"Pretty Crazy Green 9 Patch"...Top Finished

I wanted to get this little project done in time for the class I am teaching at the Northwest Quilters Expo on this coming Thursday, based on my Pretty Crazy pattern.  My goal is to show what versatile results the pattern can give, from basic cotton quiltwork to elaborate looking crazy quilting....and almost all of it by machine.

I've just added a bit of beadwork, some three dimensional embellishment to the center block, and what I call a "faux binding" around the perimeter of the top.

As you can see, it is just a hint of beadwork, in the center of the ombre ribbon flowers, along the black velvet ribbon, and that little bugle beaded flower in the upper right.  It is just enough to add to the visual complexity of the piece, without taking very long at all.

I painted some pre-made ribbon flowers and tacked them on with a bead in the center of each one, couched down the stems of the readymade craft leaves, and stem and buttonhole stitched around the green velvet butterfly (from M & S Schmalberg, shown on the bottom row, second from right if you click on the link.)  The butterfly needed some extra definition after everything was on the block, so I went over it with some Neocolor Watersoluble Wax Pastels and then painted it wet with water to blend the colors.

The flower stems are large fibers that have been simply couched down.  That little cloisonne frog was the final touch for my central embellishment "tableau".

I've been using trim a lot lately to function as a visual binding, or narrow outer border.  It is so easy to apply--I just attached it with a clear thread in a zig zag stitch, folding and mitering the corners as I got to them.

This picture actually shows the place where the trim starts and stops, in the corner.
Here is that corner from the back:

No big deal!
I am leaving the backing off this sample so I can prove to students how little handwork was involved overall.  I am really trying to demonstrate how much interest you can get with quick machine work.
When it IS time to finish this, I will just take backing fabric, iron the edges under to exactly fit the size of the top, and zigzag stitch it to the outer edge of the trim, around the perimeter.

Of course, a lot more handstitching and beading could be added, and it would be fun...but this is an exercise in getting the maximum visual impact for the least amount of handwork.  I want sane quilters to see that crazy quilting is actually quite doable....!

"Rainy Spring"...Raindrops and Some Sun...

Two trips to the bead store later.....

I've been making it rain and then this morning the sun came out!

The first gust of rain has blown over the quilt...  ;-)  I think some misty secondary lines will have to be beaded on next.  But before I add that, I just had to see some sunshine peeking through.

Mmmmm....sunshine....

I used the teeny picot edge around the outside of the center circle to space my stitching with this nifty Kreinik holographic 1/16th" ribbon. The color I used is called "Solar Flair"!

This is much, much easier than marking, which I would have had to do because these stitches can't be uneven.

Some pearly gold crystals went inbetween the stitches.  When the quilt is lit properly, they really glow.

Here we are overall as of today....do click on the picture!

After the sections have been assembled and the rain is all done, the next "layer" to add will be the golden green growing things along the outer edge.  That will be fun too, lots of leaves...

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In my last post, Arlene left a comment asking about the subject of crazy quilts in competition.  Judging is a touchy subject and it's important, I think, to have the right attitude towards it.  I plan on writing about that soon...I've had lots of experience not getting into shows, getting into some, and even snagging a few ribbons, so I have thought about all this quite a bit.  More soon.

Spring CQ...Blue Butterfly

I'm enjoying beading these butterflies!
The top of the quilt needed some attention and final balancing, so one more butterfly flew in to help out.

This design was inspired by a little graphic on a food wrapper...truly!
I had thought the warm red and magenta beads would go in the center of the wings, but that didn't happen.

I'm glad I used the pink fabric for my base, however. It gives a warm undertone to the cool of the blue and silver beads.

All of the butterflies are appliqued on with a simple whip stitch.
It was fun bringing him in for a landing on these African daisies!

Just one more element to go and the embellishment on this quilt is really and truly done...I'll add some Sweet Woodruff "ground cover" along the bottom....

Spring CQ...Gold Butterfly

I've enjoyed beading these butterflies so much that I added one more to my Spring CQ.
As with the other two, this design is adapted from Sande Abel.

This one was beaded as I sat at a card table outside under the dogwood tree....in our positively glorious May weather.

As soon as it was finished, it couldn't wait to fly into the garden with its friends!

A Butterfly for Uncle Bill

Spending some quiet time in the sewing room has been a great way to let my trip to Baltimore and NYC "soak in", as I've been beading away.
It's also given me time to reflect on the abrupt passing of my Uncle Bill, who died "with his boots on" yesterday at 88. Only last Friday he had an opinion piece published in the Wall Street Journal!

He was a dedicated public servant who always looked out for the taxpayer, was a true lover of his country, and a brilliant economist as well. His work in education was all important to him too.
This is a nice obituary of him...
I was very, very proud to be his niece.

Again, I used a pattern from Sande Abel.

It is just a small thing...but every time I work on or look at this quilt, this butterfly will remind me of Uncle Bill....
...I hope heaven is ready for his prodigious energy, too!

Butterfly Motifs

One of my friends wrote this morning and asked me if, now that I've experienced teaching, I would like to do more of it.
The answer is yes! So if any of you out there are interested, drop me a private email and we'll talk....and thanks.

I really haven't been doing much stitching over the last month so it felt good to have a little fun over the last 2 days creating some butterfly motifs. I used two different techniques.

The first one used waste canvas, with a design by Pamela Kellogg.

The second one was beaded onto cotton fabric, with an archival interleave paper basted to the back to act as a stabilizer. Robin Atkins teaches this method, and you can find the paper on her website here.

The design is by Sande Abel. I just eyeballed my butterfly according to the photo, which was torn from an old beading magazine and sent to me by my cousin Tracy. If you might (understandably) want to work more accurately, you can download a real pattern for a small fee here.

Once I had all my beads on, I prepared it for applique...

...cutting off the excess fabric....

...carefully trimming the paper on the back without inadvertently snipping any threads...

...stitching the excess fabric to the back.....

...and appliqueing it in place.
Look where it landed!

The waste canvas butterfly landed on the Spring CQ too.

This quilt has been resting over the winter. All along I've planned on adding a little more detail and complexity to it. Now seems to be just the right time.

Especially as there is so much inspiration right outside my front door!

Rose Block...Finished!

Ah, what fun to just encrust a block with the simple idea of "More is more!"

After I finished beading the rose motif with my new Two Needle Applique skills, the rest of the block came together pretty quickly.

But first, to that rose....

Once it was done, I realized I just couldn't stand the clunky "shading". The contrast in values between the outline beads and the inner ones was too great. I could not use it as it was, so I had nothing to lose...
...and got out my acrylic paints, a little paintbrush, and just went for it.
I figured that Japanese seed beads are dyed...so why couldn't these be painted?
I like this better.

I cut it out and then used my fabric markers to color the edges of the foundation around the beads.

Then I trimmed it a little more closely, being careful not to snip any of my beading threads by accident.

I filled in the rest of my block with lots of fun stuff...

The yellow roses are from Susan; the fancy flower trim a gift from Betty; the waste canvas seam treatment in variegated pink/mauve was a design shared with me by Pam.
I love having my friends close when I stitch!

This will go off to join its sister blocks for this year's hospital quilt.

And now, to finish that Cottage CQ.....