Qreative Quilts

Garden Step Blocks Progress

    I finished my first three garden step blocks.  I'm a little rusty at embroidery.  I haven't done any in ages but it didn't turn out too bad. I did a little stem stitch and some split stitch on this one. I seem to like how the ones I see being done now days are just a basic backstitch (or so my complete guide to needlework book from Reader's Digest) tells me.  My daughter picked it up at a garage sale a while ago and it has a lot of info in it.  Each block I'm sure I'll do a little better at and master a new stitch.  It took me a couple of long car rides to complete.  Good thing camping season is upon us, I can take these little portable hand projects with me. My husband says the generator won't run my sewing machine and he thinks I'm nuts for even considering taking it with me but I'm sure I'm not the only one who wants to take it with me.  I went to a quilt show in April where one of the quilt tags said the owner made it while on a camping trip.  I also met a lady on the shop hop that says she takes hers camping. Oh well, I'll be able to work on these this year. I have twelve of them to do and hope to get out camping this weekend.  It is finally suppose to get warm here this weekend and it is sooo much cooler at the cabin in the hills...or is that sew much cooler? I found this pattern and the embroidery pattern over at Clover and Violet.  You can check them out here.  

The next one I finished I only did the backstitch in it and really like how it turned out. I am really making these out of my current stash so they are very scrappy but I like how the embroidery is utilizing the colors from each block.
The third one, I love the colors and added a new stitch (for me) called the basic chain stitch.  I really like how it makes the stitch wider so it adds so much more color to the basket.

Here is a picture of the chain stitch instructions. It is the illustration on top.  The lazy daisy chain stitch is what the yellow teardrop stitch is called.  It is the second illustration. I didn't make it camping this weekend due to a family commitment that came up but it did involve a long car ride so I got block four done and will share it shortly. It is the one with the dragonfly. If you go to the website that I have linked above you will see I am probably doing them way out of order.  I am just lucky to be getting any of them done and making a little progress.

So far there are ten of them available to work on.  I can't keep up.
 But in the mean time, you know I'll keep stitchin' --- you do the same