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I finished up another peacock block:

The branch is some fancy yarn that I couched on.  The gold trim is vintage as is the little tatted flower.

There's a lot of sparkle on this one but it's hard to see.  The camera just doesn't pick it up. 

I made some time to sew up a few blocks and stitched on one last week:

One thing with old buttons....and no ...

This my latest stitched piece:

It's more orange than pink.  The photo looks a little washed out.  The owl is a necklace that came from Avon back in the 70's.  My mom was an Avon Lady for over 30 years.  I actually have 2 of these.  This one is mine and I have my grandmother's as well.  I'm thinking of using Grandma's on a Winter themed block.

The gold trim at the bottom is vintage, probably from the 30's or 40's.  I picked it up at a flea market years ago.  I still ...

 I completed another block with a few special items.

The 3 dark blue buttons are from the 1920's.  After mom passed away, Dad gave me his grandmother's button ...

Things here are finally winding down.  I still have some loose ends to tie up but I've had a little more stitching time.  I've been stitching on 6 inch crazy quilt blocks and I'm probably up to around 70 by now.  There's no set number of blocks.  When I get tired of doing them, I'll sew it into a quilt.

For now, I've done one of my favorite themes, a peacock:

 Just a quick update.  The pink block is done:

I work my little spider webs with Kreinik Blending Filament.  Just one strand.  I like the sparkle.  It can be a challenge to work with but like with anything, patience pays off.

I haven't started another block yet even though I have a few sewn up.  I might pull out my cross stitch project that I started last year and see if I can put a few stitches in without miscounting!

I will get back to some cross stitch designing but I'm taking a break for now.

Have a ...

I've been stitching on this little crazy quilt heart block:

I have a few more do-dads to add.  It'll get a little spider and web as well as a little bird and a few more beads.

I hand painted that little piece of vintage lace at the bottom along with a few other pieces for upcoming blocks.  I had wanted to do some silk ribbon embroidery on this one but I'm running really low on most colors.  I'm going to have to order some soon.

It's been so long since I really was able to ...

I think my blog needs some cleaning up.  It seems too cluttered now.  It's been a long time since I've even thought about it.  I've made a few changes but there will be more.  I haven't had time to do much blog hopping so I don't know what's in and what's out anymore.  What are your thoughts?

I have another crazy quilt block to share today.  

I finished this one yesterday.  The heart was a cross stitch ornament that I made my beloved mother quite a few years ago.  There were two of ...

I've mentioned in my last couple of blog posts that I had a lot on my plate.  My plate is finally just about cleared off.  I need some time to let the dust settle and get my brains back in my head like my mom used to say, but hopefully, I'll begin to get my routine back.

When I'm completely done, I'll share what's been going on but in the meantime, I've done a little bit of stitching.  I can't focus on cross stitch for right now.  I keep making mistakes for which ...

In between my work on the McHenry Landmark Quilt, I've been stitching on another quilt which I call my Crazy Trinket Quilt.  These are 6 inch block featuring little do-dads that I've been saving and collecting my entire life.  Some are things from my childhood, some are little things that beloved to family and loved ones no longer with me and some are collected from the flea markets and antique shops that my former husband and I used to go to when we were still together.

This block just showcases some button covers from an Autumn sweater:

The ...

I pieced another block for the McHenry Landmark Crazy Quilt but I haven't started stitching on it yet.  Instead, I felt like playing with some glittery beads and sequins.  I wish the sparkle showed up better!

You might remember, I started a Trinket Quilt a few years ago.  I had all sorts of little things that I've been saving all my life and thought it would be a nice way to display them.

The little Bluebird on this block is a Mill Hill beaded pin that I made for my aunt years ago.  After she passed away, my ...

I pulled out the crazy quilt that I've been working on for a few years featuring the landmarks of McHenry Illinois where I live.  I still have a few blocks to go but this is the old Iron Bridge over the Fox River.  It was built in 1881 and replaced with concrete bridge in 1976:

The colors are brighter than they look here.  I need to get a new digital camera so for now, I'm just using the camera on my cellphone.

Here's the entire quilt so far:

Click on the photos to enlarge the images.

This ...

After the backing has been added to a crazy quilt, the next step is to simply tack it to secure the layers.

This sounds great in theory. After all the work of adding so many embellishments, you may be done with it and just want to finish it off so you can show it off and/or move on to your next quilt.

However, for me, it is a big pivot to move from maximalist, everything goes, to minimalist tacking stitches. I am not anywhere near tired of the quilt.

2021:  Week 26 of 15 Minutes to Stitch

Besides, you ...

A few years back, I started a crazy quilt using the little things I've collected my entire life.  Things from my childhood, things that belonged to my grandmothers, little flea market things like vintage jewelry and so on.

I thought I'd take a short break from my McHenry Landmark quilt and work on the Trinket quilt.  I had 2 blocks sewn up from before I had to leave my other house so I pulled them out and this is the first one:

The horse is a pin that belonged to my grandma.  She loved horses and was a ...

 Block 23 of my McHenry Crazy Quilt:

This is our first High School built in 1924 on the east side of town.  In the late 1960's, a 2nd High School was built on the west side.

Each block is 9 inches square.  The vintage photos are printed on fabric sheets that run through my printer.

The blocks are pieced entirely by hand on a cotton foundation fabric.

There will be 40 blocks all together.

Most of these buildings are still here although a few have burned down (a long match in my opinion).

I have to get some more ...

I recently finished the Basic Cray Quilting Course with Kathy Seaman Shaw.

This class is a prerequisite for all her other classes, which are all free.

The class started in early January. This class is divided into 12 tasks and each one must be completed before you receive instructions for the next task. There are extensive written instructions for each task. The class is at your own pace.

The class contained an incredible amount of information, especially for a free class. The printed materials contain a lot of pictures. For techniques that were better explained visually, there were links to ...

No fabric in this week.

I finished the Basic Crazy Quilt Course for some fabric out. I will post a review of the class and a reveal this week. I want to frame the piece but everything I have is too small.

For such a small project, I had beads, ribbon and floss everywhere. Now the sewing room is cleaned up and I’m ready to get back to Bonus Bunnies.

The next finish will put me back in positive usage.

Fabric In: 2 yards

Fabric Out: 1.625 yards

Net Fabric In: .375 yards

How did you do this ...

Until I finish the Crazy Quilt Course, I’m going to pretend my numbers don’t exist.

The beading continues. As of this picture, I have six more steps to complete in Task #12 to finish the class.

If any of you have ever beaded or sequined a gown, you are a rock star. I really disliked sewing those sequins. The bigger the beads, the better I liked them. Seed beads are evil. They are always trying to escape.

I did manage to work the pink/blue beads into the piece.

Fabric In: 2 yards

Fabric Out: 1.25 yards ...