HAND QUILTING

Redwork Block 4

2012-02-06T09:20:00.000-06:00

I still have a lot of french knots to do on this block but I am not able to make them correctly so I have moved on to the next block. I will come back to it later.

February CQJP Block Base

2012-01-31T05:01:00.000-06:00

This is the same block that I used for January. I was thinking of using it for all 12 CQJP blocks and turning them around when attaching them. The colors will be yellow and orange with every shade in between. The laces that I use will not be repeated.

TAST - Herringbone Stitch

2012-01-30T17:17:00.000-06:00

Finally! A stitch that I know how to do. The top 2 rows are my herringbone stitch and variations.

TAST - Cretan Stitch

2012-01-27T07:26:00.001-06:00

I had a hard time with this stitch too. I just figured it out tonight, I think. It looks right but I'm not sure the needle came in and out of the right places. Maybe I should stitch a couple of rows to feel more comfortable with it. I tried the open and closed cretan stitches but could not figure out how to do them.

Completed January CQJP Block

2012-01-24T17:52:00.000-06:00

I have left some room on the border spaces so that after I sew all of the blocks together, I can do some embroidery to cover up the seam lines. I am a beginner at embroidery and had a hard time coming up with stitches. While I have several cq books, they are boxed up in anticipation of a move this year. I know that my block is not in the same league as those posted on the CQJP blog but I think that I will submit it anyway.

TAST - Feather Stitch

2012-01-24T04:20:00.001-06:00

As you can see, I cannot do the feather stitch correctly. However, this is the best I have done to date. The stitch requires too much twisting of the hand and aggravates my carpal tunnel problems. While I had the carpal tunnel surgery 2 years ago, I still get pain if I twist my hand. It is disappointing not to be able to do the most important crazy quilt stitch.

More Progress on January CQJP

2012-01-23T18:42:00.009-06:00

Yes, I am a beginner. All I need to add is some beading and I think I am done with this block. The photos are not great. I am shooting the pics in the evening and because I used all yellow fabrics, they just don't look right.

TAST - Buttonhole Stitch

2012-01-13T04:19:00.000-06:00

This week's TAST stitch is the buttonhole stitch. I have never been able to figure this one out before until now. The bottom line is the basic stitch. The next section is 2 rows of changing lengths that form a heart in the middle. On the top row I had some problems with changing the base loop over so I will be sticking with the basic stitch for awhile.

Progress on January CQJP Block

2012-01-12T21:26:00.000-06:00

January CQJP Block

2012-01-07T22:12:00.007-06:00

I pieced this block this afternoon and began embroidering the fly stitch in one of the seams. My stitches are not even so they will probably be ripped out and redone. I was thinking of adding beads to the end of the lace but all of my beads are too big so I will have to buy some more. I guess I should also pick up a marking pen to ensure the stitches are even.

TAST-Fly Stitch

2012-01-06T04:27:00.000-06:00

The fly stitch is the stitch we begin Take a Stitch Tuesday (TAST) 2012 with. The bottom row is the basic fly stitch. In the next row the "fly" has been lengthened and in row 3 I have changed the loop location and then joined 2 stitches into 1. I made a few mistakes as to where the 2nd half of the stitch ends. In row 4 I have changed the direction of the stitch and lined one up next to the other. In row 5 I did a basic fly stitch and added a "t" on top of it.

What's up with Blogger?

2011-12-26T14:08:00.004-06:00

I had to leave 10 spaces between each photo in the last 2 posts in order for the commentary to line up with the photo. Well, it finally looks OK on my computer. God only knows what it looks like on yours.

Our Family Christmas 2011

2011-12-26T12:44:00.030-06:00

Easiest tree to put up. All it requires is a trip to the basement and plug it in.

Snowman decorations surround family photos of my maternal grandmother and my father and his parents taken during WWII.

More smowmen surrounding a photo of my mother from the 1990s. The 3 singers in front represent the singing trio that my mother was in both before and during WWII. They were aptly called "The Brandt Sisters" and sang on WGN Radio, at the Oriental Theater in downtown Chicago and all over the nation.

Sitting Santas in front of my high school graduation photo. A photo of my mother as a child is on the left and and a photo of my older sister is on the right.

A cat band serenading whatever was cooking in the microwave; probably coffee.

The dinner my sister made: sage stuffing, Uncle Sharon's Famous Ham and Pineapple Casserole, green bean casserole, deviled eggs, red jello and cole slaw. Dessert was mint chocolate chip ice cream and peach ice cream.

Rocky eating the ribbons and then sound asleep from all of activity. All 15 minutes of it.

Yours truly, the first year of the post menopausal gut. I had nothing to do with its development. It just appeared one day. Really.

A close up of my angelic face that my sister wants a copy of. Well, gmail would not upload it so here it is.

Christmas Lights

2011-12-26T12:22:00.018-06:00

While shooting these photos, I left the car door open while my sister stayed behind the wheel. 9 houses later the car battery went dead. We called AAA on my phone and 40 minutes later someone arrived to jack up the battery. Since the car would only run until the ignition was turned off, we drove home and left the motor running while I ran into the house for my coat and bag and then my sister drove me to the train station 1 hour early. Love sitting in 20 degree weather outside for an hour waiting for a train. Love it.

Redwork Block #3

2011-12-19T11:57:00.003-06:00

Santa Visits The Condo

2011-12-18T18:35:00.007-06:00

Redwork Block #2

2011-12-18T18:20:00.004-06:00

My First Redwork Block

2011-12-10T13:47:00.002-06:00

I just finished the first redwork block in my 12 block quilt. It took most of 1 skein of floss. I only bought 3 so I guess another trip to Hancock's is in order.

Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2012

2011-12-10T08:09:00.000-06:00

After much thought, I have joined the Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2012.

Some of the goals of the Project are to increase awareness of crazy quilting at the local, national, and international levels and to challenge crazy quilters to continually expand their creativity and improve their individual technical skills. Forgive my lack of paragraphs. Blogger is not allowing me to create paragraphs today. The Rules: Registration ends December 27, 2011. Links to participants blogs will be posted to the CQJP blog during the last few days of December 2011. Project planning and block construction can begin no earlier than November 2011 to be considered a valid CQJP 2012 Project. Participants will construct and complete a crazy quilt block each month that is a minimum of 6" x 6." Blocks can be larger, but not smaller and the blocks can be a a different size each month. Also, blocks do not have to be square. Blocks can include any type fabrics and embellishments. Blocks should challenge the participants' individual skills, promote the expansion of your artistic views and improve your technical skills. I will probably sew my squares together this month and am trying to think of a theme for the blocks. My first thought was to have food as a theme. I don't know how that will work out as it will require that I create my own embroidery designs. I have also been thinking of an "I Remember Mama" theme that would incorporate photos of my mother during all of the stages of her life. Of course, I can combine these 2 ideas and add embroidered designs of the foods that my mother always prepared for the family. Any deviation from the traditional Victorian crazy quilt scares me. When I was participating in the Take It Further Challenge I made some contemporary blocks that just didn't look right. I would like to add a few cigarette silks to this project but I know there are none with food. I am also still thinking about the color scheme. I don't like pastels but don't want to go all the way to jewel tones. I guess a medium dusty scheme would be my favorite. If you would like to see some examples of this color scheme go to Judith Baker Montano's website. I wish that I had purchased some of her fabrics when they came out in 2007 and 2008. They would be perfect for this project. Dupioni silk fabrics will be used exclusively. In the past, I made some blocks with velvet, dupioni silk, Chinese fabrics and cotton. Embellishing the seams was a royal pain.

Triangle Drawing Completed

2011-12-04T07:19:00.001-06:00

I am glad that this is done! I had a terrible time with wax bloom. Wax bloom occurs when you burnish a color, i.e., press hard with the pencil. When you press hard an excessive amount of wax comes out of the pencil and it grows into the adjoining spaces. I was constantly erasing the colors of the triangels. This drawing is another one that I am thinking of submitting to a juried exhibition next year. There is alot of work on the business end of working as an artist. I will need to write an artist statement, have a resume and website, and pay about $600 per competition. December 15 is the deadline for most of the exhibitions that I am interested in. It is coming fast and seems silly to have a December deadline for an August show. I might need to wait until 2013 in order to get all of this done. After all, I still have a full time day job. I will be disappointed though if I don't enter at least one show.

A Trip to Hancock's Fabrics

2011-12-03T15:50:00.000-06:00

I went to Hancock's Fabrics this afternoon to pick up some embroidery thread for next year's Take a Stitch Tuesday which is being hosted again by Sharon B. of the Pin Tangle blog. I came away with a few half yards of Christmas fabric also. 2 years ago I started a Christmas crazy quilt for my bed. However, earlier this year I purchased a new mattress and will need to make more squares to cover the humongous mattress. It's a queen size but has deep pockets so I need to use king size sheets, blankets and bedspreads. I have been hoping to get an embroidery sewing machine so that I could machine sew the embroidery stitches. Well, I don't have the machine yet but I guess that's OK because the bed quilt is not done.

I finally picked up some red floss for a preprinted redwork quilt top that I bought at a quilt show about 2 years ago. A photo of it can be seen above. I am going to get started on this tonight. I also bought embroidery floss for TAST, choosing a light and dark of every color.

Take a Stitch Tuesday (TAST) 2012

2011-12-03T13:36:00.000-06:00

Sharon B. is hosting this weekly challenge again. She originally hosted it about 3 or 4 years ago. You can sign up to participate in TAST 2012 at the sign up page. In order to sign up you will need to give your blog address, blog name, email address, and link to Stitchin Fingers page at the sign up page. Sharon would also like participants to also link back to her Pin Tangle blog. Annet of the Fat Quarter blog created an image for the challenge which everyone can use. The challenge begins on January 3, 2012. Each week Sharon will post a challenge stitch on her blog. You will work a sample of the stitch, experiment with it by changing its dimensions, etc. . . and then posting a photograph of your sample on your blog. Finally, you will need to post a link to your sample on the Pin Tangle blog by commenting on the challenge post. All skill levels are welcome to participate. I am not a great embroiderer so I feel somewhat inferior to those expert crazy quilters but everone has to start somewhere. Sharon uses 25 or 27 count evenweave linen but I will be using 14 count Aida towels for my band sampler.

2011-11-24T10:41:00.001-06:00

Quilting Again

2011-11-13T15:52:00.004-06:00

I hand sewed another row of a king size bed quilt that I am making out of William Morris reproduction fabric. It's quite wrinkled from sitting on my dresser for months. I still haven't purchased a new iron yet but who cares? I have 4 more rows to go before the piecing is done. The photo is not great but shows that I really am back to sewing. Really.

Finished Drawing

2011-11-13T15:48:00.003-06:00

I just completed this 23" x 30" colored pencil drawing. I plan on submitting it to a juried exhibition next year. It may look familiar as I did a 9" x 14" study of the design earlier in the year.