Assembling A Crazy Quilt Piece

I didn't get very far on the 2nd Blackwork Cellphone Pouch so I'll have an update on that for you tomorrow.

Since I don't have much in the way of stitching to share today, I thought I would talk a little about machine assembling.

If you're like me and have a tendency (or rather a bad habit) of putting beads and buttons too close to your seam line, you might want to give the Zipper Foot for your sewing machine a try:



This is quite a handy-dandy little item! I actually use this foot more than my all-purpose foot. And I've never done a zipper!

I use this foot not only when sewing CQ blocks up, but also for adding piping and twisted cording to my doorknockers. It attaches to the machine like this:



Be sure to move your needle over to the left:



My needle is right up against a large bead. The All-Purpose foot will not allow sewing on the seam line due to those beads because it won't go over them but the Zipper foot will run right up against them.

I hope you find my suggestion helpful!

You may notice that my seam is 1/2 inch rather than 1/4 inch. I do this because of the piecing with various fabrics and because some fabrics like Brocade tend to shred on the edges. It allows a little extra room in case there's any shifting or shredding while sewing. Once the sewing is complete, I trim the seam down to 1/4 of an inch. I only do this with Crazy Quilts pieces. For all other sewing, I only allow for 1/4 inch seams.

I'm off to piece some blocks and then I'll be stitching!

The White Peacock Purse is Complete!

I'm running late today. But better late than never!

I did alot of machine finishing yesterday and totally completed The White Peacock Purse!



I really hate to part with this one, but I can't keep them all! So I've added it to my Etsy shop. I found wonderful vinyl lavender colored handles for it and I backed it with a tan upholstry fabric. I used some heavy weight interfacing on the inside for stability and it's fully lined with a light green floral cotton print. Because I use my purses all the time, I prefer the sturdiness of cotton for a lining. There's more photos over at my shop if you'd like to see them.

I also did the machine finishing on the Blackwork Peacock Purse and the Victorian Lady Cellphone Pouch. I still have the hand finishing to do those which I'll start on later this afternoon.

I had a request for another Blackwork Cellphone Pouch so I pieced the block yesterday:



I picked up another fan button today while I was out and about and plan to start stitching on this later today as well.

Also, I'm offering a 20% off sale on all Vintage Lace, Embellishments, Cross Stitch Pattern Booklets and Fabric in my shop.

Ok, I'm off to do some more finishing. Stay tuned!

The Blackwork Peacock Purse Stitching Complete!

I know many of you are probably waiting anxiously to see this:



This has been such a joy to stitch! A bit challenging too in trying to balance the design using black, gold and silver do-dads. If you look closely, I did manage to add quite a few more beads!

The fabrics on this piece include: Brocade, Silk, Taffeta, Sequined Bridal Lace and a gorgeous heavy cotton with fine metallic gold threads.

The peacock body was hand-embroidered using DMC Cotton Floss in Long & Short stitches. I then outlined the body with Kreinik Silver Ombre and highlighted it with Kreinik Silver Blending Filament. The tail is done with black eyelash yarn couched on. The jewelry piece is a vintage pin. I cut the pinback off of it using wire cutters to make it lay flat. The "eyes" in the tail feathers are pearly sequins and small pearl beads.

I worked the spiderweb with 1 strand of DMC black cotton floss, the spider legs are Kreinik Gold Ombre and the spider body are done with 2 pearl beads from a vintage necklace.

The black seed beads on the fan stitch beneath my signature cat are vintage as are the small white pearls and end caps on the fan stitch beneath the large gold fan.

The "berries" on the vine with the gold butterfly charm are black Swarovski Crystals.

I was asked if I would post a photo of this peacock piece along with the white peacock purse so here you go Geri, it's my pleasure:



Click on either photo to go to my Flickr site where you can see a larger version.

My plan for today is to do the finishing on both of these purses. I've also had a request for another Blackwork Cellphone Pouch so I'll be piecing that block today as well. As soon as I have these completed, I'll post another photo.

The Blackwork Peacock Purse Continued

Are you ready? I stitched on this all day yesterday and loved every single minute of it:



It's not done yet. I will be doing some more beading on it this afternoon. I know you're probably thinking, "where is she going to put more beads?"! Trust me, there is still room for more embellishing.

I was actually a bit worried last night when my husband told me that he really likes this one! Normally, he doesn't care for crazyquilting but he actually said that my peacock done in black is beautiful and elegant. Hmmmmm.....that's a little scary!

I expect to complete this later today. Then I'll spend the next couple of days sewing. Check back tomorrow to see the completed piece!

Lots Of Stitching To Share

I pretty much just stitched all day yesterday. I'll admit, the cold and the snow outside is getting to me. Cabin fever always sets in for me around the end of January and I have a hard time focusing on anything but stitching or sewing. I am so looking forward to Spring now!

I finished the Victorian Lady pouch:



I added crystals to the centers of the silk ribbon roses. The "pin" on her collar is a crystal too. It came from a broken necklace that I bought at a flea market last Summer.

Once I completed the Victorian Lady pouch, I started on the Blackwork Purse:



I'll be working on this most of the day today. It will have a black peacock as a focal point. I have a pretty silver vintage pin with rhinestones on it that I can use for the top of the tail feathers and I have some black eyelash yarn that I'll use for the tail. I haven't decided yet what I'll use for the "eyes" on the tail feathers but I have plenty of beads and sequins so I'm sure I'll come up with something.

Can someone do me a favor and see if you can get into Etsy.com? I can't get into my shop or anyone else's shop or even the main page. I just need to know if it's the site or if it's my computer.

Thanks!