CQJP blocks are finished...

All my CQJP  blocks are finished... well except for the pocket page... I  have 14 pages.  I will use the month of December to assemble the book.. It was really a fun project but I definitely got tired of black and white.

This will be one of the last pages in the book.. I used my new ribbon book to learn how to do the little prairie points.

Under the lift-up tab..... Morris likes hugs...

My favorite page... Morris in the skunk trap...

And the back cover.  Both dogs watching the wild turkeys at the feeder. If there is a deer or rabbit in the garden the dogs want to rush out and chase it....but not the turkeys..
I took all the pages along to Olympia for Thanksgiving and my 5 year-old granddaughter loved  every page... It was a delight to watch her explore each page...

In a self-destruct mode last week I caused myself serious injury and will go into the hospital Friday morning for eye surgery...  Morris will be called on duty as my caring nurse..AGAIN!!!!!

4 blocks, 1 bag and a sore foot!

In preparation of our road trip over Thanksgiving I'll have all the last 4 four blocks ready for the final fancy stitching..  There'll be plenty of time to stitch in the car and in the hotel...  Lately I have been dreaming of various ways to assemble the book . decisions!!

On this "Morris and Me" page I made tiny prairie points with some 3/8" plaid ribbon to frame the picture... I thought a pattern would emerge from the plaid... it didn't... But I know how to do it now but 3/4" ribbon or larger would work much better..

The image on the back cover (upper left)  is quite large so there's very little left to do on it...I scored when I found that giant yellow button in my stash.. It will have a special center.

 The skunk trap page is ready for fancy seams.  I'm trying to stick to black and white on that page with the exception of the rainbow.

The block bottom forefront is the "pocket" page in progress.  There will be a narrative for each page on a laminated card  and they will be in this pocket page.  I have an image ready to put on it... I'm also starting another fancy ribbon trim from my ribbon book.  There are so many interesting ways to fold ribbon... I want to try them all.  Now that the end is in sight I want to be done, done, done....

This pile of stuff is going to be a tote for my display blocks which I now carry around in a very large beach bag which is about as ugly as you can possibly imagine.... but...the perfect size.. So since I will be toting the blocks out and about more when the classes start (yes, classes are going to start in January...more later)  I would be embarrassed by the beach bag for my beautiful blocks.

This will be just fancied up tapestry because I need it quick...  I can do the hand work while I am soaking my foot.  About 3 weeks ago I dropped a frozen leg of lamb on my foot... big bruise on foot and a black toenail but now the toe has developed an infection and I'm supposed to be soaking it... as good an excuse for extra stitching as I can think of.

Progress on Morris and the Skunk Trap -CQJP

I did the skunks off block and then appliqued them on...stuffing them a bit for a 3D effect (stumpwork).  Obviously Morris in the trap is a re-enactment. I do have a picture of him actually in the trap but the light was poor and I knew it would never transfer well... All I have left on this block is the seam work... Don't miss the key in the skunk's paw...

Several years ago in one of my less lucid moments (and there were many) I made a slipcover for my ratty old desk chair.  I used a white bedspread.  It was absolutely gorgeous at the beginning but easily became soiled with use and every time I washed, it became grungier and grungier... So a new slipcover is on my winter list..  I brought these two pieces of tapestry in from the barn and have taken turns with them draped on the chair to decide which I will use... The one on the right won...

I need a new slipcover on my work stool also so the other piece can work there. Both are good-sized pieces from the thrift store.

The Ends

ROFLOL   When I added extra pages to my Morris CQJP book it turns out that I need  a back cover ... Since I was printing the images for the last two pages I'm working on, I was looking for something appropriate to print  for the back cover.....

This picture of Morris and Molly watching the turkeys seemed perfect.. "The Ends"

BoHo Bag, Great Book and Tool Woman!

Kathy is one of the ladies who's been coming on Wednesdays to stitch with me and she finished the flap on her BoHo bag and it is truly lovely.  She is a very precise stitcher and the work on this is extraordinary for someone new to crazy quilting..  She has chosen  elegant fabric to coordinate with it and I'm anxious for her to assemble it..

 She also brought a book to share with me and I will share with you... For me it is especially timely because I'll soon start stitching on my lace cottage block again and also  in the mood to do a series of cottage buttons.

It's the flower beds that are so interesting.. In this particular one notice how the artist has used red to move your eye through the flowers and keep your eye in the foreground.  The mass  of white flowers actually pulls your eye to the figures..

There is much to learn from this book on how to handle masses of flowers in a stitched composition.
Wouldn't this painting make a precious center for a block?  Notice how the bunch of pink snapdragons (lower left) point to her and she is framed by the door.  These elements do not happen by accident.

The entire book is filled with photos exploring the whole era of cottage garden paintings.

There are many paintings where there are specific color themes to a bed....like this lavender and yellow bed... I especially like the placement of the daisies lower left and all the yellow achillea pointing to the center and the stone wall carrying the eye across and another mass of flowers framing the path.  Makes you want to stroll right in.... needs a bench tho!!!

And speaking of benches, here is my tool shop in the barn where I built all my benches.  I love power tools (well any tools) and can not think of a tool I do not have.  They know me well at Harbor Freight.  But each season it needs a good cleaning and sorting.  Last week my handy helper  came and we started..  This is the before picture... First we have to get the work benches cleaned off and all the spare lumber hauled out.

I think I'm just about done doing all this sort of thing and then I think of the obstacle course for Morris...oh yeah!  And I do want to build my coffin..

Another old RR ready to mount

The only thing I changed on this block was the brown bead trail which I replaced as closely as possible with a pearl bead trail.. Everything else on this block is exquisite and I would not touch a single stitch...

I had trouble this morning with lighting... The block is not so grey. In reality it is very creamy.

Before and after

The above block is from that same RR and was also a resounding success. Of course if it were mine, the lavender beads would be gone... But you must notice the resplendent treatment in the patch lower right..  Aren't those ribbon roses spectacular?  And as usual if there is a bird, I probably stitched it.... upper right with the floral spray.  Some champaign/beige elements had been added by the time it got to me so I added some also.

Even though each RR has the same 5 stitchers and in this case, the same background color,   not every block is always successful.  I always feel that has to do with what is done by the first stitcher..

One RR tune up finished

I am very happy with with this finished block... I was going for a delicate and lacy look..  There was so much  that was lovely on this block that I just couldn't let it languish in the drawer... With one exception I pretty much followed my original plan.

I dyed a lacy butterfly to echo the color of the lace on the seam and also added a light floral background similar to the work on the upper part of the block

Then I added some cream flowers to the upper right patch to add a little light to that corner... In the upper center I beaded two lace dragonflies and because that patch is framed on all sides by elaborate seams, I did little else.

The one change I did that I hadn't planned on was the seam (1.) by the butterfly.. for two reasons.  There was the lovely seam (3.) and I wanted some of that white somewhere else on the block. That seam (1.) had bright yellow and royal blue beads which weren't in harmony with the block as a whole. New seam is 2.

So all in all, just a few minor changes that made me at ease with this block. There was never an issue with the quality of the stitching.  It was more the color choices which has prompted me to write the series on color and RRs on Block Talk with Gerry. I have several pieces to back and bind so will do them all at once.
Here is the before and after..