Avon Owl

This my latest stitched piece:

 

It's more orange than pink.  The photo looks a little washed out.  The owl is a necklace that came from Avon back in the 70's.  My mom was an Avon Lady for over 30 years.  I actually have 2 of these.  This one is mine and I have my grandmother's as well.  I'm thinking of using Grandma's on a Winter themed block.

The gold trim at the bottom is vintage, probably from the 30's or 40's.  I picked it up at a flea market years ago.  I still have quite a bit left so I'll be using more on future blocks.

I've been quite taken with the beautiful floral vines that Jennifer Clouston does.  I'm going to order a couple of her books .  You can see her inspiration in the vine on the top starting in the middle of the block.

In other news, I worked on updating my blog some more last week.  It needed some de-cluttering.  I still have a few more things to do which I'll get to later this week.  I also changed the banner in my Etsy shop to the plain black/white Kitty & Me Logo.  I'll change the banners on my future publications too.

I'll need to sew up some more blocks soon.  This was my last pre-sewn piece.   

1920's Buttons

 I completed another block with a few special items.

The blue butterfly was from Mom.  She never went anywhere without buying me something.  I'm sure this came from Hobby Lobby or Michaels.  It was probably in the bead section for jewelry making.  The only hole in it is where the gold bead is on the wing.  I had to glue two small pre-threaded buttons to the back to anchor it to the block.  I used E-6000 jewelry glue.

The 3 dark blue buttons are from the 1920's.  After mom passed away, Dad gave me his grandmother's button collection so that's where they came from.  They are glass and the silver at the top of each is slightly worn so I'm assuming they were on a dress or something that my great grandmother wore.

Her button collection is really cool with lots of metal picture buttons so you'll see some of those on upcoming blocks.

This spider is done with crystal beads so it's very sparkly.

I'm almost done with another block and will share when it's complete.  I also pulled out a cross stitch project that I started last Summer and have been working on that as well.  I was making counting errors so I had to put it down but so far so good.  I'll need to sew up some more CQ blocks soon.  Until I can get those done, I'll work on my cross stitch project. 

Crazy Quilt Birds

Things here are finally winding down.  I still have some loose ends to tie up but I've had a little more stitching time.  I've been stitching on 6 inch crazy quilt blocks and I'm probably up to around 70 by now.  There's no set number of blocks.  When I get tired of doing them, I'll sew it into a quilt.

For now, I've done one of my favorite themes, a peacock:

The peacock is embroidered with 3 strands of DMC rayon thread.  The tail is fancy fuzzy yarn.  The do-dad at the top of the tail is an earring from the 40's or 50's.  I bought a pair of them at flea market that my husband and I went to years ago.  It was probably a dollar for both of them.

Click here for the Embroidered Peacock Tutorial. 

This block features a lace applique hummingbird that my friend Lula sent me years ago.  She's since passed away and I've been thinking it's time to use some of the nice things that she sent me.

I hand painted it and then added the sequins.  I love anything sparkly!  I did some silk ribbon work on this block and you can see some of my vintage tatting behind the bird.

Speaking of hummingbirds, I can barely keep my feeder full now!  I seem to have a lot more this Summer than past years!  It's okay with me.  I love them! 

Pink Block Completed

 Just a quick update.  The pink block is done:

 

I work my little spider webs with Kreinik Blending Filament.  Just one strand.  I like the sparkle.  It can be a challenge to work with but like with anything, patience pays off.

I haven't started another block yet even though I have a few sewn up.  I might pull out my cross stitch project that I started last year and see if I can put a few stitches in without miscounting!

I will get back to some cross stitch designing but I'm taking a break for now.

Have a great weekend!

 

Working On Heart Block

I've been stitching on this little crazy quilt heart block:

 

I have a few more do-dads to add.  It'll get a little spider and web as well as a little bird and a few more beads.

I hand painted that little piece of vintage lace at the bottom along with a few other pieces for upcoming blocks.  I had wanted to do some silk ribbon embroidery on this one but I'm running really low on most colors.  I'm going to have to order some soon.

It's been so long since I really was able to focus on any stitching.  Yes, I've done some but it was more robotic than actually thinking about what I wanted to use so I've forgotten some of what I have.

Now, I have my craft supplies as well as mom's and I really could use a larger closet!  Mom was the queen of craft supplies!  I have her fabrics, lace and trim, yarn, beads, sequins and other do-dads.  And I have her beloved sewing machine along with my grandma's machine which is the one I use all the time and my antique treadle machine that I want to get back to using. 

My cousin Kim has her mother's machine, a treadle machine like mine and my mom's back up machine. 

Mom's prize possessions were her sewing machines.

When I get to finishing my McHenry Landmark Quilt, I will probably use mom's machine for that since that one is mobile and I can put it on the dining room table so I have more room to work.  The McHenry quilt is quilt large and very heavy! 

As you can see, the blocks are sewn together and I've hand-sewed trim between the blocks.  Next, I need to go to Hobby Lobby and get some border fabric for it.  Once I do the borders, more of that trim will get added.  For now, I'll just work on the little 6 inch blocks.