Sept CQJP & A beautiful gift from Judy



 

Oh... happy days are here!  I am finally caught up with my CQJP 2012 blocks...well not counting my October block that I'm still working on.  I am so happy that I pushed myself through the year to continue making a block a month - really gives you a feeling of accomplishment and I'm now looking forward to CQJP 2013.  If you haven't joined in, in passed years - you need too!  Just think, at the end of the year you have 12 pieces of your very own work that you can do what you will with them.

 

A while back I had found an adorable picture of a mother and child and thought it would make for a beautiful pillow.  I'm actually planning on making up most of my CQJP blocks into pillows or purses to be part of my pretties offered at Christmas in my Etsy shop.

 

For the frame I used a vintage doilie (I will be listing quite a few of these in my shop) and embellished it with tea stained silk ribbon, beads, porcelain beads.  I bought the porcelain beads from Thearica's shop over at crazyquiltingsupplies   I'm not sure if she has had the time to upload these pretties but I'm sure if you contact her she'll be happy to sell you some.  Be sure to check out her fabulous selection of Pearl Cottons and Silk Ribbon - colors to die for!

 

I also tea stained the little angel, teddy bear, baby carriage, dragonfly, bow etc. to give the block a vintagey feel.  I know every time I finish a block I say the same thing "this is one of my favorites" Guess I should try and vary my color choices from time to time and step outside my box of blues.

 

 



 

 



A couple months ago I blogged about a one-on-one swap I was having with my friend  Judy.  The other day I received my pink and green block that I had sent her to work on and was blown away with how beautiful it came home to me.  Hard to belive that Judy just started Crazy Quilting!  The detail, stitching, embellishing and endless hours Judy put into embellishing this block will be cherished forever.  My plans are to make in into a pillow to match another block that I previously made using the same fabric... should be a pretty pair for sure!  Thank you Judy for swapping with me - I'm game for another one when you're ready!

 

 

Lately it seems I have been spending most of my "dyeing" time filling custom orders.  I did find some time to play with lots of new colors and laces and hope to start uploading the many beautiful laces I have dyed for RavioLee Dreams in the coming days.

With fall comes a change in colors .... ya'll know I love my pastels but working with darker shades seem to be just as pretty.  If you are looking for a particular color, color combination or themed motif/lace, drop me a note. 

Happy Fall!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Catching up on CQJP 2012

Yea!  I'm almost caught up!  While sitting around babying my shoulder I decided to try and get caught up on my CQJP - I am determined to get 12 blocks done by the end of the year so I can start fresh next year with a new idea for my blocks.

July's CQJP was done using some vintage laces and sepia tones.  A departure from my normal bright colors but I do like it - so much so I've already started using the same colors for September's block.



July CQJP
Best Friends - B&B

Close Up July CQJP

OK - I slipped up - I just can't get enough of the pink/cream and green color combination.  I found this cute little silky which reminded me of sisters... you know the saying "Sister Forever"   I absolutely love framing out a picture as there are so many ways to embellish them.

August CQJP
Forever Sisters

Close Up July CQJP

A couple added little touches

Spider Rose within a Lace motif

I want to take the time to say thank you to all my friends who sent me cards and little "cheer up" goodies - they are so appreciated and really brightened my days.  Seriously, I thought once I had the shoulder surgery the pain would ease up and go away. NOT!  I am beginning to think PT is going to kill me.  There have been days that I end up in bed once PT is over... I sure hope the saying "no pain, no gain" is true as this old gal is certainly getting tired of crying about it.  Even though I hate going to PT I really enjoy the therapist - they are young, full of energy and very knowledgeable - makes me feel like things will get better soon.



CQJP 2012 Jan, Feb & March Done!

At the beginning of year I signed up for the CQJP 2012 (Crazy Quilt Journal Project) with all intentions of creating one block a month for the year 2012.  I've had a bit of a slow start as life seems to be running its course with one thing after another happening.  Finally, with a breather, I have managed to catch up and have completed my Jan, Feb & March blocks with April's not far behind.

I decided since I wasn't going to be going with a "theme" I would create my blocks with a different color combination each month.  Some months, my favorite colors, other months...not so much.  As you can see I have yet to use my usual "blue" on a complete block but did manage to push through and use my favorite "blue" color along with my least favorite color "orange".... all in all I think the combination came out pretty cool for the month of March.

January CQJP

February CQJP

March CQJP