USA State Flowers

Remember a while back when I posted the patterns of the State Flowers, Birds and Flags that ladies did years and years ago, and are still available.? Well, I decided it would be fun to make at least one of these, because I do love embroidery. But, I decided to change things up a bit, (you know me!) Here is a picture of the first block that I grabbed and it happens to be Nevada. According to the direction I was suppose to pick green, bright yellow and bright blue for the floss colors. I have seen some of the older quilts made like this and they didn't have a lot of floss colors to choose back then, not like we do now. So here is what I did, I changed the background from a white to a cream color, and I changed the color palettte from a bright color to a muted color. I really like the way they are turning out. Now this will allow me to use some of the muted fabric choices we have today to make this into a "stunning" quilt.Actually I am almost done with the second block; these go pretty fast and you can easily do a couple a week. 

So if you want to get on board and do one of these quilts, I would be glad to share my color chart with you.

Also we sell the different color background blocks, either in white. natural, or cream. You get a generous 12 inch block so there is plenty of room to hoop your design and do the stitching. We sell the patterns and the blocks on our Hand Embroidery page at  www.chickadeehollowdesigns.com  I did not design these patterns but I do sell them. I have no idea who designed them, but I think they are pretty and I think we  kind of  lost a genration of people who never learned the beauty of embroidery or the pure enjoyment you can get from doing it. It is very easy, anybody can learn to do it.I really do appreciate all of you who read my blogs and also those who post comments. I love your thoughts and ideas.

Happy Stitching! Carol

Civil War Blocks

Happy Saturday to everybody!. It is humid, plus here in Minnesota AGAIN today! So humid that the windows and doors are fogged over because the inside is cooler and less humid than outside. That has certainly been the norm here lately. Oh and did I mention mosquitos? I have come to the conclusion that they not only breed in water, but they also grow and get fat on water. With our abundance of rain this year, these little guys are fat and hungry for my blood! Some got into the house last night and made for a miserable night.I swatted until about 1:00 am and then either fell asleep or they were done feeding on me.

I had forgotten to share my other blocks I have doine with the Civil War fabrics. I am doing a free BOW on my other blog, "Civil War Stitch Along."  so if you would like to follow along, hop on over there and check it our.

Here are the newest blocks. I am using the Civil War Chronicles Fabric Line from Marcus Brothers on this quilt. I am also trying to find osme block patterns that are older or not so common. Thes are, #1 Underground Railroad, #2 Cobblestone, and #3 Richmond. It is fun to do different blocks and learn the names of them, and of course it makes you wonder about the history of why they were named what they were. If any of you have that information, please share it with us.

Happy Stitching! Carol

Block of the Week #2

Well, I hope every one has their air conditioners running and have groceries in the fridge so you don't have to go out for the next week. We are expecting a heat wave that is suppose to last a week, so I am getting prepared to get lots done in my sewing room. Defintely too hot to go anywheres. Last week I posted the first block of the Block of the Week I am doing just for fun on my other blog,  http://civilwarstitchalong.blogspot.com

I have the directions for each block posted there if you want to follow along. The block this week is called Cobblestones. I really like this block, it is similar to a 25 patch block except it is sewed on point.

I also have something I would like to share with you that I think is going to be a lot of fun, but I will post that for you all later

Happy Stitching! Carol

Cute Civil War Block

                                                                        Double Square

I think this block works up so nice with the Civil War Fabrics. Just thought I would share it with you. I am trying to choose some blocks that are not used real often. This is going to be a sampler of different blocks using all Civil War Fabrics.

 Happy Stitching! Carol

Hand Embroidery Patterns

We will be adding new Hand Drawn, embroidery design this week. The new line is called Carol Louise's Hand Embroidery designs. They come with full instructions for completion, along with a stitch guide and coloring guide. The coloring guide is to help you add color to your design if you choose, either by using color crayons or colored pencils. The instructions are very complete and these are very reasonable, most will be under $5.00. They can be used in many different waysand they can also be resized per copyright instructions. We do ask that you do hot share them, because these are copyrighted.They will be added in the next week. Here is a picture of the first one.

Check them out on our hand embroidery page.I have been working hard all day so I am ready to sit down and do a little stitching myself. I hope I don't fall asleep! Yawning!!

Happy Stitching! Carol

Remember These?

Well, the 4th of July is gone for another year, but we all know that our American spirit lives on through out the year. We love our country and are forever proud of it, irregardless of what is happening in Washington. Yes, times are tough, but we still have so much to be thankful for if you sit down and really start to compare our country to others. We do have freedom, and most of us still have a morality that can only be found in a civilized nation.
As many of you may know, hand embroidery is back in a big way, and many customers are turning to less expensive projects to work on to get us through the tough economical times. I have found the perfect projects to work on that are inexpensive, fun, and would create a great keepsake. Remember these, old is new again.
These are easy, they are all pre-printed for you, so all you have to do is iron them on and start embroidering.

Pure fun! We carry all of these Americana patterns in our on line shop. These come with full instructions and a color guide. Remember we also sell blank quilt blocks either in a good quality white muslin or a off white fabric. The sizes are 12 1/2", larger than necessary so that you can trim then down and center after embroidering. Go check these out on our Hand embroidery page at  www.chickadeehollowdesigns.com

Happy Stitching! Carol