First Seam Embellishment!

Well, here it is. A simple double feather stitch with lazy daisy chain stitch flowers in green and yellow

The picture is not the best - flash flared off the fabric - but good enough to get some idea of how I did it.

The feather stitch looked good before I did the chain stitch flowers - they were a little disappointing being uneven, but okay for a first attempt. Dithered about the colours too but B helped me be confident in my choice.

I still have a motif to do and I have B to thank for that too :).

Getting on well with my knitting project - colours in the yarn even better than I thought - will post a picture tomorrow.

PS B has suggested I might add beads to the flowers and this is probably a good idea and should hide some imperfections so watch this space ...

CQ interest spreads

Having begun to plan my embellishments for Elly's block in the CQRR and reading Sharon B's blog 'inaminuteago' my interest has really been sparked. I have joined the crazyquiltinginternational group and expressed an interest in an upcoming RR with a theme of white/cream/beige. I have done a littel internet searching and found a little beaded frog for Elly's block. B let me know Elly likes frogs but I should have worked that out as a frog is her avatar for the Craft Club site! Also decided to stitch the seam in feather stitch and may combine this with a lazy daisy flower sprig for each feather point. Now I just need to choose the colours and get sewing - hopefully this weekend will see some progress - really should try to post by the end of next week or my next block will have arrived before I send on the first.

Really busy day today with backtoback unrelated meetings. Very different too. Spent one discussing how nothing was happening and the other trying to cram a huge amount into a small space of time. One was really anxious and unsettleing and the other required concentration and speed reading! Upshot is no craft this evening I am really tired!

Rodney Rooster leaves home

Rodney is finished and off to Australia! I have enjoyed this block so much. There are 12 of us in the friendship Block Swap and each month we send a block to one of the others in the group. Each member can specify what block they would like. I chose red school house blocks and they are great. I will organise myself to show them here very soon. This month my block to make was for Linda and the theme was 'chooks' - I found a great block in Handmade Magazine. I can't show you yet as the opening date is at the end of the month and if I post it here Linda might see it too soon. Anyway I am so pleased to have it finished in time as I am always struggling to get it posted soon enough to allow for the 4-10 day delivery time. Every month I promise myself I will be more organised but I never am - guess I work best to a tight deadline. Next month I am posting to Lyn and she wants a square within a square in blues. My stash is heavy on blue so that should be no problem - so now I devote my attention to CQRR and Elly's heart block :) If you are interested in Crazy Quilting please visit inamiuteago by Sharon Boggon, her work is just exquisite.

Elly's Heart

Here is a picture of Elly's beautiful Heart Block which I need to embellish for my first leg of the Round Robin - oh my! Think I need to take the bull by the horns and get sewing on this one or I will think about it until I frighten myself!
The trip to the new quilt shop 'Ring-a-Rosie' was very successful. Lovely shop, lovely lady who runs it and they also sell wool so all my crafting needs under one roof - need never drive 40 miles up the coast again - except when I want to! As well as collecting my eBay purchases I also bought some really nice iron-on transfers for quilt labels - now I just need to make some quilts!

Small World

I just bought some more bargains - this time from eBay. When I came to pay I realised that the quilting shop which is selling them is less than 10 miles from my house! I've been here 3 1/2 years and didn't know this shop existed. I am going to go and collect my bargains instead of pay for them to be posted and no doubt find some more temptations whilst I am there :) Isn't eBay wonderful?

Still haven't stitched any more rooster. Now have CQ block to add to the projects on my 'to do' list.

Challenges

Things have not been going too smoothly with the family contact for X. Today I stopped to think about what I am doing that is helping to creat the tension. I decided I need to try harder to make this aspect of fostering more successful. After all this must be a hugely difficult experience for the people on the other end of fostering. I can only imagine how I would feel about my child being removed against my will and looked after by someone I didn't know. So I will redouble my efforts to be pleasant and unjudgemental (something I struggle with at times!). In the end improved relations will benefit me just as much as they will benefit X and X's family, and make life easier for us all. So when family are looking for confrontation I will try not to engage in arguement, it achieves nothing but stress. Spoke to the SW today about this situation and other related matters. Things seem to take a ridiculously long time for anything to be achieved but we have to go through the 'correct' proceedures! Meanwhile X's little life ticks past, already X has been here for 1/5th of their life.

Received two letters from Australia today - one is my friendship block for May - which I was good and didn't open. The other was a beautiful CQ heart block which I must now embellish. Have been so busy I haven't had time for a second look at it nor to begin planning what embellishment I will do but I do know it is a great block and will be fun to work on. Have just remembered I need to do some more blanket stitch on the rooster - must get that posted. Tommorrow...

Bargains Galore

Went into my local knitting shop today to get some needles for my latest project. I am going to knit with Colinette Graffiti which is a lovely varigated yarn, but I needed size 9mm needles. Horror of horrors! My wool shop is closing down and everything was on sale at least 50% off. Sadly they didn't have the needles I need so now I will have to go all the way into Newcastle for them but still a shop full of bargains. Anyone who knows me knows I cannot resist a bargain. But somehow there was nothing in this for sale shop that I needed. Briefly contemplated some Baby Arran in lilac but no, couldn't even find any stitch holders and the other yarns were pants. Guess that is why it is closing down!

Chooks

Heard on Radio 4 today that keeping chickens is the UKs fastest growing hobby! Not sure how they know that.

Started the buttonhole stitch on the chook block I am making for the friendship block swap. Really like this one and foung a great rooster pattern to applique. I will post a photo of the finished block once opening day has passed - don't want to spoil the surprise.

Otherwise a quiet day at home, foster child really part of the family now - wonder how my kids will cope when X is moved on? Wonder how my partner will cope too. Trying to stay in the moment but as this fostering thing was my idea I feel responsible for the outcome for everyone. Hmmm, big questions in my head - can't go into too much detail here in case it makes X identifiable but big questions and no real answers.

Fostering is Fun!

Beautiful day on the beach DH and I plus little foster daughter. Just playing in the sand and exploring textures and sights and sounds. Luckily we live only 20 minutes by car from a gorgeous unspoilt and nearly deserted beach and as we approach summer it is ideal for day trips. Took a packed lunch and her bucket and spade - who needs anything else? Very happy little person cried a little when it was time to go - and that was me! :) Fostering is very easy when there is no family contact! Whne your own children are all at school! and when the foster child is as pleasant as this one is. Really couldn't ask for anything more today.

Added bonus was a quick trip to the quilting shop on the way back from the beach :) did a quick reccie to see if there was anything new and there are some lovely bag kits but a bit pricey - especially when I have enough fabric in my stash to make a shop full of bags already. Bought a 'Country Threads' and a spool of varigated quilting thred - well I couldn't come home empty handed.

Crazy Quilt Block

naked block ready to go

My naked CQ block is ready to be posted off to New Zealand to xstitch4eva my partner in the round robin. I am quite pleased with the block. Here is a picture Having thought about which fabric to use for ages in the end I just chose a purple palet and picked the prettiest at random from my CQ stash. As for making the block - I stitched and flipped also pretty much at random and made it up as I went along. The only rule is that there are no rules - right? Some of the fabrics moved whilst they were being sewn but it didn't effect the finished piece and all the seams will be stabalised by the embellishment so I'm happy it will be okay.

Now I just need to make a booklet to go with the block on it's journey around the members of my group. This booklet will tell the other members what my likes and dislikes are and any preferences for embellishment. Each successive group member will add details of their work so that there is a record of who did which embellishment.

I am really looking forward to this RR - my first, and to the CQ I will get back. The block is 10" x 10" and I plan to use the resulting fabric as the front piece of a bag. I made it plenty big enough - I hope! I didn't add any embellishment myself at this stage as I didn't have much time and I didn't know where to begin - truthfully I didn't want to spoil it!