I'm published!

I have an article in the newest issue of CQMagOnline! I am so excited to be "published". My article describes how to make a ruffled flower in silk ribbon, a couched butterfly and a special flower - all in silk ribbon. (There's a link to my article in my sidebar.) Check it out - it's a great issue.

-Happy Stitching!

more TASTy herringbone and cretan

Here are a few more seam treatments. The top one is herringbone, of course and was fun to do.

The bottom row is a combination herringbone/cretan, which seems like such a simple idea, I don't know why I've never seen it before. It wasn't my idea either, I got it out of a book mentioned on SharonB's site here. Only the one page in the booklet is in color, but it's still an interesting collection of stitches - check it out.
Happy Stitching.......

Still in love with TASTY herringbone

herringbone 012
Originally uploaded by Lin Moon.

Even though TAST (see SharonB's inaminuteago) is on week 3(or is it 4?) I'm still doing some herringbone treatments. It's just too fun! Now on to cretan....

What Would YOU Do With These?

OK, Creative people out there, I need your ideas!

My Uncle Rod used to have several clothing lines in New York City and pictured here you can see samples of the patterns a number of garments could come in. He's long since passed away, but I have had these samples for many years. My mother made a purse from one of them, but the pieces are pretty small once you try to make something - maybe 8 by 10. Since they are all covered with sequins, they are gorgeous, but not easy to sew with. Does anyone have any ideas on how I could use these samples? I know I could cut off all the sequins, and use them for CQ, but that seems like a waste of some really pretty patterns.

A confession:
I recently got a birthday card that was really cute with a cake on the front decorated with sequins. Well I have to confess, I cut all the sequins off the card to use for CQ! I don't know - should I feel guilty or just resourceful - ha ha.

More TASTY Chain

Further developments in SharonB's TAST challenge:

Here in blue, you can see 4 twisted chain stitches (it might be long-legged twisted chain). I worked it in the round to get the pink flower, which I really like.

The purple flower is just 5 Lazy Daisy petals of ribbon floss placed over (and between) 5 Lazy Daisy petals of Rainbow Gallery Flair (which I call tubular panty-hose).

Then there is the French Knot Lazy Daisy, where the tie-down stitch is a French knot instead of just a straight stitch. Each peach bud is a FKLD done around a padded straight stitch. The turquoise ribbon flower shows 6 petals of FKLD with the knots in the center. The two maroon flowers show FKLD with knots in the center and then with knots on the outer edge.

TASTY Detached Chain

Here are a couple of pix of Detached Chain/Lazy Daisy for SharonB's TAST challenge. I just love the Lazy Daisy/Detached Chain stitch. There are so many things you can do with this stitch. The top seam treatment has yellow Lazy Daisy done in a velour thread, surrounded by a Lazy Daisy in pink floss. The leaves are a Decorative Lazy Daisy stitch, meaning that a decorative straight stitch is added right down the middle of the Lazy Daisy.

The next row is Lazy Daisies with some straight stitches and French knots done in pink.

Happy Stitchin'......

Craqy Quilting Ramblings

A button for you to enjoy....

What evokes

...a spring garden, bursting with flowers?
...an oriental feeling?
...a country cottage, all in pastels?
...a sophisticated design, taking your eye on a visual journey?
...exuberance with bright vibrant complimentarycolors?
...a Victorian mood with dusty mauves & an antique look?
...decadent decoration, over-the-top embellishment?
...sparkling pizzazz with glittering threads & beads?
...homespun simplicity with cotton fabric & threads?
...a rush of glitz, glamor & shimmering beads?
...a riot of color that is simply joyous?

(The answer, of course is CQ) In surfing CQ blogs and pix, I am totally amazed at all the different approaches people have and the way they can take the same stitches and use them to evoke a different look or mood. I wonder if the effect is always purposeful or if the "soul" of the stitcher just comes out when creating a block, for instance. Sometimes I have been "selective", say, like when I worked on something oriental, not to have garden trellis kinds of embellishments.... But I wonder - when you-all out there are stitching - is the effect always "planned"? Certainly there are certain looks that I would find difficult to achieve, especially if I felt that look just wasn't me...

Sometimes I look at a block from far away and wonder: What exactly is it that makes that block work? I know some things that make it not "work", for me, at least. For instance if one patch stands out from all the others and it's obvious it's not supposed to be a focal point. But other times I find it difficult to say why a certain block is so appealing. Sometimes it's the interplay of the colors...anyone else have thoughts on this? Also, sometimes my experience of the block changes when I look at it up-close. I suppose this should be taken into account when you make a block - will it be seen close-up or far away? Just thinking about design.....

TAST-Y buttonhole

Well it's week 2 in Sharon's TAST challenge, described here.

Buttonhole is the featured stitch, but I'm not done with herringbone yet! Anyway, here a just a couple of pix.

If I stitch a feather in buttonhole stitch, does that mean I have to stitch a buttonhole using the feather stitch?

Happy Stitching!

Great Book

I just got a great new book. It's a Lark book & it's called "500 Beaded Objects - New Dimensions in Contemporary Beadwork." It has everything beaded, from jewelry, dolls, flowers, purses, vases, animals, sculptures, etc. You name it, it's in there. Lots of the items include a close-up picture along with the full size, almost as if you mouse-clicked to zoom in. With 500 of anything, there's got to be plenty to love. It has work by Valerie Campbell-Harding, Nancy Eha, Diane Fitzgerald, Robin Atkins, Carol Wilcox Wells and tons more. I could just look at this book over and over! Check it out if you get a chance.

more TASTY herringbone

These pictures are part of the TAST challenge, described in Sharon's blog here.







The pink daisies sample was interesting. It started out, of course, as just 2 rows of herringbone. But as soon as I put that pink flower between them, the "cells" formed and the look totally changed.

Went to Staples today and bought a large 3 ring binder. I plan to staple a strip of cardstock to the left hand side of my fabric, punch holes in it and keep it in the binder. I'm not much for sketches - I need color and texture.

Christmas Decor

Well I am finally getting to putting away the last of the Christmas decorations....I just had to take a picture of this "topiary" that I made before I put it away and wonder what it's supposed to look like when I try to reconstruct it next year. I was looking for a tall thin vase, walked into Tuesday Morning and there it was, so I figured it was meant to be.

TAST herringbone

First of all, I think we need to change Take-a-Stitch-Tuesday to Take a Stitch Tuesday, You, so our acronym can be TASTY!

This message is in reference to Sharon's TAST challenge, mentioned in her blog here.

Anyway, here are a couple of my seams. The first row is interesting in that the weaving of the lighter pink thread is a little different. I like how it looks all loopy on the right end, but if you don't tack it down like I did on the left, the loops don't really stay well.

I don't know if what I want to get out of this is the same as the rest of you, but here's what I envision: I'd like a "book" of the stitch - with various ideas on how to embellish a seam using this stitch. That way, when I want an idea for some project I'm working on, I can just look through my book for ideas. I'm so glad we're doing this during the holidays, when I have the time to do it. Happy Herringboning!