A finished project

This was a practice piece for me. I first wanted to play with piecing "fan blades" on the sewing machine. I've always admired fan shaped quilt blocks and wanted to do something in CQ. I started with lots of pie shaped pieces and wound up making a sort of spiral. After I started embellishing I decided to try to make it Encrusted. With encrusted CQ you embellish so heavily that it's hard to even find the original fabric. I also tried to make the treatments on each seam different. I played with this piece for about 2 months. It just kept saying it wanted more. Then one day it finally said, "Enough". LOL Then I had to study it for a while longer to decide what to do with it. It was originally a 12inch square but I decided to stick with the fan idea and give it that general shape. I stitched this lovely lace in the seam when I put the backing on. It's a nice wide lace with a peach colored strip running through and I thought the peach color would set the other colors off nicely. It might have....if I had put the right side out! Then I remembered this pearl belt that I had bought at a yard sale. It was only 25cents and I commented when I bought it that it was going to be a shame to cut it up because the beading was so beautifully done. Well, it just fit! Plus, I didn't have to cut it up. I think it looks better than the peach colored side of the lace did anyway...so we'll just say I planned it this way all along!

Now...what to do with it. I was going to hang it on a wall but I couldn't decide where. My house is literally barn shaped inside and out. It's a great "open concept" space. The only walls downstairs are the ones closing off the master bedroom and the bathroom. While I do like the open feeling of the space, when I go to hang something on the wall it's hard to find a spot. Nearly all of the walls are the outside ones and they have some huge windows and doors. Really, I'm not complaining. I love my house. I just can't hang stuff on the walls! LOL My mom loves this piece so I may give it to her. I thought she might want to hang it on her apartment door. Lots of the residents in her senior complex have wreaths and banners on their doors. She said she'd love to show it off that way but she's afraid someone might steal it and I guess that's a valid concern. So, I'm still thinking.

Chose Blogs to Award Briliante Weblog

Well, at left you can see the choices I made to award the Brilliante Weblog. As a recipient, you must pass it on to 7 favorites blogs and notify them. I had a really hard time narrowing it down to 7 favorites. I would have, of course, chosen Rengin's even if she weren't the one that awarded it to me. I also considered Gerry, whom we know from all her activity on Yahoo. She's a Wonderful stitcher and always has terrific stuff on her blog. I knew though, that she was really busy lately so I struck her from my list right away. Then I find that one of my choices (Diane's Decorating Diary) just received the award yesterday...from Gerry! LOL Oh well, great minds really do think alike!

While I'm posting, I want to put up a picture of a bracelet I made for a good friend. She wears a lot of Turquoise and Aqua and I hope she likes it!

Brilliant Weblog Award

Rengin, a MARVELOUS stitcher from Turkey has awarded me the Brilliant Weblog Award. Coming from a needleworker of her caliber I feel very honored! Thank you so much, Rengin!

My Favorite Things RR

I am in a new CQ RR through a Yahoo group. This one is My Favorite Things. The dilemma was....I like Everything. Flowers, animals, music, food, etc. One minute one thing is top of the list and the next minute something else is. I finally settled on Everything. I've always admired landscape quilts and I Love the out of doors so that's my favorite thing. Everything in the world! My block is about 15x17 and is all satins. I think they're mostly polyester but they're pretty...and shiny. I like shiny. I made them more or less like a landscape. There is sort of the idea of a sunrise (or sunset) and maybe mountains in the distance and foothills in the foreground. I'm planning a wallhanging when it comes home!

Wendy's Purple Color Study RR block

This is my most recent RR block for the Groovy Grapes. Wendy had asked that we try to make peacocks and she had already put a lovely peacock in the center and one of the others in the group had made a beautiful beaded peacock feather. I was wondering what sort of a peacock I could add. I had my 6 year old g-daughter with me and was looking through the buttons and beads at Joann's. She said she'd found a peacock and she handed me a package with this heart bead in it. I told her the color was right (hard to see in this picture but it is an iridiscent purple) but that it wasn't a peacock but a heart. She shrugged and said "Looks like a peacock to me." Then I studied it some more and decided that it looked like a peacock to me too. I added bugle and seed beads around it for feathers and did a woven picot for the body. IF...IF...IF...you're already thinking "peacock" you can kind of see it. I also did the seams below and to the left of the peacock. They are sort of "peacocky" looking also. I can't remember for sure but I think the bottom one straight stitch (or maybe backstitch) wheels, surrounded with chain stitch and then bead accents. The one on the left was bullion stitch feathers with bead accents and then fly stitch feet. It was a beautiful block and fun to work on. Sure hope Wendy can see that peacock!

Purple Round Robin - Lindy's block

Believe it or not, I had two blocks belonging to Lindy at the same time. Another RR going on on CQForNewbies is a Purple Color Study. Same rules as the green one...Everything Purple. I wanted to do a motif with 3 pansies but of course, it was harder done than imagined. To have enough shades of purple, that looked right with the fabric was tricky. I wound up doing different stitches to simulate the different shades and textures in the pansy. Of course, I had to forego the little "cheese" colored part in the center, but I think they're still recognizable.

Here's the other closeup of Lindy's block. For some reason, I couldn't make it NOT be at the very top of the post...so it got it's own :)