Update on Courtney's CQ Block

I really would like to get Courntey's block done by the beginning of next week so I can sew it up into a pillow. I've been working on it little by little and like the way it's coming along - and especially liking my new found "like" for orange and yellow.

CQ Pillow for Courtney

A few months ago my niece Courtney's father passed away. At 16 years old I can't imagine the heartbreak. Her mom, Judy, thought that she would like something that was a reminder of her father - something that was a part of him and asked me to CQ Courtney a surprise using Kevin's clothes and something with sunflowers. I had Judy send me a few pieces of fabric from some of his clothes and a couple of pictures. I've been working on this block for about a month off and on.

Now most of you know that orange and yellow are not my favorite colors so I'm a little out of my element here... although lately, I'm finding that I like them more and more. The crocheted embellishments were actually sent to me via a CQ Embellishment swap I was in - the adorable crocheted sunflower and the beautiful basket of orange flowers. ( I'm sorry to say I don't remember who made them but I thank you so much!) I embellished them just a bit with some silk floss and glass beads. I think I'm about a third of the way done - I hope to have it completed and made into a pillow for Courtney before the holidays.

Starting point:

CQ, RR's and more..........

Has it really been a month since I last blogged? Where did the time go? Where in the world did summer go! I hope everyone had a great time over this past summer and you've found some new ways to be creative.

Summer is coming to and end and I find myself starting to hibernate already. How can I tell... well my creative juices are flowing. I'm not quite sure why, but in the past 2-3 weeks I have been on this creative, sewing binge.... hmmmmm ...getting ready for the long winter? I'm thinking it might have something to do with the fact that I have been walking 3-4 times a week and all the fresh air is airing out my brain! Not only has the walking been helping me sleep and making my legs feel better, it has given me so many new ideas and so much more motivation to create. It's about time! So... with that being said I have a lot of catching up to do with my blogging over the next week. I guess I'll get started by telling ya'll about what I've been up to the past week or so.


I just finished a CQ block for the Art4Mail Group. The theme was "monochromatic CQ blocks". The block I was to make was "teal". Without a doubt I was so excited as teal is one of my favorite colors and I knew I had plenty in my stash to work with.




One of my favorite swaps I'm in right now is a CQ Face RR. A group of ladies from the CQI site signed up to do this Round Robin using faces. I sent 6 polymer clay faces that I had made along with 6 naked CQ blocks to be embellished in whatever manner by the ladies .... I can't wait to see how they come home. Here are two of the blocks that I have had so far to work on. Rose Anne sent me the first one - she sent along the face and her celestial blocks. I immediately knew what I was going to do with it - I had bought a bunch of these crazy looking motifs while out in LA this past summer... at first I thought they looked like octopus and have dyed some of them to be used in various underwater themed CQ projects. When I saw Rose Anne's face I knew one of them would take on the roll of being the sun. I beaded around the face and then embellished the sun rays with gold bugle beads.

Now this next block was a challenge. This block is Leslie's and for the life of me I had no idea how to create a sugar plum fairy. My niece told me they should look like a fairy so I made her a dress and gave her long golden locks along with some make up.

A while back my friend Barbara from the ART4Mail site asked me to make her a Sewing/needle case. I love making them and especially enjoyed making this one as I was out of my color element - I used only pinks and greens... no blues! LOL! I have to admit I love the color combination and will be using them again. You know how you start something and are really into it and then all of a sudden you hit a wall and just can't think on how to finsih it? Well that happened to me so this pretty sat idle for a couple months. I'm preally pleased with how it turned out and hope Barbara likes it as much.

Currently I am hosting a "CQ for Me Challenge" on the HGTV Quilting web site. All year we spend so much time making this and that for everyone else, I thought it would be nice if we made something specific for ourselves. This would give everyone a chance to use all those "special" pretties that they have been saving.

I decided to make a Challenge out of this swap. I had each lady (42 participants) send me their vote for their color choice. Top two votes ended up being Blue and Green... now I know what you think, Nicki loves BLUE. But... I actually voted for pink! All the ladies chipped in for the pretties to be used. Once I had the colors I went on a hunt for some pretty fabrics. I bought two beautiful silk... the blue being a dupioni. I also ordered each lady a floral motif. The two pieces of fabric and the motif are to be used in the Challenge which is due January 1, 2010. The nice thing is everyone will end up with something pretty that they created for themselves.

My wonderful and talented friend Carolyn, Sunshinedesigns , painted me a beautiful peacock as a gift last year. I have been wanting to make something special with it and decided immediately that now was my chance - the colors were PERFECT! If you haven't seen Carolyn's work check out her blog - she paints the most amazing flowers, birds, and pretties on dupioni silk...she even offers a few of her designs for downloading.

My blocks will be made into a purse. The blocks measure 13.5 x 15.5 - the first block will be the front and the second , the back. So far I've only dyed the motif and placed it on the block alogn with another peacock that I'm not sure if I'm going to use. I have all winter to play with this project and want to take my time - might even try my hand at some new techniques and try a little encrusting.

Also on the HGTV Board, ToryAM is hosting a Self Portrait ATC (Artist Trading Card) Swap. These cards are so much fun to make - they measure 2.5x3. I started out buy using up the left over scraps of fabric from all the CQ blocks I have been making and ironed them down to large piece of double-sided peltex. Next I used some gold metalic thread to embellish the seams a bit- and just meandered all over in a swirly motion. Once that was done I cut out the ATC's with a rotary blade then fuse a picture of my eyes that I had downloaded onto fabric.

CQing and Some Faces

Ok, I'm back. I've been really laxed in posting to my blog and have decided that I've got to get back into it. You know how it is, you try out something new, get hooked and something else always takes a back seat. Well... the "something" that got in the way was me trying to get healthy. I finally got tired of this big old "thing" following me everywhere I went and got off my butt and started walking. I meet up with my friend Sally and we walk all over... just did a beautiful 7.5 mile walk along the Cape Cod canal that was awesome - what a view. Then we found another place to walk along the shores of Plymouth Beach.... this could get to be a habit. After 3 weeks my legs and feet are really starting to feel a lot better and I'm even sleeping great and going to bed early!

I've also been doing a lot of CQing. Spent a week up in Maine last week laying around in the sun, fishing, kayaking and CQing the days away. I worked on Ellen's block for the CQI FFT#9 Group. When I received her block I fell in love with it as it was BLUE! I immediately cut up some small lace motifs, dyed them and layered them so when sewed in place, it would become a beautiful little garden. Along with some silk ribbon, beads and stitches, I think I might have succeeded....I sure hope she likes it.

In my last blog I showed some pictures of some faces I made and sent out for a CQ RR. Well the ones that were left behind I decided to play with...this is what they look like now. Once I use them as an embellishment on a future CQ block I will extend the french knots and beads into the block. What fun!

CQ 6" Mermaid Quilties

"Slow down, you're moving too fast, you gotta make the moment last..." remember that song? It's already closing in on the end of January and I'm wondering where in the world the month went! Seems the busier I get with sewing ,the faster the days fly by.

This past week I have been sick with the flu and like the good Dr. said... bed rest and relaxation will go a long way into making you feel better. Well it worked. I gathered up bins of beads, boxes of threads and laces and camped out in my bed for 3 days. Hubby wasn't feeling too good either so he slept in the guest room while I played in my Crazy Quilt heaven of a sandbox...my bed. Can you say "ouch" I woke up a few times with a bead or needle embedded in my thigh!

The 3 days proved to be productive. First I sewed up a 14x14 foundation of beautiful blue fabrics - used satins, velvets, silks, and some pretty cottons too. Out of the 14x14 block, I ended up making 3 6"mini quilties depicting an underwater scene with mermaids and seahorses and one needlebook. I really love how they turned out....now to make a mini for myself. These three quilties were made for a swap with the girls from Art4Mail , a Yahoo Group I belong to. If you are looking for a lot of different and fun swaps - head on over and join us! Part of the rules to the swap were to decorate the backs a bit in case the girls wanted to use them for an art journal. I hope the girls like them as much as I enjoyed making them.The needlebook was commissioned for a friend in WA. Jackie...it's on the way.