Flora's Bee Crazy Quilter 
CQJP 2023 side done- how it sometimes goes
Sometimes when working on a long term project somewhere near the end I loose it. What do you loose Flora? you may ask Sometimes it's the desire to continue the project. Sometimes it's the energy or the brain capacity to think about the project. Some times Life gets in the way and it's difficult to fine the thread of the project. Sometimes it's the creative spark that sent me on the journey in the first place. But aren't those the same things? Nope. They are not, Each roadblock comes from a different spot.Most of it is internal but every once in a while something outside your control takes you away.All in all I find it difficult to re engage my head if I'm just not feeling it. For me the only way to get back to a project is to set it aside for a time and let it marinate in your lizard brain for a while. And then all of a sudden, POOF! It's done!
So here are mr. and mrs. Cardinal Keeping look out on their holly tree.Those leaves took a bit of doing!But I must say I am much better at turning nice tight corners now.I need to do a bit more and I may need to add some embroidery to it but over all i'm pleased with it.This was a BOM from a few years ago, I got it from an online quilt store, i can't remember just which one right now.Time to start the next cornerWill it be the bunny corner or the bluebird?
CQJP 2023 5th side
Here is the 5th side to the Lampbox so far I have chain stitched the vines and have started the trumpet flowers in pink floche These leaves are done in raised buttonhole stitchI added 3 rows of stem stitch to this upper part of the vine in maroon to start balancing the colors of the block This little flower at the bottom is made up of all the colors in the block in straight pistil stitch, Pad stitch and cast on stitchThe dragonfly is just hanging on but I like it there so will leave it for now as a place holder
Cardinal corner
The cardinal corner already in progress,those holly leaves really improve your point turning skills! I have done a little more than half of them hereAnd because I'm me it looks too plain so I may add some embroidery for more pizzazzEasy in my vocabulary only applies to housework!
From Cathy's gift box
I found myself more Cigar boxes to get in good trouble with So I mounted a bunch of things from Cathy's giftie box from a few years ago The white work piece I ended up cutting off the bottom third because it was too big to use whole This is the top part It's still to big to put on a cigar box, so I will have either to find a box to fit it or make my own. I haven't decided which yetThe bottom third fit on this cohiba boxIt was already painted white and fit perfectly!I'm trying to figure out what to do with it from here Isn't she pretty though! I also mounted this Pink one and this pretty blue one with the swifts but have yet to put them on anything.I am still fiddling with these other bird panels,They go together buut they kind of don'tI like the way the right side looks but the left side needs help.I don't know if I like it.Maybe it's configured wrong?I tried it this way first The problems I see with it ^ are, 1) the tree unbalances the other three panels and the only way to fix that is by adding more to the others. 2) The harsh lines of the joins are bothering me too 3) The upper left hand bird panel was too small, so I had to add some "like" fabric, to make it wider now I'm having trouble trying to integrate it into a whole contiguous piece. This happens every time I put panels together like this, the harsh lines of the individual panels takes my eye away from enjoying the piece as a whole and I can't figure out how to integrate them.The way I have dealt with this in the past is to add sashing between the panels, but that breaks it up farther. I'd like to try something different. It's just not working very well here right now.Frustrating! I can sort of see what I want, but I can't make it work. I need to separate the blocks, find some more "Like" fabric to maybe add some joins to make the pieces flow better because right now it looks choppy to me. Maybe one more time with the seam ripper.I know I can get this.
And so it begins
May the 4th be with you Idea's I will try to get to this time!
We had joy
So I have started to dip my toe back into Applique againI flirt with it every once in a while and my past efforts have turned out allright buuut, nunghh......I'm not a big fan of some of it (see it here and there)It strikes me as blocky and meah The turtle is nice thoughThere is a bit more but we won't go into it hereI found this kit as a BOM from an online shop Meaning to do it whilst I ferried my MIL to her appointments And that did happenI finished the 32 orange peel 3.5' blocks in a variety of parking lots, between running shopping chores and waiting on Robin to finish seeing whatever doctor had her nextThose took the year waiting for all the blocks and their instructions to filter inThen they sat around Waitingfor another year, or so.I took the sun parts to Chicago with me in march so I'd have something to do I finished those pretty quicklyBut I had the wind by thenYou know, That undeniable "Something" that gives you the desire to keep going until it's finished April has been busy with all sorts of other things tooLike our Quilt guilds bi-annual Quilt show, which was a roaring success by my count of oohs! and aahhhs! whilst standing as a door monitor, stewardess and goer.I have a bunch of projects that I am working on between,A new BOM in felt from SueSpargo which you can't see, as per the instruction I am not allowed to show it on line! well pooh!It's really cute though! also the lampbox which is mostly done with has one panel to goAnd a few little embroidered things that scratch that new itch.I finished the piecing parts of the topand even got the sun even more or less Some of the points got lost, but I thought it more important that, the round part fit properly.That cross where the 4 fabrics of the sun come together would have been waaay more distracting! Had it been off by even a smige, as that is where your eye goes first, it would have taken away from even the most precise of applique work.So that part is done, it's off to the outside panels, which are all applique. Lets see how long this one takes me.
Making the parts for the box
The final steps here are to cover the inside panels with whatever you are using for that be it fabric, like I am or paper. I use a medium heavy card for the insides under the fabric of both the out side and inside of the panelSpecifically I use campaign/ad flyers. I get what seems like 100's of them in the mail every week and would rather use them than recycle or worse just throw them out!You can either glue the fabric to the card or sew it to the card as I have done here with a back and forth lattice.do this to both sidesRemember it's the inside, it doesn't have to look pretty!Then take all your inside panels and sew them together edge to edgeSorry I have no pictures of this partI will then Glue the out side panels to that making sure to pin or otherwise clip the panels together for 24 hours so the glue can dry fullyI will then trace the bottom on 2 pieces of heavy card one to fit inside and one a little bigger for the bottom outsideCover them both separately because you are going to then glue the wrong sides together.While it's open, decide here whether you want a lid because you need to trace out the shape on heavy board for this, the same way you did for the bottom.Also; when you sew the top on, you will only be sewing it to one side so you also need to decide which side you want at the front.Also before you glue the two sides together to give it a handle, a pull and / or a closureNow for the rest of the bottom sew the inside to the inside, all the way around. this is to keep corners and creases, where little things like beads, that can get stuck in them, to a minimum.This is the frustrating and difficult part, as you have to sew the edges together after the whole thing is assembled You can do it, just go slow.Though you will make it easier on yourself if you do this part before you put the outside panels on!Now glue the bottom base to the bottom. leave for 24 hours and put a few hevyish weights on the inside so the glue adheres firmly.The last detail is, what to use as piping? To cover the gaps on the outside panels. because there will be gaps! It can be anything from lace, ribbon, cording or gimp.
Side #4 Complete CQJP 2023
That big center flower is made by folding at least 15 - 2" of a 13mm silk ribbon in 1/3's stringing them together daisy style and tacking them down.I cut a small circle of felt and tacked it down with that blue stamen stitch and then covered it with beads. I added a few buttonhole stitch leaves to that vine and Voila! Bare spot taken care ofHere's the block all done and mountedWhen I mounted this I ended up having to remove a few beads as they had wandered to the backside, when I wrapped the edges over my templateI generally start out with a basic size in mind but this time I had to make it a tech smaller than the originaland so over-shot the edges, whupsIt fits perfectly on 2 sidesnot so much on the othersThis is what the backside looks likeIts the perfect use for all those political and advertising mailers you get a crapton of (actual scientific measurement, not to be confused with shiton) Eventually I will do this with whatever is going to be the inside and the bottom of the box and maybe a top cover I haven't decided yet I will then glue all that together, sew up the sides then overlay that with piping of some kind of gimp or ribbon Here are three sides done and mounted so far
Ace of Cups finish
Just a few more "in progress" pictures And a beauty shotI looks good when I can get the glow of the silk and the thread in the same photo! here it is mounted and on the shelf
CQJP 2023 Autumn side Lampbox
I just kept throwing things at this oneIt also did not go as sketched but sometimes you get on a roll The bit of ribbon behind the butterflies made of cut lace bitsSometimes things suggest themselves to you and you have to go with it!This started out differently and morphed into a vinewith spiderweb roses and sequins? HuhWhere'd those come from?Still looks bare though.I couldn't figure out what to do to mask this seam And the reason it needed to be masked in the first place was that the fun slubb silk stripe pulled out from under the blue silkSo I had to carefully unpick the blue, make the seam there smaller and pull the stripe as close as I could get to the blue and tack it down without being obvious about itThere is still a tiny little gap but you can't really see it now with the bit of fringe lace over the worst bits. A little bit of fray check doesn't go amiss here either!
CQJP 2023 Parrot Side Lamp box
There I think this panel is done. I finally was able to wrap my head around it and finish.I added a few beads and some folded flowers to it and splammoed it all together.I also put together the inside of the box and attached all 4 sides that are done, so you all can see why I was, am, calling this a lamp boxIt all has more to do with its shape when finished than anything elseAs you can see the rounded sides when put together give it a hexagonal shape Which then gives it the bowed out look of old lampshadesThis is similar to the Hexi box I made last year (?) but was so, so much easier to sew together with the rounded rectangular panels instead of the 6" hexagons I used on the other one.Remember kiddies rounded edges is your friend when doing this sort of project.Here she is on her side of the boxand below is it from the side with 2 panels showingI have one more panel left to do then I need to figure out what kind of trim to usebetween the panels Because that gaposis just looks terribleI also need to make a bottom for it otherwise it's just a strawI just got a load of new cigar boxes to play with so there will be projects in the works for those eventuallyThe first of which is this nice one on a white Cohiba boxThat panel fit the lid perfectly!
Happy Ostara
Happy Ostara!Blessed be!I'm going to celebrate with smashed Pullet ovate in Wisconsin style savory saladAlso finish up this little side quest of a projectTarot cards are a particular favorite of mine not just for the symbology of it but the imagery and art of the different decks is stimulating to my sensesI plan to do more of these "Side Quests" in future.I am embroidering these with DMC 3 strand on a white silk backgroundI use clover blue water soluble pens for the drawingI have been using these pens for decades and they have never let me downThe outlining of the hand, cup and cloud is chain stitchWith a majority of the piece done in satin stitchAs you can see demonstrated at the bottom of this picture when you outline in chain stitch and fill it in with satin stitch It makes a nice clear stitching line to followThe bird is the only place I use any other StitchesHere I also used a bullion for the tail cast over for the body of the wingsand raised buttonhole for the longer feathers Now for the pond waterI needed very short satin stitches hereI use a crossbreed of satin and stem stitch on the fountain waterto make it look more like there is movement in the stitchingThere is just a little bit left to go!I hope to have it done by the end of the dayBut you never knowThis Side questhas already taken 2 weeks to complete And I have been neglecting a few other things in the interimlike the parrotGotta finish
CQJP 2023 Autumn Lampbox
Yes I know I haven't finished the Parrot side yetPlease bear with me, last month was...... difficultThe concept
CQJP 2023 Parrot side lampbox and an unexpected bit of bullshit
Work is progressing on the parrot slowlybut it is progressingLife decided to get in the way this week and I had to make an unexpected trip to Chicagonothing bad, just the ex deciding to sell the house and tell the rest of the family march 5th3 weeks before closing I.E. the children who grew up there and left, because he's an enormous tool (my emphasis)so that if we wanted anything from it we had to get there before the 20th of marchWell FuckHere's what I've done so farThe next installment will come around some time or another after I get back from this bit of bullshit.Reminding me, yet again, why I divorced him in the first place, that it was an excellent idea and should have been done sooner.