Wow, here again

Hello all,

2 posts within 2 weeks , I'm  on a roll.

Here's block 2, before and after beads

The photo of the girl was a bit faded and pale, after judicious  application of colored pencils and another layer of glitter paint, she looks much better

Later,
Lauri

Hello All,

No I haven't died or fallen off the face of the Earth. Just haven't had much to say. To be honest , blogging is quite stressful to me. It seems to me ( at least when done by me) to be an exercise in saying " I,I, I" 

I did this, then I did that etc..

When I was in high school my favorite English teacher taught me this kind of writing was of the worse order and to be avoided at all costs. Knowing this makes writing very difficult for me.  I (see?) Know how to write fairly well actually but don't have the patience to do it correctly at this point in my life.

Trying to write a blog about the art you do, does tend to the "I,I,I"  scenario. So there will be times when there will be only photos. If you questions please feel free to ask and I will answer ASAP

During my time away I have been busy with my CQing and with crocheting. Plus my fairy gardens and at least 10 other ' crafty' things

This block is one of a set of 9 started in 2010 when I attended the CQI retreat .Needing a small project to work on this project was born

This group have been brought out a couple times a year , but nothing much got accomplished 

This year , the CQI Retreat was in Kansas City, so  I couldn't  bring my usual haul of projects to work on

For some reason this time these blocks were finally talking to me.

Here is the first one with all the embroidery  done

 And here it is fully beaded. As you can see it makes such a transformation  with all the beads added

It feels good to get back to what I feel is my style. My hexagon project (  which was started almost 5 years ago, before the current hexagon fad started)  is quite enjoyable and I am happy how it is turning out. However each block is a color study and it gets a bit tedious working with only one color.

Color is my thing as we all know . So these blocks are a nice change of pace

Hopefully you will see me back next week with the next block done.

Later,
Lauri

Test

Blocks 10-22

Hello All

Well here a few more. I figure I am about 20% done

My problem is that I keep coming up with more ideas and adding blocks back in. I need to stop or this will be bedspread sized

Maybe after I get them all done and ready to assemble I can winnow out some and make 2 wall quilts

 

The thing is, I don't have wall space for 1 let alone 2

I guess I will deal with that when the time comes :)

I have no clue why this one is so small. I can't make it bigger or delete it , so......

Later,
Lauri

Hexagon Quilt

 Hello All

You've heard me talk about my hexagon quilt for quite some time, but I've never gotten around to posting any pictures

I spent almost 2 months piecing hexs in every shade of every color. By the time I was done I had about 200. Then when I did the math I figured out this quilt would be humongous

 

Then I had to make a decision as to what to do. This took another few months

Finally I decided I would cut the number back to about 130 some

 So here are the first 9 stitched, embellished and beaded

I am hoping to have this quilt, plus the under the sea AND the all pink one done by this time next year

If I stick to 4-6 hours a day this might work

Wish me luck!!

Later,
Lauri

Maire's Water Garden Block

 Hello All

Here's Maire's whole block after Thearica, Nicki and I worked on it

 And here is my work

 and a few close ups

I do like Under The Sea blocks there is so much you can do with them

Later,
Lauri

Thearica's Water Garden Block

Hello All

I wasn't sure what a pig had to do with a water garden but I tried to go with it.
The machine embroidered pig design takes up quite a bit of a 6 inch block.
The only way I could think to add water was with a hose and have the pig wallow in the mud.
I think it turned out pretty cute once I figured out what to do
Hope she likes it
Later,
Lauri

I Did It!!

Hello All

Well with 4 hours to spare "Janet's Fault" was done in time to enter it in the County Fair
Tomorrow we will go watch the judging and see if it win anything.
Will try to get better pictures when it is hanging but at least you get the idea
I am very happy that I got my miters perfect and that it also perfectly square. Which for a non sane quilter like me it is a huge deal. I did everything I could think of to make sure the quilt didn't get marked down for any of the things that normally plague crazy quilts.
Of course they didn't know what category to put it in as there was not one for crazy quilts
Hope you enjoy it!
Lauri

Added 7/15   I won a Blue Ribbon!!

Nicki's Water Garden

Hi Ladies


Here's the before and after of the block I did for Nicki Lee. The theme is Water Garden
The frog and lily were done as slips and added later. I particularly like the cattail seam embellishment
Hope you like it Nicki!!
Later,
Lauri

Janet's Fault

 Hello All



 I have finally gotten all the block/fans done on this quilt. It is all pieced and sewn together, but I am too short to get a good picture of this project. No matter what I climb up onto I am still not tall enough to get the whole thing in one photo. I REALLY need a design wall
Hopefully I can get the hubby to hold it up while I photograph it

 It was my intent to make the lace to look as realistic as possible. I am happy with how it has turned out

 Now sewing this all together was quite an ordeal. I am not a sane quilter and matching corners and completely straight seams is not for me. As the plan is to enter this into the County Fair, I don't want to give them any more ammunition to mark it down . Crazy Quilts just don't do well at Fairs and quilt shows. It is definitely something you either love or hate

Now onto the black embroidered lace on the first border.
Don't forget you can click on the photos to get a larger view if you wish to check out the seam treatments

Later
Lauri

February CQJP

Hello All
I know this block may look a bit boring. I am trying to give myself an exercise. The object of the CQJP is to learn something. SO I have decided to use the same block layout for all my blocks this year and see how many different ways this block can be made to look. Through fabric choice, texture , embellishments, focal points and so on

Later,
Lauri

Seam Inspiration

http://www.cakewrecks.com/home/2012/1/29/sunday-sweets-fun-and-fondant-free.html

Hello All
 What may you ask does a cake have to do with CQ? Well that bottom border looked like a seam treatment to me

What do you think? Did I catch it?

This is the lace border I did on one of the fans for the "Janet's Fault" project

Here's the rest of the block 

And here are the other 3 plus some seam closeups

 That's about all for now

Later,
Lauri