Party On! Day Three...

Today, our prize is all about RedWork!This inspiring book contains tons of designs first published in The WorkBasket...and now compiled by Rebecca Kemp Brent...along with descriptions of several projects for their use as well."Redwork embroidery, long admired for its simple, homey designs, is more popular than ever. And what better source for great redwork designs than The WORKBASKET®, a classic magazine with a 60-year tradition of providing readers with great, do-able crafting projects. Now Redwork from The WORKBASKET makes it easy to re-create the warm, nostalgic feel of vintage redwork designs on your linens, aprons, even quilts, whether you embroider by hand or machine"The book has 100 designs for machine or hand embroidery included on a handy compact disc.So, leave a comment to enter the drawing!

Party On! Day Two...

Today, we have an Essential Stitch Guide from the Royal School of Needlework as our Day Two prize...in celebration of 500 followers.Here is what Amazon has to say about this book:

"Exquisite and timeless, the needlework portrayed in these guides promotes the Royal School of Needlework’s mission to keep the art of hand embroidery alive in the 21st century. Focusing on some of the oldest and most essential stitches and patterns, the books in this craft series are spiral-bound and lay flat on the table. Step-by-step photographic instructions on framing and transferring designs are included, as are introductory histories to each technique. Sections of patterns, along with pictures of finished pieces that demonstrate how to correctly use the patterns, help crafters take their needlework to new heights of artistry.

 Focusing on crewelwork, an enduring craft technique that uses wool and a variety of different embroidery stitches to follow a design outline applied to the fabric, this needlework resource demonstrates how to produce beautiful and detailed work."

The book is spiral bound for ease of use...and is just loaded down with gorgeous color diagrams of stitch instructions!

So, leave a comment to be included in the drawing!

Woot! Woot! Woot! Let's Party!

We have hit 500 followers...and I'm glad to have each of you along for my crazy ride. Remember last month...I promised a give-a-way when we hit 500...well, let's get the party going!! For the next five days...I'll post a prize each day. On the sixth day, I'll pick winners for each day from that day's comments...via the random number generator. You will have until midnight (CST) on the January 16th to leave your comments. All of the five winners will be listed on the sixth day..and each has 24 hours to response to me or another name will be pulled. Each comment must be valid (i.e. a "real person") ...no spammers welcome here! I must be able to send you an email...so make sure your profile is up to date...So, if you want a chance to win...just leave a comment on that day's post. That's it...no linking back, no questions to answer, no products to select from...just leave a valid comment. Everyone is welcome to join in the fun...international folks too!Here is the first prize up for grabs...

 Redoute's Finest Flowers in Embroideryby Trish BurrYep...this is a treasure for sure! Gorgeous stitching, and wonderful instructions!Here's what one reviewer has to say about this great book:  “Trish Burr has painstakingly recreated blooms from the paintings of 19th century botanical artist Pierre Joseph Redoute in exquisite embroidery. Using only the simplest stitches, she provides instructions, illustrations and photo- graphs to take you step-by-step through stitching 17 beautiful buds—roses, lilies, birds of paradise, dahlias, magnolias and more. A gorgeous gift for anyone with a passion for flowers or needlework.”—Vogue Patterns. So...leave a comment for a chance to win! Hugs!

Lace & Pearls - Starting Soon!

I told you yesterday that I was addicted to crazy quilt round robins...and here's more proof! I wanted to do a crazy quilt block with tons of lace and beads...and so added that idea to the CQI database. VERY quickly, other's signed up...so we all must be in the mood to Get Girly! So, here's my basic block...ready to get into the mail and be prettied up! You can see that I had to add the first piece of lace...I just was so eager!

Wednesday - Wine Country Motifs - Oops...

Seems that I forgot the "R"...so here it is!

Midnight Fantasy Garden - Starting Soon!

You know that I'm hooked on crazy quilt round robins!...They are not only addictive cause they are so much fun to stitch...but also because you get the chance to see other artists (and yes, I think of us as fiber artists)...beautiful stitching too! And, this particular round robin...titled Midnight Fantasy Garden is sure to be an inspiration! Here is my basic block...ready to send off to four of my stitching friends over at Crazy Quilting International (CQI) for their fun too! I'll post photos when it returns home. And, of course, I'll post photos of the blocks I receive to work on...and what I stitch as well! We all need inspiration! Now, a confession...I'm not sure WHAT a midnight fantasy garden would really be...so went with a dark romantic kind of setting. Really....to be completely honest with myself...my present Fantasy Garden would have trees of fried apple pies, rivers of cold sweet milk, and flowers of luscious chocolate truffles! However, I could not figure out how to stitch a basic block for that particular garden...so went with this instead. ROFL!!

Weather Might Just Kill Me!

Seriously, I'm in real trouble here...I have Spring Fever...in January!! The clutter has finally done me in...and I'm knee, waist, neck deep in re-arranging, throwing out, sorting, cleaning, and organizing the entire apartment!Now, if you know me well...you'll recognize my usual motto:

So, you know this Spring Fever Condition is Serious Trouble!!!(No, nothing is wrong with my computer...thankfully...)But, my back is killing me!And, every single room is at a 80-90% done...there's no where to look that does not have a project waiting for me! Aidan's room is back to an "Aidan & I" room...ONLY I gave out before setting the desktop computer back up...or putting away the cabinet full of Disney, Barbie, and comedy movies...My room is now the Studio overflow room, with my recliner, baby pen and bouncy chair for when I keep my niece's little bundle of joy added to the mix...ONLY Aidan's desk is now in there...so all of her books, pencils, crayons, etc also have to get moved into there.My sewing room is now clear of plastic drawers on the top of my cabinets...and they have been turned around...ONLY the cutting table holds all of the stuff I didn't know where to put...and there still isn't any room for it.My office/shop finally has the dog beds out of the middle of the floor...ONLY the surface areas are still full of papers that need to be filed/shredded/burned...The kitchen is minus it's table which was getting to be a catch all...and is now in the sewing room...ONLY the dishes still need to be done and floor needs mopping...And, there's a load of wash in the washing machine and in the dryer...And, I have not forgotten the bath either...floors and porcelain are on my list...ONLYI'm so sore I can hardly move...and my motivation is waning...so, I'm going to go stitch some...but Tomorrow I'll have to get this place finished!! Remember me...cause...Tomorrow...the ONLY's are liable to kill me!

TAST - Week 1 - Fly Stitch

Take a Stitch Tuesday, Sharon Boggon's wonderful stitching challenge is underway! Week 1 is the FLYSTITCH. This is one that I use to create leaves most often...so it was really interesting to experiment with possible base seams and fillers. 

 All of my TAST attempts will be linked on a separate page (see menu bar above) so you can check my progress as I go along easily. Thanks to Sharon for a great challenge...and if you have not yet checked out her blog (where have you been!!)...then you should!

Little Turtle Pin Cushion/Toy

Thought ya'll might enjoy this little turtle pin cushion. Of course, I had to put some crazy quilt seam treatments and a couple of pieces of lace on mine. She (or he) will become a pin cushion probably...for sure, is a gift to a cyber friend that has been kind enough to share some machine embroidery lace with me. AND, she refuses to let me purchase any...just keeps sending it for free. What's a girl to do with a friend like that!...so she gets a little turtle as my thanks (along with my continued friendship of course!).

 The seams are a little tricky to stitch..since they are curved. But, I just did the centers seams of the top shell pieces...and not the final seams. Of course, all of them could be done...I just didn't think that was needed. And, I wanted to leave some room for actual straight pins. Ha! The instructions are really pretty simple. STEP ONE (cutting): Cut out all of the pieces. STEP TWO (sewing top shell parts): Sew bottom shell seam...leaving an opening in the center to use in stuffing the turtle. Sew four pairs of upper shell pieces together. 

 Embroidery the center seam (optional)...don't recommend this if you're making a baby toy. Then, sew these shell pieces to each other to get pairs...then again to finish the top shell. STEP THREE (sewing other body parts): Sew the other feet, head, tail as indicated on the pattern...right sides together...then turn. STEP FOUR (assembly): Pin the head and tail to opposite seams on the Shell Top. Pin the feet to seams nearest the head/tail pieces. (This leaves two seams not having any pieces matched to them...and they are across from the head/tail seams). 

 Match bottom of shell to shell top and pin...using the two "empty seams". STEP FIVE: (Assembly) Stitch around the bottom shell. (Be careful to make sure all of the pinned parts stay where they should...so that they are caught in the seam). 

 (Note: I like to sew around twice...just to make it secure). STEP SIX: (finishing) Turn right side out. Stuff until you can't get any more polyfill into the middle. Hand stitch the opening at the bottom of the shell closed. You're done! Here is the Little Turtle Pattern pdf file.

RR #1 - Judy

Woot! Woot! I made it...all of my round robin blocks are finished! Here is Judy's...it was a very interesting block to work on. From the beginning I wanted to turn that dramatic center into some sort of visual...and not cover it up. Working in orange and pink was VERY new to me...and I saved that challenge until last on purpose. Not because I was dreading it...oh no..but because I was intrigued by it! 

Here is Judy's finished block...

The center of the flower is done in Petite Velvet Threads...and French knots look like little miniature snowballs. Of course, don't eat any green or yellow ones! Ha!

And, here are a few fireants checking out the flower...I'd love to take credit for these...they they are the brainchild of Allie Aller, and on her blog header. I use them with her permission...and although I have changed them somewhat to fit the beads I have on hand...I still think of them as "her's".

RR #1 - PJ

The block for PJ is done and in the mail. Here is how the block looked before I stitched anything...

 The green, purple, and blue reminded me so much of spring. 

And here it is all done...I loved stitching on it. Especially while the cold winds of winter have been howling against my windows! Hand dyed a couple pieces of lace to match, and stitched a few seams. This block was a joy...and it was quick!

Doll Quilt

Here's a little lady bug doll quilt. It measures about 14 x 18 and will go to a special little girl next Christmas for her doll bed. Several ladies over on HGTV are stitching them to accompany hand made wooden doll cradles for next year. And, this is one thing finished on my TO-DO list! Yea, it feels good to complete a project!

In answer to a comment: The blocks are pieced...not strip pieced. Yes, it would work very well for scraps...but would take some planning unless you make the background all one color...say neutrals. It can be done in any size as well. Let me try to explain how to approach the block...hang on...it involves numbers...yuck! First, decide the size of the block. For the doll quilt...the blocks were 4 inch finished. Next determine the size of one square in the block...and since it has 4-squares...i.e. a 4-patch block...each of these would be 2'' finished. Okay, get a piece of paper for this next part. Draw a 2-inch square. Now, what would be the middle of that? Oh yeah, 1-inch...but, we don't want "bars" we want pinwheels. SO, instead of drawing a vertical line at the middle 1" mark...measure over to 3/4 inch (1/4 inch before middle) and put a dot to mark that spot at the top of the 2" square. Now, on the bottom of that square, measure over 1 1/4 inches (1/4 past middle) and put a dot. Connect the dots...you have the basic block! Retrace each side and add seam allowance and you have the pattern pieces. (Hint: they are the same size! So keep track of front/back etc on your fabric...and you have to only use one piece.)

The same process works with larger squares...just start with the finished square size. Put a dot at X before middle line and X after middle line...and you have it! X is equal in size! ( 1/4 or 1/2 or ?...depending on the size of the block and the "slope" you want the pinwheel to have)

Hope you don't have a headache from all the thinking!

If so...check out this link to the little 4 inch block size. http://inspiredbyantiquequilts.blogspot.com/2012/01/happy-new-year-here-is-my-first-little.html

Funky Chicken - January

Some of us over at the message board, Crafts-Quilting & Needlework, on HGTV.com are sewing Blocks of the Month...Funky Chicken..over at FatCat Patterns. Here is my January block. The fusible applique still needs blanket stitching around the pieces...but I have not yet decided if I want to do that by hand or machine.

Roses, roses, roses - Rita

All finished with my stitching on Rita's block...and it is off to Meg for completion.

Here is the seam work I added...

two...

three...

four. I could have stopped at two, but because the block had so many motifs crossing over the block...two seams just seemed out of balance. To ensure that Rita had enough seams to make a cohesive block...I just did the next two as well. But not to worry...Meg has a huge section in the middle...and an area on the right side that she can really play with.

Oh Good Grief! She's Done It Again!!

Jenny of Elefantz has designed a very special Block of the Month Quilt...with embroidery blocks! Now, I have ONE MORE THING added to my TO-DO LIST!! Her designs are favorites...and I just have to find time to do Promises & Borders! It is just so precious...and would make such a wonderful quilt for Aidan. Go check it out...you will not be disappointed!

Roses, roses, roses - Rita

 My work on Rita's block in the Roses, Roses, Roses crazy quilt round robin over on Crazy Quilter's International is complete. Let me show you some of the motifs I added. First was a crochet basket filled with flowers and a tiny bow stitched to the top.

Next was two pieces of gorgeous dyed lace I got from Cathy K's Etsy shop...lovely! It was a shame to cover some of it...but, in keeping with the rose theme...I placed a wire ribbon that was made by gathering up some ribbon after rolling the center. The leaves are velvet on the bottom with hand painted dyed lace above.

The smaller piece of lace got a little button cluster. Rita didn't want any large clusters...but I think this little one is just fine.

Lastly, for motifs...I added two iron-on butterfly motifs...

but, I sewed them in place...and did not iron them.

Tomorrow...I'll show you my seams...and the final block before it is mailed to the next person in our group.