 Feeling better today I got another block pieced.
The seam I have stitched is from a cross stitch sample by crazyQstitcher on 28th feb, thank you Maureen, This pattern appealed to me, I made a note of it at the time and it has taken me this long to find a seam to put it on.
I used a narrow strip of waste canvas to get the spaceing for the cross stitches and bars between them.
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I have had a back ache and generally not feeling well so even though I have found a couple more photos for mum’s quilt, I didn’t get to the machine to piece another block but I have been looking at some old unfinished blocks to get some different ideas ready for when I do get more blocks pieced…I found these couple of seams with cute little silk ribbon flowers which I think will make a nice seam on one of the blocks.
 
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Firstly the block that I finished last night, I left it till today because I get a better photo when I take them in daylight…This is the 20th block for mum’s memory quilt.
I need to choose and chase up a few more photos and while I do that I have started to think ahead to the family memories that I want to represent. One of those is backyard cricket and for it I have carved a cricket bat from a piece of icy pole stick, I cut it roughly to shape and then refined the shape with sandpaper, for the handle I coated it with PVA white wood glue and wrapped it with silk thread.
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I described how to do these Woven Fans with details 219 and 220, but have given this seam a different look by using a less dominate pattern between the Fans and putting a different dangle at the bottom of the Fans…I used Purl Thread for the flowers and linked them with the Fans by using the same bead ringed with Purl for both and then using the Purl for the dangles on the Fans.
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 Tonight I am visiting friends and taking my stitching with me but won’t be home to post what I do so here is the visual journal page for what I want to do…I will show you tomorrow what I actually do.
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This is a simple seam with a curved line of Stem Stitch trimmed with Straight Stitches and Beads…I chose a simple stitch that I could work in a fine thread for this seam because the red fabric is really difficult to stitch through, even with the fine thread you can see where threads in the fabric have pulled.
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 I spent most of today cleaning and getting ready for the Canberra Crazy Quilters meeting which was here tonight, we had a great time as usual…One of the ladies brought along a book about sardi emboidery and gold work, I remembered that I had some Purl, actually I had some years before I even knew what it was used for, but I have never tried to use it…After everyone had left I found it as well as a small piece of sari silk that has a design worked in Purl.
Purl is strange stuff, comes in long lengths that sort of wobble in your hand, made from fine wire wrapped like a spring to form a hollow tube from which short lengths are cut and stitched on like beads…I couldn’t find anything on the internet and the books I have only gave the most basic information so I stitched a sample by copying the patterns on the sari bits and then added a few of my own…it is easy enough to stitch on but working out how long to cut the curved bits and cutting the bits the same length is a bit difficult.
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How do you know when a crazy quilt block is finished? A Frequently asked question…most common answer is that the block will tell you…I will add to that, that sometimes it is helpfull to get a second opinion.
When I finished embroidering the seams on this block I expected to add several embellishments but after adding the button cluster I placed a few charms but could see no where else that needed further embellishment…the block was telling me that it was finished but with so few embellishments I didn’t beleive it till I got a second opinion. I asked Sharon when I visited her for a sewing afternoon and she agreed that it was finished…I used to add embellishments to a block as I thought of them, often keeping seam stitches low key and then putting embellishments over them, this year I have been thinking seam treatments and because my seams are becoming fancier they read on the block as embellishments which is why the block is finished sooner than I expected.
The charms I added are a teapot, a moon, a heart, a dragonfly and there is a tiny butterfly bead hiding in the lace.
  
 
And Here is the Finished Block
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I started by doing the Palestrina Stitch on a sample block to get the feel for it, I did 2 rows with there arms touching which formed square spaces down the middle…On mum’s quilt I did 2 rows with their arms touching and then added beads in the spaces down the middle.
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 This is the 20th block for mum’s memory Quilt.
For the seam I had in mind Oysters ah la Natural…I dyed some silk ribbon in a mottled grey oyster colour and then did to rows of randomly zig zagged Oyster Stitch…I’m not sure the seam worked as I envisioned but I kinda like it anyway.
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