Wool Roving - An Experiment

Did you ever get a bee in your bonnet about trying something and it just bugs you until you do it?  And then, if it doesn't turn out the way you expected, that bee starts buzzing louder until you try again, and again, until you get it right?

That was the case with my latest creative endeavor.  Out of blue, it occurred to me that wool shrinks when heated.  I have tons of wool roving for needle felting but I thought to myself, I could do some layering with it and then shrink it for a really cool textured background to stitch on.  Yes, it's all about new things to stitch on!

I started with a layer of pink tulle.  On top of that, I added some wool roving in a variety of different pastel colors.  Then I added some sparkly Angelina fiber and then another layer of pink tulle.  I took it over to my beloved Singer Treadle Machine and top stitched it.

Now for the fun part.  I wet it and then took the heat gun to it!  Guess what happened?  NOTHING!!!  It didn't really shrink.  Oh, it melted the tulle and gave me a few burned areas which looked pretty cool but I did not accomplish my goal of shrinking the wool.

My philosophy is "Waste Not, Want Not" so I of course, worked with what I had and stitched on it anyway.  Here's the progress:

There's no doubt that what I came up IS very pretty!  Since I still had my heat gun out, I added a little bit of gold embossing powder and heat set that.

I choose an image of a little Cherub and sewed that on.  Then, I had some some recycled silk that I bought at a yarn store last Fall so I couched some of that on around the image:

Couching that silk on was quite a challenge!  It's so fine and gets caught on everything!  But I got it couched on because as you all know, I need pink!

Once I got that done, I added a variety of fancy yarns for more texture.  Then came some Silk Ribbon Embroidery, some vintage and new flowers and a tiny bird's nest.  Yes, the little Cherub is guarding the nest full of eggs!  I can't help it, all I can think of now is Spring!

This is where I'm at with it at the moment:

All that's left to do on it is to add some beads and sequins for sparkle.  Then I'll attach it to a little branch and call it an Art Quilt!  I'll post another update photo when it's completed.

So what about the buzzing bee in my bonnet?  Oh, I'll be trying this again!  We'll see what boiling water does to wool!!!

Crazy Quilt Gatherings - A Magazine By Pat Winter

The premier issue of Crazy Quilt Gatherings by my dear friend Pat Winter will be available on March 1st.

Please visit Pat's Gatherings Blog for more details.

Boutique Additions

Well, it's snowing here again in Northern Illinois!  I have never seen this much snow in one Winter season!  But I'm counting the days until March 1st (3 weeks).  I usually start to breathe easier around the beginning of March.

I'd like to say thanks to everyone who commented on my Marie Antoinette quilt blocks.  I can't tell you all how much I'm enjoying that project!  I'll start on Block #7 in a few days.  I have some other things I'd like to do first.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share the newest additions to our Shabby Chic Boutique!  First, my Crazy Quilt Edwardian Lady Purse:

Check out that gorgeous trim that I found in my stash!  I don't know where I got that but it worked perfectly to finish off this handbag!

Next, mom made a few St. Patrick's Day Ornaments:

 These are so sweet!  Just a little something cheery for Saint Patrick's Day!



We have loads of beautiful Cottage Style Products in our Boutique!  Please visit us and be sure to check our Special's For Today!   We have some Valentine's on sale!

Marie Antoinette Crazy Quilt Block #6

I apologize for not photographing the block before I stitched it.  I usually like to post my works in progress updates as I work on them.  I haven't been feeling too great for the past few days so I just stitched.  Marie Antoinette Crazy Quilt Block #6 is complete:

The little watch was a pendant watch that belonged to my grandmother.  I've been trying to use her jewelry pieces on this quilt so I can see and enjoy them rather than store them in my cedar chest.

So this block is done and that leaves me 3 more blocks to go.

If you're visiting my blog for the first time, I'm working on a Crazy Quilt with Marie Antoinette as the theme.  There will be 9 blocks all together, each of them are 9 inches square.

Here are the previous blocks:

 Block #5

Block #4

 Block # 3

 Block #2

 Block #1

McHenry, Illinois Blizzard 2011

Well, we had our Blizzard.  What a mess!  This is what we woke up to at 4 am this morning:

This is our mudroom.  It's probably a good thing we haven't remodeled it yet!  And it's a good thing we don't have a screen door on it yet.  We wouldn't have been able to get out of the house.  Would have had to wait for a neighbor to come and help!

You can't see them, but there are steps under all that snow!

This is the front of my house.  It was about 8:00 this morning.

My Towncar and Scott's Mustang.

Three and Four foot drifts.

Our truck was buried too!

Scott has most of it cleaned up yet.  It's 2:45 in the afternoon and we still haven't seen a snow plow yet.

I'd like to say thanks to everyone who left me kind comments and wishes yesterday.  The low barometric pressure wears on me as does these kind of storms.  I'm sure I'll feel better in a few days.