Cabochons completed...

It took a week longer than I had thought...but the group of Czech glass buttons I pulled to bead as cabochons did get finished! Yeah! Here are some closeups for you.

  If you'd like to learn how to bead these cabochones yourself (it's not difficult, just takes time)...the class instructions are still available at Patternspot ($6 for the entire 3-part course).   

More Painted Lace

Textile Color by Jacquard comes in many, many colors...all are bright. No bright (IMHO) for lace, however they also have white and black...so, all colors can be "adjusted" to soften with use of the white.  

I ordered a little sampler of the colors...it came all in one little grouping of bottles. A drop of color and a couple of drops of white...mix together...and have fun.

 

These are some of the pieces of lace that I played with. I generally liked the look, and the lace is not stiff. Will do more of this. Wondering how it would look on white lace?  

So, if you want to play around...get the little package with multiple colors, and try it out!

You might have some fun too!

Here's the link to the kit on Amazon, so you can see what it looks like.  
 

75% of loads of video classes, fabric, and more!

  Woo Hoo!   Craftsy Saleabration: Up to 75% Off All Courses, Fabric and Yarn!  (click here)   Hurry on over to Craftsy! Why? Because 14-21 September...all video courses and supplies on Craftsy are on sale up to 75% off! This includes classes, fabric, and yarn. 
If you aren’t one of the 2 million members currently experiencing everything that Craftsy has to offer, here is what you are missing:

• A wide selection of online crafting classes from the best instructors from around the world, ranging from quilting and knitting to cooking and fine art
• Classes you can watch anywhere, from any device with an internet connection
• Unlimited access to your Craftsy classes - watch them as many times as you like, as long as you’d like!
• A wide selection of fabric and yarn at great prices
• A community of like-minded enthusiasts to share your hard work with

But, you don’t have to take my word for it! Take advantage of the Craftsy sale to try one of their classes, starting at $9.99. The sale begins on Saturday, September 14th and runs through Saturday, September 21st ... don't miss out!   There is a cake decorating class that I've been wanting...so now is the time!  Oh, or maybe that chocolate candy making class! Of course, there are loads of quilting classes too...oh, bother...so many classes and so little time! Oh wait, I can download and watch anytime! Woo Hoo...outa here! Hugs!  

Nicki's Mermaid Block

Isn't this a pretty block! Well, it is not mine...although I did help stitch on it. The block belongs to NickiLee (lucky gal!) and was worked on by several pals over on the HGTV Message Board group. It's been in the works for many, many months...but is finally back home and looking gorgeous. Want to see some closeups? Of course you do!  

You might recognize the two beaded mermaids (left and right sides of the block)...  

  as those are my own contribution to the block...and you've seen them before.  Did you notice the beaded cabochon? Really, it's a beaded...chandelier crystal. The silkies have been painted by Carolyn, she did the center one too.  

I don't know why these photos are flipping sideways...very annoying. Here are some more closeups of the block for you to enjoy.

Pretty huh? Yep, I agree!

Daisy Monogram - D

There has not been much time to stitch lately, so there is no example of what to do with the letter D. However, if I keep waiting to post this design until I get it stitched...it could be weeks, or even months. So, here is the design...and the layout.  

If you need ideas on stitching...go back a few posts and check out the ideas for letters A, B, or C.  

Celtic Knot Quilt Pattern is completed! Finally!

  When I was living in south Alabama, I purchased a little self-published booklet (26 pages) with seven different knot style quilts in it. Frankly, most of them were ho-hum to me...but one, the first one in the booklet, really caught my attention.    It was a knot design featuring two colors and I hurriedly make a version for my daughter. Then, I taught a class on creating the quilt for a couple of years at a local quilt shop. The students wanted more than two colors of fabric...so, I redesigned the entire quilt to make the ribbon 3-colors. All of the sizes of the pieces changed and I used my Excel spreadsheets to teach by. Now, after many starts and stops over the years...it has been 15 years of teaching the design...but I finally have the pattern completely sketched and into Illustrator...then into Publisher...and finally into a PDF download pattern, available today to the public! It has been a really long time in the works! If you want to give this quilt a try...the pattern is $9.80 on Craftsy (Shawkl) or on Etsy (Shawkl).

  The pattern is 34 pages long...but don't be afraid of that. It's not difficult, but every step of the way is a photo of adding that next pattern piece...so you can't go astray if you just follow along page by page. It just took a lot of pages to show EVERY step!

To test the pattern, I asked several of my friends over on the HGTV message board to try out the pattern and help me work out any "bugs" in the pattern itself. You can ask them if they found it difficult...but all finished in record time...so I think it was pretty easy. Here are some photos of their versions so you see different ideas for color combinations.  Huge, huge THANKS to all of these lovely ladies for their invaluable help!  

Carol Anderson (Needlecrazy)  

 Patricia Borg (Kentucky Sunshine   Angela Nohe (Angela C.)

 Leoann McCann (Irish Quilt Lass)

 Sharon Shields (Ssharon334)  

Dee Tackett (Quilting Bug) The quilt fits a full or queen size bed and is extra long because a pillow topper is included in the design which allows the quilt to fold under/over the pillows and the knot design to remain in full view on the bed center. The size by the pattern is 73 x 94, you could change that by adjusting the width/length of the top section and side/bottom borders too.

  I hope you'll go check out the pattern as it has been a long journey, but one I have enjoyed traveling...and I absolutely guarantee that you will love piecing this quilt. There is a lot of cutting...but it's only strips, squares, and rectangles...no triangles! So, if you can create a log cabin...you can create this quilt. Seriously, I would not lead you astray!

I've included some "page shot" photos here so you can hopefully see how detailed (and easy) the pattern is to follow. Everything is shown...no guessing. All you need do is read and follow along.   Please help me spread the word to all of your quilting friends too.  Oh, I'm so excited...this has been a long, long time coming!

Busy Work...

As is usual lately, this week has been busy with Brady. He has learned a new trick...screaming. Not the kind of mad or angry kind of screaming...more like practicing cat calls. It is both endearing, funny...and sometime hurts your ears! Friday, he started imitating a motor boat or a growling dog...it's hard to tell the difference...kind of a GrrrrrBwwwrrrrrr sound. Adorable to watch him try to figure out how to get his lips and jaws working "like yours" to make sounds. And, he has decided that there is so much to learn...he no longer feels the need to take naps. He actually gets quite upset at the thought of going to sleep...so it takes a while before he warms up the the idea and actually falls asleep. And, instead of 60-90 minutes of rest...it's now about 20-60 minutes instead. So, Auntie Kathy is working only small things that can be put down and picked up...so, more cabochones! I've cleaned off the window seat so not Brady can have his little chair up there next to Buddy...and close at hand while I bead. He sits here about 15 minutes at a time...about 3 times a day. So...needles to say, that and naps are not a load of time for me to get anything done.

Still, I managed these cabochons this week.

And, have these many more to do...so will be continuing this week too! Along with CQ Blocks of course.

 

More CQ Round Robins begin...

Last week, I got some crazy quilt basic blocks constructed and mailed off for two new round robins.

Fans will be a do-it-yourself-block of 6" size. There are five ladies in the robin, with me making six. I created six blocks, and each of the ladies will embellish one block all by themselves. Can't wait to see what they do with the "fan" theme!

Encrusted is the next block theme. For it, I created a large block of different upholstery weight fabrics. I'm thinking that the block needs to be extra sturdy to hold all of the stitching and 'stuff' that encrusting a block entails. It's a bit different than my usual blocks, but I really love it. After all the stitching, I'm also thinking that bits of the upholstery designs will 'peek out' and just increase the movement of the block design. Hope I'm right.

Visit Shawkl on Craftsy

  Craftsy is a great place to get patterns, classes, and other crafty videos. It is a wonderful place for teachers and crafters to show their designs. And....I made the leap to them! I hope you will go and visit me there too! Search for "Shawkl"   Craftsy   Some of my patterns and mini-classes are loaded now. And the Basic Silk Ribbon Embroidery Stitch Guide is also loaded (for free of course). I have plans for many more embroidery designs to go up, and am working on a mini-book that will be available for download there too.  So, best to get up and get busy writing huh?!   Hope all are having a great Monday...it is pouring rain here like out of a bucket! Good sleeping weather...but there is much to do...so best to get with it! Hugs!    

Second Winter/Christmas Block Done

The center of this little six inch block is so large, it didn't take much time to complete the embellishments for this block. It is obvious that the block's owner liked the poinsettia fabric well enough to want the entire flower bloom showing on the block...therefore, I decided not to cover it up with any thing else. Instead, I (hopefully) enhanced it by over-stitching the petals and adding beads to the center.  

  After that, the three seams were stitched and beaded. Echoing the theme of the block meant using silk ribbon poinsettias as one of the seam treatments.  

Ditto for Me...(and please don't sue me)

Do you ever read the policy/etc posted on websites/etc when you join? You know...that multi-paragraph stuff that you have to "accept" to continue? Yeah...me neither. However, today Yahoo Groups changed the appearance of my Shawkl_Blog_Files group and I got curious if any major policy had changed...so I skimmed over the information.  Here is one section that I found interesting...and also a little tiny bit humorious to see (not funny about folks having any illness that causes this...just odd to see this in writing...)   QUOTE: e. A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF USERS MAY EXPERIENCE EPILEPTIC SEIZURES WHEN EXPOSED TO CERTAIN LIGHT PATTERNS OR BACKGROUNDS ON A COMPUTER SCREEN OR WHILE USING THE YAHOO! SERVICE. CERTAIN CONDITIONS MAY INDUCE PREVIOUSLY UNDETECTED EPILEPTIC SYMPTOMS EVEN IN USERS WHO HAVE NO HISTORY OF PRIOR SEIZURES OR EPILEPSY. IF YOU, OR ANYONE IN YOUR FAMILY, HAVE AN EPILEPTIC CONDITION, CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN PRIOR TO USING THE YAHOO! SERVICE. IMMEDIATELY DISCONTINUE USE OF THE YAHOO! SERVICES AND CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN IF YOU EXPERIENCE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING SYMPTOMS WHILE USING THE YAHOO! SERVICE: DIZZINESS, ALTERED VISION, EYE OR MUSCLE TWITCHES, LOSS OF AWARENESS, DISORIENTATION, ANY INVOLUNTARY MOVEMENT, OR CONVULSIONS.   Now, my guess is that someone has filed a suite in the past against Yahoo because too many hours spent in front of their computer screen caused a seizure of some sort. So...be forewarned...pace yourself! And, don't even think of filing a suite..as I have no assets...unless you want beads and ribbon. Hugs!