CQJP 2018 April Block

The 4th block for my Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2018 is finished! 

Once again, the fabrics were colored and heat set with Crayola crayons. (That process is explained here.) You may click on any photo for a larger view.

The first seam was rather simple with cross stitches that I spaced evenly using waste canvas. 

Next, I added seed beads.

The second seam used one of my favorite combinations - buttonhole stitches, detached chain stitches, and beads.

One of the templates I received from Sharon B. helped me evenly space these stitches. (I am not affiliated with the templates. They were received in return for an honest review. I love using them! My full review is shared in the Summer 2016 Crazy Quilt Quarterly Magazine. I am not affiliated with the magazine.)

For the first motif, I poked holes in the sketch of my block and created a dotted outline of the heart on the wrong side of my fabric with light pencil marks.

The flight path was created with a strand of purple embroidery floss and a running stitch. The butterfly was added with detached chain stitches, straight stitches and 2 French knots on the antennae. 

For the second motif, I created another dot-to-dot guide. This time, I was not confident I could line it up properly on the back side of the block, so I marked the front fabric (which always makes me nervous.) 

I still wonder if I should have used a computer font and printed out the words, rather than relying on my own handwriting for this section... The words were embroidered with size 12 black perle cotton and a stem stitch.

The last motif was created with green and purple size 8 perle cotton. Two straight stitches and 3 detached chain stitches created stems and leaves. Two sets of fly stitches created heart-shaped flowers.

Rather than individually stitching beads around the heart-shape on this block, I strung beads on a strand of floss and then couched that floss down between each bead. It was fun to try something new.

This block turned out very close to the sketch I made during the planning stage.

Four of my CQJP 2018 blocks are now complete.

Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2018 (CQJP 2018) is a personal challenge to complete a crazy quilt block each month that measures at least 8 x 8 inches. You may learn more about it here. You may see the work others have created this year on the CQJP 2018 blog here or shared on the Facebook page here. Sign ups for CQJP usually open in November.

Thank you for visiting!
Renee


Related Posts:
Embellished CQJP 2018 January Block - here
Embellished CQJP 2018 February Block - here
Embellished CQJP 2018 March Block - here

My CQJP 2018 progress may be followed on this Pinterest board.

Sneak peeks of my progress are shared on my Instagram account.