A Golden Heart

I've started Ritva's golden heart for the fool's gold round robin.  Doesn't look like much yet....

Fool's Gold Home

 These came home a week ago.  Don't they look nice?  I asked for patriotic designs, as I had made them red, white and blue.  The ladies delivered.  Thank you!

Step By Step Part Two

 Here's Anne's step block as I got it.  Lots of things to work with.  Below is what it looked like after I was done.  I hope she likes the additions.

Karen's Goldwork Block

 I've finished another goldwork block.  There's only one more for me to do before I get mine back.  I ended up finishing another block off with a very small addition of a fan button, too, because the previous person was too sick to finish.  The block I worked on for myself had a large yellow spot on it.  It took me quite a while to figure out what to do with it, since I was only using gold thread and such.  I decided, after reading Karen's guidance, to put toasts in different languages on it.  She wanted luck stuff.  The edges I left blank because I did the seams so heavily and wanted something to counterbalance them.

Doesn't Look Like Much

 I'm part of another round robin; it's a step by step one.  In this, we each do a single step on each block.  My assignment for this block was to put basic embellishments on the seams.  I did that, and now it's off to someone else to do more work for the seams.

Butterfly Done

 It took a while, but I finally finished the goldwork butterfly!  Here's a picture of the naked block and one of the finished.  I hope Pam likes it.

A Bit More Gold

This is Jacqui's block for the Fool's Gold round robin.  I had a hard time thinking of what to do with it because it's already very busy  with the fabric patterns and because it's already got so much gold on it.  I did manage something, though.  It looks even busier on the bottom than when I started.

On To The Last

I've got all the stitching done on the wings.  On to finishing up with a  body and antennae and some sparklies.

A Crazy Quilt Start

This is the block I picked out to work on from Pam's set of the Fool's Gold round robin.  The lower picture is my start.  She said she wanted large motifs, so I'm obliging.  It's a pattern from Mary Corbett's site.  I am doing the paper method because all that tracing on these fabrics would be rather difficult.  I've got a pretty good start.

Cracker From Sarma

 Here's the cracker I received from Sarma, full of goodies.  Thank you Sarma!

Bounty From Lorrie

 Lorrie spoiled me with the cracker exchange.  There were a bunch of little packages, as they all wouldn't fit in the cracker.  Top is the packages, chocolate included, and bottom is the packages exploded view.  Thank you Lorrie!

Christmas Crackers Made

 I made these Christmas crackers for an exchange on Crazy Quilting International.  They're stuffed with embroiidery goodies.  Mine in exchange haven't arrived here, but I'm not surprised.  We've gotten no mail since the 14th.  

It seems the real meaning of the twelve days of Christmas is waiting the twelve extra days for your mail.... at least in the foreign service.

Goldwork Round Robin

I picked this block of Ruby's because of the scientific measurement printing on one of the fabrics, then didn't do a lab job on it.  Instead, the piece told me to put paisleys.  The circles in the paisleys are from a piece of fabric I picked up in Uruguay - it's completely made up of silk-cored gold-wrapped thread.  The rest are various bits and pieces of gold stuff I had lying around.

Asian Nights Home

 Yay, my Asian nights blocks are home!  Thank you to Pegsue, Rita, Sarma, Theresa, and Carol for making them look so fantastic!  My husband especially likes the hand.  I think it reminds him of Kung Fu Hustle.

My Dragonflies Are Back

 Back in January, I sent this block out for the butterflies and dragonflies round robin. I use a bunch of rectangles because I like the structure better than a more random look.  The picture below is how it came back - lots of dragonflies!  I love dragonflies.  The seam treatments are also wonderful, and I'm happy to have it.  Now I need to incorporate it into something bigger!

Last Of The Round Robins

I have completed the last round robin I've signed up for now.  This is Cathy L's block for the midnight fantasy garden.  It was pretty full when I got it, with the mushrooms on the lower right the only large unstitched space.  I find high contrast figural fabrics like that one hard to embellish.  They've already got a story!  What I ended up doing was highlighting some of the mushrooms and then doing the same for the flowers on the bottom.  It's on its way home to her now.  I hope she likes it.

Last Of The Butterflies

This is the last of the butterflies and dragonflies blocks in the round robin.  It's Arlene's, and I think she picked lovely colors for her block.  There wasn't much room left, so I ended up filling in little odds and ends.

One caterpillar, one butterfly, and one dragonfly later, the piece is on its way home.

Disappointed

 I received my Midnight Fantasy Garden block back a week and a half ago.  It was stitched on by four ladies.  Two of them did a wonderful, lovely, great job.  Their work is pretty much all on the right side of the block.  They did some great embroidery and an applique butterfly and crocheted pieces on it.  I love the right side of the block. 


The right was mainly done by the other two ladies.  I cried when I saw it.  I hadn't specifically said "no apple faces" and "no pastels"  an "no toy butterflies" on my block, but I had hoped that, you know, people would stick to the theme and the color scheme, overall.  It's courteous to do so.  I will be completely reworking the left side soon.  The current configuration brings me pain.


This, along with some other issues in the group, is why I am not signing up for more round robins with Crazy Quilting International.  I do my best work, looking at the block and the preferences of the block owner, and don't throw whatever is in my "to be tossed" pile of accessories to put on a block.  I'd like others to do the same.  Unfortunately, these two ladies (and I keep getting into round robins with them for some reason), don't follow the golden rule in that regard.  


Should I be as upset as I am in this regard?

Challenge Supplies

I have been in charge of challenges for the CQI yahoo group this year.  It's been somewhat tough going, as people have not been doing them.  This quarter, the challenge is to embellish a crazy quilt block with at least six of the materials I sent to the participants.  They're all in this picture.  I'll be making one too.  I just hope the seven participants -do- their blocks.  All these materials, by the way, were bought at a store locally.  They were cheap!  The overall price, for everyone, was about $50.

Not Much Room

 I worked on Kathy's butterflies and dragonflies block last week.  The block still has one more person to go after me, and was already nearly full.  I found some places to work, though.  There are now a yellow bug in the lower left corner, a row of daisies in the pink, a caterpillar, and a row of ribbon flowers on some seams.  I hope she likes it.