Monday Stitchery Link Party #74 and a Painting!

I am wishing those of you in the USA a wonderful Labor Day!

There is not a lot of stitching I can share this week. Normally, I would share progress on my HAED QS Red Hearts project, but I fear I have not touched it since my update on the 4th of July. (Life threw us a few curve balls this summer.) 

Last weekend I worked on a crazy quilt project I had hoped to finish in July. The seam pictured above was created using a free seam treatment pattern shared at Magpie's Mumblings. I worried metallic thread may not stand up to the potential wear on this project, so I used pearl cotton flosses. Lacking the pretty sheen of metallic thread, I added extra beads to my seam. Thank you for the gorgeous idea, MA!

It is not stitching related, but on August 29th, I had a blast! Last year, I told my mother-in-law and sister-in-law that I would love to attend a Paint Nite event. For Christmas, my sister-in-law gave me a Paint Nite gift certificate. Last Monday night, the three of us created a "Sunflower Swirl" painting. It was so fun! I hope to have another painting to share in the not too distant future. My husband wants to have a Paint Nite date night!

A few notes that may be of interest:

1. Marian at Seams to Be Sew is hosting an Eerie Nights Blog Hop. You may learn more about it HERE. Sign ups are open through tomorrow, September 6th. (My crafting time is limited, but there is something I've been wanting to make for a while so I think I am going to sign up.)

2. This morning Kathy Shaw, of Shawkl Designs, shared information about The 70273 Project. You may see Kathy's post here and may find more details about the project here. 

I am linking up with Stitchery Link Party #74 at Super Mom - No Cape! I encourage you to visit to see the free embroidery pattern and to discover what other bloggers have been working on this week. 

Thanks for stopping by! -Renee

Free Intermediate Crazy Quilt Course - 102 Update #1

I promised to share a bit of my work from Kathy Shaw's FREE Intermediate Crazy Quilt Course (ICQC) - 102: Using Acrylic Paints, Dyes, Inks, etc.

I have to be honest. This course has interested me for ages. Why? I wanted to learn more about painting backgrounds for embroidery and crazy quilting. 

Yes, I also thought it would be nice to learn how to dye my own laces and ribbons. But, I am admitting that I looked more forward to having those things done than actually doing them.

Guess what? I had SO much fun with this assignment! How much? So much that I wished I had local friends that would be interested in coming over for a lace painting party.

I have used some lace trims and motifs on a few of my blocks, but I tend to stick with threads and beads and the occasional silk ribbon, button or charm on my crazy quilts.

Do you know what I kept thinking as I painted these lace trims and motifs?

I guess there were 2 thoughts. 
First, I need to invest in more acrylic paints.

Second, I seriously need to start using more lace on my blocks!

I have a small stash of beautifully dyed lace motifs that I purchased from Raviolee Dreams at Etsy a while back.

Now I have these beauties, too! The white lace trims and motifs that I dyed and shared were purchased from a variety of locations. 

A couple of the trims were purchased at Jo-Ann Fabric. 

A few of the motifs (and possibly some of the trims) were purchased at Crazy Quilting Supplies.

The basket at the bottom was purchased from Sew Victorian Crazy at Etsy. This shop is closing out and is offering 20%-off all purchases over $10.00 until June 30th. (I may have to go back...)

I have more lace on the way that I ordered through vendors on the... um... either the Supplies for Crazy Quilts and Other Crafts group or the Supplies for Crazy Quilts and Other Crafts 2 group on Facebook.

One of these days, I am finally going to purchase some of the lace I drool over at Cathy's Crazy By Design at Etsy, too.

For the record, I am not affiliated with any of the shops mentioned above. I frequently see crazy quilt embellishments and wonder, "Where did they find those?!"

The laces I shared above are just the beginning of this class. I have worked on a few more assignments, but they are drying and need more work before I will be ready to share them. 

If you are thinking about taking one of Kathy Shaw's free classes, here are the next scheduled registration dates:

Basic Crazy Quilting Course (BCQC): June 27-29
ICQC 101 - Designing and Piecing CQ Blocks : July 10-11
ICQC 102 - Using Acrylic Paints, Dyes, Inks, etc.: July 27-29 
ICQC 103 - Embellishing with Threads: NOW June 23-25
ICQC 107 - Miniature SRE Flowers: August 12-14 

Please note, some courses have a prerequisite course (or two) that must be met first. And, SRE stands for silk ribbon embroidery.

I am curious... Do you have a favorite place to purchase your crazy quilting embellishments that is not listed above?

Thanks for stopping by!
Renee