Never Ending Sampler Panel 3 Band 15

We're nearing the end of Panel 3 of the Never Ending Sampler.  I think we've been working on this for 2 years now, right?  Lot's more to go!  But for now, I have Band #15.

First, the entire Panel 3 sampler so far:

I'm sure you can see the Four Seasons "theme" that I worked in to this panel!!!

Here is Band 15 by itself:

Simple cross stitches and straight stitches create the snowflakes!

Here is Band 15 with the band 14 overlap for placement purposes:

There will be 1 more band on this Panel and then we'll talk about Panel 4 and when that will start.

Happy Stitching!

Never Ending Sampler Stitch Along Panel 3 Band 10

I apologize for my delay in adding new bands for everyone to enjoy.  I've mentioned before that my life has been rather challenging for quite some time now. 

I'm caught up on things for the time being so here is the next installment of The Never Ending Sampler.  First, the entire sampler so far:

Here is Band #10:

And here it is with the Band 9 overlap for placement purposes:

This band is nothing more than straight stitches.  Feel free to add beads if you would like.

Don't forget, crazy quilters can use these borders as seam treatments!!!!

Never Ending Sampler Panel 3 Band 9

Before I talk about the next band, I want to make an announcement.  Due to lack of interest, I will be discontinuing the Never Ending Sampler project.  I will finish up Panel 3 so the handful of stitchers who are still working on this project can have a nice sampler.

Many of the stitchers who were working on this project have dropped out, maybe due to the fact that there are quite a few gorgeous stitch alongs available now.

I will keep the patterns available in case anyone wants to use them and on occasion, I will work up some more charted borders for anyone who likes to use them for their crazy quilting or on their own cross stitch projects.

I'm sorry if anyone is disappointed but please look around online for free stitch alongs because there are a ton of them out there.

Okay, so on to Panel 3 Band 9:

This band is worked entirely in cross stitch.  Try working the pansy in one color and the leaves and vines in another.

Here it is with the overlap for placement purposes:

And here is the entire sampler so far:

Happy Stitching!

Never Ending Sampler Stitch-Along Panel 2 Band 4

For your weekend enjoyment, here is Panel 2 Band #4 of the Never Ending Sampler Stitch-Along:

Here's the band by itself:

Use cross stitches and straight stitches.  The leaves should look like they're satin stitched.  Here's a closeup of the leaves:

Have a great weekend everyone!  Happy Stitching!

Never Ending Sampler Stitch-Along Panel 2 Band 2

Today, I have Band 2 of Panel 2 for the Never Ending Sampler Stitch-Along.  If you're new to this sampler, please click the link above to learn more about it. 

Here is the Panel 2 so far:

And here is Band 2:

This band consists of multiple stitches including the Feather Stitch, Cross Stitches, Straight Stitches and French Knots.

If you need help with the Feather stitch, please visit Sharon B's Stitch Dictionary.

When working the Feather Stitch on this band, you will want to start from the outside and work your way towards the center of the design.  You'll have to do this on both sides of the band.

If you've never worked the the Feather stitch, it may look intimidating but it really is an easy stitch once you get the idea of it.  It's one of those stitches where you have to "catch" your thread as you go along.

Feel free to add your own special touch to this border.  Use beads instead of french knots if you want to.  Use multiple colors or work in just one color.  This is YOUR sampler so give it a try and enjoy!!!

Never Ending Sampler Panel 1 Band 20

Panel 1 of the Never Ending Sampler Stitch Along is complete with this, Band #20.  Here is the complete sampler:

And here is the final Band, #20:

This border is to be worked with Cross Stitches, Backstitches and the Blanket Stitch.  If you're not familiar with the Blanket Stitch, please visit Sharon B's Stitch Dictionary for instructions.

Here is the overlap with Band #19 for placement purposes:

I'll give ya'll a little time to get caught up before we start on Panel 2 which will begin sometime next week.  Have a good weekend everyone!

McHenry Crazy Quilt Block 7 - The Mill Pond

With my husband's cancer treatment going on, I haven't been able to focus on stitching too much lately.  I've been very tired but I did finish up on Block #7 of my McHenry Crazy Quilt.

If you're new to my blog, this quilt is a traditional style crazy quilt featuring old photos of special sites in my little town of McHenry Illinois.  When I complete this quilt, I will be donating it to the McHenry Public Library.

Block #7 is devoted to the Mill Pond:

And here is the photo that I used:

The building in the background is Landmark School which will be my next block.  The school is still there and still used as a grade school today.

This is a screenshot from Google Earth of the same spot today.  Actually, it's as close as I can get to the same area where the old photo was taken:

Since you can't see the school in the above photo, here is a screenshot that's slightly to the east:

And here's a photo of Boone Creek:

Again, this is slightly east of the top photo.

The above photo is a map of McHenry from 1872 showing the mill pond and the Owen Bros. Mill:
Okay, so unless you live in McHenry, you might not be interested in the visual information.  For me it's fun to know where things were back in the day!

If you live near a mill pond, they're not a body of water created by God.  They're man made for the purpose of running a grist mill with water power.  They're usually created by causing a creek to dam which floods the area causing water pressure to run the big wheel on the mill.

In the case of McHenry, the Boone Creek was dammed to create the mill pond.  Boone Creek was named after the Boone brothers, a couple of McHenry's early settlers.  Boone Creek runs off the Fox River and is pretty much all over McHenry!  We really can't go anywhere around here without crossing over it. 

In the winter months, the mill ponds would freez and ice houses on the pond would cut ice from them for refrigeration.

Once electricity took over, water power was no longer relied on for power.  In some cases, the old mill ponds were drained and that was the case here in McHenry.  Our mill pond was created in 1851 and was drained in 1929.

Okay, I hope I didn't bore you with all this.  I just love the history of McHenry!

I'll get on with some closeup photos of my stitching:

As I mentioned above, Block #8 will be of Landmark School.  I'll get started on that as soon as I can.  For now, I'm too focused on my husband's cancer treatment which is going well but it's tiring for both of us.

Never Ending Sampler Panel 1 - Band 18

Today's band is a nice alphabet.  If anyone wants to personalize their samplers at any point, this is pretty alphabet to use.  And who knows, there might be a few verses down the road!! 

Here is the entire sampler so far:

And here is Band #18:

And here it is again with the Band #17 overlap:

I will have band 19 next week along with an undate on my husband and an update on my McHenry Quilt.  Have a nice weekend everyone!

Never Ending Stitch Along Panel 1 Band 10

I have another band for those of you who are working on the Never Ending Sampler Stitch Along or for the crazy quilters using these as seam treatments.

Here is the entire sampler so far:

And here is Band#10 all by itself:

Here is a close up of the fan:

And finally, here is the overlap with Band #9 so you know where to start Band #10:

Just right click on the image(s) you want and then click "save as".  Once on your hard drive, you can open it in any image software and print it up.

Work the fans with straight stitches.

Never Ending Sampler Panel 1 Band 9

Here is Band #9 for the Never Ending Sampler Stitch Along (NESSAL) Project:

Here it is as part of the whole sampler:

And finally, here is an "overlap" so you can see where it goes in reference to Band #8:

And here's a closeup of the little leaf so you can see how to work it:

For Band #9 = Work the little "diamonds" with straight stitches.  For the little leaves, use 3 strands of floss so they look like satin stitching.

For my crazy quilters, these borders can all be used as seam treatments using waste canvas.  All are available individually now.  You find them here:  Crazy Quilt Seam Treatments

I will give you all a break now until next week.  I know some of you need time to get caught up and with Christmas coming in another week, you have as much stitching time but I'll give you 1 or 2 bands next week so no worries.  I just don't want anyone to feel pressured.  This is for fun!

My McHenry Crazy Quilt

I thought I'd share an update on Block 1 of my McHenry Crazy Quilt:

As you see, all seams are now embroidered.  I added a spider with and used vintage Mother Of Pearl buttons to make the spider.

And here's a closeup of the little yellow flower that I added:

I have a little more embroidery to do on this block and then I'll move on to block #2.

Never Ending Sampler Stitch-Along Panel 1 Band 2

Ok, who's ready for band #2 for our Never Ending Sampler Stitch-Along?

Here's you go:

For the long stitches you'll be doing a straight stitch with a french knot or bead at the bottom.

Click on the image to enlarge the pattern.

If you're new to this stitch along, see the link at the top of my blog.  All the information is there.

Happy Stitching!
Pam

Crazy Quilt Seam Embroidery

I haven't been doing much in the way of stitching lately.  I've taken some time to work on my family tree and I've been having a great time with that despite being so incredibly stuck on my 3rd great grandmother!

I've also taken some time to do some reading.  There's been a lot of books on my "want to read" list so every afternoon around 3:30, I make a cup of tea and read a few chapters.

I love history so my current read is "Killing Lincoln" by Bill O'Reilly.  This also helps to put me in the 1800's "state of mind" which is where I'm focused right now on the family tree. 

In thinking about when I get back to stitching, I thought I'd start working up a few seam treatment patterns.  Most of you know that I mostly use Waste Canvas to embroider the seams on my crazy quilts and when I get a bee in my bonnet about some new ones, I chart them out on my computer.

For today, I have 3 flower borders that I thought I would share here in case I have any waste canvas girls out there!

Right click on the image and save to your computer then print it up and enjoy!  If you use these, please send me photos!!!  I may include them in an upcoming issue of Crazy Quilt Quarterly Magazine!

Calendar Blocks

I thought for today, I would share all of the beautiful blocks from the 2015 Crazy Quilt Calendar.  Since the blocks had to be cropped to fit the space, these are the complete blocks.

January by Mary Anne Richardson

February - Nicki Lee Seavey

March - Maria Mulder
(Maria does not have a blog)

April - Kathy Shaw

May - Pat Winter

June - Cathy Kizerian

July - Brenda Sandusky (Facebook)

August - Gerry Krueger

September - Terri Lee Takacs

October - Betty Pillsbury

November - Connie Eyberg

December - Allison Aller

Cover - Pamela Kellogg

Please take a moment to visit the blogs of these gifted ladies and congratulate them on their beautiful work!  The 2015 Crazy Quilt Calendar would not have been possible without them!