Toni's block

Toni's block,
originally uploaded by Pinyon Creek Stitchin'.

This is a rr block from our RMCQ group. I did a BE seahorse, lobster, seashell, starfish, ruched ribbon seaweed and featherstitch behind that. I then created some cast on flowers for some sea "flowers" and color and did border treatment in....cretin I think! LOL!!! Have to look again. Anywhoo....enjoy the eye candy!

Victorian RR block

Victorian RR block,
originally uploaded by Pinyon Creek Stitchin'.

This is another of the rr blocks I just
sent on its way! The owner wanted a
tree soooo....she got one complete with falling blossoms! :_) I added the lupine the butterfly, the rail fence and the bush also...I'm sewwwww liking doing brazilian embroidery with cq!!! It seems to be becoming more popular on at least one of the cq lists also! Is there anyone else that enjoys BE and cq and combines the two in some fashion? I will have to ask about! :-P

Jackie UTS

Jackie UTS,
originally uploaded by Pinyon Creek Stitchin'.

Guess I must be at once a week posts or somthin'! LOL!!! I'm in 4 rr's and feeling a little pressured...don't know why...anywhoo...heres the work I did on the UTS block from a person in the CCQI group I belong to! I did the jellyfish, the coral's with the pinkish type flowers in BE and the orange one's in BE, the rock with the BE lobster, star flower in detached chain stitch and the drizzles. I also added a little sea horse charm. Had to stop somewhere....it's so hard to figure out what's too much or too little in rr's cuz, at least I, tend to take the block on as my own and want to keep on working! :_) Anywhoo...hope everyone likes it!

needlecase front 1

needlecase front 1,
originally uploaded by Pinyon Creek Stitchin'.

This is the front of a needlecase I just completed for an exchange. The inside has a pocket area...one with a
little flap, the other open to slide a packet of needles into along with the felt to poke the needles into. This is my very first needlecase....I think it turned out pretty good. Hopefully the recipient will enjoy it!

Needlecase front

Needlecase front,
originally uploaded by Pinyon Creek Stitchin'.

Don't know how to rename this sucker now that it's downloaded, soooo, i'll just say here that this is the back of a needlecase I just made for an exchange I am participating in.

Elsie's block

Elsie's block,
originally uploaded by Pinyon Creek Stitchin'.

Been a busy couple of weeks of stitching! I have definitely mastered the french knot after this wisteria tree! I also added the seam trimmings of combo cretan/herringbone stitch on one side, the lace trim for the fan below, (not really visible cuz I was focusing on the tree) and eyelash trim swirled along the opposite seam with mops above. I added a little BE bee and snail also..don't think they are visible either cuz they are so small. Anyway....one block down, three more to go in the war of rr's!

MF blk 2

MF blk 2,
originally uploaded by Pinyon Creek Stitchin'.

This pic is a follow up to one I previously posted. This is Mary Frances' block from a rr thru our RMCQ group. I didn't remember all her fur kids colors and she reminded me soooo, I stitched her up! Now the whole family of four leggeds is duly represented!! Hope you enjoy, MF!!!

jelly fish 2

jelly fish 2,
originally uploaded by Pinyon Creek Stitchin'.

This is a second block that I got out for a round robin. This one is Under The Sea. I added the turtles and the crab motifs and the glass fish. I stil have a ton of work to do on the beach and dunes when it comes home, but look forward to seeing what the talented ladies come up with for this block! This is one of my more favorite forms of "quilting" as it were. Landscape quilting....but...that said, I think i'm finally figuring out my style in the more traditional cq block realm as evidenced in the previous entry. We'll see. I LOVE this art form and how it is always evolving and mutating as new skills are learned!

vic belles

vic belles,
originally uploaded by Pinyon Creek Stitchin'.

Just sent this block off on a round robin! Can't wait to see what gets done! The white circle is the moon face I blogged about earlier....I plan on beading around it when it comes home...time just didn't allow for me to do all the stitching on this that I wanted to before mailing. Anywhoo...I really love the colors of this one. It was almost tough to let it go! LOL!!!

motif 3

motif 3,
originally uploaded by Pinyon Creek Stitchin'.

This is a free standing lace motif done on my commercial embroidery machine. I can do this for anyone!
;-) I in turn, hand painted it and then stitched it down with hand dyed silk perle. Pic is hard to get cuz of the glittery fabric underneath, but the overall effect on this particular block is nice I think!

moon face

moon face,
originally uploaded by Pinyon Creek Stitchin'.

This is the beginning of some motifs that i'm going to show everyone! I am in the throes of discovering whether or not there is any interest in the motifs that I make. I can make just about anything and will taylor fit to individuals tastes!

I finally figured out how to make molds of things and this particular piece is now off on a rr block! I will be beading around her face to secure her when she gets back!

MF's block

MF's block,
originally uploaded by Pinyon Creek Stitchin'.

Finally!!! I got this pic of Mary Frances block to upload! Sheesh!!! Me and technology!! LOL!!! I added the pansy...filled the block on the right with what was sposed to be daisies, added the vines to support the flowers that are over Pascal and then...not sure if you can see him....but Harry is perched amongst the flowers ready to pounce on said Pascal! I also did the seam treatment that is beside the daisies...several passes with a several different stitches! Great fun...hopefully MF will get a kick of her fur kids being represented on the block. I would have done her other kitty too...but couldn't remember the color sooooo...if she lets me know i'll tuck her in there somewhere! :)

Dusty's block

Dusty's block,
originally uploaded by Pinyon Creek Stitchin'.

This is another blog from the same round robin that i'm working on that I did a similar frame around the seams of the block. I read about this variation in a brazilian embroidery book and liked the effect! I then let this block sit while I explored the other possibilities. I really struggled with what to do here. I finally landed on a machine embroidered rose that I stitched in purples to blend in with the overall block. Then I stitched a brazilian butterfly and bee and put a bunch of french knots around the flowers to pull in some color. I haven't heard from the owner....i'm hoping she will enjoy the work that's been done.

Lissa's block

Lissa's block,
originally uploaded by Pinyon Creek Stitchin'.

This is a pic of the work I did on a block for a round robin. The block itself was a bit challenging as it is a mix of patterned cottons, so it was interesting to figure out what to do and where to allow the work to show up! I started with a machine embroidered design of the iris' then added a vase, butterfly and bee with some french knots sprinkled around the flowers to tie things together. Looking at it now, I probably should have digitized the vase so it would at least be more symetrical! LOL!! Oh well, hopefully the owner will still enjoy the charm or its simplicity. The butterfly and bee are brazillian embroidery. I'm really enjoying working with the Edmar threads and the versatility of the designs. I then framed the block with a chain stich variation that created a frilly look by looping thread thru the chain stitch. The I used the fly stitch with french knots to create a table cloth effect to complete the look.

Update

Wow!!! I didn't realize I was sewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww far behind on posting! Awful!!!! I have been busy tho and am going to download some pics of several round robin blocks I have been stitching on. On two of them I decided to supplement the designs with an embroidered motif from my commercial machine. I'm trying to redirect my embroidery biz and get more involved in providing motifs, quilt labels, etc. to the quilters of the world. Theres really a TON of possibilities here!! :_) I added french knots or other stitches around them to help the motifs blend in with the other hand stitching. Enough on explanation for now....off to load the pics and detail info there!

butterfly block

butterfly block,
originally uploaded by Pinyon Creek Stitchin'.

Last entry....for today... This is the first block attempt for the rr...it's got a quasy attempt at a fan in a couple of areas, but doesn't really show it. I'm going to just embellish it in a free form way and see if that doesn't pull it together better. I find that when I start with the five sided piece slightly off center on a block, that I wind up with lonnnnnnnggggg triangular pieces that make me feel as though i'm looking into a vortex! I'm not quite sure yet, what i'm doing wrong and if I have to continue spending DAYS putting a block together, i'm going to just give up and buy the suckers!!! LOL!! This rr was a challenge enough for me because of the colors! I prefer the deeper, richer earth tones and jewel tones. Any suggestions on how to piece more efficiently?

cq1

cq1,
originally uploaded by Pinyon Creek Stitchin'.

This is the second shot at a "springy" block for a round robin I organized. I think I need to stay with landscapes. They are sewwwwwww much easier for me!! Anywhoooo, it will be interesting to see how this one turns out!

flwr fan block

flwr fan block,
originally uploaded by Pinyon Creek Stitchin'.

Well....here is an attempt at something different! I shaped the block deliberately as a flower...the cq'd the majority of the block. I then did fan type strips on one petal. Now for the embellishing! Thats the fun part!! We'll see how it turns out! I'm planning on it for a free form type of wall hanging, so I haven't really decided how I will handle the border. I guess i'll have to surf my favorite "haunts" and see if any of them have some ideas! :_)

Alternate cq consciousness!!!

I have discovered the person who is partly responsible for my alternative shape musings! Linda Barraclough of Chloe's Place fame is responsible for an incessant stream of drool that has pooled on my keyboard! She does GORGEOUS work! AND, she has combined fans with cq in a great big way. Go look at her work here.... http://chloesplace.blogspot.com. Her peacock blocks are spectacular!!! The color is beyond rich and the stitching and embellishment are wonderful. The block I saw that started this journey was/is of more earth tone colors....my leaky memory believes, with spokes (like a fan) on the left hand side of the block which combine into the crazy patches on the remainder of the block. Anyway....i've got some fabrics line up, the shape drawn on the fabric....soooo, we'll see if my "crazy" idea works! I'll keep everyone posted!

Alternate block shapes

I have been pondering on cq "squares" for a bit and rather champing at the bit for something different to kind of get my creative juices humming again. I've seen, somewhere, a block where someone took some strips and placed them in a quasy fan position. Then the remainder of the square was "crazy" pieced. Wellllll......I can't find where I saw that and id LOVE to give credit to this person....sooo, if you read this, PLEASE let me know who you are because I love your work!!! It got me thinking about alternative shapes of the blocks themselves along with the super combo that was done. I've got a design worked out on some fabric and i'm going to get it pieced in the next day or two for a rr that will be starting up. It's a Spring Fling rr with bright pretty springy colors. I'm looking forward to it and seeing what all these ladies stitch. How does this fit with alternately shaped blocks, you ask? Well, the shape of this block is that of a pansy! One petal will be pieced as a fan with a couple of other longer strips on one or two more petals and then the rest will be cq! I hope!! LOL!! I'll take a pic when its done to show to everyone! Be sure to let me know your thoughts! I'm really anxious to hear if anyone else ever pieces in different shapes or symbols!