Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Crazy Quilting Sampler...


In early 2016 I signed up for a free course on Crazy Quilting (CQ).  Free is always attention getting for me.  My "crafting" budget is rather small and I need to stretch it all year long. Kathy Shaw offered this course on her blog Shawkl.com and you can merely click the link I have for you to read.  Bless Kathy and her amazing patience with me.  When I convinced myself to sign up I had every intention on doing the lessons in a timely manner.  However life took over and by August I was woefully behind and out of state without my project to work on. In the top photo you can see that I managed to get the ribbon embroidery completed recently per Kathy's instructions.  Thank you Kathy dear for extending my course timeline.  You have been an inspiration and excellent teacher.


I was committed to finishing what I had begun.  Here is a close up of my wandering ribbon vine and roses.  And because "Murphy" is always lurking, I ran out of the green ribbon on the vine leaves.  Of course I ordered what I had ordered before and wouldn't you know the die lot was not the same exact shade of green.  Since this is my learning sampler I decided to put perfection (which isn't reality) aside and use the green I received.  I am happy with the results and if you are astute and you look very closely you will see the two different shades of green. 


Ahhh...my completed Crazy Quilting sampler.  I have added some buttons and a dragonfly charm and a few lace motifs and several shuttle tatted pieces.  The buttons and charm I already owned.  The lace motifs I had purchased along with my silk ribbons.  The shuttle tatted pieces are from my friend Diane of LaceLovinLibrarian blog. Thank you Diane dear for sharing your tatting with me and I am honored to place them on my sampler.  I am pretty happy with how this has turned out.  I purposefully left some errors as learning bits.  I will try CQ in the future as I have so many wonderful charms and bits and treasures to incorporate into this type of handwork.  The biggest shock was when I showed it to Mr. C and he actually liked it and complimented my work.  Rare indeed.  Mr. C says I need to get it framed and I am certainly going to pursue that idea. Thank you honey!
Well I know you all have seen us on the news/weather.  Nevada City is getting torrential rains and water levels not seen in many years.  Thankfully we live uphill and the water runs downhill.  Our pond is draining just as Mr. C designed and built it to do.  The water level is up to the surrounding border and swamping the bogs.  Our house gutters are all working the way they should after Mr. C worked long and hard redesigning and putting up larger new gutters where needed and repairing holes in current gutters.  He keeps them cleaned out all year long.  Our local Nevada City Deer Creek is flowing high and rapid.  The restaurant "Lefty's" which overlooks Deer Creek is flooded and closed for at least a week.  It was shared on World News.  Also the Yuba River has been shown and it is very full and has level 5 rapids.  It is continuing to rain in furious quantity.  We have received over 16 inches in just a few days...along with over 8 inches of snow.  After five years of extreme drought we welcome this rain and the snow further up.  Now it is a matter of safety for everyone.  Stay home and out of creeks, rivers etcetera.  Highway 80 over Donner Summit has been closed on and off as long as 24 hours to clear traffic accidents and an avalanche of mud and debris.  People please be safe and do not travel if you do not absolutely have to.   I feel very fortunate that I am able to stay home and be safe and dry. 
On another note...we will keep our home listed (click for link) for sale through Winter.  Our broker, Mimi" understands that Winter is an excellent time for staying home and surfing the internet for that dream location and home...ours could be it!  After all Mr. C and I did find this unfinished home on the internet way back in 1998 when the internet was very new and offered little.  And here we are nineteen years later.  Waiting patiently for the right buyer so we can move along on our journey.  St. George Utah continues to call out to us.  After all Discover is what 2017 holds for us.
Continued Happy New Year to each of you and may you be doing exactly what makes you happiest...

17 comments:

  1. Oh, my goodness, I just love your beautiful Crazy Quilt sampler, Sherry! Need to examine the photos more carefully in the morning. As for all that rain and snow, what a drastic change after your years of drought in that area!!! I'm glad you can stay home, warm and dry, and that the pond and gutters are working as Mr. C designed them! Yay, Mr. C!!! I do hope the others in the area are not suffering too much! xoxo Jane

    ReplyDelete
  2. the samplers are so beautiful...

    Please visit: http://from-a-girls-mind.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. your crazy quilting piece is a real beauty and yes you must frame it, maybe you should sign up for the crazy quilting BOM, I have signed to do it again but so far have done nothing.
    Such rain you are having and some parts of US are having very heavy snow falls also in Europe but here we have just got gales

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your crazy quilt block turned out beautiful! I love it. (As for the green, I would not have noticed. After you pointed it out, it looked like the top of the vine might be in sunlight and the bottom in shade.) Mr. C.'s reaction was the same as my husband's. I was going to make a pillow with mine, by my hubby thinks we should pay to have it framed. I do hope you enjoyed the class. Kathy is amazing!

    Sending safe wishes your way with all of the rain and snow.

    Your house is gorgeous! Best wishes with the sale.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The crazy quilt sampler is gorgeous Sherry! So is your home!!!! Wow! I coukd see a young family living there. We started off in a large 2 story home on 11 acres in the woods after we first got married. We only lived there 3 years but it was a lovely setting. All that rain will freshen up everything for the new future owners.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ditto Jane's comment. I am SO sweetly pleased with your crazy quilting. When we were at Green Gables last year, I saw the authoress of the "Anne" books' crazy quilt, and I was stung AND bitten by the crazy quilting bug. I want to do this now, and I will!

    Beautiful work.
    Kelley~

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your sampler, Sherry, is beautiful! I don't see a single error. If you say they are there, then they are beautifully stitched and are blending in like magic. I think the light and dark green gives your piece light and shadow...just like in real life. I agree with Mr. C. That you should frame this beautiful stitching collage.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Gee, makes me wish I hadn't dropped out of class. Excellent! Don't let all the rain wash away your hopes for St. George! :) and, yes. stay safe!

    ReplyDelete
  9. My dear Sherry, such a very beautiful piece, I`m in awe over your ribbon vine and rose, it looks so very difficult to embroider such beauty with a ribbon, and so many lovely little stitches all over.
    Sounds terrible for some in your area with all the water, I`m happy you live uphill, and with no risk for flooding.Just take care ,and stay home, for now.
    Also wishing you good luck, selling dear, I know the waiting is awful, as when desided we just want to move. Hugs from me. xxx

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks a lot for your sweet comment in my blog: http://from-a-girls-mind.blogspot.com

    Krishna

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love your sampler block, so pretty!! Well done, it's not easy to learn new techniques. Keep warm and dry there!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Too, too pretty! Glad you can stay home safe and sound! Keep your scuba gear handy, just in case! XO

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh my goodness, Sherry, your crazy quilt sampler is amazing!! Wow!! I totally agree with Mr. C...you need to frame it!! It truly is a work of art...like a beautiful garden!!

    I have been praying for you with all of the rain in California. I can't believe some of the pictures of the flooding. I'm glad the drought is over, but I hope that everyone stays safe. Thinking of you my dear friend and hoping that your home sells quickly as well!! Have a great weekend!! Big hugs :)

    Lisa
    A Mermaid's Crafts

    ReplyDelete
  14. Absolutely stunning hand work! Gorgeous work of art!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Great stitching! Mr C was spot on when he said he likes it (and I know how you feel, my DH rarely compliments me on my work and it's a complete and utter shock when he does). Be safe if you have to be out on the roads - hopefully the weather will settle soon. Seems to be either feast or famine doesn't it.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Your stitching is so beautiful Sherry! I don't seem to have the patience for that but my mom made some beautiful things like that. I am so glad your house is high and you don't have to worry about flooding. Stay safe!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you very much for visiting my blog. I love to receive comments and read them with much interest.