Finally, Door Hangers

I don't know what took me so long to get these Door Hangers posted.  They've been done for awhile but I guess I had some other things on my plate that needed wrapping up!

So anyway, these are my new door hangers:

And this one is that Mom finished recently:

I hand painted a few lace pieces for her to use on the things she makes and it looks like she's finally using them!

In other news, tomorrow is a much needed sewing day.  I will be getting Part 1 of the tutorial together for Broiderie Perse applique on crazy quilting.  And I'll be sewing up a few new blocks to stitching on.

Part 2 of the tutorial will come when I get to stitching on the block for the tutorial.  But I'll get the first part posted in the next few days.

Thank You To My Sponsors!

Something I like to do when I finish up a publication, is to thank my advertisers here on my blog.  These very sweet ladies sponsored the Spring 2015 issue of Crazy Quilt Quarterly magazine.  Please visit their Etsy shops and webstores:

Crazy Quilting Supplies

Cathys Crazy By Design

Vintage Vogue

Shabby Lane Shops

Sweet Inspirations

Raviolee Dreams

Marionberry Cottage

Challenging Seam Treatments

In working on my current project, I ran into a seam treatment that just didn't show up well.  As I've mentioned once or twice before (LOL!) I use waste canvas to stitch the majority of my crazy quilt seams. 

Judging by the thread color that I used, I thought it would show up just fine but it wasn't until I pulled the waste canvas out that I could see that it didn't.

I do not like to pull threads out.  I remember doing that so many times with counted cross stitch.  Instead, I like to use beads and sequins to make the seam pop or at least show up better.

I went with electric blue beads for the points on the little fan stitches.  That helped.  Then I added larger aqua beads to the base of the fan stitches.  Finally, I added some light blue sequins.

As you can see, this did make a difference.  The electric blue seed beads elongated the fans.  The aqua beads and the sequins are eye catching so they draw attention to the seam even though the actual stitching still tends to blend into the print.

I honestly thought this shaded thread color would have shown up just fine but it didn't.

Using brighter colored beads for a dark background or darker colors for a light background will help to bring attention to a seam that doesn't pop.

It's just a matter of choosing the right colors.  You have to experiment.  And it's not a perfect fix but if you dislike ripping as much as I do, this is a good alternative.

Crazy Quilt Quarterly Magazine Spring 2015 Now Available

The 2015 Spring issue of Crazy Quilt Quarterly Magazine is now available!

Click here to order at Magcloud!

Broiderie Perse Embroidery

Early this morning, I finished highlighting the applique on this piece with Kreinik metallic #4 braid:

I used several colors of the Kreinik metallic rather than just one color.  I wanted the applique to almost look like a painting rather than a piece of fabric applied to a foundation.

Don't forget, I will put together a simple tutorial for Broiderie Perse and post it sometime this coming week.  I'm hoping there are some stitchers out there who will give it a try and send me photos for the Fall issue of CQ Quarterly.

I'm not going to share the entire block at this time but there are a few other things I thought I would discuss as I work on this. 

I have one seam that I embroidered on this piece that does not show up well.  Rather than pulling it out (which I almost never do), I will show you how I make it work using beads.  It's all about working with color. 

Every crazy quilt block offers some unique challenges.  I've kind of gotten away from sharing my works in progress but I think it's time to get back to that.  I'm sure some of the solutions that I use to deal with problem areas will useful to other crazy quilters!