Inchie Cat + Petit Point + 3 Inch Hoop =

Adorableness:

The design is "Stitch-an-Inch Halloween" by Donna Bayliss, found in the 2013 special Halloween issue of Just Cross Stitch.  The model in the issue was turned into a pendant, so I will be raiding my supplies for a suitable frame or bezel.

Fuzzy Q

To add to the wall:

It's just a wooden Q wrapped with purple yarn.

I've been in a crafting (and everything-else) slump the past few weeks.  It turns out a Beadboy3 will be joining us in November, and mild-but-constant pregnancy crappiness and a humid summer do not mix.

But I'm sure once the little guy shows up, I'll have plenty of time and energy to make stuff!

Bezel Quilt

Hearing of Cathedral Windows quilts at the quilt show reminded me of some squares I made a long time ago that are kind of cheater-cathedral windows (although apparently this technique was developed when trying to find an easy way to make Orange Peel blocks).  All the hard work (but really, these are super easy to make) was done; all I had to do was sew together the nine squares, quilt the piece, and bind it.

The technique comes from "Bezel Blocks" by Addy Harkavy and Sandie McCann, in the July/August 2004 issue of Quilter's Newsletter Magazine.  All you do is cut two squares, fold the top one in half diagonally, layer it on to the bottom, and gently fold back the center of hypotenuse of the top.  That edge is on the bias, so it produces a gentle curve.  Slip stitch the curve in place, and you are done! 

The different designs in the sampler I made come from either varying the size of the top squares, playing around with the positions, or starting with pieced squares.  The names of the blocks, from left to right, top to bottom: Cat Eye, four Split Bezels, Open Cat Eye, Center Diamond (four Eyebrow blocks), Porthole, Pinwheel (another placement variation of Eyebrow blocks), Double Cat Eye, Flying Geese (yet another variation of Eyebrow blocks), and Four-Patch Cat Eye.

Fiesta Earrings

Last time I visited a bead store, I picked up these great striated beads that kind of reminded me of Jupiter:

Too bad I was so busy matching colors I didn't check to make sure the holes were drilled perpendicular to the stripes.


The beads were crying out for fringe (that's why they have giant loops at the bottom), so I obliged with little links made from size 6 and 8 seed beads:

The fringe with a mix of three and two links didn't work out; the twosies stuck out at odd angles, so I redistributed the links to make them all three beads long.  That gave me the drape and movement I was looking for.

The finished product, ready for a party:

A Special Gift for a Special Teacher

Ms. Ree was Beadboy1's teacher for three years.  She's taught him to read and write, and put up with the interminable toilet-training and month-long colds and his obsession with Muppets.  So scented candles or pretty soaps wouldn't cut it.

I don't remember where I got the idea for this, but it was at least partly inspired by various handprint embroideries floating around the internet.  (Nor am I the only one to think of doing something like this for a teacher.)  I had Beadboy1 write out his little thank you note on paper.  I retraced in in sharpie, transferred it to the fabric, and embroidered in in backstitch.  I wrapped the outer hoop in purple ribbon, finished the back, and voila! 

Ms. Ree loved it.

"I Was Swimmin' in the Caribbean ..."

I had wanted to do an ATC for "Where Is My Mind?" by the Pixies for quite a while, but I couldn't get a handle on it.  Then I read that the song was based in part on some scuba diving the lead singer did, where little fish seemed to be chasing after him, and I had my inspiration.

I used different threads and ribbons for the seaweed and two little fishie charms, but I couldn't resist embroidering another fish.  For the scuba diver I broke the legs off a black plastic skeleton and tacked them on.  Black straight stitches make the fins, and I wrapped the legs (well, bones) with more floss to mimic a wetsuit.  Tiny little seed beads serve as air bubbles.

The rest of my Song Lyric Series is here.

For Sale!

Due to "popular" demand, I am selling the Arrested Development pattern.  You can find a PDF to download here in my etsy store.

While I was at it, I made a couple of Frida Kahlo necklaces to sell; she tends to be pretty popular:

You can find them and some other simple jewelry in my etsy store too.