CQJP 2015 - May Block - Ribbon Play

My completed May CQJP block - Playing with Ribbons

This month I played with Ribbon trims etc.  This is my completed block.  I will definitely be incorporating many of these in future projects.  I love ribbons and have a few references that, up until now, I have only drooled over.  This was a good opportunity to experiment.  I hope you like the results enough to try it yourself.

I began by replacing the center patch with a piece of woven ribbons.  For the woven ribbons I followed the directions on the booklet by McCalls called Bridal Elegance.  There are lots of possibilities with this weaving.

I believe I incorporated ten different ribbon trims/techniques not counting the little silk ribbon flowers just above the braided ribbons or the rosebud trim.  There were many more I could do but my blocks are going into a fabric book which would have flattened them so I chose to stick with the more flat techniques.  Lots of close-ups follow, captioned with the name of the ribbon trim techniques:

Ribbon Prairie Points topped with vintage rick rack, decorative embroidery and beads

Ribbon Beads Trim and silk ribbon woven through closed blanket stitch

Silk ribbon roses stitched over silk flower petals; center gathered ribbon below that
along with a ribbon bow

A little closer view of the center gathered ribbon and silk roses

Looped ribbon (top) and rosebud trim (center) - This wasn't added to block, just played with it

Another angle of looped braid and rosebud trim

Top view of two ribbon techniques

The narrow sheer ribbon in teal was used for the rushing technique -
Adds wonderful texture

Ribbon bow adorned with seed beads which also hold it in place
and a section of looped braid

3 colors of 1/4" ribbons - braided trim

Below are some books from my reference library.  I would recommend any of them.

Lots of eye candy and instructions in the following two books.  Beautiful vignettes and project photos for inspiration.

Ribbon Embellishments is a 'how to' book I just found at my local Hobby Lobby.  It is an excellent source with very clear directions and lots of photos of Trims/Braids, Rosettes and Leaves, Ribbon Sculptures and techniques with beads and baubles.  This is a definite keeper!

Now I need to figure out what I am going to do for June.  I have a few ideas but just not sure which to do next.  

CQJP (Crazy Quilt Journal Project) and TAST

I actually do have my block for the month completed. Here is a sneak peak at the upper left corner. I had worked on some larger silk ribbon flowers for this block, but I found them to be too large. I posted a tutorial for them recently on this blog. They will be used on some future project. I stitched these little silk ribbon flowers onto my block instead. This block will be for the January Garnet which is why I used the deep red. The ecru colored dragonflies were purchased on Etsy. They blended with the background as much as the chain stitch you see along side them. In order to make them more visible I added some metallic DMC thread in a silver/black tone, weaving it through the wings and looping it over the body.


Below is my TAST tag for the week. It is called the Whipped Wheel but I have also seen it referred to as the Whipped Spider Wheel. The wheels with six spokes does have kind of a 'spider' look to it. I used some bright floss on this tag. I am enjoying playing with different color combinations each week almost as much as I am enjoying experimenting with and/or learning a new stitch each week.


Somehow I got started doing a tree on each tag using the new stitch for the week. I know some weeks are going to be a real challenge, but that is what also makes it fun. For this one I was going to do stacking wheels that progressively got smaller but then I read that you can do a partial wheel in this stitch so here is my tree.
I have done 11 tags so far and only one does not have a tree on it. The second week we did the buttonhole stitch and I plan to go back and add a tree to it. That should be an easy one to accomplish. Maybe I will do a composite of all my trees at the end of the year.

TAST - RUNNING STITCH, Week 10

My the weeks go by quickly! This is week 10 of TAST. This weeks stitch is the running stitch. I had planned to use some bright purple, green and blue this week, but the more earthy hues of rusty red, earthy green and bright golden yellow jumped out at me. They have a country feel to them don't you think?

As usual, I did trees, but actually did an entire row of trees. I added some indications of a windy sky above them, but since blue wasn't a color I chose for this week I used yellow instead. It doesn't show up real well on the tan background.

There are so many possibilities with this stitch that my mind just wouldn't shut off, so it is a good thing I ran out of space ~ lol. I created my initials at the top. Looking at it now I could have been really creative and instead of swirls in red I could have added "ATE" with the running stitch to make the word "create". I don't know why I felt I had to explain that last part???

I am really loving the woven blocks and the little hearts. The blocks were created by running vertical rows of red stitches and then running stitches in yellow in a horizontal direction, weaving in and out as I approached the red. The brick wall didn't translate as well as I had hoped and I know it is the spacing, but you get the idea.

I can't wait to see the others. Again, click on the TAST icon on my sidebar to see more.

Native American

This is another piece of jewelry woven using threads and beads. I created and gave it as a gift in gratitude to a Native American friend from the Chippewa tribe in Northern Minnesota. She had done a nice thing and I wanted to reciprocate.

Fiber and Bead Weaving

I don't know about you, but I am always inspired by books and by learning new techniques from other artists. Several months (or maybe it was years) back I picked up a book called Beads and Threads by Diane Fitzgerald and Helen Banes. They have created the most beautiful pieces weaving a combination of beads and various colors of threads. I wanted to learn and see more, and found another book called Fiber & Bead Jewelry by Helen Banes with Sally Banes. Although there are patterns in the book, I always like to do my own thing, so I found some beads that inspired my fiber color choices. Following their instructions, I created my first piece. My work is pretty basic compared to the beautiful pieces they have in their books, but I still enjoy mine and wear it proudly. Below is a photo of my first fiber and bead necklace. Even if you don't want to try this technique, the color combinations used by these artists are amazing and bound to inspire you!