My New Crazy Quilt in Progress

I thought I would share a few photos of my new crazy quilt. I gave lots of consideration to the color scheme and decided that peach, olive green, with shades of ecru and gold would be perfect for me.

I also wanted to do everything by hand which included piecing the blocks. It took me about a week to piece all 12 blocks but I'm pleased with the results.

I also want to include hand-dyed lace, motifs, ribbons and thread on each block and I've completed a few. I've pictured some of these here. I love the peach color in the Ranger dyes and all my flowers have this color included. In addition I've used Ribbonsmyth and OzeCraft dyes.

I've been collecting vintage motifs, tatting, lace, etc. for years so I've pulled some of my favorite ones to include on this quilt.

In one picture you can see some dark peach silk thread that I've hand-dyed. This is a 6 ply thread that our local group purchased from Treenway Silks.

I had some old tatting and didn't like the color so I've over-dyed that piece. It took the dye beautifully so I plan to dye others that I have.

I keep trying to finish some projects I have promised before starting on my quilt embellishments. I hope to get started soon and will share the journey with all you you.

My favorite part is the silk ribbon embroidery and embellishments so I look forward to beginning.

Houston International Quilt Festival

'Dancing Lilies' by Caryl Schuetz, from the special exhibit "In Full Bloom V: Floral Quilts in Memory of Helen Pearce O'Bryant."

"Dancing Lilies" is one of the many beautiful quilts that will be on display at this year's Festival.

Each year I look forward to attending the Houston International Quilt Festival held in the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas. Although it's months away, it's time to begin making your plans to attend.

The dates for this year's Festival is October 30 - November 2. Preview Night is October 29 and classes begin on October 27.

The classes offered this year look wonderful and appeal to every level from beginner to advanced quilter and mixed media enthusiast. Take a few minutes to view their website and see what is being offered.

This festival is reported to be the largest of its kind in the world. Everything is under one roof but the square footage is massive. You won't be able to see everything in one day. If you can attend this year I will guarantee you won't be disappointed.

Time Flies - It's Not Fair!

I can't believe an entire month has slipped by without any posting on my part. I will definitely try to do better in the future. This post will be a short one but I will share a few things I've been working on.

Last Saturday our local CQ group held a mini-retreat from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. The time flew by but what fun we had. Three of us worked on our little Victorian tuffet kit, one of Vic's wonderful creations. You can purchase the kit from her website: Ribbonsmyth.

I posted one that a friend had made several posts back. Pictured here is the one I made last Saturday. I used small spools for the feet and added matching thread. I also had an old piece of jewelry that I used for the faux closure.

I recently attended a Stampin' Up party with my sister Dorothy and had the pleasure of meeting some of her wonderful friends from work. As I was glancing through the catalog I have to admit that my mind was on crazy quilting and embellishing fabric and not cards. I was thrilled with all the ideas in that book and just had to have it.

Pictured here is one of the designs from the book that I recreated in fabric and silk ribbon embroidery. In case you don't recognize it; it's a wheelbarrow full of fargo roses! I would recommend one of these books as a great source of inspiration.

Once again I apologize for the lack of posts in the past month. I definitely plan to do better and hope you will not give up on me.