June – CQJP 2013 and a BIG Ugly

When I first set out to accomplish the Crazy Quilt Journal Project of 2013 I was determined not to get behind.  Well…the best laid plans go astray, and we’ve all heard where the road of good intentions leads.  This morning I finally put the finishing stitches on my June block.  Too many things got in the way of timely stitching and completion of this block.  To say I am glad to call it finished is an understatement.

Here are some pictures…

Full block…

Left top…

Right top…

Left bottom…

Right bottom…

Center…

Late yesterday afternoon my dear husband went to the chicken house to pick up eggs, and this is what he found nestled in one of the laying boxes.  Yikes!  I am so thankful I was not the one picking up eggs, because with my cataracts, seeing into those dark, little openings is iffy at best.  I would very likely have been bitten…and this big ugly is a “bad” snake. I know some of you are thinking “there is no such thing as a good snake”, but I am not of that school of thought.  I’m so thankful my husband has better eyesight than me, and that he was the one to pick up eggs when that big ugly was filling its belly.

As if one picture is not enough…here is a second, closer one.

Seeing it dead with its head crushed reminded me of the scripture I will close with today…

Until next time…

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.  Genesis 3:15

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Gray Two (CQ)

Making my gray block for the upcoming Newbie Gray/Grey Study was so much fun, and I had so much nice gray fabric left, I had to make another block…just because.  I’ll use this one for my July CQJP block.  (I’m almost finished with my June block.)  Yes, I know.  I’m a little behind. 

Earlier this week I got a new crazy quilting book in the mail.  It’s J. Marsha Michler’s Motifs for Crazy Quilting.  I LOVE her books!   In it she shared one of her techniques for putting a block together.  I used her method of hand-basting the patches to the muslin to make my second gray block.  On the upside of this method, I was able to sit in my comfy chair most of the time while making it, and I didn’t get the screaming back and neck ache I usually get when I sit at my sewing machine.  The only downside was the added length of time it took to make my block.  This is a method I’ve wanted to try for a while but never took the time to do it.  I’m sure it won’t be the last time I use it.  The method sounded tedious, but the illustrations in the book made it look so simple.   I think before I piece another block by this hand-basting method I will buy one of those nifty miniature crafting irons and mark that off my wish list.  It would really come in handy for pressing all those turned under edges and eliminate the need to get up and go to the ironing board.

Motifs for Crazy Quilting is loaded with really great motif patterns, but the inspiration to try something new alone was worth the price of the book.  I think my favorite motifs are the trees, but there is a bit of everything.  I would render a guess there is something for every taste.  J. Marsha Michler did a nice job of putting this book together.  Good for us!

Here is my first hand-pieced crazy block.  All in all…I’m happy with it which is always nice.

That’s all for this time…

Until next time…

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.   (Proverbs 3:5-6)

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CQJP 2013 – January

The work has begun, but not the embellishing.  This morning I constructed my first block for the CQJP for the coming year.  I must say again, planning the block out before making the first cuts and seams sure makes constructing crazy quilt blocks so much easier!  I wish I had started planning a pattern sooner.   I would have saved myself much frustration.  My hair is too thin to pull out.  🙂

For my January block I chose blues and incorporated different textures.  I look forward to stitching on it and will begin soon after I finish working on Ruby’s Butterflies and Dragonflies block. 

There is still time to get in on the CQJP 2013.  You can find a link to the registration details on my sidebar.  Everyone with a love for crazy quilting is welcome to join.  When the project comes to an end you will have 12 cq blocks you made during the year to show for it…and to do with what you want to. 

Until next time…

For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.  Psalm 27:5

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