Look what I found in my mailbox...

Isn't it beautiful! A crazy quilted post card from Jo. This survived the postal system all the way from New Zealand to New York with no damage. I'm impressed. I have never seen a fabric postcard and couldn't imagine something like this going through the mail. I have envelopes that didn't survive the trip!

Oh well, sorry for the little tease. Blogger won't let me upload a photo. I will try again later.

crazy quilt atc

crazy quilt atc
Originally uploaded by sewquilty.

Here is a picture of a crazy quilted atc that I made this evening. You would think that something this small would be faster to make. Decision making isn't my strong point!
I added rick rack, hand dyed lace, beads, and sequins. The three purple flowers along the bottom are actually sequins. Aren't they pretty.
There is an atc swap starting at CQInternational group on yahoo. This is my first atc for that swap. I'll be making more of these. Hopefully lots since I love these little pieces of art.

CQ Wallhanging

CQ Wallhanging
Originally uploaded by sewquilty.

Here is a picture of small wallhanging I recently finished. This was my very first RR. The theme was "Pink and Cream". While I'm not a big fan of pink I thought the color combination was pretty. That was why I signed up. And it did turn out to be very pretty, I think!
I have more completed RR blocks that I have to do something with. One of these days. ha ha I am a very good procrastinator.
It is a hot and humid day here today, so I'll be indoors in the air conditioning again. And back to the doll that I'm currently working on. I should say struggling with!! It is my own fault though, it is an advanced pattern. I am a lot of things, but advanced certainly isn't one of them! It is a pattern from an older Soft Dolls Magazine and I just had to try it. Pictures will be posted soon.

Under the Sea Wallhanging

Under the Sea Wallhanging
Originally uploaded by sewquilty.

I haven't blogged in quite some time again.... I seem to do computer time in spurts. At least I have finished some things while not sitting here!

This is a picture of a second Under the Sea block that I made. This one is for me though. It is August 21 and I took down a Christmas decoration to hang this up. How sad is that? Apparently I don't look at the walls in my own home! In my own defense these are hanging on the same wall as the stairs so it is only a partial wall. And next to them is a clock that I never look at. There is still another decoration above this wallhanging too. They are the size of postcards. It would be nice if I made something to hang above this and take the other one down. We shall see.

Under the Sea

Under the Sea
Originally uploaded by sewquilty.

Here is a picture of my completed block. It measures 8 X 6 and it is a charity block for CQInternational. This will be part of a wallhanging that will hang in a childrens cancer center.
This block has threads, lace, funky fibers, beads, sequins,3 different shell beads, charms and whatever else thrown in. Once you start adding things it is hard to stop. In fact, I just might have to add a few more shells at the bottom in the center. I'm just afraid it will be getting too heavy.
I still have many shells left so I have started another block that will be for me. It is pretty similar to this one. The block is pieced and I did the seam treatments already. In fact, the mermaid is half done.
To make the mermaid I drew it on paper first. I really can't draw, but I do like to doodle. Anyway, I then traced it onto muslin and pinned that to the block. Then I beaded over it. Easy! I was afraid that it would pucker too much, but surprisingly it didn't.

Under the Sea

Under the Sea
Originally uploaded by sewquilty.

Just a quick update on my Under the sea block. I put a lot of "stuff" on this. I think my favorite is the green/blue shells with the pearl in the middle. And what about the curly q thingy in the middle. (It is a snail in case you can't tell.) I wasn't sure what to do for the mermaids hair so I went with some hairy yarn. The fuzzys that went over her head I pulled back and tacked down. The small shell represents a hair clip. I still want to add sequins and beads as air bubbles. And I have some more fishy charms to add.
This block has to sewn with right sides together and turned right side out to be finished. I hope it isn't too far off in shape and size. I just might add more shells to the bottom after it is completed!

Under the Sea CQ Block

Under the Sea CQ Block
Originally uploaded by sewquilty.

I hand pieced my first CQ block. I just had to try to have curves in there! Sure, some people can do that with a machine, but I'm not one of them! And it wasn't as fidley as I thought it would be. I will definately try this way again.
Leslie (Of CQI fame!) is collecting Under the Sea blocks for a Children's cancer treatment center. These blocks will be put into a wallhanging. Each block measures 8 X 6. I really enjoy working on charity blocks. After all, it is just a block. Not a very hard thing to do. And the time frame isn't too great. Put my block with other peoples blocks and it is amazing what the end result is. And it just makes me feel good doing it!
Many years ago I used to volunteer at the Cancer Society's Annual Childrens Christmas Party. There were a few of us from work that went. We dressed up in costumes and mingled with the kids. Just had fun with them. I remember being Alice in Wonderland. My son had one of those little dogs that barked and stood on its hind legs. I brought that and put it in a basket. My version of Toto was a hit! I think a few years I was either Minnie Mouse or Mickey Mouse. Funny I can't remember who I was and of course I can't tell from the pictures!
Anyway, it is so easy to do a simple thing and how wonderful if that simple thing ends up being a big thing to someone else!