Challenge Block 2010 - recap - update

My absolute favorite activity on CQI are the monthly challenges which were an inspiration by Cathy K. In years past I have kept up with them monthly...and getting behind has left me disconnected from the group... I love being challenged continually so I want to get back on track.

To recap I used the colors in these fabric swatches as my focal colors and the blues and aquas are so far out of my comfort range that I did not have a single one in my stash... Every fabric in my block came from a gift package from Nicki Lee... Thank you Nicki.


I'm not all that far behind... I have touched on Curved piecing and fans (Jan), Birds (March), 5-layer stitches (April), Dimensional Embroidery (May), Frames (June) Landscape (July)...August ( Glitz), and December (gold work). Now I just need to experiment more with all of them and add the months I missed...



I framed the silkie with my gold braid and the cherry blossom branches and embroidered the peacock bodies and wings on felt... I had originally wanted one peacock near the silkie but decided to add another in a different pose in the foreground... They will be added at the very last because they would be impossible to stitch around and you'll just have to wait to see them... Their tail feathers will be very, very art deco and beaded heavily and outlined in gold...



Last night I pinned the block to a cork board and thought about it as I went to sleep...this morning I set it in the kitchen and pondered while I cleaned up from the dinner yesterday and then thought all about it while Morris and I walked in the forest... And here are some of my conclusions...


I had originally envisioned a stream in the garden but I've decided to turn the stream in a lily pond so I can add water lilies and koi. I always wanted a bridge and decided I will try to dye some lace to make the bridge and trim it in gold...

And I want rocks rocks and more rocks along the edge of the pond. I will do them all on felt as it would be too hard to embroider them on the block over seams... Some I will do singly and some in groups. I also need two boulder types... one by the bridge and one in the forefront. Some will be overlapped and some will be padded for dimension.


Since it's spring because the cherry trees are in blossom, there needs to be some smaller flowering shrubs as well.. I still have mixed feelings about the lace clouds but will see as the rest develops. I'm thinking at this point I may paint them with alcohol dyes... no decision yet tho.. And I'm not happy with silk on the mountain because it is so transparent and will probably redo that in velvet... But after all this pondering I feel really energized about getting this project going again..... and the rocks on felt should be reaaaaaaaallly cool....

Finally just in case you read one of my original posts about this challeng on 12/12/2010 http://olderrose.blogspot.com/2009/12/misc-thoughts-on-2010-challenge-block.html I did say I was going to just use Edmar threads... but I just hate Edmar rayon threads and I bought soooooooooo many last year in CO... They just lay in the drawer and taunt me.... I'm still waiting for the miracle that will make me love them...