Spool Tassel

What sparks your creativity?  Boredom?  Seeing someone else' creation?  A pile of pretties?  Necessity?  All of the above? 
I have a lot of Stuff.  And I come from a long line of people with a lot of Stuff.  Very creative people, so we have lots of cool Stuff.  Ribbon, fabric, notions, buttons, spools, bobbins, baskets, drawers, lace, silver, pewter, broken jewelry, furniture, pillows, needlepoint, the kitchen sink, etc. 

This bobbin is one of many from my parents and the trims on it are from a tag sale by a local lady who thought she had too much Stuff (gasp!)  The lace runner it sits on is from a friend.  It has spots and such, but will someday be part of something even more beautiful.

I also have very creative friends who have lots of cool Stuff.  Friends and family who like to share their Stuff.  Being the youngest in the family, I get a lot of hand-me-down Stuff.  I also get lots of "so-and-so was getting rid of this, so I brought it to you" Stuff.  

Two of the drawers are from my sewing machine and the other is, you guessed it, Stuff to be used.

So what does a creative person do with Stuff from other creative people?  She creates!  Some things end up on the proverbial cutting room floor, but some things are deemed Cool Creative Stuff.  The latest of the Cool Creative Stuff is this tassel made from a wooden spool (I have lots of those), vintage lace, fabric, and ribbons.  I will be using this one on my favorite embroidery scissors so they are easier to find when I drop them.  It's in my favorite color and has lots of feel-good stuff like velvet ribbon and vintage lace.  It reminds me of a crazy quilt or one of those fancy memory books a lot of people are making now with lace and such. 

I have put several of these tassels on Etsy and will be adding more soon.  They are a nice little indulgence for you or a sweet gift for a friend.  And since they are made from Stuff, you can call them recycled. 

#11 Embellishment

I have re-embellished block eleven.  Added embellishment?  Whatever.  Before:

And after:

And after some more:

Honestly, I'm still not in love with the the block.  I added some a velvet ribbon flower and leaves that I had made for my daughter, who didn't like them.  I embroidered leaf details and couched long-haired yarn for the center.  I also wove purple silk ribbon into the green lace.

I put a dyed crocheted flower (no, I didn't make it,  I can't crochet) and couched yarn across the lace on one corner.  That still didn't look right:

So I dyed a vintage doily green and added it behind the flower:



Does anyone have any suggestions for this block?  It is sad, because the lace and satin behind the rose is from my wedding dress.  I've been saving it for 21 years to put on a crazy quilt, and it still doesn't seem right. 
I am currently working on adding to another block that wasn't quite right.

Little Bits of Everything

Block #17 showcases Grandma.  Actually my husband's grandmother, but she feels like mine.  She was always interested in my latest project and was also very religious.  When we were finally forced to put her in a nursing home for her last few months, she would bunch up her sheet and use it to pray the rosary.  No, we were not so mean as to not give her a rosary.  We just couldn't find one that she didn't break before she was forced into bedrest, and afterwards she kept losing them in the bed and resorting to the blanket or sheet.  When she passed, it was about 2:30 in the afternoon on Good Friday.  Still gives me goose bumps. 

This is the oldest picture we had of Grandma, in keeping with the other old photographs I've been using.  It had some issues and I had to cut someone else out, but I finally got it just the way I wanted it.  This is what the first try looked like, but it was awful and I ripped up the block: 

I finally printed her picture again in an oval with a printed background around it and I think it looks much better.  The flowers are mostly hand dyed silk ribbon, with a few simple flowers I tatted to give some more dimension. 

The fan next to Grandma's picture is my adaptation of one that appears on many of the older crazy quilts. 

The little black doo-dad is an engraved design I copied from my son's shotgun.  I think on the block it looks kind of like a bat off of a Scooby Doo cartoon or something.  The lace applique was also hand dyed. 
Check out the detail of the large piece of lace. It broke my heart to cut into that piece, so I just cut off one end and kept the width. I try not to use patches that big, but I love, love, love that lace!

This odd looking thing is a mockingbird nest.  There was no way I could embroider a mockingbird (the state bird of Texas, for those of you not from the Great State).  But a few years ago I took a picture of a nest and eggs in a tree in our yard and decided that was the perfect compromise.  The eggs are satin stitched in a light blue.  I then tried dropping brown dye on them, but it turned into lines instead of speckles.  I will probably try to fix that later on.  The nest is made of couched yarns from Roxann and leftover bits of brown velvet and silk ribbons.  The whole thing is super soft.

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. 

Church Window

Here I go again, not posting in a while.  Honestly, the thingie to download pictures from the camera was lost and I was too cheap to buy another.  I finally broke down and bought one.  It was the principle of the thing.  It's been in my camera case for years, but the husband and kids played with the camera when we went to the beach on Memorial Day weekend and it suddenly disappeared.  Of course, no one saw it or knows where it is. 

This block is supposed to look like a stained glass window.  I tatted the cross a few years ago with no real plan.  It was originally going to be a bookmark, but it ended up way bigger than I had envisioned.  The main window at our church has a Jesus on the cross statue with a purple cross behind him in stained glass, so I dyed some purple lace to go along with the black ribbon (leading) around the window.  The red background came with gold sequins sewn on, which seemed appropriate. 

The "L" is my initial, and the lilies of the valley my birth month flower.  They are made with the wider white silk ribbon.  Each is 3 petals with a bit of yellow hanging down.  I drew the little Victorian boot when I was bored one day and added it as an after thought because I couldn't come up with anything else to put in that spot. 

I am very, very proud of the Mexican dahlia.  I dyed the ribbon and just kept adding petals that naturally curled.  It's very thick and looks just like I imagined it.  That almost never happens. 

The whole thing is finished with hand dyed fans and velvet ribbons, and some vintage lace at the bottom.
I promise that the next post won't take so long, since I almost have that block finished and I can download the pictures now.

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.