Heritage CQ - Chicago is done!

adding flowers was an absolute must

the have livened up what was a good  block into a great block







i may still have to add a few more beads here and there


 but I think I have gotten it to  "done"




here you can see the block before flowers





 and after

big difference!
though I'm not sure about the sequin trail up the side of the el car....
I wanted something trellis/dangling
but the sequins seem to be distracting rather than framing.

help me out ?
anyone got a better idea?

heritage update - chicago

  It's still not done yet, it needs more.....stuff

so far I have favorite music halls and venues and restaurants. some of which are long gone now or closed and decaying ( shame-shame!_)

a map of the el lines.  I so miss the CTA!

Never thought I'd hear myself saying that!

Seattle could take a lessen or 30 from the CTA

I have part of the skyline and if you know who those two shady characters are, there's an APB out on them!

the harbor lighthouse, the only one in america with a red light.


our beloved (or not) 3000's

and this saucy girl!
she represents a few things for me,
1st shes an iconic chicago poster,
2nd she sort of represents the playboy club where my mom worked as a young and callow yout

but as you can see it needs more.

chicago is known as Urbs in Horto (City in a Garden) or more accurately, city of a thousand hidden gardens. there everywhere you just have to know where to look.
take an el ride for fun on the red, brown or green lines and you'll see what I mean. those lines are some of the oldest in the city and run down most alleys.
if you look down, you can see into peoples back yards and they have some of the best garden views!
So I need more flowers...everywhere stuck inbetween places you normally wouldn't look for them to be.

and seamtreatments I haven't done any yet and the block looks naked without them.
but I must think carefully about what, don't want to overwhelm the block either, hmm...

Heliotrope fairy

I don't know why but I feel like I OLE!-ed this one.




most of it is trims and motifs I just tacked down.



the hardest part was deciding what to put in the bottom right corner.

the cattails do look divine don't they?


 the rest was pretty simple a little beading here,
     a little seamwork there                        
                           bees allover the place
                                                       and Voila!
heliotrope fairy!

Violet Fairie

 another fairie is done and in his garden


 with critters

the dragonfly was made out of the last two fringes off a bead fringe that went on the red rose pouch from a few posts ago.
spider is made from flat Krenik, teardrop bead and a faceted glass bead.

the blue bird was made with stem stitch and split stitch on the wings

I found a little glass lamp-work snake in a drawer and thought it would look good just there under the button run

and there is another key hidden in the sequins.

every garden needs secrets. I outlined the fairies wings with krenik filament to give him a little more focus.

I don't quite know what I am going to do with these little guy's yet. maybe a wall hanging or separate boxes a purse? i don't know yet.
but they are fun to experiment with and challenge myself with.

my challenge with this one was how to balance it against that honking great bit of purple motif. How do you think I did?

a pouch and a puss

I'm putting a new pouch in the shop today.
it's a little bigger than the others about 5"x5" with a silk cord strap.





a lucky spider in the corner, lots of lacy bits...







A dragonfly and fan in the lower corner
and roses curling up the side






I had just enough of these dangles left over from something else to put on the bottom and two for accents at the side.



when I came back in my room to make my bed this morning I found this between the pillows!

I  didn't have the heart to disturb her so the bed will get made later than usual today!

templates

I have been asked this so many times that I am just going to go ahead and do it!

these are the templates I use. I designed them over the years because my cq was lumpy and uneven without a little guidance.
I am offering to make them (for $20) on commission to any one who wants them through my ETSY site.

I have had so many people ask me if I would make them a set that I finally decided to put them up in my shop.

these are not professionally made! I make them myself out of a flexible opaque plastic sheeting with scissors an exato blade and a sharpie, they are a little wobbly. 

Circles

Truth be told mine are a little cheesy but they work for me and maybe they will work for you too.

If you want something perfectly die cut from thick plastic go to Sharon Boggins site, she has beautifully made stencils that will last a lifetime.
I bought a set and am waiting with anticipation for them to arrive. they are bigger than my usual stitch and I hope this will challenge me to use bigger stitches,
Mine are better suited to those who use little stitches.

flexible!

squares

wavy

I have been using mine for about 10 years, when I need a new even seam I make a new template!

you can make them too, I am doing this because people have asked. but these are all basic shapes used in the making of any seam treatment. nothing special here, just  little time and effort on my part.
A little expertise and experimentation too.
I have discarded things that didn't work for me.

round

they are not very big and fit well in my sewing kit.

I haven't made any fancy instructions for them yet so if anyone needs guidance, let me know, I will try to come up with something. 

I'll take any suggestions you have too. Remember these are my own designs and I'm not a professional, the lines aren't always straight and the measurements are not exact. They are whoever good enough for me and I hope they will be good enough for you too.

Poetry RR in the garden

 I love my yard!

Have I mentioned that before?

looking out from my favorite places to stitch I get this lovely view of my tree

( ignore the pile of old picknick table, I must put that away.)

the front porch.

 my SO gave me this wonderful wind chime for my Birthday this year, it resonated and sings so prettily in the slightest breeze.
 it sounds like a Nerada track.

 and then there are my Veggi boxes across the yard,

full of tomatoes, squash, carrots, pickles, radishes, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, kale, sweet peas and corn.

I am also trying out brusselsprouts and artichokes this year.

I'm hoping to have enough of a harvest in some of this stuff to trade for fresh eggs,


as the new next door neighbors have chickens.

It's been raining so much the last few months that all 6 of my rain barrels are so full they fountain! I have to run around and make sure they all have open valves and spouts leading away so they don't flood and undermine the foundation of the barrels.


In this nirvana I have finished Janet's block for the poetry and verses RR in CQI.

She chose a children's book version of a Robert Frost Poem, the pictures of which are wonderfully charming!
As I was the last lady on this piece, I had 2 blocks to choose from.
I chose the cover page because it had the best convergence of fabrics for the idea I had.

I took elements from one of the other ladies blocks, the seam treatments in the upper left corner and top seam and then used several of the illustrations from the book for inspiration.

I hope she likes it!

I know I had fun, with the birds especially, I think I may place more critters in my blocks in future.

two new boxes in the shop

I have put two new boxes in the shop , now didn't these turn out nice?

i'm rather pleased with these two boxes,


 I layered some lace motifs at the bottom of the "birds of a feather box"


the diamond seam treatment turned out nice, the blue beads down the center show off that seem very nicely


 the embroidery on the birds is pleasing it's a pattern I've used before with various degrees of success

 I'm glad it turned out so well here




"the music lesson" turned out well too I was hoping the silkie would show better but no matter where I take a picture of it theres a glare and the picture is washed out, poo!

I wish too that the clock would have been a little more centered  but sometimes placement is tricky when your putting the final touches on.

and in order for the rest of the block to be shown well without cutting off anything vital the clock face got a little smooshed, also Poo!
I could just use the top as a template but where would the fun be in that?
besides I like the look of the embroidery wrapping around the edges and going around corners.

the land of Fairie

I must say i'm rather pleased with this block!

All the elements turned out to be just right. Not too heavy, even though I used a lot of big motifs.

Thats the challenge, though, isn't it?

As your technique evolves, to challenge yourself to use colors and elements that you normally would never put side-by-side.

to pick something so glaringly off and make it work within the confines of your block.

I try to do this with ever new project, challenge myself with color, technique or style.
I find it helps me with design choices and makes me a better artist over all.