Operation Snowflake: June's Flake

Well I started working on this flake for June and feeling a little lazy I decided to not use two shuttles but use the work arounds for one shuttle and ball... oy... the work arounds just don't work as well as using two shuttles I wish I had just filled another shuttle! LOL Now that I'm half way through I'll just finish it anyway.

Crazy Quilt Throw: Another Big Block

Here's another one!

Operation Snowflake: May

Finally took a photo of May's snowflake! It's "Ice Crystals" from the book "Big Book of Tatting".

Crazy Quilt Throw: Four Block, Block

I started making a larger block with four small blocks from my Cream Crazy Quilt Throw.  I figure if I make these larger blocks maybe it will be easier to keep working on them in larger chunks at a time.  At first I went to lay out all 48 to see how to put them together but what I saw was it doesn't really matter they are all really well randomized in the piecing so I can just throw 4 together and it will work...I'll make it work! LOL  I forgot what the size was going to be so I had to check back on my blog posts and found that I had decided on 8 blocks by 6 blocks.  So I'll need 8 blocks of 4 and then 4 blocks of 2.  I might add the blocks of 2 to some 4's to create 4 blocks of 6 which would make it overall into 8 larger sections to work on before piecing those together.  Anyway 48 single blocks just feels so overwhelming, which I believe is why it's sat for a few years with just a little work here and there.  It feels a little overwhelming to piece these all together too but I think if I can get going it will start to snowball for me.  Crossing my fingers that I can keep it up...I kinda see it as a miracle that I even have all 48 pieced in the first place!!! HAHAHA  I started in Sept. 2007 finished piecing in June 2009, and now starting to put those together in Aug. 2013 sheesh!!!

Operation Snowflake: May's Progress

Here's the snowflake I chose for May. It's "Ice Crystals" from the book "Big Book of Tatting". It says intermediate on the pattern but it is very easy and a nice one to tat after the last one! LOL

Operation Snowflake: April "Leaves Flake"

This snowflake is so pretty but for my tatting taste all the things I loved about it were the very things that made it annoying for me to tat! Oy! But at least I have this beauty done, albeit imperfectly done but DONE! LOL  If anyone else is interested in tatting it you can find the pattern here: Leaves Flake Snowflake
Now to continue playing catch-up...

CQJP 2013: April Block Progress

I added chain stitching to the wavy line. Added some vintage tatting from my stash. And doodled a bit of a motif and started filling in a vine stem with back stitching.

CQJP 2013: April Block

Here's the start of my block for April.  Ahhh this makes me much happier!  Nice and bright!  Sunny and cheerful!

I'm going to make the cabochon into a pearl surrounded brooch.  I folded a piece of lace and thought it makes a great napkin!  Then I started marking a seam.  Last block I didn't do seams first and I hated that I didn't!  So this time though it feels like I'm walking uphill in sand, I'm going to do the seams first!  Then get to all the rest.  I just feel like I draw a blank when it comes to seams, motifs I always have ideas flowing.  I'm not sure why it's so hard for me to envision seam treatments.  Maybe it's because I want them to be perfect and I'm not that good at being meticulous even though I enjoy the look of meticulous! HA!  Whereas motifs are very free-form and look great that way.  Oh well, I'm hoping it'll get easier as I do it more, that's usually how it is.

What do you do? Inspiration, Motivation, and Oz! LOL

What do you do when inspiration and motivation to create seem to have flown out the window?  Lately it seems the mood to create has left me.  My garden is blooming like crazy and I'm enjoying taking photos of the flowers again, but CQ and Tatting have been pushed aside with no desire to pick it up.  I'm happy to be taking lots of pretty flower photos and tons of them are on my Honey Bee's Photos blog!

I also took a trip to visit family and it was fun!  I had packed some tatting for the airplane but I never picked it up once!  LOL  I did get that round of chains finished weeks ago on the doily but I still haven't taken a photo of it!  LOL  It's like procrastination set in and got out of control! LOL

I did pick out some pink and yellow fabrics, inspired by my roses.  I think I better just buckle down and make a block at least...sometimes it's like giving your battery a jump-start to just DO IT.

How do you overcome the blahs?  Do you wait for it to come or do something to jump-start yourself again?  It seems that not even eye-candy on Pinterest is helping!

Sometimes I can figure out what's demotivating me, but I'm having a hard time putting my finger on it this time.  My last block was really hard to work on and it's been harder and harder since then to work on things.  I had the idea to crumb piece a block and make it really "crazy" inspired by "The Patchwork Girl Of Oz", since I've been reading through all the Oz books and love them, but I hated the results.  Hopefully the pink and yellow rose inspiration will do the trick.  Hmm, maybe it's color!  I know I get energized seeing the bright colors in my garden, and my bright colored blocks are the ones that are making me happy, so maybe that is what was demotivating me.  Also the color of the crumb pieced reject is what really put me off...it's anemic looking to me and just upsets me to look at it, I hate it, I need to throw it away and get it out of my workspace! HA!  The only way I would do it again would be if I picked a rainbow of jewel toned colors, and in fancy fabrics too, that's how I "see" Scraps in my mind.  She's bright and spunky and whimsical, and she's a bit crazy (of course being crazy patched) but very fun and has lots of energy.  Hmmm, maybe I will work on this idea after all for next month.  Scraps my not be able to drink tea with us, but she'd be a fun addition to the tea party!  In Oz that never stopped the ones who didn't eat from hanging out with the meat people who need to eat at any dinner or feast. ;-)  I could see myself doing a whole Oz series after reading so much about them.  I'm almost done with the set, I just finished "The Lost Princess Of Oz" (in which Scraps is one of the main characters again) and started "The Tin Woodman Of Oz" after that there are only 2 books left.  I think it's really neat reading Baum's letters in the intros of each book and in "The Tin Woodman Of Oz" he talks about how the Oz books are for all ages, the young and the young at heart.
It's funny because I didn't start reading the Oz books because of the movie or anything, in fact I never really cared for the old movie that much and I HATE the song that everyone loves, it's like nails on a chalk board to me kinda like the titanic song...HAHAHA ;-P  Anyway the way I got into reading them was searching free books for Kindle and I read Baum's "The Sea Faries" and loved it and then when searching for more books everyone raved about the Oz series so I figured I would probably love those too.  And I do.  Then it just so happened that the new Oz movie came out in the midst of reading them!  LOL  I really loved the new Oz movie too.  It may not be perfectly true to the books (they never are) but I loved it and all the nods to the books and I felt it was true to the spirit of Baum's Oz.  I think he would have loved the movie!  It's so neat how what once could only be seen in the imagination is now able to be put into movie form!  I could see how now the ideas in the Oz books could be made into movies and really work!  The porcelain girl was so cool looking in the movie! Wow! Ya, Baum would be impressed.  Live, yet porcelain!  So cool!  I digress...LOL

Okay I better get to work if I have a hope of getting a block done this month! ;-)  At least I'm feeling better to have talked about it!  Thanks for read/listening!

Sweet Shot: Sun-Filled Rose

 Here is my Photo Of  The Day plus some extras.  I just love the sight of the sun shining through petals and leaves!  These just look so cheerful I thought I'd share it with you all too.

My First Doily: Progress

More chains! One more row to go till this round is done.

Sweet Shot: Lady Bug

Thought you all would enjoy this photo I took today too.  Such a cute little Lady Bug hiding in my Daylily leaves.

Sweet Shot Serendipity

Gotta love it when right as you are taking photos and have everything just right...wildlife lights upon that very spot!  This is what's called a 'Hummingbird Moth'.  Not a hummingbird but a moth, a large one that is mistaken for one when first seen, they hover and sip nectar too. LOL  I even love how its wings are lit up...so cool!

I remember the first time we saw one of these we didn't know what in the world it was and tried and tried to get a photo of it to see what it was!  They are really common here in the desert and they love all the nectar plants, and usually come out in droves in the evening! LOL  Today I looked out my kitchen window and saw my yellow climbing rose all blooming...made me really happy!  Gotta love that I got roses blooming in March!!!

My First Doily: Progress

After a long pause...lol...I have finally resumed progress on my first doily.  Here's the pattern!  It's such a pretty pattern.  Not sure where the finished doily will end up but, my goodness it will be finished and I'll have finally made one!  LOL

Operation Snowflake: March Snowflake Finished

Finished with the Tatted Snowflake by Nancy of Be-Stitched!  Yay!  It's my biggest one so far! 

Now I'm going to work on the doily I mentioned the other day that has been sitting since 2008!  I had to print the last couple rounds again because who knows where the pattern which I had printed disappeared too! LOL  At least it's still up online!

Operation Snowflake: March Snowflake Almost Finished

Almost finished with the Tatted Snowflake by Nancy of Be-Stitched!  This one's a whopper with a 4 inch diameter!

New Stash!

Just came in the mail yesterday from Flights of Fancy!  I joined the monthly Trim and Treasure Club!  Yay I really love this month's package!  Gotta love the pretty honeybee trim!  That's the kind of bee graphic I like too...I don't care for the cutesie versions out there, give me vintage etching!  LOL

Operation Snowflake: March Progress Halfway

Gotta keep tatting on...LOL  This is a Tatted Snowflake by Nancy of Be-Stitched.  These larger ones take more time to get done, they are like tatting 3 snowflakes in 1!  LOL  The bad thing is my fingers are really sensitive to the harsh thread so it's hard for me to just keep going till it's finished.  I have to pace myself.  I might need a shield for my other hand too for pulling rings closed.  It's almost like tatting a doily! HAHAHA well it could be the start of a doily, they usually start with something like this and just keep going with rounds getting added.  I still have never completed a whole doily!  I still have my first and only one waiting for the last couple rounds to be added! LOL  WOW could it really have been waiting since 2008? SHEESH!!!  I will finish that thing!!!  LOL  I think what kept me back was all the chains to be done in the last rounds but now that I have my finger shields that shouldn't be too bad anymore.

CQJP 2013: March Block Finished

Here is the finished block!  I'm waiting to turn it into a page.  I may do it differently but I want to collect a few more before I go ahead.  I'm just not feeling the inspiration for turning it into a page at the moment. LOL

Operation Snowflake: March Progress

Here is a little update on the progress of my snowflake for this month.

CQJP 2013: March Block Feather Stitching

I added a bunch of feather stitching in three different shades of metallic thread. I also added a hand charm and a sweetheart rose in its fingers.
I feel like this block could be finished. I will have to sit on it and see.

CQJP 2013: March Block More Beading

I have added a few more beading components, a piece of lace, and a bit of silk ribbon embroidery.  After this I'm feeling a little bit stuck, not sure what's next!


I've added a few 4mm sweetheart roses here and there.  I also added some different colors and sizes of pearls.  I made little flowers using bead caps with a spacer in the middle, and added some pressed metal leaves.










Here's the vintage lace butterfly I added.  I think it's a perfect little touch!

CaptureYour365 POTD: Daffodil Bouquet

Yay the daffodils are blooming in my garden!  I used to hate how for the flower of the month things, with March being my birthday month, that the daffodil was always the one represented!  I always wished for Sweet Peas, Violas or some other more romantic flower.  But now after missing my garden flowers in the winter, it's the Violas and the Daffodils that are cheery and happily showing themselves!  They make you happy to see something finally, and symbolize the return of the garden!  I also really love these light yellow more ruffly variety too!  This photo just says springtime, cheery, bright, and fresh!  And they smell so good too, it's a green-light-fresh smell and it makes me happy!  Now I'm wishing I had more Daffodils planted!

New Phone Pouch

I made a new phone pouch for my new phone with it's new pink glitter case!  I've made these pouches ever since I learned how from Lilla!  Lilla has a tutorial on her blog for how to make a folded fabric pouch!  They are so easy and cool and you can make them in any size!  I've made tons for cell phones and some for tablets, and then a few random sized pouches for odds and ends.

I went to make one today, and the first one was a little small, so instead I will use it as and odds and ends pouch in my purse it will probably hold lip gloss or something.  Then I made a second one which fit the phone perfectly!

I like doing different things with the flaps, so I tucked in the corners just a little and top stitched them into place.  Then I added a few reclaimed beaded appliques.  The larger one for the random pouch, and a smaller one for my phone since I get it out way more often.

I don't add any closures  to these pouches, they just don't need it most of the time.  I would only do it if I knew whatever it was would need it, or was not staying inside without it.  But for a cell phone, a closure is just annoying and makes you take longer to whip the phone out, this way it just slips right out and back easily, but is protected by the fabric when it's put away!

Can you see the photo of my recent new stash addition is now my lock-screen photo!  It's perfect for it!

CaptureYour365 POTD: Best Birthday Ever

CQJP 2013: Adding Bling

I am adding some bling to the tatting to create a nice focal motif. I still have more to add but here is what I have done so far.

First I cut a rhinestone bracelet into a few pieces and swagged them and sewed them on using clear thread.






Next I found a different cameo that I could use on this block!  It's a button that has a silver edging all around it.  Perfect!


After adding the button I played with a few ideas and the next thing to come about was to add some tiny size 15 brown seed beads inside the rings of the tatted flowers.  So far I am happy with the results.  Now to try and figure out the rest! LOL

CQJP 2013: Block for March

Here's my block for March!  Of course the piecing of the block didn't go like I expected it, and I used different fabrics than I thought I was going to.  And then to top it all off the cameo I used for inspiration will not work on it!!! LOL  But hey I still love the color inspiration and I was able to use a piece of my new trim I got yesterday!






You see that bit of tatting I stitched in an arch to the side of the cup?  Well that tatting I had salvaged back in 2007 when I was at a tatter's meeting and the lady next to me had to cut out a portion of her work!  I blogged about it here: Tatting Heartbreak!

So finally after saving it for a few years in my stash it has finally found it's home!  As you can see I was only able to keep the thicker portion.  I cut away all the hanging strings and cut rings and then I ironed it and closed the flower rings, which had rings cut out, to look like smaller flowers.  Then I simply hand stitched it into place.

I'm going to embellish it further with beads and such to make a nice luscious motif!

New Stash!

Just came in the mail from Flights of Fancy!  I joined the monthly Trim and Treasure Club!  I didn't even get everything into the photo!  Oooo the next month's is going to be pretty too!

Operation Snowflake: More Bonus Snowflakes for February

I needed to empty my shuttles so I can fully load them for a larger snowflake so I tatted these up. I had just barely enough thread to finish the smaller one!

The larger one is Sally Magill's SCMR Snowflake 2 which was actually the first time I've used the Self-Closing-Mock-Ring technique.  The SCMR is actually a chain that you hold a loop back at the beginning of it to pass the shuttle through so you can close it to look like a ring.  I thought I understood how it worked and I started tatting it up and then I realized too late that I had used the wrong shuttle to start the SCMR and found myself with an un-closeable chain...so I had to scrap that bit and start over.  I went and grabbed my book from the Shuttle Brother's and looked more closely at the diagram and found out what happened.  Once I fully understood what went wrong, I was off and tatting the SCMR's no problem and it's really very easy.  Though this pattern with all the little tiny rings was hard on my finger where I pinch to close rings.  It's such a cute snowflake though, I really love the fluffy arm tips and if you don't know about the SCMR it looks pretty impossible since you can't throw rings off of a ring! LOL

After that one I still had a tiny bit of thread left, but just enough not to want to just throw it away so I tatted this little one called Elmo's Snowflake.  I had just barely enough though and had to finger tat the last repeat.

So now my total snowflake count is 19!  I've got 7 snowflakes finished in just 2 months, I'm not sure I'll always be keeping up this kind of tatting veracity but hey I figure why not, maybe I'll continue to snowball snowflakes and have way more than I planned for.  That would be awesome!  It seems the more I tat the more I want to tat even more!  LOL  I'm starting to need a place to hang them all, I need to hash out an idea soon.

Now to load my shuttles and start on the large snowflake for March.  I'm planning on tatting this snowflake from Be-stitched!

Operation Snowflake: Bonus Snowflake for February Finished

Here is the snowflake by Sharon Briggs, all finished!

This one brings my total snowflake count to 17!

I still have a small amount of thread on my shuttles I think I need to tat another small snowflake to use up the thread.  I want to do some more larger ones and want to do a larger one for March.  Maybe I'll start the month off with a large snowflake for my birthday.  My parents say when I was born there was a big blizzard!  So it would be fitting!  LOL

I've been finding so many snowflake patterns that I want to tat that I don't think I'll get to all of them if I did only 1 a month for 3 years!!! LOL  But the good thing is I've been finding it easy to do little bonus ones, so maybe I'll have a huge blizzard by Dec.  I've been compiling the ones I've found online on a Pinerest Board if you are interested here is the link: Tatting Patterns.  The Board makes it easy for me to find the links for posting it when I blog it eventually.  Also it's nice to see all of them in one place, and I can browse which one to do next easily.  I also print them too, because you never know when a link will end up going bad...like all those ones that are bad when you go searching for patterns and they have a bunch of links complied that are all no good!!!  So frustrating.

OH and back before I started the Pinterest Board to keep track of the patterns, I had printed one that I cannot find the link for again!  Glad I printed it but wished I had been pinning back then.  I don't know if it's just hard to find or if it's now missing.  It was a PDF though so there is no link info printed on it.  But at least I know the name of it to give credit, but I like to be able to link when I can.  It's a beaded snowflake called "Elaine's Snowflake" so I'm assuming Elaine designed it...LOL it doesn't say on the pattern.  If I get to it maybe someone will recognize it and know where the link is.  LOL  I haven't been wanting to do any beaded ones lately, but I did in Dec.  Maybe the "want-to" will come back at some point.  LOL  I do love a good sparkle! LOL
***UPDATE*** My friend Marie searched and found it!  So if you want to print the pattern now just in case it disappears later...here it is.  It's Elaine's Snowflake by Lily Morales!  Enjoy!  There doesn't seem to be a way to pin it, since the link on Flickr is wrong and Marie did some web digging to find this PDF!  Thank you Marie!

Well now I've written way more than I thought I would!  LOL  Bye for now! ;-)

Operation Snowflake: Bonus Snowflake for February

I felt like tatting another snowflake this month as well.  So here's what I am working on.  It's a snowflake by Sharon Briggs.  It was nice and easy, with all the same stitch count between picots.  Not sure why I have a thing for thrown rings, I just like them, the clovers on the outer edge are thrown, and to me it's a super easy technique too.





Tatting all these snowflakes and seeing how they are designed, helps me start seeing creative possibilities in simple basic designs that can be added to in several ways.

CQJP 2013: Gathered Stash for March

Here's the stash I had gathered for a "Guest" themed block. I think it was the Cameo that started things, then the teacup, and then I couldn't help but pull potential fabrics! LOL  When I finally piece it we will see what fabrics end up in the block, I never know for sure until I get going.  All I know is I really especially love the center fabric and the black sparkle one on the left, so those will probably be priority with the other stuff playing off them.
I'm not sure if I want to give the blocks names, I kind of like the obscurity so that anyone who enjoys this one can think of it as "theirs" in a sense.  If I would name it I might call it "Cameo" since that is the inspiration.

CQJP 2013: Feb. Block Finished Into A Page

As you can see I turned the block into an applique like the last one and also made a backside out of tea themed fabric.  Then I added a ton of lace and such in between the 2 sides and stitched it together.  I placed all the lace and then pinned to the back of the backside and sewed along the edge with the sewing machine to keep it all in place.

 I used the Ladder Stitch along the edges to sandwich them closed nicely so that no stitching would be seen on the top side.

 I added bits from a crochet doily I had bought and saved just for this purpose and it found it's perfect home!  On the back I also took one of the Roses and a Leaf from the Doily and stitched it down on the corner.

 Here you can see the Rose and Leaf Doily edge as well as the Variegated Pink Doily too.










I also added in a Battenburg Lace Leaf, and a dyed lace motif.

 Here you can see the two pages (Jan. and Feb.) side by side, I think they flow together well!

And here you can see the Jan. page on top and how the edge lace plays together when they are closed.

And this photo is of the back of the Feb. page closed against Jan.'s page.

I'm loving it!!!  This is exactly what I was hoping for!

My next idea is to do blocks that are representative of Guests, and go in different color themes and styles along with a Tea Cup.  I'm a little worried about that idea if the colors will flow as a story.  I can always make 2 or more books, after all 12 pages is an awful lot for the thickness of these to be in one book.  Maybe I will have a pink themed book that is more the Hostess's Side and a 2nd book with the Guests...a Crazy Quilt Tea Party Saga! HAHAHA  That's a funny idea, but I kinda like it!  Who doesn't love a good Saga!  LOL  For the Hostess Book I could have a Cream and Sugar Page, a Tea Accessory Page, a Cupcake Page...and I already have a color themed Guest Page already gathered...I think I might work on that one for March, it's all in more sepia aged tones with a touch of black/brown, very antique feeling.  Which is VERY different than these two bright pink pages!!! LOL  Well I'm happy that I can go with my whims and follow them and wander around.  It's more fun that way too!  To be outside of the box!  Sometimes you just have to break out, march to the beat of your own drum!  I've always wanted to make blocks of different color themes and styles so I'm really excited about it!  YAY!