Crazy Quilt block and new quilt class

I have completed the piecing of my crazy quilt block started at the Workshop I attended on January 3.

Overall I am happy with the results despite the haphazard way it was pieced, I have read a few books and received some great tips from members of a facebook group I joined and they all suggest adding the center piece and working in a clockwise direction when adding the other pieces, so my next block I will give it a try. I did begin adding some embroidery which I will post soon.

The beginning quilt class began last Friday and we are piecing fence rail or rail fence blocks as the first blocks for the sampler quilt we will be making.

The photo above shows the two methods we used to piece the blocks, I am enjoying the class so far and have learned a few nifty tricks using the rotary cutter and cutting strips, amazing how quick the pieces pile up and my hands didn't ache one bit.

The last blocks were homework I pieced them together yesterday finally feeling better after being down with a head cold all week and just miserable. Of course while sewing I hit a snag and my bobbin jammed, I was baffled as I stitched 6 pieces without incident and then grrrr jam, I fiddle around undid the jam and made a test line of stitches with no problem started to sew the last pieces to the block and you guessed it jam, this went on for an hour and after re-threading the sewing machine, tweaking tensions and bobbin, I was able to get the last pieces added, no more jams.

I have to press the blocks and later this evening I will do another test stitching and again tomorrow morning before I leave for class, I was just about ready to buy a new machine yesterday. This is the sampler quilt we are making in class

Oh new stamps for the first letters I will be mailing out in February's A Month of Letters Challenge.

I just love the simplicity of the design, they would look nice on a pretty little Valentine, don't you think?
Not sure what the letter challenge is, if you like to write letters, if you want to make a new pen pal or two, you can click this link here http://lettermo.com/  and see what its all about.

Here is the progress of my Greenman hand embroidery piece I am working on

A Crazy start to the New Year

So here we are nine days into 2015 and things are moving along nicely, weather wise here in Florida we are having a cold snap with temps dropping into the low 30's. brrrr! Anyway let me move onto more interesting topics.

I may have mentioned in an earlier post my plans to make 2015 a more creative year for myself with plans to kick off the New Year attending a day long Crazy Quilt workshop,  I had a wonderful day, the other 10 women attending the group created some beautiful blocks. I am only sorry I forgot to pack my camera it would've been nice to show off their blocks too.

Celeste Viale, our instructor was encouraging and shared her knowledge with the group, as well as her love of quilt making.  As the day wore on and stitching got under way I could feel the stress and tension of December melt away, this in part to the crazy quilt making and the idyllic setting at the Crones' Cradle Conserve.

Fabrics, trims, buttons, threads and floss were plentiful and shared among the group, tips, ideas and many questions along with some laughter soon gave way to the silence of nearly a dozen women heads bent reverently stitching their crazy quilt block.

Here is the start of my first hand pieced Crazy Quilt block, I will be adding more pieces if I can decide on the fabric placement, I changed my mind 5 times yesterday.  In the meantime there are other projects waiting like the Greenman I drew onto fabric waiting now patiently to be stitched, I am planning to use it in a greenman crazy quilt block.

I began reading Spell Booked by Joyce and Jim Lavene for the 2015 Witches and Witchcraft reading challenge.

If you are interested the challenge info can be found here:http://melissaseclecticbookshelf.com/2015-witches-witchcraft-reading-challenge-sign-up-post/

Happy New Year!

Some stitching, fresh veggies and a good read.

The blue Celtic Knot embroidery piece stitching is completed and I decided to do another piece using a light green fabric and green floss.

12/25/14

My stitching is getting better though my tracing of the pattern shows a rather unsteady hand, I think it adds the human quality, after all it is hand crafted and hand stitched.

This is the green fabric with the pattern traced and waiting for stitching. This morning I made an early morning visit to the Crones' Cradle Conserve to clock how much time it will take me to drive there for the Crazy Quilt workshop next Saturday. While I was there I bought some just picked vegetables fresh from the earth.

Below the tomatoes, are red and yellow carrots, white turnips in the center and purple and white radishes, I have them prepped for a salad for later today, with each slice I made the aroma of soil filled my senses, nature's perfume at her best.

Sunday, December 28th and here is a look at the stitching on the green piece I started yesterday evening and early this morning.

I still don't have any idea what to do with these practice pieces though the more I look at them I'm leaning toward journal cover.

I am about three quarters of the way through reading A Social History of Tea, if you are a tea lover its quite an interesting read.

Merry Christmas

A book, some stitching and a Wish for All

I have chosen the first book I'll read for the 2015 Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge here is the link if you are interested.
http://melissaseclecticbookshelf.com/2015-witches-witchcraft-reading-challenge-sign-up-post/

I have read the Joyce And Jim Lavene Peggy Lee Garden mystery series books and some of the Renaissance Faire series and I'm looking forward to beginning this new series next week after all the hustle and bustle of the holidays pass and I have time to unwind with a cup of tea and a good read.

Stitchery update:
 I am making progress on the Celtic Knot embroidery piece I began stitching on Monday.

12/22/14

The blue micro pen I chose to trace the pattern onto the fabric turned out to be a good choice and the blue floss covers the trace lines well.

12/23/14

I  began stitching the piece without the use of an embroidery hoop, one thing I did notice is I should have used a second piece of fabric for stability, since this is a test piece I can make the changes which will include crayon tinting the knots.

12/24/15

Today I slipped the piece into an embroidery hoop to see if it changed the work, I noticed the stitches flowed through the fabric more easily.

I wish for all a Christmas filled with Joy, Health and Happiness.

A little stitch project

I have finally squeezed in some time to trace the Celtic knot pattern onto the fabric for my next hand embroidery project.

I was going to use the crayon tint technique I learned in October but this is a busy time of year and I barely had time to trace the pattern between packing, shipping and drop offs at the post office, so I'm just going to stitch it, I need something to unwind with in the evenings and this may due the trick.  Its a good piece to practice my stitching on.

I enrolled in an upcoming Crazy Quilt class held at the Crones' Cradle Conserve here in north central Florida, I am looking forward to a day long workshop full of stitchery, surrounded by other quilters.

It's a great way to start the New Year off crafting.