More Vintage CQ Photos

The last several weeks have been busy ones and I've been concentrating on getting my articles written for CQMagOnline. I've continued my Ideas and Inspiration challenge with favorite seam treatments and motif designs. I think you will get some great ideas so be sure and check the upcoming issue posted at the end of July.


I would love to continue the challenge through the end of 2008 and even into next year. In order to do that I need submissions from our readers. I welcome any ideas and input.


Currently I am working on finishing five pair of flip flops I designed for Artemis/Hanah Silks. Normally I don't enjoy repeating a project but sometimes it's necessary when there are so many color choices available. I love working with this beautiful velvet and silk and always enjoy experimenting with new combinations. I'll share pictures of the designs at a later date.



I promised more pictures of Diana's beautiful vintage crazy quilt so I've included a number in this post. It is fascinating to look at the old quilts and imagine the hours that went into creating them.







I hope you have enjoyed browsing through the pictures of this beautiful quilt.

Fun Day at Crazy Quilt Bee

As I've mentioned many times, Tuesday is a day I really look forward to each week. Our CQ Bee meets every week from 10 am until 4 pm and this week we were so pleased to have friends from our recent Tomball retreat join us.

Show and Tell is a necessary part of any get together and I took lots of pictures to share. Jan, created this wonderful needle case tuffet. This is a beautiful creation of Victoria Adams Brown and can be purchased on her website: Ribbonsmyth.

After seeing Jan's up close and in person I'm going to definitely order one to make. These would make beautiful gifts as well. I've included four pictures so you can see inside and out.

With the lid open you can see the pin cushion and the sheets for your needles.

The edges are beautifully trimmed with the hand-dyed rococo ribbons that Vic sells. As I understand this is all included in the kit.

Everyone was totally impressed with Jan's beautiful creation and I definitely one to make one.


Donna, from the Tomball group, had emailed me prior to the meeting and asked me to bring a piece of fabric and she would show me how to fold this origami kimono. On the right is the results. Isn't that the cutest thing?

I've included the ruler so you will be able to note the size. I was 1/2" short on the width but it still is so pretty.

I've never done origami before and was fascinated with the results. I've used a piece of gold dupioni.

Diana had just purchased the most beautiful vintage crazy quilt and I took many pictures of it. What an absolute treasure she found! As you can see by the ribbon attached it dates back into the late 1800's.

The silk is shattered in some places but it is still a masterpiece!

I will continue to post different pictures I took. I think we are all inspired by the vintage crazy quilts and I know I get so many wonderful ideas for stitches.

Note the flowers on the right. They are done with short lengths of thread and stitched onto a tiny rectangular base. I wish all of you could see them in person.

Retreat Withdrawal

Our Wallis retreat was wonderful as usual! Premier Estates is the perfect place to sit and stitch. The peace and quiet of this small town along with the beauty of the house and grounds is so inspiring. Combined with the talent of all my Lake Jackson friends, one can't help being productive.

We were excited to have Melanie's sister, Wendy, join us...what a talented lady. She and Melanie do wonderful ribbon and fabric dyeing in addition to many forms of needle art including crazy quilting.

There was a beautiful gardenia bush blooming profusely. Wendy brought one in and asked me to make one with silk. I made some sketches while enjoying the wonderful fragrance of this flower. Monday I sat down and made my first attempt at recreating it. We talked about naming it The Premier Gardenia so here it is - just for Wendy!

I really don't like the burned edges since the gardenia is such a pure white. I'm going to continue experimenting and check other ways of doing the petals.

I promised pictures so I'm going to share a few of the projects I completed on retreat. I signed up for the pinkeeper swap on one of my yahoo groups, Silk Ribbon Heirlooms, so that was my first project. I altered one of the rose patterns I created for Artemis/Hanah silks and added it to the top.

Instead of using the regular CD I used a 3" mini CD. Two of the CDs are covered with green velvet and sandwiched together. You can slide pins between these two layers and it makes a great place to store pins.

I formed the center bud using a light rose velvet and filled it with emery...a little something extra to sharpen pins or place your needle. The rose is made with 1" wide Hanah silk satin in the Victorian Rose color. I absolutely love working with these beautiful ribbons and feel so fortunate to be able to design for them.

Another friend and I had seen several CQ bags for your clipping and such. I hesitate to call it a trash bag but that's exactly what it is. We talked about making one so I drew a pattern for a really simple box-style with a lid. I was experimenting to see if my pattern really worked so I used a floral fabric and lined it with dupioni.

It would be beautiful crazy pieced and embellished and I plan to do one for one of the upcoming issues of CQMagOnline. Pictured here is my first attempt. The green velvet on the inside lid is an emery pincushion. The weight of the emery keeps the box in place on the edge of the table. It's amazing how convenient it is and I find I'm using it every time I sit down to stitch.

In a previous post I showed you my large CD pincushion. It was an idea I got from the ladies at the Tomball retreat. Several of our group just had to have a small one when we discovered the mini CDs. Pictured here is my mini creation. Of course, all I need is another pincushion but that isn't really the point, is it? I'll have to substitute pincushion in that old saying: "He who dies with the most pincushions wins!" I may not have the most but I'm sure I'm running a close second.

By the way, isn't the box under the pincushion beautiful? Linda always brings door prizes and I was the lucky winner of this beautiful prize. She is always so generous and we always look forward to seeing what she has.

The Subtle Signs of Aging

Well, I have written proof that I'm old and forgetful! I kept having this feeling that I had posted the ruffle ribbon rose in a prior post, so today I went back and checked. There it was in the month of February - same little rose. It's so cute and deserves the extra attention but I certainly hate to admit my memory is lacking.

I'm hoping my trip to Wallis with our local CQ Bee will help to rejuvenate me. I've been packing for the last two days trying to include everything I will need in the least possible space. I have about five projects to work on and hopefully will come back with pictures to share. We will leave early in the morning and return on Thursday... four days and three nights on fun, stitching, and lots of laughing.

In the meantime I will share some photos that I hope I've not posted before. This is a teaspoon pincushion that Vic made for me. It is something I use often and totally enjoy. Not only is it beautiful but also functional.

A number of years ago I signed up for a half doll swap. I had never made one and thoroughly enjoyed creating "Frances." I used a beige dupioni silk and stitched a diamond pattern in matching thread. I placed the tiny French knot roses at the points.

I made a petticoat as well. At that time I was interested in weaving laces and ribbons onto a fusible interfacing. This made a really lovely piece of fabric. On the right is the petticoat I made for Frances.



I also made a fan with a small piece of this fabric. The weaving is tedious but I love the results.






By now I hope you have forgotten all about that memory lapse.

Ribbon Ruffle Roses

The ribbon ruffle comes in so many vibrant colors and I think it adds so much to an embellished seam. I thought I would share my directions for making a small rose using this beautiful ribbon.

The picture on the right is an example of the roses used for a seam embellishment. I've used a Mokuba trim for the base and added the tiny flowers. This particular ribbon is a variegated purple and blue. Check out RibbonSmyth for many color choices.



The first part in done in your hands and definitely "fiddly." Fold ribbon at a 45 degree angle. The first two steps are the same instructions for making a folded rose.





Begin rolling the ribbon into a tight bud. You want a well-defined bud so roll past the fold an additional roll or two. With a needle and matching thread take a small tacking stitch to hold the bud in place.








With the same needle and thread secure the bud in the proper place on your seam. Make sure the bud stands erect.






Twist the ribbon as shown in the picture on the left. Begin wrapping at the base of the ribbon.







Wrap this loosely around the bud tacking in several places. Continue to twist the ribbon and loosely wrap around the base until you have the size flower you want.







Tuck the end of the ribbon under the flower and tack down with needle and thread.







The picture below shows you the size of the rose in relationship to a penny.

Another Retreat....Premier Estates

Wow... it seems I'm getting lazy with my blogging and need to make some improvements. I can't believe it's been ten days since I posted. My last project was the CD pincushion and I really enjoyed making it. Some of you have asked for directions and Jules will be writing an article for CQMagOnline. Be sure and check the July issue for details.

May 26 our local CQ group will leave for Premier Estates in Wallis, TX. It's a wonderful restored manor house built in the late 1800's. The outhouse, potting shed and stables are still standing and add to the beauty of the surroundings.

Last year we were so excited to have dear friend Victoria Adams Brown of Ribbonsmyth join us. When it comes to my love of silk ribbon embroidery, Vic is my mentor.

I took several classes from her the year I went to Omaha and in later years attended other classes in Dallas. She is such a talented artist and a real blessing in my life. I owe so much to Vic and Jan for teaching me this wonderful art of crazy quilting.

Pictured on the left is Jules and Vic sitting at their workstations.. See how wonderful the room is equipped. Those large floor to ceiling windows are wonderful as well.

On the right is Jan busy at work on her project. We always laugh at the things we pack and take to retreat. What one doesn't have the other one will.



Melanie, Lynnis and Vic are dyeing silk velvet and ribbons on the outside veranda. As you can see from the picture on the left it's already dark outside. We never let the time of day interfere with our fun. That overhead light was a blessing.




With an outhouse on the property who could resist the following pictures. Jules, Vic, and I were the only ones willing to do these wonderful poses. We are well-equipped with toilet tissue and excellent reading material...Vic's wonderful books: The Complete Guide to Silk Ribbon Embroidery and The New Ribbon Embroidery.

I've gained lots of experience through Vic. Pictured here are the four ArtBras I created for her WTWW foundation. What a creative idea she had for bringing awareness to the issues of breast cancer. The funds generated from calendar sales were donated to various breast cancer centers. I've had many laughs about showing people my work. Let me just say this small town in Texas is not ready for ArtBras.

The beading on "Opposites Attract" was done by my dear friend Debi. She worked with only a freehand drawing I gave her and created these wonderful birds.
The Arrington Breast Cancer Center in Lubbock hosted the ArtBras at their symposium in 2006. Julie and I were in attendance and thoroughly enjoyed seeing all these wonderful creations in person. Lubbock is Vic's hometown and she was honored for all the untold hours she spent in organizing and creating these wonderful ArtBras and the calendars. Pictured on the left is Vic as she speaks to the group and presents a check to this wonderful cancer center.

Well enough reminiscing....it's time to get busy and accomplish something.

Something Old and Something New

Most crazy quilters love old linens, hankies, tatting, embroidery and such. I have a great friend who is fortunate enough to have some treasures her grandmother made. One was especially beautiful and I want to share a photo with you. Debi says it's somewhere around 70 years old.

Although she has never done any crazy quilting I think I've convinced her that she needs to piece a block and see if she likes it. With all these wonderful heirlooms she has a head start on collecting stash.

A solid base of triple crochets forms the skirt. The ruffles are made individually and attached to the skirt. Her grandmother has used a really fine thread. It's a beautiful piece of heirloom crochet.

Now for the new......the ladies in Tomball had made a wonderful pincushion with old CDs. They kindly shared how they did it and I pieced one at the retreat. I put it together last week and I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

Although beautiful, pink is not a color I would normally use to piece a block. Pat and Diana had brought some samples to share with the group and I picked out these fabrics to use. I'm really glad I did!

Jan shared some hand-dyed silk and the pattern for the grape leaf pictured on the left.

We all signed our names on a muslin heart at the retreat. I've put that heart on the bottom of my pincushion sandwiched between wool and a piece of tulle. I lightly burned the edges of the muslin to prevent fraying and it also gives it an aged appearance.

It's a fun and easy project and will be a wonderful keepsake from the Quilter's Cabin Retreat. I learned so many great things from this talented group of ladies and will share more in later posts.