and Dee comes from behind....

Misha's row is done except for appliqueing down the little black doors and Karen's is done also. So on Monday I can pop them both in the mail to Karen and say I'm finished. I took a couple days off and enjoyed some quality time in my sewing area that is long over due.  And there are still two days of the weekend left, whowho!

 

Karen's row by Colene

My row for Karen is on top. I like how this is coming together. Very pretty.

Rebecca's Row for Karen

Here they are! I didn't do the Redwork, as I wasn't up for that right now.  These blocks are from  2 Eleanor Burns books.  I hope you like them Karen!  Will have them in the mail in a few days.

Karen's First Two Rows

Ok, I finally picked two blocks to piece and Karen's Row is now ready to go to Rebecca! Sadly my camera has been dropped a few too many times and does not like to take very sharp pictures, but I did the best I could.

I did not sew my blocks into a full row, so Karen can reposition them later if she wishes. I also only added bars to the sides of the redwork blocks, not the tops or bottoms. I figure this will be an easy modification for her to make later, if she thinks they need them once she works out her final layout.

I also know that Rebecca's original row did make it to Pat recently, so I'll go and modify that post.

Two More Blocks for Karen

I did one more redwork block and the first of two pieced blocks for Karen's row. I still need to add trim to both of the redwork blocks, as well.

Stem Stitch vs Whipped Back Stitch

from left to right: two strand whipped back stitch, two strand stem stitch, one strand whipped back stitch...medium sized back stitches on top, smaller on bottom (far right only).

Karen, I can clearly see that at least one of your blocks is done with two strands, so that's what I decided to use...but mine looks heavier than yours for some reason! I'll finish doing this one block this way, but am thinking of doing the whipped back stitch for the other one(s). Here are what they look like...what do you think about the example on the far left??

The Schedule...and Karen's Starter Row!

Well, ladies, it was fabulous seeing most of you last weekend. Of course, I say "most" because our dear Rebecca couldn't make it! I hope next year will bring us all good health, and we'll make the draw for retreat!

I've worked out what I hope is a reasonable schedule for MAILING our rows. Remember as always, we are sending precious cargo so always ship with a tracking method, whether you use FedEx, UPS, Priority USPS or something similar.

So without further ado, here we go:

Round 1 - we all have our own rows done, and 5 of them were delivered at retreat. Rebecca is mailing hers asap to Pat
Round 2 - mail by May 5th
Round 3 - mail by  July 14th
Round 4 - mail by September 22nd
Round 5 - mail by  December 1st
Round 6 - bring to the 2013 retreat, or mail in time to be delivered prior to retreat!

Since it shouldn't take longer than a week (I hope!) to get each package, it gives us 9-10 weeks to work on each round. You're more than welcome to mail early if you are ready.

If you've forgotten who you are mailing to, here's the line up again:

Colene ---> Dee
Dee ---> Karen
Karen ---> Misha
Misha ---> Rebecca
Rebecca ---> Pat
Pat ---> Colene

If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know!

And....drum roll please...here is Karen's first row!

Sorry the pic is so small, I had to use my phone to get the colors to show correctly. Karen is sending around fabric, DMC floss and a book. Now before you start to panic, let me say that she is NOT requiring us to do embroidery! It's just an option, ladies! If you would rather do pieced blocks that's perfectly acceptable, no pressure :)


Here are some close up pics...again, from the phone:

 I'm excited to get started as soon as I can!