Fractal White Tiger May 2017

I love working on Charting Creation's Fractal White Tiger. The artwork is by Ricky Barnard.

This month 651 stitches were added and I hit the 18,000 stitches milestone!

The progress is difficult to see. I have been filling in confetti stitches that I skipped in my quest to work on the eye. 

The top two rows of page 6 are now complete.

This is how the piece looked last month.

I began this piece on January 1, 2016 to participate at stitchystart.blogspot.com.

My goal: 900 stitches/month
Months so far: 17
17 month goal: 15,300 stitches. 
That goal has been met!

Thank you for stopping by!
Renee

TAST Stitch 81

TAST Stitch 81: Beaded Hedebo Stitch

I am pretty sure this was my first time using the Beaded Hedebo Stitch. It was a lot of fun to work. I definitely need more practice, but do love the look of this one!

TAST stands for Take a Stitch Tuesday. It is a personal stitching challenge offered by Sharon B. of Pintangle.com and anyone may join at any time. I believe those new to the challenge are encouraged to complete the first 15 stitches, as they are basic building stitches, before moving on to the rest. You may learn more about TAST here and may find the TAST Facebook Group here.

In celebration of 10 years of TAST, Sharon is sharing a series of interviews with TAST participants on her blog. Below is a list of the interviews she has shared so far:

Annet of Fat Quarter

Renee of Hand Stitched Treasure

Angela of Princess Bubbles Creates

Maureen of CrazyQstitcher

Queeniepatch of Queenie's Needlework

Chitra of Jizee6687's Weblog

Kimberly our Chicken Little Lady

Gerry Krueger of Older Rose

Christine B of Patchwork Allsorts

Thank you for stopping by!

Renee

"Sea Dreams" Wall Quilt

Back in August of 2015, I participated in an Under the Sea 

themed round robin with 5 talented ladies in the 

Crazy Quilt International Facebook Group.

We each created 6 blocks and mailed them out for embellishment. 

These are the blocks I pieced.

Set 1

Set 2

I planned to create 2 separate wall quilts using 3 blocks each.

In March of 2016, the blocks returned home. 5 were embellished and 1 remained for me to complete.

The blocks sat in a Ziplock baggie, safely tucked away.

In December of 2016, I decided to participate in the All People Quilt 2017 UFO Challenge. (A UFO is an UnFinished Object.)

In March of 2017, #12 was selected for the UFO Challenge. Set 1 from this round robin was the twelfth project on my list. 

I finished embellishing the final block and made a wall quilt using the first set of blocks.

I named it "Ocean Frolics" - there is a link at the end of this post.

In April, #11 was drawn for the UFO Challenge. Set 2 of this round robin was eleventh on my list.

The blocks from Set 2 were embellished by:

Sandy Black in September 2015

I love that she added a mermaid playing with jewelry in the treasure chest!

Kathy Semone in February 2016

This trio of jellies hanging out above the sunken ship is fabulous!

Barbara Nicki Lee Seavey in March of 2016

The way she beaded the seahorse is delightful!

I knew I wanted to make a bell pull style wall quilt, but really had no idea where to begin.

Google was my friend.

I ran across this great tutorial shared by The Twisted Stitcher and then discovered the perfect hanging hardware at 123stitch.com - 

the 6" Beach Umbrella Split Bottom Charcoal hanger 

from Ackfield Manufacturing.

I was out of Pellon 808, so I ironed fusible fleece to the back of the crazy quilted blocks after sewing them together.

I sewed the label to the bottom of the backing fabric

 before attaching the front to the back.

Since the label had a line of stitching across it, I opted to use my machine to sew the top of the pull together after turning it right-side-out.

Then, I looped the top through the hanger 

and whip stitched it in place.

I cannot thank Sandy, Kathy and Barbara Nicki Lee enough!

Their beautiful work created this treasure.

Although the only hand stitching I did on this piece was whip stitching the hanger on, there is plenty of hand embroidery for me to feel comfortable linking with Monday Stitchery Link Party #112 at Super Mom - No Cape! 

It is Memorial Day in the United States. It is always a somber day. Thankfully, the loved ones in my life that served in the military safely made their way home. My thoughts are with those that did not and with their families today. The free pattern available at Super Mom - No Cape! also has those thoughts in mind.

Thank you for stopping by,

Renee

Related Posts:

1. My bare blocks for the CQI UTS Round Robin - here

2. Block I embellished for Barbara Nicki Lee - here

3. Block I embellished for Kathy - here

4. Block I embellished for Sandy - here

5. My blocks when they arrived home - here

6. My 2017 UFO Challenge List - here

7. The block I embellished from Set 1 - here

8. March UFO Challenge "Ocean Frolics" Wall Quilt - here

Note: I am not affiliated with any of the products or companies linked to in this post.

Sun, Sand, and Sea BOM Blocks 1 & 3

It is happy dance time! 

I am now caught up on the blocks for the Sun, Sand, and Sea 2017 Block of the Month hosted by Amy at Sew Incredibly Crazy.

There is a Sew Incredibly Crazy and Friends Facebook Group for those participating in this BOM. You may find it here.

Block 1 was designed by Amy at Sew Incredibly Crazy.

I have always wanted to try making dresden plates. 

I am not sure why the idea intimidated me. 

The block was a lot of fun to put together!

You may find Amy's blog post here.

The pattern is here.

Block 3 was also great fun to see come together!

This darling block was designed by Carla at Creatin' in the Sticks.

You may see here blog post here.

The pattern may be found here.

I was sure I measured everything accurately, but somehow my white strips were about 1/8" too big, so my corners did not line up.

I told my family they could officially call me 

The Queen of Wonky Blocks.

My 20-year-old son grinned and said it did not matter if the corners lined up or not, because the birds were so cute. 

Thank you, Carla! You saved the day with your cute applique.

The photo at the top of this post shows the first 4 blocks together. The 5th block (which will sit in the center area) will be released in June. 

I can barely wait!

Thanks for stopping by,

Renee

Related Posts:

Block 2 - My blog post is here.

The block was designed by Carol at Just Let Me Quilt. You may find her post here and the pattern is here.

Block 3 Progress - post is here.

Block 4 - My blog post is here. 

The block was designed by Joan at Moosestash Quilting. Her post and the pattern are available here.

Sun, Sand, and Sea BOM Block 4

Once again, I fell in love with the block released for the Sun, Sand, and Sea 2017 Block of the Month organized by Amy at Sew Incredibly Crazy and her friends. 

Block 4 was designed by Joan of Moosestash Quilting. This was my first attempt at a Flying Geese block and it is far from perfect.

My husband thinks I am nuts because I am thinking about making a second one to get it right. This one could be a throw pillow. We'll see - time is short these days. For my first try, I think it will do. 

Once again, I worked some of the Oregon State University fabric from my stash into the block.

Thanks so much for stopping by! 

Related Posts:
Block 2 (includes a photo of my fabrics for block 1) - here
Progress on Block 3 - here

TAST Stitches 44 and 77

There has not been much time for crafting this month, and when there has been time, the energy was lacking. Between working and a few trips to the ER with someone dear (thankfully, the issues ended up being side affects from medications and nothing more serious), life has been a bit crazier than normal. My hubby and my boys have been rockstars, taking on some of my chores without even being asked. That was the best Mother's Day gift this mom could hope for! 

Here is a bit of progress I have been hoping to share for a while. (I typed this post over the weekend, to be sure I finally did share it!)

TAST Stitch 44 (part 2): Plaited Feather Stitch

Back in February, I shared the Crossed Feather Stitch. In April, I worked the Plaited Feather Stitch on my TAST sampler using pink and black perle cotton. (The arrow is pointing to it in this photo.)

TAST Stitch 77: Pistil Stitch

I apologize for the photo quality. This was the best of over 10 attempts to capture the snowflake I created with the pistil stitch. 

The bottom snowflake was created with size 12 white perle cotton, 4 pistil stitches, 4 straight stitches, 4 Mill Hill Petite Glass Seed Beads and 1 small white bead.

(Some of the other snowflakes in this photo are partially complete and were created using designs my dear blogging friend shared on her blog, Magpie's Mumblings. You may find the designs here, here and here.)

I most frequently use the pistil stitch to create antennae on butterflies, as seen here. (You may see more of this block here.)

I also used pistil stitches to dress up this seam created with the use of one of Sharon B.'s Crazy Quilting templates. (I am not affiliated, but did receive the templates in exchange for an honest opinion, and I do love using them! You may see more about this block here.)

Pistil stitches were also used with bullion knots to create flowers on the block I embellished for Annette in our Under the Sea Round Robin. (You may see more about this block here.)

TAST Challenge

In April, there was a 2 week TAST break to provide time for some of us to catch up. If you did not need to catch up, you were encouraged to participate in the TAST Break Challenge to create a small project using 3 TAST stitches. 

I do need to catch up, but opted to use the feather stitch, bullion knot, and detached chain stitch to create a gift for Mother's Day. I also used the chain stitch to add "Mom" to the center.

TAST stands for Take A Stitch Tuesday. This is a personal challenge offered by Sharon B. at Pintangle.com, encouraging others to learn new embroidery stitches. A new stitch is introduced each week, but participants are able to choose their own pace for working the stitches. You may learn more about it here.

This is the 10th year Sharon has offered TAST and she is celebrating by sharing interviews with some of the TAST participants. Here are links to the interviews she has shared so far (I hope I did not miss any):

Annette of Fat Quarter

Renee of Hand Stitched Treasure

Angela Princess Bubbles Creates

Maureen of CrazyQstitcher

Queeniepatch of Queenie's Needlework

Chitra of Jizee6687's Weblog

Kimberly our Chicken Little Lady

Gerry Krueger of Older Rose

The cover of the Summer 2017 edition of the Crazy Quilt Quarterly features work by Sharon B. This edition focuses on buttons. Adding buttons to my work always feels challenging to me, so I am looking forward to ordering my copy. 

I am not affiliated. You may find the magazine here and learn how to submit your work to the magazine here. 

And, Sharon shared some exciting news about her book today. You may check it out here.

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Renee

Sun, Sand, and Sea BOM Block 3 Progress

This week, I managed to finish embroidering around the applique on these 4 darling blocks designed by Carla at Creatin' in the Sticks for the Sun, Sand, and Sea Block of the Month. I still need to sew the striped blocks together (the fabric is all cut) and sew the 8 blocks together. I hope to find time to finish that this week!

I used a buttonhole stitch around each piece of applique, stem stitched the legs, and satin stitched the eyes.

This is my first block of the month experience and I absolutely love all of the blocks that have been introduced. I am very thankful that Amy at Sew Incredibly Crazy and her blogging friends have put together such a fun quilt.

Thank you for stopping by!
Renee

I am linking with the Monday Stitchery Link Party #109 at Super Mom - No Cape! I do hope you will stop by to see what others have been working on and to check out the free embroidery pattern. If you do any hand stitching and have a blog, feel free to join the link party!

May 2017

Looking back at April, I am very glad my biggest priority was to finish up the tote bag to donate. I told myself that anything else I finished would be "icing on the cake", so to speak. 

A few of you asked how the tote bag did. It raised $150 toward the engineering scholarship fund. I am already thinking about what I will donate to the fall fundraising event. A request has been made for something red...

April is always a busy month, with several family birthdays, a spring conference my husband attends, and Easter; so I did not have a lot of crafting time. I stole a few hours here and there to work on the cross-stitch project I am stitching for my eldest son. (You may see the progress here, if you missed yesterday's post.) 

I fed the keyboard of my laptop a very full cup of coffee, too. Thankfully, it survived after drying out for several days. So, April was a lucky month!

NOTE: You may click on any photo for a larger view. I do not expect anyone to really read through all of this - my goals are listed here as a tool for me to refer to more than anything else.

Review of April Goals:

To save time, the list of April Goals may be seen here. Though I made progress on a few things, only my 2nd goal was completed.

2. Embellish February CQJP 2017 block and make a tote bag with it to donate to an auction. Done! - A photo is above and the blog post is here.

May Goals:

1. Complete the 4 projects for my Etsy Shop and add them to the - currently empty - inventory. 3 of these are ready to sew.

2. Finish gifts for my friend's daughter.

3. Embellish March CQJP 2017 block. (An outline of a seahorse has been added since this photo was taken.)

4. Piece and embellish April CQJP 2017 block. (I have a smaller project in mind. To meet the minimum 8x8-inch requirement, I may piece 4 blocks that are 4x4-inches each.)

5. Spend 10 minutes a day adding snowflakes to my Winter/Christmas Wall Quilt. (I did well with this for the first week of April and hope to do better in May. This photo shows how it looks now. I realized it takes just over 10 minutes per snowflake.) This was #8 on my UFO Challenge 2017 and should have been finished in February. I'm still plugging away! (You may see more photos of the blocks here.)

6. Complete # 11 from my allpeoplequilt.com UFO Challenge 2017 list. This should have been completed in April. I have ordered something fun to finish this with. You may see more details about these blocks here.

7. In May, #2 was drawn for the UFO Challenge 2017. I need to embellish the letter "E" and create a finished project with the blocks from my CQI Heart Round Robin. (You may see better photos and more detail about these blocks here.) I am very excited to put this one together and ordered something fun for it that should arrive soon.

8. Complete blocks 1, 3 & 4 from the Sun, Sand, and Sea Block of the Month 2017 organized by Amy at Sew Incredibly Crazy. This photo shows my progress on block 3, which was designed by Carla at Creatin' in the Sticks.

9. Finish my Mother's Day projects.

May is another very busy month. I will be working a fair amount outside of the home. So, I have a feeling many of my goals listed above may be on my June list, too. We'll see how much I manage to accomplish.

I also hope to visit some blogs this month. I think I am going through withdrawals. I miss visiting my blogging friends!

Top 5 Viewed Posts in April:

1. April 2017 - here

2. TAST 78 - here 

3. CQJP 2017 February Block Tote - here

4. TAST 76 - here (This was the top most viewed post in March.)

5. CQJP 2017 February Block Motif 2 - here

Thank you for stopping by!

Renee

It is Monday, so I am linking to Stitchery Link Party #108 at Super Mom - No Cape this week. If you have a blog that features hand embroidery, I encourage you to join the party! There is a rooster pattern available to download this week.