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Lake in blues & yellows - Acadia, by Zombie37
Next I copied Sharon's palette into my Paint accessory and used the eye dropper tool to pick up the individual colors. I tried to play with a design, but best I could do was see how the colors could interact. Now if you'd like to see the real magic worked by someone savvy with a sophisticated application, Francoise's blog Creatilfun is pretty amazing.
I began with the green dupioni and placed it right sides up together with the lavender satin (I think hand painted by Karen South) and cut a gentle curving line. Next I put right sides together and machine stitched matching hills & valleys. My plan was to repeat the procedure with the next pairing, the purple and yellow-green dupionis. Unfortunately I forgot to allow sufficient width to allow for a second seam. Waste not! I seamed what I had and left the curved edges raw and overlapping the outer edges of the starter pair. Not wanting to repeat the mistake I simply straight seamed the end colors, on the left a silk velvet, on the right a crinkle-textured irridescent that flashes yellow and lavender. Too bad you can't see the latter; it's a piece I received in a squishy and it has the most marvelous handpainted flower that I'm reserving for another use.
This pretty lady journeyed from Colorado to be with me. She was created by Leslie Ehrlich and has found a comfortable stance next to my computer and seems to want to keep an eye on me. Well , actually I'm not sure what her intent is. It's like she's totally absorbed in whatever I'm doing. Could it be she shares my eclectic taste? I've named her Delilah Delightful as she is an amiable companion. Or guardian -- I'm hoping she'll protect me and my technical lifeline from evils of the internet. 
In the interest of catching up, I did three weeks in one small sampler. The outer ring is butterfly chain, the foundation straight stitches done in Caron's Watercolours
This piece of linen began as something else, so I have one row on this sampler that is not fly stitch. It is the curving line of greenish backstitch woven with two colors of purl loops. Everything else is composed of fly stitch and variations, which I added in rows, not planning ahead. In other words, it was a dull exercise; even the colors were bland, and my hearts were upside down. Maybe I was just feeling off because we had just learned that our beloved teacher Sharon Boggan was ill and would require surgery. 
A feather stitch by any other name would still tickle -- not to mention give me endless delight. I do love this stitch. It can meander all over the place, it can be light and delicate or substantive. It looks beautiful on its own but also begs for embellishment in myriad ways. Did I play? Oh yes. Here's what I tried going from left to right:
Column 1 - 3 rows of feather stitch
I started smaller at the top and let the stitches elongate as I worked down. Then I turned fabric 180 (upside down) and worked the same way in reverse, larger to smaller. Had I worked the stitches in precise counts there probably would have been a pattern, but I liked the irregular look and thought it might have abstract or freeform potential. I turned the fabric 90 degrees to the right, then worked from left to right, connecting to ends from the second pass. I kept the "C" stitches in line to create a boundary from the next column group. What I really, really liked was the negative spaces that formed from the distorted stitches. It struck me as something organic, the look of something growing unexpectedly and with abandon.
Those incredibly shaped spaces begged for filling. I was going to leave them blank to better show off the experiment, but compromised and did a few so I could try different effects. My inclination was to go for a crazy patchwork and using different colors and textures to differentiate the segments. These are my fillers from top to bottom: 1) woven silk ribbon; 2) cross stitch in #8 pearl; 3) satin stitch in #5 pearl; 4) twisted bugle beads with Delicas; 5)beadpoint with #8 seed beads; 6) horizontal straight stitches in #5 pearl; 6) beadpoint with #8 seeds in a raku-like matte finish to counter the irridescence of the other bead section. I randomly placed a few Delicas and seeds on the tips of the conventional feather stitches.
By the way, I tried some other things with this area, but wanted more variety. I used straight stitches vertically, horizontally and diagonally, first with a single strand of floss in a light color, then darker. It didn't do much. Next I worked the straight stitches in a bright, #8 pearl as seen in the finished (6) above. I liked this a lot; I saw patchwork without the outlines of the spaces obscured. I worked the basic stitches in Caron Watercolours (1 strand), so I thought it might be better to use several shades for the straight lines. That worked well, too. Still I'm pleased with the variations in texture I started, and I like the way the conventional stitches gradually give way to the freeform.
Column 2 - single row of feathered up and down buttonhole
I suppose feathered feather stitch would be redundant. I added extra feathers . I like this effect for pine needle clusters or bamboo leaves. I worked them in 2 strands of silk floss. I like them best left as was, but I had to add a lighter accent because that area looked too dark. I wove a single strand of rayon floss and added French knots.
Column 3 - single row of beaded feather stitch
Since we're practicing stitches, I thought I might practice the bead embroidery too. I worked half up, half down. Embeadery by Margaret Ball was my resource. She gave several methods for the feather stitch. The one I chose turned out to be fairly easy and fast and kept the stitches flat for the most part. A method I'll save for when I want to build up more dimension has the bead strings crossing.
Column 4 -feathered up and down buttonhole
I went for a dainty look with 2 strands of silk floss and some small beads.
Column 5 - mirrored featherstitching with fillers
Left row is done with rayon ribbon shadowed with 2 strands of silk floss. The right side has a base of wool/silk yarn, overstitched with this incredibly smooth and slinky thread I found in New Zealand. It's just called Glitter Cord.
Can you handle another surprise? I took one look at the spaces between the two rows and saw hearts!!! Look closely, there are two large hearts and one small heart in the middle. It was a freak accident, but one I'll want to remember. The smaller one resulted from my habitual disregard for counting on these samplers. Note, I went from a series of 3 stitches to 2 in the middle.
I attempted to place Rhodes hearts in the centers, but all those feather points got in the way. My mettalic cord hearts are a bit misshapen, but they fill the space as do those little straight stitch crosses.
Column 6 - 2 rows single feather stitch
I like to use pearl for this stitch. I think I used #8 or #10. The body of the thread allows for a slight curve at the end when the "feather" is angled. When paired as opposites a diagonal space is formed. With this combination there are many, many possibilities for embellishment. I opted to keep it simple in this treatment , as the columns to either side are so strong.
Column 7 - 2 rows feather stitch joined
Same principle as Column 1, except I went from longer to shorter and kept the consistently spaced (I counted!). What a difference. These are also stitched with Caron Watercolours. I used rayon floss (2 strands) for the French knots and #8 seed beads in the center. If I'd had the right beads I might have gone for color gradation to work with the subtle change in stitch link.
My block began with embroidered fabric from a recycled dress or beach cover that looked like it could have been from south of the border. After piecing, I couldn't decide if it looked like a musical note or the embellished pantleg of a charro. Whichever, it would be festive, hence the fireworks print. Bright colors made brighter in contrast to the black shout excitement and celebration. In deference to the charro theme I used scraps of faux leather in red and black for a masculine touch and in anticipation of later equine motifs.
This is only a segment of the basic block. You can view more, along with detail shots of the finished project at my Flickr site in my Round Robins set. Click here for a brief history of charros in Mexico and the SW . Also click here for links to info about charros.
This is a completed round robin block I previously called Fiesta!, and if you follow the link you'll see the collaboration of 6 other stitchers. It would have been a beautiful block left at that; I intended merely to add a charm or two and finish up a couple of naked seams. Obviously encrustation lessons from Sharon Boggin took hold, and although I tried to balance busy spots with a few sparse ones, I may only have succeeded in gilding another lily. I do like to think the work of my talented fellow players stands on it's own, my finishing touches secondary. My only changes to previous work was to reposition a button and a charm, and regretably had to redo ole, which was originally rendered in a very pretty variegated thread.
When I first decided to try crazy quilting I had zero stash: no fabric, no threads or fibers, no beads, ribbons or embellishments of any kind. One of my first acquisitions was a wonderful fabric assortment from Karen South. The woven stripe you see in two of my patches caught my imagination right away, and from the first I knew I would someday use it in a Mexican theme, and over the next years I gathered embellishments suitable for such a project. A while back
I hosted a Southwestern swap followed by a round robin. The desert landscape fabric is one I contributed to the swap, but my most prized goodie from that exchange was the geometric patterned fabric that I immediately interpreted as a stylized desert landscape. And the colors! So close to my equally prized "serape" fabric! Instant color palette!
For the round robin I pieced two southwestern blocks, this one which I called Desert Sunrise (or was it Sunset?) and another in a completely different colorway I called Fiesta. It was the latter which circulated through the round robin and to which I am presently adding finishing touches. Desert Sunrise/Sunset I kept. I'd decided it would be one of two blocks that would represent a bit of family history. When I find the stash I set aside for it, I'll piece the companion; meanwhile Desert Sunwhatever has morphed into La Vida Laredo and represents the years my paternal grandfather lived there with his first bride (I descend from his second wife). Strictly according to family lore, she was from a wealthy family in Nuevo Leon, grand or greatgrandaughter of one of the original Spanish land grantees. In the pictures I have seen, she is a beautiful young woman, elegantly attired. One of the photographs was taken in Paris, where she may have been a student. Tragically she died young in childbirth in 1911. I've often wondered how they met.
I placed symbols on the block to represent my grandfather. There is the initial S for the surname we share, a button representing the railroad for which he was a conductor, and another button in the shape of a miniature Winchester rifle bullet to suggest his reputation as a fine hunter. There are two stars, one to symbolize his Texas birthplace, another tributes his special appointment to the Texas Rangers.
At last my block for Sharon B's Encrusted Crazy Quilting class is complete! I enjoyed every stitch of the adventure and look forward to Sharon's next course offering. I learned a new approach to embellishing a block; instead of completely embellishing one patch before moving on, we were encouraged to think ahead and work on the whole in specific stages. I think this keeps our focus on the entire block and helps us work toward a creative goal. Another thing that falls in place with this method is
unity, better balance of line, color and motifs, all the while maintaining paths for the eye to meander along.
Please take a look at the 4 detail shots that follow and feel free to comment or ask questions.
I'm thinking of stringing some seed beads through the shells and rocks to give that area more unity. I may give the fiber fluff on the beads a trim. My egret is already having a bad feather day made worse by a bad hair cut and resulting split ends!
That floral fabric patch was problematic. It was large and bold, and I wasn't sure how to encrust it. I used the buttons as the flower centers, and it still looked plain .
Added those two disc flowers with leaves, and that helped. I'm not sure what those discs are. They appear to be horn and the edges are notched. I found them in NZ. That space still needed more, so I couched down some of the yarn I used in the woven seam at the top. Being neutral but varied in color, the yarn brings a little cohesion to the spot.
Should I fill the egret's tummy? He doesn't need more flyaway feathers, but I'm tempted to embroider a fish skeleton.
In the upper left you can see my leopard butterfly. You can't really tell, but he has dimension. He's made from the fabric of some wild looking yarn. That's the shape of the piece as it's plied in with the yarn. I pinched it together, tucked under extra length. He's so easily lost on the dark teal background, I gave him bright turquoise eyes and legs.
How 'bout those buttons! They're from the 60's, I expressed my disappointment to the seller when I lost the bid on a lot of jungle-y buttons. He put together a similar lot just for me and included some really neat surprises .
I had to fit in maize. Underneath is a piece of the onionskin dyed satin ribbon, which actually would have been fine by itself. I decided to add just a few beads to even out the outline. Well, those gold beads went together so nicely. I have to tell you they're
Delicas (Japanese cylinder beads)so they snuggle tightly. I then used seed beads for contrast (Indian corn)in color and got texture to boot.
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