My First 3 Hearts

Hello All

I have just recently joined the Chains of Hearts group on Yahoo. These are the first three I have done. These little guys a very addictive to make. A beaded one takes me about 4 hours.
These have already been spoken for. The first one goes to Margeet in The Netherlands, the 2nd to Helina in Finland and the 3rd to Susie in England.
I guess I better get moving and make some more. I'll some Unicorn and fairy ones to take on the drive to and from Denver and the flights to and from Chicago. I figure half a dozen blocks and 2 new 1000 page books should keep me busy most of the time.
These are only 6" across and are easy to do. If you are looking for a no pressure way to stretch your skills, this is the group for you. You make up the hearts on your own schedule and post when you are ready. Definitely much less stress than a RR or some of the swaps with deadlines
Give it a thought


Later,
Lauri

Janet's Egyptian Blocks

Hello All

These are the blocks I received from Janet in the Swap. I didn't forget you. I just didn't have enough room in the other post and I wanted yours all together.I saw all these while we were working on them. I was hoping I would get at least one of them. Janet ended up with 2 of mine.

What is so neat these blocks is that Janet got a book from the library that gave the word meanings of the hieroglyphs. So each block is named and has it written on them.

I just love Janet's work, all her stitching is delicate. I have infected her though, she is using more beads on her work.

I've got some actual sewing to do. Why do people feel free to dump their sewing on me when they find out I sew? A lady that works with hubby found out I sew , so she took it into her head to buy fabric for 6 ginormous tops and gave it to him telling him to have me make them up for her. Now this is a big woman, 5ft 9in and 300 lbs. Quite frankly she scares me, and she has a huge mouth and will make hubby's life miserable if I send them back. So I guess I am stuck. I'm thinking $30-$40 each, then at least it will make a dent on the kids' back to school clothes.

I've been CQing so much lately that I am not sure I know how to handle pieces of fabric bigger than 12". LOL

Maybe I'll just go back and look at my Egypt blocks for a while

Later
Lauri

Egyptian Blocks

Hello All


If you remember a while back I made some Egyptian blocks for a swap. These are the ones I received back.


This first one is from Sharon. It is much more colorful in person. My camera was washing everything out today.I particularly like the croc and the pyramid buttons.








This block is from Peggy. Aren't all the beads great?

These next two are from Julie. I saw these on her blog I think it was and I said to myself "I WANT that one and that one" I'm so lucky I got them. I especially like the Pharaoh jewelry piece on the first one and cat and the sequin seam treatment on the second.

This last one is from Gerry. It is on the home page of CQN. There is so much here that is great that I don't know where to start. I think the camel is my favorite

Thank you all for all your hard work. I love them . As soon as I get a chance I will be making them into a wallhanging. You all did a great job!

Later,
Lauri

Last Picture I Promise

Hello All

Here is the last picture I promise of all my Egyptian blocks. I had the seam treatments done over 1 1/2 weeks ago. But could I leave it here ? NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had to go for the beads. I just can't seem to leave them alone.

Lesa and JK at the CQ for Newbies site have promised that there is a new swap coming up and it will be exciting. I hope so. I am really not a flower person so nature themed blocks don't appeal to me. Maybe it will be a Renaissance Swap, I could do 10 of those or maybe a fantasy one . I could do dozens on that one.

I guess I'll just have to wait and see

Now I am on to Nancy's 12 Dancing Princesses block. I have LOTS of ideas for his one and lots of block to cover

Later,
Lauri

Last of The Egyptian Blocks

Hello All

Well here they are the last of the Egypt blocks. Again I must make the he disclaimer that they are not quite done. I still need to add beads.

The Cleopatra block on top just doesn't look right to me. Cleo and the asp (?) I did all in satin stitch and I like how they turned out. The block just doesn't hit me yet. Maybe it is because I used no print fabrics, only solids and blenders. I'll keep working on it for a few more days until I send them to JK.

The 3rd one, of tomb paintings is my version of a collage.I am thinking that I will not bead this one. It looks more authentic without them.

The King Tut on the last is very heavily embroidered and also colored in with pencil.It probably took me all in all about 9-10 hours on that little patch all by itself

Now I have never done a block swap before, so whoever receives my blocks be prepared. These are not always square. Then I thought I was doing something good and ironed on knit interfacing to them before I beaded. The end result is that some of my blocks are a little puckered, but not as much as they look in the pics. I am sorry in advance for that.

Otherwise I am happy with my results and think they turned out well.

I will try to post one last photo of all of them completely done before I mail them off in a week or so

Later,
Lauri

International Swap

Hello All

I have joined a swap. It matches up a US partner with one from somewhere else in the world. 4 times next year we will swap"squishies". These are plastic baggies filled with small pieces of fabric, trims, beads and embellishments.

My swap sister is named Samanthi and she lives in Sri Lanka. Ratnapura to be exact. She has jungles, elephants and gem mining. The second pic above is from that area. The third is what Grand Junction looks like right now. That's the Colorado River that eventually flows through the Grand Canyon. The last pic is of the Colorado National Monument in the summer. It doesn't do the place justice. You should see how REALLY red these rock formations are in person. In Western Colorado we have the Rocky Mountains AND desert conditions, tumbleweeds as big as cars, deer and skunk, and natural gas drilling. I guess you can't get too much different can you?

The only way I could think of to give her an idea of what it is like here was to tell her it is a lot like the old western movies especially the John Wayne ones. She knew about those, in fact she like to read westerns.Whereas the only western I have ever been able to finish was Lonesome Dove. I read Fantasy books about Dragons, Trolls and Fairies. Samanthi knows what these are but probably thinks I am really strange for reading about those things.

I told her I have red hair then she wanted to know if I looked like Julia Roberts. I wish! Isn't it funny how American Pop Culture shows up everywhere?

Of course that is the whole point isn't it? To get know something about somewhere else.

Well need to get going, have to pick up the puppy from the vet's. Doing my part to keep doggie overpopulation down. As stupid and clumsy as this Husky is I think I am doing the world a favor by not letting him procreate! By the way his name is Ulric and I think he is channeling his inner Viking

Later,

Lauri