TAST 2019 - Stitches 5 & 17

It has been ages since my last Take a Stitch Tuesday (TAST) post. I actually completed these stitches in June... (Learn more about the TAST challenge offered by Sharon Boggon at Pintangle.com through the link above.)

Click any image for a larger view.

This seam was added to a crazy quilted Valentine fabric postcard I am creating. It was created with two TAST stitches.

Stitch 5: Feather Stitches were added with a strand of green DMC S909 satin floss.

Stitch 17: Bullion Knot Stitches were added with #48 DMC size 8 variegated perle cotton floss to add flowers to a vine of feather stitches.

For this stitch, the right needle is very important. I struggled with these horribly before reading Sharon's tip to use a milliners needle. 


My 2019 TAST Progress:
Completed Stitches: 1-5, 7, 11 & 17
Need to Stitch: 6, 8-10, 12-16, & 18-36

Thank you for visiting!
Renee

CQJP 2018 March Block

If you follow me on Instagram or if you follow the Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2018 blog, then you have probably seen this block.

My theme for this year's Crazy Quilt Journal Project (CQJP) is my favorite things. I love the beach and had so much fun creating this block.

First, I colored white fabric with Crayola crayons and set the color. (The process I use was explained in this post.)

Then, I cut the fabric between the sky and water sections and between the water and sand sections. I sewed each section together. 

Next, I traced a heart on the paper side of ThermOWeb HeatnBond Lite and adhered it to the fabric. I cut the heart out leaving 1/4-inch extra. I clipped the curves of the extra fabric and carefully ironed them toward the back of the heart. Then I fused the heart to the black background fabric and used a slip stitch to tack the edges down.

The sandy beach section was a bit smaller than the sketch I drew to plan out the block, but I think it all worked out okay.

Figuring out how to create the foamy waves on the beach was tricky. In the end, I decided to use French knots using 2 strands of floss. First, I used DMC 4020.

Then, I added white French knots.

A bullion stitched starfish was added next, using 2 strands of DMC 4120 variegated floss.

Feeling the ocean needed something more, a few straight stitches were added with size 5 DMC 4140 perle cotton to create a boat.

A straight stitch with size 5 DMC white perle cotton, and 2 straight stitches and a few satin stitches with size 12 DMC white perle cotton completed the sailboat.

Stem stitches with 2 strands of DMC 4020 floss created ripples of waves on the calm ocean.

A single strand of black DMC floss created this island and palm tree. The island was outlined with a split-stitch and then filled with a satin stitch. Stem stitches created the palm tree. (This island was inspired by the one Sandra Todd added to one of my blocks in an Under-the-Sea Round Robin in 2015. You may see it here.)

For the sun, I lightly traced a half circle around a spool of thread with a pencil.

Using a single strand of DMC 4077 floss, I followed the outline for the sun with a split-stitch.

The sun was then filled in using a single strand of the same floss and a satin stitch.

The seagulls were created with 2 strands of DMC 648. Using a needle, I punched holes through the birds in the sketch I had drawn (pictured above). I positioned the sketch over the heart on this block and made light pencil marks on the sky fabric through the holes in the paper. Those tiny marks were the guides used to make the birds.

Using 2 strands of DMC 4160, the heart was outlined with buttonhole stitches. To keep these stitches even, I used one of the templates I received from Sharon B. 

(I received the templates in return for an honest review and I love using mine! The full product review may be found in the Summer 2016 Crazy Quilt Quarterly Magazine, available at Magcloud.com. I am not affiliated with the templates or the magazine.)

The Crazy Quilt Journal Project (CQJP) is a challenge to create one crazy quilt block each month. The goal is to complete a 12-block crazy quilt by the end of the year. It is a personal challenge. You may learn more about it here. Sign ups usually open in November, if you think you might be interested in participating in 2019.

My block looks more like it is for an art quilt than a crazy quilt, but when the blocks are all assembled, I plan to add a crazy quilted border.

My April and May blocks have both been pieced, so there is hope I might finish CQJP 2018 before 2019 arrives. We shall see...

I hope you all have an amazing week. Thank you for visiting!
Renee


Related Posts:
Embellished CQJP 2018 February block - here
Embellished CQJP 2018 January block - here

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

TAST Weeks 5-6

This post is a day later than I intended, but for fun reasons. :) The time I scheduled to blog last night was spent planning a vacation later this year with dear friends. 2018 has a lot of big milestones for our family and this trip will celebrate one of them.

Week 5: Herringbone Stitch

Inspired by the work of Annie Bowers on the Facebook TAST Group, I used the herringbone stitch as a filler on my tree. It was a fun idea that I would not have come up with myself.

The outline of the tree was added to my Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2018 February block with a stem stitch, but I did not like all of the open space. This was a great solution!

Week 6: Chain Stitch

This arched seam was created with size 12 black perle cotton and chain stitches.

First, I traced the arches from one of Sharon B.'s crazy quilt templates. (Regular readers may recall I received them in exchange for an honest review. I still love using them!)

Next, I whipped the chain stitch with a variegated pink size 8 perle cotton. 



Working with these stitches was so much fun, I kept playing!

Using another stencil, I marked the foundation fabric on the back of the block. 

I used these dots as guides to create another herringbone stitched seam.

On one side of the herringbone stitched seam, I added small bullion knots. Small fly stitches were placed beneath each bullion. These were all made with size 8 variegated pink perle cotton. Blue seed beads were added to the other side of the seam.

For the motif, I used another stencil from Sharon B. to trace a stem with 2 leaves.

Using size 8 green perle cotton, I chain stitched the stem.

Next, I whipped the chain stitches and couched the same thread around the shapes of the leaves. Herringbone stitches filled them in.

A pink lace flower that I purchased from Raviolee Dreams a couple of years ago inspired me to create the stem and leaves. I couched it onto the block with a matching strand of pink floss and filled the center with blue seed beads.

Thank you for stopping by!
Renee

TAST stands for Take a Stitch Tuesday. It is a personal challenge to learn a new embroidery stitch every week.

You may learn more about TAST here and find the Facebook group here.

CQJP stands for Crazy Quilt Journal Project. This is a personal challenge to complete a crazy quilt block each month that is at least 8-inches square. You may learn more about CQJP 2018 and see the beautiful blocks other participants have created here.

CQJP 2017 March Block Motifs 6 & 7

Feather stitched vegetaton accented with petite glass seed beads created motif 6 on my Crazy Quilt Journal Project (CQJP) 2017 block.

Size 12 green perle cotton floss was used for the feather stitches.

Motif 7 was added to both sides of the block. 

Using size 5 variegated perle cotton, I created vines with the barred chain stitch.

The flowers were made with a variegated size 8 perle cotton by making groups of 3 bullion stitches. Straight stitches were placed between the bullion stitches and over the ends where the bullion stitches met the vines.

My progress on this block has been slow, but I am enjoying it!

I am joining the Monday Stitchery Link Party #134 at Super Mom - No Cape! 

CQJP 2017 is a challenge to create a crazy quilt block that is at least 8-inches square in size each month. You may learn more about it and see the blocks completed this year here at the CQJP 2017 blog.

Related Posts:

CQJP 2017 March Block Motif 1 and Seams 1 & 2 - here

CQJP 2017 March Block Motifs 2-4 and Seam 3 - here

CQJP 2017 March Block Motif 5 - here

CQJP 2017 February Block - here

CQJP 2017 January Block - here

My CQJP 2017 progress is all shared on this Pinterest Board.

Thank you for stopping by!

Renee

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

Completed CQJP 2017 January Block

CQJP 2017 January Block

My January block for the Crazy Quilt Journal Project (CQJP) 2017 is finally finished! Wow is it PINK!?!

You may remember, I planned to add more to Seam 1 and to add silk ribbon leaves to Seam 12. 

For Seam 1, 3 straight stitches were added with size 12 DMC #699 perle cotton and cross-stitches were added with size 8 DMC #605 perle cotton.

For Seam 12, River Silks #43 silk ribbon was used to make ribbon stitched leaves that I tacked down with a strand of DMC #704 floss.

Motif 4 is a Bliss Beads Sterling Silver Plated Love Charm attached with clear quilting thread.

Motif 5 was a fun one. (It has been too long since I played with silk ribbon embroidery!)

Using a strand of DMC 818 floss, I created 3 sets of 5 spokes. River Silks #18 silk ribbon was woven between the spokes to make spiderweb silk ribbon roses. Next, River Silks #65 silk ribbon was used to create ribbon stitched leaves that were tacked in place with a strand of DMC #369 floss. Little feather stitches with a strand of size 8 DMC #954 perle cotton filled in the motif. And I added a few size 10/0 hot pink seed beads with a strand of DMC #604 floss.

Motif 6 was a simple butterfly created with size 12 DMC #B5200 perle cotton. 

The wings are 4 detached chain stitches, the body is a straight stitch and the antennae are 2 pistil stitches. A running stitch created the flight path.

Motif 7 is a bullion stitched rose. First, I attached 3 clear pink size 10/0 Czech beads in the center with a strand of DMC #818 floss. Next, I added bullion knots in a circular motion, with each round being larger than the last, using size 8 Anchor #01201 variegated pink perle cotton. 4 leaves were added using fly stitches made with size 8 DMC #954 perle cotton floss. 

I loved being able to plan this block in my bullet journal and being able to record how I created each seam and motif. (Note: I did not create each seam and motif in the same order they were numbered in my bullet journal, so on the next page, I kept records correlating to the numbers assigned to each step here on my blog.)

Not every addition matched the original plan, but the plan was definitely helpful!

CQJP stands for Crazy Quilt Journal Project. It is a personal challenge to create a crazy quilt block each month in 2017 that measures at least 8x8-inches. You may learn more about the rules here and see the blocks that have been completed this year here. 

Other posts related to this block include:

Piecing the block

Seam 1

Seams 2 & 3

Seams 4 & 5

Seams 6 & 7

Seams 8 & 9

Seam 10

Seams 11 & 12

Seams 13 - 15

Motifs 1-3

Every step of my CQJP 2017 project is being saved to this board on Pinterest.

Sneak peeks of my projects are sometimes shared on my Instagram account, here, and on my Facebook page, here.

This post is linked to the Monday Stitchery Link Party #98 at Super Mom - No Cape. If you do hand embroidery of any form and have a blog, I encourage you to join the fun!