CQJP 2013 Blocks 3, 4 and 5 Before Embellishments

I finally carved some time out of my schedule to assemble a few more blocks for the Crazy Quilt Journal Project.

As you can see, I am trying to stick with the landscape theme of the first two blocks.  I am curious to see how these will transform!

CQJP 2013 Block 3 - Bare

CQJP 2013 Block 4 - Bare

CQJP 2013 Block 5 - Bare

I have yet to decide which block I will work on first, but at least I have them mostly assembled for March, April and May.

Although we are entertaining guests this evening (and I have a ton to do), I spent my morning browsing through photos (a.k.a. eye candy) of work other crazy quilters have done.  And, I came to a conclusion.  I may have to attempt an encrusted block sometime soon.  I find myself drawn to encrusted work, but I tend to leave a lot more space and use fewer laces and trims, as fitting them in is a challenge for me.  (Perhaps I am a bit too picky.  I also have a hard time finding laces that I like...)

Stepping outside of my comfort zone always makes me feel a little bit giddy - it must be due to the collision of feeling slightly intimidated by the task I am facing and feeling determined to prove to myself I can do it. 

Thank you for stopping by!
-Renee

Liebster Award

I would like to thank Jill at Crazy for Red for awarding me with the Liebster Award!  The Liebster is a fun award by bloggers to bloggers.  Qualifying blogs are less than 6 months old or have less than 200 followers.  Recipients of the award are to write a post including the following:

1. List 11 random things about yourself.
2. Answer 11 questions posed by the nominator.
3. Choose 11 blogs to pass the award on to and link them to your post.
4. Create 11 questions for those 11 people to answer.

 (My previous attempts to accept this award have encountered serious technical difficulties.  So, I am hoping my laptop does not overheat and shut itself down.  I also hope to avoid another 6 hour power outage - there is not a windstorm today, so my odds are good!)

11 Random facts about me:

 1.       I love pumpkin.  (Pumpkin pie, pumpkin waffles, healthy pumpkin muffins, buckwheat pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin cream cheese dip, pumpkin soup, pumpkin candles, etc.)

2.       I completed NaNoWriMo last November.  (My novel is rougher than a rough draft, but I finally made it past chapter two.)

3.       Once, during a power outage, my husband and I spent over 3 hours reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone to our boys by candlelight.

4.       I love scented candles. 

5.       Writing this blog and answering Jill’s questions, I realized I am incredibly indecisive!

6.       This Christmas my goal is to give handmade or personalized gifts.

7.       Zurich, Switzerland is my favorite city.

8.       I plan to run a half marathon (once my stress fracture finally heals…)

9.       GMO foods scare me.  (Sadly, this fear is not due to research or statistical facts.  The millions of dollars food corporations spent to avoid telling consumers what they were feeding them scared the crud out of me.)

10.   My favorite color changes at least once a year.  (At the moment, I think it is yellow.)

11.   A wonderful family friend, Diane, introduced me to embroidery (via cross-stitch) and sewing when I was a teenager. I doubt I can ever thank her enough!

Answers to Jill’s Questions:

 1. Cat or Dog?  Dog, I guess.  We do not have pets due to my allergies.

2. What is your favorite TV show?  Do I have one?  I suppose at the moment it would be “Breakout Kings.”

3. What color are the walls in your living room? White.

4. What is the largest quilt you have made?  My largest quilt was a 6’3” x 5’6” rag quilt made for my youngest son.  It sported a variety of colorful fabrics he selected with a Batman theme on one side and a Spider-Man theme on the other.  To tone it down a bit, I alternated between two colors for the outer edges on both sides.

5. What are you listening to right now? I am listening to my 13-year-old is tell me about his favorite snacks.

6. Do you use a mac or a pc? PC

7. How many states/countries have you lived in? I have lived in two states (Oklahoma and Oregon) and three countries (the United States, Germany, and Switzerland.)

8. What is your favorite book?  The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure, by William Goldman

9. Who is the teacher who most influenced you and what did he/she teach?  There were SO many teachers that positively influenced my childhood that I smile when I hear the proverb about it taking a village to raise a child.  If I had to choose just one, it would be Mr. Leighton.  He taught science at my middle school.  He and his family also drove well out of their way to take my sister and me to church and youth group every week.  They allowed us to stay with them when my mom went in for eye surgery.   He helped me learn to drive after I received my permit.  And, as an elder of our church, Mr. Leighton baptized my sister and me.  I often hope he and Mrs. Leighton know how many lives they positively influenced. 

10. What is one thing you would stay up late to do?  I stay up late to Crazy quilt.  It is a relaxing way to unwind.

11. Did you play any sports in high school or college? If so, what? No, although a college roommate and I did take aerobics classes together and we went running together.

I have chosen 11 blogs that inspire me.  It is my hope you will enjoy visiting their blogs! 

Blog Nominees for the Liebster Award (In no particular order):

1. Little Orphan Skein

2. Crystal's Crafty Adventures

3. Iris Patchwork

4.  Karrin's Crazy World

5. The Beaded Needle

6. Threads and Patches

7.  Stitching Like Crazy

8. Sane, Crazy, Crumby Quilting

9. Margreet's Draadjespaleis

10. Fibermaidens Artwork

11. Suztats

11 Questions for the Award Recipients:

1. What is your favorite city?

2. How old were you when you learned to sew?

3. What is your favorite craft book?

4. If you had to guess, how many UFO projects do you think you have?

5. What is your favorite meal to prepare?

6. What is your favorite cookbook?

7. How many siblings do you have?

8. Who is your favorite author?

9. If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

10. What is your favorite charity?

11. Of the items you have sewn/created, which one is your favorite and why?

 Have fun!  I would love to thank you all for sharing your creativity.  I cease to be amazed watching fabrics and threads transform into wonderful works of art. 

CQJP 2013 Block 2

Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2013 Block 2

This is the second block completed for the Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2013.  I am very happy with some parts and critical of others.  In the end, I decided to stop being so critical, as this is a learning process and I am gaining experience.

Block 2 prior to embellishments

When I put the block together, I pictured the brick wall of a garden and grassy hills leading off into the distance.  After seeing the picture I posted of the block on my blog, I almost redid the top left corner.  I did not like the hill touching the sun.  In the end, I decided to leave it.

Flower Wall

I began by adding tulips and a vine of roses along the brick wall.  Later, I added the little butterfly.  As a novice at silk ribbon embroidery, I found my copy of The Silk Ribbon Embroidery Bible by Joan Gordon to be an invaluable resource.  (I found a used copy at Powell's for $19.95 during a trip we made to Portland, Oregon last fall.)

Flower Garden

Next, I added a buttonhole stitch along the seam between the garden and the grassy hill.  Then, I referred to my copy of Diana Lampe's, Embroidery for all Seasons (yet again!) and added Shasta Daisies, Cottage Pinks, English Primroses and Forget-Me-Nots.

Fence and Cherry Tree

The fence seam was my next addition.  I used a thicker (5 or 8) cotton floss to stitch a buttonhole seam.  Then I made individual stitches over each of the "posts" to create the fence.

For the cherry blossom tree, I made the trunk using another Edmar Boucle floss in a variegated brown and the tutorial for Easy, Breezy Trees found on the Shaw K L Designs Blog.  The cherry blossoms were created using three strands of a pink variegated floss and lots and lots of French knots.  (I began by adding "blossoms" around each branch and then continued adding them until I thought my husband would stop telling me the trunk was too big for the tree - lol!)  A few green straight stitches of "grass" at the base of the trunk completed the tree.

Distant Tree and Dandelion Hillside

I find myself being the most critical of this final section.  I added a stem stitch in a size 5 or size 8 yellow cotton floss along the seam of the sun.  Then, I added a small tree to hide the section where the hill touched the sun.  A variegated brown floss was used to make chain stitches for the trunk and branches.  And lazy daisy stitches made with an Edmar variegated green floss created the leaves.  Tiny colonial knots made with a variegated yellow floss created daisies on the grassy hill.  Along the seam, and behind the tree, smaller French knots were made with the same floss, to give the illusion of distance.  Light green back stitches were added at the base of the tree.  I wanted the tree to be small, to add to the illusion of distance.  However, I fear it may be too small.  And, I was not as happy with the actual dandelions as I was with the ones I imagined.  I did like the way they added a bit more texture to the block.

I toyed with the idea of adding birds to the sky, but I really liked the simplicity of the block as it was, with my eye drawn to the rose vine along the garden wall.

Thanks for visiting!
Renee

Weekend Excursion

This weekend, we joined my in-laws and some family friends and toured the Medical Teams International Real. Life. Exhibit in Tigard, Oregon.

We were asked not to take photographs, in order to respect the privacy of the real people within the exhibit's photographs.  However, a few photos may be seen on Medical Team International's website.

It was a profound experience and I am so glad our children went with us.  My thirteen-year-old had some very good questions.  We were reminded to be thankful for running water, restrooms, and heat that does not require an indoor open flame.

I love the fact that my children left the exhibit inspired to help and that they have a few more ideas of ways they can make a difference.

Hugs,
Renee

My First Crazy Quilted Purse Post 3

Front Pocket Embellished (the center blank area will have Velcro later)

Front Pocket Before

Last week, I finished the pocket panel for the purse I am making.  The plain area in the blue floral fabric will have Velcro sewn in.

I tacked down a dark blue rick rack with variegated blue floss.  Then, I added the spider web.  I love the way the facets in the dark blue beads used to make the spider sparkle in the light.  The web is made with a single strand of a DMC white metallic floss, so it sparkles too.

After I made him, I was disappointed to realize he would be hidden by the flap of the purse.  However, I decided the idea of a lurking spider might be more fun.

Next, the seams were embellished.  Below, flowers made of green straight stitched stems, lazy daisy leaves and yellow lazy daisy petals alternate with flowers made with green straight stitched stems and yellow seed beads.

The variegated floss I used to make the lazy daisy seam below and the flower vine had such long sections of each color, I found myself disappointed the end result was not as colorful as I had hoped.  I was not disappointed the section below would mostly be covered by the flap of the purse.

The floral printed fabric was embellished with two different blue variegated Edmar Flosses, using French knots and lazy daisies to cover the flower prints.

Once again, I used my Embroidery for all Seasons book by Diana Lampe and Jane Fisk.  This time, I made the Easter Daisies.  Unfortunately, I also learned that the light blue flannel-backed satin I used on almost every piece of the purse did not hold the stitches well (as seen below.)  I also added a pink butterfly.

Now, I am working on the back of the purse. 

Back of purse, before embellishing

I began with the seam treatments.  And I am currently working on a tree for the center of the block that was inspired by a tree pattern in Doodle Stitching: The Motif Collection: 400+ Easy Embroidery Designs by Aimee Ray.

Progress on back of purse

On the back of the panel, I penciled in the trunk of the tree and a circle for the top.  Using a variegated brown floss and chain stitches, I created the trunk and branches.  Now I am adding flowers, beads, and circular shapes in greens and pinks to fill in the circle.  It is not quite complete.

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Renee