Project Quilting Challenge 12-1
I decided to keep it simple. As you may have read in my last post, my word of the year is calm. I took the opportunity to make myself of reminder of my word and intention.
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| Keep calm & stitch |
It was a very straight forward piece. Find yellow and grey scraps and start sewing pieces together. I just had to go into my stash for a little more grey. I decided to keep it simple and created a log cabin improv block with the grey in the centre and yellow on the outside.
I put the block together in one evening but it took most of my free time this week to stitch it. There is no doubt that slow stitching is just that....slow! It did remind me to stay calm.
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| Stitching in progress |
After stitching most of the inside grey section, it was time to square off the piece. Lesson learned: if I don't do this before the piece is finished, I'm bound to stitch where the binding goes and cut off some of the stitches. At this point I prepared the scrappy binding and attached it. Then I finished stitching, knowing that I would now stay inside the lines!
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| Adding more stitching once the binding is on |
Here are views of some of the details.
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| The grey was stitched mostly with running stitches |
For Christmas, my son got me the paper copy of Sharon Boggon's Creative Stitches for Contemporary Embroidery. I used Sharon's book for inspiration. I didn't want to get too fancy with stitching but I used some of her ideas for the stitching layouts.
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| Adding beads and couching |
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| Adding beads and trying out stitches |
What I learned
- Yesterday I got a little panicky about finishing the piece on time. So I took a deep breath and decided that it was no big deal if it wasn't finished by the deadline - I could just post it after the party. Problem solved, back to calmness. 😊
- I absolutely love Sharon Boggon's new book. Sharon is the lady who hosts TAST or Take a Stitch Tuesday on her blog, Pintangle. If you like embroidery, check her out (see Related links below).
- Now that I have this new project out of my system, it's time to work on my son's quilt!
Related links
Linking parties
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I'll be linking up to many other fun linking parties. Let's see what's going on in quilting/stitching blog land! Sarah Goer has a new linking party - Show me something that's a challenge, that I've linked up to.
Oh Scrap!, Slow Sunday Stitching, Patchwork & Quilts, Colour & Inspiration Tuesday, Design Wall Monday, Monday Making, To-Do Tuesday, Needle & Thread Thursday, Project details
15" x 11"
Materials: grey and yellow scrap quilting cottons, beads, buttons, embroidery floss, perle cotton
Techniques: improv piecing, embroidery stitching, beading
Oh this is nice! I love the project itself plus that stitching - so pretty and makes it very special.
ReplyDeleteI had the same feeling of panic this morning (especially when I was having to use the seam ripper), but I remembered the instructions included having fun, so I relaxed - lol!
Thanks Linda, it's hard sometimes, in the panic of trying to finish something, to remember that we do this for fun. Good for you for remembering. Take care.
DeleteIt looks like you had SEW much fun with the quilting on your PQ12.1 entry, Andree!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Joy. I find that slow stitching is pretty tedious if you don't calm down and enjoy the process. It just can't be rushed, so you may as well enjoy it or do something else :-) Take care.
DeleteThis is really nice. I like all the little added embellishments. And calm is such a good word to keep returning to!
ReplyDeleteThanks Wendy, I'm sure that I'll have to remind myself of this often, which is why it's right above my sewing machine :-) Take care.
DeleteSuperbe ! Tout est beau dans ce projet, les tissus, les points et les embellissements. J'aime bien les boutons ;)
ReplyDeleteMerci Frédérique. J'ai pensé que puisque j'ai beaucoup de boutons, qu'il était temps des utiliser....mais maintenant j'en veux d'autres :-)
DeleteYour knack of putting indiscriminate scraps of fabric together and then playing with beautiful embroidery is always a joy to see. Those colours do dance beautifully. This piece is lovely.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Kim. Although grey and yellow are not my usual combination, I think that they really play well together and there is definitely a calm vibe. Take care.
DeleteThis is awesome!!! I love the whole finish - all the elements that come together to wow you!!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Alycia. I just love playing with little pieces of fabric and then doing the embellishment! This will help me remember to stay calm and breathe! Take care.
DeleteI adore this! Slow stitching is slow but has such a dramatic result! Great work ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Kim. It was a real pleasure making this piece. Thanks for hosting again. It's always a lot of fun and the highlight of my winter! Take care.
DeleteThis is beautiful and very calming to look at. It will be a good reminder of your word for the year :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Janine, that's exactly it. The piece is now on the wall over my sewing machine. That's where I need to remember to stay calm and breathe :-) Take care.
DeleteI am so intrigued by the "slow stitching" you're doing. Is it more like hand quilting with embroidery threads and decorative stitches, or more like embroidering through a quilt sandwich? Do you wear a thimble and/or use a hoop of any kind? What kind of needle and thread do you use? Do you use the same rocking stitch as traditional hand quilters, or do you have to stab one stitch at a time? I LOVE the impact of those hand stitches and beads. Gorgeous and yes, very calm -- your colors remind me of driving through a dense fog for hours, and finally coming out of the fog and into the sunshine.
ReplyDeleteHi Rebecca, you have such a practical mind and yet so whimsical. That's awesome. The slow stitching is pretty much anything I want - that's why I love it. Sometimes I do it before the quilting, and then it can be more intricate and is essentially embroidery. In those instances, I may use an embroidery hoop but if I can get away from it, I don't. I find that they are just in the way. The trick is not to embroider tightly. If I stitch through a sandwich then I generally keep it simpler. If it's a running stitch, then I just use replace that instead of quilting and go through all of the layers but anything fancier doesn't have to go through all the layers if I don't want. As you can see, I love doing my own thing and not care about rules except when they suit me :-) Take care.
DeleteHi Andree! I love this color combination as a whole, and you certainly nailed the challenge. Great piece - every bit of it is fab but especially that quilting. Really nice job and thanks for linking up this week. ~smile~ Roseanne
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Roseanne. It was a lot of fun to make and on the whole pretty calm :-) It's now on the wall over my sewing machine - a good reminder to breath and stay calm :-) Take care.
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