Saturday, October 31, 2020

Crazy Quilt Magazine

 Woot, woot! What a success...this is one super information and GORGEOUS magazine! The first issue is available now. 

Get it on MagCloud!


Love the well written articles and all of those beautiful photos...makes me just want to go stitch something!

Well done Lisa Boni, well done indeed!

Tuesday, October 27, 2020

2020 Retreat Fun

 We had a super fun time at the Stitching Crazy Retreat this year! The group was a bit smaller (as expected considering COVID-19) with nine ladies...but we certainly had a great time just the same. 


Social distancing was observed as we worked and ate...and slept. We wore masks when we needed to be closer to each other like walking down the hall.


Here are the three main sewing activities we worked on:


This is not finished yet...but well on it's way. It "generally" follows the embellishing ideas in DiVan Niekerk's book: Embroidered Alphabets with Ribbon Embroidery. We each began with a printed color fabric initial and could fill in the letter with Stem Stitch; them embellish as we wished. Just as with her book sample, I found the bottom right area to be lacking in embellishments. So, this will hang on the design wall a bit while I decide where to put more of the 5-petal flowers and Fargo Roses. Her original design used berries and Fly Stitch Roses.



This was a "filler" project that everyone could work on if they simply got tired of working on the assigned tasks. We began this the first night...then, when the other tasks came up...no one went back to this one. Ha! Oh well...it's good to have a long-term project...so keep stitching ladies; get these finished!

The next project was a beaded monogram. The fiber embroidery sets the stage...providing a padded layer for the beads and sequins. Everyone loved working on this project...but there are a lot of beads to put down. Here is the teaching example:



While I so like the purity of the white on white example. Carlie's blue version is certainly striking!


I just might have to stitch some of these in different colors just for the fun of it!

Our last class was given by Kathy Billings. (After we say her work with felt in a round robin, we all had to know how she did that!). While we did adjust her techniques to fit the diverse skill levels and the time we had...we all came home with a greater appreciation of her original technique...AND a desire to give this more effort in the future.



Of course, I just HAD to add beads to mine...such a natural thing for me to do.


We had a blast! Missed all of the ladies that did not get to make it...hope to see each of you next year!

Friday, October 16, 2020

ICQC-108 Garden Clusters (new course) is Open for Registration 15-17 October 2020



This course is for all those individuals that have completed the ICQC-105 silk ribbon course.

The finished motifs are intended to mimic realistic flowers. The placement of certain flowers will create clusters like a garden bed. 

We will be using acrylic paints, color pencils, etc. to add depth and dimension to the background fabric before we stitch the clusters. There will be some fiber embroidery work in these clusters and some beading as well.

A great deal of the tasks will be experimenting with different art supplies you have. It is fine to substitute items for the ones used in the examples; the idea is to just be free to try things that you have not tried before and push your creative boundaries.

There will not be a specific block to create, but rather different fabric patches that could be used in projects (or just patchwork blocks) in the future.

We just finished the first offering of this course and got so many nice comments from the students about liking the lessons...

I need name, email, and state/country emailed to shaw.kathy@yahoo.com to register. Registration is open 15-17th of this month...and class will begin on the 20th. Also, I'll be away 22-25 for a retreat...but will have my laptop with me. However, I will only be checking maybe once a day...either very early or very late!

HUGS!


Friday, October 9, 2020

Do You Sew? Thanks

 Thanks to Mike over at "Do You Sew" for a nice write-up in their newsletter.


If you've never checked out their website, it is full of tips, tricks, and good info!