Stiffener

There are many new products on the market and was wondering what type of Stiffener you use?
Below are just a few I have found in my research.
 Talking about new products on the market DMC has waste canvas that is now water soluble. About time and no more picking out all the threads especially when it gets caught in the threads.

Homemade Fabric Stiffener

Measure 1/2 cup of white glue and pour it into the bowl.

Measure 1/2 cup of water and pour it into the bowl.
Stir the glue and water together with the wooden spoon until it is blended and has the consistency of milk. Pieces of fabric should be immersed into the stiffener, smoothed out on a flat tor curved surface and allowed to dry for 24 hours.

Stiffy Fabric Stiffener by Plaid

Create permanent fabric projects quickly and easily using Stiffy ® Fabric Stiffener with most fabrics. Creates beautiful fabric bows, stiffens needlework. Add lace, ribbon and trims to craft projects or mold or drape dollies and lace

ALEENE'S  Fabric Stiffener  and Draping Liquid

This unique product shapes and stiffens fabrics and trims. Thinnable and tintable, use it to stiffen crochet doilies, fabric, lace, ribbons, cheesecloth, and appliques. When dry, it’s water-resistant and easy to paint. Recommended for: Bows, laces, ribbon

Amazing Fa-brick

Amazing Fa-brick is a transparent textile and decoration hardener. Dip nearly any porous natural materials, such as textiles, into Amazing Fa-brick and it will become stiff and rigid when dry. Drape or wrap your fabric around a wire figure, paper mache or other armature to make sculptures from fabric. Dries transparent or add colored pigment powder to give a new look to your sculpture. After your sculpture has dried, you will have a water resistant work of art that can be used indoors as well as outdoors. For outdoor use where direct rain contact or high humidity is likely, it is recommended your sculpture be sealed with a permanent waterproof varnish. Amazing Fa-brick is a water based polymer is easy to clean up with water. Will not adhere to plastic. Ready to use from the container

Tatted Necklace

Marilee Rockley (http://yarnplayertats.blogspot.com) has a free  tatted necklace called "Ripple". Here is my necklace with beads attached at the time of tatting.  One of my prizes on winning first place on the Heavenly Orb wall hanging was a  Resin Fairy Charm and a package of  Flat Spirals from Jenny Friske-Baer from www.DivineSparkDesigns.com. When I added the Charm it was too heavy and sagged so I added Flat Spirals at the end of the tatting and it helped.  Was not sure how to attached them. I have seen many pictures and they have taken a piece of jewelery wire  to make a hanging out of it then attached it to a ring.  Perhaps it might hang better if I attached the chain around the center and back to the ring. The blue teardrop is a bead I had purchased a long time ago and has found a home!
Marilee, Thank you for this easy pattern. I encourage beginners to give this pattern a try.

Angelina Fibers

Today I played with Angelina Fibers.  It is a fun project and quick!! These luscious colors are called Moonbeams. One picks them apart and then mix up the fibers to blend them.  Then lay them on a Teflon pressing sheet and fold it over. You need a pressing sheet of some kind or it will stick to your iron...UGHHHH     Press lightly and quickly or it will burn. You end up with a stiff piece of mixed fibers.
I am making a dragonfly and needed wings that sparkle. Angelina Fibers can be found in craft stores and online. I purchased this package from  www.ribbonsmyth.com 

Pocket Book side one

One side of the pocket book is completed with lots of tatting and crazy quilt stitches.  When tatting motifs one needs to find a way to mark the pattern who the designer is.  I am now cataloging and have a tag on all my tatting then put it into a plastic bag or jar. Note that some of these designs are not finished because of mistakes but still make a nice motif.
The butterfly rings and chains and the blue shuttle are from Roger aka Freedman; SCMR Butterfly by Randy Houtz is in the book, "Tatting the Self-Closing Mock Ring for GR-8 Design"  by Shuttle Brothers; Iris edging by Joelle Paulson; some tatting from Mary Konior's book, "Tatting with Visual Pattern".

February CQI Block

February's block has been completed.

The center block has Martha Ess's tatted dachshund and a cross stitched turtle in a field of fly stitch grass and pink flowers made with french knots. The Morning Glories are back stitched and the Daisy flowers are tatted. Bees, lady bugs, and a butterfly are silk ribbon. The dragon fly in the right corner is silk ribbon with beads. Herringbone Ladder Stitch is on the green material with the Deerfield Stitch (Herringbone) on the right.

The Dragon fly is beaded and the wings are made with the Interlaced Herringbone Stitch. Hummingbird is silk ribbon using the straight stitch.

The top is Herringbone Stitch and silk ribbon straight stitch with a bead in the center. Flowers are Lazy Daisy filled in with beads. The bees needed a home!! The skep is made with felt for a base and straight stitch across and buttonhole stitch for the bricks. Bees are silk ribbon.

The bottom left corner is a stink bug. Using felt as a base with a satin stitch in black thread to cover it. The sparkle thread is DMC Emerald Isle using the satin stitch. The head is stitched across and the body up and down to give it a wing or shell affect .  

The spider web was stitched first and then the branches and leaves were added. By doing it this way makes you think how the web is woven into the branch. It makes the stitching flow. The spider is a beaded body.

Crazy Quilt Show Prize

I received a fantastic prize today from Maureen's Vintage Acquisitions.  This is from the Crazy Quilt Show in February. I have never worked with some of these items and looking forward to embellishing my CQ quilt. The birds and butterflies are made from velvet are are just lovely. 
Please visit Maureen's shop at

www.maureensvintageacquisitions.com

Many Thanks for supporting the Quilt Show.

Bead Book

WOW!!! Another prize from the Crazy Quilt Show. This is a beautiful, hands on book. Well documented with colored pictures and signed by Nancy.  Put it on your wish list!!!

The bead kit for the Spider and web has everything including the needles with the Silamide Thread. I have not been happy with the bead thread I am using so will try out this thread soon. The needles are so tiny and I have lots of quilting needles. Never thought of using them. The long beading needles I use have a nice bend on them and they are not firm.

Also included in the prize package are 2 big boxes of beads, a packet of small flower beads and gold leaves. A package of Translucent Vellum Paper for designing your CQ block and also beading designs on fabric. It tears away easily and is a see-through paper.

Many Thanks, Nancy Eha, for this wonderful prize package. Just love the book!!

You can find Nancy's books and beads at ... www.beadcreative.com