Season to Season Summer Block

This is a swap that is happening in the CQForNewbies group.

All participants have to embellish one half of the block and then send it to the hostess, and she will send another to you to complete the other half.

This is a fun swap. This is my first time at doing something like this.

This is the top corner of my block. I just embroided the word Summer, then added the pink and purple roses and added the stems.

The seam treatment is a half circles with straight stitches then added the beads.

Embroided tree. Another first time. I got the instructions out of a book called "The Crazy Quilt Handbook" by Judith Baker Montano. Enjoyed doing this technique, the stump is done with chain stitches and the branches are feather stitches. This was quite simple to do.

I am getting to like doing beaded paisleys. The top seam treatment is the feather stitch combined with lazy daisy stitch then added some beads.
The side seam treatment is a lace that I hand sewed on, added the blue beads.
I also used silver matellic thread and added the straight stitches and finally finished off with some beads.

Ocean Blue RR Jocelyn's Block

This is Jocelyn's block completed, ready to be posted.

This is what I did on her block. I did a sequin flower and the vine done with beads and ribbon leaves, and the seam treament is the Up & Down buttonhole feather stitch done in ribbon and I added some nice blue beads.

I'm not quite sure who did this fabulous button work.

A beautiful SRE rose

Lovely work.

I love this beaded creature

OOYCZ - Out-Of-Your-Comfort-Zone Contest

This is a contest that I joined in the group CQForNewbies.
It was a 3 part contest. One for Newbies, one for Experience to master CQers and another for those who don't want to make anything but have fun looking at pictures and guessing who made them.
For the Newbies, those who have never finished a block, our mission was to make a block or a project. All we had to do was to start and finish something.
The Experienced CQers, this is a chance to do something new. Try new techniques, different stitches etc...
I am in the Newbie group.

This is my OOYCZ block completed

This is the first time I ever tried a paisley.

I used sequins and that was hard to do because I didn't even know how to sew them on. I had to look at pics and enlarge them to see how it was done.

I am really happy with it.

The sequin flower was fun to do, something different for me.

Again this is my first time at using ribbon like this.

SRE rose, and the yellow seam treatment is a stitch challenge that we did on the group.

I did an Up and Down Buttonhole feathered stitch combined with the chain stitch.

The stem is the running stitch with the fly stitch fern stitch.

Again, first time at using buttons and motifs.

I really enjoyed doing this contest. It made me do things that I have never done before, it was fun.

CQ stash from Crazy Judyth

I am totally a beginner at Cq quilting and really needed help on fabrics. I had no idea on what fabrics to get, although I was told that you can use absolutely anything, I still didn't have the guts to go out and purchase any.
I am in a group called CQForNewbies and gosh, what a group. I've got more help from this group than I would from books.
Anyhow, when I joined, a member of the group, Crazy Judyth, sent all newbies a baggie full of fabrics. WOW, you should have seen them!
I'm glad cos it gave me an idea on what kind of fabrics to get.
Well, just recently, I purchased a few baggies from Crazy Judyth and I just wanted to show you what I received back. Now I'm too scared to cut into them, they are too gorgeous.
I'm going to make a CQ quilt for myself. I have made quilts for everybody else, and I thought I haven't made myself one. I will be using it on my bed, so I won't be using beads or buttons, but will use lace, ribbons and motifs.
I guess it will take a while to make as I have a king size bed but will enjoy every minute of it.
I will be purchasing more fabrics from Crazy Judyth, the more I have the better.




White/Off White

Blue

Green

Pink

Purple

Pastel

My First CQ Quilt

This is my first CQ quilt. I named this quilt "The Olympian Quilt" as a started this quilt on the 08/08/08, the day the olympics started.
It took me 3 months to complete.
I learnt the stitches by looking at other pics and was really inspired by the beautiful work that other ladies had done - I did have help though as I had the book called "The Embroidery Stitch Bible"by Betty Brarnden.
I've had this book for a few years and alas was able to finally use it.

CQ Portraits of Family

A CQ Portrait of my eldest brother Jackson

This is my eldest son Robert and partner Kiana

My daughter Eliza and her husband Tony

CQ challenge

Lesa, the list owner of CQForNewbies asked the group if we were in a rut with our stitches? She asked if we find ourselves using the same 2 or 3 stitches over and over again? She did say that there are hundreds of different stitches out there.
Lesa said we can combine as few as 2 or 3 stitches and make all different combinations and thought it would be fun to try a new stitch. It may even become our new stitch.
She asked us to go over to Sharon B's blog: http://www.pintangle.com/.
We were to go to the Stitch dictionary. Her challenge was for us to go to the letter of our first name, look at the various stitches listed and then pick one.
So I went to M, the letter of my married name, and I chose the Mirrored buttonhole feathered, which is also known as the Feathered Up and Down Buttonhole.

Here is my attempt, I really liked doing this stitch.

Lesa then put challenge number 2 out, and asked that we combine our favourite stitch with the new stitch we had chosen.
My favourite stitch that I seem to use all the time is the chain stitch. I looked at the new stitch that I had chosen and was trying to figure out how I was going to incorporate the chain stitch with the new stitch.
I just jumped in and kinda weaved the chain stitch in and out of the feathered up and down buttonhole stitch.

Here is what it looks like when I added the chain stitch

I really enjoyed this challenge and would have never thought of doing something like this, it is totally cool, I am going to now pick another stitch and combine it with the chain stitch, who knows what I will come up with.
Thanks Lesa for letting me expand my imagination.

Ocean Blue RR Linda's Block

This is what Linda's block looks like when I finished.

This is Linda's block after Marcia finished.

Marcia did a beautiful job on the beaded paisley.

Marcia did a gorgeous beaded lace around the fan.

This what I did on Linda's block.

Blue RR, Ocean Blue Marcia's Block

This is Marcia's block that I worked on, this is what it looks like when I finished.

Here I did a spider web, the spokes were done with a running stitch, and the long web was done by couching the long straight stitches. The spider I used 3 beads and the legs I used smaller beads.

I then did the fly stitch for the flower stems and added flower buttons and lastly the seam treatment I did the feather stitch, then added some beads.

Blue Colour RR, Ocean Blue

Here is my block before I sent it off.

In the group that I am in, CQForNewbies, a colour RR swap has started, and the colour is Blue.

The group that I am in is Ocean Blue.

If I remember correctly, there is about 36 ladies that joined in the swap. We have been broken up into 6 groups, and the hostess running this swap was saying that this is the largest group ever she had done.

This is my first RR swap, and I am kinda nervous. Especially knowing that I am going to be working on other blocks, wondering if my stitches maybe ugly, crooked, not enough or maybe to much ... geez the list goes on.

I received my first block and all I did at first was look at it, trying to figure out what the heck I am going to do.

Grand Motif Swap

My Crochet Motifs

I am in a group called CQFor Newbies, and there was a swap happening where the ladies could either crochet, tatting or any hand made motif no bigger than 4". We all had to make 20 motifs, example 5 flowers, 5 baskets, 5 of anything making a total of 20. It was run by our Crazy Judyth. It was a joy to do.

2008 was a hard year for me, after loosing my mother, 29th Dec 2007.
I don't know what to say, but I had not been myself, and had let myself go. I just wasn't caring for myself, which I could see the results, I have put on so much weight.
The reason for me being sooooo depressed, is that my Dad past away suddenly, Sept 2006.
I cared for my mother through her illness, she had cancer in the lungs.
We all knew what was going to happen, and when it did, it hit me like a ton of bricks (not that I have been hit by a ton of bricks.)
I hadn't even got over loosing my Dad, still grieving for him, then my mother leaves us.
It has been very very hard. I think my mother died due to a broken heart, mum and dad were so close, real soul partners.
We buried her on new years 2007. I was happy for her, because she wanted to lay side by side next to my father... and we honoured her wish.
OK ... After writing this, I do feel much better. "
What I do know is that since writing all this down, I do feel so much better.

My dear Mum and Dad.

These 2 CQ portraits I made for 2008 chrissy prezzies for my inlaws.
When my sister inlaw in the blue opened her prezzie, I thought she was going to cry.
She was overjoyed and said this was the best present that anyone could have given her.
My sister inlaw in the yellow just loved it. The look on her face is a look I will never forget, it was just magic.
I am at the moment doing one for my eldest son and his partner, and one for my daughter and her husband, and one for my 3 brothers.