It’s Not Wednesday Works In Progress

Do you ever get the urge to be different for the sake of being different?  Me neither.  I was just born that way.  🙂  There is a popular me-me amongst blogs featuring Wednesday Works In Progress.  I don’t participate, but I do have works in progress on Thursday.  Today I am sharing two.

The first I will not describe too fully, because it is for a swap, and I don’t want to spoil the surprise.  Being evasive might even add to the intrigue.  The block is made of decorator silks with some pretty cotton laces added for interest.  I think I will keep the stitching fairly simple.  Too much would very likely detract from the elegance of the materials.

The second piece I am working on is the one-on-one block I am swapping with Pam.  I am contemplating removing the blue lace and replacing it with a different blue lace, but I’ve not made up my mind.  Brights are a challenge for me, because I am not especially drawn to them.  Working with this block is a very good exercise in stretching my creative wings.  Don’t get me wrong.  I love the block…I’ve just never been particularly comfortable with brights.  I don’t wear them and rarely work with them.

That’s all the “show and tell” I have for the day, but I do have a burden on my heart for our country…for this world.  If you watch the news, you probably have one, too.  The verse I chose for today is really good news and a promise to hold fast to.

Until next time…

Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure.  (2 Timothy 2:19)

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In Memory of Dad – Beautiful Stitching (Part 4) And a New Friend

It’s been a while since I posted a row of my Dad’s beautiful embroidery work, and I don’t want it to fall by the wayside and not get done.  Today I am sharing row 4.

Delaware…

Massachusetts…

New Mexico…

Louisiana…

Michigan…

Nebraska…

In a couple of the pictures I see the quilting stitching I did when I put this quilt together for my dear dad…O how I wish I could redo it.  My stitching does not compare well to Dad’s.  Hopefully it has improved reasonably since I quilted it.

This morning Bella, my German Shepherd puppy, had a scheduled appointment with our vet.  She was spayed and is waking up from the anesthesia.  When I dropped her off I went in the back with the receptionist to put her in the holding cell, oops, I mean, cage.  There were several other dogs (and a cat) in the room waiting for their appointed surgery.  I went to each door speaking to them…they were all friendly and so glad for human contact.  One especially caught my eye and captured my heart…it was instant.  Her name is Sheba.  She is six months old (same as Bella) and is 3/4 chocolate lab and 1/4 pit.  The receptionist told me Sheba was up for adoption.  The lady who originally had her was unable to give her the attention she needed.  Sheba had been an inside dog…kennel trained…and is very sweet.  I went home and told my husband about her.  We went back to the vet’s office together and spent some time with Sheba.  Sheba came home with us.  Our Emma (10 year old Boxer) likes her.  Sheba (we plan on changing her name, but to what, I do not know, is much calmer than Bella.  If she and Bella get along well, she will stay.  I so hope so…I think they will make great sisters.

Until next time…

Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your
joy may be full.  (John 16:24)

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“Rip It, Rip It”

I wish I could say I never produce work that needs to be ripped out.  I can’t.  This past week my friend Hollie added a bead tail to the needles she uses when she is removing stitches and working too close to her machine needle for comfort.  After seeing a picture of them, I just had to make myself a couple of them.  The added bling makes keeping track of their whereabouts so much simpler.  Needles used to rip out seams are affectionately referred to as “froggin’ needles”…”rip-it, rip-it”.  🙂

Speaking of Hollie, I received the block she made in our quilt block sampler swap in the Art 4 Mail group.  The first block is a simple four-patch.  Her fabrics are gorgeous.  I’m a big fan of paisley from way back.  Our first theme color was blue with a complimentary fabric.

Tomorrow I will mail the ones I made out to the ladies in my group. Did I mention I am a big fan of paisley?  I guess I should have repressed my block before taking a picture.  It was already folded neatly in quarters, ready for the envelope.

This is how I’ve spent all my sitting time this afternoon.  It look like I’ll be cutting tiny stitches for a while.  This was a collar I picked up at a thrift store for a dollar a while back.  It’s high time I remove the beautiful lace and start using it in CQ projects.  I’ll use the muslin, too…

That’s a wrap for this time.

Until next time…

And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.  (1 John 2:1)

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In Memory Of Dad – Beautiful Stitching (Part 3)

Fellow stitchers…if you have not commented on my Creative Stitchery Success Strip Giveaway post for a chance to win a set of your own, be sure to click on the giveaway button on the sidebar and leave a comment before noon on 8/15/13.  Don’t want to wait to see if you won…click on the link in the giveaway post and order a set from Robbie.  She has speedy service and the inventive strips are SO worth the price!

After a busy weekend of going to my husband’s family reunion and running errands on Saturday and going to church twice on Sunday with a wedding and reception in between the morning and evening services,  it feels good to put my feet up and share another row of my dad’s beautiful state birds and flowers embroidered quilt.   I hope you enjoy seeing the pictures as much as I enjoy sharing them with you.

Maryland…I was born in Maryland while my dad was serving in the Army.  Not long after I was born he started working on this quilt.

Florida…

Montana…

Utah…

Colorado…

Arkansas…makes me think of my friend Hollie and her love for her Mockingbird family.

That’s it for row three.  Soon I’ll post another row.

To wrap this post up I must show off the beautiful table topper Hollie made for me for the Facebook Pay It Forward we took part in.  She told me it was designed to display a candle, but I will use it for tea or as she suggested, to set a vase of pretty irises on.  Purple irises are my very favorite flower.  I think I may have mentioned that to her somewhere along the line.

Until next time…

Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.   (2 Timothy 2:22)

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In Memory Of Dad – Beautiful Stitching (Part 2)

Earlier the week I began sharing pictures of the beautifully embroidered blocks my dad stitched more than over five decades ago.  This post is a continuation of that one.  Today I am sharing pictures of the second row of blocks.

Before I start I want to toss out a plug for the giveaway I will host very soon.  I hope everyone interested in embroidery will put their name in the pot for a chance to win this useful tool.

Now for row 2…

Iowa…

Kansas…

Alabama…

Indiana…

Connecticut…one of my personal favorites.  I love the call of the quail…”Bob White”.

New Hampshire…

That’s it for this time.  I hope you are enjoying seeing my dad’s handiwork.  I’m loving the walk down memory lane as I share it with you.  It makes him seem just a little closer.

Until next time…

Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure.   (2 Timothy 2:19)

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In Memory Of Dad – Beautiful Stitching

When I was a girl I remember my dad coming home from a long day at the office and unwinding in his chair after supper.  He would pick up the quilt block he was working and stitch until bedtime.  It took a couple or more years for him to meticulously embroider the forty-eight state birds and flowers I will share over the next few posts.  (If you know history, you know this quilt top predates 1959, because, Alaska and Hawaii were not admitted into the union until that year.)

Today my dad would have been 86 years old.   For that reason I chose today to begin sharing pictures of the wonderful quilt top he embroidered.  It was stored in a box in the top of his closet for decades.  Two years before he passed away I brought the quilt top home and quilted it for him for Father’s Day.  When I gave it back to him, he cried.  He said he did not believe he would ever see it completed.  Earlier this year my mom gave it back to me.  Needless to say, I cherish it and count it amongst my earthly treasures.

I will share each block in the order it appears on in the quilt starting with the top row.

California…

New York…

North Carolina…

Idaho…

Minnesota…

Tennessee…

Dad’s steady hands and sharp eyes helped him turn out beautiful work.  He was self-taught and a perfectionist.  I’m hoping one day to be as accomplished a stitcher as he was…surely a little of his creative genes rubbed off on me.

I will share another row of blocks very soon.  I hope you will check back and see all forty-eight.

Be sure to keep an eye out for my upcoming giveaway featuring Robbie Field’s  Creative Stitchery Success Strips.  I will be posting the details very soon.

Until next time…

Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?  Matthew 6:26

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Crazy Quilting Progress and Nature’s Pretties

Unbelievable!  If something major doesn’t stop me in my typing tracks I will have posted two times in June with days to go…not a lot of days, but since my last post in May I have unshared  crazy quilting just begging for equal time.  That’s what this post is all about…

Here is my work on Angie’s TAT (Turquoise, Aqua, Teal) RR block…

I could not resist stitching a spider web and a harmless little fantasy spider…I also stitched a feather stitch vine as a seam treatment and embellished it with seed beads.   The seam treatment on the right is made up of a base herringbone stitch with straight stitches, colonial knots and sequins secured with seed beads.  The little dragonflies are made with detached chain stitches (aka lazy daisy)and beads.

 Just a little spider close-up…he doesn’t bite.

I also worked on Sue’s block.  On this block I used an embellishing technique I had never tried.  All in all I think I did ok. (I hope Sue does.)  The mermaid on Sue’s block was cut from a printed fabric and secured to the block with Heat n Bond.

I worked on the final rotation block in the All Things Pretty RR and sent Molly’s blocks on the way home…full circle.  I love the fabrics she used!

I also did some angel work for a round robin at World Wide Crazy Quilting.  It’s an encrusted RR and has been a pleasure to take part in.

Janie’s block…

Close up view of my work…I added the fan and embellished it, added the straight and colonial stitches to the lace in the middle, stitched the parasol and vine in the green patch and the purple stitching on the lace in the right corner.  I could have kept stitching, but I would have been a stitching piggy if I had.  I needed to leave a place to stitch for the other ladies in this round robin.  Janie’s block was a delight to work on.

Susan’s block…

Close up of my work…keeping with the color scheme…I added the bullion roses and silk ribbon roses.  I also added the blue lace butterfly and the blue lace flower and green lace leaves.  Because there were several people left to stitch after me, I stopped there, but I could have kept going.

Finally, I stitched on Debbie’s very elegant block.  Again there was not a lot of space left for stitching so I added a couple of small touches and sent it on to the next lady in line.  I added the feather stitch, bead and colonial stitch seam treatment.  It carried over into the adjoining patch.  I also added the straight and colonial stitches to the lace on the right side.  Just as with the other two blocks, I really enjoyed working on Debbie’s block.

Final addition…I added the bow lace and embellished it with pearl beads.

I think that’s a wrap.  If there is anything else “crazy” I have not shared, it’s forgotten.  I leave you with some beauties from our yard…

allium….I love the soft lavender color.

Yellow iris…I love them almost as much as purple iris.

wasteland surprises…love, love, love the color…

O, so happy petunias…

A reminder of how much God loves us…

Pretty peach colored daylilies…

Moss growing under oak trees…

Beautiful mushrooms…

More really cool fungi…these have gotten larger and more beautiful.  I’ll have to share new pictures when I upload them to my computer.

And I close with a really sweet gift from a special young lady…Rhyan…my grandson Eli’s girlfriend.  After knowing me for just a short time, she was thoughtful enough to remember me while she was in London and brought back this precious proof of that.  Tea and a tea bag holder from Harrod’s of London…I sure do appreciate the gift…but most of all her thoughtfulness.  She made me feel very special.  The strawberry tea is luscious.

Until next time…

And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  John 14:13

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Sunday Dinner At Jutamas

Jutamas is a fine dining, Thai Restaurant in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. After worship service this morning my sweetheart and I joined our pastor and his sweet wife at Jutamas for a wonderful lunch and fellowship. My friend Rosy lives in Singapore, and because of the wonders of the internet she and I are able to talk about food often. Since she was not able to be at Jutamas with us…this post is for her.

We started our meal with a couple of appetizers. Fresh Rolls were brought to our table first. They were fresh spring rolls filled with cooked chicken, shrimp, egg noodles, avocado, tofu and vegetables and wrapped with rice pastry. Crushed peanuts are sprinkled on top, and they are served with peanut sauce.

Next up was Toong Tong. These tasty appetizers are crispy fried pastries stuffed with a mixture of pork, shrimp, and crab meat. They were served with sweet and sour sauce. Our waitress did not understand the order, and we were only brought a serving for two. Our pastor insisted Allen and I eat them. What a blessing, because they were delicious.

After our appetizers each of us were served a bowl of soup…I’m sorry, but I don’t know the name of the soup. It was delicious and enjoyed by all. It was made of chicken broth, tofu, basil leaves and bean sprouts.

This cute little lemon critter topped our pastor’s glass of unsweetened tea. My sweetie ordered sweet tea…he didn’t get a cute little lemon critter. :<

Our pastor ordered Phad Khing…This dish was sliced chicken, stir-fried fresh ginger, onions, bell peppers, carrots, baby corn and mushrooms in brown sauce.

Brenda, our pastor’s wife, ordered Shrimp Asparagus. It was asparagus with stir-fried shrimp with onion, carrots and bell peppers in brown sauce.

My sweetheart ordered Phad med Ma Moung. This dish was sliced chicken, stir fried with cashew nuts, onions, mushrooms, carrots and bell peppers in brown sauce.

And finally…I ordered Gang Keaw Wam. It is classic green curry, blended with coconut milk, green beans, carrots, eggplant, bamboo shoots, bell peppers and sweet basil. It was superb but way more than I could eat in one sitting. The dishes were so pretty…I would have loved to have taken them home with me. ~sigh~

Rosy, I hope this was almost as good as being with us. Even if we don’t ever share a meal on planet earth we can look forward to a grand banquet in heaven. Maybe we can sit close to one another there. 🙂 I think we would have a grand time.

Until next time…

This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck. 1 Timothy 1:18-19

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My Samurai And An Eggstra Large Pincushion

This morning I made a trip to the post office to mail my share in an Easter pincushion swap.  Its forever home is across the big pond in Australia.   The pincushion is made of felted wool and is five inches in diameter.  It’ll hold a lot of pins!

Side view:

It was a beautiful day…perfect for a little thrifting.  My find of the day was a pre-WWII silk kimono.  My good-natured, sweetheart modeled it for me so I could take pictures of it.  All he needs now is a sword.  🙂

Back view:

Lining view: 

Pattern closeup:

Unless I change my mind, I’ll take a pair of scissors to this lovely kimono and cut it into pieces for use in crazy quilt blocks.  At this point I’m feeling a bit conflicted with that idea…but it doesn’t fit me (I wish), and I can’t imagine my sweetie putting it on again.  I will give it some thought before I start cutting, but of this I am sure…If I do it will make many beautiful additions to a crazy quilt blocks.

Until next time…

A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.  Ecclesiastes 7:1

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Anything Goes Novice Round Robin…Hollie’s Block

Earlier this month I received my first Round Robin crazy quilt block to work on.  This block was naked when I received it.  It belongs to Hollie, a very sweet, crazy lady who lives in Arkansas.  The colors and fabric Hollie chose for her block are among my favorites, though  you wouldn’t know it by looking at my Round Robin naked block.  After spending some time looking at the block and thinking of how to embellish it, I finally took the plunge and made my first stitch.  It’s funny, but that first stitch felt almost scary.  The block is not mine and is precious to someone else.  It was unembellished; crisp; unsullied.  I don’t want to be “the one” to mess it up.

Here’s Hollie’s lovely block…naked and untouched:

I’m not certain I am finished with my part, but for the moment I’m at a standstill and am waiting for inspiration before making more changes.  There’s no hurry, because  it can stay with me the remainder of April.  Hopefully I’ll get a bright idea for embellishing the empty spaces within the seams I stitched.

Here is the embellishing work I’ve done on Hollie’s block so far.  Please keep in mind I am still learning…learning is what this Round Robin is all about…the word “novice” is a comfortable umbrella to me at this point in my crazy quilting journey.

Overall block…overall views are so forgiving.  🙂

This view shows the petite roses and detached chain leaves made with silk ribbon adorning the feather stitch along the seam on the left side.  Seed beads have been added to the center of each rose. 

One of Hollie’s “likes” is mother of pearl buttons.  I just happened to have a few in my button stash.  Each button is embellished with pink, glass, seed beads.  Looking at the picture, I see a couple more of the tiny pink beads need to be added around the buttons.

The second seam is embellished with daisy trim.  Each daisy is embellished with a lavender seed bead…a color pulled from the ever-so-romantic, calico fabric.  Along the left side of the trim I’ve added a row of tiny “flowers” using a fern stitch and more lavender seed beads.

This shot shows the silk ribbon spider roses and pierced roses within the calico fabric to the right of the daisy trim.  Each rose has seed bead centers.  I’ve spotted a couple of roses that need an additional seed bead or two added.  They look just a little wonky.  

To the right of the roses is part of the seam embellished with two rows of the  Chevron stitch forming diamonds.  (They are a “girl’s best friend so such a romantic flavoured block needs diamonds.)  Along the left side of the Chevron stitch diamonds are “little flowers” made using the fern stitch and french knots.

The final shot shows the sweet, lace motif butterfly and concludes the work I’ve completed on Hollie’s beautiful block.  I hope (and pray) she likes it…it has been a pleasure to work on…and such a learning experience.  Before sending it on its way to the next stitcher in our group (Mikki from Iowa), I’ll take more pictures and post again. 

Until next time…

So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.  Romans 14:12 

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