New RR and more critters....

This was the year not to start something new but finish things... Well the jacket and hanky project blew that resolve... I could justify joining the fan RR because I'm using them to finish my peacock block...  I'm using the same rational as I just joined the  Crazy Quilt Divas new RR.  I mentioned recently my bonanza of silk ties and they are going to be used for this.  I pulled all the ones with maroon and blue which didn't excite me so I separated them... But I'm not a blue person but maybe later the blues would make great winter blocks..

But the maroons are rich and yummy and will be perfect for finishing off the lace cottage which has been patiently sitting for a couple years.  I can go to the barn and get a couple more maroon ties to fill this out.  I can see this finished with lace, velvet ribbons and beaded trim... I have some great maroon upholstery fabric for a border...

I've a few more motifs for the left side of my "critter coat" and most of the seams are done on it also... The color is wonky in this photo.   I'm ready for a break from it though.

 I've been watching Allie finish  up things right and left and I'm thinking it is a good time to finish up the CQJP cottage blocks. For months I have been collecting rose fabrics plus ginghams and pin stripes to do just that.  So not having fabric isn't an excuse... Spokane stays in the mid 90s all of July and August so that would be a great project when I'm hiding from the heat during the day.



Wool DYB RR done!

Definitely a hoot....  I used everything from wool yarn to #3 cottons...definitely mix and match.... I wanted a LOT of texture.

Have motifs----will travel!

Have a lot of motifs sketched on 6" muslin backed with tricot fusible interfacing. What a treat to always have something ready to pop into my bag and go.... Mostly birds but does include a chicken, lamb, another bunny and  a chipmunk....

Seam Building tools...one old and one new!

 

This template is something left from my years in graphic design and I only recently started using it for seam building and now it is my favorite tool .  I just love the flexibility it gives me... Now these templates are not cheap and this one is available for $29 at Amazon but I see them on Ebay for as cheap as $7...  This particular one is R-77 Berol eljpse master and is about 6x9"

  

  I love using loopy curves and so love having a guide that fits my seam ideas.  It's also great for adding fancy little finials to curves.

My most recent discovery was quite by accident.  I was going through a bag of craft stuff from the thrift store...and notice "plastic canvas" sheets in several sizes.... One of them had a grid exactly the same as the grid of the graph paper in my seam book... So I cut off a narrow strip and now I whatever I plot out in my seam book I can reproduce exactly.

The rabbit has landed and the roses are breathtaking

The first of about 40+ motifs are on  the jacket...Of course this is going to take a while...












My son (6'2") by one of the old -fashioned alba roses.  If you look closely you can see that it's growing right up into the tree.  And yes we are zone 4, dry climate and DO HAVE DEER!!!

 

 

The abandoned sections of the garden are just a forest of roses..  The smell is incredible. There is a collapsing arbor under the this one.

There was a path at one time through here but has long since been consumed by overgrowing roses. Lavender and culinary sage are what I planted around new roses....both great  deer deterrents ...old patch of culinary sage outside the gate.

This jacket will not get lost in a crowd!!!!

I finally started the seams on the back of the jacket... I was quite overwhelmed by the size and the number of patches.  It is large not only because I am large but the pattern has a flared back... Now that I've actually got two seams on there I can get one or two done each day now... I guarantee I will not go unnoticed in this!!!!!

The bunny will be the first motif vignette to go on the front and it is ready to cut out to lower   left front.  I add the nose and additional fur as I applique it on.   At this point you can still see the chain stitch outline... I can cut right up to the chain.  It is that chain that is crucial in applying it.   It anchors it and disappears as it is attached.   I am anxious to actually see the first one go on.... Maybe tonite.

Fan finished, favorite stitch and a bird or two.....

We were able to get away for a couple days and the stitching time in the car allowed me to finish Connie's pink fan... now it is back on schedule.  It was a fun little piece.  She wanted the velvet at the top left unadorned.

 

   

I like a little action in my seams...some diagonal direction etc.  This is one of my favorite beginnings for vertical seams... and so much can be done with it...

Also I have been working away at my motifs for the jacket every chance I get..

Wool Round Robin Blocks

I mentioned in the previous post that I always look at all the RR blocks as they leave their homes unadorned....  Here are the 5 sets which will be passed along over the next 5 months.  I do believe my first one is center left.  I'm still waiting for it to arrive.  I think it's amazing that they are all so diverse... a tribute to the creativity of these women.

 

I have no "visions" as I look at them all and looking forward to actually getting my hands on each one...  I haven't done anything whimsical since I did the Morris book so maybe I will get to do something "sheepish" on one of them since it is wool..  The attending booklets will be my guide.

In the pink!

At the beginning of a RR I always watch the sets of blocks as they go out in the mail... Occasionally I see one that I just love for some reason and I immediately look to see where I am in the rotation.... I loved this pink fan of Connie's but I was next to last in the rotation so most likely it would be picked by someone else.... BUT it arrived unadorned and  it's mine, mine, mine.

It is running behind so I'm dropping everything to try to catch it up...  I want the palest of colors on this fan.... It's amazing I can have so many threads and not the right shades but I finally found the perfect combo and I dyed some silk ribbon this morning...  I have not even looked at the other blocks because I knew the minute I saw it what I wanted to do with it....  along with a big, big hug for Connie.

Hit by lightening but still stitching!!!

I hope you missed me as I've been gone since Monday when our house was hit by lightening... It destroyed the microwave, phones, internet router, light bulbs, plugins,  and a couple circuit breakers.  Luckily the computers, furnace and heat pump were spared and there was no fire...  It happened during the night and I thought a tree had fallen on the house because it shook so violently... We were running around the house and yard with flashlights (in the rain in our nightclothes)  checking everything.  It was truly scary and I slept little that night worrying that there still could be fire if something were smoldering. It took me all this time to get settled and I'm still waiting on the electricians.

 

 I But I'm still stitching and finished the first of about 20 little birds for my jacket.  It is my rather drab little wren but since I love him so he gets a prime spot when I start appliqueing them on.  I add the legs and beak after they're on.

 

I'm currently working on a hummingbird and a bunny.  I loved pulling out the ring of my browns to select the perfect colors for my "bunny ring."

 

And have to share my "Austrian Copper" rose which is completely engulfed by junipers and other shrubs....but rises above it all in a blaze of glory....  Glad to be back.