Pretty In Pink Mixed Media Art Quilt

I have a few finishes to share today.  I spent most of the day on Sunday running my sewing and doing the hand finishing on these projects.

First, my Pretty In Pink Mixed Media Art Quilt:



I love this!!!  I used one of my great-aunt's knitting needles as a hanger.  The tassel was given to me by my friend Cherry Petersen and it just so happened that I had some of that yarn in my own stash so I zig-zagged it around the outside edge of the quilt.  A nice finishing touch!  I signed and dated the back of the quilt as well.

I really love mixing fabric and paper and glitter and embroidery and just about anything I have laying around in my stash.  I'm certainly planning on doing a number of these and I have started on my Spring Song quilt but I'll save that photo for tomorrow.

The next time I put a couple of art quilts together, I'll write up a tutorial on how I do them.  Stay tuned for that.

Next, I finished up on my 2 newest Crazy Quilt Hanging Pillows:



Although I love both of these, the green and pink one is my favorite!  Ya'll know I just love pink!

Last but not least are my Sweet Dreams Lavender Sachet Hearts:



Cottage Style Crazy Quilting!!!  If anyone has trouble sleeping like I do, a lavender sachet hanging on the bedpost does help to quiet the mind.  Trust me, I know!  Anyways, I made several of these and had a good time filling them with lavender.  The scent is just so soothing!

So those are my finishes for today as far as needlework goes.  I have some pretty Trash To Treasure finishes to share tomorrow.  And we have a big flea market on Sunday in Grayslake, Il. so there should be some great flea market finds next week.

As for my next projects, definitely more art quilts.  It's my latest thing!  I'm also working on a few little Marie Antoinette brooches and in the craft department, Mom and I have both started on a few July 4th do-dads!  FUN!!!

If you'd like to see more photos of my finishes or larger images, please click here.

So that's my post for today.  I have some laundry to fold (what else is new?) and then I think I'll switch to my laptop in the Living Room and see what everyone else is blogging about!

Have a great evening everyone!

Sneak Peeks!

I've been doing quite a bit of stitching lately!  In fact, I need to take some time to sew up a few things.  I may do that on Sunday but I also want to get some things planted.  I bought some Hollyhock bulbs and some seeds at WalMart today.  I don't have the energy yet to work too much in my yard but I've been wanting Hollyhocks for years!  They're so old-fashioned!  Anyway, I may do my planting on Sunday morning and then run my sewing machine Sunday afternoon.

Here are the couple of things I want to finish up.  First, I have 2 crazy quilt hanging pillows that I stitched:



I don't know which one I love more but I am leaning towards the green and pink one!

Next, I stitched up several crazy quilt cottage style hearts.  These will be Sweet Dreams Lavender Sachets:



It's kind of hard to tell from the photo what they'll look like when they're done!  Stay tuned for that!

Ok, so it's not a ton of stuff that needs to be sewn up but it will take me a bit of time.

My next project that I'll be starting on is this Pretty In Pink Mixed Media Art Quilt:



I'll be starting on this shortly and believe me, I plan to embellish it!

I have a couple of other finishes to share with you today.  First is my mom's Pink Heart Cottage Pillow:



I think I've turned mom into a monster! She's really liking pink these days and never cared for it too much in the past!

And then there's my Strawberry Fields Birdbath:



I can't help myself!  I just love doing these birdbath's with vintage glassware.  I'm already planning on some Autumn and Christmas birdbaths but I have to find some more old glassware.  Since Garage Sale season and Flea Market season are getting underway, that shouldn't be a problem.

And speaking of strawberries, here's my little Strawberry Basket:



Don't you just love strawberries?  I love the way they look and the way they taste!  Strawberries are my favorite fruit!  Have you ever tried slicing some up into some some sugar free vanilla pudding?  YUM!

MOTHER'S DAY SPECIAL!!!

In other news, I'm offering FREE SHIPPING on MULTIPLE ITEM orders in my shop.  PayPal & USA orders only please.  The offer runs from now through Sunday May 2nd.

We offer so many lovely things that would be appropriate for Mother's Day gifts.  Please take advantage of this offer.

Well, I'm off to stitch.  Wait, must fold laundry first.  Argggg......

Happy Wednesday Everyone!!!!

Button Block #36 Completed!

Just a quick update for today. I've finished up on Button Block #36:



Next, I think I'll make a couple for Mother's Day.

Button Block #36 Continued....

Some more progress on my current Button Block:



Not sure if I'll get this finished up today or not. I want to go outside and work on cleaning up the yard some more. I'm still cleaning up sawdust from having that tree taken down and I need to get that done before it starts to rot my perennials. If I work on this more today, I'll post an update photo over the weekend.

Button Block #36

I've started on another Button Block:



This one will be made into a door-hanger as a gift for a friend.

In other news, I've released the 4th and final part of the Garden Fantasy Mystery Project. Stop by here in another day or so to see the complete design!

Crazy Quilt Spider Webs

I completed Button Block #34 yesterday:



When I do my spider webs, I do what I call "mock couching". My spider webs are all free-hand. I work the long spokes of the web first, starting in the center. Then, when doing the short spokes of the web, I come up on one side of a long spoke and down with my needle on the opposite side of the next long spoke. This will hold the long spokes in place without couching them all down individually. Saves a lot of time! Click on the image to go to my Flickr site where you can see the large version. You should be able to see the stitches.

Remember, that most spider webs are not perfect! The more imperfect they are, the more realistic they look!

For the spider, I sew down a big bead, running my thread through the bead twice. I then do the same with the small bead. Then, I run the thread through both beads which again, holds them in place and keeps them in alignment with each other. Finally, I do the legs last.

For the buttons on this block, I used a mixture of new and vintage glass buttons, antique metal buttons and a few modern plastic buttons. Mixing them up adds visual interest so don't be afraid to play! Again, clustered buttons are more interesting to look than just one here or there. You can also layer buttons. Look for the square button and notice that I sewed an antique metal button on top of it. That gives the cluster some dimension. And for buttons with holes in them, I always fill those holes with seed beads. That adds a bit more sparkle as well as giving them a nice finished look.

Finally for today, here are pages #6 & 7 of my Needlecrafts Embroidery & Fancywork Catalog from the 1930's:





Enjoy!

More On Beading Crazy Quilt Seam Treatments

Yesterday, I painted the lace and did some more beading on this:



The cream lace was way too bright for this block. Generally, I paint my lace as I need it. I don't usually do a bunch of it at one time.

Another way to decide on where to put beads is to look for gaps. Empty spaces just scream for beads! Notice the bottom right-hand border. I added a few large beads in between the round beads.

When using sequins on lace or appliques, overlap your sequins a bit like I did on the leaves. It looks nicer than having gaps between the sequins and adds more sparkle.

Here are pages 4 & 5 of my Needlecrafts Embroidery & Fancywork Catalog:





Be sure to click on the images to go to my Flickr site where you can see the large versions. The cutwork designs are gorgeous!

Button Block #33 Completed

I finished up on Button Block #33 this morning:



So I'll be starting on Button Block #34 next:



If you would like to see all of the Button Blocks that I've done so far, click here.

I have a ton of finishing that needs to be done and I'm hoping/planning on doing some of it over the weekend. I have Comfort Dolls to finish, my 2009 Just Cross Stitch Ornament (thank you Kim!), a doorhanger and 5 purses! Stay tuned!