Under the Sea DYB Round Robin (CQI) - My Blocks are Home!

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 Beryl.  The sea floor in this one is another winner with a wonderful gauzy material as the base and additions of beads, buttons and charms.  The starfish is dazzling and keeps glittering and flashing as the light catches it and the sand dollar made me very happy.  I always loved finding these on the beach when I was a child although I was never lucky enough to find an intact one - the Atlantic was too rough to bring them to shore in one piece.  I love the ribbon weeds - the colour of this ribbon is very intense and just perfect for the block.  Behind it you'll see Beryl's embroidered fish - the star of this block!

This beautifully embellished block was Carolyn's creation.  There is so much to admire here!  The hand dyed lace makes a wonderful frame for the block with the charm, shell and bead additions.  The seahorse if very delicately embroidered - such attention to detail!  I really enjoy the purple beaded sea plant. Again - the colours are just popping!  How cool is that school of fish too?  lol  You can't see it really clearly but the mermaid charm has a swivel at her waist so her bottom end seems to move with the current of the water.  Carolyn was so generous to share such a great find with me.  Thanks Carolyn!

This block was embellished by Ritva and I always learn so much from looking at her work.  It is always inspiring!  The jellyfish creature in the top left corner is a wonderful mixture of fibers - ribbons, threads and metallics all put together in a burst of colour.  My favourite elements here are Ritva's use of tatting - check out the sea creature with the blue bugle bead body - you can almost see those tatted tentacles rippling as he makes his way through the water! White knots make up great growth at the base of the block - it looks like coral to me - and it is very effective when you see it in person.  Another great idea to "borrow"!

Alice found a lovely fat fabric fish to attach to my block and he is the focal point here along with the wonderful starfish charm.  I'm not sure if you can see the details in the photo of the metallic stitches added to the fish, the purple beads along one of his stripes or the glass bead air bubbles trailing away from his mouth?  If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you may be able to see these details.  There is a tiny little fish charm near the center of the block - so small but so perfectly formed!  And of course, Alice has been kind enough to give me lots more of the seaweeds I love so much - it fascinates me to see how everyone creates so many different kinds with different stitches and fibers. 

Thank you all for your generous contributions to my blocks - I am very, very happy with all the stitching you have gifted me with!

So, this is my challenge now - to embellish the remaining block so it blends with and compliments the others!  I will certainly post a photo of what I come up with when I get it done.

And here you can get an idea of what the blocks look like together - the five completed ones as well as the one left for me to do.  They really do cry out to be finished!