Creating a Crazy Quilt Block: Part 3

Start with your five sided piece and place it on your foundation fabric. A little off center looks nice, but you could center it depending on the look you want.

Take a piece of fabric and line it up on the edge that has the largest space to see how it will look. The shape of the piece doesn't matter as long as it has a straight edge to line up with one side of the center fabric.

Then flip the piece over, and I like to put a pin to keep it from shifting.

Sew along the edge, sewing through both pieces of fabric and the foundation fabric all at the same time.
I like to go further than what may be necessary just in case I need the piece to be larger further along in the piecing process. It's easer to cut away extra fabric later on than wish you hadn't cut it too short too soon.

Flip the fabric back over and iron the seam.

Line up the next piece of fabric.

Flip and pin.

Sew through all layers of fabric including the foundation fabric. Again going long just in case.

Trim away the excess fabric from the seam.

Flip the fabric back over and iron the seam.

Then trim the piece if it is really large. I like to leave extra room around the edge just to be safe.

To Be Continued in Part 4
Part 1: Preparing the Foundation
Part 2: Selecting Fabrics
Part 4: Continuation of Foundation Piecing
Part 5: Basting and Trimming

Cream on Cream RR: Debbie S. Block

I'm the first to work on Debbie's block it is completely hand pieced together, it's really neat to see! Her textures are really great and it feels like such an elegant block.

I added a lace butterfly over a seam that was pulling out, so it needed something to cover it, the butterfly was perfect! Then I held lace tryouts and I could easily add so much more lace but 3 other ladies still have to work on the block, so I restrained myself to the butterfly and the braid on that curving seam. I added ivory sweetheart roses alternating the sides of the braid.
I've started work on a SRE motif...that spot just jumped out at me as the perfect place for a bouquet and vines! I've only gotten the spiderweb roses in so far they are done using a variegated 4mm silk ribbon the color is called Light French Artichoke and it's an ecru with the slightest tinges of pink and green. I asked Debbie if it would be alright to use it since it does have a tinge of pink, I thought it works well and doesn't say PINK but I wanted to ask just in case she didn't even want a "tinge" of another color. Debbie said it would be alright so I went ahead and used it. I think it's perfect, and if you look it only seems beige but if you look really hard you can see the slight color.

Creating a Crazy Quilt Block: Part 2

First you start out with a 5 sided piece of fabric. You could use plain, textured, a special "silkie" that is an image printed to fabric, or a print fabric. I like taking a pretty print fabric and cutting around a part that I think would be a nice center. When you cut the piece think about seam allowance since your other fabrics will be sewn around it.

After I pick my 5 sided center fabric, I start pulling out fabrics that I think would go nice with it. It's pretty common to go with how many inches your block is (6 inch = 6 fabrics) and get that amount of fabrics plus 2 or 3 more (6 inch = 6-9 pieces). For this one I wanted to go in a more pink direction so I pulled mostly pink fabrics, but I think greens and yellows would also look wonderful.
Also it's a good idea to try to get as many different textures of fabrics as you can, and limit the amount of prints. Too many prints can cause trouble when you embellish and can take away from your embroidery.

Here is a photo showing how I kind of lay out my fabrics to get a feel of how they would look when I piece. I also do the same thing as I am piecing the block to get a feel for what fabric to use next and where.
Some of these fabrics are really slippery and I'll back them with some iron-on interfacing to give them more body before piecing the block.

Remember there are no hard and fast rules in CQ, so your personal preferences are perfectly okay, again this tutorial is only showing how I enjoy creating blocks, there many ways to crazy quilt out there!

Part 1: Preparing the Foundation
Part 3: Foundation Piecing
Part 4: Continuation of Foundation Piecing
Part 5: Basting and Trimming

Small Victorian Motif

Right-Click on Pattern and Save to Your Computer.

Here is another free pattern from a motif I created. You may embroider it freely. I used a small cameo in the motif, you can buy them Here, but really any cameo, oval button or object would work.

Fly Stitch
Sweetheart Rose

Spoiled!!!!

I got a surprise in my mailbox from Jill! She so sweetly shared some of her favorite pink silk velvet with me!!! And it IS yummy! Also she sent a pretty vintage hanky, some silk Dupioni that has beautiful embroidery on it, a length of a silk ribbon braid, and a vintage jewelery finding! I feel so spoiled!!! I've always wanted a vintage finding like that too but have never went ahead and bought any! I want to make something special out of these goodies, but I'm not sure what it will be yet.
Thank you Jill, you are the sweetest!!!

Dreams of Spring RR: Clairee's Block

Here is my part for Clairee's block!

I added this bouquet in. I tried out a new version of a sideways roses, and love the result it's basically a lazy daisy for the center then ribbon stitches. I really enjoyed this rose so I'll be using it more often. I added in some leaves and then some sweetheart roses. Then I added some feather stitch greenery, and some longer vines. I added purple sweetheart roses to the vines and then added some smaller vines and size 15 seed beads to the feather stitches.

Here is an overall photo of Clairee's block.
I also added in the red moon and stars bead since I thought it looked nice there.

Creating a Crazy Quilt Block: Part 1

I've been thinking lately of how I piece crazy quilts and how I would teach a beginner and thought it would be nice to blog about the process. Hopefully it will help some beginners or give someone the confidence to try it out for the first time.
There are no rules in CQ so everything that I will share is what works for me. You may like it or not, since there always is more than one way to do something I encourage you to find the method that works best for you.
When I first started out I began with an 8 inch block, and had a terrible time figuring things out. Even though it turned out well, I later on made some 6 inch blocks and thought they would have made a better beginning size. Because of my experience, I recommend getting your feet wet with a small 6 inch block. That way you get to learn without being overwhelmed.
First I start with some muslin, you could use old sheets just as well, but muslin is pretty inexpensive and lightweight to use.
(***If your project is to be washable, make sure you prewash the muslin)It's a good idea to have excess muslin around your pieced block, it makes embellishing easier and gives your hoop something to grab onto.
For a 6 inch block I like to have a 10 inch square of muslin. This will leave 2 inches of muslin around your block, you can always make the muslin larger to have more room around the edges, depending on your preference.

I snip the fabric at the 10 inch mark.

Then I tear the muslin, this is easier and faster than cutting.

Then I rotate the fabric.

Measure 10 inches.

Again I snip the muslin at the 10 inch mark.

Then tear.

Then you will have a 10 inch square of muslin to work on.

Next I measure out a 6 inch square inside the muslin and mark it.

I also mark 1/4 inch out all around from the 6 inch mark. You could also make the mark 1/2 inch out or more if you feel you might need more room for seam allowance.

When finished marking there will be a 6 inch square marked and a 6 1/2 inch square marked.

Now the muslin is ready to start piecing onto.

Part 2: Selecting Fabrics
Part 3: Foundation Piecing
Part 4: Continuation of Foundation Piecing
Part 5: Basting and Trimming

Dreams of Spring RR: Clairee's Block - Update

Here's a little update of what I've done today. I added those metal beads, and touches of color using beads to the butterfly and then the seam of purple glass bead flowers with tiny 2mm ribbon stitch leaves. I'm working on a SRE motif on the purple patch now...to be continued!

Dreams of Spring RR: Clairee's Block - Beginnings

I've received the first block in the Dreams of Spring RR to work on! Here is Clairee's 14 inch block. She intends on making it into a pillow and wants it to be hand washable.
Of coarse my eye was drawn instantly to the pretty rose print!!! I held lace tryouts and decided on this butterfly right by the rose print! Then I started embroidering over the print using it as a sort of pattern. I put red french knots in the center of the roses, then used fly stitch to create leaves. Since hand washing is more gentle than machine gentle cycle I am able to add SRE so I filled in the roses with ribbon stitches to create a rose shape.

This is the result so far.
I'm planning on adding some beads to the butterfly, metal bee's to the tan fabric behind the butterfly, and some purple flower beads with 2mm ribbon stitch leaves along the purple curve.

Royal Blue Velveteen Purse

Today I sewed the purse together, I love it! I'm not really one for blue but I do wear blue and it goes well with jeans so it will hopefully be a purse I can use a lot. The size of the purse is 7 inches tall by 6 1/2 wide.
The blue velveteen is reclaimed fabric from some pants I bought from the thrift shop for only .25 cents!!!
You can see a better detail of the motif Here. No matter what I do the camera doesn't pick up the colors well and overexposes the cream roses.

Victorian Style Motif

The other day I had some ideas for a Victorian style motif so I got to doodling and came up with a few ideas. Then I decided to embroider a purse. I chose some royal blue cotton velveteen and started creating my motif idea! I started with a U shape stitched in the stems with stem stitch and then adding ribbon stitch leaves. I also added 3 sweetheart roses to the bottom then I drew in the vines for the bottom section and embroidered it in. Next I felt the bottom middle needed something more so I found a chandelier jewelery finding that was heart shaped and embellished it with sweetheart roses and ribbon stitch leaves. I added a cameo button and embroidered sweetheart roses all around it. After all that I felt the motif still needed something more so I added glass pearls and 2 sweetheart roses on the outer vines. Now I just need to sew up the purse!
I'll be creating a pattern for this motif soon and hopefully create a few variations of it at the same time.

More Free SRE Patterns

I searched through my work for the past year for motifs I've created that I could turn into patterns to share. Here are a few. I hope you enjoy them! Thanks to Carol-Anne's idea to do the stitches in the patterns in different colors to make them more clear. I figured it was worth trying out. If you try them I would enjoy feedback if it helps you to see easier in color rather than only black and white.

Right-Click and Save the patterns to your computer.
You may embroider these patterns freely, however you would like.Ribbon Stitch
Melanie Rose
Sweetheart Rose
Spiderweb Rose
Loop Flower or French Knot Loop Flower
Colonial Knot
Bullion Tipped Lazy Daisy
Fly Stitch

Free SRE Patterns

Right-Click on the Patterns and Save to your computer.

Since the web is severely lacking in free Silk Ribbon Embroidery patterns, I thought I'd try sharing a few of my own creations with you all. Feedback would be awesome, it will help me decide if I will draw up some more in the future. I would love it if anyone embroiders them!
You may embroider these patterns freely, I just want to share and inspire.
I'm only a hobbyist and intend on keeping it that way. Enjoy!
Ribbon Stitch
Melanie Rose
Sweetheart Rose
Spiderweb Rose
Fly Stitch

Cream on Cream RR Tea Cozy

I'm starting a new Round Robin that is a Cream on Cream theme! I love these tones so I'm really excited about participating in this RR. I had an idea that instead of a traditional block, I would do a shaped block that will become a Tea Cozy! It is 10 inches tall and 14 inches across.
I used a lot of the fabrics that Jill sent me and some tatted edging that Marie made!
Let the fun begin!!!

You Make My Day Award

I've been tagged by Norma for the You Make My Day Award. Thank you Norma, it was very sweet of you to think of me.

The Rules are to "Give up to 10 people whose blog brings you happiness & inspiration and makes you feel happy about Blogland." Beware! You may get the Award several times! Let them know by posting a note on their blog so they can pass it on. Here is my list of Blogs that make me happy and make my day!

This is just a random sampling of some of the blogs I enjoy:

1. HappySlip
2. Wendy
   
3. Debbie R
4. Hideko
5. Cheryl
6. Army of Four
7. Ivy
8. Carol-Anne
9. Diane
10. Paule
    

Few things I'm working on and a Thank You!

First I would like to say Thank You to Cheryl who so kindly sent me a squishie of River Silk ribbon to try and the most Yummy velvets for my stash! A photo just doesn't show the delicious texture and suppleness of the velvets! Thank you Cheryl!

Since a pattern for the doily I found is no where to be found I just printed out the scan and counted the stitches and used that as a diagram. It's a very simple pattern no special techniques needed to do it all you need to know how to do is ring, chains, and joins. This doily would also work well for needle tatters.

I'm tatting it up in size 80 DMC tatting thread, which I love since it tats very nicely. Since the original doily is tatted in what I believe is size 10, it will be a lot smaller and delicate looking.
I've only gotten 2 repeats done but my goal is 1 repeat a day and there are 8 repeats in the pattern. As I was tatting it yesterday I had an idea that I think would be pretty. Three repeats of the pattern would look lovely as a skirt for a belle or princess, and all you would need is to embroider in the upper body! My friend Wendy is making a princess crazy quilt for her daughter and she said I can help with it too so I think I will use that idea on it.

This is a little sneak peek at the block I'm making for a Cream on Cream RR that is just starting up! I pieced it last night because I was too anxious to get started, but I still have a little finishing up before it heads out. I'll blog it later on when it's ready, and let you know what it will become when it is complete.

Couple More Brooches

I wanted to take a size reference photo, because I usually show Wendy and her reaction is that they look smaller in person. So I figure I better take photos with something for size reference.

Here is my latest Rose Brooch for my Etsy Shop. It is on a shell pink Dupioni silk and the fabric never photos as well as it looks in person, it looks sorta beige with a soft pinkish tinge. The design is a melanie rose, a spiderweb rose and ribbon stitch buds with ribbon stitch leaves. I also added a pink rhinestone to the center.

I also made this brooch as a gift on champagne Dupioni silk with sweetheart roses, a spiderweb rose, a melanie rose with ribbon stitch leaves and 2 small pink glass pearls. I added a pink bow after I put the brooch together.

Etsy Buy Handmade HoneyBeesBliss

Tatting Find!

I found this small doily at a local antiquey shop. When I spotted it was was thrilled to have found it! The price was only $2 so I bought it right away. It needs to be washed and blocked, but I figure I can use it either as a doily or in my crazy quilting. It looks like it is a size 10 ecru cotton thread and is 6 3/4 inches across. I love how it's a continuous pattern. It looks familiar to me not sure why, does anyone know where this pattern comes from?

Happy New Year and Ornaments

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

I wanted to share a few ornaments, first the one I made on Christmas, I had the idea to make an ornament from a button cover. I embroidered a bullion tipped lazy daisy poinsettia with size 15 gold lined seed beads. Then put it together with an extra layer of felt so that I could bead on the edge of it. Then I beaded with size 15 clear seed beads for the loop and for the bottom and used glass pearls and clear Swarovski crystals. I love how it turned out and I think next year's ornaments will be made this way! You can kind of see the scale for size next to the Christmas lights and the gold ball ornament on the tree.

Next is the wonderful ornament Wendy made for me!!! I love it and I'm so thrilled to have a handmade ornament from a friend I love so dearly. As you can see it goes perfectly on my tree!

Here is a close up photo of the detail of her work! Just look at all that stitching she did! Hours and hours of work filling in that poinsettia and it's stunning! It is truly a special treasure that I will always have to remember of when our tradition started.