Fractal White Tiger October 2017

This week I was able to add 972 stitches to my Charting Creations "Fractal White Tiger" piece.

It filled in some of the top of page 7.

22,684 of 174,300 stitches are now complete.

This is how it looked in my last update. 

I began this project on January 1, 2016 to participate with the Stitchy Start blog. However, I have only worked on it 74 days for the progress shown above.

Thank you for stopping by!
Renee

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

CQJP 2017 March Block Motif 5

This is the 5th motif added to my Crazy Quilt Journal Project (CQJP) 2017 March block. I had a bit of fun playing with Sharon B.'s Stitchers Templates making this one. 

Click on any image for a larger view.

First, I traced a few of the wavy vine lines from the templates onto the back (muslin foundation) of my block with a pencil.

The vines were created with whipped chain stitches.

A chain stitch was added following the lines of one of the vines with size 8 DMC #954 perle cotton. Size 8 DMC #125 perle cotton whipped around the chain stitches.

After giving some thought to the way I wanted the vines to wrap around one another, I continued adding chain stitches to the other vines. 

In this photo of the back, you may see that I wanted the vine sketched on the left to cross over in front of the middle vine on the lower junction. So, I embroidered the middle vine first. On the upper junction, I wanted the middle vine to be in front, so I stopped just below where those lines met and embroidered the vine to the left before continuing the middle vine. 

I did not whip these two vines until both had been embroidered with chain stitches. 

You may also note that I did not follow the entire shape from this vine. I wanted leave enough room to add the flowers.

After whipping the chain stitches, I added a pearl bead to the top of each stem, and then added rice beads for each of the "spokes" I had traced on the back. For these flower petals, I added the middle "spoke" first and then added two beads to each side, to be sure they all fit together well.

Small straight stitches were added to the vines with the variegated green thread to add a bit more detail.

This was such a fun motif to create!

Thank you for stopping by!
Renee

Notes: 

I am not affiliated with Sharon B.'s templates. However, I did receive them in exchange for an honest review and have so much fun playing with them!

CQJP stands for Crazy Quilt Journal Project. You may find the CQJP 2017 blog here.

Related Blog Posts:

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

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

CQJP 2017 February Block Tote - here

CQJP 2017 January Block - here

On this Pinterest board, I am saving each step of my CQJP 2017 progress. 

Colored Valentine Fabric Postcards

In September, I finished the last two panels I colored back in February into fabric postcards. The snail mail and mailbox themes were inspired by InCoWriMo (International Correspondence Writing Month.)

The snail was inspired by the book Embroidery for All Seasons by Diana Lampe.

For the backs, I printed these templates onto cardstock.

In February, I do plan to participate with InCoWriMo again. (It is a challenge to write one letter, card, note or postcard every day in the month of February.) My mind is already working on ideas of what I want to mail to make the month more fun. I had thought about making 28 Artist Trading Cards, but fear I do not have the time. I am toying with a few other ideas. We'll see...

Have you made any fabric postcards recently? I would love to hear about them!

Thank you for stopping by!
Renee

Related Blog Posts:

Valentines Made with Colored Fabric - here
Fabric Postcard Tutorial - here
InCoWriMo 2017 in Review - here
Love Mail Zipper Pouch Coin Purse on Etsy - here (sold)

Crazy Quilted Blue Heart Coin Purse

If you follow me on Instagram, the crazy quilted centerpiece of this zipper pouch may look familiar. It is now the front of a 5.5" by 5.5" zipper pouch coin purse.

Here is a slightly closer view. The heart was machine pieced and hand embellished. I used Therm-O-Web HeatnBond Lite to fuse the heart to black cotton fabric and then hand stitched the edges in place. After that, I added the green stem stitches around the heart and the pink flowers on the upper section of the heart.

Above is a close-up. You may click on any image for a larger view.

The back and lining of the pouch are 100% black cotton fabric.

The zipper opening is 4.25-inches long and opens up to 3.25" wide in the center.

The interior seams are raw edges finished with zigzag stitches.

This coin purse is now listed in my Hand Stitched Treasure Etsy Shop and will ship First Class for free within the United States. You may find it listed here.

I would love to hear what project(s) you are currently working on. Feel free to leave a comment letting me know!

Thank you for stopping by.
Renee