I really was going crazy ...

Jenny's stocking 2015

This blog post will be a little different than those in the past. Today I am sharing what I was working on prior to Christmas -- a little crazy quilting. I plan to design some CQ blocks for you to download in the new year, but right now I thought I would give you some "eye candy". I had to wait to post these photos, as the projects were gifts for family and I couldn't take the chance that either of these ladies might catch a glimpse of their presents before the big day.

Project One

This stocking was my first project and it is for my daughter-in-law, Jenny. (I forgot to take a "before" picture, so you just get to see the finished product.)

It had to be mailed so I had to finish it first. (I must admit that I was nervous about the mailing part because it would be difficult to recreate this should it go astray in the mail). However, she got the package, just in time and was thrilled.

Gotta have a maple leaf!

(I believe if you click on the image you will see a much larger version.)

Now, if you were not already aware, I'm a Canadian (as is Jenny) so of course I had to add the maple leaf. This embroidery technique (long and short stitches) was a first for me and was made of single strands of thread and took me about 4 hours to produce, so I thought you should see a close up. <pats self on back>

Project Two

My next project (and I really didn't know what I was in for) was a purse for my daughter Rachel. (The embroidery and embellishing was a cinch compared to putting the thing together...)


This looks pretty unassuming and that is the interesting part of crazy quilting. You get to take small scraps of lovely bits and pieces, embroider as you wish and then, the really fun part, is adding the silk ribbon and the bead embellishments.

In the beginning ...

 Starting the embroidery. It's beginning to look a little more interesting.

Starting the embroidery ...

And here is the final product (after much soul searching as to why I attempted this, sprinkled with quite a bit of cursing ... ), but in the end, it was worth it.

The finished purse