Jelly Roll Race

Have you heard about the jelly roll race? My quilt group did this last Saturday but I could not go. Darn! It looks like so much fun. I may have to go shopping for a jelly roll. I used a Kaffe Fassett jelly roll to make DD a log cabin quilt a few years ago. Send me a photo of your quilt if you did this speedy quilt!

Silky Doodles

Recently I spent a pleasant afternoon dyeing silk ribbons and silk fabric. I used a spray dye that gives these luscious watercolor effects. I have had some white habotai silk in a bag for a long time. I can't remember why I bought it, but finally the time came that I could use it. I cut some 4 inch squares and sprayed and played to my heart's content.

The piece on the right is my first little project. Feather stitch rings. A pink daisy, purple rose, and buds all in silk ribbon. I basted the silk squares to some silk chiffon (found in another bag) so that I could put the piece in a hoop.
Here's another one done in white perle cotton on blue. I love white on blue.

Do you like my cloud? When "Needleplay" went on a field trip to Wiscasset I bought the white wooly bumpy yarn that I used here. I just tacked the yarn down every so often in an oval.

The "hills" are buttonhole stitch, the plants are feather stitch with several different threads including some silk ribbon.





                                                                                                     

Trees in chain stitch

This landscape is from a photograph that had mountains in the background (buttonhole stitch), a forest in the middle, and a winding road from front to back. The dark green trees are done in fishbone stitch. I'm not so sure I want to keep that clump on the left, it may have to go. 

 These may end up in the sampler book I would like to make. The silk chiffon would be trimmed and turned under. I think this would be fun to do with wool yarn on wool felt, too. Lots of possibilities.

Here's a small section of my messy workstation. I need to have all my materials within arm's length reach. iPod front and center, always a podcast or audiobook to keep me company! Those purple scissors were a door prize I won on a shop hop. They are great-they have serrated blades so the grab slippery fabrics. Thank you shop hop!

There will be some quilting content coming up soon. So much to do, so little time to do it all!

Enjoy the journey!

p.s. just looked at the preview of this page and see the layout is not what I'm seeing as I am writing this. I don't know how to fix that so I'm just going to post as is and just heave a sigh. ha ha

Rosebuds in March

A few of my quilting friends and I have started an embroidery group which we call "Needleplay." I suggested the name from Erica Wilson's book of the same name. 

I worked on this little piece today. The rosebuds are done with pink silk ribbon and the feather stitch circles are done in pearl/perle cotton. To give you an idea of size, I used my thimble to trace a circle for the rings. The center is a lazy daisy stitch flower done in embroidery floss, 2 strands. 

I've been working on a mystery wallhanging at Back Roads. These strips aren's sewn together and I'm not sure if these are the order in which they will be sewn. The snowmen circles were cut with a Go Cutter which our group owns. Fast and easy! I had some lightweight interfacing on the back of the fabric and ironed them onto the background fabric. I used a machine blanket stitch around each shape. Each snowman will have a scarf and a hat. Buttons down the front for coal, a carrot nose of orange fabric, and french knots for eyes. 

I try to bake bread on the weekend so I will have tasty bread for my lunches all week. I must have had something else on my mind yesterday, because I put dough for three loaves into two pans! I thought they were really puffing up nicely and as I was putting them into the oven I remembered, oh no, this is a three loaf recipe! Oh, well, still tasty!

I ran across this little piece yesterday. I have an old photo which I printed onto fabric. The face in the center is the schoolteacher and the children are holding kittens. Very dear. I have another strip of triangles to go on the bottom. Don't know why I never finished this, but I want to. 

Recently we had a sew-in weekend at our Back Roads meeting place.  Betty showed us how to make a disappearing four patch quilt. My friend Donna thought that block would be good for a miniature. Each disappearing four patch block is made from four squares of 5 inch fabric and then cut to make a sort of nine patch. If you used 3 inch squares the block would be quite small and sweet. It would be fun to try that and pair it with my miniatures above. Here is a link to show how to make the disappearing four patch.

Enjoy!