Blocks revisited - Encrusted RR - Cobi's

Only the truly committed encrusters signed up for this RR. This was no "do a motif and two seams" and quit deal. This was Cobi's block and I was the very first person to work on it. You can see that I tried to do 1/4 of the block....which I always try to do anyway. From me it went on to Leslie who did the upper right..

Everyone worked as a team and this ended up being an outstanding block... I love it every time I look at it... I know Maire was in this RR also and Ati who I have been in many RRs with and always admire her work.. All people who put their very best into every block they work on...

It's pretty pathetic....

I have a list of service people that I have a close personal relationship with.. My favorite is my plumber Bill. It tooks years and years to find a competent plumber and if I send for him I immediately start baking him something to take home along with salmon from the freezer. When you live in a 104 year old house a good plumber is a godsend...
Next on my list is AAA. I've been a member since I started driving and they've come to my aid sooooo many times... It's pretty pathetic when you shut the motor off but leave the ignition on ALL NIGHT! It's even more pathetic when you live way out in the country and the AAA man can find it because he's been there before for the same thing....

It's always when I'm loading or unloading my car that I do either this or else lock my keys in the car... I started carrying an extra key in my purse and then started to lock both my keys and my purse in the car...I even locked them both in the truck one time. I did try the magnetic key thingy but it keeps disappearing...


Anyway my AAA man (Tows to Go) went home yesterday chuckling and with a loaf of pumpkin bread with cream cheese filling...

Lace and Progress

I did lace in potassium permanganate yesterday. It's hanging all over the kitchen, bathroom and laundry room to dry. Sometime odd-colored lace such as neon pink are transformed from something I would NEVER use to something I just love...

Sorry this photo is a bit out of focus but at this stage it matters not. The first fun part is gathering all the possible things you might use to embellish.. The second fun part is when you start narrowing that down. I'm at the second part now. I stitch a little, lay out pieces of trim, stitch a little more and lay out more trim and so on. I don't want to secure the laces until the fan sections are embellished.

The large prints continue to be challenging but that is why I tried them so no whinging allowed.... I do admit that they do add something tho. I have some old facets jet beads and old pearls to embellish the laces... I get so focused at this point I want to do it all at once.

HCWH* was supposed to play out of town in a bridge tournament and I was going to have the entire day and evening to make a huge mess making new blocks for winter projects. Unfortunately his partner has the flu so not only is husband home he has invited neighbors for dinner which, of course, means the only table in the house must be cleared of stash.. Both Saturday afternoon and Sunday we are both playing together in the tournament so will take some stitching along... and won't be posting.

* handsome, charming , witty husband

Snow!!! Fan Stitching

I've kept track of the first real snowfall since 1986 and this is the earliest by about a week and the wind is blowing and howling. Lots of the trees have not even lost their leaves yet. I've decided to PP a bunch of lace and start on the end pieces of my featherweight cover.

A day or so ago I was checking my favorite blogs and even going to favorites of the other blogs. Somewhere I saw a neat treatment of a fan shape. Actually it was a fin on a fish but I started thinking about it during the night and thought it might work on my fans...but they are too narrow.. I still went looking for the blog and can't find it and am kicking myself for not bookmarking it... So I've tried to duplicate it on paper because I want to use it... As I said it was on a fin of a fish... If this rings a bell let me know as I'd like to give them credit and share the idea...

This poor little bird has it's head buried under it's wing and all it's feathers fluffed to keep warm.... I'm off to fluff my feathers and do some stitching...

p.s. when my pc was in the shop they disabled my internet history and I really miss it... will have to enable it again...

Moulin Rouge Block

I know I've posted this block on the blog a couple times before but now it's mounted. I haven't attached tassels to this block yet because it really needs something a little more spectacular than just regular tassels and buttons ...definitely something beaded and opulent... I might even double mount this and bead all the way around it..... something to think about anyway.. BUT in the meantime I can use it "as is" if necessary... Hooray!

Robin Atkins asked me to bring something CQ for "show & tell" to Bellevue next month.. Now I can bring a few of these blocks.. one other nice thing about this mounting method is that they will be easy to pack to travel.....