Finally! These Are Done!

My eyes are tired! But, these are now all loaded on the Etsy Shoppe, and I'm on to other projects now. Already, I'm having second thoughts about listing a couple of these...and that always happens to me! 

 After spending so much time beading them, it's hard to let them go! 

 But, I know that the new owners will enjoy them!

One Hot Mess...!!!!

Ever tried to do CQ on plastic? Well, it's not easy...and it's not pretty! I really got myself into one hot mess today. 

 At first, I thought I'd stitch with the machine...then use those needle 'holes' to re-stitch by hand...but that just did not work well. 

So, now, I'm putting trims and such down to cover my little holes...and hope to have something usable to show in a couple of days! For now, I'm taking a break!  

Free Design Booklet

Do you like to design you own CQ Seams? Here is a little design booklet that you might find helpful. It is in pdf format...and contains grids for doodling your seams. This is the cover.

And these are two of the four inside page options. 

 You can print as many of each page as you like after downloading the pdf file.Enjoy and be creative!

Free Frames

Here are some frames you might like to use in your embroidery work. Get the pdf file here.

Crazy Quilt Embellishments Calendar 2012---Available Now!!

Look what just came in the mail!! The proof for my new 2012 Calendar! It's on sale at MagCloud right now! It's very reasonably priced, especially for a 28 page calendar! Each month has a full page...so writing notes on each date is no problem! Each month has a gorgeous full-color photo or photos of crazy quilt embellishments to inspire your stitching...and I've included three additional pages of photos too. The proof looks great...the photos are large clear prints, and every stitch is detailed enough for you to clearly see (please don't point out any of my mistakes...LOL!)! Here's how the page layout appears. 

 Each month reflects all of the major U.S. holidays and the federal holidays are marked in red!  So please hop on over to MagCloud and preview your copy today!

Solution for Printing Photos...

I have not tried this...but thought you'd enjoy reading about it.  A recipe for bubblejet type solution! If it works, it could save us hundreds in special fabric print paper. (pay no attention to the fact that the post is about making bean bags...just read on).  If you try it, please post a comment and let me know what you thought of it. It might be weeks before I can get to this! LOL!

Wire Ribbon Rose Tutorial

There are several ways to do wire ribbon roses...and here is one of my methods.

Step One: Cut about 30 inches of wire ribbon. Any width ribbon will work, the wider the ribbon...the larger the rose. The photos are of wire ribbon that is about 1 3/4 inches wide. 

Step Two: Remove the wire from one side of the ribbon.

Step Three: Fold one short end of the ribbon about 1/2 inches, and roll that same end several turns to form the center of the rose. With needle and thread, take a few stitches at the non-wire side of the roll to hold the center of the flower together.

Step Four: Anchor your thread with a couple of tiny stitches. Don't cut the thread. Stitch a running stitch down the entire length of the ribbon...on the side without the wire.

Step Five: Pull the thread to gather up the rose. It will naturally start to curl and twist because of the side with the wire still intact. Fold the end of the ribbon and stitch across it. Take a few small stitches to hold the gathers in place. You can now trim your thread.

When you hold it by the end, it will look a bit like a loose Slinky style spring.

Step Six: This step is a little tricky. Hold on to the center of the rose (the rolls) and wrap the gathered part around and around the center. Don't let go of it...When you have wrapped the rose "petals" to your liking (loose or tight is a personal preference). Take a few stitches on the under-side to hold all of it into place temporarily.

Step Seven: Determine if you want any leaves around your blossum. Ribbon,velvet, or lace ones are good candidates. 

 

Step Eight: Using a small piece of foundation fabric...(I used a square of needlepoint canvas because it is coarse and will hold it's shape) place the flower and leaves on the fabric and stitch them in place. Hide your stitches within the gathers on the flower, and under it's petals for the leaves. The canvas size is about 2 inches square to begin with. This photo shows it leaning against the flower...not stitched.

 Step Nine: After stitching, trim the foundation fabric close to the stitching...so as to remove the excess.

 Step Ten: (Optional) Add artificial flower stamens by folding them and inserting them around the center fold and stitching in place. Or, include them around the center fold before you start to wrap your gathered petals around the center.

Also: Tiny flowers can be created by using about 2 ft of ribbon. Fold both ends to hide the raw edges. Stitch a running stitch down the center and gather.

These are fun to create and easy too!

I like flowers placed on lace to add even more texture. Hope you enjoy trying these!

Bonus Thimble

Along with the Swan Thimble for this month (previous post)...here is a bonus thimble for fall!

First Thursday Thimble - November

This month's thimble design is a beautiful and graceful swan...hope you enjoy her!

 

I Was In the Hospital...

eight years ago today...sitting by my daughter's bedside. We were waiting for the arrival of my darling grand-daughter, Aidan. I can hardly believe that she is eight years old today! 

 Time sure is flying by!This past week we've been busy dying lace and now, I'm trying to get more cabochons beaded. Here is what I have so far...

And here is what I have remaining to do! 

 But, there won't be much accomplished today...cause it's a special Birthday!! Hear me singing?...Yeah, it's pretty off key! Ha!

Ruby's Roses Roses Roses Block

 I finished my work on Ruby's block for the Roses, roses, roses Round Robin on Crazy Quilters International Yahoo Group. 

 The beginning was some silk ribbon rose buds to direct the eye. These went up to the tatted doily that had already been placed on the block by ruby.

Next came a button cluster to balance the size and color of the gorgeous wire rose done by Cathy L. in the round before mine.

Then, a seam treatment with more pink and clay roses.

Lastly, bits of lace and a large button to fill in space under the seam line, and to keep the eye moving around the block.

Hopefully, you'll agree that I've done a good job of continuing the movement in the block from the heart at the upper left corner, to the wire rose, to the button cluster, and along the seam to the right of the block. Now, the next person has the job to continue the path with their own beautiful work!

Dragonfly Garden - Daffodils

Almost done with the daffodils. Two still need petals. They has light cream ones...but the background fabric was showing through too much, so I removed them. Have to find some white fabric that is thick enough to keep the background from showing. Guess it's time to go shopping!