WOOL CRAZY ROUND ROBIN

Hey Everyone....

It is Round Robin Saturday! Hope everyone is ready to do some blog hopping! There are four of us starting our WOOL CRAZY pincushions today! You'll want to see all of our starts...and hopefully down the road the finished products..:)) Here are all the blogs! Go by and chat awhile!

Roseann http://www.rosebudscottage.typepad.com/

Jo Ann http://woolcrazy-jam.blogspot.com/

Brenda http://pumpkinpatchprimitivequiltshoppe.blogspot.com/

Pat http://patsloan.typepad.com

Some of us picked themes :) Mine is FALL and the plan is to put the finished piece on the top of a paper mache box that I will cover. I've ordered the box and it is on it's way...now I just have to figure out how to cover it! But, never fear, by the end of the r.r. I promise to find a way.

This photo shows you the layers of the pincushion. I start with a layer of warm and natural and then add a homespun (because it is easy to needle through) and then I start patching my wool. Use a lot of texture in your colors, but on something so small you have to be careful that one of the colors is not too over the top and takes over....I tried to use colors that would read FALL...

Next baste down your pieces so that you are not fighting pins and your layout stays where you want it. The basting on the outside shows the next person where to stop on the edges....I don't want to use any of their great stitching!



Next I added some stitching on one of the "joins" or seams. (Just to get it started) As you can see I am not a fanatic on perfection....Just enjoy the process and the overall finished product will look fine! I added a herringbone topped with a cretan and then put some french knots above them...
(I promise that this is the same piece...but somehow my great photo skills have changed the colors..:)

Then I cut out my wools and added an acorn and some leaves to get the FALL theme going...(I thought I'd tell you what they were in case you couldn't tell) You can use freezer paper patterns to iron on your wool before cutting...or do what I do and just wing it. I use teeny tiny applique pins to hold my pieces in place.




Finally, I whipped stitched my pieces in place and added some detail with my stitching. I used a backstitch for the veins of the leaves; the lines on the top of the acorn and the lines (branch??) holding it all together...french knot berries and x's to jazz up the acorn bottom a little. I love the stitching and sometimes I can get carried away...:)





So now it is ready to mail off to Roseann in Minnesota. Since I pretty much dream of FALL (although San Diego does get some fall leaves) she has more first hand experience so I know that she'll put on something great!

See how easy it is???? You'll want to start one of your own and get it going. If you need any designs just look in WOOL CRAZY (shameless plug) and you will find tons. Remember that any design can be shrunk down and used...:)) Send us photos of yours. We'd love to see them!

Hope you all "go crazy"! At least for Wool...and happy stitching!