Blood, Sweat, and Tears

This block really has been all about blood, sweat, and tears.  The blood starts with my poor sore fingers.  For some reason, it has been a particularly rough week with the needle and I've never been comfortable with a thimble.  I have an aversion to things that confine, like shoes, gloves, and thimbles.  Chalk it up to claustrophobia, but this week I kind of wish I had learned to use the thimble years ago.  To top it off, I burned two fingers and a thumb (different hands) at lunch time. 

Remember what the block looked like last week without the embroidery?  It's quite a change, eh?  First up is the lace purse.  The lace was from a vintage lace sleeve from Roxann.  I hated cutting into it, but this way I can see the beauty instead of being stuck in a box. 
To the right is my take on a hibiscus, embroidered on top of a sliver of tropical barkcloth.  I used to wear a lot of Hawaiian shirts. 

Here is my pocket watch appliqued from a piece of very pretty silk.  Ignore the purple marks, please.  That's just from the disappearing ink that hasn't disappeared.  I am planning to extend the chain into the next block when they are sewn together.  And yes, there is significance in the 3:00 time stamp.  The very pretty olive, beige, and rose fabric (which is also the softest thing on this quilt) is picked out with plain brown backstitching on the brown lines in the fabric.  It's subtle in the photograph, but very nice on the real thing.



This is where the tears come in.  Every time I located the peacock, it would disappear again.  Really.  I lost this thing at least 6 times.  I was so relieved to finally get it sewn on.  See the blue velvet it is mounted on?  I embossed that with a peacock feather rubber stamp, but you can really only see one of the feathers now. 



My corset mannequin took some doing.  I bought a stamp when out of town this weekend along with a set of dye markers.  Then, after coming home, realized that I didn't have the right stamp ink to apply it to my fabric.  Did I mention I live int he middle of nowhere?  I finally traced the design, embroidered it to the block, then filled it in with dye markers.  The flowers are those chiffon and tulle things I made before with the candle.  I like the outcome, but I still wish I had the right stamp pad.

One more block to go.  I don't think I will have it done for a couple of weeks due to time constraints, but next week I will post what the blocks are looking like sewn together.  I have ten together so far, but I am going to give my fingers a chance to heal before finishing the joining embroidery on them.

The Log Cabin

Once again, the newest block is my favorite.  This is my take on a log cabin block, albeit a tad off, in greens and cream/brown.  You can't really see the cream and brown for the lace, but you get the idea.  I tried to keep the seam embellishments simple on this one.  I know, that's not the Victorian way, but the colors of the log cabin were just too pretty to cover.

Where to start...the purple geometric design on the solid green satin to the right is from the design on my aesthetic bedside table.  I think it started life as a plant stand and was painted black, but I stripped and refinished it and use it for my lamp and stuff.  Ok, it mostly has needles, thread, scissors, and ribbon.  But when I clean it off it's really pretty, and I try to clean it every time I finish a block. 
The yellow thistle-like embroidery on the green velvet is taken from my great-great grandmother's amber Madrid depression glass that I inherited.  I traced it onto water soluble stabilizer, but this time I used the paper kind and it's really, really hard to soak off.  You can still see traces.  I will get them off during a really patient moment.  It may be a while.

The flower basket took a while, but was so much fun!  All of the ribbon and lace motifs are hand dyed, including the brown velvet that makes up the basket.  I really tried to layer things when I put them on, but they were all so pretty that I didn't want to cover anything up.  I cut the yellow flowers, leaves, and butterfly from different larger Venetian lace pieces.  I hope they all show well. 

I bought the peacock last year at the Victoria, Texas quilt show from the same lady that I bought my dyes from.  I have been afraid to dye it all this time because I was afraid to mess it up.  I think it turned out pretty well.  I used blue satin DMC floss to make french knots as "eyes" in the feathers, which made a nice accent.  After I have sewn this to another block, I will tack his head down and add an eyeball. The yellow velvet ribbon that the peacock has roosted on and the turquoise lace were also hand dyed. 

Floating Along

This block came along quite easily compared to some.  It took a while to finish simply because I didn't have a lot of time to devote. 

This is my aunt (okay, technically my husband's aunt).  I was the domestic daughter she never had.  She taught me to make a lot of the traditional Tex-Mex foods that my husband and kids love that her daughters weren't interested in.  We would also sit at her dining table hemming pants by hand (that part of the family is vertically challenged) and talking about sewing projects, kids, church, and whatever came up.  Those times reminded me of going with my mom as a small child to the neighbor's house where they would sit over a cup of coffee every morning.  Back when children were to be seen and not heard.  Ms. Ruby could crochet like you wouldn't believe and had many dolls that she had dressed.  I would sit and admire them after I finished my juice and the adults were still talking.  Anyway, the ribbon around the picture is a luxurious dark blue velvet that you would have to see in person and touch to appreciate.  I love the floral spray of lace at the bottom.  That piece has been auditioned on every block, but just now found the perfect home.  Ms. Ruby did not make the crocheted lace to the right, but as it is a gorgeous piece of workmanship, I can imagine it being hers.

This is another piece of a kimono grab bag that I got in the San Antonio show in September of last year.  It's a lot bigger than the pieces I usually put in the quilt, but I hated to cut it up.  It's hard to tell, but I outlined the top wings, antennae, and body in matching threads for some dimension. 

These are some little medallions I tatted forever ago when I was bored.  They make a great little take-along project for the doctor's office, waiting for the kids during practice, or when your husband is driving.  If you have never tried needle tatting, you should really try it.  At the Houston Quilt Festival several years ago, the gentleman from Handy Hands Needle Tatting showed me how in about 5 minutes.  No kidding, I had to make the bus so he had to hurry.  Barbara (the owner) is the nicest lady and helped me over the phone once when I had gotten myself confused.  Hobby Lobby also has some of her line and books, but I prefer to buy direct.  Got to support the small businesses when you can!

This is the prettiest green velvet.  I hate to cover it, but the swan scene was perfect.  A swan was the first thing I remember my mother teaching me to draw.  When my friend Laura sent me a copy of the Sublime Stitching book and I saw her swan, it inspired me to make my own. 
Note:  Never, ever, ever take cattails home to arrange in your studio.  They dry and explode tiny white dandelion-ish seeds.  You will never get them all out and will think a rat has nested in your batting.  Dad harvested some for me, thinking they would be really cool since we don't have such things where we live.  It's a sight I will never forget and will always make me laugh.