Grandma Ziki's Stitching

Stitching Cards

2010-03-08T17:14:00.001-08:00

I've been enjoying doing these cards. They are very simple to do, fun and quick.
I'm using DMC floss and some silk floss. I lke the way these threads cover the card.
I hope you enjoy them.

Hurrah!!

2008-02-10T12:19:00.001-08:00

Hurrah!! I finaly got the patio cleared off. (Check the post for Jan 13th and you will see my progress). The things under the tarp on the table will go Amvets tomorrow. I know the pitures and text will come out all over the blog, but I don't know how to fix that. I hope you will be able to follow along. The first two pictures show my fountain working and the patio all cleared off. I have alot to do here yet. This week I want to get some flowers and fix the patio up nice. Ingrid and Marlene will come on Thursday for a day of stitching, so I want it to look somewhat nice.
Next week someone will come to move the pool filter and pump and my son Randy will seal the leak in the garage and then I can arrange things in an orderly fashion in the garage.
Randy is on his way to Montreal, Canada for his work. He's going to freeze his tookis off. He talked to one of the ladies in Montreal and she asked if he had boots and gloves, he said"No, but I have shorts and sandals. " She just laughed.

The third picture is of a book I picked up at Tall Mouse yesterday. It has some wonderful motifs for CQ and very good instructions. It's put out by Leisure Arts and was written by Donna Kooler.
And it was only $10. Now that's a bargin. I also purchased Pam Kellogg's ( http://kittyandmedesigns.blogspot.com/ ) book on using Waste Canvas. She has some really
nice seam treatment patterns, so Ihave to stop browsing in the books and stitch something. Maybe I'll do a waste canvas treatment on my needlebook for the Piecemakers class or stitch a motif for the Memorial quilt. You'll have to check back in a few days. Now that will make me get busy and do something. Hope you have a wonderful day and that the weather isn't too bad where you are.

Something different

2008-02-03T19:08:00.001-08:00

We are having a new baby in our family in a few weeks. So this is what I have been working on. The large blanket is Swedish Weave. It's 45" square. The receiving blankets are also 45" square.

I could never figure out how to wrap a baby in one of those rectangular things. I found the bib in some things while I was cleaning out the garage. It's one of those pre-stamped CS ones.

Tomorrow I take my Lilli for tooth surgery. She's 13 now. Getting up in years for a Cocker. I'm really concerned about her and me. I've never had a sick puppy before.

I'm not sure what to work on next. I do need to get back to my memorial quilt.

Ruching

2008-01-24T06:59:00.000-08:00

The class at Piecemakers this week was on Ruching. Not my favorite thing. Sitting there taking tiny running stitches on silk ribbon. But here is the result so far. The white flowers in the center of the ruching are French Knot roses. These were fun to do. I wanted to get a motif worked up before posting this picture, but since it's been awhile since I posted I thought I would show what I have so far.

I'm finding that the colors of this block are very hard to work with. I think I like the darker color backgrounds better.

Well, enough for now, I have get Lilli to the groomers and Hopefully the guys will come with the garage door and I have to clean up this mess I have in my kitchen. It's raining here and some of my STUFF is getting wet on the patio, We managed to get almost all of it into the garge last weekend, but this sorting through stuff. Not looking forward to that. Have a good day and where ever you are stay warm, except those of you might be from down under, I suppose you are warm this time of year.

What did I get myself into???

2008-01-13T12:10:00.001-08:00

Our garage was 3/4 office for Karl and 1/4 storage for me. So I decided to make the office back into a garage. So here I am. This looks worse in person than it does in the picture. In the first picture you can see in the background some gray file cabinets. There are 5 of them. Each has 7 drawers that are about 11" x 28" deep. Karl used them to store his philatelic stamps and supplies. I have coveted this drawers for awhile and now they are mine. So now, after they get done remodeling the garage (it's 2 car by the way) all I need to do is put all this stuff back. Anyone want to come and help? I might not be doing very much stitching as this will keep me busy for awhile. And on the day that Ingrid and I spend together, we will be going to the "Road to California" quilt show in Ontario.

In this mess I found a tray that I have been looking for for some time. It's one of those wooden ones that has a place to put some stitching. So I've ordered a CS pattern to go in there. I also found a picture of my girls from 1970 something. They were in their Camp Fire Girl outfits and stitching on a quilt. I think this was taken for some newspaper. Guess that's all for now. I do want to post some more pictures of the "Garden D'Lights", but that will have to wait for another time.

Trip to Washington

2008-01-09T08:53:00.000-08:00

I'm waiting for Ingrid to come today so I may have to cut this short. But I wanted to show you the pictures of the Garden lights in Bellvue, WA. We went to this botanical Garden Where they made all these vignettes of flowers from the tiny christmas lights. It was the most amazing thing. If you can imagine taking a string of lights and turning it into a flower, or a peacock or a swan!

The Seccond picture is of the part of my family that was with me. The guy in the red jacket is my son Randy and with him is his wife Virginia. They live close to me here in Victorville (about and hour away). Above Virginia is my oldest Wendy, they live in Tacoma. I won't go into all the rest right now because I want to concentrate on the lights. The third picture was an open area and there was a lot more to it than in this picture. Now the last picture. IF you can inagine this was on a lawn. Again, all I could say was AMAZING. I have a few more pictures I would like to share, but I will save them for another time.

I wanted to get a picture of Mt. Baldy ( a ski resort near here) covered with snow, but it's hiding today. I'll keep watching and maybe I'll be able to get a good picture later. The snow should be up there until sometime in Feb. I have some pictures of the snow on our way up to WA. But, I'm sure all of you in the east would rather not see more snow. I have a few more from the garden, one is of a spider and a fly. Just a teaser. More later.

I'm back

2008-01-07T09:24:00.000-08:00

It's a new year and a new life for me. First I must apologize to all those on the
'Around the Block" for not changing my posts. Susan was kind enough to put me on vacation, but now that all the rigamarole from Karl's passing is over I will try to post at least once a week.

The picture is from a class I'm taking at Piecemakers with Ingrid. She can get me in more trouble. I can't take credit for the block. I purchased it from Pam Kellogg's Etsy shop awhile back.

I love the beaded leaf design. That's a beaded berry in the center. You could also use a button there. The fly stitch leaves on the spider web roses are done with one strand of floss and one of Madera Metallic Col # 424. It's a thread with black and gold wound together. Very effective.

We've had a lot of rain here in So. Cal. over the weekend. We had six inches here at my house since Friday. The sun is out now and the mountains are gorgeous. My car is in for service and I don't have any other transportation, but I will try to take a picture tomorrow. I'm sure the snow will still be there.

Well, I guess that's all for now. I hope you all will be ok with the strong storms across the U.S. I have lots more to share with you so maybe tomorrow. Sorry for the yellow. I used spell check and it won;t go away.

For those who still check by

2007-09-28T07:08:00.000-07:00

It's been very stressful here. I had a bunch of stuff go wrong. I just felt like taking a minute to post how things are.
Karl is very weak now and is in the last stages of his life here with us. It is a difficult time for me as I have kept him home and had to deal with a very bad hospice situation. But, I'm being selfish in keeping him home as I don't think I could cope with having him in a convalescent home and the way they treat patients there.
I've learned a lot and feel i could give a bed bath right along with the best of them. When this is over, I hope I will have the strength and ability to pay forward all the help that has been given to me.
On one of the CQ groups they are asking to you make comfort dolls for the women who are in homes for the abused. I think this is a wonderful idea and Pat winter of Gatherings has even started a blog for this. If anyone is reading this I would encourage you, if you can, to make one for someone in my situation also. It would be wonderful to receive such a gift from someone you know is thinking and caring about you.
The dolls are no bigger than 6 inches are meant to carry around with you in your pocket and purse. Anyway I have asked Pam Kellog to make me one and can't to receive it as I know it will help me through this rough time.
Thank you for stopping by and hopefully I'll feel like doing some stitching soon as the Memory quilt is in need of a lot of work. Right now I'm working on a Swedish Weave blank for a new Great Grand child. It's a simple pattern just 3 up and 3 down in a zigzag pattern. Well, I better get going and get myself ready for the day. My love to all of you. June

Just a Note

2007-08-17T06:01:00.000-07:00

I would like to say hello to all who check my blog every once in awhile. I'm sorry I haven't had anything new to post. My daughter called and said she had checked and I didn't have anything new. WEll, things are bad for Karl right now and therefore I haven't had time or even the energy to think about doing crazy quilting. I guess the memory quilt will have to be on hold for a while.
I did find a very simple knitting project to keep my hands busy when I can find the time to sit and not try to think about things.
So, I will say thank you all for checking my blog and for all your comments. If and when I do find some time to stitch or post something, I will send a post to the CQ4Newbies board.

Swedish Weave and Meanderings

2007-07-27T10:15:00.000-07:00

I haven't had time to work on the Memorial Quilt. I think that will have to take a back seat for a little. This has been a bad week for Karl and he spent some time in the hospital getting a blood transfusion. So I'm working on a Swedish Weave blanket. Swedish weave is great because it keeps your hands busy and your mind just enough so you can't think too hard. I will post a picture later showing the blanket.
As I'm working on this I'm thinking about one of my daughter's, husband's, grandmother. She had done all sorts of hand work and stashed it away in a hope chest. And when there was a wedding she would invite the bride to her house to come choose some pieces from the hope chest. I thought this was just a wonderful idea. I would love to do that, but first I would need a hope chest, or as my Mother would say "A hopeless chest."
The other meandering is: On the way home from the hospital with Karl yesterday, he asked for
a Coke, so I pulled into Mickey D's and had a sip myself. I don't usually drink Coke, I'm a Dr. Pepper person. Anyway, when I took that sip I instantly thought of a Chocolate covered Donut.
When I was in high school we took the bus home and there was a little donut shop across the street. We would go over and for 15 cents we could have a donut and a coke. So back I went to high school days. It's funny how something like a taste, smell or sound can take you back to another time.
I'm sorry I don't have any eye candy for you today. But I will try to post a picture of the blanket in a few days. Thanks for stopping by.

Fan

2007-07-19T08:51:00.000-07:00

Here's my fan. It's a little lopsided, but then so am I. Don't quite know how I will incorporate this into the quilt, but we will see. I think maybe it's a little to much, but I guess it will be ok. It's kind of hard to keep things simple after taking Sharon B's encrusted class.

After I finished this I found a tutorial at http://www.wyldwmn.com/fanblock1/htm That explains how to do a fan, by placing your first fan blade in the center of the fan base. DUH!! Maybe then it wouldn't be so lopesided. It really does look worse in person than in the photo.

My next step will be to put this onto the block and attach that to the quilt.

My oldest daughter, Wendy, was down a couple of weekends ago and she brought the block she was working on. She's doing a wonderful job. Her stitches are so nice and even. She's not even marking her fabric. Someone must have taught better then they taught her mother.

I hope you like what I have done. Am thinking about the sashing for around the outside of the quilt. Maybe I'll work on that a little also.

End of June

2007-07-01T11:26:00.000-07:00

Whoops!! I didn't mean the end of me, although I think that is coming pretty soon. No It's the end of the month of June. Half way through this year. Not too long ago I was wondering what this year would bring.

I have some more pictures today of my progress on the memorial quilt. I hope you won't get bored with what I'm doing, as I'll be working on this for some time. One is of a dresser scarf that my Grandmother, Mary Weiss did somewhere around the early 1930's. I never thought I would be using these precious pieces in this way. But, anyway, I made a copy of one of the motifs and put it on a patch for the Memorial Quilt. I had a heck of a time trying to find the right color of fibers to use. I wound up with Needle and Neccesities (Orange) and DMC for the green. I have not really worked with #5 perle that much, but that is what was used on the scarf, so I wanted to keep it as close to the original as I could. I think the orange is a little dark, but then I guess you have to take in consideration fading over the years.

After I do some more seam treatments I want to do a fan. that should be interesting. anyway, let's see where these pictures turn up in this blog. I hope at the end. I need to find out how to place the pictures where you want them. Another project.

Just a Note

2007-06-24T11:13:00.000-07:00

I wanted to drop a note and thank all those who have stopped by and left a comment and those who just stopped to take a peek at what I'm doing. I'm not sure how it works when you want to answer to a comment. So I'll do it here. Someone asked if the Rico Tablecloth was cross stitch. Yes it is. That was fun to do and finally something I kept for myself.

About the Memorial quilt. I am keeping a journal of all the motifs noting the threads and colors and any comments,such as: where the motif came from and how I decided to use that particular one. I now need to do some smaller blocks to incorporate into the main piece of muslin. I think it will be easier to do the embellisments etc. on the smaller blocks.

The photo above is of the series I am reading now. Jennifer has written 10 novels so far. I have read the first three twice now and have treated myself to the rest, so I will have a nice summer reading program going on.
These stories are about a woman who inherited her family home "Elm Creek Manor" and was going to sell it, but then found a wonderful group of women who talked her into making it into a quilt camp. The stories are about the women who come the camp for a week each year and about the history of the family that lived at Elm Creek. It goes back into the civil war times and how quilts were used in the under ground railroad to aid the slaves who escaped from the plantations.

These stories of the quilts did not surface until recently so I don't know how true they are, but they make for interesting reading. She goes into the different sane quilt patterns and the meaning behind some of them. It's great to read how these woment come together a group and help each other. I would love to attend one of the stitchery retreats. Maybe one day. Something to look forward to. I did attend a Wooly retreat a couple of years ago. It was put on by "Bird Brain Designs." That was great fun.

Well, enough babeling. Hope you all have a wonderful day.

Another Patch

2007-06-20T08:13:00.000-07:00

As I was working on this patch, I've learned several things which I will tell you about in a minute. First I want to tell you about this patch. In my Mother's house there was always a vase with silk flower red poppies, wheat and blue cornflowers. One day she told me that they reminded her of the fields where she used to live in Germany. And when we were on a trip up the Rhine river I saw such a field. I could see why they had made such and inpression on her. So in memory of my Mother I stitched this patch and decided that I would call this a Memorial quilt rather than a whole quilt. Didn't know exactly what to call it before, but memorial seems to fit it rather nicely.

Some things I've learned while working this patch.

1. This has always confused me as to what you call this little piece of fabric. So now I have it straight. The whole piece is called a block and the small pieces in it are a patch.

2. I think that when working the satin stitch as a filler, silk floss lies better than cotton floss to fill in the area.

3. Perle cotton looks better when doing the leaf stitch than cotton floss.

One thing for sure I will be learning a lot of things while doing this. I'm going to make up some 8" blocks to work on and then attach them to the foundation muslin. I think that will be easier then trying to hold on to all this fabric while stitching. So here is a picture of my latest patch. I hope you like it.

More on the whole quilt

2007-06-14T10:29:00.001-07:00

Ok Here goes, I hope these pictures will be in the right order. I've spent the last 4 days working on this. The ideas just seem to keep coming. I was in a slump there for awhile. Anyway, This first picture with the paisley is from Martha Stewart Living latest issue. I just loved the design and it was easy to stitch. It's amazing where you can find inspiration.

The second picture has a couple of new seam embellishments. The picture that is pinned on the black patch is something I'm playing with. I'll tell more about that when I get it finished.

And the last is a motif from "Motifs for Crazy Quilting by J. Marsha Michler.

So there are my accomplishments for this week.

I hope you like them

Repairing an antique CQ

2007-06-02T11:08:00.000-07:00

I was telling Pam Kellogg about the batting in my Antique Quilt and she asked if I would post a picture. The second picture is of a patch where the fabric has completly disintigrated.

I had mentioned that I thought it looked like fur. It was all over my navy slacks the other day and it looked like fur. It's probably just cotton though. As I was looking more closely at the quilt I found out that the stitcher had probably pieced the top together and then did the embellishing through the batting and muslin. I don't know if I mentioned this before or not, but quite of few of the patches are ribbon. You can tell by the finished edges on the ribbon. This is quite exciting to be doing this and especially following along as Pam does 2 quilts. She gave me the inspiration to really work on this.

If you'd like to see the entire quilt, scroll down to March 22.

2007-05-25T12:46:00.000-07:00

More progress on the quilt. I'm really enjoying this. Need to get some housework done though.

The turquoise fan is from Carole Samples book. I'm going to add something streaming. Don't quite know what yet. Next I will be making some blocks for my girls to do. I will probably do more blocks as they are easier to work on. I haven't had too much trouble stitching on this because I'm still working around the edge, but I'm sure when I get to the middle it will be sort of bulky. I'm finding it fairly simple to add pieces around the block so it has more of the random look.

I've found two items that work really well for marking on dark fabrics. I got them at the stationary store. One is a silver Sakura GellyRoll pen and the other is a Dry Highlighter pencil by Staedtler. The design stays on longer than chalk and they both disappear with just a little rubbing.

It's strange how sometimes things work better when you sleep on them. The Kreepy Krawler in the pool stopped working and the filter needed changing. We had purchased a new filter last summer and I was unable to get the darn thing open. You see I'm stuck doing everything myself now. Anyway. I went to bed thinking about the filter, got up this morning and in no time had figured out how to get it open. So that's taken care of now for awhile. I think I deserve a present for that one. I'll have to think of something good!!

2007-05-25T12:42:00.000-07:00

Progress on whole quilt

2007-05-21T10:05:00.001-07:00

First off, would you believe it is raining here in So. Cal. Must be that liquid sunshine. It's not much just enough to mess up the car.

Here is my progress on the quilt. I spent pretty much of yesterday stitching on it. It takes me so long because all the piecing is done by hand. From the picture it looks like the fabric isn't laying very flat, but it is.I think it's the irradiance of the fabric. This isn't a very good picture of my seam embellishment, but it is pretty in person. Maybe another picture can show it better. Maybe it's just the one taking the picture?? You think? Nah!

The dragonfly is a free pattern from Bird Brain designs. I really like it and will probably use it again later on in another color. Have to find something for the black patch on the right. Well, need to get busy and do something around here, make some phone calls.

For those of you who know my DH. He's not doing very well. Not eating anything. He's lost another 6 lbs. Have to get on that. He just sleeps most of the day now and has taken to laying on the couch instead of sitting in his chair. Well, that"s all for now. As Charlie Gibson says,(He's a newscaster here in the states)" Hope you have a good day."

Start of Memorial Quilt

2007-05-17T13:04:00.000-07:00

Ok! I'm off on the Memorial quilt. this is just a start,

most of this is just pinned in place. I think I can soften the square lines., as I don't want that blocky look. I'm waiting on some more fabric from Thread Art. For some reason it's stuck in Houston while they check the origin of the package?? What ever that means, since Thread Art is located in Cypress, TX. Very Annoying. Don't they know their holding up progress here. I ordered some gold dupioni, I think I will use alot of that.

Anyway, I just wanted to get a start on this to see if I could do it. I have to get busy and do the blocks to send to my girls who are helping me with this. I've done some pieces with motifs on them that I will add in as I go. So we'll see what happens. I forgot to mention the the purple heart in the middle is a free design from "Bird Brain Designs" (NAYY) but Robin and Tina do some wonderful patterns in redwork and wool felt. Some of you may have seen them at the different sewing and craft shows as they travel the US with their wares. This month Robin has a wonderful dragonfly in her free design. Their site addy is www.birdbraindesigns.net I attended their first retreat last year and had a wonderful time. Hope to get back to do that again in the future. I'll post more as I go and perhaps post pictures of some of the motifs I've done.

I have to keep looking at this as one piece at a time, or I'll never get it finished. So I hope you will keep checking back to watch and comment on my progress.

New Block

2007-05-04T09:02:00.000-07:00

Here is my progress on this block. I wanted to keep it simple, but it's really hard. I don;t think I want to use SRE, Just simple motifs and seam embellishments.

Threading a needle

2007-05-04T08:24:00.000-07:00

Mentioned this way of threading a needle on the CQ4 newbies group and was asked to do a tutorial. I have to apologize for the photos as I don't have anyone to help take them and It was a little difficult to hold the needle and take a picture. Anyway, here goes.
In the first photo it shows how to hold the the tread over your finger and a little snug against your finger.

The second picture is not too clear, sorry. I tried to hold the whole thing with double sided tape so I could take the picture. Anyway, put the eye of your needle over the tread and rub it up and down. The thread will slide through the eye very nicely. This will only work with a twisted thread, such as the Perle cotton.

This last picture shows the thread as it goes through the eye. Ihope this helps And I hope this published with the pictures in order.

Finished

2007-05-01T17:36:00.000-07:00

I finished my Rico tablecloth today. So now my grandkids can't say I never finish anything.

This came out so pretty and I did get it done in the spring like I wanted, so we can enjoy it for awhile.

Karl was surprised when I told him it was for us. Mostly my things go to the family. but they do enjoy them also, so I love doing things for them.

I should start another tablecloth, but I think I will let it go and float for awhile.

I did do some more on the block for my new project. I'll post that on another day.

Squishie Mingle

2007-04-18T13:59:00.000-07:00

I joined a "Squishie Mingle" on the CQ 4 Newbies group. We were to put together a baggie of goodies for CQ and send it to someone. My partner was Cathy and this is a picture of the goodies she sent me. Some fabric and ciggies, beads, buttons, threads and silk ribbon.

I'm working on the blocks for the new project and have a couple of my girls and one grand-daughter who have volunteered to help me. this will be a fun project. I'll post a picture later of the progress on one block.

A beautiful tree

2007-04-14T15:32:00.000-07:00

We had this beautiful tree in our backyard. It is a ficus tree and provided a lot of shade on a hot sunny day. We had used this tree as part of the decor at my daughters wedding in 1980. So it was about 27 years old. By the way they are still married and have 4 beautiful boys. But it was beginning to lift up the cement on the patio so we had to have it taken out. Sad, it took 27 years to grow and 1 1/2 hours to cut it down. The third picture is of what my husband called his money tree. It was a schefflera. He got it when he opened his home office and always said as long it was healthy we would be making money. Well, it worked for about 25 years and now we are on Soc. Sec. and the poor tree is gone.
I do think I like the view outside alot better. I can see my roses and a few other things in the back yard.

New Project

2007-04-01T11:13:00.000-07:00

Here is the start of a new project. One I'm hoping to get a couple of my girls involved in. This one will take some time, hopefully not the six years I've been working on the CQ wallhanging.

My grandkids are probably going " She hasn't finished the last project yet." I only have 2 squares left on the Rico tablecloth. If I sat down and applied myself, I could finish that one in about a week.

I've stopped on this one for a minute because I'm waiting for more Dupioni silk. Susan N. had a Dupioni buy, which is one of the reason I got going on this. I want to do several blocks using only the Dupioni and just embroidery, no laces, beads, or do=dads.

I've gotten a mental block on how to piece the blocks together. I think I just need to get a little more confidence in myself and just get on with it. Anyway, happy April Fools day. I hope you aren't having too many tricks played on you. Just a note about April Fools: One year when the kids and I were by ourselves ( there was me and 5 kids for about 5 years) They had great fun filling the sugar bowl with salt. Boy, try that one in your coffee on a slow and groggy morning.

Antique Crazy Quilt

2007-03-22T11:09:00.000-07:00

Susan had asked to see a picture of this Crazy Quilt. I don't know who did it. I am guessing from the fabrics and the deterioration that is was done somewhere in the late 1800's. AS you can see from the second picture how the fabrics are just shredding. In the first picture, if you look on the lefthand edge towards the bottom ,you can see a patch that is almost completely gone.

The story: I saw this quilt when my MIL's adopted mother past. That was somewhere in the 60's.

Oh boy! Did it get my heart going. they took it to Montana with them and I never saw it until my MIL past. As things got cleared out I asked my FIL if I could have it. I didn't hear anything for some time and then this battered cardboard box arrived at my door. The quilt was inside, wrapped in NEWSPAPER. I almost died. But anyway it is now in my procession and I need to do something to keep it from getting worse. If anyone can give me some direction for this, I would be grateful.

Wool Felt Needle and Scissors Cases

2007-03-22T10:56:00.000-07:00

I went to the crafters show the other day (Where I met Ing, Hi Ing) and picked up the pattern to do these needle and scissor cases from Attic Heirloom. I love doing these. They are quick and easy. You really don't have to think, just sit and stitch. I have to decide how to close the needle cases. The instructions say to use a snap, but I really don't like snaps.

The Button Fairy

2007-03-20T11:10:00.000-07:00

I think the button fairy stopped by my house. I had pickedup this block to do the heart wreath and just thought that that flower needed a button in the middle. I went to my button drawer and there was this button, which I don't remember seeing. After auditioning several other buttons this one just kept coming back. It fit perfectly in the center and just seemed to snuggle into the center hole. I thin it might be better in gold, but I sure wish I had more of these.

Isaw this wreath on Lori K's sight and fell in love with it. I'm really not a heart person, but really liked this one. I used 3 shades of perle #8 to do the Lazy Daisy (detached chain). I think I will probably use this one again. Thank you Lori for the inspiration.

3 more UBs

2007-03-18T07:45:00.000-07:00

Here are three more blocks. The first is done by Norma Harris from Salem, VA, the second by Susan Nixon, from everywhere (for those who don't know Susan, they travel around in their fifth wheel) and the third is done by Wilma van Wagensveld from The Netherlands.

I must apologize to these ladies as I said I would get these posted yesterday, but I got involved in trying to figure out our taxes. Karl used to do this every year, but this year he is unable to so it's another thing I'v e had to take over. I think I have them figured correctly, if not I hope some of you will come and bail me out of IRS jail.

2 more UBs

2007-03-11T21:11:00.000-07:00

Here are two more of the Unique Blocks. The first is done by Lauri Burgessen from Grand Jct., Co. and the second Is from her stitching buddy Janet Popish also from Grand Jct.

It's great to see how differently everyone interpreted their blocks.

First Three UBs

2007-03-07T08:10:00.000-08:00

On our CQ for Newbies group we have this challenge to take these blocks and beautify them.These are the first three I've gotten back.

The first one was done by Lori Kinney from Enfield, Ct., the second by Renea Aldrich from East Orting, WA and the third is mine. When we are done they will be put together and made into a quilt to be donated to a charity.

There are 12 all together. So it should make for a very interesting Quilt or wall hanging.

SRE buttons and Lilli

2007-02-16T13:17:00.000-08:00

Here is our little puppy Lilli, Actually she's 11 years old and needs a bath here in this picture.
She uses the bottom of the tables as a pillow. I can't imagine how that can be comfortable, but when she's asleep the house could blow up and she'd never know it.

I never know how these pictures will arrange themselves so I hope this post will be ok.
I've decided to do some SRE buttons. I would like to get some done for Easter, so I will be working on these for a while. I also want to try Pam Kellog's idea of using waste canvas to do the feather stitch. I might work on that later.
Anyway here is my first attempt at the buttons.

Unique block and TAST

2007-02-08T07:59:00.000-08:00

I've finished with this block. It was fun and interesting to work on. I never thought I would put sequins on a block, but this just seemed to need the glitz. And I couldn't resist, there seemed to be every color put purple so I just had to add some.

This next picture is of a hand painted doily from Kitty and Me. It took me a long time to decide what to do with it. And then I thought a unique block needed a unique button, so I found this in my stash. This may actually be an UGLY button.

This picture shows the Chevron stitch from Sharon's Tast of last week. It's kind of hard to see because of the wonderful red,white and blue apples. This week Sharon did the Algerian eye which I have used many times in needlepoint and hardanger projects. Needless to say I'm a week behind on the TAST

Here is a picture of the finished block. AS I said this was really interesting and a challenge. I really liked the way it turned out. This block made me think in other directions. I decided to put some sequins on and in Sharon's Encrusted class she gave us directions to use them in different ways as in the horizontal strip above the red white and blue apples. I'mnot sure how the pictures will line up when I post this, but here goes.

UB Progress

2007-01-27T10:15:00.000-08:00

I've been working on my "unique Block" mostly these past few days. We had a discussion on CQ4N , these started out being called ugly blocks and we decided that these probably were

done by a lady who had intended to make a quilt and for some reason or other didn't finish it. Don't we all relate to that? Anyway, she probably has passed and her kids found these in a box somewhere and dumped them at a bargin shop.Judyth came up with the name unique and I kind of like that better.

I decided on this part rather then trying to cover it up I would enhance the design by stitching over it. I've used DMC#5 perle and used the detached chain,long and short stitches and some couching to hold the thread in place. I need to find some flower beads to add to this. There is a place near here called "The San Gabriel Bead Co." It's huge and I'm hoping they will some there.I'll have to wait until I can get Karl settled into his chair in the afternoon. I've got him watching Judging Amy and Law and Order. They are on the TV for about 4 hours every afternoon. For those of you who know Karl, he is an avid reader, but now is having trouble with his eyes and can't seem to do too much of it. So he's turned to TV and movies, but if I asked him what the story is about, he can't remember. I think his concentration is not so good anymore.

Anyway back to stitching, sorry got carried away there. If you notice on the right there is a box with a webring site. Susan (desertsky) has invited me to join this ring so if your interested take a peek at it. Well, I better get going. It is a beautiful day here today. I'm sorry for all those who are still snowed in and having such awful weather. Although if we don't see some rain soon, we will probably be in a drought. Have a good day.

TAST - Detached Chain

2007-01-20T07:56:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of one of the "Ugly Blocks" that we are doing. Crazy Judyth purveyor of fabrics and threads found these blocks and some of us decided to see if we could change these ugly ducklings into swans. So here is my start. As I was looking for embellishments I came upon this baggie of "Dress it Up" buttons. Oddly enough it had all the colors that were in my block, and they looked pretty good together. So I put them to use in the white circles.

The TAST stitch for this week was the detached chain and I have been doing that since Iwas 11, so I attempted a variation-the oyster stitch, put couldn't quite get the hang of it. Needs more practice. So I just did one of my favorite ways to tack down rick rack with the detached chain.

I didn't have any perle cotton in the right color so I used 3plys of DMC floss, but I don't like the look and will have to go do some shopping. Pam had mentioned a few days ago about not using yellows very much. I think they are hard to find in the perle. And I don't have any bright greens, just yellow greens. So, anyway that's my blogging for this week.

Rico Tablecloth

2007-01-05T14:25:00.000-08:00

This is another project I'm working on. Would really like to get this finished by spring as it is for ME!! The fabric is a Rico tablecloth with 3 1/2 x 3 1/2" cross stitch squares in it. the pattern is also a Rico design. There are 16 squares that need stitching. So far I have 7 done. Of course 3 of my girls want one, so I need to get busy.

You can find the cloth and patterns at www.123stitch.com Under fabrics-Table Toppers.

TAST - Herringbone Stitch

2007-01-05T14:15:00.000-08:00

This is my offering for Sharon B's TAST. I didn't do a whole lot,as time is an issue for me. I particularly like the middle example for filling a block. I used DMC #12 for the triangle. I think this is too narrow and would look better with a thicker thread.

I think this stitch is great for tying down a ribbon. I've put beads in between the lines. I used #8 DMC perle for this.

Pam's Pansy

2007-01-03T13:10:00.000-08:00

I'm back to my Wooly Flower Sampler. This panel is suppose to have pansys on it and I just didn't like the pattern. So, I've been searching for one that I liked. This one is from Pam Kellogg of "Kitty and Me". She has posted a tutorial on her website. Her's is done with dyed dryer sheets, but I needed to do mine in felt. I need to do some more stitching on the flower, and I have to use the leaves that came with the sampler, because I've already cut those out and used the felt up. So, anyway I think I will like this. Thank you, Pam. If you want to see more of this Sampler go to my Sept. 4 post, I have a picture there of the other blocks I have finished.

I spent pretty much of the last few days watching the Ford Funeral. It was interesting to see all the old guys who's faces I recognize. Don't think I want to hear "Ruffles and Flourishes" or the 21 gun salute again for awhile.

I'm going to work some on Sharon B's. TAST (Take A Stitch Tuesday) project and get that posted. I need to get another notebook. I have an idea of what I will do with this. I will make a notebook of the stitches and put my samples in there and then I'm waiting on some Valdani Varigated Threads and I will choose one and using that as a color guide make up some blocks of plain co tton to embellish with the different stitches. Sounds good for now anyway.

Dyed Motif

2006-12-21T08:33:00.000-08:00

I got out my dyes and for the first time tried to dye a motif. I even mixed a brown color and used that to tone down the colors. I think it came out pretty good. I've started to bead the leaves and put some DMC gold fil in the flower. It's kind of hard to see, but does add a little sparkle. Maybe this afternoon I'll be able to do some more on the ribbon spray.
I was disappointed that the dye ran into the yellow in the center. Maybe I'll have to find some resist to keep it from doing that.

Chance to Stitch

2006-12-13T08:37:00.000-08:00

I've finally had a chance to do some thinking about my encrusted block. I've got all the Christmas packaged done and mailed, so now i can think about something else.

I'd remembered I have this piece of lace from my living room windows and thought I could cut it apart and use the motif. So here it is. It's kind of large and haven't decided if I will use it or not.

The little pieces at the top right are from the same piece of lace.

I hope there are still some people interested in reading my blog, since I've been away so long. At any rate I want to tell you about Sharon B's "Take a stitch Tuesdays Challenge" It will start on January 2 and run for the whole year. Sharon will be showing us new stitches each week and we can work with them and try different versions and threads to see how they look. It's a do at your own pace project and you and join at any time. I will be posting more as the year goes by and hopefully encourage some of you to join us.

You can findthe challenge at www.inaminuteago.com/blog. Pop over and take a look at Sharon's site if you haven't already. She give such wonderful information and instructions. June

Just a note

2006-12-02T16:19:00.000-08:00

Haven't had much time for stitching or anything else. I really need to get things going for Christmas. I've been trying to post a picture of an idea I have for my encrusted block, but haven't even had time for that.
I've joined Susan's group :Stash for Pounds" It's a group of very nice ladies that do stitching and want to loose weight. Don't I need that. Everyone is so encouraging and helpful. Maybe I can loose some of this weight, Have to get up and start moving.
Trying very hard to not eat when I get frustrated. Today is not a good day. I will try to post a picture tomorrow. June

Encrusted CQ Lessons 4 & 5

2006-11-19T09:21:00.000-08:00

I've had a chance to work some on my block this weekend. I have a major mess in my sewing room. the SR is all 4mm some hand-dyed.The yellow seems to split as I use it. I don't remember where I got it. I've had it for awhile. The burgundy ribbon I found at Wal-mart in the scrapbook section. It was on a card with several other colors. I was surprised how the beads on the tatting changed the look of the tatting.

Entire block

2006-11-13T09:40:00.000-08:00

After looking at my previous post I decided to post a picture of the emtire block, so you could see what I have done so far. I have not finished some of the treatments yet. And I need to get busy on the right hand side. I do have a few ideas for that area.

Encrusted CQ - Motif

2006-11-13T09:12:00.000-08:00

This is a motif I managed to get done over the weekend. The chain stitch is done with a silk floss and the leaves in a hand=dyed silk ribbon. The "flowers" are a design I found on Maureen Greeson's site in one of her newsletters. I'm sorry to say she has deleted her newsletters from her site. There was some wonderful information there. I have an idea for another motif, but I need to practice the stitch and draw a design before I do it on my block.

Seam Treatments

2006-11-03T09:52:00.000-08:00

I've added some new seam treatments. On the one with the detached chain I found this multicolored thread in my stash. I think it works pretty well with the colors. These are all perle #8 and 12. The other one is not complete yet. Still playing with what to use for the leaves on the bullion rose. I've used perle #5& 8 and a tatting thread. Also a matte thread I got a a scrapbook store. There are several colors and kinds of threads, so I will probalby be using more of these.

Encrusted CQ - Lesson 2

2006-10-30T08:43:00.000-08:00

I've added a few things to my block. having a hard time trying to decide what to do.
I found the piece of gold lace on the right over the weekend. I thought I could embellish that later. I've added just a few beads so you can see where I'm going with that embellishment. Will add more later.

Encrusted CQ - Lesson one

2006-10-21T13:14:00.000-07:00

This is lesson one of Sharon's class. I've put together my block and added some trims. I tried to keep the colors and fabrics to a minimum because I want the embellishments to be the focus of the block. I kept adding different fabrics, but they just didn't look right to me. I've done all the stitching by hand (I do have a sewing machine, but really dislike using it.) That's one of the things I like about CQ is that it can be done mostly by hand.
So now that this is done I will spend some time pleasure reading. I bought a book titled "for one more day", by Mitch Albom. I've heard it's a fantastic book and it is just beautiful outside. A little on the warm side, but I will sit on the patio and relax and read for awhile.

Finished Biscornu

2006-10-21T12:48:00.000-07:00

I've finished the biscornu. I wanted to get it done before I started Sharon's Encrusted CQ class. This is done on Waterlilly 28 count Jobelan. I used all DMC threads to stitch it.
This morning Yahoo insisted I download Microsoft Explorer 7. Well, It took over and hour to do that. And now I find out I've lost my back button, which I use all the time. Can't find it anywhere. Darn. When I posted this message I only had one picture, so I had to go back and start all over to edit the post and add the second picture. GRRRR!!
Anyway, now I will try to post a picture of my block for Sharon's class

Front of Biscornu

2006-10-19T15:55:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to upload this picture for a few days, but blogger just wouldn't let me. I think the picture is here. All I see is a bunch of letters. Anyway, I've finished this and will try to post the finished project tomorrow.

Peachy Biscornu

2006-10-07T09:29:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted for awhile. There's some bad family stuff going down around here and I haven't felt like stitching for a while. But my daughter really read me the riot act and said I need to get back to doing my stitching, so here is what I started on today.

I'm working on this biscornu designed by Carol Tinson, Heirloom Embroderies. It's done on 28 ct Jobelan. As I was working this morning I noticed that I was working on the wrong side. I'm usually very careful about this, but you really notice the difference on the Jobelan. The backstitch vine really looks funny. So I will cut another piece and start over. I can do the frog stitch on the back piece and rework it.
I follow a couple of blogs everyday. Sharon Boggins "In a Minute ago" and Pam Kellogg's "Kitty and Me". Also one I really get a lot of inspiration at is "Rose Cottage by the sea" by Lady Laurie. She has such a wonderful outlook on life.

Finished Red, White and Black

2006-09-29T09:56:00.000-07:00

Finally finished this. Now to make it into a pillow.

Life gets in the way

2006-09-24T07:42:00.000-07:00

I haven't been posting and I hope I haven't lost everyone. Things have just been busy.
This is another panel from the wall hanging. I'm really getting not to like it. I think I have put too much on it. Maybe I'll put it away for a while and just work on some of the UFOs I have. I'm starting a biscornu by Carol Tinson. I love the things she does. I'm only sorry that she is in the UK.

Finished

2006-09-16T13:32:00.000-07:00

I finally finished these two letters on the rainbow Gallery project. I started the letter G yesterday. It seems too go much faster than the others. I want to spend some time today finishing a motif on the red, white and black so I can post that.
The weather has finally cooled down around here. Of course my yard is just completely dead. Our water bill doubled this month. Never mind the electric because of the air conditioner. I don't know how the people on fixed income manage. I spent a lot of time today looking at everyone's work. Some of the ladies from down under have posted pictures of their pring flowers. Sonice to see when every thing here is brown. I hope i can remember to do the same when they are in the middle of their winter.
I also watched a movie called "The Road Home" It's a love story about a chinese boy and girl that endures 40 years. Very nice and the scenery was beautiful.
Better get sewing.

I'm back

2006-09-14T09:54:00.000-07:00

Well, for anyone who might still be watching this blog. I have finally gotten my laptop back. I've had a busy week and have not done much stitching. Hope to get some pictures posted later today. June

Wooly Flower Sampler

2006-09-04T17:12:00.000-07:00

This is another of my UFOs. I started this in 2003 and just needed a break from the CQ. The pattern is from The Starry Pines Pattern Co. It is wool felt stitched on Tie dyed flannel using the blanket stitch. It doesn't take much thinking and goes fairly fast. I did the sunflower over the weekend. I have 3 more blocks to go. Then I need to choose fabric to finish it into a quilt. Don't know quite how to do that, but i have some friends who do.
It is 103 on the patio in the shade today. The weather man promises it will cool down by the end of the week. Our County fair starts on Friday and we usually have hot weather and some rain during the fair.
Hope you like my stitching for this week.

What I've been doing

2006-08-31T13:45:00.000-07:00

Boy, do I miss my laptop. I'm working an an archaic computer and I've had to figure out how to get to the dashboard and this thing takes forever.
Anyway, here is a picture of what I've been working on. As you can see I've started alot of things and haven't really finished much. After looking at the picture on the computer I probably will be changing some things.
I've been looking at everyone's blogs and love all the paisley work being done.
Have to get busy and work on my Rainbow gallery book. I'm a whole month behind on that. I find that I don't like to cross stitch since I'm doing the CQ. But better get back to it.

Darn Puters

2006-08-27T18:09:00.001-07:00

Well, my laptop decided to take a break so I'm using the old computer in the office. And it is hot out here. It's a little after 6pm and the temp is 98 in the shade on the patio. Hopefully we will only have about 3 more weeks of this or we will go broke paying the electric company.
Anyway, since I have to post out here, I probably won't be posting many pictures for the next couple of weeks. But I will be looking at everyones work. Guess I'll have plenty of time to stitch now as I won't be spending so much time on the computer.

Darn Puters

2006-08-27T18:09:00.000-07:00

100 Details/Day 67

2006-08-25T19:00:00.000-07:00

I was looking for an embellishment for this seam and there was Sharon with this wonderful idea. Thank you Sharon.
I'm trying to keep this in red,black and white. So far I have added a little of bright green and a little yellow. It's hard to keep to just 3 colors. It gets sort of boring.
Still waiting for some ribbon. I went to one of our stores here and they no longer carry the silk ribbon. It's amazing how stores have changed. I also went looking for small red heart shaped beads. There were none to be found. I found many other colors, but no red.

Live-laugh-love

2006-08-24T20:07:00.000-07:00

My new block. When I put this together, it looked like a soccor ball. So I turned it around and hopefully when it's done it will be ok.

Homemade Braid

2006-08-24T10:34:00.000-07:00

<3

<2

<1

Start with the bottom picture. I couldn't get the pictures posted in order.

I've had some inquiries about the beige braid I used on the wall hanging. So, I'll try to do some pictures and a tutorial. Hope it isn't too confusing.

You need a piece of ribbon 8x the length that you need. Fold the ribbon in half making a loop going right over left. Take the ribbon that is now on the right and make a loop. Slip this loop thru the first loop and draw the ribbon on the left down snug. Not too tight. Now make a loop with the ribbon on the left and slip thru the last loop. Keep going back and forth until the braid reaches the length you want. If you have any trouble feel free to e-mail me.

Biscornu

2006-08-23T09:36:00.000-07:00

Istopped by Camille's Place this morning and saw that she has found out about the biscornu. Aren't they cute. These are two that I have done. the pattern for these is at http://silepointcompte.free.fr/bricotruc/biscornu/pagebiscornu.htm
This page is also in french (I think) but it has pictures showing just how to put it together. Scroll down to bottom of the page and click on Mamounette and you will find the pattern.
I hope you don't mind my jumping on your bandwagon, Camille. These are fun to do and give as gifts.
I've started a new square. Will post a picture later.

Sources for motifs

2006-08-20T18:40:00.000-07:00

Liliian has asked for my sources for the motifs. I guess I should have posted them. sorry. The fan in the middle I think is from Maureen Greeson. The buttonhole flowers on the left and the detached chain or lazy daisy on the right are from "A vintage Bouquet" by Indygo Junction. The butterfly and small flower on the bottom right are from " Ladies of leisure" Suzanne McNeill Design Originals. And I can't remember where I got the blue motif on the center top. The seam embellishment on the bottom left is from Sharon's 100 Details. Day 58.Whew! I remembered. In the center bottom , the tatting and butterflies are from a piece of tatting in my stash. And the braid at the top I made from a piece of 1/8" ribbon. Guess that's all. I had more fun trying to find the motifs and like I said before, I didn't realize I had so much vintage material until I started doing this. I just love all the vintage things that Pam has on her Kitty and Me site. And my books along with a box of neatly catagorized silk ribbon just slipped off the bed onto the floor. Nutz!! Guess what I'm going to be doing this evening.

Finished

2006-08-20T15:15:00.000-07:00

This is the first block I've finished. Now I just have to make it into a pillow.
Still waiting for some silk ribbon, then I can get back to the wall hanging.

More progress

2006-08-19T17:25:00.000-07:00

Here are two pictures on my current project. I'm almost done with it. Although the morie fabric was easy to stitch on, it really takes away from the design. But as I said before. It's all I could find in my stash. I think next I would like to do a red,white and black square and one on an oriental theme. I find I'm spending far too much time finding designs to use.
I found some of these in the books I have and was amazed at how many designs I had.
It's going to get hotter here next week, going back up to 108. I hope it will cool off during the night though.

Fan Square 2

2006-08-18T07:24:00.000-07:00

Here is the progress on my small square. It's a lot easier to work on. The braid at the top is one that I made with an 1/8" ribbon. On the left is a version of Sharon's Day 58.
The heat is suppose to return here in a few days. Not looking forward to that as last time we lost electricity for 4 days. And things where pretty bad. It was 92 degrees in the house at 3:00am. We finally had to move to a motel. We have a cocker Spanial who is 11 years old. We were really worried about her. We took her with us to the Motel with us.
I thought it was quite funny when the newspaper printed that the we wouldn't be charged for the electricity while we didn't have any. Let me see how do they charge for something we aren't using? But knowing our utilities they would probably find a way.
I'm waiting for some SR in the mail, hopefully it will come today so I can go back to working on the wall hanging.

Small square

2006-08-17T10:30:00.000-07:00

I took the plunge last night and made a small square. When I went to look into my stash, I found I didn't have hardly any plain material. This is about all I could find. So here it is. I stitched it together by hand. Not bad, in fact if was kind of fun.
I love the vintage designs that Pan Kellogg is doing on "Kitty and Me". So I thought I would do this square with those type of designs. I dug around in my books and found some designs I could use. Then I went to auditioning floss and of course didn't have the colors I wanted, so guess where I'm going this morning. I will do this all in DMC floss and perle #8. Not sure if I want to add beads or not. So let's see where this leads me.

Victorian Needlecase

2006-08-16T11:17:00.000-07:00

I did this about 6 years ago and thought I would post a picture because I'm at a stand still with the wall hanging. I would love to do something smaller. I'm really tempted to cut this thing apart.
I think I should have kept to doing just SRE in the wall hanging. It is getting kind of clutzy looking.
Maybe I will start a small square and give myself a break from the wall hanging. I would like to try doing a doorknocker, but don't like having to pull out the sewing machine.

Long and Short Stitch

2006-08-14T09:27:00.000-07:00

I did this block about 5 years ago and I look at it now and think How did I do that? The pattern is from a JP Coates book on embroidery stitches. This block has a variety of stitches on it. The long and short,fern, buttonhole,satin,feather,french knot and a couple of others.
I've kind of reached a stitching block on the CQ. I would like to work on something smaller. Maybe I'll pull out my fabrics and put some blocks together.
I spent the weekend viewing the newletters on Maureen Greeson's site. Whow!!
What wonderful ideas and eye candy. Didn't get much stitching done.

100 Details/Day 36

2006-08-12T14:10:00.000-07:00

I kept looking and looking for a treatment for this seam. I didn't want anything too big or that would take away from the motif on the bottom. I was checking out Sharon's twisted chain directions and saw this as another embellishment. then realized it was the Day 36. I've spent more time trying to find embellishments to fit.

Keeping track of needles

2006-08-11T08:29:00.000-07:00

Ithought I might share how I keep track of my needles. After finding them hiding in my blocks I needed to do something. This is a needle book from a book called "Needle Books and other gifts for Quilters" by Debie Boyink. I have made several of these for gifts for my friends.
In the second picture you can see that I have labled the different needles with type, size and the initials of the manufacturer. My favorites are Piece Makers.
The needle book has 3 pages in it. I could have used some more.
When finished using a needle I try to remember to put it back in it's place. When I am working on a cross stitch piece I have the needle, usually with some thread in, stuck in the top of the 3"x4" baggie that I keep my threads in. I have the threads for each project in a plastic container, so I have all the neccessary things in one place.

The second panel

2006-08-09T20:08:00.000-07:00

This is the second panel I have to work on. I have few things to do on the first one yet, but thought I would post the second. I'm looking for a frog charm or pattern to put on the lily pads. I found some already made flowers to form a water lily. I don't remember where I got the pattern for the embroidered strip at the top. I was about 5 years ago when I did that. Above that on the seam I stitched a bunch of butterflies. I have the grandkids go on a treasure hunt to find a number of things, like at Christmas I have them find all the nativity sets I have around. So I thought I would have them go on a hunt to count the butterflies on this.
One of daughters had looked in on my blog and wanted to know if I was going to do a wall hanging for all 5 of them. I just laughed. usually when I make something I do one for each one of them.

Love Blogging

2006-08-09T06:55:00.000-07:00

I love this idea of blogging. Want to thank Sharon and Kitty and Me for the inspiration. Debbie R. for helping me to set this up. I belong to several chat groups and kind of get tired of hearing about others problems. I like the idea of being able to post my things without feeling like I'm in a competition.
I know there are alot of blogs out there and try to view a new one each day.
Have to keep my computer time down so I have time to stitch.

Pansy Motif

2006-08-09T06:45:00.000-07:00

Ok, Debbie,
Your wish is my command. Here is the Pansy motif. I wanted that saying on here, because pansys are for rememberance, but I'm not good at backstitch so I just wrote this on there. Probably not the right thing to do, but then I guess it would be the same as painting something on.

Something different

2006-08-08T19:14:00.000-07:00

This is a project I've been working on since February. Its an alphabet sampler from Rainbow Gallery, designed by Erica Michaels. Each month a letter of the alphabet is posted to the free cross stitch site at Rainbow Gallery. Each letter has a different stitch starting with that letter. When all the alphabet is finished, sometime next year. Erica will have the directions to make this into a book. I thought this would be a fun project to make into an heirloom project. I am using different evenweave fabrics and threads so I can learn about all the different threads that are out there. Right now I am working on the letter F and am a little behind because the letter G was posted the 1st of August.

The Chevron Stitch

2006-08-07T19:01:00.000-07:00

Today I had started out to do the chevron and embellish it the way Sharon had on Day 25. Well, after getting in the chevron and part of the detached chain and straight stitch. I couldn't find any buttons to top them off. So I played around and came up with this.
The chevron is done in #5 perle, the detached chain and straight stitch are #8 perle and they are topped of with Antique Champagne beads. If I can stay away from my CGing, I have another project I'm working on. Need to get caught up on that. Will probably post a picture of that tomorrow.

After looking at this in the photo, I realize I should have centered the chevron over the seam. Oh well, this just shows I'm not perfect. And I just learned something else.

Easter Egg Hunt

2006-08-06T14:45:00.000-07:00

I used to have an Easter Egg Hunt for my grandkids before they all grew up.
Some times we had as many as 30 people at the hunt. So I thought it would be a nice memory to include that in this wall hanging.
the butterfly is from a redwork pattern, I think. I did this part so long ago, I've forgotten.

100 Details/Day 40

2006-08-05T19:17:00.000-07:00

The embellishment along the right hand side is from Sharon's Day 40. I used #8 perle and the green is hand-dyed floss.
The embellishment on the left bottom is simply a piece of braid.
The white motif is from "Treasury of Crazy Quilt Stitches" by Carole Samples.
I used both 8 and 12 perle.
WOW!I did this all today and had company for lunch besides. Maybe I'll get this done yet.

The BIG Picture

2006-08-04T21:08:00.000-07:00

I wanted to show you what I'm working on. This is one of the squares in the wall hanging. Each square is 15" square and there are 4 of them. (more pictures later) I have done a little embellishing on all of them. I had taken a class in a quilt shop and the only other CQ I had done was a small Victorian needlecase. This is rather unwieldly to work on. the fabrics I have chosen are also kind of difficult. I will be posting pictures of the smaller blocks as I work on them.

Using a Rubber Stamp

2006-08-03T21:28:00.000-07:00

This is an image from a rubber stamp. I was an avid stamper and this was one of my favorite stamps.
I used ribbon embroidery and the outline stitch in floss.

Trying to post a picture

2006-08-03T18:32:00.000-07:00

Hurrah I made it with a some help from needlelilmoretime2sew. Thank you Debbie.
This is a picture of part of my wall hanging. I have been following 100 Details in 100 days by In a Minute ago and Kitty and Me. What a lot of inspiration there is there.
I will be posting more pictures tomorrow.
The button cluster looks like maybe it could use some more work. Have to see about that.

Day 1 of my blog

2006-08-03T15:23:00.000-07:00

Well,here I am with my own blog. I wanted to create this so I can share some of the stitching I do with others. Hopefully I'll be able to figure out how to post pictures also.
So here we go.