Some Crazy Stuff

First up is my work on Wendy's Angel themed block. I hope the motif looks like an angel. I used organza ribbon for her skirt, gold metallic cord couched for her wings with some hairy type yard couched down in between the cord. I used perle #8 bullions for her hair and gold metallic effects DMC for the trumpet. I am not real happy with the trumpet and was ready to rip it all out and use the finer gold sulky...but it is what it is.

Next...my pink color study block arrived home. Jenni, Ruby and Nina did all the stitching on this lovely block.  And, I just finished my stitching on Jenni's pink block...

Someone before me left that dark pink rose all by itself on the block so I added more around it - a pink yoyo, more pink roses and some other flowers. Now it's not so lonesome.

Someone had added this feather stitch so I further embellished it with bullions. I also crocheted the butterfly and added a body of beads...

...again, someone before me left these bead flowers out in the middle of nowhere on this block so I added a bunch of feather stitch with variegated lazy daisy stitches and a few bullion roses on the seam. I know...the photo is dark.

This is Jenni's completed pink block ready to be sent home when I can get to the P.O. She dyed a tea towel with that teapot motif pink and added other fabric on it. I had a very hard time doing my stitching on this since there were so many buttons on it when it came my turn and my threads kept getting caught up in them. Oh, and I added the crocheted flowers in the upper right corner to balance the butterfly in the lower left.

And finally, these are all the color studies I've participated in so far. I always piece my naked blocks with a heart.

Favorite Things

The following are for my Hexie Rainbow Favorite Things Lap Quilt.

The color blue.  

More blue favorite things

All color favorites.

And more red favorites.

See Lily Quilts Hexalong in sidebar as well as Pigtales and Quilts How-Does-Your-Garden-Grow sew along.

Naked Again!

Winter Scenes for 6 inch CQ DYB RR.

More Winter Scenes for 6 inch CQ DYB RR (I should have made them all cookies...)

Roses  block for CQ RR. This is a larger sized block - 12 inches if I remember correctly.

Another Roses block for a different CQ RR.

If I would quit joining in RRs I might get some work done around here.

Four Hours Later...

...I had five coin purses.

I was thinking I needed to make something for my friend's birthday coming up on Sept. 11. She likes purple so I was digging through my purple bin of stash wondering what to do when I remembered I had some metal frames for coin purses. It took me about an hour to find the frames and the other three to make 5 coin purses. I figured it was just as easy to make one as to make two. Then when I found the 5 purse frames I decided it was just as easy to make five. The purple with roses will be for my friend, the 3 wildly colorful ones with butterflies will be stocking stuffers for my daughter and the girlfriends of my sons and the rose one is for me. Mine will go inside my Rosey Boho bag when I get it made someday.

How Does Your Garden Grow? With a Surprise!

Some of my Favorite Things - Red

I've been making 30s tulips for the "How Does Your Garden Grow" sew-along over on Pigtales and Quilts and thought I would never make a hexie like some of the ladies in the sew along.  Never. Never ever. I do love hexies and the sew-along ladies make some gorgeous ones but those little things were not for me. Then I found Lily Quilts and her Hexalong. She is making BIG hexies.She's making BIG hexies and mixing it up a bit with patterns within hexies.  And I can handle that. Because at the same time I had been thinking somewhere in the back of my mind about rainbows and some of my other favorite things and then it struck me...I'll make a BIG Hexie lapquilt for winter with all the colors of the rainbow depicting some of my favorite things. And, when I'm snugly bundled beneath it on some cold winter day, well, then...how does the song go?...then I won't feel so bad.

And, if the DGKs (I really hope that means Darling Grandkids even though mine are sometimes dorky, daring, delightful and darn right nerve - wracking so take your pick on the D word) are over we will even be able to play a little "I spy" with it.

And I wonder why nothing ever gets finished around here...

Mug Rug Swap

I recently participated in a mug rug swap. Actually, this was the first time I had ever heard of a mug rug but I see from the web that it seems to be all the rage. I exchanged with three ladies.  I made their rugs all the same. One side for the mug and the other side for the snack. I used up some scraps in the bargain.

Top was from Erica. She used fabric scraps from a quilt she had made. The lower one was made by Maggie. Don't you just love the spider web?

And this lovely floral bouquet one was made by Ruby.

I'm going to make a few more and keep them in a basket on the buffet. When the DGKs (I hope that means Darling Grand Kids although I wouldn't always call them darlings) come to visit they can pick their mug rug at snack time.

It's fun getting packages in the mail! The ladies also included some extra goodies as did I in their packages.

Did I Hear You Say I Was a Crotchety Old Lady?

Well, maybe...but I think you mean I'm a crocheting old lady! Or maybe you can call me a crotchety crocheting old lady. (I've always thought crotchety was a weird word). Anyway...I've crocheted a few more dishcloths for stocking stuffers this last week during my lunch hour and started on a shawl for me. Maybe I will get it done before fall. Or maybe it will be next fall. I'm in no hurry. It's just a way to keep my hands moving and flexible. And it's practice before I try to crochet a pair of socks.