and here's more.....

For those of you who are getting bored....

yes, this project will soon be done (at least the embroidery part of it!).....

Thanks Lyn for the patterns for all of these!

Mailman stalking and crazy quilting

I was the very lucky recipient of an absolutely beautiful pincushion created by Deb of Mosaic Magpie Just look at how gorgeous it is...

This picture absolutely doesn't do it justice.  The gold on it just gleams and I doubt you can tell that the flowers are raised.  She made a lovely little emery strawberry too - I've never owned such a thing and can hardly wait to sharpen all my dull needles.  My imagination has gone into overtime - I'm thinking of the possible history of this mug - perhaps it was used by a ladies maid to serve hot chocolate to her mistress?

Thank you Deb - you already know how much I love it!!

- - - - - - - -

And, here's the latest stitching on my hussif...

More seams

This one is a little crocheted flower, 

held down with a

 gold sequin and bead.

Tools of the trade

Today I thought I'd do a bit of mumbling about some of the tools I find invaluable for my crazy quilting.  First of all, here's a picture...

Of course we all need a pair of good sharp scissors and these are my favourites....sharp, small and they also have a small point which I have to admit I often use in place of a 'real' stitch ripper (hmm...is this an example as do as I say and not as I do??). 

Next is a pair of small pliers.  Sometimes, when I'm stitching through something that's thick those pliers come in handy to pull the needle through (particularly with my arthritic fingers sometimes).  I also have a small pair of cutters (which I forgot to photograph) for clipping the backs from buttons or taking jewelry pieces apart.

The little blue box is a product called 'Thread Heaven'  which is a thread conditioner and protectant.  I use it every time I am stitching with metallic thread because it cuts down in fraying.  It's also wonderful with the rayon or nylon threads.  The product is almost like a really thick gell (perhaps the texture of a lip balm that comes in the tube). 

I have varying colours of spools of beading thread which is perfect for stitching down beads and various jewelry pieces.  It's quite strong and, although coloured, is quite clear so it doesn't stand out in your stitching.

A roll of 1/4" green painter's tape.  Why would I use that?  Well, I use it to mark my seams so that they are even.  It's low-tack so it doesn't leave a residue on your fabric.  I wouldn't recommend leaving it in place for a long time, but for the duration of stitching a seam it is perfect.  Do NOT attempt to use regular masking tape because it does leave a sticky residue which attracts dirt. 

Waste Canvas, 14 count,  is one of my favourite products.  It is wonderful for keeping your stitching even.  I simply cut a piece that is long enough to cover my seam area and baste it in place.  I then stitch my pattern (being careful not to pierce the canvas threads as I stitch), remove the basting threads and then use a pair of tweezers to pull the shorter side of the canvas threads out.  Then you just grasp the remaining (longer) threads and give them a gentle pull to remove them.  Do not wet the canvas (despite that being the usual way to remove them).  I find you end up with a gooey mess if you do. 

Graph paper - pretty obvious I guess.  I draw up my pattern ideas before I stitch so I know what I'm doing.  Of course that's not to say that I don't sometimes change my mind when I do the actual stitching!

Now, it's over to you..

what tools do you find invaluable 

in your stitching?

Please share!!

Crazy quilt seam treatments

Here are some more seam treatments that I completed today...

Above is a fairly simple treatment, done using waste canvas 

in order to keep the stitches even.  

Below is a piece of tatting, highlighted with some gold beads.

Below I used pearl cotton to make the lazy daisy flowers,

gold embroidery floss to make the cretan stitches,

and silk ribbon fargo roses to

finish it off.

A fun day

Today was our regular monthly CQTeers meeting and, of course, we ate FAR too much chocolate and did FAR too much laughing.  In between all the eating and the giggling, we exchanged ATC's...

At our meetings we quite often have a challenge to create something.  This month there were two.  Irene challenged us to play with a screen printing kit she made for us and my creation ended up being the atc on the upper right.  Done on fabric.  The other challenge was to make a paper doll (of any sort) using a purchased paper 'kit' by Mary Englebreight.  I did the two atc's in the upper row using two of the images from the kit.  Sue made actual paper dolls from hers and I, of course, forgot to take a picture.  The two atc's on the bottom are by Irene (on the left) and by Sue (on the right).

A further picture of the silkscreening process I did...

I tried some on paper and some on fabric.

At our meetings we generally have a program where we learn a new technique or how to make something.  It was my turn to hostess so this is what I came up with...

 These flowers were made using duct tape from instructions found HERE.

The flowers on the right were made using felt and I'm sorry to say that I don't remember where I found the instructions.  If they were yours, please let me know so I can give proper credit. 

Classes, organization, and seams

And,

another section on my hussif...

There is a little story behind this.  During WW2 a small military plane crash landed in the field beside where my Mother lived.  The plane was a write-off (the pilots were safe) and Mom 'harvested' some of the plastic material that was in the plane.  Plastic, at the time, wasn't in ample supply.  She cut it into pieces and made things like buttons, earrings, and belt buckles.  She painted flowers on most of the pieces.  The little flower piece here was an earring she created.  A little side note - one of the pilots ended up marrying my cousin.

I *heart* my mailman!!

Shhh, don't tell Jack

but I really do

*heart* the mailman

especially when he brings me 

things like this...

My wonderful friend Pam Kellogg

of Kitty and Me Designs

made me this

absolutely gorgeous 

Valentine's Door Hanger!

The picture doesn't do it justice

because it shimmers and sparkles

and is a feast for the eyes.

Perhaps if you click on it to embiggen

you will be able to see more.

THANK YOU PAM!!!!

Crazy quilt seams for today

Above is a lovely piece of hand dyed lace that

my friend Julie shared with me this week.

It just happened to be perfect for this piece!

 

Above is a fairly simple seam treatment done with

embroidery floss and with the addition of 

clear crystal beads for some sparkle.

Below is what I did with a very short seam...

two strands of metallic gold 

(too bad the shimmer doesn't show up!)

worked on waste canvas.

 

by special request....

#1 son has requested a new scarf and also a couple of pairs of fingerless mittens for his friends at work, so Mom obliged....

The colours aren't 'true' in the picture - the scarf is green and the mittens are actually black and navy blue!

More seam treatments

Here are three more seam treatments 

I've done for my hussif.

The top one shows how a very simple

seam can be created by just using 

ordinary buttons held down by a bead.

The middle is just two rows of cretan stitch

with sequins held down by beads.

The bottom is done using 

waste canvas.

It's not absolutely necessary to use waste canvas,

but if you want your stitching to be even

it is an invaluable tool.

Crazy quilting and Sueded Surprises

I've been planning a wee surprise for one of my friends for awhile and finally had a chance to actually get working on it.  This came from a thrifted suede coat....

 My friend is of Native descent - her ancestors were members of the MicMac tribe.  My research on the internet yielded up some information about their history.  Apparently there is very little of a written language in their culture with most of their stories being passed down orally.  They were one of the first native tribes to become Christians and did translate 'The Lord's Prayer' into their written symbols.  I used 'Our Father In Heaven' on this bag, which I stencilled on using...of all things....a Sharpie marker!!  The tribal colours are yellow, white, red and black, so the beading I added on the sides reflected that.
Great use for an otherwise useless coat, don't you think?

- - - - - - - -

AND,

here are some more of the seams I've

been doing on my latest hussif...

The above three seam treatments are ones that were designed by Pam Kellogg

and below is one originally designed by Sharon Boggon. 

Crazy quilting and Yarn Bowls

I've actually managed to find some time to get some stitching done.  Yay!!  I suffer horribly from withdrawal if I don't get to pick up a needle every day.  Perhaps I'm addicted (I suppose there are worse things).

See?

Above is a beaded seam treatment

done using waste canvas,

and below are three simple

commercial flowers (from a piece of trim actually)

surrounded by french knots and held down with

some cute little flower buttons.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

For the yarn bowl part of this post...

I purchased this lovely handmade pottery yarn bowl

a couple of years ago (for the life of me I can't remember 

who the artist is/was....if it was you, please let me know so I

can credit you!).

Working (really I am!!)

Yes, I've been creating something but can't quite unveil it as yet.  

Spent part of the day today shoveling out my workroom and will be returning to crazy quilting tomorrow.  Watch this space for progress on the second hussif.....

A late TUSAL

First of all, I'm late for the very first post for TUSAL of 2013 - sure hope that's not an indication of how the rest of the year is going to pan out! 

At least I have proof that some stitching has been done!

Thanks Daffycat for a fun stitchalong (even if it IS

Totally Useless!).

One project done, and great mail!

The larger of the three throws is finished!

See?

And, the mailbox yielded a sweet treasure today...

Lyn knows how much I love older embroidery books!  

This one was published in 1959.

32 pages of inspiration like this...

Thank you SOOOO much Lyn!!

taking a break from thumb twiddling....

to show you this....

This is the bottom of a leg of a pair of black denim jeans.  Found in a thrift store and, despite my having altogether too much in the way of denim, impossible to not bring home.  I 'see' a beautiful purse/bag lurking in this (and the other leg is identical, so I can make TWO!!). 

I got nuttin'

Yes, I'm still here.

No, there's nothing exciting happening.

Nothing creative.

Nothing worth talking about.

Boring, really.

Which is why I'm amusing myself by moving

the text all over in this post.

Stay tuned for my rousing post tomorrow, which will include such inspirational information as thumb twiddling, turning straight pins all in the same direction, and counting the hairs on the cat.  Don't miss it!!