HEX #2 Finish

 I'm working on some HEX blocks, for CQJP and for modeling some of the ICQC Class techniques. This is the second block done.

 The ribbon lady is from a pattern that Maureen Greeson has and is kind enough to let me include as a handout in the ICQC-104 Class module.

 The embroidery rose is done in silk threads and reminds me of a more traditional style of motif.

 The monogram is one of the patterns in the handouts for the ICQC-103 Class module.

 Plus, seams are of course a part of any successful CQ Block! So, here are several in this hex for you to enjoy!

 Hope you are getting some time to stitch today!

 Enjoying actually getting to put needle to some fabric myself of late.

Hugs, as always!  

Planter Sculptures

This past weekend, the family gathered to work on some flower boxes, a covered storage area in the yard, and cleaning out some flower beds. My baby sister built mother this yard sculpture from painted clay pots and a long piece of re-bar hammered 2-ft into the ground.

 Mother liked it so much that today we worked on building two smaller versions in her front flowerbed...from pots and pans!   One of my brothers found this planter bicycle at a trade-day and we put it into the back yard bed as well.  

OPEN Registration - ICQC 101 (June) - Designing & Piecing CQ Blocks

  Intermediate Crazy Quilt Course (ICQC)101 Designing and Piecing Crazy Quilt Blocks is now OPEN for Registration   You Must Have Completed BCQC first to Register for ICQC.
Registration will close at midnight 31 May   The class will begin on 1 June should take 4-6 weeks (or less).   These mini classes will comprise this first course:   A - Printing on Fabric B - Color Theory C - Selecting Fabrics D - Designing Blocks E - Adding Lace & Trims F - Piecing CQ Blocks    The class is FREE, you will not be charged anything for the instructions.   Link to the Basic Supply List    You WILL be required to get your own supplies to complete the different class tasks.    If you are interested in taking this course, please email me at shaw.kathy@yahoo.com and provide me this information to register:
Your first name Your last name You country of residence Your state of residence IF you live in the USA The email address (if different) you wish me to send class instructional handouts to. The email address (if different) you wish me to use for Class Blog Access.   After you register, I will send you a Welcome Email and Google/Blogger will send you (at my request) an Invitation to join the Class Blog where the class will be held.    This is an ON-LINE internet class You will need to follow some simple instructions to register and gain access to the private class blog. Your name and email will need to be entered; but NO social security or credit card information is required. Just basic information to "recognize" you as a class participant. We will follow the same process you used in the Basic Class.   This is the first module of the ICQC. Future modules will require that you complete this one.
  Hugs, and I hope to see you in the class!  

More dying lace!

School is out for the summer...and Aidan is here visiting! When Sommer brought her, she also stayed for a couple of days...and that was a nice treat for her mother (me!). We spent some time painting lace as I had a dozen little bottles of left-over Acid Dye mixtures...  

We had fun! These above are wet and drying on a towel.

Here they are dry and pressed with the iron!  

These are much lighter, even though dyed with the same exact mixtures...the lace must have some nylon threads...as they just don't hold a lot of dye. But, I like the pastels for some projects, so they will find a nice block to rest upon one day!    

Soutache Owls

Do you like trying new things? I do...well SOME things! I thought working with soutache braid might be fun...as I love surface beading and pinterest has some wonderful photos of soutache jewelry up! So inspiring!

 Here are my first attempts...loads of mistakes I'm sure...but still were fun to play with.
  My mama and baby owls!  

Open Registration for ICQC-102 (Paint, Dye, Ink, Etc)...and changes to requirements...

Well, I have done some thinking (and you know how dangerous THAT can be). But, I have decided to drop the requirement for completion of ICQC-101 before you take ICQC-102.

You will still need the ICQC-101 for all other modules of ICQC...just not the #102 one.

After all...you don't need to have a pieced block available to you to be able to dye lace and ribbon.

You do...for the other modules...because you have to have "something" to actually stitch upon.

So...since you have the finished BCQC...YOU ARE NOW ELIGIBLE to sign up for ICQC-102 if you are interested....and can take it at the same time as finishing ICQC-101 if you are still working at these tasks.

The ICQC-102 Module is open now for registration...but will also open again in a few weeks.

Go to last post for more info on the class.

Open Registration for ICQC 102 - Paints, Dyes, Inks, Markers

Registration is now open for the Intermediate Crazy Quilt Course (ICQC), Module #102 (Working with Paints, Dyes, and Inks)   Registration is open 19 through 22 23 May. You must be registered by midnight on 22 23 May. The class is 3-6 weeks in length...depending on the time you have in your own schedule for working the modules. You need to have completed ICQC-#101 Module (Designing and Piecing Blocks)  before registering for this #102 module.   This Course covers: --Painting Fabric Backgrounds -- Painting and Dying Lace Motifs -- Inking Lace and Charms To register please email this information: Name State/Country Email Address to me at: shaw.kathy@yahoo.com before midnight (CST) on 22 May. The class instruction is FREE. You will need supplies. A draft supply list is under the Class Tab above. Hugs,  

Stumpwork Acorn and Oak Leaves

 Before you  begin this tutorial...let me include a disclaimer: This is NOT my best work.

It could have been...I tried to have it be...but the choice of threads used...almost ruined it. Or, the choice of transfer methods...which every way you look at it.

Anyway, I used a water soluble stabilizer and printed the design...and stitched over. The soluble is easy to use, and I'm very busy...but it needs to be removed with water. The threads I chose were Krenik Soie d'Alger...which are about twice the cost of DMC Cotton...and I "assumed" that that would mean they are color fast as well. Not so...the colors ran...and trying to work with that issue caused my satin stitches to become loose and wobbly. So, please forgive the "errors" and just see the tutorial for the "how to do" that it is intended to be. Thanks...hanging my embarrassed head. :)

Surface embroidery is enhanced with a dimensional leaf to portray the leaves and acorns. The squirrels and chipmunks are sure happy to see these begin to drop from the mighty oak’s branches.

Supplies Used:

·         Sheer Fabric (model used 1 layer of silk scarf, 2 layers of organza)

·         Background Fabric of your choice (model used fine linen)

·         Thin wire for larger Stumpwork leaf (12-18 gauge)

·         Wash-Away Stitch Stabilizer (or use your favorite pattern transfer method)

·         Embroidery Thread in brown, gold, orange, and red/orange for the surface embroidery leaf. NOTE: The model was stitched in Kreinik Soie d’Alger in colors #4213G, #2546G, #4116A, and #645A. However, these were proven not to be color fast as they bled when the finished project was placed in water to remove the water soluble stabilizer. Therefore, if you use these threads, trace the pattern or use a tissue paper pattern instead of water soluble.

·         Cotton or silk sewing or embroidery thread in white for the Stumpwork Oak Leaf.

·         Embroidery needle and hoop

·         Promarkers (or permanent ink marker) in a dark red, orange, and yellow.

The surface embroidery work is best done in two threads, often combining two colors. Here are the combinations used for the model: acorns and center vein = gold/brown (#2546/#4213); acorn cap = dk brown/dk brown (#4116A); leaf inside = gold/orange (#2546G/645A).

Step 1: Hoop the background fabric, with the small leaf and acorn pattern transferred for stitching. Here is the design printed on the stabilizer, and trimmed close (to reduce the amount that needs to be removed later on). You can see that this water soluble creates a good printed image. The paper backing peels off and the design has a "sticky back" that stays on the fabric as you stitch over it.

Step 2: Use a tiny Chain Stitch or Reverse Chain Stitch to embroider the outline of the oak leaf; a Satin Stitch to embroider the base of the acorn caps; and a Split Stitch to embroider the leaf veins. I'm not sure that the mixed thread colors was the best choice for the acorn it looks a bit rougher than it is.

Step 3: Fill in the acorn cap with French or Colonial Knots.

Step 4: Embroider the inside area of the leaf with Split Stitches. Be careful to align these stitches with the direction of the adjacent side-veins. Work one section between these veins completely before proceeding to the next. Note that the direction of the stitching will change slightly as you progress up the leaf.

Step 5: When the embroidery is completed, remove any water soluble or other paper/tissue transfer paper. Remove the hoop. (NOTE: IF you do not want to do a stump-work leaf; the second leave can also be stitched just as this first leaf was; you only need to include BOTH leaves in the pattern transfer rather than just this smaller leaf.)

Step 6: Hoop the layers of organza and the silk scarf. The scarf is on top. The silk provides a solid tightly woven layer to ink color into later on. The organza layers provide more substance to the piece but do not increase the density of the piece because their weave is more open than the silk is. The design should be already transferred to the silk fabric.  The water soluble stitch stabilizer works really well for this pattern transfer.

Step 7: Cut ten-inches of wire. Bend one end at a 90-degree angle, about a half inch from the end. Using the white thread, couch this bend into the stem end of the leaf. Sew through all layers as you couch the thread down. Try to keep your needle angled slightly under the wire as you stitch, this will keep the couching stitch tight to the wire. Make a stitch about every 5mm (or about every ¼ inch). As you work around the leaf shape, couching the wire in place…use a second larger needle (like a Chenille) or a stiletto tool to “shape” the wire.

Step 8: Continue to Couch and bend the wire. At times, this requires a slight forward step with the Bending Tool, gently bending and them more forward movement with the tool; and gently bending some more. This works better than trying to get the shape with a single bend…that will only give you a sharp angle. The goal is to match the curve to the leaf pattern shape.

Step 9: After the wire has been completely couched in place, trim the stem ends to about 1//2 inch. Use the same white thread to create a tiny Buttonhole Stitch around the wire. This secures the fabric tightly into place. Working with thread will take a little time; but do not use two pieces thinking it will be better or faster. It will just give the leaf a bulky edge and ruin your efforts. The “ridge” of the Buttonhole Stitch should lay on the INSIDE of the leave design…not along the outside for this specific pattern. This gives the edge a smoother line rather than a ridged one.

Step 10: Using one strand of the white, embroidery the leaf veins with a tiny Chain Stitch or Reverse Chain Stitch.

Step 11: Cut the leaf from the background fabric leaving some border around the wire.

Step 12: Trim close to the wire to remove all of the excess fabric. A pair of sharp pointed embroidery scissors make a great tool for this task.

Step 13: Use the red Promarker to ink the outside stitched edge of the leaf. The ink will automatically wick to the inside area of the leaf a bit. Just touch the stitching along the outside edge. NOTE: If you do not want to use the Promarkers...you can use a Green/Orange color of sheer fabric and thread instead; and omit Steps 13 and 14 then.

Step 14: Use the yellow Promarker for the inside of the leaf and the orange Promarker to color the veins. These colors will begin to blend together. If you have used a water-soluble method to mark the leaf shape, then soak the leaf to remove these marking. The ink will run some, but it will only enhance the blending effect. Dry completely.

Step 15: Tightly twist the two ends of the leaf’s wire at the stem edge. With a large needle or stiletto pierce the background fabric at the “circle” on the pattern sheet. Bend the leaf wire at a 90-degree angle and insert the twisted double wire into the background fabric. Flip over the work, and couch the wire ends down on the back. Sew through the prior embroidery work only, and do not pierce the fabric.

Here is the pattern for the small leaf and acorns, for the surface embroidery technique.

Here is the pattern for the large leaf, for the stumpwork technique.

And, here is the pattern all together, just in case you want to do the entire design using surface embroidery techniques. You can size these as large or as small as you like.

I'm off to take out the satin stitches and redo...when I get a new photo...I'll post an update to this post.

Hugs!