kerrykatiecakes

Last month I posted photos of the ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) I made for this year's Embroidery Association of Canada's annual ATC swap here .  Yesterday I received a package in the mail with the ones I got back so here they are! From Camy P. of Nipawin, Saskatchewan. From Mary-Wyn T. of Barrie, Ontario, who is a member of Simcoe County Embroidery Guild. From Christine P, age 15, of The Tangled Threads of Nanaimo, British Columbia.  By Marly G of Longford Mills, Ontario, a member of Simcoe County Embroidery Guild. Front and back of the whimsical ATC by Wendy M Needlefelted and embroidered card by Kaye J of Australia By Colleen D. of Orillia, Ontario, who is also a member of Simcoe County Embroidery Guild. I couldn't be happier about receiving these tokens of friendship from these talented members of EAC.  It was a special treat to receive one from a member of one of the Youth Chapters - the future of our art!  It was also neat that we had a guild in A...

Thank you to Laurie who left a comment on my last post suggesting we needed a logo to help spread the word about the quilts being created to raise funds to aid in the recovery in Sendai, Japan, and to Leslie who created it!  So, please copy this and take it away to your own blog, your facebook page, and anywhere else you can think of to help spread the word about these quilts!  When you add the photo please link back to the guidelines posted here or here .  THANK YOU!

This is Cathy, modelling a kimono that Hideko brought as a gift to the last CQI Stitch Shenanigans retreat.  The lovely lady with the sweet smile lending Cathy a helping hand is our dear crazy quilting friend, Hideko. Here are the four "partners-in-crime", the moderators of CQI at our last retreat.  (Left to Right:  Hideko, Leslie, myself (Kerry), and Cathy) I showed you these photos so you could see our friend, Hideko, from Sendai, Japan.  I think it helps to put a face and name to the people of Sendai.  Kind of makes that tv stuff a little more real, doesn`t it? At CQI, we are sponsoring a project to generate funds for the recovery effort in Japan. Our dear friend Hideko Ishida is fortunately safe along with Emiko, another stitching friend. We continue to keep her in our thoughts as she waits to hear about her family. This project is open to everyone in the quilting community who is interested in participating , both traditional and crazy quilte...

Ta-dah!  My second AAQI (Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative) quilt is done and going off in the mail tomorrow!  Here it is!  This one is called "Asian Dreams" and I worked on it throughout the long hours after the earthquake in Sendai and the ensuing tsunami, while all of us at CQI were waiting to get news of our dear friend in Sendai.  So, this little quilt is dedicated to Hideko and everyone in Sendai and Japan as a whole who are recovering from the devastation.  The block itself was made by a crazy quilting friend and was delivered wrapped around my Christmas cracker in a CQI exchange a couple years ago.  So, all I needed to do was the embellishing, embroidery and finishing.  All the seams are done with Japanese silk buttonhole thread.  The large metal face, the coins, the butterfly and the fan are all "found objects".  The butterfly is a broken jewelry pin, the face was a bookmark and the fan was an earring.  I used needle ...

This week's Build-a-Seam Challenge is tete-de-boef stitch.  I was very happy to receive the suggestion for this stitch from Cris R, over at CQI.  (I do run out of ideas from time to time and a little help is very much appreciated!)  This stitch gets its name from its appearance - can you see the little bull's head there?  It can be worked on a horizontal or vertical seam - I chose to do a vertical line of them and I like the way they look.  A short tutorial follows in the next post.  Have fun with this one!

 Tete-de-boef gets its name because it looks like the head of a bull with the detached chain stitch face and the little horns.  Begin the stitch by making two straight stitches at about 90 degrees, as shown above. Starting at the juncture of the two straight stitches, make a detached chain stitch in a downward direction to create the bull's head.   Use another straight stitch to secure the chain stitch.  These stitches can be worked individually, in either a horizontal or vertical row (as shown here).

 Yesterday I made a group of buttons for the button swap at CQI.  These are all decoupaged using Kate Greenaway illustrations.  To make it simpler to attach them, I have done all of them on shank buttons. This is the whole grouping - seven to swap and the rest as a hostess gift for our swap coordinator.  These Kate Greenaway illustrations are so charming - I enjoyed making these.  Hopefully the girls who receive them in the swap will enjoy them too!

This the the little 6 inch block I embellished for Cathy K in the Tea Time DYB round robin we are in together at Crazy Quilting International. The seam treatments are all done in Japanese silk buttonhole thread.  The two little butterfly charms were cannibalized from a bracelet I found at the thrift store.  I used tracing paper for the writing on the block by writing "Tea for Two" on the tracing paper and then basting the paper to the block.  I embroidered through the tracing paper and then removed it from around and under the stitches.  I posted this picture of some lace bits a few days ago as a "teaser".  They were the basis for the parasol, the main motif on this block, seen below. To create the parasol, I cut out each individual little segment of lace from motifs on hand and sewed each one done, assembling the parasol as I went.  I started with the spines and then the outer edges.  I couched down some braid to create the handle and then added la...

This week's Build a Seam (BAS) Challenge is something a bit different.  Instead of a new stitch, it is a different way of using an old stitch.  This week we will use chain stitch in much the same way as we used the meandering ribbon we have done in Week 30 .  There is a good tutorial for basic chain stitch in Sharon B's Dictionary of Stitches here . This sample is from an antique piece of embroidery and was used to attach a piece of embroidered gauze to a silk dresser scarf.  After fifty plus years it is still serving this purpose very well.  So, this technique would be very appropriate for a seam that is in need of stability from it's treatment instead of embellishment alone.  By meandering back and forth across the seam in a random manner (much like stippling in traditional quilting) with a line of chain stitch, you can do a lot to strengthen the fabric join.  Using a variegated thread as in the sample photo adds more interest an...

My round robin blocks arrived home so I am happy to share photos of them here.  UTS (Under the Sea) is a very fun theme to work with and the other ladies stitching in this round robin have done such beautiful work and let their imaginations fly! This first one was stitched for me by Nicki Lee.  The photo does not show the richness of the colours properly and for that I am very sorry.  I think Nicki Lee's greatest gift is with colour and I wish I could convey it properly.  The focal point is the wonderful sea creature in the top right corner.  He is very tactile with his raised fuzzy and beaded body!  I have no idea how he was accomplished - wish I did!  Nicki Lee created a wonderful encrusted sea floor for me with a glorious mass of hand dyed lace, beads, shells, charms and embroidery stitches.  The sea plants are wonderful - make sure you see the beautiful painted seahorse charm hiding in the weeds! This next block was embellished by Be...

What a great package I received in the mail!  My good friend, Debbie Q, has finished embellishing one of these wedges for me for my big WIP, a Christmas tree skirt.  Debbie does such beautiful work (visit her blog so see more!) so feast your eyes on what she stitched for me! Words fail me so I hope the photos speak for themselves about Debbie's wonderful stitching skill as well as her generosity of spirit!  Debbie has a real fondness for her "little girl silkies" and she sent me FIVE along with the block.  How sweet is that!? And these cool little stencils as well!  My brain is cogitating now on ways to use them - should be fun!  Thank you Debbie!

Cranberry Relish is a great name for this quilt because it is definitely yummy!  This is one of the quilts up for auction this month on the AAQI website .  When you look at all the pieces in this quilt it blows my mind to think the entire quilt measures 8.75 X 11.5 inches!  The artist behind the quilt is Martha Wolfersberger of Frenchtown, MT, USA, and she is generously sharing the pattern right now at the Alzheimers Art Quilt Initiative blog for free!  You might want to check that out here !

Okay, so I know my brains are pretty scrambled when the words above brings me to tears!  Not like I was even sitting here watching Astro Boy!  DD went out and as usual the tv stays on the channel she left it on, providing some background noise, until she gets back again and take custody of the remote control.  (I can't be 100% sure - she might even take it with her when she goes out!  lol).  Anyway, as I am moving around the house doing this and that, I'm seeing bits and pieces of the Astro Boy movie when I go through the room.  I have to say it is a pretty good movie because I got all weepy when Astro died and one of the bystanders asked why he would have sacrificed himself to save the people since he was just a robot.  And, lo and behold, one of the fellows in the white coats says "Because that robot had more humanity than most of us!"  Pass the kleenex!  I won't spoil the movie for you but I think he might not stay dead.... not sure b...

I have enjoyed reading posts on other blogs about WIP Wednesday so for this week at least I have decided to jump on the bandwagon!  Here is what I'm working on so far this week.  Keep in mind please that Dexter ate my glasses so I am leaning more towards craft than art this week again. This gorgeous block was on one of my Christmas crackers in an exchange at CQI.  Now it is the start of my next AAQI quilt. So far only one seam treatment and one embellished patch but, hey, it's a start, right?  I have picked up a total of five different terracotta shelves with little angels on them at the thrift store over the last couple weeks.  I have an idea for a garden in the shady corner by the house - sort of a secret garden idea.  So, I thought these shelves would be great to hang on the side of the house with plants on them - something that loves shade and will creep and hang down.  So, I am painting them all and hopefully will have them finished tonight or...