Unfortunately, I forgot to take my floss.

On Friday, I worked on it while my youngest took placement tests at a local community college so he can take college level classes through his high school. Then my youngest and I drove over to help move my eldest out of his dorm room and back home for summer!

Today, my husband and I went to an annual garden show. We go every year to pick up hot pepper plants for him and tomatoes for me. The past 3 years we have been unable to find our favorite hot pepper - chocolate habaneros - because they are difficult to germinate and tend to sell out fast. (The flavor is a family favorite in guacamole, chili, etc.) This year we found them! After some yard work, I spent more time with "Fractal White Tiger". 

Here is how it looked last month. I added 796 stitches in the past 2 days. (My boys and husband bought a new video game, so I hung out with them and stitched while they played.)

5,954 of 174,300 stitches are done. The project is 3.42% complete.

Next week will be crazy busy, too. I do hope to visit a few blogs, reply to some emails and hopefully get some stitching done! 

I began this piece as a part of A New Stitchy Start. I do hope you will visit to see what everyone else is working on.

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Renee

CQJP 2016 February Block Motifs 2-3 and Seam 8

With the surrounding seams embellished, I was able to add the spider to the web on my Crazy Quilt Journal Project (CQJP) 2016 February block to complete the second motif.

Marsha Michler's book, The Magic of Crazy Quilting: A Complete Resource for Embellished Quilting, taught me how to make spiders like this one. They are my favorite spiders to stitch. (Please note: if you visit Amazon.com through my blog and make a purchase, I do earn a small percentage from the purchase.)

The 8th and final seam on this block was embellished with more embroidered flowers. 

Size 8 Anchor #00230 pearl cotton was used to add a buttonhole stitch across the seam and then to add straight stitched "leaves" to some of the buttonhole "stems" along the seam. I intentionally created crooked buttonhole stitches.

Next, groups of 3 detached chain stitches were added to the stems that leaves had been added to, using a strand of size 8 Anchor #00047 pearl cotton.

I am still not sure how I feel about the 3rd motif. (You may click on the photo for a larger view.)

I wanted the text on the fabric to stand out on this section, so I traced a rectangle around it lightly in pencil and stem stitched the area with size 12 DMC #B5200 pearl cotton. 

Using the same pearl cotton, I made a butterfly with 4 detached chain stitches for wings and a straight stitch for the body and then created a flight path with a running stitch.  

Using a strand of size 8 DMC #B5200 pearl cotton, I added flowers to the corners of the rectangle framing the text on the fabric. These flowers were created with 5 detached chain stitches and a French knot center.

NOTE: If you use pencil on your blocks, mark the block lightly. I recommend using a hard lead pencil (rather than #2) so the marks will be lighter and so the thread is less likely to be discolored pulling through the markings on the fabric. And only mark areas that will be covered with stitches, as the pencil marks may be difficult (or impossible) to remove.

I created a Pinterest board so I can easily look back at seams and motifs created on my CQJP 2016 blocks. If you are interested, you may find the board here.

CQJP 2016 is a personal stitching challenge to complete a block a month. You may learn more about it here. If you are interested in joining next year, sign ups for CQJP generally open up in November and close in December.

Thanks for stopping by!
Renee

TAST 2016 Stitch 37

TAST 37: Triangular Buttonhole Stitch

This was a fun stitch! I used a single strand of blue DMC cotton floss for this stitch because I wanted to subtly embellish this seam. (You may need to click on the photo to see it better.)

Click on the title above to go to the directions on pintangle.com.

In 2014, I used this stitch for the first time to create the seam above on a crazy quilt "snowball" I swapped with Kathy in MD. 

Thank you for stopping by!

Renee

Please note: 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. If you follow the TAST Facebook group, you know there are some incredibly inspiring examples of these stitches being shared. Anyone may join at any time during the challenge. Thank you, Sharon, for offering TAST!

IHSW and CQJP 2016 February Block Seam 7

For International Hermit & Stitch Weekend (IHSW), I worked on my Heaven and Earth Designs Twilight Duel cross stitch, based upon artwork by Ruth Thompson and on my Crazy Quilt Journal Project (CQJP) 2016 February block.

The photo above was my starting point with Twilight Duel. This was 1,842 stitches into page 4 (14,776 stitches into the project.) I was working on the 6th color on page 4.

This was my stopping point last night. I added over 900 stitches to pages 3, 4 & 5 (mostly to page 4.) There are now 2,687 stitches complete on page 4 (15,687 stitches to the project.) And, I am working on the 9th color on page 4.

I also embellished the 7th seam on my CQJP 2016 February block. 

This seam was created using a strand of size 5 DMC #4045 variegated green pearl cotton to make detached chain stitched leaves and straight stitched stems.

Next, flower petals were created using criss-crossed straight stitches made with size 8 DMC #498 pearl cotton.

The seam was inspired by 2 seams I found in the book The Magic of Crazy Quilting: A Complete Resource for Embellished Quilting by Marsha Michler.

(The lighting today made it difficult to get a good photo.)

IHSW is sponsored by Joyce at Random Ramblings. Details are here. To see what other bloggers completed for IHSW, you may find links to their blogs here.

I am linking up with Stitchery Link Party #54 at Super Mom - No Cape! I encourage you to visit to see the free vintage embroidery pattern and to see what other bloggers have been working on this week. If you do any hand embroidery and have a blog, I encourage you to link up and join the fun!

Thank you for stopping by!
Renee

CQJP 2106 February Block Seams 5 & 6

The 5th seam on my Crazy Quilt Journey Project 2016 February block was a fun one to stitch. 

Using a strand of size 12 DMC #699 pearl cotton floss, I followed the seam with a buttonhole stitch. However, I alternated sides of the seam with each stitch.

Then I added French knots to the "stems" on one side of the seam and pairs of detached chain stitches to the "stems" on the other side to create flowers. These were created with size 8 Anchor #1206 pearl cotton - a black and red variegated floss.

I love how adding a few straight stitched leaves or detached chain stitched leaves can add so much to a seam. You can really see the difference in the photo above.These were created with the same green used for the buttonhole stitch.

Seam 6 was pretty simple. I worked fly stitches across the seam using a strand of size 5 DMC #368 pearl cotton. Then I added French knots to the tips of those stitches using a strand of size 8 DMC #815 pearl cotton.

Only 2 seams to go, but I have several motifs to add. I will continue working on this block this week.

It is hard to believe the 3rd weekend of the month is almost here! I will be participating with the International Hermit & Stitch Weekend (IHSW) again this month and I plan to make more progress on my Heaven and Earth Designs Twilight Duel project and my CQJP block. 

IHSW is sponsored by Joyce at Random Ramblings. Details are here and if you would like to participate, sign ups for this month are here.

Thank you for stopping by!
Renee

For those wondering - CQJP 2016 is a personal stitching challenge to complete a block a month. You may learn more about it here. If you are interested in joining next year, sign ups for CQJP generally open up in November and close in December.

CQJP 2016 February Block Seams 2 - 4 and TAST 2016 Stitch 36

The 2nd seam embellished on my February Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2016 February Block was inspired by Valerie Bothell's Joyful Embellishments #2: curved feather stitch + lazy daisy (also called the detached chain stitch.)

I traced a wavy ruler I purchased from Creative Memories years ago for scrapbooking and then followed the curvy line with a feather stitch using single strand of size 8 DMC #320 pearl cotton. 

The detached chain stitches were created with size 8 DMC #815 pearl cotton.

The 3rd seam was inspired by Doreen's beautiful example of the raised cross stitch flower stitch in the Facebook TAST group. 

Using a single strand of size 5 DMC #367 pearl cotton floss, I worked a feather stitch down the seam.

On the outer feather stitches, I alternated between adding raised cross stitch flowers and detached chain stitch flower buds. These were created with size 5 DMC #321 pearl cotton floss.

Using the same green floss, I added a small straight stitch to the feather stitches in between. I love the way this seam turned out!

TAST 36: Linked Chain Stitch

The 4th seam on my February block was created by tracing a vine from one of Sharon B.'s Crazy Quilt Templates Set 2.*

I followed the traced lines with the linked chain stitch, using size 8 DMC #125 pearl cotton.

Small flowers were added with clusters of 3 oyster stitches and a colonial knot using a strand of size 8 DMC #498 pearl cotton.

Leaves were then added, using the same variegated green floss and oyster stitches.

In case you are wondering...

CQJP 2016 is a personal stitching challenge to complete a block a month. You may learn more about it here. If you are interested in joining next year, sign ups for CQJP generally open up in November and close in December.

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. If you follow the TAST Facebook group, you know there are some incredibly inspiring examples of these stitches being shared. Anyone may join at any time during the challenge. Thank you, Sharon, for offering TAST!

Joyful Embellishments is a Facebook Group run by Valerie Bothell of The Pink Bunny: A Crazy Quilt Blog. Stiches are introduced Monday through Friday. You may see all of the stitches introduced last year here on her Pinterest board.

*I am not affiliated with Sharon B.'s Crazy Quilt Templates. I did receive a set to review and will say that I absolutely love using them!

Twilight Duel Update #8 April 2016

I know my last few posts have all been cross-stitch. I promise to share some embroidery on a crazy quilt project tomorrow. Today is the 2nd Monday of the month, so it is time for an update on my Heaven and Earth Designs Twilight Duel cross stitch, based upon artwork by Ruth Thompson.  
The photo above shows how it looked last month.

Here is a photo showing 7 months of progress - from August 30, 2015 - March 30, 2016.

There is a challenge on the New Official Heaven and Earth Designs Facebook Group to complete a full page using only one color at a time. Page 8 (beneath page 2 - with the wing tips in the photo to the left) would have been the easiest to get to, but my son wanted to see the black dragon emerge. So, I made my way to page 4 (as some of page 3 had been stitched.) Page 4 should be complete by June 15th.

This is how it looks now. I added 1,933 stitches this past month.

Percent complete:
Project: 9.56%
Page 1: 100% Done!
Page 2: 58.15%
Page 3: 4.85%
Page 4: 17.07%
Page 5: 0% (10 stitches)
Page 7: 2.7%
Page 10: 0.14%

I also took a picture of it while I had it out of the Q-snap frame, just in case you wondered how big it will be. 

I try not to think of it this way and just take it one stitch at a time!

For the challenge, I finished all of the black on page 4 and am now working on completing a 2nd color.

I am linking up with Stitchery Link Party #53 at Super Mom - No Cape! I encourage you to visit to see the free vintage embroidery pattern and to see what other bloggers have been working on this week. If you do any hand embroidery and have a blog, I encourage you to link up and join the fun!

Thank you for stopping by!
Renee

HAED SK Effects of Caffeine Day 6 Update

Remember my little travel project? It is Heaven and Earth Designs (HAED) "SK Effects of Caffeine" cross-stitch chart based on artwork by Randal Spangler.

On March 25th, I took one of my boys to an appointment and kept myself entertained in the waiting room by stitching. During that hour and ten minutes, I only added 67 stitches. The jewel and surrounding area is very confetti heavy, so it was slow progress, but I am happy to see some of the green on the gem showing up!

The project is now 4.18% complete.

This is how it looked on my last update.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Renee

HAED QS Red Hearts Progress - April 2016

It is the first Monday of April already! How time does fly...

This is how my progress looked in March on my Heaven and Earth Designs QS Red Hearts chart based on artwork by Ching-Chou Kuik.

I only added 2.5 hours worth of stitching (last night) into this piece since my last post. However, I did manage to add 388 stitches during that short time. 

The progress is difficult to see, but is mostly in the upper sun (moon?), the hair, and part of the face.

The full project is now 28.61% complete. 

Page 1 - 100% complete.
Page 2 - 55.57% complete.
Page 3 - 13.7% complete.
Page 4 - 13.5% complete.

I am linking up with Monday Stitchery Link Party #52 at Super Mom - No Cape! this week. (Did I mention time is flying?! 52 weeks already!) 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!

Thank you for stopping by!
Renee

CQJP 2016 February Block Motif 2 - Part 1

It may be a little difficult to see, but I finished most of the 2nd motif on my Crazy Quilt Journal Project (CQJP) 2016 February block. I traced a spider web onto the block and then stitched over my markings with size 12 DMC B5200 pearl cotton. 

The adjoining seams will all have flowers that spill over onto the web. I am waiting to finish those seams before I decide where to place my spider. 

Thank you for stopping by!
Renee

CQJP 2016 is a personal stitching challenge to complete a block a month. You may learn more about it here. If you are interested in joining next year, sign ups for CQJP generally open up in November and close in December.

CQJP 2016 February Block Motif 1

Here it is April, and I am finally working on my February block for the Crazy Quilt Journal Project (CQJP) 2016.

That being said, I actually managed to stitch this in March. With it being a February block, a heart seemed fitting. 

The heart was traced from a quilting template and stem-stitched with red size 8 Anchor pearl cotton. I sketched our initials within the heart and stem-stitched them with black size 8 Anchor pearl cotton.

It looks a bit plain now, but my plans for the seams nearby should dress up some of the white seen here.

If time allows, I hope to complete this block within the next week.

Thank you so much for stopping by!
Renee

CQJP 2016 is a personal stitching challenge to complete a block a month. You may learn more about it here. If you are interested in joining next year, sign ups for CQJP generally open up in November and close in December.

Spoiled Again

So... this year has started off with one sweet surprise in the mail again after another.

On March 15th, I visited Annette's World and left a comment on the lovely treasures she was giving away.  

A few days later I learned that I won this gorgeous pincushion.

It is even prettier in person. Annette's work is stunning and she is such a sweetheart.

To say I am feeling spoiled this year is quite the understatement.

Thank you, Annette!

Thank you so much for stopping by!
Renee