CQJP November and December

 

This afternoon, I went to see the new movie, Les Miserables. It was very good, but you’ll want to bring a few Kleenex when you go see it. Although it is a sad movie, it has wonderful themes of forgiveness and redemption. Anne Hathaway did a fabulous job singing Fantine’s songs.

 
In all the fun of the Easy Street Mystery, I have not forgotten about my Crazy Quilt Journal Project. While we were at the Farm over Christmas, I finished both my November and December blocks. For my November fan block, I got the idea for all of the seam treatments from Carole Samples’ book, Treasury of Crazy Quilt Stitches, although I altered some of them for my purposes and added beads and buttons.
 

In the center arc, I stitched the city and state where we live, but I’ve blurred that out in photo shop. We have lived in this city the entire 22 years we’ve been married. It’s where Mike was offered a teaching job after he graduated from college.

 

The left seam has silk ribbon flowers with pearl centers. The next seam has two different zig-zag seams, using a thicker velvet thread and a thin embroidery floss, topped with two different sized beads. The lace towards the bottom has gold triangle beads in the bottom holes. Small transparent seed beads attach the top of the lace to the block.

The next seam has a wavy fishbone “vine” with silk ribbon buds made of French knots. The final seam is a zig zag made of chain stitches, topped with mother of pearl buttons and seed beads.

The larger lace around the outside of the fan has cream-colored beads in the little holes near the bottom and transparent beads in the center of the swirl.

My December block is Mike’s and my monogram. I know this doesn’t really look like a crazy block, but it’s going to be the center block out of 25 for my anniversary quilt. In Penny McMorris’ book, Crazy Quilts, there’s a photo of an antique crazy quilt that has a monogram in the center. I like the look. It gives the eye a bit of a rest among all the beautiful busy-ness of the rest of the quilt.

I enlarged the letters from an alphabet that’s in the back of Carole Samples’ book, Treasury of Crazy Quilt Stitches, making the S in the middle larger than the M and the J. I traced the letters onto dupioni silk using a thin Pigma Micron pen.

Confession time: I started stitching this block back in about January. I find doing this much satin stitch by hand to be rather monotonous, so I’ve been slowly working on it all year. It was a relief to finish it this week!

Head on over to the CQJP 2012 blog to see other eye candy. Lots of people have finished up their year-long projects.

Happy stitching!

November CQJP block pieced

I started piecing my November block for CQJP a few weeks ago and finished it this weekend. I will embroider the name of my city and state in the arc of the fan. I traced the words using a fine black marker, like I did for my kids' names and birthdays on their blocks. Then the embroidery will be in black floss. I've blurred out that part for privacy, which is why it has that black marbled-look. The fabric is actually a cream dupioni silk. You can see what it looks like over on the left side of the block.

I've been taking advantage of having extra time off work (or am I just procrastinating doing Christmas stuff? LOL). I'm off to go work some more on my AP&Q Mystery Quilt...

Happy stitching!

October CQJP block

I hope all my fellow Americans had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday! We had a relaxing day at home. Although it was just the five of us, we still had a full, traditional Thanksgiving dinner. I had my husband and the kids help out with two dishes each, so it was pretty manageable for me. After we ate, we played Monopoly. Not my favorite board game, but if that's what it takes to have some family time with my teenagers, then bring it on!

Then in the evening, I had some time to work on my CQJP block from October. I finished it. It's not quite how I had envisioned it, but I still like it. What I first tried as a frame around the photo just wasn't working, so I opted for this lace instead.

Here's a closeup of the MOP buttons and clear beads that surround the photo.

I added gold seed beads, translucent sequins, and pearly-white seed beads to the seam on the left side of the photo.

I embellished the strip of white lace with pearl-white drop beads and larger "bubble" beads.

I bought these silver number charms at Hobby Lobby. 1990 is the year we got married.

Since I have today off work, I'm hoping to finish piecing my November block for CQJP. Hopefully I'll have it posted by the end of the weekend.

Happy stitching!

October CQJP block work

Here's the work I've done recently on my October block for CQJP 2012.

On this seam, I did a zig-zag stitch with a thicker "velvet" thread. Then I made straight stitches and lazy daisy stitches.

 I used feather stitch to couch down this thick, metallic gold "Radiance" thread.

Two rows of chevron stitch in different threads, topped off with silk ribbon French knots on the outer edges of the stitching.

I added a piece of lace to this seam to bring another element of texture to the block. I think I'm ready to applique the photo onto the center of this block.

 

Happy stitching! And if you live in the USA, please go exercise your right to vote today!

September and October CQJP blocks

This weekend, I finished the beading and other embellishing on my September block. As you may recall, this block commemorates the trip Mike and I took to Europe over Spring Break this year. I added three charms for three of the places we visited. I bought the "Paris" and "London" charms at one of the big craft stores, I think Hobby Lobby.

Here's a closeup of the souvenir tie tack I bought in the gift shop at Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Germany. I purposely bought it for this block, the way I bought the doily that the "London" charm is on while we were in London.

Here's a photo I took of the real Neuschwanstein Castle. This castle may look familiar to you. It's one of the most photographed castles in Germany, and it was the model for Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty Castle.

I added this gold ric rac on the long patch of fabric. First I couched it down with chain stitch and French knots.

Here's a closeup of the bead cluster that I sewed onto the ric rac. The two oval-shaped pearlescent beads are from a pair of fancy earrings I bought on clearance after the holidays a few years ago. I deconstructed the earrings to get a fun assortment of beads.

 I put sequins, seed beads, and larger pearls on the lace edges of the doily.

The date was an after-thought! I had already photographed the block and was putting it away when I saw one of my other Europe blocks and realized I had forgotten to put the year that we took this trip. I used some small rubber stamps and gold ink. It's a bit faint, but I like that the 2012 is not real obvious.

Besides finishing up the September block, I pieced my October block. The blue oval is where I am going to applique a photo from our wedding. I'm planning on sewing my seam treatments before I applique the photo; I think that way will be a bit easier than appliqueing first.

Happy stitching!

September CQJP work

Here's how my September CQJP block looks after I stitched the seam treatments. I will be adding some beads to each seam later.

For each of these seams, I was inspired by photos in Carole Samples' book, Treasury of Crazy Quilt Stitches. Have I ever mentioned how happy I am that American Quilter's Society republished that book a few years ago, so I was able to buy my own copy?

 

You can't see the chain stitches real well, as they are close in color to the fabric. Little cross-stitches and straight stitches finish up this seam.

This seam has two zig zag lines made of different threads, formed by straight stitches, with three detached chain stitches in between.

The third seam is feather stitch in embroidery floss with French knot flowers made of silk ribbon.

I love these cooler fall days...they put me in the mood for some stitching.

Happy stitching!

September CQ block started

Yes, I am getting further behind with my CQJP 2012 blocks. But even if I don't get all 12 blocks done this year, I know I will have done more than if I wasn't particpating in this challenge!

My September block is going to commemorate the trip to Europe that my husband and I helped chaperone this year over spring break. We went to London, Paris, Lucerne (Switzerland),  and Munich. Yep, these trips are whirlwind trips. But they're lots of fun and we get to go to all sorts of places that we couldn't normally visit. As chaperones, our trips are free!

While we were in London, we were browsing in  a little market and I saw this cute little doily. I bought it, knowing it would be perfect for this block!

Here is the pieced block. Now I'm off to start stitching on it.

Happy stitching!

August CQJP finished

I have finally finished my August block for CQJP 2012! In August, I seriously thought I would get caught up at last, but that was not to be. Going back to work always throws me for a loop, and this year we've got a lot of new technology to deal with at school. Add to that the fact that both boys are running cross country, but at different schools, and I've been going to meets left and right. Today I had a chance to just sit and stitch for awhile. It was wonderful:)

For each of my children's blocks, I'm adding a butterfly. For this one, I cut a butterfly out of gold Angelina that I had previously fused together. I beaded all around the perimeter of the butterfly, then added bugle beads for the body and two larger pearl beads on the wings.

Here's a small button and bead cluster I added to the left side of the photo. You can see that I used cream velvet ribbon to frame the photo. I couched the ribbon down with tiny crystallized beads.

On the right side of the photo, I made a line of chevron stitches and added gold sequins with pearlized beads. There's also a seam treatment of silk ribbon chain stitches with larger beads in between. I'm sorry the photos are a bit blurry. Sometimes my camera has trouble focusing when there's lots of shiny bits on the block.

Happy stitching!

August block beginning

I'm back, after taking a few weeks off blogging. I wasn't planning on being gone so long, but I started back to work two weeks ago, and it's been crazy-busy at school. Twelve of our classrooms were part of an addition in 1977 and they weren't up to the current fire code. They were gutted and totally rebuilt over the summer. The contractors did all the work, but there was some trouble-shooting I had to do to get things up and running. Then there was all the normal beginning of the school year technology work. Although I was running all over the place (including up and down stairs a lot), I much prefer that to sitting at my desk with nothing to do!

Add to that I did a sprint-distance triathlon last Sunday, and I haven't had the energy to blog recently.

But here we are at the weekend. All three of my kids are gone this weekend at a church retreat. So I don't have to drive anyone anywhere. The house is wonderfully quiet.

Here's my pieced block for August, with his birthday blurred out. I actually pieced it a few weeks ago, but didn't get a chance to show it here on my blog.

This is my younger son, my baby. I love that little bit of hair sticking up in the photo! His hair was darker back then, but nowadays it's more of a dishwater blonde.

With the kiddos all gone and my hubby taking a nap, I think I'm going to go in the studio and be creative.

Happy stitching!

July block finished and June block addition

I just finished my July block for CQJP 2012. So now I'm back on track, with almost two weeks to work on my August block! (I blurred out her birthday, like I did on the other blocks). I haven't actually attached that butterfly charm yet. Since it only gets attached by the top, I'm going to wait until after I sew all the blocks together. I don't want it to get caught up under the machine's needle.

Here are a few rows of Cretan stitch, with each row done up in a different thread.

 In this small triangle, I made a buttonhole half-wheel with a pearly white bead in the center.

The stitching on the upper right of this photo is from Carole Samples' book, Treasury of CrazyQuilt Stitches. I put a sequin and bead in the center of each stitch. On the left you can see how I used gold beads to couch the trim around her photo.

The large button in this button cluster is from Kendra's old dress-up dress. I placed it on the fabric patch from that same dress.

 Here's a feather-stitch with beads on the ends.

After "living" with my June block for a few weeks, I realized that the upper right patch, with the butterfly, seemed a bit bland. So I added some clear beads around the butterfly. I think that adds just the right amount of pizzazz that I was looking for.

That's all for now. Happy stitching!

July block started

Monday was a bit surreal for me: my husband and I took our older son (the one whose picture is on my June CQJP block) for his first "college visit". Yikes...we're getting old!!!

This is the beginning of my July block for CQJP 2012.  This is my daughter's block. Like my son's, I've blurred out her birthday in Photoshop. The fabric on the right side of the block is a special piece of fabric. It came from a dress-up dress that she used to wear all the time. When she was about three years old, I bought the cream-with-gold-thread ladies' cocktail dress for a few dollars at a thrift shop. It was a perfect dress-up dress for her, and when she outgrew it, I confiscated it for my crazy quilting.

Here's the dress. Unfortunately, I didn't think to take a photo until AFTER I had cut a piece for the CQ block!

Here's a close-up of the lace at the collar and the button in the front of the dress. (You'll notice some blue and pink marker, thanks to my daughter's art adventures while wearing this dress as a pre-schooler.) I'm thinking of using this button on her block, too.

That's all for now. Happy Stitching!

June block finished

Here is my completed block for June for CQJP 2012.  I have to say I absolutely LOVE the gold and silver braid that is framing the photo. I used one strand of black embroidery thread to stitch his name and birthday. (Like before, I blurred out his birthday. Maybe I'm being overly protective, but hey...I'm his mom. It's my right!)

Here's the button cluster in the upper left corner.

I used waste canvas with embroidery floss to make this grid. I need to remember to use that more often. It sure helps keep stitches straight! The French knots are silk ribbon.

I decided to include a butterfly on each of my children's blocks for this anniversary crazy quilt. It symbolizes the changes these wonderful kids have gone through and will continue to undergo as they head to adulthood. For Jarrett's block, I made a 3-D butterfly. I traced a butterfly from Carole Samples' wonderful book, Treasury of Crazy Quilt Stitches, onto some fusible web. After adhering the web to a scrap of cream batik fabric, I cut out the butterfly. I adhered that to another scrap of the batik and cut again. Voila! I saw this idea on a McKenna Ryan quilt. I attached the butterfly to the quilt block only on the center of the butterfly, adding some beads for the body, head, and antennae.

This is a little swirl I beaded with gold seed beads and one larger Swarovski pearl.