CQJP2014 Anything Grows Feb Block

Ah... February, shortest month of the year, hearts and flowers and Mardi Gras!
My muse is on the run to find all that sparkles and gleams of sparkling light! Purple, green, gold, music, dance, hidden magick, Kings Cake, and good eats.This block is gonna be easy to work I say... but was it?

I choose green silk, purple satin, purple velvet, lace, gold fuchsia lame. 
The center patch is a deep purple velvet covered with a black lace infused with deep blue flowers. It gives this area a magickal texture, one that draws the eye down to the velvet thru the lace. It also gave stability to the patch.

After the block was done I mounted it into a Grip-n-Stitch Frame Hoop that I had used for the last block. That didn't last long because the frame (now with use) became unstable.

I had several round hoops, but with the size of the block, was like putting a square peg into a circle hole :)

I dug deeper into my hoop stash and found a tapestry/scroll frame and gave it a go. Finally! I think I have the right frame for the job. I added 2" of muslin on both sides and used scotch tape on the new side borders to insert into the slits of the frame, then taped it to the frame and border again and adjusted the tension to make it drum tight. YaHoo! That was the ticket! 

 Along with trims of green and gold, beads and coins (from a Kings Cake) and golden instruments from my stash were added.

See how nice she mounts up! 

 Note the gold patch - it's lame but looks like a stripe in other pictures... :(

 Had to figure out a way to keep the mask from being lost due to not enough contrast!

I needed to do something with this corner area to pull things together and keep the visual aspect moving.
I made a small piece of Angelina fabric and embossed a dragonfly in the center. Using a sequin and bead I then attached the horn. The coloring in the Angelina worked just lovely.

 The gold trim looked really regal when first stitched down, but really hard to embellish further because of not having trims or beads with enough contrast. It seemed even the white pearls didn't do the trick.

 Keeping elements away from the seam line used to attach it to another block was a challenge in itself!

 Can you see the lace pattern on the center patch under the trumpet?

 After several ideas for the mask, I ended up attaching a wee bit of white lace at the top of it. I also added green sequins just below that and star sequins under that. Sorry it's so hard to see.
I then made a platform so to speak under the mask. It is a gold lace ribbon for texture and trimmed with hologram sequins at the base. The sequins really dance in the light and add so much color to the block!

Here is the finished (at this point in time) February Block. I will still need to do more work on the embellishments when added to the quilt.

What have I learned with this crazy quilt block?

1. How important it is to have the right hoop/frame.
   It has to help you, not hinder!
2. Watch how you are holding your hoop by using the right tension in your hand while stitching.
   I was far to hard the last time by pulling it thru like I was fishing :)
3. Not all patches have to have a stabilizer,
   the muslin backing most times to the trick.
4. I'm still saying "but what if?"
   If it doesn't work - take it out, it's your piece!
5. When you ask your Hubby what does he think,
   look at his eyes and expression for the answer, not his spoken word. Remember most of the time this art is all Greek to him, but he is taking the time and effort to share time with you.
6. It's okay to say stop, I'm done!
   You can always go back to it and change anything you want.
7. "But my Grandmother and Aunts didn't use that!"
   I guarantee if they had the materials we have today they would! LOL!

Hope this post may have helped you with a problem and/or even better yet - inspired you!

See you next time with my March block!

Blessings!