CQJP 2015 - January's Red Block

Currently, my January block for CQJP 2015 has the composite seam stitching mostly done.

I have been doing some fiberart crochet as well, but I can't share that with you yet until it has been published in it's intended book form later in the year.

Heart Crazy Quilt & Winter Warmer

 Straight From The Heart - Crazy Quilt 

Week 10

The crochet edging for the Dresden plate center is complete - all 60 inches of it.

Took a while to crochet it and stitch it in place around the 'swags' of the plate.

Another patch embellished with a crochet Mandala/flower. 

Love, love, love these colours, lol.

And, now that I have finished the Dresden plate central work, I get to stitch the patches together onto the quilt.

Fun.

No perfection is required for this part. Raw edges to the patches, large stitches, wonky stitching......whatever happens happens.

Just pick up the next patch from the pile and stitch it down somewhere.

An occasional fill-in patch required to cover a blank space.

You might recognize a few of the stitchery patches from earlier this year.

No progress on my Boho skirt this week, but I did get two more parts of the Winter Warmer done.

Guess who's having fun...........

2014 - Plans - Ideas - Goals - Dreams

Hi everyone, I'm back from my hols, and raring to stitch.

Plans, Ideas, Goals & Dreams

This year I am going to make another crazy quilt.

It will differ from my last one in a few ways; colour, style, theme, and process.

My colour scheme this year is going to be from 
purple through pinks, reds, oranges, yellows and golds 
and will probably include some black, white and neutrals too.

The style will be slightly traditional in its overall look but probably will not be labelled traditional, and may even be classed as contemporary. 

Perhaps "rustic" or "naive" might fit what I have in mind for it.

Those of you who know me well will know that Free Form Stitching will play a big part in the crazy quilt too.

As for the theme - it will be  Straight From The Heart 

with a hint of love, 

so hearts, flowers, birds, doves, music,

names, monograms, poems, quotes & symbols,

will be included in the embroidery and embellishing, hopefully without too much gush or frills.

THE PROCESS of creating the Crazy Quilt (bed quilt) 

will be a different way of working for me. 

I have thought, long and hard, about what other commitments I have this year, and how I am going to get my stitching fix when I am travelling back and forth to Hawkes Bay with the house moving process (which we anticipate will take us most of the year to sort out).

So I have planned a crazy quilt that I can create in small pieces each week (small enough to keep in my handbag) and then, hopefully once a month, attach each small piece to a bed-sized whole-cloth backing fabric.

Oh, a couple of other things about these small  STITCHERIES  - 
They will be of irregular shapes and sizes as befits a crazy quilt. 
The background fabric will have to fit into a 6" embroidery hoop. 
The motifs & symbols etc. will be stitched all over them before being attached to the backing, butting up against the straight edge of the next Stitchery. 
Straight running stitch will be used to attach the Stitcheries to the backing. 
Raw edges will be showing.

This is what I have managed so far over the last two weeks while we were in Hawkes Bay.

I started with a heart that I appliqued with blanket stitch to a dusky pink velvet base fabric, then hand stitched a meander over the heart, and added some raised circles in pink.

I crocheted a couple of flower shapes. 

Then added the heart outline, latticework, another crochet shape, buttons, beads and French Knots etc.

Week One complete. 

Week Two started with another heart, but a braid one this time.

Then came a swirly thing in pink and black, and another latticework pattern that was inspired and developed from the pattern on the fabric.

A random bit of crocheting created the appliqued purple piece.

Then came some Lazy Daisy flowers to fill the empty space on the right.

Both of these stitcheries are about 5 inches square. I will cut them in different shapes with 3, 4, 5, or 6 sides, depending on what shape is needed to fit all the Stitcheries onto my backing fabric.

I anticipate making at least one small Stitchery each week, sometimes more than one if I have time. This means that I will have something to show each week, hopefully.

And I will have a goal of attaching a months worth of Stitcheries to the backing for a 

 monthly reveal , 

and to show how the quilt is progressing.

Other projects for the year include:

The annual challenge for a Freeform Fiberart work - theme this year is One Colour, 

Deadline = 1 May.

Edit and create the official book for the above challenge. 

Deadline = 1 June.

Learn how to tat.

Make crocheted garments and publish more patterns for my Etsy shop and Ravelry.

De-clutter the house to make it presentable to prospective purchasers.

I think I have a busy year ahead.

"Take a Chance" Embroidery & TAST

I have had another very productive long weekend away at our proposed new home site, and my sofa currently looks like this with loads of different house plans and ideas that we are "trying on" for size. I've got to make sure I can fit everyone and everything in. 

It's a very exciting time (but I'm sure it will get more stressful the closer we get to the actual build). At the moment we are in designing mode, and I'm in my element there.

Wahooo......... I have actually managed to get some TAST stitches done on my 

CHANCE Embroidery this week.

The pale pink at the bottom is the Bullion Buttonhole Stitch.

(sorry the pic is a bit blurred)

Some Buttonhole Wheels in a variegated pink/green thread.

This next one is a funny little stitch called the Crested Chain Stitch.

It is meant to have a nice braided effect when worked evenly, but my 'roll of the DICE' called for "irregular stitch", and so I ended up with a happy frilly looking thing. I love how I don't have control over what I stitch on this project. I get so many lovely surprises along the way.

And here is another TAST stitch called Slipped Detached Chain Stitch.

(I think it looks like a row of palm trees on a desert island)

And a photo of the whole of this Chance piece so far, with "roll of the dice" telling me to use: lace, wool, braiding, irregular stitch, couching, and some other things as well that are yet to be applied to this piece.

Ok, back to the drawing board for me now.

Happy Stitching

Crazy Quilt block update

Work on the crazy quilt is ongoing.

Trying hard to catch-up and get the last couple of blocks completed during the first half of January, so that I can then stitch them together into my wall hanging before the end of January.

Progress has been made on the October block over the last two days.

Here is where I am at the moment - almost complete. 

Freestyle Rhodes Stitch

Dice - inspiration for this came from the silver dice that was in my Christmas cracker.

The Crochet piece for this block. With a row of Chain Stitch at the base.

An Invented Stitch - probably been invented before I created it, but it is not in any book of instructions that I know of. Starts as a 'sort of' ladder stitch but with a knot on each side that 'pulls the stitch into a 'blocky' looking zig-zag.

Cast-On Stitch in a variegated mercerized cotton.

Royal blue ribbon couched down with thinner black ribbon. (beads have been added since this photo).

The central butterfly needs finishing. Then on to the next block. 

I'm hoping to get both blocks completed in the next one or two weeks.

Got to give myself this goal so that I can bite away at it and finish it in time to start the next one.

Here are the (almost) complete block pics.

I might add a little more bling after I've done the next two blocks.

Wahoo! the end is in sight now.

Happy Stitching

TAST - Oyster Stitch - & Crazy Quilt Project

TAST week 30 Oyster Stitch

What a peculiar stitch this was. I had trouble getting the 1st part (the twisted chain) to stay down, but I think I eventually got it to BEHAVE enough for a fairly unison finish.

Here is the Oyster Stitch on my CQJP block for July.

Coton A Broder 16 in black on the left and white on the right of this seam.

And here is a little "playtime fun" on my Stitch Journal page

Love these scallops or swags.

And a flower burst

This is my Stitch Journal page for the last month or two.

Not all the stitches are on here as I did some of them straight on to my CQJP without trialing them first, but I shall probably add them to the Stitch Journal at a later date as I want them all together in one place.

CQJP July Block WIP

I have been gradually adding seam treatments and embellishment to the July Crazy Quilt block, and working through some problem areas with it.

Remember this from last week

Well, I didn't like it so I frogged it...... rippit, rippit,rippit.

And in it's place is this....

I'm not sure what it is meant to be haha.... but it was fun to do and it's staying.

It's possible that I got a little bit influenced by the Olympics. 

The crocheted trim that I added last week has had it's ribbon embellishment added, and I used a tiny cross-stitch in a light green metallic thread to anchor the ribbon in place rather than weaving the ribbon like I first intended.

As usual though, the metallic thread does not photograph well.

I wanted this trim to have a gentle and delicate look, as there are already too many 'chunky' seams on the block.

One more freeform stitched seam this week is this one that is not finished yet. I'm not going to think about what it needs yet, just have to wait and see what happens on the end of my needle on the day it gets it's topping.

Lots of beads to be added to the July block over the next couple of days hopefully, and then it will be finished before next weekends reveal.

I hope you have a great stitching week ahead.

Bye for now.

Happy Stitching

Stitching Time This Week

Stitching Time This Week

What a week that was.

Was that really a week.

Really that was a week.

That was a week that was.

In other words - I've not got much to show for the week, 

apart from a weak chest from coughing too much, a sore nose and throat from sneezing too much, and a hungry family because I've been snoozing too much and not gone shopping.

It's flu season in NZ. and it's a "knock-u-for-six" stinker.

Anyway, I did manage to get 3 seams on my June CQJP done before flu stopped my play.

A crochet trim I made especially for this seam.

I made a Celtic styled woven braid for this seam.

And a weird combination of stitches here, including a V stitch exploration row too.

Hoping the flu goes away soon so I can get more stitching done next week instead of falling asleep every five minutes. 

Hope you are all keeping free of the flu.

Happy Stitching

I'm going back to bed now! Feel free to talk about me while I'm gone.

TAST - Buttonhole Wheel TIF

TAST - Buttonhole Wheel TIF 

....Taking It Further....

Happy Stitching

TAST Week 19 - The Half Chevron

TAST Week 19 - The Half Chevron

I thoroughly enjoyed this stitch.

Definitely one to add to my list of "go to" stitches. I shall be coming back to this stitch again in the future as there is plenty of scope for experimentation with it.

Here are my experiments with Half Chevron stitching I have completed this week.

A seam treatment double row of Half Chevrons with 'lozenge' shape additions in the middle, and metallic thread stars in the centre's of those.

A Mandala motif on my CQJP 

(It just grew)

Variegated green is Raised Buttonhole on Spider Wheel

Lime green is French Knots

Pale blue variegated is two rounds offset Half Chevrons

Aqua bugle beads and silver seed beads

I was rather surprised that the round of beads fitted the mandala perfectly without having to 'jiggle' the spacing at all. Sometimes things are just meant to be.

Shisha & Half Chevron FUN

An extra little challenge was suggested on the Tuesday Stitchers group as a few members wanted to have a go at Shisha stitching.

It has been quite a while since I have done any Shisha work (years in fact) so I thought I would join in on this stitching adventure too.

I have a bag or two of the small round Shisha mirrors that are the usual item to stitch onto fabric, but I know my supply of mirrors is in the shipping container that I call my "Craft Box" which is outside next to the 'man-cave'. I was too impatient to go and search for it so I used what I could find on hand in the house.

So this is the Half Chevron addition to a fun 'experimental' Shisha piece.

The 'mirror' is actually a metal, screw bottle top (no, really!!) from a bottle of Martini Bianco that I just happened to polish off the night before. (Again - some things are just meant to be).

I had to get the hammer out and smash the poor bottle top flat so that it could be stitched in place, but hey, "all is fair in love and stitching".

And a slight angle photo to see the texture of the shisha stitches and the height of the hammered bottle top.

Oh yes, all for the sake of my craft.

I had fun.