Lesson 2 - XXO XXO

This lesson we learned to make Xs on large sized gingham.  We also learned to sew on buttons for our Os. 

I love the way Isabelle dresses. Her mom always sends out "old clothes" when she comes to visit at the farm because they always play outside and get very dirty or stained with mulberries or raspberries.  Today her combination was a purple Justin Bieber shirt, a black herringbone check mini skirt and some wild black leggings with turquoise roses all up and down them.  (She's 7 but I think the clothes come from an older girl, daughter of a friend of my daughter's). Isabelle is wild and lots of fun and very proud of her XXOs. 

Kayla, on the other hand, is normally dressed in pink and has been since she was old enough to say PINK. She's quiet and reserved (like grandma) and takes her work very seriously. 

And she, too, is proud of her work. 

XXOXXOXXO

Fool's Goldwork

This is my work on Gerry's Fool's Gold themed block. She asked for a Jacobean styled flower. At first I couldn't decide which block to use. I saw so many patterned fabrics that I thought "oh poop" how do I do this! 

So, I decided I had to do some applique work so went off to find a Jacobean flower pattern that wouldn't be too difficult to applique. I couldn't find one in my books that I liked. I finally found one on Mary Corbet's site.  Obviously I changed the butterfly. I thought the one on the pattern was too difficult for me to do nicely and I thought it was ugly anyway but it's probably more in keeping with the Jacobean style than mine. 

I found some cream colored felt in my stash and some different organdy ribbons and silks. Then I stab stitched down the felt and applique shape. Then I couched different cords/threads around the shapes.   Then more embroidery and couching took place on the appliques and in the leaf shapes. I wasn't even going to add a butterfly but it sure was bare up in the corner after I finished the flower so...now there's a butterfly made following the same procedure as the flower. 

One weird thing...that missing thread down that diamond patterned piece bugged me the whole time and my eyes kept going over there. Don't know what to do about that. 

And, the whole thing is more glittery than it looks. 

That's it from this fool! 

I've Been Working on the RRs All the Live Long Week

This is my work on Connie's Be My Vintage Valentine themed block. I added a yoyo heart, a little garden of hearts, rosebuds and flowers like the little girls are holding in the silky. 

This is a bigger block and an RR where everyone works on the same block. The theme for this one is Butterfly and Dragonfly. 

I added a curvy buttonhole flower seam, a buttonhole stitch seam with flowers, bullion roses and one of those 3D butterflies cut from fabric that has a butterfly motif. 

And here's another attempt at a dragonfly - this time silk ribbon and beads. Also made a fluttery butterfly out of layers of fabric and then added some Kiko Flower stitches all around. 

Here's what the block looks like after Candji and I have stitched on it. Kathy did the butterfly embroidery in the middle herself.  I really had a hard time staying with pastels!!! 

I Love Cherries Part II

All 72 blocks (Japanese x & +) for the "I Love Cherries" quilt are complete. Assembly to begin soon.

That's Just Fine and Dandy

I didn't have enough fabric for the backing for a large quilt I've had as a WIP since last June so I started making blocks to fill in with the batik backing. I used one of my fav blocks...Dandy...which finishes at 12 inches. Unfortunately I like them too much to use on the back of a quilt so I will probably have to make more Dandy blocks now...enough for a Queen sized quilt.

So, I don't know when I'll ever get this quilt finished. This was the look last June and it has since had a border of prairie points added. 

I think I have enough purple Kona to add a strip to the batik I have to make a backing...hopefully this weekend.

Linking up at Quilting by the River and Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story. (Buttons on side bar).

Lesson One

So, after we whipped up some pancakes from scratch the guys (grandpa and 3yo Jacob) went off to buy beer and chase wild women (aka pick up tire at Farm and Fleet) and left us girls to our lessons. Isabelle and Kayla (both aged 7) have been begging me to teach them crochet, embroidery, sewing. Here they are trying to make a chain (with no success). It doesn't help when grandma confuses them by showing them how to hold thread when tatting when they are trying to learn crochet. Anyway...after about ten minutes they were ready to move on. 

We were going to start with running stitch and they realized it was a little like doing those "Winnie the Pooh" lacing cards. 

And the thread kept coming out of the needle but surprisingly Isabelle figured out how to thread her own needles. That may come in handy for me! I can hardly see. 

Isabelle stitched away (they ran with the running stitch while I was trying to explain they should try to keep stitch length and spacing kind of even) and her grand finale was what kind of looked like an M in running stitch. Of course...M for Mom. You can't stitch just for practice. You have to have a project in mind! 

Kayla plugged along with her pink (of course) thread and was a little more successful at keeping stitch length and spacing even. 

Kayla said she was stitching a heart. It was a pretty lumpy one. 

They had fun but were ready to go outside and play in their secret hideout after about 45 minutes. 

Lesson two in two weeks when they come to visit again. 

Apples and Cherries - Feeling a Bit Fruity

My CQJP 2012 entry for April - another block for my Crazy Basket Case lap quilt. Twelve inch blocks are mostly done in reds, have a basket on each one and have all washable embellishments. 

And here's a "snowball" for Alice. Cherries! I'm not sure if my pink cherry blossoms go with everything else but everything does look better in real life. And this pic makes everything look a little distorted anyway especially at the bottom. 

Anyone for a game of "Fruit Basket Upset"? Ah, the memories! 

I'll Have Some New Stitching Buddies Now!

Some of the things the 7 year old granddaughters found in their Easter baskets.

This and That

My work on Nicki's valentine block. I chain stitched on top of some baby rick rack which was on top of some stretchy gingham trim, added some perle 8 cherry stems and rhinestone and bead cherries. Some felt with buttonhole stitch and fabric cutouts on a couple and heart cookie button on another.

My work on Lorrie's Sew It Up block. I first cross stitched a basket of yarn with 14 count waste canvas, made a zipper flower, chevron stitch seam with buttons, and you can see the rest. I was totally uninspired since she used butterfly and dragonfly themed fabric and I was supposed to think "sewing"...

And this is my contribution to the joint block. In this DYB everyone in this RR stitched on a 6th block in addition to stitching one entire block. I crocheted a bunch of chain and ended it with a flower with a button center.

I'm off to make pies for Easter from pumpkin I grew and froze last fall.

Strings

Over the weekend I finished another set of 24 I Spy string quilt blocks for the Heartstrings Quilt Project.

And I used some 30s reproduction scraps and started on a spiderweb quilt following a pattern in the book Material Obsession. I'm a little upset that my blocks don't lie flat and some webs don't match up. According to instructions in the book blocks are sewn together on the bias and I think mine are stretched as the foundation fabric is a very light muslin. From other spiderweb quilt tutorials I've seen online 4 triangle blocks are sewn together along the sides of the blocks. Disgusted with my quilt so far, I threw this in a box and will rip and try again later with a stronger foundation fabric and sewing things together differently.  I have all 128 scrappy centers finished but I think I just wasted a few unless I want to ripppppit.... Arghhhhh.

Birthday Blocks

I signed up to participate in a birthday block swap over on the block_swappers yahoo group. You enter your  size and choice of block and colors/fabric designer in the database and then each participant sends the birthday girl the block of choice. My birthday was March 21 and I have received the blocks above so far. I think 6 more ladies need to send me blocks but I like what I have so far. I requested 12 inch star of choice in jewel tones on black background and surprisingly I have not received any duplicate star patterns. 

And I've been working ahead on birthday blocks to send to others. The house with the kitty's backside in the window is the next to be sent. Lucky for me several people said to send any star pattern so I chose the dandy block pattern. So far that batik block in front was the most challenging for me. 

Pardon my thread littered "design floor". One of these days I will get it vacuumed!