Tea Time

My work on a Tea Time RR block for Cathy K. For the tea pot, cup, cupcake and girl on stool I used the tissue paper transfer method to get the motif on the block. That involves using a tweezers to get out al the little pieces of tissue paper when all embroidery is complete. I also added a spider web of silver sulky and beaded spider, cast on stitch pansies and some bullions here and there. The silk ribbon flowers were stitched over the pattern in the fabric.

Pillows

Two 18" and four 14" pillows ready for gift giving. Nothing fancy - but practical, removable, and washable. And, I can make new pillow covers for them every year for Christmas gifts too!

The Birds (a sequel)

Another set of bird blocks for the "For the Birds DYB". I can only send 6 blocks around with this RR so will have to decide which of the 6 to send of the 14 I have made. I think mixed with some wild butterfly and bright and wild flower blocks it will be a pretty spectacular quilt. I will have to do the cats hiding in the shrubs/plants since we have a lot of feral barn cats we feed around here. We seem to adopt all the ones people let loose out in the country.

The Birds

I remember watching Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" movie when I was younger. I thought it was so scary and kept my eyes on telephone wires full of birds for quite some time afterwards. After my kids got older I couldn't wait for them to see the scary movie "The Birds". So we popped up some popcorn (the old fashioned way...shaking it in a pot over the fire on the stove), all got cozy under afghans and quilts on the couch, turned out the lights and laughed our heads off at "The Birds". How the special effects had changed in a generation...so much so that what I once thought was so frightening was more like a comedy.

Anyway...I digress. I hope my birds aren't laughable or scary. I've made my blocks for another RR over on CQI Yahoo Group, "For The Birds".

I'll probably combine them with some garden blocks, more bird blocks and who knows what all else to make a lap sized crazy quilt...or not.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Every year I make towels and potholders for stocking stuffers for the family. This year I decorated flour sack dishtowels with fabric and rickrack and made 16-patch potholders. The mushroom set is for my daughter and her husband since they are avid mushroom hunters. The rooster set is for my sister.

The cat set is for my son and his girlfriend since they love cats and the wine set is for my husband, a wine maker.

The Irish set is for my nephew and wife and the purple set is for a friend who loves all things purple.

And the snowmen set is for my other son and his girlfriend since his girlfriend likes snowmen.

I also made a rooster themed table runner for my sister ...

And a purple themed table runner for my friend.

And this is a gumdrop pillow made from an Amy Butler gumdrop pattern.  It is 24" version and makes a great footstool. (I know since I made one for myself). I found the upholstery fabric at the thrift store and it cost a whole $2.45. This will be for my son and girlfriend.

Another Amy Butler gumdrop pillow. This is for my other son and girfriend. And, again, it is from upholstery fabric purchased from the thrift store for a whopping $1.95.

Crazy Stuff

This is Diane's completed Tea Time RR block after Nicki, Thearica, Carolyn and I stitched on it. Details of some of my work follows.

Tea cup and tea bag and a few flowers. Tea cup stem stiched with variegated DMC blue and wrapped with gold sulky thread.

I added silky ribbon with tea cup motifs on it and embellished the cups which was kind of difficult to do since the cups are so tiny. Then I added a herringbone seam treatment below mainly because I need practice with that stitch. I also added lazy daisies and bead.

This seam I added above Carolyn's tea set - bullions of perle #8 and flowers of silk ribbons and beads. I wanted to add a butterfly above it but had to restrain myself since Diane requested no butterflies.

Tea pot, mug and cupcake of 2 strands of DMC with silk ribbon flowers and a few beads. Cupcake frosting of some sparkly Sulky thread.

"Tea party" in backstitch and some silk ribbon flowers again.

This is Peggy Sue's block for an Encrusted RR. I was the second person to stitch on it and after seeing Rose Anne's beautiful work felt a little intimidated. I also felt the colors were a little weird - purple and red? But I see they do go together just fine.

I added a crocheted heart and basket full of leaves. Along the side I added some lacy seam binding and embellished on top of that with fern stitch/cast on stitch, some french knots and I can't remember what all else. I practiced herringbone stitch again and added lazy daisy stitches again.

Here I added a piece of lace from the thrift store across two patches and embellished with bullions and some pistil stitches. You can't see very well but there are green cast-on stitches below the holes. And I crocheted a purple flower motif (looks blue in this pic) and added a purchased flower to the center of that.