The Last Steampunk CQ Block Finished

Whew. This was a hard round robin because it turned out that Steampunk is more easily interpreted with “things” than with stitching. But working on Colleen’s block - the last one for me - was really fun. Of all the blocks in the round robin, I believe hers had the best background (“canvas”) on which to work, and it was also the largest at almost 15x15”.  Colleen had even stabilized hers with a thin fleece-type backing, which was not only brilliant but necessary.

Colleen’s Completed Block

When the block came to me, the black items were all in the bottom half of the block; the black trim on the left with rivets, the black fabric piece in lower right and the “chicken scratch” in the lower half of the white piece. I added the black lace curving around the center area, the “Late Edition” ribbon,  and the black trim on the right. I felt that helped even out the black in the block.  

Then I added an old crocheted key motif, which I had been holding on to for the perfect block. This was it. The block was large enough to handle it, and keys are such a great Steampunk motif (so is black and heavy lace). It also served to break up a lot of the vertical directionality of the piecing and trims in that area.

Winged Hearts

Kathi S had added the winged heart on the right (on the scrap of wool), so I decided to repeat the motif with a vintage-look heart button and some metal stuff that looked like wings.  Another spot on the block would have been better, but being the last one to work on the block meant that there were not that many open spots. 

The clock and metal circle were already on the block, and they rather reminded me of a watch. So I added some old broken chain (gotta love broken jewelry!) to make it look pocketwatch-ISH. 

And finally, I topped it off with some STITCHING, which I was itching to do (tacking on THINGS doesn’t count as stitching).  So, I laced the thin brown patch with some variegated perle cotton. 

I love the way this piece turned out - very textural and so much variety. Colleen - I hope you like it!  It will be winging its way to you in the next few days.

And now I will focus on cleaning up my studio for the rest of the week so I can decide which project(s) to tackle next.  I am really thinking that my Seascape Valance needs some attention, and I hope to begin piecing my big CQ by 2012.  And I have a couple other ideas up my sleeve, but I will save those for another post.

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In the meantime, I have added fabric packages to my Etsy shop.  It seems I get one big category tackled every week or two.  Next I would like to add sewing supplies (zippers, gripper fabric for children’s feet in sewn items, and so much more).  But next up will be the Zipper Flower tutorial first...

By the way, the Anniversary Sale in my Etsy shop will continue through the end of the month, so feel free to use it even if you have already purchased and used the code already. Just type in JULY11TENPERCENT during checkout (where indicated for coupon code) and your discount will be deducted.  

Until next time, 

Crazy Quilting Steampunk Style

Last weekend I finished another block in our Steampunk Round Robin at Crazy Quilting International. As I worked,  I wondered how I could further combine traditional crazy quilting (motifs, stitching) with the Steampunk style.  Steampunk is often described as “Victorian Industrial”.  Think of Jules Verne, fantastic flying machines, or a computer that looks like an 1890’s cash register.



Earlier in this round robin, I had combined stitching with metallic parts, to come up with some varied Steampunk motifs.    This included both seam treatments and individual motifs fashioned of buttons, beads, washers,  and lace.

Because the block belonging to Kathi S was constructed in blocks (you’ll see it momentarily), each square or rectangle lent itself to a motif.  Also, all the seams were stitched down with raw edges showing, giving it a very basic, building-block feel. Perfect for a steampunk backdrop.

The first motif I added was a zipper “rose” surrounded by a gaudy old earring topped with a filigree charm.  The other earring from this pair (which I found in a North Carolina flea market for 25 cents) appears on my Images of Africa quilt, LOL.

I had bought large lot of these black separating zippers to sell in my Etsy shop and wanted to try it out first for flowers, as zipper flower embellishments are quite popular now. It worked great - I just ran a gathering stitch along the tape side, then pulled to gather it a bit. After that, I just coiled it and tacked it down. And I used about half of one side of the zipper, so the entire zipper would make 4 roses!  I think I will need to add them to the shop!

Victorian Friendship Rings, Steampunk Style

But by far my favorite motif was this Steampunk take on the traditional friendship circles in Victorian embroidery.  These are three rings from an old necklace I had.  Cool, huh?

Here is the block as it now looks. It will be on its way to the next stitcher in a day or two.

Hugs,

Crazy STEAMPUNKing

I just finished working on Betty’s block for our CQI Steampunk Round Robin.  Steampunk, if you aren’t familiar with it, is like Victorian Punk.  Or Gothic Victorian.  Think Jules Verne (gadgets and gizmos) meets the Gibson Girls (at Halloween?).  What if Sherlock Holmes had a computer (ornately brass plated, of course)?  Or if Teddy Roosevelt had a time machine?  Anyway, if you Google it (my standard recommendation, LOL), you begin to get the idea.

As I was the first stitcher on this block, I had the freedom to choose where to work.  There are three other stitchers after me before it returns to Betty, so I needed to do about 25% of the block.

I got to raid Bruce’s stash of hardware for the, um, Stuff.  :-)  Of course, I used my own black laces and trims, a silver button, a portion of a silver earring, silver beads, a jet black earring part, and a small clock face which I purchased from Alpha Stamps.  Love their stuff!

I wanted to do some embroidery, so I did an elaborate seam treatment. This pulled the greens over to that area of the block as well as repeating the black and silver.
 

Most of the hardware is attached with clear thread.  It is actually pretty lightweight; no heavier than adding brass charms.  The silver earring (the crescent portion) was the heaviest piece.  Silver button on top of that is the real thing, too, not plastic.

I sure have had some fun this month with crazy quilting, from Victorian Tea Time to Autumn Jungle to Steampunk. Next up ... Birds!! Nicki Lee’s blocks are gorgeous, and I think I have finally selected the one I would love to embellish. And when that’s done, I just repeat the entire process for next month!

And I finally went to the doctor today after suffering for three weeks with this cold or flu or sinus infection or whatever.  Well, two out of three, it turns out (not the flu).  Antibiotics, cough medicine, and I’ll be back on my voice in no time!

Christmas Crackers and Steampunk Block

Did you all have a nice Christmas? (Or a nice Whateveryoucelebrate?) Ours was an almost textbook perfect day, with the exception of one daughter who lives with her family in another state and could not make it to Utah. Personally, now that Christmas is past, I am grateful for a few days to relax and take a few deep breaths. Now I just have to psyche up to begin taking down the decorations and tree.

In the meantime, I’d like to share the Christmas Crackers I received from our Crazy Quilting International swap, as well as some other personal gifties.

Ely sent me a Christmas Cracker wrapped in this lovely crazy-pieced block! The fabrics she used are all very beautiful, and she really put a lot of effort into making a divine gift!

And here are the goodies that dear Ely included INSIDE the cracker. More beautiful fabrics (and I mean BEAUTIFUL), buttons, lace, trims ... WOW.  Thank you so much, Ely!

My second cracker was from Lorrie R in Canada, and her cracker, too was wrapped up in a lovely block she had pieced. She also included a wonderful (and thoughtful) note.  Lorrie is masterful with details - the cracker was tied up with red glitzy rick-rack and had little purple jingle bells on the bows!

Her gorgeous fabrics were all beautiful fancy solids and incredible Christmas sheers to coordinate and overlay. I love Christmas sheers and have used them quite a bit in my Christmas stitching in the past.  But it’s been hard to find any lately, and these just made me weak in the knees!! Thank you, Lorrie!  You can also see how generous Lorrie was with threads, beads, buttons and more!

And Stacie B., who is a new CQ’er with whom I’ve become friends, was so sweet to surprise me with these lovely tatted flowers. Or snowflakes. I can use them as either, and definitely WILL be using them.  Aren’t they darling? I love tatting, but can’t do it myself. However, I know the effort that goes into making tatted motifs. By the way, Stacie, any time you want to come over and teach me to tat, mi casa es su casa, OK?? Thanks you for your generosity, my friend! And what a cute envelope, too!

And last, but certainly not least, were these glamourous goodies that my friend Diane M from Canada sent to me. You may remember that Diane stayed with me for a few days here in Utah before we drove together to our CQI retreat in Colorado last September/October. The fabrics are lovely embroidered fabrics. The two charms, which are both sea-themed, will go onto my Seashore Valance, which is on a back burner for now (but is on my New Year’s list of projects to be completed the first half of 2011).

Look at those lovely white things! Are they shade pulls? I guess I should ask if they WERE shade pulls, because I can definitely see them as treetops, peacock tails, partial snowflakes, fans, etc. Oh my! I am planning to have a contest or drawing sometime in early 2011, and ONE of those will be in there. I reserve the right to be greedy and keep the rest for myself, LOL!!  :-) Thank you, dear Diane!!

Below is the CQ-ed heart ornament that I made for my friend Leslie.  The picture is of Sheba, her sweet furchild who lost her battle with cancer this past fall.   Sheba was a great pooch, and had been a part of our CQI Retreats in 2008 and 2009.  Just a great companion!  I have felt so badly for Leslie, knowing what a close bond they had.

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This is the block I pieced for our Steampunk Round Robin at Crazy Quilting International.  It’s a 12” block and will be worked on by four other ladies before it returns home to me.

If you aren’t familiar with the steampunk style, it is basically described as Victorian (or romantic Victorian) meets technology and science fiction. Think of steam-powered computers with heavy brass keys, black lace Goth-inspired Victorian clothing, monocle-wearing men with pocket watches.  Gears and ornamentation and clocks and time machines ...  If this confuses more than clarifies, just Google the term “steampunk”.

And so, five us of crazy ladies will attempt to translate the look and feel of Steampunk into crazy quilting.  Now that ought to be fun!