Going in Circles

I have finally gotten around to making more improv circles so I can get them in the hoop and embellished...

...like these. 

It's a long term neutral, circular, improv, crazy quilt project.  Just going with the flow.

Ad Hoc Improv with Kaja and Ann

Hooping It Up!

When the sewing machine is away the hands will play. 

Just because my machine is in for repair doesn't mean I'm bored. I always have a variety of hand work projects I can work on.  I'll just list here the projects in the hoops.  I also have a pile of socks that need darning and I've been crocheting dishrags and scrubbies to go with hotpads and embellished dishtowels for gift giving.  I finished two crocheted dishrags this morning on the drive up to my husband's dr. appt.   He has to go to Iowa City, an hour away, to a specialist for follow up after that surgery where they removed his fibula and made it into a jawbone.  

The Gwennie Medallion (above)  is in the hoop for hand quilting.  I'm hoping to finish it by month's end so will make it my One Monthly Goal (OMG) for November.  This is lap quilt sized. 

A few weeks ago I was digging through a box of thrift store items I've had tucked away for a rainy day.   I found this 45 inch square stamped embroidery tablecloth.    

 It cost me 95 cents.   It didn't come with embroidery thread but I have a lot of that.  The brief instruction sheet that was attached said to embroider with two strands of black and to use chain stitch on the flowers so that's what I did.   One motif is finished and I have 7 more to go.  At 45 inches square it is probably for a card table.  I'm thinking I might use it as part of a quilt backing instead. 

  And in another hoop I have my chicken scratch sashing.   Each one of those strips of chicken scratch embroidery is one sashing piece.   I think I need 36 strips but don't really remember how many for sure. 

This is a little stitchery I picked up for a couple of dollars on clearance. I'll make a pillow out of it if I ever get it finished.  I keep it in a tote and grab it if I get notice I have to pick up grandkids from school.  My grandson gets out of elementary school one hour earlier than my granddaughter who is in junior high so I wait for about 45 minutes between pick-ups at my daughter's house and work on this.  I don't have to pick them up very often - just when my daughter is at work and my son-in-law has to go to an Iowa City specialist for his leukemia/bone marrow transplant follow up. 

These two six inch blocks just came out of the hoops.   They are blocks 7 (left) and 8 (right)of the 2020 Crazy Quilt Challenge. 

Previous total of items used toward goal of 2020 unique items by 2020 = 73

Block 7 statistics: 

Fabric: 0 (counted in block 5)

Lace/trims: 1 (big piece of lace with rose motif that I buttonhole stitched around) = 1

Motif: 3D Butterfly with bullion knot center = 1

Stitches/seam treatments: buttonhole wheels/feather stitch, 3 rows wiggly chain stitches.= 2

Beads, buttons, charms: 0

Threads: variegated prism craft thread, dark brown perle #8, DMC 4145, DMC 829 = 4

Grand total = 81

Block 8 statistics: 

Fabric: 0

Lace/trims: 1/4" 100% polyester ribbon used in woven ribbon roses, lace trim laced with perle thread = 2

Motifs: bead spider (see it in the web? I won't count the two different beads for this block as separate items since I'll use more of them later), spider web, woven ribbon roses = 3

Stitches/seam treatments: chain circles with lazy daisy flowers in center = 1 (I counted herringbone stitch along seam previously).

Beads, buttons, charms: 1 in flower centers (micro mini round griege) = 1

Threads: DMC 783, 435, 452, 739.  Antique effects E436, DMC variegated #5 and #8 = 7

Grand total = 95

 Here are all the blocks together so far. I'm not really sure how I'm going to put them all together. I may mix and match, keep some as circles but use some as partial circles...who knows at this point. 

Right now I'm just having fun with the project. 

I like to work on a variety of projects because I think they use different finger/wrist movements and help keep my hand from getting stiff and painful.   But then again it might just be my imagination. Whatever works!

2020 Crazy Quilt Challenge: Blocks 5 and 6

Blocks 5 and 6 are now embellished.

They are part of a crazy quilt I'm making using 6 inch improv circles and neutrals.  The challenge is to use 2020 different items to create a crazy quilt by 2020. 

2020 Crazy Quilt Challenge Guidelines

Block 5

I crocheted that motif several years ago while camping- it's from the book The Go -To Book for Irish Crochet Motifs.  I hope it doesn't end up being too bulky for the small blocks.  The other trims and beads I had in my stash - usually thrift store finds. 

Block 5 Count

Fabrics: 4

Laces/trims: 3 

Embroidered motifs: 1

Stitches/stitch combos: running, lazy daisy with beads (2)

Beads/charms/buttons:  silver seed beads, dragonfly charm (2)

Threads: DMC Embroidery floss 3790, 844, 848 & Sullivan's floss 45239; perle #12 B5200; Gutermann 280 hand quilting thread (6)

Previous count 43; Grand total = 61

Block 6

The words are an Irish proverb I like.  It seemed appropriate because with back problems (I still have pain from herniated disc /sciatica. I got better, went into the garden to catch up on separating daylilies and hostas and fell off the end of my rolling stool...ouch! ) I tried to plough a lot of fields with my mind and it just plain didn't work! 

It's really difficult to embroider words so small but I got the job done.  That's my cursive these days...rather shaky with stiff hands.   Cursive makes me wonder...Does anyone know how to read cursive and words that aren't abbreviated these days? 

I tried a couple of new stitches  on a seam I haven't done before - woven zig zag chain and raised woven cross stitch.  They were pretty easy to do once I got the hang of it.  I actually did the raised woven cross stitches twice. The first time I used gold thread and then realized I was only going to use neutrals so that got ripped out. I guess I got some good practice on that stitch. 

I made those "flowers" from lacy hem tape I gathered and then sewed a four holed button in the middle.  I then did some drizzle stitches in the holes of the buttons for a flower center. 

Fabrics: 0 (previously counted in above)

Laces/trims: 3

Embroidered motifs: 1

Stitches/stitch combos: raised woven x stitch; woven zig zag chain; drizzle stitch; couching (on trim) (4)

Beads/charms/buttons:  1

Threads: DMC Embroidery floss 535; perle #5 842 and brown?? (3)

Previous count 61; Grand total = 73

The Ad Hoc Improv Challenge this quarter has been to add words to a quilt.  This quilt will have quite a few proverbs embroidered on it plus there may be some stamped words down the line too.  Who knows? 2020 is a long way off...isn't it? 

2020 in 2020 Crazy Quilt: Block 4

I've finished the embellishment of block 4 of the 2020 Crazy Quilt Challenge.  This is a six inch block. 

I tatted that butterfly long ago when I was teaching myself to tat because I found a tatting shuttle in some of my husband's grandmother's things my mother-in-law gave me.  I need to brush up again on some tatting and try some new things for this quilt.  The piece of ribbon and eyelet trim was found at the thrift store.  I have a giant box of trims I've found at the thrift store over the years - time to use them. 

Fabric: 0 (counted in block 1)

Laces/trims:  1/4 inch piece of satin ribbon, eyelet lace, tatted butterfly of white crochet thread 10, 1/4 inch twill tape = 4

Beads: 1

Threads: DMC Antique Effects E436; DMC embroidery floss 2 threads of 676, 543 (Sullivan's 45122), 3781 (Sullivan's 45393) = 4   (only counting threads not previously used on blocks like the variegated brown).

Stitches and Stitch Combos: Blanket stitch flowers (over twill tape), pistil stitch x3 cluster, dragonflies (in antique effects thread) = 3

Total new items this block = 12

Grand total items blocks 1 through 4 = 43 

How all the blocks of this circle set (blocks 1-4) look together.  I'm not sure if they will stay together in the final layout but for now I'm keeping all circle sets together.  I'm doing the whole quilt in neutrals from white to black and anything in between. That doesn't include "low volume" fabrics. 

This is how the four blocks looked before embroidery. 

This is my next circle set to work on. 

It will take a month of Sundays (and other days) to finish this crazy quilt but for today linking up to:

Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts