Tatting Stars and Card

These work up much quicker than a post card!

 

The Finger Lakes Tatting Group is creating a "Starry-Night" quilt to auction off. The proceeds will go into the Seminars scholarship fund. In Karey Solomon's last Tatting Times, she was asking for 5 pointed stars tatted in gold thread. I tatted up a few but not enough to win  Five Shuttle-shaped beads. I am sure there are people who will make about 40 to 50 of them, I am just slow and enjoying life!!

 

Merry Christmas

Welcome to my home in New Mexico. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a great 2013!

Easy Street Mystery Quilt

Quiltville's Quips and Snips blog by Bonnie Hunter (Click blog on side bar) has a Mystery Quilt started. Every Friday is a new clue to the mystery.  The first clue is sewing 194 - 4 patch.

 

Clue 2 we need 128 Flying Geese.

I used Eleanor Burns Flying Goose Ruler. Lots of cutting but they are a perfect size.

Final Block for CQJP

Final Block for CQJP. I has been a learning experience trying to make a 10' block every month but well worth it. I now have 1/2 of a crazy quilt made. 2013 I have signed up again and  will be doing smaller blocks -- 6". Actually this will be the sides of a crazy quilt started in 2006. A good project to finish by the end of the year!!  On my sidebar there are two buttons for CQJP and well worth visiting for lots of eye candy!!!

Kitty embroidery had more kitties, however, two fit in this corner.  It is a free design from Bustle and sew  http://bustleandsew.com .  The dog is a pattern from a BOM 2012 Antique Sampler designed by Ellen Maurer-Stroh.  It was done on waste canvas on felt. The felt was cut off around the dog after the waste canvas was pulled out and then stitched down on the block. It makes it stand out on the fabric.

Christmas Party

The Desert Rose quilt shop in town will be having their Christmas Party this Sat. The owner gave us 3 Fat Quarters and a 6 inch strip of tan. We are to make a 12 1/2 inch block and the rest of material we can keep. I wanted a block to focus on  the Poinsettia. "Nose gay" by Marcia Hohn http://222.quilterscache.com is just what I was looking for. I believe these blocks  will be put together and raffled off for charity. We have 15 people signed up. Looking forward to seeing what the other quilters have made. 

For the exchange we are to bring 2 quality fat quarters. I did not want the usual stack or roll but did find a nice way of making triangles.

This is the second quilt I made  and it is hand quilted.



Christmas Post Card

Christmas Post Card for special people. This will be mailed in an envelope but I have the Post Office stamp Tucumcari, NM on the back.  I have tatted Nancy Tracy's "Tweety Bird" and Martha Ess's lady.

Christmas Cracker

Christmas Cracker is on its way filled with lots of goodies!!

 

Quick and easy snowflakes for all my Christmas gifts. They are made with Lizbeth 20 with Sulky metallic threads to add  sparkle.

 

Mug Rug

Need a place for your coffee mug so it doesn't mar the table? Here is the solution....make a mug rug. These make great Christmas gifts in a jiffy!   This embroidered design comes from Red Brolly www.red-brolly.com. There are many designers and Red Brolly is at the top of the list!! Love her designs. It is quilted in the ditch and on the snowflake design it is quilted with a diagonal stitch using Sulky 12 thread.

Crazy Quilt Card

A Thank You card from Lee Howeth. Beautiful stitching. Lee and I were in a Crazy Quilt Round Robin this fall.

 

Included in the card is a needle book. Below is the inside.

A very nice surprise, Thanks Lee!!!

African Violets

I started the African Violets with a single leaf the last week of April. This is the second one blooming and they are beautiful.

 

Here are two more with the Poinsettia and a cactus on the other end. There are  two more in another window. They thrive in the North window.

 

 Miss Tazzie had to be in one of the pictures!! LOL

Thanksgiving Greetings

Happy Thanksgiving!!

 

Turkey edging is Curds and Whey from Mary Konior's book "Tatting with Visual Patterns".

Old Linens

At the Sr Center someone dropped off a bag of old linens badly stained. They just could not throw them away and that I am grateful. After washing this piece with Shout many times and then Purex the grime came out but not the oil. Somebody was using it for changing oil in a car. The baskets I can cut apart and use them in a crazy quilt block. Most of the lace is usable. Some of the linens I can use for cross stitch with tear a way canvas. Linen is beautiful to work with. 

This next piece the top with some of the lace is no good but the other lace is in beautiful condition. The same with the crochet pink edging. There is a few spots that is not usable but still a lot to work with.

These peacocks were on a linen table runner and had oil on them as one can see on the 2nd bird. I can use lots of greenery  stitching to cover it  up.  I cut around the peacocks  and sewed  on an interfacing. Turned it inside out and now they are ready to sew on a CQ block.

The dog is cross stitched on felt using tear a way canvas and is ready to sew on.  The dog is part of an Antique Sampler block of the month by Ellen Maurer-Stroh. The Sampler is just stunning and hope to find time some day to begin this beautiful project.

Do not throw away those dirty linens. I will gladly take them!!

Tatting for Christmas

 

A few tatted items for Christmas exchanges.

Crazy Quilt Block Round Robin

 

Honey Bees, Birds and Butterflies Round Robin Began in July and all blocks will be returning to their homes this month. Our block has traveled from coast to coast and in between;  Fl, IL, OR, NM, and NC! Lots of beautiful stitching.

 

I was left to stitch the upper left corner. To balance the block I choose a heart with silk ribbon leaves and stem stitch roses. The Roses are attracting a humming bird, bees and lady bugs. The silk ribbon is all hand dyed by me. To separate the corner I choose the Cretan Stitch using yellow rayon with a strand of metallic. The wedge block is a tatted dragon fly with tatted posies.

 

We all make a booklet  so each person writes about their stitching. I always include a tatted butterfly and Cathy sent each of us a bead bee!! I propped it up with a wad of cotton, the white stuff. Isn't it cute!!!

Halloween Table Runner

 

I have made the table runner to lay flat on a table  or to hang up with a sleeve on the back. The blocks were put on an angle then squared up.

All tatting credits were given in a previous post.

Halloween Wall Hanging

 

Halloween Wall Hanging has been in the process the last four years! It is completed!!!! The pattern is long gone so I designed the center with various patterns to fit, like the house. The tombstones have family initials with Bdate and one has this year marking the completion of this paper pieced wall hanging.

 

 

Halloween Post Cards

 

The Cat and Witch are Silkies, lots of CQ stitching and a tatted owl!

Spooktacular Halloween Tatting

Hopefully by next week the tatting will be attached to a table runner!!
All of theses patterns work up quickly. Thank you to all the designers.
These fun owls you can make a dozen within an hour are the design of tattabug. Mark Myers has a ton of Halloween patterns, a few that I tatted are the bats, ghost with picots, and cat on top of a broom. Another ghost by Jeff Hamilton and the spider and web by Dianna Stevens.
The pumpkins are Nancy Tracy, stem by Mark Myers and the leaves by Sherry Matthews.
The Skeleton head is by Martha Ess and the body by Carol Amich.

Bull Shoals Arkansas

                                    

Leaving I-40 East of Ft Smith, AR we traveled the Scenic Route up to Fayetteville. The trees were at their peak and it was a windy road!! Beautiful colors.  On the way home we took I-540 with many exits to this Route.

We stayed at the Fin "N" Feather Resort in Oakland and the trees were just beginning to turn color. This is a three hour drive from Fayetteville.

The cottage we stayed in was a 2 bedroom, fully furnished kitchen and comfortable chairs and sofa. The dogs loved it there and were very good children.  There were 5 cabins with different facilities. The best part is that we were there all by ourselves to enjoy the quite beauty around us.

 

Not far from the cabin is a State Park. This was taken on Wed and it was a rainy, warm day. We were lucky to go during the Peak of Autumn Leaves. Usually by this time the leaves are gone.

Oct Crazy Quilt Block

October Block has been completed. Kerry Leslie had a giveaway this summer and I was the lucky person who received Helen M Stevens video, "One Simple Stitch". Thanks Kerry!! The video explains the long and short stitch using one strand of thread. The moth in the center is an example from the video. I shall be using more of her designs. 

 

This is the largest Walking Stick I have ever seen.