I'm going crazy; you come, too

Feeling sheepish

2012-01-26T07:13:00.000-08:00

I found a pattern a few years ago at a thrift store for these stuffed sheep with quilt block sides. The pattern was 25 cents, so I bought it thinking I'd give it a try in CQ. Took the directions out when I got home and was completely boggled by them. There were extra pieces to be cut for the shoulder and legs that just didn't make sense to me. I put it away thinking I'd read through it again later and maybe it would make more sense.

Well, I took it out again recently and it still boggled my brain, but this time I left it out and read through them again a few days later. Still not clicking. Then I decided to just take the ram by the horns and start cutting out the pattern pieces. A few more days go by and suddenly it clicked. The "extra" pieces were to make the traditional square quilt block become the sheep-shaped pieces they needed to be...AND since I wasn't limited to making a square CQ block, I could cut a foundation piece that incorporated the sides and the extra shoulder and leg pieces all in one.

So that's what I have so far. They'll be embellished in spring pastels with probably fleece used for the head of the sheep.

Fool's Gold

2012-01-15T12:10:00.000-08:00

I'll be joining a new RR beginning February 1st. The theme is Fool's Gold, which means we'll be using lots of gold-like embellishments. There is a type of embroidery called gold work that uses real gold threads and bead-like pieces. They're understandably expensive, and not something most of us were willing to invest in without being very serious about continuing with it. We're looking for the types of braid and gimp trims that are prevalent at Christmas time (and hopefully on sale after). Gerry K is the momma for this one and has offered to send anyone who signed up a sampling of her gold-like stash.

I'd known this RR was coming up since last fall, and have been giving it a lot of thought. I just couldn't settle on a theme or fabrics for my blocks (this will be a do-your-own-block RR, so I needed to make six 6" blocks). Finally I settled on using a Christmas theme, and doing 3 angel blocks in creams and whites, and 3 old time Santa blocks in fancy blacks. I've asked the stitchers in my group to throw in a little of the colors in the silkies with their fool's gold work. I should have these home by late summer and can hopefully plan to have them assembled as gifts for Christmas. You know what they say about the best laid plans...but that's just mice and men, isn't it? Probably doesn't apply to crazy women.

I had an extra Santa from the set of silkies, so I pieced a block for myself to play with while the others are making their rounds. I excused this Santa from the first three-some as he looks a little crabby, like he's admonishing a naughty kid with a frown and a good old-fashioned finger shaking. But I liked the colors in it (they're much brighter than the computer would have you believe), so I'll work on it myself. Just hope I do a good job. I'd hate to get on his naughty list.

I'm such an angel...

2012-01-12T06:07:00.000-08:00

On the yahoo group called Crazy Quilting International that I belong to, there are lots of round robins going on at any given time. Each round robin will have either 5 or 6 stitchers in it plus an angel. The angel is a stitcher who doesn't have a block making the rounds, but is available to step in if someone who does can't continue stitching til the end for whatever reason. This is the 3rd or 4th RR I've been an angel for, but the first time I've actually been called into "active duty".
The stitchers in this RR are Michele, Annamarie, Genevieve, Jocelyn, and Marianne. After the RR started last summer, there were fires, floods, and illness to contend with, but these ladies are about to see the end of the road as each will soon have their precious blocks home. For Michele, it will be a new home, different than the one the block was mailed out of, as she lost her home in the Bastrop, Texas fire.

I hope she likes it. I think it's just gorgeous, and it came to me that way! I just filled in some bare spots and will be sending it home today.

Have a froggy new year!

2012-01-02T17:05:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was going through one of my CQ containers, a rolling 3 drawer chest, and found the pattern to make this little guy. From finding the pattern to finished product took about 5 hours, so a fun quick project.

I never can seem to follow a pattern or the directions exactly, so I made some major modifications to the assembling process. This is supposed to be a case for glasses or for sewing notions. My glasses fit into it perfectly, but it's not the most practical thing.

I'm hoping to make this a jumping (or hopping, if you will) off point and modify the pattern further to make a more practical case for needles or other notions. It might need to be bigger, I'm not sure yet. I have a second CQ piece to work up, and then I'll try cutting a bigger one and actually finishing it more like the directions state.

I also have a pattern somewhere around here for sheep that have quilt blocks as their sides. They'd be great with CQ quilt blocks, and done in whites and creams with pastel embellishments for Easter/spring, or black, for the black sheep, with jewel tones.

Family Christmas

2011-12-31T16:52:00.000-08:00

Here are just a few photos of Christmas doings this year (if you're just here for the CQ, skip this post):

Trystan, Jared, Rachel in the background, and Corbin on the floor. Behind Trystan is the Netflix video of a cracking fireplace, which we played throughout the evening. We have a real fire place, but with 20-some warm bodies in this little house, it would get too hot. So we had the ambiance without the heat.

My sister-in-law Sherry holding Barbara's grandson Jeremiah, and Barbara.

An ill-tempered teen elf finishing up some gifts.

Paul relaxing before the big holiday crunch. The light-up Santa on the hearth is very old; I've had it since I was about 6. Yes, we had electricity back then....

Some of the Popish family here for Christmas eve dinner. The handsome fella in the grey shirt is grandson Zack.

Ooooops! How did that get in there?? Oh, yeah, he's here to wish everyone an extra terrific year in 2012!

Outlander round robin

2011-12-31T16:30:00.000-08:00

This block belongs to Maire in NY. All of her blocks are fan shapes in some really interesting colors. Each one that has been embellished so far has a focal motif in the open corner, and I think they're all beautiful.

The block on the left was embellished by Jacque in NE, on the right by Colleen in NE.

The birds are finally up!

2011-12-31T16:22:00.001-08:00

The last block in the bird RR that I participated in early this year was to be finished by me, but when I was at the retreat in September, I asked my friend Gerry Krueger if she would do that one for me. She graciously agreed, and sent it back to me a month or more ago. I found a shadowbox frame at Salvation Army that had a square of handmade paper inside it that was exactly the right size for the little 6" block. I glued some batting onto the paper and was able to stretch the block over it (it had a hard backing on it) with 1/4" to fold to the back side and glue down. I think I spent $1.99 on the frame, and I was thrilled with how it came out.

So just before Christmas, I got out the bird wall hanging and rearranged items on the wall to fit it in. I also was able to hang my "Wolverine" painting that Michaela did for me for Christmas last year. Quite a grouping, don't you think?

Merry Christmas at the bookstores

2011-12-31T16:11:00.000-08:00

As a little treat for my delightful coworkers and employers, I made each of them a CQed Christmas stocking, complete with their name on it.

I did one for myself, also, so the customers wouldn't think I was the bad child.

Here's how they looked hanging behind the counter at the store.

When I worked on Christmas eve, I brought in a little baggie of Hershey's kisses and a candy cane and tucked them in each stocking!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-22T15:20:00.000-08:00

A very merry Christmas and happy new year to all my family and friends!

This is a pine martin, peeking around an aspen tree to wish you the best holiday season ever!

Retreat block progess

2011-11-15T07:45:00.000-08:00

Here's how my block stands right now. I added a bit of height to the pine tree and extended the swirl of leaves up towards the butterfly.

The butterfly is not attached yet; I haven't decided if it's flying up or down.

The leaves remind me of my favorite line from The Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore:
"As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly, when they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky..."

Book review 2

2011-11-03T09:56:00.000-07:00

With all the zombie literature, TV, and movies out lately, I had to read World War Z. It's also been made into a movie starring Brad Pitt. Not sure when it will be out in theaters, sometime next year though. It's written as a compilation of interviews with survivors of the great zombie wars, so it feels very real, like reading a soldier's reminiscence of war time. The unabashed words of those who made money off the plague-frightened people, and the high learning curve of trying to fight something that no one had ever had to deal with before really made me feel like I was reading nonfiction. The idea that dogs would continue to be man's best friend into this apocalypse, and how they would be used is a bit heart-wrenching. If you're ready to jump on the Zombie Apocalypse bandwagon, this is as good a place as any to start.

There are scary books, and then there are SCARY BOOKS. One Second After is one of the latter. I was weaned on Stephen King books, so there's not much that scares me when it comes to zombies, vampires, werewolves, aliens, etc. Sometimes it's fun to read about "scary" things that are so easy to dismiss as grown up fairy tales. But this is a story that could happen later this afternoon (hopefully not till after I get the carpet vacuumed). An electromagnetic pulse is set off over the US, and most anything electronic just stops; cars, TVs, computers, phones, air conditioning, refrigeration, water and gas pumps, etc. The older cars without computer components in them keep running, but getting gas for them, or finding available parts if one breaks, is a challenge if not impossible. For most people, instead of thinking in terms of how long it takes to drive somewhere, the question now becomes how long it takes to walk there, and how much can one physically carry in the process. Without refrigeration, food spoils, and since no more is being shipped in, people eat the spoiled food and get sick. Clean water may or may not be available. Pharmacies are looted of their supplies, and the drugs that must be refrigerated will have a very short shelf life. Communication with the next town requires that someone walk or drive there to talk face to face; communication with someone beyond that distance is impossible. Those who have guns are able to hunt for food, at first. But as game animals and bullets become more scarce, even that option closes. And then there is the threat of gangs of psychotic wanderers.

I hesitate to recommend this book, but as "forewarned is forearmed", if you think it sounds like something you'd like to read, please do, and let me know your impressions. I was left with the impression that I should have had a bigger garden this summer, and I should have canned food from it, and I should have snapped up that "grandma's home remedies" book I saw at the store.

Book reviews

2011-11-03T09:30:00.000-07:00

Two of the books I've read recently are The Land of Painted Caves by Jean Auel and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.

Painted Caves is the last in the series called Earth's Children,that began with Clan of the Cave Bear close to 30 years ago. I truly enjoyed that one and all of the other books that followed.... until this one. And I so much wanted to love it! But it was a slog to get through. I felt like the book was simply detailed descriptions of the prehistoric paintings in the famous caves of southwestern Europe, with a little bit of story line to tie them together. Half way through this very long book, I still wasn't convinced that I would even finish it. Three fourths of the way through, and I was complaining to my coworker Claire that I just wasn't enjoying the book, but felt like I'd invested so much time and effort in reading not only this book, but the other 5 in the series, that I didn't feel like I should quit. And I just hate to quit reading a book. It feels like a failure on my part. Claire suggested that I could skip ahead to the ending, and I thought that seemed like a good idea, but I ended up skipping an important part and had to go back and read it in order to make sense of the ending. So, I finished it, completely, but I found it disappointing.

Now this little gem is another story...ahem....I was intrigued by the cover, and the title. I know we're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but really, the publishers pay much money to make the covers of books appealing to buyers. And in this case, it worked. But the insides of the book don't disappoint either. This story is built around and woven through old photographs of anonymous and yes, peculiar people. The author gives them identities through the story, and it's easy to come to care about them. I highly recommend this book; it's a quick read, even at 348 pages, as some of the pages are the photographs or other visual additions.

Retreat block

2011-11-03T09:23:00.000-07:00

Here's a bit more work done on my block.

I might have continued to swirl those flying leaves all over the block, had I not run out of thread! I suppose I could dye some more (or ask Lauri to dye some). I used a whole bobbin full of some that she dyed and gave to me, and the whole chunk that I dyed at the retreat, which wasn't an exact match, but it blends well enough. What do you all think? More leaves? There will be more of that rust/orange color added to other parts of the block as I continue.

What I've been up to....

2011-10-19T18:12:00.000-07:00

Since the retreat, I've been working on a counted cross stitch project for a friend who just became a grandmother...

...but now I will get going again on my block that I started at the retreat. Here's how it looks right now. I used all fabrics that I got in the stash dash, except for the painted piece, which I took with me to the retreat. I ended up selling all of the elk paintings and several of the birds. And spending all (and more) of the money I received on lace and crocheted butterflies. A good time was had by all (especially me).

Outlander Round Robin and a good day at Sally's

2011-10-16T20:28:00.000-07:00

I'm in a RR that has as its theme the book series Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. For the first block I got to work on, I painted the emblem from the front of the book that I have, stitched the Fraser clan motto, and then did some seams.

The last time I got to go to the Salvation Army store near my house, I found these buttons and a lace motif that I've never seen before. The buttons on the left are mother of pearl, still on the card and priced originally at 39 cents each. Anybody care to guess how long ago that might have been? I paid a quarter each for the cards, and will portion these beauties out judiciously. The buttons that are two to the card are glass and equally lovely.

The lace motif is on its way to a new owner. Hope she likes it.

Colorado Retreat, part 9, the end....for this year....

2011-09-27T11:14:00.000-07:00

It seemed like we had beautiful sunsets every night, so here is just one evening's worth.

Much admiration, love, and gratitude go out to Leslie E. She cooked for us, she planned for us, and due to obligations at home, she barely got to enjoy any of it with us. I didn't get any photos of her this time, but here's one from the retreat in 2009, with one of her creations.

Colorado Retreat, part eight...8...VIII...

2011-09-27T10:41:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, I taught a lettering on waste canvas class, and on Sunday I "demonstrated" painting images on fabric. I didn't really feel like it was something I could teach, but I invited everyone who wanted to to paint along with me. We had a bird book, some Colorado Outdoors magazines, an Ideals magazine with flowers, and some bird magazines from which to get inspiration and images. This photo was taken of the table from the loft. Everyone except Claudina opted to paint a bird.

Here's Sarah and Juli...

Michelle...

Diane's bird....

Sandy....

Helen's bird....

Gerry H's bird....

Claudina's bears....

And my bird.

Colorado Retreat, part VII

2011-09-27T10:26:00.000-07:00

Most of our meals were provided in the cabin, with breakfast and lunch being continental style, and Leslie having cooked dinners and it just needing to be heated up. But one night 10 of us ventured out to an Italian restaurant, where we had to keep certain members (almost all of us) from stealing the grape-motif tapestry window valances. Here is Diane, Cathy, Sandy, and Holly....

Claudina and Connie...

Helen and Gerry K.....

Diane, Cathy, Sandy, and Holly, again....

Nancy....

And our waitress was kind enough to offer to take a photo of all of us...

Colorado Retreat, part....uh....5? 6?

2011-09-27T10:17:00.000-07:00

Hazel brought a CQed wedding memory quilt, which included lots of sentimental images. These frogs are trapunto-ed, which means they've been stuffed to give them a 3D quality.

This is a framed photo that was over the head of my bed. I thought it was a lovely little pine tree; something that could be stitched on a CQ.

I was having a hard time getting enthused about stitching on any of the projects-in-progress that I'd brought with me, so I took one of my painted elk and using just fabric I'd gotten in the Stash Dash, I pieced myself an Estes Park Retreat block to work on. Here it is just getting started, and I'll post more photos of the progress soon!

Colorado Retreat, part 5

2011-09-27T09:40:00.001-07:00

The Chinese auction is always a favorite part of the retreat. The idea is that each person brings a CQ gift (worth approx. $25, but with CQ, it's hard to gauge a dollar value) that can be either stash or tools or a hand-made item. They are wrapped so no one can tell what is in the package until it's opened, and all are placed in a pile for all to see. Numbers are drawn to determine the order, and the first person chooses one and opens it. Much oohing and ahhing commences, and then person number 2 takes a turn, BUT they have the option of stealing the gift from number 1 or opening something new. This continues, with gifts being stolen a maximum of twice before being declared "safe". These photos are all out of order, and I didn't get photos of everyone, but here is a sampling of the fun:

Here's Helen, Josie, and Connie having a closer look at the tea cozy Diane made...

Gerry H opening a gift...will she get to keep it? Probably not!

Me opening a gift. I think I was declared the winner of the "most stolen from" award (which doesn't really exist), but I must admit I did a bit of stealing myself!

Kerry...

Me again...

Holly, the first to get to call Lauri's magnificent CQed teddy bear hers. I promptly stole it, even though I knew it would be stolen from me. Sure enough, Helen snapped it up and being the 2nd stealer, got to keep it.

Helen, Connie, Pam, Sandy, and Shari....

Josie....

Me again....
And Connie finished....

Colorado Retreat, part 4

2011-09-27T08:33:00.000-07:00

As part of the fun prior to the retreat, we were invited to join a challenge round robin, in which we were offered one of two fabics; either a pink/yellow design or a blue/green design. We were NOT allowed to see the fabric first, we just chose by the color description. I chose the yellow/pink, which turned out to be this:

Others got the blue/green, and within a RR group, we could expect to work on both fabrics.

After we received a fat quarter of our chosen fabric, we were to choose a certain number of additional fabrics to go with it, and a trim or two, and send all of this along to the next person on our rotation. That person added a few more fabric choices and pieced the 16" block but did not embellish it. The blocks then made the remaining rounds (theoretically 4 other stitchers) who embellished the whole block. All the blocks would be revealed and returned to their original owners at the retreat. Well, it didn't exactly work out that way, but that was the plan.

I don't remember whose block is whose for most of these, but I do recall working on this one. I added the dyed lace motif, the loopy gimp trim, and the spider and web.

These next 4 I didn't work on (there were 2 groups in this RR).

I did work on this one, adding two 3D butterflies, a ribbon rose spray, and some seams.

This is the one I pieced for Rebecca. She wasn't able to come to the retreat, but her block will be sent to her.

I didn't work on either of these blocks.

On this one, I did the little embroidered fan, some seams on the large fan blades, the ribbon work pansy and the swirly embroidered vining around it.

This block is mine! It was pieced by Gerry H, and beautifully embellished by Kerry, Nancy, Colleen, and Rebecca.

Oh, and this fella made an appearance in front of our cabin one day, bugling and lazily chasing three lovely ladies (elk ladies, not human ones).

We were also visited by a coyote, who brazenly walked down the sidewalk in front of the cabin and around to the end, where he made himself at home on the patio. I'd seen him walk by the dining room window and thought, "I wonder whose dog that is....it sure has a bushy tail." Then I got curious and walked out of the living room door (which was standing wide open!) and around to the patio. One look at that narrow muzzle and yellow-eyed face and I knew that wasn't a dog. I shooed him away, in a funny high pitched voice, but he left reluctantly (gave me a "well, if you insist" look) and sauntered over to the cabin just up the hill. He was definitely not frightened by humans, which might eventually be his downfall.

Colorado Retreat, part 3

2011-09-27T08:24:00.001-07:00

We spent a lot of time just chillin'....stitching and visiting and sharing techniques. Here are Hazel and Kerry....

...Diane and Lauri....

Michelle, Juli, Josie, and Sharon (behind the lamp)....

....and Holly, Gerry K, Sandy, and Claudina.

Colorado Retreat, part 2

2011-09-27T08:15:00.000-07:00

We were in an 8 bedroom cabin in a most beautiful mountain setting. Here's the dining area, which also doubled as a stitching area and classroom:

One end of the huge living room:

And the fireplace at the other end:

Here are some of the views we were surrounded by.

Colorado Retreat 2011

2011-09-27T07:56:00.000-07:00

I'm back home from the retreat, and it was so much fun! We began on Wednesday evening with introductins and show and tell. Then on Thursday morning, we had the Stash Dash! Loads of donated fabric, trims and buttons were up for grabs. The Fabric Fairy got us started:

Isn't she a vision? I hope she doesn't notice the gaping hole she eventually had in the back of her gown. I mean, who could resist that lovely green brocade??? Not me, uh, I mean not someone with scissors in hand.

Diane pointed the way to the heavily laden tables, as the scissor-wielding stash seekers milled around like impatient pirates ready to pillage a pile of pfabric!

Not everyone was cut-throat about it, though. Here are Hazel and Pam, vowing to share scissors.

Going to the CQ retreat!

2011-09-18T13:32:00.000-07:00

I've been working on some painted images to use in CQing. Since we'll be in Estes Park, Colorado, which is full of elk this time of year, I tried a few different views of bull elk.

And a couple of owls.

Some gold finches.

And assorted wildlife.

These are painted on cotton or silk patches, ready to be pieced into a CQ block. I think I will offer these for sale at the retreat. One of the images (and I'm not saying which one) will be part of my Chinese auction package.
I also got to see what Lauri is doing for her package, and let me tell you, one of us retreat goers is going home very happy. I predict the rest of us will be happy also, but SOMEONE is getting something very special! And that's all I'm sayin'.

Two finished blocks

2011-08-22T07:07:00.000-07:00

This is a just-for-fun block I did with a part of a bread cloth as the center piece. I added a lot of detail stitches to the machine embroidered image. The multiple embroidered band across the top above the gimp trim was done partially with some hand-dyed variegated threads that Lauri gave me. I'm trying to get her to dye some to bring to the retreat to sell. They are lovely and wonderful to stitch with.

This one is for a friend who is going through a rough patch.

CQ blocks

2011-08-11T16:39:00.000-07:00

These are some blocks I've been playing with lately. I really should be working on finishing my witch hat, but I kind of hate to finish it. It's been so much fun to work on and add stuff to, and when I put it together, that will be done. It'll be fun to wear it, too, but I bet I'll get some funny looks at Walmart.

And speaking of funny looks....this is a clear plastic mask that Michaela painted. We took turns trying it on, but it looks especially weird on me, if I do say so myself.

Glimpsing heaven through the clouds

2011-07-31T16:36:00.001-07:00

I've been working on this 3 block project lately, and the embellishment is nearly done.

And this afternoon I looked out at the sky and saw this:

A sign from heaven?

I finished something!

2011-07-25T07:16:00.000-07:00

I finished the bird blocks from my recent bird round robin into a wall hanging for the kitchen. The bird print cotton fabric that forms the center patch of each block is the same fabric as my kitchen curtain. I sent out six 6" blocks to the 4 other stitchers, and got back 5 beautifully embellished blocks. We originally began with 5 other stitchers, but one had to drop out immediately, so the others collaborated on the fifth block. The 6th one was left for me to do, but I decided the quilt would be too long for where I wanted to hang it if I used all six blocks. I did add a few touches here and there to the blocks, especially where the joining seams are, just to have my own hand in there.

The other stitchers were Connie K., Cathy L., Cathy K., and Nicki Lee. That is the order, top to bottom, of who stitched which block, except for block #4, which was the communal block.

And yes, it's a bit crooked. I haven't given it a final pressing since adding the binding, and I'm hoping that will help.

You might not be able to see them in the photo, but in the lace around the border, there are little picot dots. I used some large pink seed beads in each picot. They are some beads that were sent to me by Norma H. a long time ago, and I'd used some for other projects. When I began stitching them on this, one by one, I thought surely I had enough. As I got closer to the end of the line, I wasn't so sure. Finally, I dumped the final contents of the vial into my hand and stitched them on. I was short 6 lousy beads! But I knew I'd dropped a few into my lap, so I stood up and looked on the couch. I found two more and stitched them on. Then I got a flashlight and combed the carpet at my feet. I found two more and stitched them on. But that was it. I'd emptied the vial into my hand...or had I? I looked at it more closely, and there, stuck in by static electricity, were the last 2 beads I needed. Talk about luck! Or was it just meant to be?

A couple of days later, Michaela found one more pink bead on the couch. I have no idea what that means.....

AND, I also started and finished my name badge for the retreat. It was Kerry L.'s job this year to make the name tags, and she crazy pieced them with our names printed on silk in the center. I loved the colors of mine, and wanted some good contrast on the small surface, so I did some variegated purple cast-on stitch roses (a technique that Lauri B. taught me and which I make frequent use of). It's fun to work on such a small "canvas", and makes for a quickly finished project. The lace edging came from a yard sale, and was tea-dyed just enough to take the brightness out of the white. And it just had to have a spider!

More moss rose and a block for Japan

2011-07-18T08:53:00.001-07:00

Sorry to bore you with more of these flower photos, but every time I think these plants have peaked, they go and outdo themselves again. Don't know what it is about Sundays, but they seem to bloom especially brilliantly on Sunday mornings. And the coleus are starting to get a foothold too.

This block is one that was pieced by another stitcher who wanted to contribute to the Hearts and Hands for Sendai project, but didn't have the time to embellish a block. A group of blocks were sent from Australia to Leslie E. here in Colorado, then she sent them out to those of us who volunteered to embellish.

This block is so different from my usual style as to be almost unrecognizable to me. The first element I did was the yellow rose spray in the upper left corner. Maybe because it was vaguely circular, I found myself repeating the circular motifs all over the block, from the double button stacks to the single buttons, to the triple ring set (those linked rings were thought to represent friendships or familial relationships on Victorian quilts). In this case, they might represent Australia, for the piecer of the block, the USA for the embellisher and the project originator, and Japan, for the recipient. Now that this one is done, I can get it and my first Sendai block off to Leslie for finishing.

Growing in my yard

2011-07-09T17:00:00.000-07:00

Last year I got a potted moss rose for Mother's day that was so beautiful. They were the biggest blossoms in a hot pink/magenta color that just bloomed their little hearts out all summer. This year I was a bit late in getting to the green house, and couldn't find the same flower, so I bought some small 4 packs of various colors. I also got some coleus, which I've loved forever. They all looked so spindly when I potted them, but the moss rose have taken off like crazy! The poor coleus haven't had a chance.

I got some of the variegated pink ones; they're my favorites this year. None of them are as big as the ones last year, but the variety of color makes up for it.

I also bought 3 tomato plants. One is a super huge giganto something-or-other, one is a yellow pear tomato, and one is a grapette. I filled a plastic tub with potting soil and planted them all together, and they are looking wonderful and blooming and setting on little tomatoes. Today we ate a couple of the yellow ones and one grapette.

In the evenings, I've enjoyed watching this little garden spider set up housekeeping between two of the moss rose pots. She builds the most intricate and perfect webs. The spiraling strands are only about 1/16th of an inch apart, so even though the whole orb is only about 6" across, it takes a good long while to spin it. Then she takes up her place in the center and waits for supper.

Second hand store finds

2011-07-09T16:47:00.000-07:00

I've found some goodies lately at our local second-hand stores. We have a Goodwill, which is a very nice and clean store, and several Salvation Army locations, and also a Habitat for Humanity Restore, which sells used housing fixtures along with the usual stuff, but no clothing. I like to shop there, as the proceeds go to helping people have homes of their own. I'm very grateful to have our home and would like to see others have the same advantage. The following items came mostly from the Habitat store.

I absolutely love the little serving bowl. It literally looks like someone laid a white lace doily in it; so dainty and pretty. The purse frame will be part of a CQ experiment at some point, as it came with no directions for use. I can probably find some online. And the old frame has a convex glass in it which currently holds a real butterfly and flower arrangement. Not sure what's going to happen with that....

These are hankies with cute motifs on the corners.

And the hankies above and below I bought for the tatted or crocheted or lacy edges.

Celebrating on the 4th

2011-07-06T11:48:00.000-07:00

Just a sampling of the cute children in our family. Brown-eyed boy is 4 year old grandson Zack, blue-eyed girl is 4 year old great-niece Kiera. They are the best of buddies.

Father's Day Ice Age extravaganza, or Ice Age, part 5

2011-06-20T09:48:00.000-07:00

We ended our journey with a delicious dinner at the Riverside Grill in Basalt, Colorado, where we literally ate beside the Frying Pan River. Like most all the rivers in Colorado right now, it's roaringly full. Here's Paul and Michaela:

Corbin and Zack:

Rachel and Jared:

and more Corbin and Zack:

Zack asked the waitress what was in the river. He was wondering about beavers, but she looked surprised for a moment and then answered "Fish". So I told her he was wondering if there were any beavers. She said that there'd been one up river last week, but he'd gone on somewhere else.

Ice Age bones, part 4.

2011-06-20T09:20:00.000-07:00

There was only one bone that had been pulled from the site that we were allowed to touch; a bit of tusk from either a mastodon or a mammoth. But they had some other touchable things, like this saber-tooth cat skull cast, and the saber tooth cast beside it.

Another interactive spot for the kids was the bone dig. They had some kind of sandy material in which they'd put some fake bones, and the kids could don construction gear and grab brushes to "discover" them.

All of the people who ran each part of the exhibit seemed to be having as much fun as the kids. The lady in the far right in the first "dig" photo (above) was so enthusiastic when a bone would be discovered (even though it's probably the umpteenth time this weekend it's been discovered!). The woman who ran the ice age trivia game (at which I won a rubber bracelet and a mammoth temporary tattoo....okay, everybody got one, but I still felt like a winner) was most helpful with the questions, nodding her head or shaking it as she asked each. I told her she was no Alex Trebec, but she was having fun, and she helped make it fun for us. The lady who was helping with the sloth race (in which you could put on a furry suit and roll on the ground and run on all fours) actually got down on the floor and rolled in an attempt to get Zack to participate. He still declined, but I thanked her for "throwing herself into it for us."

I don't recall ever being in Snowmass Village before. Paul said he'd been there a long time ago, and it seemed way different now. I asked him if there were still mammoths there when he'd been there. The part where the exhibit was, the conference center, was on the side of a hill...a reallllly steep hill. Looking down the road meant really looking DOWN the road.

And looking up the road was looking UP the road. I don't know how anyone drives that stretch of road with snow on it (which at that altitude is a frequent occurrence), or for that matter how they walk it. Even with no snow, the grade is incredible, and the thin air doesn't help. My thighs were burning after about 10 steps.

It's really just now spring in Snowmass Village. Lilacs were blooming, and lots of other flowers.

All in all, a beautiful place to visit, but I wouldn't want to spend an ice age there.

Ice Age bones, part 3

2011-06-20T08:56:00.000-07:00

I asked to have my photo taken with the life-size mastodon poster (and made Michaela join me). I'm going to hang out with mastodons more often; they make me look petite.

Here's Paul with the mastodon poster.

Rachel and Zack with the life-size mammoth poster.

Is this a photo-op or what? That's Rachel, Paul, and Michaela (left to right).

And Jared, Zack, and Corbin.

These are photos I took of photos lying on the table in the bone exhibit room. Discovering the bison skull and the bison skull as found:

The very cold and snowy digsite. The researchers and volunteers have had to contend with weather issues; snow, mud, and very limited time frame. The building of the reservoir will start again in July, with the rest of whatever is under the ground to be covered by an impermeable layer, and then water, effectively saving the remaining finds for future paleontologists to uncover and preventing amateur bone diggers from stealing them.

Ice Age bones, part 2

2011-06-20T08:40:00.001-07:00

Here's the juvenile mammoth "puppet", Snowy. At first it was displayed on a stand, and looked just like a cast of bones you'd find in a museum, but later we were amazed to turn around and see the thing walking! There's a man inside, near the front legs, and he uses his hands to move them forward or backward. They are attached by wire to the back legs, which move right along too. Somehow he could also move the head a bit, as he used the tusks to nudge small children.

The first bones pulled from the dig site were those of a juvenile mammoth, so it's appropriate that this "little" guy got a starring role at the show.

I think most of these are labeled within the photo. As always, if you click on the photo, you'll get a larger version (and you can read the fine print on the cards).

Snowmass Village's Ice Age Bones

2011-06-20T08:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we drove to Snowmass Village to see an exhibit of Ice Age bones that have been pulled from the reservoir-in-construction site over the last 6-8 months. They will soon be sent to the Denver Museum of Science and Nature for research and hopefully, display. But first, here is a view of the back seat as we drove up:

Corbin and Zack

and Michaela. She said it was fun, but you'd never know it by the look on her face.

View of Mt. Sopris.

And finally, the bones! Acetabulum is part of the pelvic bones. In another photo (2 down) you can see the other side of this bone and the ball socket where the femur bone's ball fits.

Those are TOE bones. Huge toes!

The ball socket.

Sacrum is part of the lower end of the vertebral column.

Thoracic vertebrae of a mammoth. The triangular hole on the left end is where the spinal cord would go through. We wondered at the height of the protuberance above that (extending to the lower right in the photo) and later figured out that that massive bony ridge is there to support the muscles that help move the massive beast's back and hold up the massive head (see the baby mammoth "puppet" in photos in the next post). During dinner, it occurred to me that that line of muscles would correlate to the loin of a deer or elk (I've butchered a few of those beasties, and know that the loin is the choicest meat). This particular bone ridge was about 18" long; talk about a steak! Bacon-wrapped fillet mignon, anyone? You'd need the whole pig!

Glimpsing....progress

2011-06-08T07:38:00.000-07:00

Here's what I've done so far on these blocks. This first one has a lace cameo that I've almost totally covered with beads, including some tiny leaf shaped glass ones that I thought I'd never find a use for. I added a corner of vintage lace from a recent yard sale find. I love adding the gimp trim in a meandering, looping form. I think that's how my mind works, actually.

I'm really happy with the seams on this block. I too often go for the botanical looking seam treatments and I'm trying to "branch" (sheesh, I even talk botanical) out and do less of those and more...what? geometrical? I don't know what to call it, but I know it when I see it.

Had fun with the flower centers here. They're made using an encrusting stitch, which is simply 3 beads threaded together and stitched down so they stick up. Varying the colors of the beads works best for a textured look.

Glimpsing heaven through the clouds

2011-06-02T09:02:00.000-07:00

I pieced these three blocks after I did that one for a friend. I just enjoy this color combination. I used it for my For the Birds round robin blocks, too.

I'm challenging myself to use only white, cream, or beige embellishments on the white and cream parts of the blocks, with the only color to be "leaking" out of the colorful center patch. To that end, I've now added lace motifs and some gimp trim.

This one has a corner of a vintage linen piece. I've found some lovely vintage hankies and linens lately and I'm determined to use them, not just take them out and fondle them occasionally.

I've actually done quite a bit of work on these since these photos were taken, so I'll try to do an update on their progress soon. I'm terrible about remembering to take "before" photos, so "yeah me" for remembering this time.
I'm not sure what they'll be when I'm finished, but the phrase "glimpsing heaven through the clouds" keeps rolling through my head, hence the title for this post. Perhaps a wall hanging? It's just like me to name something before it's even begun!
I had names picked out for my kids before they were conceived! I've had the name Io picked out for our next pet, and I don't have any idea whether it might be a dog, a frog, or a hairless rat.

Growing (oddly) in my yard

2011-06-02T08:49:00.000-07:00

Now, I've never claimed to have a green thumb. The things that grow best in my yard are the ones that planted themselves, or that someone else planted for me, and that simply need the occasional watering by me.
The red hot pokers are of the first variety. They were growing here when we moved in, though I didn't realize it until months later, in the spring. They usually look like this:

Although they are usually farther along by this time of year. We've had a prolonged cool spring that has slowed them a bit, but they almost always bloom for my birthday, which is nice of them.
However, this year, I'm seeing some....oddness. A couple of the flowers have forked like this:

And one has a 3-way going on like this:

Maybe I used too much of the Dr. Strangelove's Atomic Fertilizer?

These purplish feathery flowers have planted themselves and spread far and wide. Does anybody know what they are?

a block for a friend

2011-05-26T16:43:00.000-07:00

I have a friend who has had to endure some bad news in recent weeks, and in an effort to cheer her and let her know how much I care, I made this block for her. Every stitch holds a prayer that things will be better for her and her family in the very near future. That fabric in the center patch always makes me think of sky, or heaven.

I am a-palled!

2011-05-26T16:19:00.000-07:00

I have a friend named Alice in California who is making her own casket pall. What, you may ask, is a casket pall? It's the cloth that gets draped over one's casket for one's funeral. She's piecing the blocks in diamond shapes in shades of black, grey, and cream, and then embellishing them in any colors. I asked her if I could embellish a block for her, and she agreed to let me.

Now I should explain about Alice. Some consider Alice "Looney"...including her family, evidently, as they have called her Betty the Loon. On the Newbies list, she is known affectionately as "Looney Sis" by Crazy Judyth. Alice has a crafting "shed" in her backyard that is known as "The Looney Bin". Yes, Alice is delightfully Looney in the finest sense of the word.

Here is the naked block as she sent it to me.

I knew what I wanted to add to her block, but had to think about it for several weeks to figure out how to do it. As the Wicked Witch of the West says, "These things must be done delicately."
I finally settled on painting the image on cotton fabric. It's the end of the old Looney Tunes cartoons, minus Porky Pig stuttering (I didn't think he'd be formal enough, despite his bow tie).

And here's how it looks appliqued to the block. I'm hoping Alice won't think it's TOO irreverent, and that her family will not hate it. I want to go on record here by saying that I don't personally believe that death is the end for any of us. It may be "that's all folks" for the physical body, but it is my belief that the spirit that is really "us" will go on to bigger and better things; that a better saying might be "this is just the beginning folks!", but that wouldn't fit into the little circle.

I've got more stitching and embellishing to do, and Alice has said there's no rush. I'm glad to hear that. I hope it's many years before she is ready to use her pall.

Moderated comments and a bird block

2011-05-09T07:34:00.000-07:00

First off, I just discovered 9 comments from some time ago waiting to be "moderated" (approved for posting) by me. I didn't think my account was set for moderated comments, so I'm a bit surprised. If you posted a comment in the past and didn't get a response, this probably explains why. I'll try to catch up with them, but if you posted a question to me and would still like an answer, please ask again. Occasionally Yahoo and I don't see eye to eye, and this seems to be one of those times.

Here is the last bird block for this round robin. It belongs to Nicki Lee. The lucite flower and leaves are some I bought recently online from Delphine's Flower Bead Shop. They have some fun little beads, they give a 15% discount to new customers, and the shipping was free.

Mike the Headless Chicken, part two

2011-05-02T19:29:00.000-07:00

I finished the stitching around the chicken figure with some buttonhole stitch around the neck and wings, and tried out a new-to-me cable chain stitch around the body. Having thought that I had made this block quite a bit larger than it would need to be so that I could trim it down when finished, I was a bit surprised to find that it was actually about 1/2" too small. After a few unpleasant words, I opted to add a border, which it turns out I like. So let's pretend I did it on purpose, shall we?

I wanted my Mike to be walking in a field of spring flowers. The blue ribbon is some that I dyed for myself.

One thing that I find very helpful sometimes in designing a block is to take a photo of it and post it on the computer. Something about taking a block that I've been looking at for so long and putting it in a different form will often help me see something that needs my attention. For instance, that weird blue bud on the left. It had to go. I think I originally intended for it to have its own stem coming up from the main full flower, but that's not what happened.

So here's the finished product, ready to go to Fruita!

Mike the Headless Chicken!

2011-04-30T19:55:00.000-07:00

Fruita, Colorado, the next town to the west of GJ, has been celebrating a long-gone local celebrity for many years now. Mike the Headless Chicken (read his story here)Days include a 5k run, car show, chicken dance, and other goodies. This year they are including a quilt block contest; the blocks will be matted for display this year, and made into a quilt to be raffled off next year.
I've known about this contest for more than a month, but just wasn't getting any inspiration. I thought about how to do something in CQ, but no idea was "popping". Finally, I thought about appliqueing a headless chicken, with different brightly colored feathers in his tail. Then I checked the website, and suddenly remembered; Mike was a white chicken. No problem, I pulled out my favorite white on white and white on cream cotton fabric collection.
I drew out a simple rooster pattern, and cut each body part out of a different fabric. Then appliqued them to a chicken wire patterned fabric.

I added some chain-stitched feet....

...and now I'm working on feather stitching around the tail feathers.

I'll add some other embellishment stitching, and probably some SRE grass and flowers at his feet. The hardest part, the head, is blissfully unneeded...

One sweet guy....

2011-04-26T11:34:00.000-07:00

There's only one guy I know who always has a kind look on his face. His sweet demeanor is something everyone who meets him will attest to. Never a harsh word, never a frown, never a well-meant comment regarding calories or fat (as long as you don't look at the bottom of the box). It's been too long since we got together, Mr. Sunny Chocolate Bunny.

Even when someone systematically starts nibbling on your ears, you still offer that reassuring smile.

Even your little bunny toes are fair game, and still, you smile knowingly and seem to say, "Go ahead, enjoy my chocolatey goodness; who deserves it more than you?"

Pleasant to end
Is my bunny friend.

Parting is such sweeeeeet sorrow, that I will say, "Hey don't we still have some M&M's?"

I never said I was Shakespeare....

Hearts and Hands for Sendai

2011-04-21T09:12:00.000-07:00

Here is a recap of my naked block for the quilt for Sendai (sorry it's blurry):

I attempted to do a bonsai tree on the right, and don't feel like I really captured the beauty of a bonsai, but it is vaguely tree-like.

As soon as I found the pagaoda fabric in my stash, I knew I wanted to add a 3D butterfly to the block, and the monarch is perfect for the colors in the center patch. The red roses are some silk ribbon given to me by Ingrid, and the other flowers were done with silk ribbon that I either already had dyed or that I dyed especially for this block. I think the little metal fan came from Cathy K in a squishie of goodies.
674" />Now to get it off to Leslie, who has her work cut out for her assembling all the beautiful blocks I've seen dedicated to this project.

3D butterfly-the finish!

2011-04-06T07:12:00.000-07:00

To attach the butterfly to a block, I like to stitch down just the body using bullion knots, actually forming the body out of the rows of bullions. I did two browns, then a black, two browns, etc., but you could do whatever combination you like.

Keep stitching until you come to where the body should end; usually the print on the fabric will show that. I ended off the tip of the abdomen with French knots, alternating brown and tan.

Next I added a couple of large iridescent beads for the eyes...

...and some antennae and legs. The wings will lift up off the block, especially if you pin them together for a time.

Kerry L. also uses this method, and has added her own twist; she often does each wing separately, and attaches them to the block and each other with the body stitching. This is something you could do if you find a butterfly print fabric in which only one side of the butterfly wing is shown. Some of the butterflies in the fabric I used are printed this way, and I've used that method too.

I'd also like to try this method just using a printed fabric or batik. One could cut out the butterfly shape and stitch it and turn it just like described here. It would be a butterfly like never existed in nature, but it might be fun!

3D butterflies

2011-04-05T08:02:00.000-07:00

Lynn Schoeffler recently emailed me to ask if I had a tutorial for my stitch-and-turn butterfly motif. She's writing an article for CQMagOnline and wanted to use a butterfly on her work. She was willing to not only give me credit, but refer readers to my tutorial. Well, I didn't have one....yet! I'm taking care of that right now.

Begin by finding a good cotton print with some fairly large butterflies on it. They need to be fairly large so that they're not too tedious to handle (at least for your first one; you can try to go smaller after you get the hang of it), and they also look quite real when they're life-size. But an even more important consideration is that they need to be pretty much symmetrical. This fabric is available at equilter.com, or search for "creature comforts butterflies".

You're going to cut two images of the butterfly, and pin them, right sides together. At this point, they are just roughly cut out; you'll trim off that excess later, but for now it helps to have that extra fabric to hang on to. When pinning, I try to match up the points of the wings and the head area. If they're not absolutely perfectly symmetrical, you can ease the two images slightly to get them to match up.

I hand stitch around the edge of the images, taking the smallest stitches possible, and leaving an opening on the longest straight stretch for turning. Here I've left the area between the two pins unstitched. Don't finish off your thread; leave it hanging.

Carefully cut off the excess, leaving a bit extra across the space left open for turning, then VERY carefully clip the curves.

Turn the butterfly right side out. This is sort of how they look when coming out of a chrysalis, isn't it?

Tuck the raw edge of the opening to the inside, and taking up the thread again, invisibly stitch (I use a ladder stitch) the opening closed. Press the heck out of it on both sides until it is as flat as possible. Here are two that I made recently, having alighted on my needle carrier. They are simply pinned on here. Next post I will show you how I attach the butterfly to a block.

Project for Japan

2011-04-03T10:02:00.000-07:00

Members of quilting groups all over the world are creating blocks to be made into quilts to benefit Japan's earthquake relief efforts. On CQ International, our member Hideko Ishida lives in Sendai. She and her immediate family survived the quake, as did their home, but the whole area is still struggling with issues of survival that most of us never dream of in our worst nightmares.
The current plan is to make quilts that will be displayed in Japan as a sign of our good wishes for the people of Japan. As one stitcher described it, there is a prayer in each stitch on each block. After the quilt display comes down, the quilts might then be auctioned to raise money for relief efforts. Anyone who would like to make a block, either crazy quilted or traditional quilt style, should check out the guidelines here. The logo for "Hearts and Hands for Sendai" was designed by Leslie Ehrlich, who is also going to head up the construction of the quilts.

Here's my block before embellishment:

Progress on my witch hat; I'm getting close!

2011-03-20T09:43:00.000-07:00

This is the under side of the brim. It now has some hand-dyed lace and a meandering flowery ribbon trim in addition to the wide ribbon that Ingrid gave me at the retreat last fall. I've also added the very large spider web, which is part of a torn doily. An appropriately large spider will eventually be added there.

The cone part of the hat is done, I think. You never know when you'll find something else you want to stick on a CQ project, but it has all the elements I originally planned for it. Yes, I do occasionally have a plan; I just rarely stick to them.

The upper side of the brim now has a little witch girl silkie framed with a hand-dyed lace heart. I just added the words, "Don't make me call the flying monkeys" on a velvet-flocked cotton patch using waste canvas. It gave me some trouble pulling out the threads, but I like how it looks. My next wording project will be adding, "double, double, toil and trouble, fire burn and caldron bubble" on the lace patch. That should be fun.

Here's the little girl silkie upright.

And a meandering chain stitch that helped fill in an awkward area around the lace cirle.

I just added the moon yesterday, using the most perfect moon fabric I've ever run across. It's mottled ivory with a pearlized wash in spots. I found a remnant of it a local fabric store, and bought it because I like to do all cream colored blocks occasionally (they're just fun to work on). When I planned the moon, I was going to use yellow satin, or a gold speckled ivory cotton, then I found this where I'd stashed it after I bought it. It's perfect!
Side note: last night was the night for the super moon, as the media has been calling it, or the super-duper mega-moon-a-rooni, as we've dubbed it around here. Supposedly it was the closest the moon has been or will be to the earth in years. We were all stoked to see it, and guess what? Cloudy skies, no moon visible at all.

And before you get all impressed, I didn't stitch the witch on the moon. She's an applique I purchased at the same store in which I found the moon fabric. They were meant to be together, I guess!

Two round robins

2011-03-17T07:59:00.001-07:00

Beginning with the shared block for Cathy K's For the Birds set:

Connie did the seam in the upper right, and added gold threads to the leafy print. It looks really rich in person! I did the SRE roses, the vine with the goldish buds, and added another stitched element and some beads to Connie's seam.

Here's the block I did. The roses are done in party yarn. It's used similarly to silk ribbon, but has a very different look. The lace on the left seam is some I dyed awhile back, and the colors are absolutely perfect for that seam. The length of the lace was exactly right, too, so apparently I did it with this block in mind.... subconsciously.

Here's all of Cathy's block so far:

I got my Jewels on Black blocks home, and they couldn't be lovelier! Here's the group together, including the one left for me to do, which I've started on.

And the individual blocks. This one done by Wendy F.:

By Meg S.:

By Debbie S.:

By Rita C.:

By Darlene D.:

And my block in progress:

Party yarn!

2011-02-27T09:09:00.000-08:00

My friend Ingrid in California sent me some party yarn that she got. She's used it to make spider web roses, so I gave it a try on this fairy block I've been working on forever.

The rose on the right is the first one I tried. I used a 5 spoke wheel to begin. The second one, on the left, I used a 7 spoke wheel. I think I like it a little better. All in all, I love the party yarn and think it works similarly to silk ribbon, so I'll be trying some other silk ribbon stitches with it.

This is a baby quilt I helped make. The new baby belongs to my nephew and his fiance. She has 3 older kids by her first marriage, so my sister (the grandmother) asked the 3 kids to make drawings (and one from the baby's cousin Kiera). She transferred the drawings to fabric and I stitched them together. That's teamwork!

This is my fire bellied toad, Ignis. He lives in a tank in the kitchen with his friend Imus. They are quite entertaining pets and have been with us for at least 7 years.

Cathy L.'s For the Birds

2011-02-14T07:24:00.000-08:00

I received Cathy L.'s blocks early in February. It was difficult to choose one to embellish. The block in the upper right was done by Connie K. Mine is in the lower right.

Here's a close up of mine. I have a hard time working on blocks with so many print fabrics, so the first thing I did was use a piece of a doily in the corner to give myself a "blank" canvas. Not really blank, of course, as the doily is lacy and allows the colors of the fabric underneath to show through, but it makes for a nice spot for a floral arrangement. The seam over the bird's head includes some little white "feathers"; actually stacked fly stitches. The meandering gimp (sounds like the name of an obscure rock band) supports two bullion stitch yellow birds. I believe they are cockatoos, but I'm not sure. Cocka-somethings anyway. Next I will do a little work on another block and then they get sent on to Nicki Lee.

Some finished blocks and a dreaming dog

2011-02-12T19:34:00.000-08:00

A member of one of my CQing groups recently had a heart attack, and I made this block for her. She apparently likes Victorian style and slate blue. I found this little silkie of a very Victorian couple in my stash, and pulled the embellishment colors from the colors in the silkie. The gimp trim is hand-dyed, as are the lace leaves. The flowers on the leaves are some buttons.

In the same group we're doing a block swap with a cat or dog theme. I found a card with the cute little girl and her puppies on it and made myself a silkie.

For the first time in his life, instead of dreaming he was chasing rabbits, Jaxon dreamed he WAS a rabbit....and it felt so right.

Poem contest winner!

2011-01-24T12:31:00.000-08:00

Thank you to everyone who helped me finish my poem. You all had great ideas, and some were so similar! Great minds think alike, obviously.

I wish I could send each of you something, but the postage might get to be a bit much for my budget. My plan was to choose as winner the one with the lines I liked best, but about half way through the contest, I came up with lines that I feel best represent my personal thoughts on the subject:

I pray that I may crazy quilt until my dying day!
And when it comes to my last stitch I then most humbly pray;
When to the Lord's great nimble hands my spirit starts to soar,
That in His mercy I be judged a UFO no more!

I suppose it only makes sense to those of us who know what a UFO is in quilt-speak. For those who don't know, it is an Un-Finished Object.

Leslie had the finishing line that most closely matched the thought behind mine:

That in his mercy I be judged embellished enough to keep!

So I declare Leslie the winner, and she may now choose her prize: some CQ stash or a finished CQ item!

Connie's For the Birds

2011-01-19T08:22:00.000-08:00

Oh, wait. I didn't mean that Connie is "for the birds". I meant these blocks belong to Connie in our For the Birds round robin. But you knew that, right?

These are Connie's blocks, and I just love the color combinations.

I chose one of the yellow birds and added the deep reds, turquoise, and purples from the other blocks. This was such fun to work on that I had it done about 3 weeks early. I'll probably hang on to it and see if more inspiration strikes before sending it on to the next person who is "for the birds".

Until my dyeing day!

2011-01-09T14:31:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty sure that the thing that got me thinking about making a CQ version of the fisherman's prayer poem (see previous post!) is that Lauri and I HAD a dyeing day on Friday. I'd been buying a few alcohol ink dyes at a time and finally figured I had enough to do some good mixing and blending.
Here's Lauri, giving me a fierce look because she hates to have her picture taken. I reminded her that she snapped a photo of me with my hair in a towel when she arrived to take us to the retreat in September. But to her credit, she hasn't posted that photo....yet.....she looks like she might be changing her mind though, doesn't she?

Here are some of the things I dyed:

Here's our set up. We used ice cube trays to mix the dyes. It really takes a very small amount of dye, so the individual cups are perfect.

Here are some of Lauri's things, including a square of velvet that got a rainbow wash.

And a few more of mine:

We had great fun, but I didn't do any threads, so hopefully I'll find time to pull out everything again soon.

Crazy quilter's poem: contest and give-away!

2011-01-09T14:14:00.000-08:00

Have you ever seen this poem for fishermen (and women)?

I've been thinking about a version for crazy quilters, and this is what I've come up with so far:

I pray that I may crazy quilt until my dying day.
And when it comes to my last stitch, I then most humbly pray;
When in the Lord's great nimble hands and peacefully asleep,
That in his mercy I be judged
_______________________________!

The last word should rhyme with "asleep", or "asleep" could be changed to something else that would rhyme with the last word.

Help me finish the poem and I'll choose one winner to receive either a baggie of CQ stash or a finished CQ item, winner's choice. I want to give everyone a bit of time to think about this, so let's say you need to have your suggestion to me by January 23rd (leave a comment containing your suggested ending on this post or email me directly). Kick it around your brain for awhile and let's see what you all can come up with!

I'm signed up to do a round robin with the theme of "words" and this little poem would work up perfectly....if only it gets a good ending! Thanks for your help!

Jewels on Black and For the Birds

2011-01-02T18:28:00.000-08:00

Here's the latest block I worked in the Jewels on Black round robin. This one belongs to Rita in Kansas. The butterfly lace motif is one I dyed at the retreat in October. I used size 8 perle cotton for most of the stitching, except for the yellow roses, which are size 5.

We're just beginning the For the Birds RR. I fussy-cut bird motifs out of the leftovers of my new kitchen curtains, then pieced around them using cream on cream cotton prints and a batik print. The plan (and yes, I do have one this time) is to make a smallish wall hanging for the kitchen or dining room.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-18T17:02:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all my friends and family!

Jewels on black

2010-12-18T16:37:00.000-08:00

Here's my next block in the jewels on black round robin. This one belongs to Wendy F.
The first photo is of the partially completed block. It just didn't feel done, so I added just a bit more to the vine.

And here it is finished.

I painted a button!

2010-11-09T20:39:00.000-08:00

Yay me! I haven't painted a button by myself until now. I did some larger mother of pearl shapes, but this is an actual vintage button from a group I bought on Ebay a couple of years ago. I had two classes with Gerry Krueger at the CQ retreats, so a big thank you goes out to her.

This is the little haunted house for my witch hat, and the button is less than 1 1/4" across. There's a bit of glare on the lower side, but believe me this scan was much better than trying to take a photo with the camera; that didn't work at all!

Fall block swap

2010-11-08T07:51:00.000-08:00

I am participating in a block swap on CQ for Newbies. The theme is fall or Halloween, and originally I planned to do a more Halloweenish block, with lots of honking orange and purple and spiders. For some reason that's not the way the muse led me.

I found this silkie I'd printed a year or more ago, and liked the soft golds so much I echoed those colors in the rest of the piecing. Then I "grew" a pine tree to overlap the scene.

I still think purple and lavender are wonderful fall colors (think asters and grapes), so that became an accent color in silk ribbon, threads, and butterflies. And it just wouldn't be fall without some honking orange, so the aster centers and the tiny butterfly.
Anyway, even though it's not what I originally envisioned, it's off to the swap hostess to make its way to a new home!

Witch hat, a little more progress

2010-10-22T10:51:00.000-07:00

Here's the caldron:

The "potion" bubbling away inside it is a small scrap of funky textured yarn that I picked up off the floor at the retreat. It was blue, but I was able to dye it a weird green using my new set of alcohol ink dyes. With the addition of some slime green glass beads, viola! you have a gurgling, seething, and probably poisonous potion fit for witch! Hurry away, little frog, or you go in the pot too...

All I added here is the jack-o-lantern button, but he seemed to have the right facial expression for the saying.

Halloween hat progress

2010-10-13T10:12:00.000-07:00

I worked on my witch hat all during the retreat. Even though I accidently forgot to bring my sewing bag that contained ALL MY THREADS, EXTRA NEEDLES, AND SCISSORS! When I discovered my error soon after we arrived at the cabin, I didn't panic. I didn't cry. I didn't go upstairs and throw myself down. I didn't rub honey on myself and walk out looking for bears. I didn't go out and tease an elk (though I was sorely tempted to do all those things). I just figured I'd throw myself on the mercy of my fellow CQers and beg a piece of thread here and another there, and I'd stitch as I could, borrowing scissors as I went.
I did have one needle with me, stuck in the cone-shaped piece of the hat, as I'd been working on it when I left and had packed it in the large plastic tub I brought. Well, that first evening, we exchanged our little "gifties" (small tokens for each member of the group; mine was some buttons and beads). Diane M from Ontario gave each of us a small baggie with several skeins of rayon floss (thanks again Diane!), so I was no longer destitute! The next day, I begged a bit of floss from Gerry H(Gerry, you rock!), and worked on the circle design on my hat. That afternoon, we each got a "door prize", and I got a cute glass jar filled with 6-strand cotton floss. Later I discovered a ball of white perle cotton (my favorite thread) that I'd thrown in for the dyeing session, along with white lace and silk ribbon (for which I had no needle).
When we did the dyeing, using Leslie's Adirondack alcohol ink dyes (thank you for sharing again, Leslie, I missed out on this last year), I dyed some of the lace and a bit of the ribbon, but I dyed almost the whole ball of perle cotton (I shared some with others). I did a blue and purple variegation, and a shades of olive green, and shades of grassy green. I did a pale to intense orange, and a pale to bright yellow. I did a white to hot pink that is pretty enough to eat. I did a pink and pale orange that I dubbed "tequila sunrise". Then I got really wild and did a purple and orange variegation specifically for my hat (can't imagine what else that combination would be useful for!). See below; the purple/orange is what I used for the wavy wheat ear chain. The blue/purple is in the "flowers" on the seam to the left of the fly button. The yellow is the broom straw.

After I got home, I did the "wicked" wording, and put the little glass cat head bead that Gerry gave me on the lace motif with the lavender roses that Ingrid gave me.

At the retreat I did the backstitched caldron, and gave it some orange leaf beads for its fire. The metal piece to the left is an earring I found at a second hand store.

During the stash dash, I found lots of pieces of black fabric to add into my brims, which I hadn't pieced yet. I'd been trying all the week before retreat to find time to piece them, but it was better that I waited till I got there; I got so much more variety in the fabrics by waiting!

The bit of orange ribbon is also from Ingrid. I think this brim is the underside, as that large expanse of black fabric is going to have a part of a crocheted doily placed over it as a spider web, with the spider hanging down by a thread.

To do the wording, including the "wicked" phrase, I used waste canvas that is made for counted cross stitch. It gives you a grid on which to stitch a motif or words. In this case, "Hocus Pocus". The first thing to do is sketch out the words on graph paper that is approximately the same size as the waste canvas (14 squares to the inch). In this photo, the stitching is already done.

Stitch the wording; I used a back stitch and some of my blue/purple variegated perle. It's good to have large unused margins on the canvas; those long threads are easier to grasp when you start to pull them out.

The stitching is done and I'm beginning to take out the waste canvas. This can be done easier if you dampen the canvas, but it's not absolutely necessary. If you're working on satin or other water-stainable fabric, it's best to do it dry.

Almost done. The threads that are actually under your stitches are harder to pull out than the marginal ones, so pull them carefully. Maybe hold a slight pressure on your stitching to keep it in place as you pull.

And the finished motif; HOCUS POCUS! Ooops! Did I turn you into a frog? Oh, good!

Homecoming dance

2010-10-13T10:01:00.000-07:00

Michaela and her friends decided that they'd go to the Homecoming dance this year. Rachel came over to fix Michaela's hair for her (I would not have been able to do much more than a ponytail or curls...or a curly ponytail).

The master at work...

Corbin stayed out of the way by hunting dinosaurs on our computer. His hair was styled by his Uncle Cole.

The finished hair style

The shoes.

And the trio of dancers, ready to be off. Michaela, Marissa, and Norma.

More photos from the retreat: Chinese auction

2010-10-10T11:22:00.000-07:00

If you've never done a "Chinese auction", here's how it works. Each participant brings a wrapped gift; in this case either a CQed item or some stash for CQing. All draw numbers from a hat. The person with #1 begins by selecting a gift to open (and she'd better not get too attached to it!). The #2 person can either steal that gift from her or open another from the stack. If #2 steals, then #1 gets to open another gift from the stack. This opening and stealing continues until all the gifts are claimed, with each gift being stolen a maximum of 2 times. The second person to steal it gets to keep it.
Kerry went first and opened this incredible bear made entirely of CQ'd patches by Lauri B.

Kerry knew she wouldn't be able to keep it from being stolen, so she hugged it goodbye, and Hideko took it from her.

But little did Hideko know that her new friend Josie also wanted the bear!

And she took it and got to keep it.

Here's Gerry H, Cathy K, Ingrid, Kerry, Juli, and Hideko.

Josie, Diane, Connie, Shari, and Jacquie enjoying the action.

Colleen, Lauri, and Leslie.

Lauri got Gerry's dress form.

Connie was a victim of theft more than once (I even stole a gift from her and didn't get to keep it either).

Gerry and Cathy.

Hideko ended up with a lovely needle book.

Retreat photos with comments

2010-10-10T10:56:00.000-07:00

The retreat was such great fun! Here's a few images of things we did and saw. This first is a photo of the main cabin. It was incredible inside; plenty of space and just really nice!

Each evening the elk would come out down near the administration buildings. There were some huge bulls that seemed to like having their picture taken and would even "spar" a bit with each other. They didn't seem very serious; they'd jostle a bit and then stand side by side and eat some grass.

They are literally 10 feet from the window of this cabin, so the folks inside really got a great show. I just hope they didn't need to go outside for anything.

Cathy K. brought loads of fabric and trims for the stash dash, along with some pieces that the rest of us threw in. There was a whole wedding dress to dismantle! Here are Lauri B, Ingrid, and Gerry H cutting into it. Lisa B is in the background.

The best part of the retreat for me is meeting new friends and getting to see old friends again. First timers this year, Freda B, Juli L, and Colleen A are sitting at the dining table where we were all able to either eat or stitch in one room.

Josie T and Leslie E during the stash dash.

Cathy K brought an antique quilt that we enjoyed viewing.

And Ingrid brought a quilt from Piecemakers for us to enjoy.

That's Diane M on the left foreground, and Ilyse on the right. Ilyse assembled her very first CQ block at the retreat, and she's off to a great start!

Leslie showed us her finished quilt. This was made from blocks done in a DYB round robin with CQI ladies.

Where did August go?

2010-09-01T12:16:00.000-07:00

My next round robin is getting going. I need to have these "jewels on black" blocks out today. They'll be headed first for an army base in Uraguay. Jewels on black refers to the all-black piecing, which will be embellished with jewel tones.

We celebrated Trystan's graduation from grad school, her being home, her moving to Seattle, and her birthday this month with a family cook-out on Sunday afternoon. The wind nearly blew us all away, but we enjoyed and are grateful for those who could come to celebrate with us. Here's a shot of Trystan's cake:

And as we came home one evening, there was this very large moth resting near the porch light. Michaela asked, "Mom, is that one of those...Egyptian-type moths?" (she's such a good straight-man for my humor). I replied, "I sphinx so."

Witch's hat in progress

2010-08-22T19:46:00.000-07:00

Remember the witch's hat I pieced recently?

I've had a chance to do some work on it lately, and the first thing I wanted to add
was a spider web and spider. So I "built" the vining rose branches (done in DMC Variations size 5 color #4050), and added some cast-on stitch roses (done in size 5 DMC Variations color #4200). Then I stitched the web (size 12 perle cotton) and added the golden spider. Her body is two beads, legs are DMC size 8 perle cotton.

Then I did this seam, which began as a large herringbone stitch in gold size 8 perle cotton. I added the stacked fly stitch leaves (DMC Variations #4030) and then the "grapes" (DMC Variations #4240) and the wheat ears (#4126). Does it sound like I like the Variations threads? Well, I do! I love the subtle and not so subtle color changes, and the fact that they change quickly within an 18" strand. I wish they were available in size 8 perle cotton, but I find the size 5 to work well for some things.

Jewels on Black

2010-08-17T08:01:00.000-07:00

I signed up to do another round robin on CQI, this one being a DYB, or "do your block". Each of the 6 stitchers pieces their own six 6" blocks, in this case done in all black, and then they make the rounds. Each person gets to choose one of the blocks in the package to embellish completely, then sends them all on their way to the next stitcher. By the time they get to the last stitcher, that person only has two unembellished blocks to choose from, but they get the pleasure of seeing all the other embellished blocks. The owner then gets their blocks back, and 5 of them are done, with one last one left for the owner to complete.

Anyway, this block is not part of that group, but when I signed up, I really wanted to stitch on something black and knew it would be a month at least until the RR go going, so I pieced this one for myself. It's shown here partially embellished:

And finished:

This was one of those blocks that didn't really grab me until near the end. When I added that black and white rick-rack trim (I don't usually like rick-rack, but this I love) and then the orange roses, I finally felt like it was going to be a good block. Don't know what I'm going to do with it, but I like it!

Fishing on Grand Mesa

2010-08-03T20:48:00.000-07:00

We went fishing at Cottonwood #1 on Sunday. It's been rainy here in the valley, and we can see that Grand Mesa has been really getting a lot of rain. The undergrowth around the trees is lush and green. Here's Zack watching my pole for me. I lost two sets of leaders, weights, and hooks within the first 1/2 hour of fishing.

Here's the view down the parking lot that butts up to the lake.

Some of us were using bait and some were using lures. The lures seemed to work best.

When we first got to the lake (and driving up there) we were in some heavy rain, but after awhile it cleared up. We had some lovely cool weather for a couple of hours, then a fog bank rolled in.

Within a few minutes, the fog had obscured the opposite shoreline, and it looked like everyone was fishing into nothingness....

Rachel and Dozer. The dog thought the water was really interesting and probably would have jumped in if she'd let him.

Zack's sunny smile.

Dozer sitting on Rachel's feet.

We ended up with 5 rainbow trout. Corbin caught 2, Rachel caught 2, and Paul caught 1.

Can you see the bear? Not a real one, the rock formation looks like a bear climbing up the side of the mountain.

Sleepy fishers.

Are you ready for this??

2010-07-14T08:34:00.000-07:00

This is what you call making up for lost time!Eleven photos. I hope I don't break Blogger in the process.
First we have two MORE rocking chair pin cushions that I found on Ebay. I've got quite a little collection going. I'm pretty sure I won't be keeping them all. One will be given a CQ make-over and will be taken to the CQI retreat as a Chinese auction gift. Others might get make-overs and be offered for sale. I haven't decided yet. Poor Commander Riker is NOT having a good day...."Riker to Enterprise! I'm pinned down! Beam me up NOW!" Oh, we do have fun with Riker around here. He's my grandson Zack's favorite toy when he comes over...

Here's the flower fairy block I embellished for Rita in Kansas. This RR is over for me now, and my blocks are home!

I found this skull fabric remnant the other day and had the urge to make an all black and white block just for fun. I have no plans for it, but my muse was getting sleepy and needed some encouragement.

Here are my flower fairy blocks! They were all pieced by Lauri B. These two were embellished by Susan in Australia (left) and Rita in Kansas (right).

These two were done by Kerry in Canada and Arlene in Australia. These blocks literally had a trip around the world! They left Colorado in January for Kansas, then went to Queensland, Australia, then to Alberta, Canada, then back to Queensland, then to Iowa, then back to Colorado. If only they could talk...

The block on the left here was done by Cathy L. in Iowa, and the one on the right is left for me to do. I can't decide if I want them all together in one wall hanging or if I want to do up two more and make a couple of schlep bags with them.

Paul has recovered sufficiently to be able to do some ATVing, which he has missed terribly this spring and summer. He took these photos on Glade Park while he and Michaela had a ride last Sunday.

The wildflowers were incredible.

And this columbine (Colorado's state flower) was huge!

Later that evening, we had a storm move through the valley, which brought this incredible double rainbow. It was actually a full rainbow (my camera couldn't capture it all) and very intensely colored at the ends.

As if that wasn't enough to ooh and aah about, it was followed by a gorgeous sunset. This is actually taken looking east, away from the setting sun, but the light turned the clouds this Easter-egg pink against the blue sky.

vintage rocking chair pin cushions

2010-06-27T07:41:00.000-07:00

I know I've posted about my rocking chair pin cushions before, but I recently checked on Ebay and found several going for various prices. And I'd swear that no two are alike! These are the two I already owned, the one from my grandma on the left, and the one I bought a local antique store on the right:

The one on the right got a CQ make-over, which I wrote about for CQ Mag Online.

I went a little crazy and bid on and won these two:

The one on the right has an opening in the back to tuck your small scissors into. Will these two chairs get CQ make-overs too? Only time will tell.....

Making memories for breast cancer block

2010-06-20T11:20:00.000-07:00

For the 3rd year, CQI is asking its members to make and donate a quilt block to be made into a quilt to benefit breast cancer research. Here's my contribution for 2010. The before photo:

And the after photo:

I used one crochet-edged linen doily as an embellishment, cutting it a little off the center line and adding one part to the left and one to the right. The ribbon rose in the upper left is a spider web rose; that's the first time I'd ever done one. I was teaching that technique at a class that night and thought I'd better have one under my belt before then!
I love the meandering gimp trim. This is some that I dyed myself. The dragonfly lace motifs are also hand-dyed. But I really love the fabrics in this block. All the fabrics used are either from donated wedding gowns or from fabric that could be used for wedding gowns.

Wedding on the ranch

2010-06-20T11:07:00.001-07:00

On June 6th, we attended the wedding of Paul's cousin's youngest daughter. It was held out in a field on the Potter Ranch, which is between Ridgway and Ouray, Colorado. The bride is Eddie Witherspoon and the groom is Jesse Sanner.

Here comes the bride:

Her father, Ed, gives her his blessings:

Her sisters and niece were her attendants:

Is that a gorgeous backdrop or what? That's Mount Abram with the snow on it.

The book store

2010-06-20T10:32:00.000-07:00

Here's part of what has been keeping me away from blogging lately. In March I got a part time job at a locally-owned used book store. On the last day of April, they opened a second store downtown on Main Street, and my work time has been about equally divided between the two. I took my camera to work with me one day recently, and a few days later Michaela and I took a stroll down Main Street pretending to be tourists. We took photos and went into different stores and just window-shopped others.
Here's the book store inside:

And here's the outside, from across the street:

And here are some of the sights on Main Street. We have a lot of sculptures in the Art on the Corner program, some of which are temporary and for sale, and others are permanent:

What have I been doing?

2010-05-20T11:58:00.000-07:00

Not much, in the CQing department. In mid March, I accepted a part-time position at my favorite used book store, Twice Upon a Time. I've been a customer there for years and years, and daughter Trystan worked there for about 6 months between graduating from college and leaving for grad school. It's been great fun, as well as a pretty big challenge for my brain. Before I started working there, many of my day to day conversations were about dinosaurs and/or super heroes (and truthfully, I miss those conversations). But now I get to ask and answer questions about books. I love books and I love people who love books. Getting to know my employers, fellow workers, and the customers is a joy. The store owners have also opened a new store (still selling mostly used books) on Main Street in our lovely downtown shopping area, which is very pedestrian friendly. That store is called Grand Valley Books, and I invite you to visit both stores if you're ever in Grand Junction. I hope to take my camera to work on Saturday and get some photos of the new store to post here.

But I have done a little CQing. This is the last block in the Bees, Butterflies, and Beetles RR I'm in. It belongs to Meg. My work is the large shiny beetle in the center and the ribbon embroidery motif in the upper right. There were lots of butterflies on here already, so I did the beetle and 3 small bees.

This is the block I embellished for Susan in the Flower Fairies RR. I love seam treatments, so every seam got some attention. I also made a small silver embroidered fan, and a flowering vine with flowers done in cast-on stitch in some of DMC's variations perle cotton in size 5. The blue and lavender colors are a wonderful match for the colors in the flower fairy's flower. I also attached the last little bit of lavender lace that I bought at the first CQ Colorado retreat.

And then, for a baby boy that is due very soon, I decorated a striped onesie with a bullion stitch frog and dragonfly. The tiny socks also have frogs added to each side.

Wildlife in my back yard

2010-04-23T14:42:00.000-07:00

My youngest daughter was working in the flower bed last week and found this little fellow, a garden snail. In all my years here in Colorado, I've never seen one of these before, and assumed it was much too dry for them here. I've seen slugs this big inside the pit where the sprinkler valves are, but this guy is so cute with his curly little shell and his 4 "horns". He is currently living in a jar in my kitchen, being kept warm (it dipped down to 39 degrees this morning) and eating his chosen food; day lily leaves.

Then she found a yellow garden spider on a yellow tulip. These I have seen before, on yellow daffodils. They seem to know they're well hidden on a flower that shares their color. If you look closely you'll see she's caught a small fly.

Tulips and a donated quilt

2010-04-23T14:24:00.000-07:00

Tulips have been really pretty this year. These are in the back yard...

...and these are in the front. Check out the red streak in the yellow tulip.

And here is this year's quilt designed by my 3rd grade religious education class. I try to tie in the quilt with the lesson on works of mercy. Donating a quilt is both a corporal work of mercy (clothe the naked) and a spiritual work of mercy (comfort the afflicted). Most of the drawings have something to do with faith. From top row, left to right, we have: wonders of God's creation, Saint Francis of Assisi, more of God's creation. Row 2: the burning bush, a cross, and a scene from Star Wars (the artist argued that it might comfort a child, and I had to agree). Row 3: Jesus on the cross, star of Bethlehem, and Noah's ark. We don't know who will get our quilt, but we hope God sees that it goes to someone who needs it, will like it, and appreciate it.

Silk ribbon embroidered vest... for a bear

2010-04-06T14:54:00.000-07:00

I'm planning to teach a silk ribbon embroidery class in May, and this little aqua colored bear seemed like a great display item. He was originally a zodiac bear, with the pisces symbol on one foot and the word on the other, so the first thing I did was cover his feet with patches of ivory moire taffeta. I'd already decided to use that fabric for the vest, so his feet now match his vest. I used a pattern that I drew up awhile back, and drew around the pattern pieces directly onto the moire. Then I stitched the flowers. Here's how it looks at that point (the two fronts are on the left, the back on the right):

I cut them out, leaving a scant 1/4" seam allowance.

Using the pieces themselves as templates, I cut the lining pieces out of a cotton print.

Stitched fronts to backs at shoulders, then sewed the lining and fronts together, leaving open a bit of the back on the bottom for turning. After it's turned right side out, I blind stitched the opening and pressed it gently on a thick towel. That's probably the trickiest part of this process, as I managed to flatten my SRE more than I would have liked. I probably should have just pressed the edges and not the embroidered parts, but silk ribbon is very forgiving. I spritzed it with water and lifted each bit up a little, and it looks fine.

After it was all together, I realized I'd forgotten to give the bee on the front his wings....

Complain, complain....

2010-03-31T06:55:00.000-07:00

I'm getting complaints from some people who shall remain nameless (you know who you are, Barb-my-sister) about not posting frequently enough, so here's a little something to silence the whining.

This block belongs to Arlene in Australia. We are in the Butterfly, Bee, and Beetle round robin together. She and I both chose all white and cream fabrics for our buggy blocks. On this block I didn't do all the work you're seeing here. That parade of beetles was done by Diane in Ontario; I love it and hope she'll do something similar on my block. I did the blue butterfly, which is done in the 3d fashion of stitching two printed butterfly images together and attaching them to the block with the stitching that forms the body (if you'd like a more detailed explanation than that, leave a comment and a way to contact you). I also made the ribbon pansy, the irises, and the little bees. The red of the pansy was pretty strong, so I repeated that shade around the block a bit, including adding blossoms to the vine that Diane's beetles are following. I attached the hand-dyed green lace to the seam on the right, and added some beads and "tulips" to it. Also did the leafy vertical seam with the pinkish berries. I'm having such fun with this RR. Sadly, just one more block for me and it'll be over. But then I'll get my own block home!

During the last hand embroidery class I taught, I was asked if I would teach a silk ribbon embroidery class, so I have that planned for May. This little bear will be my "advertiser". He'll get a silk ribbon decorated vest and be on display at the used book store where the class will be held. As you can see, it's a work in progress; the back of the vest is on the right, and both front halves on the left. This little bear is super soft. He was originally a zodiac bear, with "Pisces" written on the bottom of one foot and the fish symbol on the other. I covered over that with some ivory moire taffeta (same fabric as the vest). I liked the aqua color and knew I could match it in the embroidery.

My husband is an avid outdoorsman. He's a member of the Western Slope ATV club and these are pictures he took on their last outing to the Yellowcat area of eastern Utah. Here's a beautiful red rock arch....

...and a view of the Colorado River from up on a cliff. If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you can probably see the ranch there by the river. What a spot to live; remote, but beautiful....

....and a view of the La Salle mountains. We liked this shot so much we're using it for our desktop!

Back to the gold quilt

2010-03-22T14:27:00.000-07:00

Here's a photo of some current progress on the gold quilt. This is one of the corner fan blocks. My friend and fellow CQer, Leslie, offered to make a motif for me to add to this quilt, and she hand stitched this wonderful, graceful dragonfly. It fits perfectly as the fan "handle", and I just love it!

Butterflies and birdhouses

2010-03-11T09:18:00.000-08:00

I finally got around to painting some of the mother of pearl buttons I bought recently at Tuesday Morning. Can you tell I'm longing for spring? What was your first clue? The little teapot is for a tote bag that I'm making to donate to the CQ convention in Omaha this summer. I've donated a bag every year for 4 years now, I think. They usually bring about $50 at the auction and the funds go for breast cancer research and for scholarships for CQers to attend the convention. Maybe someday I'll apply for one of those scholarships...

Rachel found out about this fund raiser that helps send hard to get but handy items to our troops overseas. They are raising money this year with a decorate-a-birdhouse contest. Rachel bought 5 of the little paper mache' birdhouses and gave two to Michaela and I to decorate. Here are Rachel's:

And here are Michaela's (right) and mine:

I believe they will be voted on by the public, then auctioned. Here's a link if you'd like to see the others people have done:
http://www.kjct8.com/global/Category.asp?c=183259

Tiny birds tutorial

2010-03-04T12:26:00.000-08:00

I'm using Arlene's Flower Fairy block to demonstrate. Here's a couple of sketches of the stitches' placement. I just noticed that I drew the sitting bird facing right, while the one I stitched faces left. Hope that's not too confusing. These birds are tiny, about 1/2" when done in size 8, just a little bigger when done in size 5, which is what I used here.

Begin the first and larger of the two bullions for the bird's breast and body. I don't count wraps; I "eyeball" the distance of the stitch, and since I want this bullion to curve like a bird's breast and belly, I make more wraps than needed to just cover that distance. If you plan to make a lot of birds and want them uniform, you might want to count your wraps, but I figure Mother Nature isn't very uniform in making her birds, so why should I be?

The first bullion is done and laying down where it should rest. Take a tacking stitch at some point along its length to keep it in that curve.

The second bullion should curve to fit into the first, and it should be a little shorter, so fewer wraps.

On the head end of the bird, make a 4 wrap French knot. Sometimes it helps to tack the French knot on both sides so it lays like you want it.

Add straight stitches for the wing....

...and for the tail, refer to sketch for placement.

I gave the orange bird two tiny straight stitches to make a little crest or topknot on its head; this is optional.

The flying bird is done in a similar way, but with two wings, and I gave him a wider tail (he's coming in for a landing!).

Add dark brown or black straight stitches for the beak and feet.

And here's Arlene's whole block. Am I absolutely done with it? Time will tell....

Orbs and RRs

2010-03-02T08:44:00.000-08:00

I tried to take a photo the other night of the moon rising into a skiff of clouds. It was beautiful the way the light edged the clouds. I could tell it wasn't working well when I viewed it on the camera's screen, but I posted it anyway for the orbs.

The brightest orb is the moon, of course, but there are 4 other orbs floating throughout the photo. Does anyone have a good explanation of what they are? I have gotten orbs in photos taken inside and outside, in full daylight and now in darkness. They rarely show up in close-ups, but in the mid-range they can be between the viewer and the person in the photo. The photos that several of us took at the grandsons' baptism are full of orbs of various sizes and in various positions.

There's one between Rachel's pant leg and the camera. And below, one next to Corbin's leg.

I know there must be some scientific reason that they pop up sometimes, but I prefer the mystical one: they are spirits or angels.

This is the block I embellished for Arlene for the Flower Fairies III RR. I'm having so much fun with the colors and theme of these blocks. They're springy and whimsical!

And here's the finished winter block that belongs to Beryl.

And a small shot of what Beryl did with my winter block. I'll post a larger pic when I get it home!

Six pics!

2010-02-25T08:34:00.001-08:00

It's been a while since I posted, and I apologize for that. I know how frustrating it can be to visit a blog and not find anything new to see time after time. So to make up for lost time, here are 6 pictures for your enjoyment!

The first is a work in progress. It belongs to Beryl, and we are partners on CQ for Newbies, where we are doing the winter block of the season to season share. We each piece a block and embellish about half of it, then they get swapped out and we get to finish our partner's block while they finish ours, and then we get our own back again. It's a great way to get to see someone else's work up close without the huge time commitment of a round robin.
To this block I added the SRE poinsettia in the center, the seam above and to the left of it, the swirly beaded gimp trim (which I also dyed), the group of hot pink snowflakes on the green/white seam, and of course the tiny birds. I also added hot pink/fuschia beads here and there to tie it all together. But that green patch is staring at me, mocking me...what does it want?!? I don't know yet, but it doesn't have to be done and sent back until April 1st, so I have a little time.

Here's my completed Fantasy Landscape RR block, and I couldn't be more happy with it. I love the eyeball tree, the spaceship (which gets the award for "Best Use of Sequins"), the moon face, the plant life, and the aliens. Oh, the aliens! Four eyes and 6 tentacles! Who could ask for more than that? And if they lose an eyeball, they can just go pluck one off the eyeball tree!

I've been meaning to post for awhile about the pins I got for Christmas. Maybe I should clarify. I won some huge spider pins on Ebay, and when they arrived, I handed them to Paul and said, "Here, you're giving me these for Christmas." There are 4 of them, and oddly enough, I haven't found many occasions to wear them. Hmmm, go figure.....I did wear the red one on my black vest one day, just to go out shopping and doing errands, and NO ONE so much as mentioned it. I know some people are arachnophobic, but if you saw a huge, jeweled red spider on someone's shoulder, wouldn't you at least say, "That's some spider there." Or, "You've got a spider on your shoulder." Or, "Are you crazy or what???" So anyway, they won't get worn much, sadly, but I'm thinking I'll put them on my gold quilt. They can be pinned on there, and taken off to wear if an appropriate occasion does come up, like National Spider Pin Day or something like that. It could happen.

Here's the little wall quilt where I keep my pin collection. I have frogs and spiders on here, and a few odd things (like spiders and frogs aren't odd enough) like leaves and flowers.
You can click on the photo to get a close-up and see the other spiders (check out the red one!) and the frogs.

This is a bit of an antique quilt that I saw on Ebay. I just loved this spider and web. Someone really took their time with this, and must have studied a spider up close to get that detail. She even included a little something for Madame Spider to eat. My kinda gal!

We woke up to more snow this morning, just a skiff, really, but winter does seem reluctant to leave. However, spring is just as determined to come, as you can see by the tulips poking their brave little heads out of the leaf litter in the front flower bed. Come on Spring! You can do it!

Round robin blocks

2010-02-16T09:57:00.000-08:00

I'm in two round robins with CQI right now. The first is Flower Fairies III, and this is the block I worked on for Cathy L. The FF RR is a DYB, or do your block, which means each stitcher pieces 6- 6" blocks to go around to the group. When you receive a package of blocks, you get to choose which one you want to work on, and then you embellish the whole block. Out of Cathy's I had the choice of Rose, Iris, Wild Rose, Strawberry, Poppy, or Sweet Pea. I picked Strawberry and here's what I came up with:

The white strawberry blossoms are done in silk ribbon embroidery, with the strawberry fruits in perle cotton French knots. I dyed the lace piece and embellished it with beads and stitches. The gimp trim is also a home-dyed bit and it has beads worked into it too. The piece of crocheted doily is vintage, and makes the web of the red strawberry spider. Lastly I made the birds. They are done in bullion stitches and straight stitches with French knot heads. I'm not sure if I'm done with this block yet, but it's not due to move on yet anyway.

This my work on Cathy L's Bees, Butterflies, and Beetles block. Isn't it ironic that I ended up with both of her RR blocks at the same time? This RR is traditional; just one larger block to make the rounds. I embroidered the SRE rose bouquet at the top of the heart silkie, then used perle cotton to make the vines that trail down over the sides of it. The butterfly is done in 3D, using my stitch-and-turn method. Its body is boullion stitches and French knots, and the eyes are iridescent beads. The stitches that make up the body are what holds the butterfly on the block, so the wings lift up off the block. I'm not entirely sure I'm done with this block, either, and actually have a whole month before it needs to move on, so I'll keep it awhile and see if inspiration strikes again.

Debbie in Maine is having a give-away...

2010-02-09T08:58:00.000-08:00

Just look at all this wonderful stuff! Go to her brand spankin' new blog here and find out how to enter the drawing!

Bees, Butterflies, and Beetles RR

2010-02-03T08:35:00.001-08:00

This is the RR for which I made the large white/cream cotton circle block. I have apparently been so eager for this RR to start that I dreamed one night that I was in a vegetable garden and saw many huge beetles. They were the size of salad plates, and beautifully shiny in yellow, orange, and red, with black spots. I even dreamed I picked one up because I was so curious about how heavy they might be.

The first block I got to work on is Diane's. I met Diane in Breckenridge last September and she is delightful! So glad we got into a RR together! I promised her I wouldn't add any huge red beetles, but she gave me permission to (I didn't think they'd look good, so I didn't do it). She did request that we avoid adding butterflies, as she has an aversion to them and moths.

I was the first to work on this block, and I just loved the colors and the central flower fairy patch. First I did the SRE rose spray and added the green twining vines with dusty rose beads. Then I did the seam to the right of that patch, using dark burgundy thread and aqua beads; not a combination I'd usually put together, but on this block it is so pretty. Then I attached the hand dyed lace motif and made the feather stitch vines coming out of it. I appliqued the shiny gold beetle, then added 10 (yes, count 'em, 10) tiny bees hovering around the flowers. I wouldn't mind continuing on this block, as the theme and colors really appealed to me, but I've got to leave room for 3 other stitchers!

Tuesday Morning

2010-02-01T09:03:00.000-08:00

We have a local Tuesday Morning store that's been in the same place for years. I went in a few times when they first opened, but never found much to recommend the place. I signed up for their sale fliers to be sent by mail, and have continued to get them all these years; they've spent a lot more money on paper, ink, and postage than I ever spent in the store! Until recently.

I found this package of natural shell buttons with their (very) small stash of beads. I think these could be painted, ala Gerry Krueger's cottage buttons. They are considerably bigger than the buttons we've used when Gerry teaches her button painting classes at the retreat, and therefore a bit heavier, but I think they could be really special.
The package included 6 of the butterfly shapes, 5 of the "donut" shapes, 4 each of the ovals and hearts, and an assortment of smaller hearts that are probably too small to paint on but could still be attached to a CQ, and all this for $6.99. Now if I can just drag the old paints out and get busy, we'll see what happens.

Fantasy Landscape Round Robin-unicorn's garden

2010-01-29T09:28:00.000-08:00

This is my last block to work on in this RR. It belongs to Christy in Indiana. She pictured a unicorn's garden and included the cute unicorn image.

I did the tree on the left, including the flowers under it. I continued the same type and color of flowers under the unicorn's cart and on the right under the other tree. Then I made the three red birds in the tree, and added 2 butterfly buttons, 6 embroidered bumble bees, a frog, and a ladybug. See if you find them all; I scattered them around a bit. I'm including some close ups because I'm not sure about the quality of the whole picture, but you can click on any of them for extreme close ups.

Boys and their toys...

2010-01-19T08:54:00.000-08:00

Grandpa Paul and his little 4 wheelers. They had a trip around the neighborhood, then came back, got off, and decided to go again.

I finished the smaller coulotte skirt, this time with a ballerina bear applique and some pink roses.

And this is my half-worked winter block for the season to season swap going on at CQ for Newbies. My as-yet-unknown partner will work the rest of the block for me while I work on hers, and then we'll each get our own back. I did some tiny embroidery on here, so click for a close-up. I especially like the snowboarding snowman!

Thirty years ago....

2010-01-13T09:01:00.000-08:00

...I looked like this. Paul and I drove to Oregon to visit his brother and he took us to see the Pacific and some beautifully green areas nearby. I don't think we've taken as long of a trip since then! Several people posted on Facebook that this is Wayback Week, and our profile pictures should reflect that, so this is the one I posted. It startles me every time it comes up!
That halter top I'm wearing is one I made out of denim, lined with gold satin. The ties that start at the front neck cross in the back several times and tie at the waist, so it was essentially backless.

And here we have a denim coulotte skirt that I bought for a great niece for her 3rd birthday. It was plain and I embelished it a little. I have another skirt like it for another great niece that I'll post when it's done.
The doily is one I found at Sally's. Lately at Sally's they are pricing their doilies ridiculously high; several dollars for one doily. This one is pretty mangled on one corner, so I got it for 15 cents! I love the rose in the center and that can be salvaged. Also I think the other 3 corners are okay and would make excellent spider webs on a large scale project. And who doesn't love a huge spider web? Oh, really? You don't? Well I do!

Round robins

2010-01-12T08:19:00.000-08:00

I'm starting another new RR next month. This one is a DYB, or do your block, wherein each stitcher pieces 6 small blocks (6" finished size) and as they make their way around the group, each person chooses one to completely embellish. When the blocks come home, there's one left undone for the owner to stitch for herself. The theme for this one is Flower Fairies, and I've chosen to use images of fairies done by Cicely Mary Barker. Michael Miller has printed fabrics with some of her images on them and they're really lovely. The images in my blocks are silkies.

These blocks were actually given to me by Lauri B., who had 3 extras from her turn in a similar RR, and then generously offered to piece 3 more for me. I love the colors she used and the batik fabrics are perfect with the delicate fairies.

This block is from the Fantasy Landscape RR and it belongs to Velina. Her theme is at the beach, and other people have added a treasure chest, a mermaid, and a sea monster. I added the setting sun, the unusual moons, and the leaping fish (they're trying to avoid being dinner for the monster), which are done applique style using a sparkly knit fabric. I also added a pair of pink flip-flops abandoned on the beach, and a pink parrot guarding the treasure chest.

Progress!

2010-01-02T10:47:00.000-08:00

I have been working a bit on my gold quilt. We're about ready to start a RR on CQI that is themed Bees, Butterflies, and Beetles. Figuring most people will be adding mostly butterflies to the blocks, I will attempt to put at least one beetle on each, and thought I'd try out an applique technique to see how it would work. I have some stretchy knit fabric that can be cut into small shapes without it running or ravelling (I've used it before for fish bodies) and thought that might work well for beetles, so I did one on one of my gold quilt blocks. The block really needed something blue up in that corner, and I like how the beetle turned out. He's a little bit 3D, as I stuffed a tiny bit of fiberfill in just before I finished appliqueing him on. Then legs, head, antennae, and bead eyes, and poof, there's a shiny beetle (albeit not one I'd like to have land on me unexpectedly) on my quilt. Hopefully the method will work on others' blocks as well.

Some seams on the corner fans of the gold quilt.

And this is my block for the BB&B RR. It is quite large; 18" diameter, so there might be room for me to add some work of my own when it gets home.

Christmas images, part 4

2009-12-30T08:47:00.000-08:00

These are from Christmas day with the Wooters side of the family.
One of the best family gifts this year was Cyndel Bell Hoisington, born just about 60 hours before this picture was taken. Here she's being held by her cousin Devin, with her mom Morgan and cousin Trystan looking on. The other best family gift was Hannah Naomi Wooters, born September 30th. Our family has been doubly blessed with beautiful baby girls this year!

Cyndel's dad Jarad and her Great Great Aunt Wanda.

Aunt Wanda, Rachel, and Trystan.

Gayle doing the traditional defrosting of the shrimp cocktail with a hairdryer...

...Becky, Paul, and cousin Ken laughing at Gayle defrosting shrimp with a hairdryer...

One happy Grandma Barbara with her #1 granddaughter, Hazel, the new big sister.

My mom and my daughters.

Christmas images, part 3

2009-12-30T08:28:00.000-08:00

Zack in a box...he looks uncomfortable, but he put himself in there and was able to get himself out again.

Christmas eve with the Popish side of the family. Could I just take a moment and say that I have been blessed with the most gracious in-laws ever in the history of in-laws? We had quite a lean and mean Christmas this year as far as gift giving, with most of the gifts we gave being things (and I mean small things) that I made. But they were accepted as warmly as if they were expensive treasures. I have been told that there are people out there who don't believe they've been gifted properly unless the gift came from a store, perhaps a certain store only, and cost an "appropriate" amount of money. How lucky am I that I don't know any of those people?

Above (left to right), that's Iris, me, Jaymie, Kirk, and Sarah.

Lori (our excellent hostess for the evening), Desirae, and Rachel.

Kirk and Paul.
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