CQ Adventure Block Finished

I have finished the block I used for learning stitches and motifs at the 2011 Adventures in Crazy Quilting retreat for Sharon Boggon's class and workshop in Connecticut in April. Sharon does encrusted embellishment on her quilts, a different style from mine. I like the more traditional motif and seam treatment style. So, it was interesting to me to experiment with more encrusting. You'll note I still left a significant amount of lightly embellished space. I ran the encrusting in a swoosh across the block. This doesn't keep the eye inside the block as Sharon teaches for design, but I like it.

I used the French facing technique for finishing after tying the backing to the block. The technique was published by Allie Aller in CQMagOnline. I like the neat look of it.

Allie's workshop

Oh no! Allie (Aller)'s workshop was over last Wednesday. She and Susan (Elliot) went to NYC afterward, then Allie flew home and both of them have updated their blogs before I reported on the great time I had. You must check Susan's blog for her close up pictures of Allie's remarkable quilt displayed at the workshop.

The workshop was on three-dimensional floral embellishment of crazy quilts. Allie is a gardener and has invented ways to represent the blooms from her garden in needlework. She introduced us to beautiful uses for silk ribbon, wired ribbon, silk shiffon, thick silk thread, angelina fiber, felted fabric, rick rack and more. I've been working on my class sample this week in addition to editing the Constellation Chapter, EGA newsletter. I finally got the latter out for proofing this morning, so I have time to give you this report. Here's a picture of my class project.

There is room for more flowers on it. My iris are blooming. Azaleas, too, but I really love the iris. Do you think I can figure out a way to make a 3-D version of iris for that lower right corner?

It was fun to meet Allie who is active on the crazy quilt listservs I follow and is an editor and contributor of CQMagOnline. Her enthusiasm and warmth were contagious during the workshop.

I almost forgot to mention our visit to Accessories of Old on the Sunday before the workshop. The proprietors opened especially for our chapter of EGA and our special guests, Allie and Robin Atkins, beader extraordinaire who gave us a workshop last year. Robin traveled all the way from the islands of Washington state for this workshop and a reunion with the friends she met last year. This shop is something else, loaded with vintage beads, buttons, ribbons, jewelry, hats, lace, and more delightful things. Susan blogged about this a while back. (I won one of the cards of buttons she had for a giveaway on that blog!) During this pre-Allie visit, I bought more buttons and beads. So gorgeous.

I am all fired up with inspiration for more projects. Oh no!