I finished Cathy's block and I really had fun with this block.  Cathy and her husband took a trip Europe and the Mediterranean, taking pictures along the way. Cathy has incorporated these pictures into her RR blocks. Lucky for me, The Parthenon in Athens was left for me.

As a retired Army Sergeant First Class, and Former WAC, I felt it was my duty to work on The Parthenon block. Athena being the patron of Athens and the Women’s Army Corps (WAC), the Parthenon was built and housed an Ivory and Gold stature of Athena. She was also said to have brought the Olive Tree to Athens, winning the contest with Poseidon for the right of Paton of Athens.

 

As you can see, I have included a picture of the statue of Athena which is said to have stood inside the Parthenon and the Olives of Athens, Greece. And of course, I had to let the viewers of the block know that they are looking at the Parthenon and that it is in Athens.  The large Red Button was placed on the block, because I thought it looked very much like a Greek shield.

Cathy included the Necklace and the “evil eye”, to be used with this block. I wanted the necklace to look as though it is just lying on the block.  The “evil eye”, is placed on the block for protection and to bring the blue from the top of the block to the lower portion of the block, along with the Greek Key pattern.

I’m happy with the block and hope that others enjoy the block as well. I’m going to be pretty busy in October, as I will be taking StitchMAP’s “Pilot” Traditional Redwork Class and Mentoring an Apprentice at the same time.   I think this will be exciting and informative as well as fun!  Will let you know how it’s going.

Well, September has been really hectic and I'm glad that it is almost over.  I know, someone my age should not be glad that anything is over, but What a Month!

I have finished Anne's block for the RR and I'm pleased with the way it came out.  Anne chose the Far East/Asia as her theme, and I love the cultures of that part of the world, so I ran with the theme.

I embroidered the Geisha outline and put flowers on the Kimono, Anne wanted gold on her block, so I added the two gold trims, one with faux pearls and the other with the silver braid. I've gotten to be a Ric Rac person and love working with all colors and types of Ric Rac. This was embellished with a chain sticj with a sequin and blue seed bead on the bottom and placed Hyacinth above the Ric Rac.

The Gold and faux pearl item in the center is an old clip earring. I used a varigated Silk Ribbon for the flowers, which hold the earring in place the faux pearls on gold chain actually drape, but not for this picture.  And then of course, I had to use the Fly stitch to put in the vine of blue flowers.  The flowers a made with two, four wrap Bullion knots.

I'm currently working on Cathy's block and almost completed, so it should be up soon. 

I'm playing "catch up" now. I finished the Color Theory Class a little early, as I'm trying to get back to the Round Robin that my CQ Group is working on.  And I'm running a little behind. LOL!

The last couple of classes were interesting and I had a wonderful time. The last class was one that really intregued me.

Start with a picture:   Ok, I started with a picture of a garden pond and chose the fabrics for a block background. Then added threads and beads to the combination for a CQ Block.  I like the combinations.

Make do with what you have:  You know how you start something and you don't like it. Well, my first choice on this one was a pink block I made for another project, but since I'm not a fan of pink, I put aside and didn't use the block.  Big surprise here! I didn't use it for this either. I picked up that pink block and then said, "No. I can't get inspired with this thing".

So, I pulled a piece of fabric I had left from a finished project and was inspired by the purples and oranges.  This is what I came up with to make another block.

 
I really like this combination. I've not worked with this color combo before, and I think I'm going to enjoy the process of puting this project together. But, for now. The Round Robin.

I have printed out these pictures, dated them and put them in my Idea Jar.  Ok, it's a huge vase that sits on my desk!  However, I use it to keep me on track with my projects. When I finish one, I go to the jar and put the ideas in date order and pull the next project. LOL!

Hey! It keeps me going. But yeah, the jar never gets empty. I've got some great ideas in that jar. 

Got to get back to the RR. Working on Anne's block. Will post picture when I have it finished.