Wizard and Wools

These past few days, I've been working on round robin blocks. The first is a block belonging to Angie, and it is in memory of her late sister who loved the Wizard of Oz movie...and all things Oz! My part of this Step Round Robin was to do motifs. As fate would have it, I owned a piece of wonderful Wizard fabric and used some of it for the motifs which where then adorned in beads as appropriate.

  Next, a Wool Do-Your-Own-Block round robin begins...and here are my six very basic wool blocks. I'm sure that the ladies will send these back to me full of beautiful stitching. So, have you been stitching? I'm spending a huge chunk of time lately on getting the three monthly HEX class patterns into Illustrator and the instructions published for StitchMAP...so a lot of writing and drawing...nothing that I can show. I also just finished and photographed a very special block for a friend...which I also can't show until it is published this fall. Today, I hope to catch up a little on my Snowmen embroidery blocks and my CQJP2014 Fairy blocks...if Aidan will be good and not pester her Grandmum too much. We are both tired from a week of playing with Brady...and it is so hot today! Went to the grocery store this morning and we both feel like wilted flowers!

Fan Block for Barbara

I'm the last to stitch on Barbara's set of blocks...and my block chosen is her peach/orange fan. Here, I've begun by adding some lace trims...  

Next, some silk ribbon. You know I love roses and how they look on fans...so went with three different types of neutral/medium tones for a romantic look.  

Ended with more embroidery and lots of beads. Ready to mail when Barbara returns home in a couple of weeks.  

CQI Round Robin Updates

Just finished up my round in the 10" Step by Step Round Robin...and the block has been mailed on to the next stitcher. This is my first Step type of robin to participate in, and I'm finding it very limiting. The next person gets to add silk ribbon and more motifs...and it was hard not to put silk ribbon or beading down now. But, the challenge is also part of the fun...so, I'll have to save my SRE work for the block received this month! Also, receive back my Fan blocks...and aren't these so pretty?!!? Yep, they are!

Above stitched by Barbara R.

Above stitched by Colleen A.

Above stitched by Ritva P.

Stitched by NickiLee S.

Stitched by Shelly R.




     

Velia's Block Complete...

...and on it's way home. I am sure she will like it...but if not, hope she sends it back to me. I loved working on this block. The other three ladies in this round robin (Alice, Colleen, & Ritva) did a great job of adding some luscious trims and beautiful stitching. As the last person to stitch, it was my job to make the block 'sing' with embellishing; especially since this robin had "Encrusted) as it's theme. In the crazy quilt world, 'encrusted' means heavily embellished. Of course, heavy means different things to different people...but I'm happy with the end results. Here are some close-up photos for your enjoyment.  

This photo shows the silk ribbon roses and feather stitches I added to the floral block. Alice had already placed pretty yellow seed beads in there. And, you can see a peak of the gorgeous seam treatment at top that Ritva stitched; and the one at bottom that Alice added.

Here is the finished wisteria done in perle cotton with silk ribbon leaves. You saw the braid trim on the seam above in prior blog posts; but I've added pearls and sequins to 'heavily embellish' it.

This is the main seam work I did. It is easily recognizable as mine (you know I love those five-prong flowers). The seams to the bottom were done by Alice...and she graciously agreed to let me play with them some to help my own seam not to be so over-powering. I was happy to add some detached chain stitches, some bugle beads, and some detached bullion roses. Detached flowers because I stitched them first in a hoop on some stabilizer...then couched them into place.

A close-up vies of the beaded cabochon. I debated on adding a button cluster in the floral fabric patch...where the silk ribbon roses went down...but, decided that this beauty was enough to stand alone.
It really is gorgeous in person! And, you can see some of Colleen't absolutely gorgeous feather stitched seam on the left side with the silk ribbon and beads added...just stunning! I was careful not to over-power her work. As a matter of fact, I tried to be harmonious with all of the prior stitching...but added some 'background' to areas...like a scattering of seed beads or some thin lines of back-stitching to create a lattice. That helped tie everything together and make the work or various folks appear to be done in unison.

Lastly, the spider. I know you saw her/him yesterday...but wanted to get a good photo of the web for you. This is not stitched in a normal twisted thread. I've had this spool of gold for a while, so long that it no longer has a label on it. It was not fun to stitch with as it stretched at the least tug...so I had to go extra slow to get it into place and couched down. It was like working with extremely think Christmas tree icicles (you younger folks won't know about them...but sewing with one is not great fun). But the effect is really great. I so wish I had a really good camera and light setup...but, this little $40 wonder camera will just have to do. So, hope you can make out enough details to help inspire you to stitch!

If you are just arriving at the blog...go back a few posts to see this block from where I began. There are loads more close-up photos of the progress.

Velia...it's on it's way home today! Coming priority mail...so you won't have to wait too long!

   

Encrusted Block for Velia - Spider Time

Work is almost done on Velia's block in the CQI Group, "Encrusted" round robin. I put a spider into the web...but, it is too dark I'm thinking.    

  So, I decided to un-stitch...and re-stitch with a white head and blue legs. Now, I've never seen a white headed spider with blue legs...but, the block looks better with it this way I'm thinking. I also got the leaves finished to help give the spiderweb a bit more character and depth.  

Velia's Block Continues...

You probably think this is the longest working round robin block ever...but, I've just not had much time this work to dedicate to it. And, yes...there is a lot of work going into it; but I would have been done had the week offered more stitching time. Of course, I also keep deciding the parts planned need 'more' like the spider web. My first thought was the web and spider...but, this is the lightest patch of the block, and really draws your eye there. So, it does need more 'interest' I'm thinking...and will add some vines/branches with leaves before putting the spider in.  

  This area of the block is finished...and I'm quite happy with it. Alice already stitched two very pretty seams, but when I put my 5-prong seam in...it overpowered her previous work. She was so gracious and agreed to let me add some more stitching to her seams. So, I put in some straight stitches, couching, and beads to her Chain Stitch seam. Then added some detached chains and bullion roses to her adjacent seam. Some beads were added to the wine trim with the gold sequins...and this area become done to my liking.

The gold fabric at the side of the block was too large to stand alone and too small to put a motif in because that would conflict with the gorgeous ribbon seam work Colleen had put in. So, I decided to stitch a simple background lattice and add a dragonfly and some small seed beads. It's enough to fill in the space so it doesn't appear empty but still does not conflict with the seam work...as a matter of fact, I think it enhances it.  

  The bright gold trim on the opposite side of the block needed some stitching to help anchor it down a bit...and keep it from being so glaringly present. There was a little space to work in, so I added a simple seam with some seed beads.  

  The lace motifs now all have some beading added. There could be more even, but the 'feel' of this block is opulant, lucious, and grand...so too much will not be good...even for an 'encrusted style' block. At least, that's my thinking. Next, I have silk ribbon work to add...and finish those leaves in the spider-web...and add that spider. So, the next time you see this block...it should be finished. Hope you are enjoying the show...I'm sure enjoying the stitching!    

 

Velia's Block Continues...

The trims and laces are now stitched down. And I forgot to slip one of them under the black rose trim as first planned (see prior post)...did not even cross my mind...until AFTER I had stitched the trim securely in place. Duh! Yes, I could have taken out some stitches...  

  but instead I layered the two together a bit, and still like the effect just fine. These will get beads too...when I get to that step in the process.  

If you follow me much, you might already know that two of my pet peeves are the abrupt ending of trims and leaving the raw edges of trim showing. And I've managed to do both of them here! Ending trim with a raw edge is just not okay with me. But, for every 'rule' there is an exception...or so I've heard. And this exception is because I'm not the only person working on this block...and Colleen already finished the adjacent seam so beautifully that I don't want to ruin that by putting this trim over it (of course not!!). So it has to stop short of the intersecting seam. That leaves the question...how to cover this abrupt ending?  

  Well, I have chosen to use a purple dragonfly Czech button cabochon in this area. It is large enough to cover all the trim ends and adds some bling to that area as well. And, it will fit in nicely with the beaded spider to come later on...and Colleen's beautiful silk ribbon and beading work. You might also note that there is a spider's web already stitched down with filament...it needed to go down now before the lace clusters went into place, IMHO. It is waiting on a beaded spider with long legs to move in.  

You might have also have noted that the other two lace motifs at the top area of the block are stitched down; but one looks a little 'unsecured'. That's on purpose.  

If you were to peek underneath, you'd get a surprise...and so would the little frog you would wake up! I like hiding things on a block...and adding little critters is also a favorite thing of mine to do. Wonder what other little critters will find a home on the block? Already there is one dragonfly, one spider, and one frog planned...perhaps there will be more? Next...a bit of stitching is needed before the silk ribbon and beading begins! The spider web is already stitched into place; because it needed to go under the lace motifs but some embroidery seams and motifs are also a must.  

  This seam is placed against the side of the black rose trim. It will also get silk ribbon roses and beads added to it later.

This gold fabric area will have a branch of silk ribbon leaves with a vine of wisteria hanging on to that. So far, the the French Knot blooms and the Stem Stitch limb are stitched.

The next area that needs something is this floral patch of small flowers. It already has some golden glass seed beads scattered about in some of the floral centers...but I'm thinking this would be a good place to put a button cluster to balance that beaded cabochon. Off to stitch some more...and I should be finished soon (and on time) with this block. Of course the silk ribbon and beads take the most time (for me)...so we shall see. Ha!      

Colleen's Gypsy Block

  The latest crazy quilt block I've been working on belongs to Colleen, and she titled it "Gypsy". It gave me a great canvas to add some crochet roses that I'd been saving for just the right project. I was gifted with about six of these...but only needed two for this block.  

To begin, I added three trims to the lower seam areas...then added some tatting pieces, and some stitching and beads.  

This was a lot of fun to work on because it was so bright and very open to using different types of supplies.  

Here is the block as it is now, ready for the next stitcher.  

Barbara's Winter Block is Complete

Here's Barbara's (I thought it was Shelly...looked at the wrong address...edited to correct) tree...now covered in snow. Fitting considering the weather most of the country has had the past few days (weeks, months). And once this was completed...it was short notice to get the remaining seams done. You can see in the photo above that I almost forgot to take the shot as I was eager to get those seams started!   

And here is how the areas worked out...lot's of sparkle just like a wonder land of snow brings.

  And more...  

And finally, the total picture. 

  Makes me almost wish we had loads of snow here too...but the cold temps have been enough. I'm good...but neighbors have burst water pipes which are no fun.