Mairead's first Block is home!

Mairead's block made it home mid week and we had the most wonderful evening looking and ooohing and ahhing :) I said I would post a blog entry with the details so here goes.


This is the block - as you can see there are two large pieces unembellished which is perfect. One for me to work on and one for Mairead to sew herself.

I will go through the decoration as it was added.

First to work on the block was Mary. It was Joma's request for people to work on Mary's own block that first started this adventure. Mary is, coincidentally, the same age as Mairead, 12. In the log book she told us how she chose the purple velvet to work on and added a flower garden, visited by butterflies and full of surprises. I will always be grateful to Mary for starting this project, without her it would not have happened, thank you.



Diane (Mary's mum) added some gorgeous yellow braid and then created a tree with burgundy flowrs and a lovely little cat charm. Mairead loves cats. We have three.
Mary and Diane are in Victoria, Australia. Thank you for putting that first idea into action, Diane, none of this would have begun without you and Mary, and thank you for being so generous about my 'sharing' the idea :) I love the way the tree curves and the ribbon flowers are perfect, the cat charm is just the sort of thing Mairead likes too. I will look at this tree when I am trying to stitch one myself in future.



Next the block travelled to Melbourne where Lynette added a beautiful spider's web and spider, a beautiful charm. I am so pleased Mairead's first block contained this quintesential (SP?) cq motif. Lynette also added the tulips, lovley SRE work, Lyn, thank you. I really like the thread you chose for the web, shimmers wonderfully.



Joy added a lovely interpretation of the striped fabric on Mairead's block. M chose the fabrics herself and I have to admit to being a little concerned about what someone would make of the stripes :) But Joy has done the perfect thing with them and used their lines to create a beautiful flower garden which ties in with what Mary created earlier. Inspired stitching Joy, thank you. I especially like the way you have emphasised the lines of the fabric with chain stitches and the use of beads in the centre of the flowers, stars and butterflies is lovely and delicate. The colours are great. Joy is in Adelaide, South Australia.



Sharon comes next and her patch is pure fantasy. M was so pleased with this I can't begin to tell you. As well as the 3 cats we also have a rabbit (imaginatively named Peter) and he is just the same colour as the lovely bunny you used, Sharon. I especially like the delicate stitches around the motifs, the lovely fairy charm and the button cluster. Let's face it, I especially like it all! Sharon is in the next cqrr I am in and I expect to see wonderful things as she really gets into cq - this was her first go. Two pictures for Sharon's work as it was a large patch and she formed distinct groups across the patch. Thanks you so much Sharon, your work was just right for my little girl, a delight. Sharon is in Victoria, too.



See those single strand feather stitches? And the sequin behind the beads? Yum!



Along with Sharon's entry in the log book as a lovely surprise.

Linda@Chloe's place made a wonderful tatted snowflake for Mairead. Linda did leave a comment saying something about working on Mairead's block but I was unsure how to confirm this with her without making her feel obliged to say 'yes' when that wasn't really what she had meant. (sigh!) So, being a well brought up (?) polite lady, I didn't ask - don't want to pressurise anyone. *Blush* But she did mean what I thought she meant and, not being put off by my silence, she somehow got this snowflake to Sharon who included it for Mairead to choose where to add it. I can see it having pride of place in her piece of the final block. Linda, I am sorry I did not ask you about your message, I was not sure if you were offering as I hoped you were or if I was imagining it. Thank you very much for your kindness, it is much appreciated. Next time I will ask :) The atting stitches are so small I am in awe - I had hoped to learn how to do this one day but now I am not sure, might need new eyes first!



Last but by no means least, and this time in New Zealand, Pinup added her magical mask to Mairead's block. Pinup's log entry is especially useful to the new stitcher that I hope Mairead will become, as she goes into detail about her thoughts when deciding what to add to the block, and where. Pinup also told us where the threads she used came from, which adds another international dimension to the block and is fascinating information. I have seen the wonderful masks Pinup makes on another cqrr and I was delighted she chose to add one for Mairead, they are so eye catching. Thank you for being our final contributor, Evie.



And now? I have my work cut out for me, how do i follow that lot? Isn't it a wonderful thing to have here these little pieces of dreams that have travelled around the world and been held and considered by so many wonderfully talented people! I am bowled over by this whole adventure and by the results of those requests for participants last summer. The block will be finished, Ladies, and it will be framed and my marvellous daughter will have, for the rest of her life, the good will and good work of many kind people who did not know her but cared enough about this endevour to give their time and talents. I can never thank you enough, but I do thank you.

Now I wait with baited breath for block number two to come home too. If it is like it's sister it will arrive when it's young owner has had a hard day and is feeling small and disheartened and it will tranform her day with smiles and sunshine. Just as this one did.