Floristic Expressions

Been Gone so Long.

2010-12-29T00:23:00.000-06:00

I haven't written on my blog for over a year. I have a lot of catching up to do. I have had a lot of family issues and are finally getting all those things in order. I am thinking about doing some dolls clothes and selling them with a couple of other ladies that do Craft fairs. I don't always have the time to personal go but I can maybe help them set up and have product available to sell. It will help lower my stash of Fancy and regular fabric down so that I can buy more fabric for other things. I just need to figure out the a name of the Business. I have thought about naming it after the cats. The name I thought of is Royal Ragdoll Designs.

2010-12-29T00:14:00.000-06:00

Sun Bonnet Sue Sampler Quilt

2009-08-26T10:00:00.004-05:00

I decided to add to my busy summer by taking a Quilting Class at the Local Hancock Fabric Store here in Council Bluffs. The class is for 3 months and we meet on the 2nd and 4th Thursday nights of each month. I decided that I would do my quilt blocks in Metallic Reds, Greens and Golds and Very Pale Blue. The original pattern calls for only nine 9 one of each pattern and Sun Bonnet Sue. I decided that I wanted to make it a little bigger and decided with 24 blocks. The blocks above are the first two classes that I attended. The First Class was the Shoo Fly block and Friendship Star. I made 2 Shoo Fly block one in Gold and Red. The Friendship Star also has two blocks one in gold and the other Red. The Second Class day was spent on making the Churn Dash and the Grecian Square. The churn Dash blocks were made one in Green and the other in Red. The Grecian Square block, I made 2 blocks with a white center and 1 block with a colored center. The blocks with the white center I made one of each Green and Gold. the colored Center block was done in Green. I will post a entry when I get the entire quit done. It's all done in Christmas fabrics.

Laura

Signature Thimble Block

2009-08-25T11:57:00.000-05:00

The Yahoo quilting group Just Quilting had a Signature Thimble Block Swap. We were asked to make thimlbes that represented either are hobbies, the state, or both. I decided to do all of my thimlbes with a Cream Floral Background to respresnt the floral designing that I do as a career. The center of the thimble is a Railroad travel print. It represents the love of trains that I and my husband have. We have traveled on Amtrack and which to do more in the future. I have rerceived the other 14 thimbles from the other ladies and will try and post them as soon as I figure out the type of pattern that I want to put them in or just post all the thimbles so that everyone can who sent them and what area of the country that they are from.

First Saturday Club

2009-08-24T11:34:00.004-05:00

The Local Quilt shop in Council Buffs called Kanesvillle Quilting has what is called a First Saturday Club. The club is a Block of the Month Program and you pay just $6 for the entire year. This is my first year doing the program and it's called the Reds & Blues. You either sign up for the red or blue set of blocks per person. I decided to do both sets of blocks so I paid for the start amount for both blocks. If you want to do to sets, 2 different people have to bring in the blocks each month to receive for Free or you need to pay $6 for the second block each month. My Husband comes will be coning in with me each month to get the next block for the month. I'm glad that they don't ask questions on how he made the block because he would have no clue. The month of June was the first month to get signed up and work on your first block. The first block is the Chun Dash. I went with both colors of blocks so I can make either two quilts one of each color or one larger quilt. I will post pictures and write about each block that is made every month. I wonder what type of blocks that will be in the pattern for the year.

Laura

Challenge Block

2009-08-22T00:21:00.002-05:00

In the Yahoo Group called Just Quilting. We receive a Challenge Fabric about every other month and need to make a 12 1/2 Quilt Block with that piece of fabric in it. The Challenge fabric is the Center Star. I decided to do a Block called a Star in a Star Block. As said earlier the Center Star is the Challenge Fabric. The fabric was a Burgundy Floral Print with shades of Mauve and Aqua flowers. The Second Star I made in a black color to show off the center star. The background fabric I used a Periwinkle cotton fabric. I found the Pattern in the Aug. 09 issue of Quilter's World Magazine. I person who wins the challenge gets all the Blocks to complete a quilt from all the challenge fabrics. If the person in charge of the Challenge fabric has extra fabric for that session will receive the extra fabric. I am thinking about doing this same pattern with a Challenge Fabric that is for a Cowboy theme in this same group.

Laura

DYB CQI Bonnie's Blocks

2009-08-21T01:37:00.001-05:00

This is the Fifth set of blocks that were in the Anything goes Do Your Own Block Round Robin. These blocks belong to Bonnie of Missouri. The block pattern that she choose was to make all the blocks of neutral color of fancy fabrics that look like fans. It's a little hard to see some of details in the design work because of the photos. I am trying to remember all the different stitches that I did to this block. I think that from this time forward I need to write a log of what is in each block or patch of a block that I do. This will help me blog better.

The Upper Left corner seam is done in a Spine Stitch done in a shade of Cream/Gold Color floss. The Upper Right corner seam above the fan is done in a Chevron stitch with Straight Stitch lines above with beads. On this seam I used a Golden Yellow Color floss with Cream color beads.

The seams on the Fan were all done in different colors and different types of stitches and some have beads and other don't. I am going to try and mane the stitches starting with the Bottom Left seam. This seam is stitched with the Long & short Blanket stitch with beads on the top of each. The Floss color that I used was a shade of Olive Green floss with Cream Beads on the top of each stitch. The patch and seam directly above the blanket seam. I believe that the stitches that I tried to make was the Open Cretan Stitch The stitches were done in the same or similar shade of Golden Yellow.The Left center top of the Fan seam was done in the Glove Stitch. I think that is the stitch I tried to make. The Floss color for this seam is a little darker shade of Olive Green. The Top Center Right of the Fan seams was done in Herringbone stitch. This stitch was done in a Medium Shade of Olive Green floss and no cream beads. The seam above the bottom right is a loop knot or Double knot stitch with a bead center.The stitches were done in the Lighter shade of Golden Yellow with cream color beads in the center of each knot. The Bottom Right Seam of the Fan was done a type of Fern Stitch. The stitch was done in a Darker shade of Gold / Olive Green Floss with out any beads in the seam.

I forgot to take a picture of the rest of the blocks in her set but they all looked very beautiful with all the professional stitching that was done on the blocks.

Laura.

Romance Block Home

2009-08-20T23:49:00.107-05:00

My Romance Block has finally made it's way home after traveling the world. I asked for everyone to try and not embellish the block without beads to protect my kittens. The First person to work on the Block was Elyse of Massachusetts. Elyse worked on one of the purple patches of the block. The patch that she worked on has a buttonhole stitch edge and a mirror in the center of the patch with a variegated eyelash fibers.

The Second person to work on the block was Carol of Florida. Carol worked on the upper left corner of the block. Which was one of the chocolate colored corners. She made a Floral Bouquet , a Vine of feather stitches with french knots. The patch below that corner she added a blanket stitch around the hearts to make them look like conversation hearts.The quotes are outlined with a brown sparkly thread.

The third person to work on the block was Carol of Canada. She added a simple vine with french knot flowers and detached petal leaves to one of the purple other purple sections of the block..The seam treatment was done with a ribbon for flowers. She build her patch to be kitten friendly.

The Fourth person to work on the block was Rae of Sweden. She added some decorations to the Heart and quote sections in the lower left corner of the block. She added Red ribbon to the Seam with some Lazy daisy stitched flowers on the top of the ribbon.The quotes are trimmed in a red ribbon or yarn.

The Fifth person to work on the block was Gina from the Swansea area of the United Kingdom. She worked on the lower right Chocolate section of the block. The seam was done in a white heart lace ribbon. The patch portion of that area was done in small hearts of assorted colors.

The Sixth person to work on the block was Ani from the Kingsbridge Devon area of the United Kingdom. Ani applied a appliqued heart to the center patch of the block. Red and white beads were added to the center to give them more interest.

The Seventh person to work on this block was Susie from the Thatcham Berks area of the United Kingdom. Susie added 3 different tatted pieces to the block.All of the tatted pieces were made by Susie. She made a Gold Circle with Lavender Ribbon Roses. The pink daisy flower is next to the Golden Circle . The seam that she worked with either a tatted pink or peach trim that had a lavender detached chain above each ring of that piece.

The Eighth person to work on the block was Janet from the Plymouth Devon area of the Untied Kingdom. Janet worked plain pink patch in the upper right corner of the block. She added a tatted Butterfly to the center of that patch. She worked on the pink seam treatment at the bottom of the block and added lavender butterfly ribbon.

I tried to give credit to all the ladies who did certain areas fo the block. If I forgot something I am very sorry about not writing about that beautiful area of the block.

Laura

CQI-FF Sampler

2009-08-15T12:00:00.001-05:00

I realized that I never blogged about my Quilt block after it came home from going around the world in this Round Robin. Each month we were asked to do a different stitch or two on the block that was sent to us for the month. I also made a quilted Journal for everyone to write, and have space to doddle designs. I will try and tell you details about each of the stitches and the person who stitched them.

The First Month was for the owner of the Block to Do a Herringbone Stitch. I personally decided to 3 different styles of the Herringbone design. I did the regular herringbone stitch, double herringbone stitch and a closed herringbone stitch. The optional stitch was to do a detached chain stitch. I did a detached chain stitch on some of the flowers that are in the princess fabric.
The Second Month was to do a Cretan Stitch . Sandy from Maryland. She stitched the Cretan stitch in a Green type of thread with Pink and green beads and sequins.. The optional stitch for the month was to make a spider web rose. The silk ribbon that Sandy used was in shades of pinks.
The third month was to do a Chevron stitch. This month's stitches were done by Wendy from Alabama. She did the Chevron stitch in a Fuchsia color floss. The optional stitch was french knot. She embellished the Center block with the Princess. The bottom edge of the dress was done in white french knots. The bodice of the dress was done in pink beading around the edge. Wendy did alot of different stitches on this block. The fuchsia lazy daisy flowers, yellow Cretan stitch and all the work that was done on the lime green rick rack seam.
The fourth month was to make a Feather Stitch. This month's stitches were done by Amy of North Dakota. She did the seam on the bottom left. The feather stitch was done in a green thread. The optional stitch for the month is the Fargo rose. Amy did an entire spray of roses in the same corner of the block.
The fifth month was to make a fly stitch. This month stitches were made by Jo from New Zealand. I hope that from reading the notes that I figured out what sitiches that she made. The fushia fly stitch looks like she made it. In the upper right conrer. The pink section that has the stitches that look like different types of snowflakes is hers.
The sixth and Final month was to be a buttonhole stitch. The person that was to do that month dropped out of the group. I thought that the block looked complete enough that I didn't do any of the stitches for that month.

Laura

Just Quilting June BOM

2009-08-02T11:00:00.001-05:00

In the Yahoo Quilting Group called Just Quilting, we have the oppurtunity to be in the Block of the Month Challenge. We can make as many of the blocks for the month that we wish and we have a drawing to see who gets all the blocks for the month to make a quilt out of everyone's blocks. The Pattern that was chosen for the month of June to do was called Hooray to Canada. THe orginal pattern was to be in red and white colors. The Group changed the colors around and we were asked to use creams, blues, and green. THe four patch section was to be done in green, hst's done in blue and the background in cream fabric. I was informed that I won the drawing for the month and received the sqares from the rest of the group. I am working on finishing the top of the quilt and need to make a extra 4 - 5 blocks of my blocks to have a more uniform color pattern of the quilt. I will have pictures of that quilt when I get it done in the next month. I have a lot of quilts that have blocksc started and need to be pieced together.
Laura

DYB Simona' s Block

2009-07-05T10:00:00.003-05:00

This is the 3rd set of blocks out of 6 sets. This set of blocks belongs to Simona from Italy. This is the Do Your Block Anything Goes Round Robin in the Crazy Quilting International Yahoo Group.
Simona decided that she wanted her blocks to have a Under the Sea theme to them.
The block that I choose had a look to it that seemed to look like a shelf that might be in the bottom of the Ocean or Sea. The accents that I added are as follows. In the lower right corner I used a beaded Ribbon to add the affect of a Fish making bubbles in the water. The beads are in a shade of blues. The Green Seaweed or Water Grass is stitched with different shades of Green DMC floss. The seam above the Blue Bubbles is made to look like a Coral Reef shelf on seam. I used a pale yellow to a med. yellow glass bead to get the above affect. The space in the Center front. I only added a few different shaped fish to that space. The Fish are done in a shade of yellow or gold thread, and added a yellow glass bead for the eye portion of the fish.

Laura

Autumn Block Angelina's Block

2009-07-04T10:00:00.002-05:00

This is the 7th block of 12 in the Autumn Round Robin from the Crazy for Quilting Yahoo Group.
This block belongs to Angelina of the UK. I choose the patch that had had the large flower motif. I decided to make the flowers have more of a denominational look. The thread that I choose is so close to the actual color of the fabric that you can barely tell that I did anything. I stitched around each of the flowers, leaves, and vines. The center of each of the flowers that had centers present I added some beads to the center to give it more of a glamorous look and feel to the flowers. I can't remember that I did for a seam treatment for this block. Sorry, I thought that I remembered what we did to the block while I was on vacation to Northern Minnesota.

Laura

Auttumn RR Susie's block

2009-07-03T01:45:00.007-05:00

This is my 6th block of 12 in this Round robin from the Crazy for Quilting Yahoo Group. The above block was one of the harder blocks for me to decide on how to embellish because I was just unsure of what I was going to do. I decided to accent the center flower with cream color beads to make the center portion of the flower more textured. I added a brown shade ribbon to the bottom of the patch in the center of the block. The seam stitch that I decided to do on the edge of the patch. The stitch is a a trailing or winding vine in a taupe or lt. gold color.
I hope that I am giving credit to the correct person who pieced the block. I forget to make my list while was on vacation in Minnesota.

Laura

Blue Color Study Sue block

2009-06-13T01:25:00.001-05:00

In the Crazy Quilting for Newbies group. I am in the blue cor study group called Slate Blue. The above block belongs to Sue. I decided to make both of Her Initials for this patch. I did the letter "S" in a medium blue shade of thread. The Letter "W" was done in a darker shade of blue thread. I also added 2 Blue Dragonflies by the initials. The seam above the letters I made was s diamond shape with different types of stitches for the center.

Laura

May BOM Just quilting

2009-06-12T01:19:00.001-05:00

The Just quilting group we do a different block each month. The block style choosen for the month of MAy is callefd a Grecian Block. The block needed to be in a blue center and yellow hst. This is one of the first blocks that I have done since I figured out that my seam allowances were off. I was using a 3/8 seam insread of a 1/4 seam. It doesn't difference when you are sewing clothes but it seems to make a big difference when quilting.

Laura

HIgh Light Quilt

2009-06-11T01:03:00.001-05:00

This quilt pattern is called High Light. I made this quilt for High School girl that I work with for graduation. I used different types of black and white fabric to make the main blocks and a teal swirl fabric. The black and white blocks are different types of Fashion prints. The patterns includes a black polka dot, Sewing pins, Silhouettes in black and white, and different fashions patterns. I used the Hobbs fusible quilt batting and a black anad white dot fabric for the back. I free motion stitched the entire quilt with black thread. I don't know if you can see the free motion stitching but it my second or third time doing it.

Laura

Blue Color Study Nina block

2009-06-10T00:43:00.005-05:00

In the Yahoo Group called Crazy quilting for Newbies. I am currently in a the Blue Color study Round Robin. The group that I am a member of is called the Slate Blue Group. I worked on the light blue patch of Nina's block. I made the "N" with different shades of blue threads and added blue flowers with some leaves. The seam that I did I added some dangling beads. The beads seem to be longer than I thought so they may get in others way while they are designing. The color seems to be a little harder for me to do. The color is just not hitting me right.

Laura

Gina's Autumn Block

2009-06-09T00:53:00.002-05:00

In the Crazy for Quilting Yahoo Group.This is the 5th block of 12 in this Round Robin. This is part of the Round Robin group that is doing a Autumn theme.
The above block belongs to Gina. I worked on the Dark brown patch. I made two different colors of wheat stems with a raffia bow. The seam stitch that I did was a single herringbone in a shade of brown or tan. I am starting to have a difficult time trying to make different types of stitches then I have already done. I just don't want to be known for doing the same stuff.

Laura

DYB - Meg S Block

2009-06-08T00:19:00.002-05:00

In the Yahoo Group called Crazy Quilting International. I am currently in a Round Robin called DYB Anything Goes. You have to complete a entire block for each person in the group. The blocks that Meg chose are in shades of blue. On this block I took a minimal use of embellishing theme because the blocks were so pretty on their own that only assenting them would be the best. In the four corners I used some Blue Bulgar Beads to make a half snowflake in each. The patch to the right of the center patch I used a light blue thread to go around some of the circles and make them seem 3 deimcinal in nature. The patch in the lower center I used a blue bead in the center of the flowers that were at the end of each stem.The patch center left I added green beads to the edge of a ciecle that has a lime green center. On that seam I used a gold thread and made seires of gold snowflakes. The top center patch I think that I only did a Chevron stitch because the fabric was a beutiful pattern that needs no extra accents. The photo on the right is of all six blocks that are in Meg's Series.

Laura

DYB - Lisa B Block

2009-06-07T23:40:00.002-05:00

In the Yahoo Group Crazy Quilting International, I am currently in a Round Robin that is called DYB Anything Goes. The above blocks belong to Lisa. All six blocks have different fairies on them. I choose the Fairies that are holding the Hydrangea flowers. I stitched the block with different shades of yellow beads and green threads. The fairies are holding the Hydrangeas. You can't see the beads very well but in the center of the hydrangeas each has a pale yellow beads. That is on both of the hydrangeas. The taller fairy has a brighter yellow beads that accent the layers of the dress she is wearing. The patch above the fairies I made a spider web with a spider and jeweled leaves that look stuck in the web. The patch to the left of the Fairies I made a Pale yellow Beaded Larkspur flower. I could even be Delphnium. When I try to stitch flowers I try and make them look as realistic as possilbe. I guess since I work with flowers everyday I want them to look similar to what I work with. The patch to the right of the fairies I decided to put the letter "L" in pink. I also added a couple of jeweled dragonflies to the patch. The patch below the fairies is stitched with a flower that looks similar to a row of daisies or pansies.

Laura

Princess Quilts

2009-05-25T22:42:00.001-05:00

The photos above are pictures of the 2 Princess lap quilts that I made with fabrics from a quilt kit from the Quilts from the Bluffs Quilt Ministry that I belong to. The quilt on the left side is done in a kind of modified Log Cabin style block. I tried to use the same fabrics but in a different order for each block to give it more interest. The quilt has 8 of the Disney Princess picture blocks on the front with 2 name blocks. I forgot to take a picture of the back size of this quilt because I had a couple of extra Princess blocks and extra 4 patch blocks from the other quilt. That I made a different pattern on the back side as well. Sorry that forgot to take a picture of the back of this one. The photo on the right is the other Princess Quilt that I made. I had enough of the Belle Blocks to have one in each corner and the Name block in the Center. The 4 patch blocks are made out of a Barbie Princess Print, Lavender Floral Print, Pink block Flower Print. The backing on the quilt is done in a pink flannel with a pink stripe binding to give it more interest. The photos of the quilt blocks seem a little off in Color because I was trying to play with the Color saturation to get better quality and seem to make it worse.

Laura

April Challenge block

2009-05-08T00:56:00.000-05:00

The Just Quilting group from Yahoo every month has a Challenge block that every one can make a quilt block to make. You need to make a Quilt block from the Fabric that is sent every month and use fabric from your stash already.
This month the Challenge fabric was a the orange with different color dots. You need to design a 12-1/2 quilt block out of this fabric and others. I decided to make a quilt block from a pattern called Wagon trail. I found the pattern on Quilt Cache .com or something like that. I will need to look at the pattern to make sure I gave proper credit to the right website. I mailed the block to the person who is in charge of receiving the challenge blocks. The quilt blocks are judged by a person who is a non quilter and just looks at the blocks and decides which block is the prettiest and that person wins. This is my first month doing this and I think that the person who wins get all the blocks and they can finish a quilt out of the blocks that are sent in.

Blue Color Study

2009-05-07T00:39:00.001-05:00

This is my naked block for the Blue Color study in the Crazy Quilting for Newbies Yahoo group. This is the third color study I have been in for this group.The people who are involved in the color study are divided into groups of 6 and the group that I am in is called Slate Blue. One of the only criteria for doing the blue color study is the same as the past groups. You are only allowed to use shades of blue fabric and only shades of blue threads and any accents that you add should also be in those shades as well. This is the first block that I have made that has used other fabrics besides cotton. I used some satins and silks to build this block.
The first photo is of the naked block.
The second photo is of the companion journal for all the members in my group to add a small note to go with the block.

April Block of the Month Flying Geese

2009-05-06T00:17:00.000-05:00

The online quilting group called Just Quilting has a block of the month program that we can be a part of. The group this year is using a block of the month program from a quilting group called Fraser Valley Quilters' Guild. The block of the month that they picked for April is called Geese in Spring. You make as many blocks as you would like for the month and at the end of the month their is a drawing for a couple of winners and every one that has participated sends the blocks they have done to the winners and they make a quilt out of the blocks that every one has sent them. I made 4 blocks for the month of April. I used a lot of bright colors and prints to make my geese fly. I did not win this month. I won the fat quarter month for the Month of March. I will be trying to make a turning twenty quilt for the fat quarters.

April Block of the Month

2009-05-05T11:54:00.000-05:00

The quilt block for the month of April at blockcentral.com is called a Girl's Favorite. The block was to be done in green, cream, red, and tan. I decided to do the block in a bright color scheme. my quilt block was done in green, aqua, black, orange and swirl fabrics. This block had a lot of triangle pieces. It was one of my first times making this type of block. I think that I did a okay job at making the block turn out to the right size.
The month also had you do two extra parts that will be used later in the pattern. Part 2 of the month was to make 4 nine patch blocks out of the cream and red. I used the aqua and black instead. Part 3 was to make 8 half square triangles out of the aqua and swirl fabric.

March Block of the Month

2009-05-04T23:36:00.009-05:00

This is the third block in blockcentral.com website. The quilt is called Memory lane.
The block for the month of March is called the Ohio Star. The block was to be in in creams, reds and browns. I decided to change the color pattern up and make my blocks and quilt a little bolder. I am just learning how to quilt and this is good practice for me. I have the color choosing down. I just need to learn how to be more precise with my cutting and sewing of the seams and blocks.

Janet B Autumn Block

2009-04-01T01:33:00.002-05:00

In the Crazy For Quilting Yahoo group, This block is the 4th of the 12 in Autumn Block and belongs to Janet. I have done a couple of round robins in this group with her before. Her block is a pastel palette of autumn colors. I made a tree that is similar to a Wisteria tree and did a half wagon wheel design on the seam with a lavender/purple Bead in the center of each wheel. All of Her Blocks that I work on with her in the Round Robins are all shades of pastels. I think that she is doing a entire crazy quilt with all pastels blocks and stitching, The quilt should look wonderful. I hope that I am able to see the entire quilt done.

Feb Anything goes Do A Block

2009-03-30T01:12:00.005-05:00

In the Crazy Quilting International Quilt Group, I am in a Round Robin that is called Anything Goes Do Your Own Block. I decided that the starter blocks that are in pinks, Valentine Fabric, and Romantic Quotes.
For this Round Robin you need to make six starter blocks that are 6-7 inches in size for the design area. Each person in the group does an entire block to embellish the way that they want and follow the pattern that the original person has started. The blocks that I have chosen to do. The only special instructions that I left was that the blocks were going to be made into a quilt for a child that the Quilt Ministry I belong to or it will be made into a Project Linus Quilt. The special instructions are that you can't use things that would get tangled up with IV's or anything that could be put into a child's mouth that they could choke on. You can't use any clear thread or anything like that.
I will be glad to see what everyone in the group has done to the quilt blocks. I'll keep everyone posted. The blocks will return in about 6 months.

Romance block Carol K

2009-03-24T01:29:00.002-05:00

In the Crazy For Quilting Yahoo Group. This is the final block for me to work on. The Block belongs to Carol K. Carol made 4 smaller quilt blocks that the group could work on part of one block or all four blocks.
I added to just one of her blocks. One of the seams I added 3 heart shape buttons. The center of the block I made a small line of Ribbon Roses with yellow bead center. The stems are made to have a bouquet look or a just cut from the garden look. On the second seam I made a slanted beaded fence or flowers on a slant. My block should be coming home soon and I will let you all see it when it goes home after being gone for over a year.

Feb. Block of the Month

2009-03-24T01:13:00.004-05:00

This is the Second block in the Block of the Month Pattern at blockcentral.com. The pattern is called the Road to California. I changed the colors in the pattern because I wanted a more bold and bright colors. I used aqua in place of white, black for red, orange for tan, swirl for brown. I guess that I will have to see what all the blocks look like together before I know if I'm going to like it or not. I think that I did a pretty good job of piecing the block together. I haven't done sane quilting for long but I'm not sure if I like it better than Crazy Quilting or Not. It doesn't take as long to get a block done as Crazy Quilting. You just have to be more precise about how you palce the fabric and follow direction on the pattern.

Quilt Ministry Quilt

2009-02-25T10:00:00.000-06:00

This quilt is one from the Quilt ministry and I'm not sure what pattern that it is but the color combination is great. I quilted the center portion of the quilt in a diagonal. I started out by doing each of the block section with the stitch in the ditch fist. I stitched the diagonal line in a free hand style. The outer border as quilted in diamond pattern that matches the inner diagonal lines. The back of the quilt is a ivory flannel. The binding was done in a decorative stitch that went with the design of the quilt or the stitch pattern that I did. I am not sure that person or group will get i it but I know that it will be loved or used to keep the warm and feel comfortable if only for one night. Since the quilt is a little larger than lap size it could go to the Hospice or Mohm's Place Homeless Shelter. I know that all of us who worked on the quilt did it with love and the hope that it will comfort someone at a time of need.

Yellow Color Study Home

2009-02-24T00:21:00.005-06:00

My yellow color study block came home at the end of January. The group that I was in was called the Yellow Bananas. The group that I was in had 5 people and each person had the option of working on 1 to 3 patches and 2 to 3 seams. Janet worked on the block for the month of September. Janet did 3 seams and one patch. The patch she did has the Rose button with Gold leaves. The seams I think she did were as follows the leafy seam with a butterfly, feather stitch with lazy daisy. Most of the thread that she was used hand dyed.
Connie worked on the block during the month of October. Connie did the feather stitch on the striped fabric with a variegated yellow thread,She added Rick rack on the ribbed patch. She placed a assortment of yellow buttons on one of the seams. A different seam has the metallic ribbon with rectangle dangles.
Marianne worked on the block during the month of November. Marianne added hand dyed Venice lace with gold metallic thread. She also added a piece of vintage lace with hand tatting and Bumblebee buttons. One of the seams was created in a Victorian Fringe. I have decided to leave it looped.
Pam was the last to work on the block and she had it for the month of December. Pam added a letter "L" to the block with metallic cording. She made a pot of flowers for a different patch. Pam added a Gold Star and heart Button. The last seam that she did was either the dangles or the ribbon that has the beads in the center.
I hope that I gave the proper recognition to the right people for their sections of the block. I also quilted a journal to go with this block and and all of the rest of the Round Robins that I have done for the past year.
I will post on my next blog on how that I make my journals because it is not as hard as it looks.

2009 Block of the Month

2009-02-23T01:27:00.000-06:00

I thought that in 2009 that I would try and learn how to do some sane quilting as well as crazy quilting. The quilt ministry that I'm in has a few people that do a Block of the Month from blockcentral.com.
This is the January Block of the Month. I beleive that it is called Lady of the Lake. The Colors that I choose were bright and colorful. The fabric that you need for each block for the entire year was listed. The January block I used a Green & Aqua solid fabric. I didn't realize that all the fabric that I choose were all solids except for one and they are all bright colors. The pattern says that you need 4 blocks for the quilt. I may have to make more of some of the blocks if It's not large enough for our bed. I will post the block for Feburary soon. I hope that I chose colors that go togethere well. If not I will just donate it to the Quilt minisrty at the ens of the year.

I think that I should take some basis beginner quilting classes so that I can learn to piece quilt parts together better. I think it may help if I get a 1/4" quilt foot to make sure all my seams are straight and in line. I didn't realize that quitling was such a excact caculations of size and seams. I f the seams are not correct the block will be off and so will the entire quilt when done.

Jan Quilt Day Quilts

2009-02-20T00:36:00.003-06:00

The following picutres are from quilts that I made at a local Quilt Ministy Group in Council Bluffs called Quilts of the Bluffs. I was able to finish these two Lap quilts made of Flannel Fabric. I had never done a regular type of quitl before and especially never done it with flannel fabric. The quilt that is pictures is called a Barney Block. I got the fun pleasure of working with this robot anf spaceship fabrics. I was able to use some of my decorative stitches for each quilt.

The Pictures at the top of this posting are a closeup of the decorative stitches that I did for each quilt block in the quilt. The bottom photos are of the quilts finished and almost finished. All of the quilts that we make at this Minisrty either go to Project Linus or to Local and Area hospitals. I think that thte group is taking over 80 quilts to the Project Linus Blanket Day here in the Omaha/Council Bluffs area. The group is always looking for quilters to come anad join us the first Saturday of every month. I you are unable to attend and would like to help out in any way. We do accept donations of fabric, batting, sewing supplies and notions that are associated with quilting. I have just started with is group and I already feel a sense of satifaction. I know that I am helping others out and making them feel better in a time of need.

Yellow Color Study Dec

2009-02-20T00:06:00.001-06:00

This is the final month of the Yellow Color Study group. I'm not sure why that I forgot to blog about the months of November and December except that I forgot to. The block that I had the pleasure of working on for the month belonged to Janet P. The fabrics that she choose were rich in color and texture. I decided that he block needed to have a yellow Butterfly. The last butterfly that I made was in the purple color study. The butterfly was done in different shades of Yellow DMC Floss. I did two different seam treatments for this block. The first that I did was a beaded Feather stitch. That was fun to do but yet very challenging because of how even you needed to mkae the stitches to look as even as possilbe. The second seam that I did was also beaded but I couldn't begin to tell you what I was trying to do but the seam turned out great loooking. I tried to make it look like a chain or something. It was my first attempt at doing something that I wasn't very comfortable doing. I think that being in some of these different quilt groups has allowed my mind to be more creative and to try new and exciting things.

Yellow Color Study Nov

2009-02-19T23:43:00.004-06:00

I don't know why I forgot to blog about the last two months of the yellow color study. The block that I got to work on for the month of Nov. was Connie S. block. This is the second Round Robin we have been in together. The first was the purple color study. I did a patch of the block in the bottom corner. I made the flowers with a organza ribbon that had a wire running through it. The ribbon was a color combination if shades of yellow with a hint of a pale green. The center of the flowers were a yellow glass bead cluster. I also added a small golden yellow leaf to all of the flowers and stems that ran together.
I had to hide this and others of the yellow color study blocks from my kittens because of the shiny colors of the fabric. They always wanted to play with the shiny fabric and the beads and extras that were put on the blocks.

Carol L Romance Block

2009-01-10T22:45:00.000-06:00

This is the Fifth Block in the Crazy For Quilting Group Romance Block Round Robin. I usually write a quote or poem from my Romance Block. The block didn't have enough room for me to write one on this block since I was the fifth person to work on the block. I instead decided to a Red Beaded feather stitch on the seam in a bugler bead. It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do because I was still trying to get my quote on the block but that wasn't going to work so I had to figure something else out. I instead decided to put a tree with Red Beaded Flowers or Cherries which ever you think it might be. I made a similar tree in a Purple version and a different style of tree in red also. This Round Robin is almost done. If I get my block back by Valentine's Day it will be about One Year since it started. I will be glad to see my block come home soon.

Christmas Cracker CQI

2009-01-06T22:18:00.001-06:00

We exchanged a European Tradition in Gift Giving or Exchanges in the Crazy Quilting International Yahoo Group. The are called Christmas Crackers. The traditional crackers have some kind of small gift in them. That is not the same in the Crazy Quilt world. The Crackers came filled with fabric, beads, thread, Seasonal image and what ever else we could fit in that little tube we sent out. I received 2 different ones. The first one on the left is the outside cover to middle photo. The outside cover is a quilt block in itself that I will embellish at a later time. I received different types of thread, a least 3 to 4 kinds of different beads or bugler beads. A beautiful Silkie of a Lady in the Park I think.
The Second Cracker I forgot to take a picture of the outside cover but it was just as pretty. I received many different fabrics in many different textures. I received a needle case, was I glad for that after Valentine's Day Emergency Vet trip with Chase. No more needle swallowing at our house, keep all needles in a case of some kind please. At least 2 to 3 kinds of beads& threads to work with. I do remember that The Silkie with The Girl and Flower were on the outside with a Peach or Pink Satin Fabric.
I would like to thank Debbie and Carrie for the wonderful Christmas Crackers that were sent to my home this Christmas. I made Christmas night much more fun this year because we decided to wait and give each other gifts later.

My First Christmas Byrce & Chase

2009-01-05T21:32:00.002-06:00

This is our First Christmas and are we having fun with the tree, Mom & Dad made sure that most of the ornaments on the tree were safe for us. You know the kind, those shatterproof plastic looking ones. We wonder which of the ornaments those are. We played with the tree and slept under the tree. The tree stayed standing the entire time that it's been up.

Bryce & I found our favorite ornaments that we like to play with. The Gold Santa with the bells are our most favorite , the beads and the pointed glitter ornaments come in a close second. We tried to scope out the tree and see if it had any presents for us. We found a lot of presents under the tree and I think that most of them are for us. I think that Mom & Dad got us a few presents. I think that there is a couple of Packages from Grandma Wava as well. I can't wait till Christmas, I hope that Mom & Dad don't go away and leave us with a babysitter. If they do maybe we can sneak a peak at our presents before they get home.

Bryce has played with all of his toys and the packages that they came in. My big brother is so tired that he doesn't even know that Mom is taking his picture under the tree. Mom does that Cookbook have any recipes that we can eat in it. I bet not because the Cookbook looks like one of those People Cookbooks and not for Kittens. Maybe mom will get a Cookbook for us to have food out of all so.

12 Dozen Stitches in 12 months

2009-01-01T00:30:00.003-06:00

The following tiny is the first of two dozen stitch combinations that are available on the HGTV CQ Quilting challenges for 2009. I am going to start a stitch book to keep track of the new stitches that I learn this year and keep a direction guide for each one so that I can remember them. Sorry that I can't put a picture with this tiny yet but will in a few days. http://preview.tinyurl.com/floristic

Nov FFT Sampler

2008-12-28T23:05:00.004-06:00

The final month of the FFT Sampler Round Robin in the CQ International Group. This month the sampler stitch was the Buttonhole stitch with a optional Bead/button cluster. You could also fill in any areas that you thought might need it.

This month I still have Wendy's Block to work on. The Buttonhole stitch that I did in Green thread and added straight stitches in green and hot pink to make the seam look like it has flowers on it. The buttonhole stitch and flower design was done on both sides of the seam.
The button cluster that I made was done in pastel shades and stacked on top of each other to make a Corner cluster in the lower edge of the quilt.The picture doesn't do the work on the block must justice. I'm learning how to make the photos look better with my digital camera.

Chase and Who-ville blanket

2008-12-20T23:31:00.003-06:00

My little Boy Chase is all bundled up in a fleece blanket that I made. I made this blanket for my niece for Christmas and we nicknamed it the Who-ville blanket because of the assortment of fleece dots that it has. The day he decided to wrap himself up in the blanket the high temperature for the day here in Council Bluffs was 0 -2 degrees above and the low temperature was 14 below. It seems that what ever room in the house I am at Chase is usually with me.
If I lock him out of of the spare bedroom when I am sewing, he will scratch at the door til I let him in. I don't know why he wants to be with me when I am in there but he is fascinated by the fabrics and the way the sewing machine works. You would think that he would stay away from the sewing things after he accidentally swallowed a sewing needle on day before Valentine's day. That was a expensive trip to the emergency vet clinic in Omaha.
I wonder what he and his brother Bryce are going be like this Christmas. This will be the first time either of them has had a decorated Christmas tree. Last year the boys were not even a year old and the tree was just put up with no decorations on it. This year we decided to purchase some shatterproof ornaments for the tree and place them on the lower section of the tree in case that they play with them. I didn't want them playing with the glass ornaments and breaking one because they might get hurt and cut themselves on a piece of glass.

Reneta Autumn block

2008-12-11T00:36:00.000-06:00

Reneta is from Washington state. This is the second block that I got the privilege of working on for the Crazy 4 Quilting Autumn Round Robin.The vibrant colors of the block reminded of the colors that are in the field and lowland areas of where I grew up. At first it was hard to decide what to do to this block and then finally one day it came to me of what to do. The section of the block that I embellished with cattails and seam treatment cattails that have been bloomed out fro the season. I soon should be getting the next block in the group soon to work on.

Cathy's autumn block

2008-12-10T00:14:00.001-06:00

In the Crazy 4 Quilting group I am in the Autumn Round Robin. The above block belongs to Cathy's of Illinois. The theme of her block is a Walk in the Autumn leaves. You can see it very well because of the sheen of fabric and ribbon. The ribbon that I used is a copper wire type that I found at work in the corsage ribbon section. The ribbon made a great type of path fro the leaves to follow. The red dots are red seed beads. I did a variation of the chevron stitch for the seam treatment. This is the first block that I embellished in this Round Robin. I have just 12 more to do over the next year. I will get to see different variations of the autumn color palette. This block is made of different styles and different shades of brown, green and shades and types of leaves. different shades of brown, green and shades and types of leaves. Looking forward to working on the rest of the blocks in the group.

Yellow Color Study Oct

2008-12-09T01:07:00.003-06:00

I am in another color study group in the CQ for Newbies.The above block belong s to Marianne. I am the third person to work on the block. This color study you can only do the block in shades of yellow and all the embellishing has to be done in shades of yellow as well. Since I had the month of October, I thought that I would make a spider web and spider that I had during that month learned how to do. The spder web is done in a Metallic Gold DMC floss. The spider was made in a regular and different style of spider. On the seam I did a multi level blanket stitch with some extra embellising to make it look row of flowers. The top of the blanket stitch is done with French Knots and small straight stitches. I tried to make each section of the flowers with a diffrent look to give it some interest.

Romance Block - Rae's

2008-12-08T00:45:00.000-06:00

The above quilt block is from the Crazy 4 quilting group at Yahoo. The block belongs to Rae in Sweden, with all the blocks that I embellish I try to use one of the romance quotes from the fabric of my block that is going around the group to be embellished. The quote is written in a red DMC floss. The quote reads as follows: Love Rules the court, the camp, the grove and the men below and the saints for love is heaven and heaven. I did a different type of seam that was to represent a flower stem. I was trying to add the sequin or button flowers that someone else had done already. I thought they needed a little extra to their look. The seam below the quote was done by someone else and I did not want to add anything to the simplicity of the overall block's look. This round robin has been going for about a year and is almost done. I think that I only have about 2-3 blocks left to embellish in this group.

Giant Bows

2008-12-05T00:59:00.000-06:00

I made these bows for above our flower cooler at work. The bow to the left is as large as a standard size patio door or if you ever go to a walk in flower cooler it's two doors in length. The bow is made with stiff interfacing and elastic to make each section puff and look more bow like. On the back side I used the plastic ring holders to hang from the slat board wall and hooks. This bow takes 3 yards of fabric and twice that in interfacing. The second bow is a little smaller, it's about 1 cooler door in size or about the size of a 70 inch window. I only had to make two of this size for each side of the large one. This bow is about 1 1/2 yards in size. I didn't buy all of the interfacing, but I know that I bought 7 1/2 yards of 18" wide and it was used in the large bow and 1 of the small bows. That's a lot of interfacing and fabric. I used about 8 yards of fabric and 2 yards of elastic besides the regular notions that you use for sewing.

Sept FFT

2008-11-28T23:59:00.004-06:00

This is Wendy's block for the FFT round robin in the Crazy Quilting International Group.
The stitches for the month of Sept were the fly stitch, spider web, and beaded motif.
I chose the corner of her block that had a black fabric with a gold metallic motif to it. I used the Gold Metallic thread from DMC to make the spider web, the spider was made out of three different shades of Yellow and Gold beads. I did not make my motif, purchased the Black flowers instead and added shading of pinks to the Center of the flower to make it sit up and have a two or three tone effect.

Sept Yellow Color Study

2008-11-26T23:13:00.002-06:00

Sorry for being so far behind on my posting.

This is a picture of the embellishing that I did on Pam's quilt block in the Yellow Color study. Our group is called the Yellow Bananas. The only colors that we can use in the block are shades of yellow.Some times you need to get real creative and think outside the box for shades of yellow besides the standard shades. The pattern that I chose to do was a stem of yellow hydrangea blooms or yellow stock. with a yellow blow and shades of yellow butterflies. Pam's block is very much shades of yellow with a hint to the style of being more of a spring design.

Festival of Trees

2008-11-25T00:20:00.007-06:00

This Weekend the Local Arts Council in Council Bluffs had their annual Festival Of Trees Show and Craft Sale. Area Businesses and people donated the ornaments and decorations for the Trees. The trees were donated by a Area Business. The First tree on the top of page is called They called Him Jack Frost and won a award for the best use of materials. The value of that tree was $1200.00 and the tree was 10 foot tall with pre-lit lights. The tree in the middle is hard to see but it was called Your favorite Childhood memories. That tree was valued at $300.00 and about 7 foot tall. The tree on the bottom was called Christmas in the Garden. This tree won a award for the Wildlife award. This tree was worth about $300.00. HyVee Foods, where I work also made a Tree or Vingette. The tree was called Who's That in Who-Ville. I tried to get the picture to post up since it was taken at a Vertical view it posts sideways. That is the same with the other 5 pictures that I have, I need to figure out how to post the pictures and rotate to view properly. I guess I can ask and maybe someone can tell me how to do that. I know that every year that all of the trees sell and there are unusually at least 50-75 trees. The economy the way that it was and still is all but 15 of the trees sold. You can have the tree delivered to where you want for about $50 -$100.00 a tree or just pick it up. I think that I might personally decorate a tree for the 2009 Festival of Trees. The festival is the Weekend before Thanksgiving every year. I just need to think about what type of theme to do my tree. I have began to think about what type of tree because I may want to do a Crazy Quilt Ornaments Tree with a Crazy quilt Ornaments with the help of all my crazy quilt friends from the Online Quilt Groups that I am in.

Autumn Quilt block

2008-10-20T23:59:00.003-05:00

In the Crazy 4 Quilting Group, we have started a Round Robin of Autumn Quilt Block. The top picture is of my naked block. The group has 12 - 14 people participating in the group. It should take about a year to complete this round robin. I think fall is one of the most beautiful times of the year. The colors of the leaves of the trees and bushes are so vibrant with different colors. The air is starting to get a little cool at night but not enough that you need the heat or air on in the house. The breeze from the wind is cool and crisp.

The fabrics that I picked bring out the bold and bright colors of the fall. I have a gold metallic variegated fabric, fall leaf variegated fabric, Scarecrow and pumpkin fabric, chocolate brown green& orange gold fleck fabric, red & green plaid fabrics. I needed to make at least 13 patches and twice as many seams that was a had thing to do for me. The same fabric was used to make a journal to go with the block that everyone could write a little message or doodle what they are going to do on the block

When I have a chance to this Weekend I am finally going to be able to pick up the book Treasury of Crazy Quilting Stitches at the Barnes & Noble bookstore. They had to specailly order the book in for me because they didn't have any on the shelf. I was just glad that the book was back out on the shelves again because I have been trying to find it for the last 5 months and all the bookstores said it was out of print and the only pakce to buy it was on the internet and the price was at least $ 40.00 for a book but instead I will get it for about $25.00. I'm sure that the book will me to gain a better knowledge of the stitches that can be combined and look good together.

Yellow Color Study

2008-10-09T08:00:00.004-05:00

This is the Naked Block for the Yellow Color Study in the Crazy Quilting for Newbies Group. I belong to the Group called the Yellow Bananas. I found it hard to find fabrics that were mostly yellow in color that I liked that would go good together and make a good block to go with the block that I started for the Purple Color Study. I also made a fabric journal to match the quilt block to go with the block to everyone in the group to write and leave messages or notes in. I made enough patches and seams for every one in the group to use up to 2 or3 patches and 3 or 4 seams. I hope that I gave everyone in the group enough room to work in and help build a beautiful block.

August FFT Sampler BLock

2008-10-08T09:00:00.000-05:00

I still have Amy's block for the Month of August in the CQ International FFT Sampler Round Robin because a person has dropped out of our group. We decided to stay on track and I did an extra month to get the block back to it's normal place in line. The stitches that we needed to work with is month were the Feather stich and the Fargo Rose. I did a half feather stitch on one seam and a double feather stitch on a diferent seam. I did a row of yellow long stem Fargo Roses. Unlike the fresh version of this flower these have no thorns or bad petals to remove. On the 10th of September I mailed this block to Sandra to have her work on it for the Month of September. After the month of August we will only have 2 months left of this wonderful learning experience with embellishing and being part of a Round robin.

July FFT Sampler Block

2008-10-08T00:18:00.007-05:00

It's been a while since I updated my blog I will try and do it more often. The above block is from my CQ International Sampler Round Robin. The stitches that were to be worked on for the month of July was the Chevron Stitch and the French Knot. You could add any extras to make the patches or square look better. I did two different styles of the chevron stitchon each side of the square. One of the chevron stitch I used was the half stitch combined to make a diamond looking stitch, straight stitches were put on each edge of the stitch. The other edge I did the full chevron stitch with a red square bead in the center of each space. The french knots were made into a type of hydrangea or allium flower with a few red seed beads. I also made a few spider roses and added green leaves and vines for the flowers.I hope that I made patches of the block are up to the standards of the rest of the group. I forgot to say that this quilt block belongs to Amy.

GIna's Romance Block

2008-10-07T01:25:00.001-05:00

It's been a long time since I have written about a block from the Crazy 4 Quilting Group Romance Round Robin. The group had some down time during the summer months we are now trying to get back on track and get the blocks home soon. The block pictured belongs to Gina. I have written a quote on the other blocks that I have done and I was still able to do that with is block. The block has a trim of beaded red lazy daisy stitch and a half circle design. The lower picture shows the detail of the cherry blossom branch with bow that I added to the patch to help fill the space better. I f the quote is hard to read this is what it says. Drink to me only with thine eyes, And I will pledge with mine; or leave a kiss but in the cup And I'll not look for wine. I hope that everyone in the round robin likes that I added a quote from my romance to their romance block if I have room to do so.

Purple Color Study Home

2008-09-08T23:59:00.000-05:00

My Purple Color Study Block came home at the middle of August to me. I want to thank all of the ladies who worked on the block . I to tell everyone who did what area of the block and what they did. The top picture is of the entire block with my booklet that I sent with. I made a booklet out of the same type of fabrics and used my new sewing machine to do all the embellishing and monagramming. The block to the top right, Pat S. did the Purple Shade of Flower Motif and the knotted Chain stitch. The second section of the block in the picture, Pat S. did with a Fan motif and beaded Feather Stitch .

The above picture was stitched by either Connie S. or Cynthia L. The section of the blocks that had the purple swirls was embellished with a silver running stitch to follow the pattern of the swirls. The seams of the section have a variegated length of the Blanket stitch and 2 different types of ribbon woven with 2 different shades of metallic purple tread.

The Bottom Left Photo contains a section that either Connie S or Cynthia L did. The section has a vine and flowers stitched in the middle. A Chain stitch was used on the seam. In the same Photo is a Section that I did with a Flower that looks similar to Lavender Color Hydrangea. The Butterfly in the same photo was made by Rose for my two little Boys in mind. The Bottom Right Photo has a section that was made by Tasha. The section has Yo-Yo shaped flowers either as a heart or a Regular YoYo shape. The YoYo are stemmed stitched with a silk or sheer Purple ribbon. Either Tasha or Rose made the spider Rose and the flower seam. Rose made a second section that was dedicated to the Boys also. The section has a row of Birdhouses. The boys spend a lot of time watching the birds. I hope that I gave the proper credit to the right people in the Extravagant Eggplant Group I was involved in.

July 2008 FFT block

2008-08-20T23:43:00.001-05:00

The Sampler Round Robin that I belong to in the CQ International Group has a new group of stitches to do a different person block each month. The month of July was the Chevron and French Knot Stitches. I made made a seam stitch of Two Half Chevron Stitches with a Starred Center. On one end of the Chevron Stitch has 2 different lengths of a Detached Chain with a Lavender Bead on top. The other end has 3 straight stitches with a French Knot on the Top of each. The patch that I chose I made a Bouquet of Lavender Spider Roses with stems and a Lavender Bow. I also made a heart to go with the block. I thought that it accented the roses nicely.
This Block belongs to Carol. The Booklet that was with the block didn't make it to my house from the previous person, so I made a new book for her and added a photo of the block from what I had done on it and some of what the others before me had done.

STS Summer Block

2008-08-13T11:00:00.001-05:00

I was giving the opportunity to work with Susan on the Season to Season Block exchange for the summer season. You can't see it very well but in the corner in the burgundy section I made a tree with assorted red beads for the leaves and blooms. I also added a hand designed butterfly in the gold section with blue flowers to try and represent cornflowers or similar flower. I also wrote the word summer on the block. I added clear or blue beads to the center of the green tatted ribbon underneath the butterfly. I didn't look quite finished so I added some butterflies in orange to the block. The block started to bring back memories of going to the Butterfly House at the Zoo in June. I hope that Sue likes the block when it gets back to her in England.

June FFT Sampler Block

2008-08-10T00:44:00.009-05:00

The sampler series that I belong to in the CQ International Group is a teaching various stitches online class and get use to being part of a Quilting group. The block I had this month belonged to Kathy W. , at the right is the block that she sent to me with the Butterfly motif and the herringbone stitch with beads.
The month of June we were to add a cretan stitch, but the directions I had said chevron stitch. So I did a chevron stitch with detached chain to look similar to a flower with a cantaloupe bead in the center. The other motif was to be a spider rose but wasn't able to find the ribbon for this block, so I made a few beaded flowers with shades of brown and golds for the stems. The next person to work on this block was to be Sandra but Kathy decided not to stay with the group so her block was sent back home to her. The month of July, I get to work on Carol's block so maybe I can get to practice the spider rose on her block.

July Purple study block

2008-08-09T23:57:00.004-05:00

This is the final month of the Purple color study round robin in the Cq for Newbies. My final block to work on belonged to Connie S. of North Dakota. I made a tree in shades of purple threads for the trunk. The leaves of the tree are made out of assorted purple and clear beads. I was reading a article on Cqmagonline.com about how to stitch the trunks of different types of trees. It also tells you how to make style the different types of leaves for the trees.
Some of the others in our little group added some fun stitching to this block as well. One person added a Ornately detail fan with beads, a spiderweb with a spider made out of button, a pretty cat button, and different types of motifs and stitches all done in purple. The next color study that we are doing is in shades of yellow.
When I started doing this color study I never knew how much people liked the different shades of purple. I have done this wedding season so far 3 weddings in shades of purple and have at least 3 more to go.

June Purple block

2008-08-04T00:19:00.004-05:00

The theme of Tasha's block seemed to be about butterflies, buttons, & bows. I'm not sure what the reasoning is for but it's her block. We just add what we think that it needs.
This is Tasha's Block in my purple color study group the Extravagant Eggplants. I designed butterfly in shades of purple and stitched in the entire butterfly with satin stitches. The beaded item next to the butterfly was my first attempt at making a tree. I have now found the some helpful directions on how to make the tree more dimensional. I think it was a good try for my first time at a tree. I sewed all the beads on my self and didn't use any glue at all. I"m also very proud of my two kittens because when I started at crazy quilting I didn't think that I could ever use any beads on things that I did because they would play with them. I can say that so far they haven't but the beads haven't been play toy size yet. I'm hoping that they will never start to play with so I can use them on a quilt for my own home.

Henry Dooley Zoo

2008-07-24T01:01:00.002-05:00

My sister and her family came to visit for a few days to come and see us and Grandma Great. We went to see Grandma Great at her new home her in a Nursing Home in Valley Ne. We had planned to go to the Henry Dooley Zoo in Omaha for a Day. We went to the Zoo during the Final 2 days of Games for the College World Series. The Zoo has grown a lot since the last time I was at the Zoo when I was either in Jr. High School. I can't believe that we spent a entire 8 hour day at the Zoo and still didn't see it all. I can't imagine what the Zoo will be like when it gets to take over the Baseball Stadium when it gets moved in the next 3-5 years. It will probably take at least 2 days to see the entire thing.

My niece is riding one of the animals on the merry-go round in the Petting Zoo area.
The Henry Dooley Zoo have perfected the gene process for making White Tigers. This is one way that the Zoo gets money for new exhibits. The Zoo has a Exhibit Hall for every animal by section. The next picture is of a Sun bear sunning himself, when we were in the bear exhibit you could see the bears from the outside and inside areas. The monkey swinging on the fence was really cute. The Gorilla & monkey houses were really fun because the way that the windows were made you could move in and see monkeys closer.
Sorry that I don't have pictures of the Butterfly house and the Desert Doom. The butterfly house was really fun and we had a chance to see all the different types of butterflies that are out in the world today. The Desert Doom has all the things that you would find in all of the deserts of the world. Hope that when my sister comes back this fall we can see the parts of the Zoo we missed this summer.

Romance Block Sue's

2008-07-23T00:46:00.002-05:00

The above photo is what I started with when I received the block.

The quote that I used for Sue's block is from the quotes that are all over my Romance Block and the fabric I have from that block. The quote reads as follows, One word frees us of all the weight and pain in life, that word is love. The flowers that I made for this block are red beaded and I tried to make them look like a spring flower that would be romantic.Can't wait for the next block to come.

STS Spring block home

2008-07-22T00:23:00.004-05:00

My spring block had finally made it's way home at the end of May or early part of June. I like the additions that she added to my block and it should be a good start to a girly girl quilt that I might start for on of my nieces. This was the spring block for the season to season swap in CQ for Newbies.

America's Finest block

2008-07-13T23:59:00.005-05:00

These photos are of my Block that I call America's Finest block. This was the other choice I had for a season to season summer block. I am planning on using all of these fabrics in a quilt for our master bedroom. I am planning on using yellows and gold color threads on the seams only. I was also thinking about free motion quilting aroud some of the stars and other items.

Season to Season Summer

2008-07-13T23:39:00.003-05:00

I finally have the to update the newest photos that I have of my season to Season Summer Starter Block. I call this block my plane, trains, and vacations block. I had a hard time my summer block because I made 2 very different styles. One of the styles was the plane, trains and vacations, and the other block was done a American theme with all different stars & stripes style of fabrics as well as having US Air Force fabric as well. I will post a picture of the block. The kittens and I decided which block to use for the Summer Season to Season. The kittens sat on the block that they most wanted me to make a quilt for our master bedroom with. I know that the block has a lot of pictures on it already so I wondering what my partners thoughts are for adding embellishments to is block are. I did a few seams and wrote a few cities that I have or would visit. I may make more of this kind of block after each vacation and add a few photos to the quilt blocks as well.

Lavender Wedding

2008-07-10T00:36:00.001-05:00

The above pictures are from one of the weddings I did at work during the month of June that was Shades of Lavender and Periwinkle. The centerpieces have a Beta Fish in the Bowl with a Lavender Rose on top of the bowl floating. The centerpieces are made with Lavender and White Daisies, Lavender Mini Carnations, Lavender and White Caspia with a Purple Ornamental Thistle that looked similar to the Beta fish in texture. The bowls are just setting in the middle of the centerpiece, tried to anchor it down with some supports but the bowls fell over. What a mess to clean up. Check back later to see some of the other wedding photos from the summer.

Princess & Pea Block

2008-07-03T23:13:00.006-05:00

This is my stater block for the Crazy Quilting International. The quilting round robin group is called FFT #2 { Sampler Round Robin }.
The block is made of assorted shades of pink sections in the block. It has different types of Princesses in each of the 4 corners and the center. I made a little book for everyone in the round robin to sign and write a little note as well. I am thinking about making a block like this for each one of my nieces that are under the age of 10 and make a quilt that works around this center block. I may also do one with Dora, Hannah Montana and Hello Kitty to make a quilt of little girl who is into princess and southern belle style. She is my little girlie's girl and is all about making sure everything is going together.

Romance Block

2008-07-02T00:37:00.007-05:00

Sorry, that it has been so long since I have written in my log. The pictures below are of a quilt group that I belong to the Crazy for Quilting group. This is Sue's block from England. She wanted her block to be done in all shades of reds and pinks. I have written a different quote from the Romance Block that the group is working on for me. Te Quote on this block is One word frees us of all the weight and pain in life that word is love. I also made red beaded flowers to go on the bottom of the section of the block. I hope that the block looks well made to all.

May Purple Color Study Block

2008-06-22T23:31:00.004-05:00

The above block is Pat's block from the Purple Color Study Round Robin in the Crazy Quilting for Newbies Group. All of the stitches and embellishing needs to be done in shades of purple. This is the 4th month of this study. I added the colorful shades of purple leaves and swirls. The seam is done in a twisted fly stitch with an shade of purple seed bead at the bottom of each point on the stitch. The block has now moved on to Connie to have even better things added to it. I will receive a new block and it should be from Tasha. When making Tasha's block, I think that I may add a hand stitched butterfly to the block and other creative things as well.

Wedding design photos

2008-06-18T23:37:00.003-05:00

On the 13th and 14th of June, I was asked to help a friend decorate a old corn crib that was turned into a small reception place. The reception hall is called The Grainery and is located in Cherokee IA. It has 5 - 6 bedrooms and can sleep up to 30 people family style. I was asked to decorate the entire outside deck area with white tulle and bows. They wanted to have both sides of the deck done and the small patio on the second floor. The arch was to have the tulle weaved through it but it wouldn't stay in place. I had to sew the tulle to the arch to keep it in place. I decorated the arch in with artificial greens and white flowers. If anyone wonder how much tulle it take to decorate a deck on a corn crib it is approximately about 150 - 200 yards of tulle and only took about 5 hours to complete. The mother of the bride and the bride wanted to have the bride and groom to have covered chairs for them. I personally made these chairs and it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. I made 2 extra covers for the couple as a gift to have a complete set for their family at home. I will add a few more pictures of the wedding as I decorated it with the family 's help. The wedding went off that weekend without any hint of rain or flooding at site. I and some of the had to drive through flood areas of Iowa to get to the Wedding. Some of the roads were opened the day we left and the 14th when some of the family came from the Cedar Rapids to Iowa City area in Iowa.

Wedding design photos

2008-06-18T00:29:00.009-05:00

The top photo is of the decorating of the head table.
The center picture is of the tulle decorations on the deck and the chair flowers for the ceremony.
The bottom left picture is of the tulleing that was done to the patio of the bridal couples room.
The bottom right picture is of the stairway on the other end of the deck.
The bottom left picture on the above post of the wedding has the photo of the other end of the stairway with artificial hanging ivy with berry red bows and chair covers with berry red bows.

june 10 storm clouds

2008-06-15T01:05:00.004-05:00

These are pictures of one of the thunderstorms from the week of June 3- 7 2008. The storms are seeming to be coming every day or every other day. I am hoping that when I have to decorate The Grainery in Cherokee IA next weekend that the rain and storms will be over or not happening that day or weekend. I am surprised that the kittens aren't afraid of the thunder and lightning when it comes. They just sit at the window or patio door and watch the weather change. I can't believe that the kittens stay at the window to watch even when the Thunder and Lightening are really close by.

Romance Block

2008-05-07T00:05:00.008-05:00

This is Ani's Romance Block from the Crazy for Quilting Group. The block that she started was done in shades of pastels. This block is done in tones of greens and yellows. The colors have a little hint of blue tones to them. I added soft blue beads with soft green floss. The edge was done with the beads and a buttonhole bar insertion stitch. The flower I tried to make was a blue iris or small blue hydrangea blooms. The quote is as follows: I love thee, I love but thee with a love that shall not die, Till the sun grows cold and the stars grow old. This is about the third or fourth block that I have ever done any embellishing on. I hope that I am doing a good job. I am always wanting to perfect the skills that I have. That includes my floral design work as well. I should post some of my floral designs someday.

Season to Season Spring

2008-05-06T23:28:00.008-05:00

In the Season to Season Spring block exchange was done between Two People. Each Person did half of the Block and it didn't matter weather you did one half or a random half of the block. I exchanged blocked with Dianna and this is her block that I did the second half to. She had the car on the block already. The tree was there as well. The trim of flowers and the fence with birdbath is also hers. I added the colorful butterflies to the tinsel fabric at the top of the block. The Green section has a fern stitch design to it. The tree and the car are part of a gravel road. The road I thought would be a good touch for the car because what would the car be doing besides driving down the road or sitting under a tree. The tulips have a vine with green beads added. The beads represent new plant growth of ivy or other plants that could be in your garden for the spring. This is a block that I had to keep away from my kittens because of the fabric that had the tinsel on it. They seem to be drawn to the shiny of it and wanted to play with it and eat it as well.

Purple Color Study April

2008-05-06T22:16:00.008-05:00

For the month of April in the Crazy Quilting for Newbies Purple Color Study Group the Extravagant Eggplants, I had Rosa's Block. I looked at the block for a few days and decided to embellish the block in the bottom left corner. The design is of purple & lavender Dragonflies with allium flowers with different shades of purple beads to bright the stems and flower heads.

MY Romance Block

2008-04-03T23:14:00.008-05:00

I finally got the photo downloaded for my personal started block of the Crazy for Quilting Round Robin. I had some leftover fabric from making Valentine and Early Spring Aprons for work that I thought the Romance Quotes with pinks, lavenders and chocolate fabric would make a good starter Block and I also make a little notebook to match to send with so that all the crazy quilters who embellish the block from all over the world can leave a little note with the block. My quilt blocks will do more traveling abroad then myself and don't need to have a passport to do any of it. Some of the quotes are very sweet and others have a meaning behind them. I will be adding some of the quotes to other of the Romance Blocks in the group that I am exchanging with if they would like a quote. Janet's Block has a quote that reads True love is a sacred flame that burns eternally, And someone can emit a special glow or change it's destiny. I'm not sure if anyone can read the quote that is on the block that is in a previous blog.

Purple block March

2008-03-19T01:13:00.010-05:00

I finally got to working on my purple color study block from Cynthia. I had to look at it for a few days to decide what I was going to put on the Block and where I was going to place. I decided to add lilacs with beads and dragonflies. Since I'm a florist, I'm having fun trying to find ways to add flowers to my crazy quilting. I'm trying to add the different flowers besides the standard roses and the buds. I hope that these flowers look like the real thing. I had fun learning how to make them. I have been a little under the weather for the last week, I had that wonderful chest cold with the flu I think. I will be adding pictures to my blog in the next few days to a week. I have thought about making and selling a line of clothes for the American Girl Dolls and the Bitty Babies. I can design the clothes that I would want to buy for myself but couldn't fit in or just didn't think that it was a good idea for me to wear. I just need to come up with a name for a Clothing Line that I'm going to build. I also have to think about all the accessories that will be needed for every outfit. You need to have a purse, bag. jewelry, shoes, or belts and headbands.

Purple Color Study Starter block & journal

2008-03-13T01:00:00.006-05:00

I finally felt well enough to go and add the pictures to my blog from the CQ for Newbies Group quilt block and the journal that I made to go with the block. I made my block entirely out of cotton fabrics because I thought these fabrics will work the best when I build the blocks together to build a quilt later. The kittens make me worry if I use other more fancier fabrics that they might play with the blocks and start to play with a quilt when I build it. I try not to put beads on my blocks because of the little guys and the trouble they cause. I built a journal out of the same fabrics. I machine embroidered the seams of the block with coordinating threads in purple and yellow. I personalized the journal with my name. This was the first time I had ever attempted to add paper to fabric to make a book or journal. These were my Second and third attempt at making a Nakid Quilt Block.
I am also planning on starting to make a line of homemade Clothes for the American Girl Dolls. I want the line of clothing to be a modern line of clothes that is similar to what the young girls are wearing at this time. I believe that all girls should be allowed to express how they dress through their doll and her clothes. It is the imagination that keeps us all young in heart and mind.

Cq Romamce Block

2008-03-04T01:42:00.010-06:00

This is Janet's Romance Block from the Crazy for Quilting Group. I added this poem or saying to the block that was on the block that I started. This is the first time I have done quilting stitches and different embellishing techniques. I hope that I did an okay job on the block. I am still in the very early learning stages of doing this type of work. I believe that I did a good job. The quote is True love is a sacred flame that burns eternally, And someone can emit a special glow or change it's destiny.

2008-03-03T02:06:00.003-06:00

It started out as such a beautiful day here in the Midwest. I got up to a high of 65 degrees and by 6:00pm it was 35 degrees and rainy snow was falling on the ground. I guess that we can say that March has finally arrived. I have finished my section of Janet's Romance Block in the Crazy for Quilting Group and should be able to post a picture in the next couple of days. I am also in a color study group for the Color Purple Called the Extravagant Eggplants. I will also have a pictures of that block and the little book that I made to go with it.
I will also be adding a few pictures of my 2 kids who happen to be cats.

Winter blues

2008-02-28T00:05:00.003-06:00

The snow is starting to melt from the rain and snow weather advisory that we had on Monday the 25th. The ice is starting to go away and not make things as difficult to walk around. I am working on Janet's Quilt block from the Romance RR in the Crazy for Quilting Group. I will be posting pictures of this and all the rest of the blocks that are part of this Study. I am also starting on my block for the Purple Color Study for the CQ for Newbies Group. The block is starting to come to shape. I will be taking photos of all the quilt blocks that will be going through each of the quilt groups.
I need to add a little spring and sunshine to my blog because it is so cold and snowy here that I need a bright spot to add some color. This photo is from the dock my in law's home in Washington, North Carolina on The Palimco Sound. His Mom lives about an hour west of the Outer Banks and Lookout Lighthouse. It is a beautiful area to visit and the people are great. His mom's friends say that we are from the extreme North, because we use all the vowels and letters in words when we speak.

2008-02-20T22:55:00.000-06:00

I received Janet's Romance Block from the Crazy for Quilting today. I need to look at it for a couple of days and decide what I want to add to the block. I have never really embellished quilt blocks before and if I have I have only done it with my decorative stitches on my sewing machine. I hope that I do a good job. I need to now learn how to add pictures to my blog and get them off the camera without getting a Photo Cd to do so. I just may do it that way so that I can always have a hard copy of all my photos that I want to keep. I will just have to take a lot of pictures every week to go through and get a Cd made from the print shop at work.

2008-02-20T01:00:00.000-06:00

I finally made the page that I want and am pleased to say that it looks very good for a person like me who can't figure out how to find her way around the computer.
My two little boys look so innocent sleeping in the picture, you couldn't tell that they get into mom's yarn and fabric when ever they can. I let them be in my sewing room with me because if I don't they will cry like all little children do, even though they are only Kittens.

2008-02-20T00:53:00.004-06:00