Fool's Gold RR, the last block

Gerry K's blocks were my last set for this RR. It's been fun and I hate to see it end. I've still got a full baggie of "fool's gold" trims and such, and I plan to make use of some of the techniques and trims on future RRs.

Gerry asked for Jacobean flowers on her blocks. I've always loved the look, but I wanted to put my own spin on it (Janetean Jacobean) so I designed an iris using the gold dance-wear fabric. I cut the petals out and overlayed some goldish lace on the bottom ones. There is a little bit of stuffing behind the top and larger bottom petals to give them a little dimension. Then I couched down some gold cording around the edges. I actually did the "plunge" with the ends, using a big needle to take the raw ends to the back of the block and tacking them down with thread, which is a real goldwork technique that I saw demonstrated on Mary Corbett's Needlenthread blog.


The top petal got some different trim couched down, and then other trims formed the stem and leaves. Variegated silk ribbon made the "beards" of the iris. I used gold needlepoint thread on a couple of the seams (because I just can't NOT do the seams!) then added some orange beads. Some jewelry findings and golden butterflies were added. The butterflies are made so that they can be bent; their wings can lift up off the block, if Gerry so chooses. Later I added the sequins to the top petal.

The other blocks all have some color added, including the teal blue color. I tried adding a sprinkling of teal sequins to the background, but I decided I didn't like them, so they came out and I just added some teal beads.

Here's how the block looks now. I think it's ready to send on home to Gerry, but I have some time, so I may just contemplate it a bit more....

Fool's Gold, Maire's block

This is the next to the last set of blocks I get to work on in this round robin. They belong to Maire and she asked for William Morris type designs, and included some examples with her blocks. The first stitcher beautifully embroidered an image of the "strawberry thief" (a bird with a strawberry in its beak) in gold thread, and the other stitchers carried out either the bird or the strawberry idea, adding touches of red with the gold on the ivory blocks. So I stitched a branch with a golden nest and a lady bird sitting on (we assume) her eggs. Her mate is on a branch above her, leaning down to offer her the purloined strawberry. Here it is as a work in progress:

And as I finished it, adding a few more touches of red to balance out.

A wedding in Ouray....

No trip to Ouray is complete without a visit to Cedar Hill Cemetery. Paul has a lot of family history there, and it's just a beautiful spot.

The grounds were alive with chipmunks this day.

This one makes its home very near the family plot.


He/she was kind enough to pose for our camera.


I love wandering around looking at the various headstones, and there is a great variety displayed here. This one is particularly beautiful, with its patina of orange lichen.



Just some of my favorites...





Oh, yeah! There was a wedding to go to! Jacquie and Derek were married on the Potter Ranch, out in one of the pastures, with some picturesque outbuildings as their backdrop.

The ceremony was short and sweet. If I'd been seated in a slightly different spot, you would see Mount Abrams behind the minister.

The ring bearer was the bride's nephew. He wasn't thrilled with the wind, and found a clever way to hold the pillow while protecting his ears.

Mount Abrams is on the far left in this shot.
The bridesmaids were sisters of the bride, and the flower girl, I believe is the niece of the groom. Her very frilly dress was worn over purple western boots.

Which is perfect, because the bride was wearing her western boots too!

We were treated to a colorful sunset on the way home.

Summer stuff

This is an about-to-open moonflower from a few nights ago. I love how they look at this stage. Not sure if the photo captures it, but there is a definite lavender cast to the rolled up edges, and the little curlicues on the tips are so delicate. After the flower is fully open, it is whitest white, and the curlicues are nowhere to be found...

I'm joining a round robin on CQ for Newbies. It is a brown color study, so all embellishments and patches will be in shades of brown. I threw in a small silkie of an owl, just to get the ball rolling. I'm hoping for a woodsy feel for this block. I tried dyeing some laces in various shades of brown to use on others' blocks, with varying degrees of success. I was able to get some taupe and caramel colors, but I was hoping for some really dark browns, and that just didn't happen. And some of them turned blueish as they dried.

Here is a lonely cat, sitting in the bookstore. Why is she lonely? Because the other one I made was sold last weekend! Woohoo! I've got two more of this size ready to be put together, and two "kittens".