Quilt News! Mini Quilts and Slow Stitching Added to Stitch Journal Pages, Spring Color Inspiration

Forsythia and ornamental Plum blossoms.

Lilies from the supermarket.

Forsythia in neighbor's yard, striking!

Page 1 and 2 in my stitch journal.. Page 1 features a little mini quilt I hand pieced.

And page 3 and 4....

Pages 5 and 6...more embellishment will be added to 6.

Back cover featuring a little mini quilt I pieced from small scraps.

This is the front cover with appliqué flowers, not finished yet....

 

Quilt News from the valley! Spring showers, blossoms and birds singing here.

I've been slow stitching and adding pages to my stitch journal, inspired by Sarah @ Roxy Creations.

And do visit Sarah and her friends, to see all their projects, which are many and varied! She works with paper, fabric, laces, buttons and threads, etc and makes journals, needle books, everything little thing you can imagine.

It very much reminds me of crazy quilting, the same concept really. The pages are small so it goes together faster than you'd think and the layers and slow stitching give a beautiful texture. I used lace from a vintage handkerchief I found in a thrift shop to border the back page and the lace hangs over for an informal scrappy look. More embellishment and stitching will soon be added.

On walks we have been enjoying the birds singing and the trees and shrubs blossoming. Spring is a thrill isn't it?

And that is the quilt news from the valley where it's time to visit the grandkids, so I must run!

I'm remembering to be thankful! 

I'll be by to visit.

Quilt News! Slow Stitch Journal Progress, Design/Color Play, Maple Valley Home, Crocus

More texture and stitches added to my Queen Anne's Lace project.

Hand embroidery stitches added to one of my stitch journal pages.

And more hand embroidery stitches added to finish a journal page.

Close up of Rice Stitch, Fly Stitch w' Twisted Ties and Italian Chain Knot Stitch.

I finally get to display some of my art quilts!

Color arranging experiments.

The first Crocus of the season, purple for beauty and peace.

 

Hello Quilt Friends, Quilt News! from Maple Valley, home, really?

and it's March with daylight savings starting tomorrow, that came fast...

I finished another Stitch Journal page and started another. I'm following Roxy's Creations Stitch Journal Challenge and I'm going at my own pace, slow stitching! Next after finishing this last page of stitch samples will be to design and finish my covers, front and back. There are a lot of ideas and a lot of encouragement on Roxy's Creations Stitch Journal Tutorials on YouTube.

Also I've had time to add more stitching and texture to my Queen Anne's Lace project. One of the new to me techniques I learned and put into practice from Rachel @ Roxy's Creations, is Invisible Tacking.

Jude Hill @ Cloth Whispering also uses and demonstrates that stitch. I love the subtle puckers that invisible tacking gives.

And Carin @ Queeniepatch has good stitch tutorials and always a new interesting stitch to consider.

Experiments with color and shape combinations have been entertaining me also. If Slow Stitching is a good thing, and I think it is, why not Slow Design? Kaja @ Slow Slowly practices 'slow' design and quilting and has beautiful results.

And that is the Quilt News from the valley!

Where I'm remembering to be thankful.

I'll be by to visit.

Quilt News, Just Enough for the City, Slow Stitch Hand Embroidery Projects; Stitch Journal and Queen Anne's Lace.

Evening walk, Factoria, Bellevue, WA.

2nd page finished in my Stitch Journal.

3rd page started with double herringbone, blanket stitch, couching.

Stitch Journal 2nd pg. raised satin stitch, loose French Knots, straight and pistil stitch etc.

Close up of embroidery on my Queen Anne's Lace project.

Tight and loose French Knots on Queen Anne's Lace project

More stitches, straight, cross, French Knots and couching.

Embroidery on Queen Anne's Lace project, stem, feather, cross, running and back stitches.

This building and grounds are lit with magenta night lights in the evening.

Hello Quilt Friends from Bellevue WA, where it's winter!

There was snow on the car this morning but it's gone now.

We walked in the late afternoon the other day among the corporate buildings, exercise is important, and found that TMobile's corporate Bellevue building is lit up at night with magenta night lights, looks like fairy land.

And I've been adding to my Queen Anne's Lace project and having fun with loose French Knots.

I started it a few years ago and lost my inspiration and put it away.

My photo of wild Queen Anne's Lace was my original inspiration but after starting in and getting the basic shapes roughed in I got overwhelmed. 

Now I'm at a place where hand projects are perfect, nothing big here for now, and some YouTube tutorials have given me a jump start. See my previous post for those embroidery project links.

I finished the 2nd page of my Stitch Journal and started on my 3rd. Next I'll do a few pages of the crazy quilt type with trims, embroidery and fabric. It is a journal of stitches and colors very exciting and small for right now.

And that Quilt Friends is where I'm at, in the city for now and keeping my sanity by slow stitching projects.

Remembering to be thankful, God is good everywhere!

I'll be by to visit.

Quilt News! Standing in Solidarity with the Canadian Freedom Convoy! Color Infusion for February, New Embroidery/CrazyQuilt Project Started and Inspiration, Where I Find It.

Newcastle Beach Park, Bellevue, WA.

Looking NW over Lake Washington.

Looking E over Lake Washington at Mercer Island bridge.

Life Guard station and New Castle Beach Park.

Looking toward Mercer Island.

Beach at New Castle Park.

Wind blown winter beach grass.

Marking new embroidery project page in 1/2 inch increments. 

First page finished.

Sun peeked out, view is from the back door, over Lake Washington toward Mercer Island.

Second page started with cross and seed stitch, and French Knots.

This is where I work on projects.



Quilt News from the PacNW where the winter cold and gray pretty much dominate.
Hello Quilt Friends!

I've started a new project because I needed something small and portable and I haven't worked on anything with embroidery or crazy quilting for way too long! 
My new project is going to be a Stitch Book with stitch sample pages and decorative crazy quilt pages.

You might be wondering where my inspiration is from and I'm glad you asked! Because my ideas and inspiration are from several different artists, each with their own style and unique personality.
I'm very glad we're, as embroiderers and quilters, each so different because that is where the excitement and wonder come in to make creating such a fun experience.

Here are several links where I get my inspiration and encouragement; make sure and visit!
Carin @ https://queeniepatch.blogspot.com
Sara or Rachael @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDkKYdsXSsY&t=1188s
Ariane @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0NFDlUUYK4

And the Color Infusion for February is gray. Gray is a neutral color between black and white. when added to lighter colors it calms and reduces brightness. When added to darker colors it lifts and opens.

A new project is being started and I'm remembering to be thankful!
And that quilt friends is the quilt news.
I'll be by to visit!

Quilt News! Orange Yellow Blue Infusion, Embroidered Little RagTag Art Quilt, Pacific NW Winter Garden/Color Photos

Piecing process, past quilt with orange, yellow, blue...

Another past quilt project with orange, yellow, blue....

I just finished RagTag small art quilt with embroidery, hand stitched.

Venice Beach, CA, graffiti in the local McDonalds, 3 yr.s ago.

My recent piecing, orange, yellow, blue..

Pac NW Towhee in winter garden, see the spots on its wing?

Japanese Maple in winter garden, close view in b/w to see contrast.

Japanese Maple in winter garden, see the colors?

 

Quilt top pieced 2 summers ago, orange, yellow, blue...

Another scrap medallion started, orange, yellow, bits of blue..

Small HSTs made from scrap triangles, for a center medallion...

Past project in the piecing stage, lots of orange, yellow , blue..

Yellow, blue, red....

Oranges, yellows, blues....

PacNW garden, winter.

 

 

Hello Quilt friends, Quilt News from the Pacific NW, where it's cold!

 

After a great road trip, driving through Nor Cal, Oregon and into Washington, here we are visiting grandkids and their 'caretakers.'

We have a view of Lake Washington and fishermen in boats when the sun is out.

No big projects but some time for small hand work. For my little art quilt, RagTag, I used only scissors and hand pieced and embroidered it. It's named RagTag because it is made from scraps and I'm going through a time when things feel a bit Ragtag and scrappy with alot of making do going on.

Life is like that sometimes, right?

When I thought about writing this post I knew I had to include lots of orange, yellow and blue because they are warm cheerful colors and lots of my past projects have those colors in them. Also soon I will start the piecing process for my AHIQ color challenge quilt and I have chosen orange, yellow and blue! I have many pieces and blocks in my 'parts department' maybe it will be a sampler style quilt.

And the photo of the Spotted Towhee, notice the orange under its wing and the spots on its wing? The light wasn't great but the spots came through. I love bird watching. Walking through winter gardens and parks here there are a lot of birds; chickadees, finch, sparrows, nuthatch, naming only a few, and quiet winter colors to enjoy.

And that Quilt Friends is the news from the cold north.

We'll be here for a few more weeks, and I'll get some hand stitching done. Mostly enjoying grandkids of course!

We have a lot to be thankful for don't we?

I'll be by to visit!