mixed media textile art


Love all things old and new, fiber, fabric, beads, metallic, you name it!

Monday, February 20, 2012

Valentine CQ Challenge

Hello friends!  I recently participated in a crazy quilt challenge on the HGTV quilting site sponsored by my fun and creative friend, Nicki Lee.  That girl doesn't let us sit on our laurel's for long before she is offering a new way to play with other stitchers.  She recently sent out a Valentine kit full of fun goodies to be used on a CQ piece of our choice.  There was voting and many categories and the winners were chosen.  Always a bridesmaid, never a bride again for me but I had a wonderful time playing, loved seeing all of the fun and creative projects and I love my piece.  I used to try to think about how the voting might go and try to stitch accordingly with these challenges.  I never would win then either so finally decided to just enjoy the process and sharing and try to just make what felt right for me.  I am much happier now, making something I am proud of and love and just enjoy seeing all of the wonderful creations made by the participants. 

This is my Valentine challenge piece.  I decided to make a Valentine that might have been carried a long distance in "the old days", perhaps in a saddleback on horseback, worn and weathered looking, definately handmade looking and yet, made with love for that special Valentine.  I tea dyed the red and white fabrics and the pink ribbon sent by Nicki in the kit.  I also threw a couple of black walnuts with shells on into the dryer with my pieces.  The fabbies and ribbon turned out very old and tired looking and I was thrilled with the outcome. 

The wool roses in the corners were given to me at the CQI retreat in Colorado this past year and I LOVE  them...I thought they were perfect on this piece! 

I tried two new stitches on this piece...the little heart-shaped stitches around the inner borders and the fly stitch running up both sides of the outer borders.  I was pleased to try a couple of new stitches.

I must say, this was quite a challenge for me as I don't usually do hearts and "cute" but I did enjoy the challenge and my final project. 

Thank you Nick, for another fun challenge!