We are up to Tumbling block 11 which sits at the third row down, on the right-hand side of the Diamonds are Forever quilt. In the photo below you can see the block outlined on the quilt.
You can download the patterns for the three diamonds that make up the block. Here is the light-toned diamond, the mid-tone diamond, and the dark-toned diamond.
Just to remind you that the pdfs have NO seam allowances. They are to scale. Set your printer to print to the actual size. Do NOT use the ‘fit to page’ option as it will reduce the diamonds by half an inch or so. When you print them out, they should have 6-inch sides. I advise you to use Adobe Acrobat™ as a PDF reader (it’s free).
Tips
As usual, I have linked the stitches mentioned in the article to tutorials on how to do them.
When foundation piecing your diamonds, try and make sure that you don’t have a seam ending at one of the points of the diamond. When you come to piecing your diamonds into blocks you don’t want to be dealing with bulky diamond tips or corners.
If you need a tutorial on curved piecing, take a look at a tutorial written by Allison Aller. You can find Curved Foundation Piecing here
Feel free to follow what I have done with embellishments and embroidery, OR adapt my ideas to your liking. Embellish the blocks as you see fit and have fun and there are no rules in Crazy Quilting!
Additionally, as you stitch, keep beads away from the edge of the diamond and give yourself a generous seam allowance. When you piece the diamonds into blocks you will break your sewing machine needle if it hits anything hard.
Embellishment notes for the Light toned Diamond
The PDF for the Light toned Diamond Tumbling block 11 it is here.
The light-toned diamond is quite easy on this block, as I covered 3 seams with lace! As you can see, lace covers the seam between patches 3 and 4 and I simply added a small pearl bead to the middle of each flower motif. The button cluster echoes the line of the seam.
The other two seams that are covered in lace are also treated in a simple manner. With this in mind, I embellished the base line of the lace that covers the edge of patch 5 with Fargo roses. These are very quick, and by now, regular readers will know I use them all the time! The vintage lace that covers the seam for patch 6 also has the side decorated with 2 bugle beads and a small pearl bead.
Using cotton perle #5 thread I worked Buttonhole Stitch along the edge of piece 1. I changed the length of the arm of the buttonhole stitches so that they formed a mountain and valley pattern. At the top of each mountain, I attached a sequin secured with a bead. Along the edge of seam 2, I worked a line of Running Stitch using a silk thread. I threaded the Running Stitch with a tubular knitting yarn before adding rice beads to the row.
Embellishment notes for the Mid toned Diamond in Tumbling Block 11
The pdf for the Mid-toned Diamond on Tumbling block 11 is here.
The mid-toned diamond is a little more complex than the light diamond. This apparent complexity is mainly created by an embroidered dragonfly/bug thing! If you look closely, however, it is pretty easy to make. The body is boucle thread couched to the block. The thread has more layers near the head of the bug. This means the body tapers to a point. I worked the wings using 13 mm chiffon ribbon. Each wing is Leaf stitch which is on page 133 of my book The Visual Guide to Crazy Quilting Design. The head and eyes are beads! As you can see, the head is about the width of the couched body/tail.
The embroidery that runs along the seam for patch 4 has a foundation of Chain stitch which I threaded with cotton perle #5 ( the red thread). You can find step-by-step directions on how to do this on page 88 of my book Creative Stitches for Contemporary Embroidery. Also, in between each hump, I added a green bead.
The other seams on the block are quite short. So I used a line of Buttonhole Stitch topped with red seed beads to cover the seam between patches 1 and 2. Ric-rac is secured with ZigZag Chain stitch and then finished off with the same red beads that cover the seam between pieces 1 and 3.
Finally along the edge of the green lace along the side of patch 6 is an arrangement of straight stitches, Detached Chain stitch, and seed beads.
Embellishment notes for the Dark toned Diamond in Tumbling Block 11
The pdf for the Dark-toned Diamond Tumbling block 11 is here.
At first glance, the dark block looks a bit busy but it works in the overall quilt top. Between patches 2 and 3, I covered the seam with Alternating Buttonhole stitch worked in a black acrylic knitting yarn. The sparkle comes from a metallic thread that runs through the yarn. In addition, I attached novelty beads in the shape of flowers to the arms of the Alternating Buttonhole stitch. Also in the photograph is a small disk-like motif that is made up of Straight stitches, Fly stitches, bugle beads, and seed beads.
Using lace
The seam between patches 1 and patch 2 was covered with hand-dyed purple lace (I use Procion dyes). Then I added straight stitches and beads to decorate it further. Following this I created the outer edge of the paisley motif by using Knotted buttonhole stitch which is worked with a hand-dyed thread. After that, I added a line of seed beads. Also, I used the same hand-dyed thread to fill the middle with Chain stitch. In the very middle of the motif, I used seed beads. The last seam you can see in the photo below is a type of Wheatear stitch that I worked in a yellow cotton perle #5 thread. It is a Slipped Detached chain stitch with two ‘ears’ worked around Oyster stitch rather than a Chain stitch.
While embellishing this block, I decided to create a fan using beads! After defining the edge of the fan with Chain stitch, the body of the fan consists mainly of a line of beads, but I patterned the top edge of the fan with Italian Border stitch
Along the edge of patch 4, I used a small piece of dyed cotton lace. Then I embellished the lace and edges with beads, Detached Chain stitches, straight stitches, bugle beads, and Fargo roses.
If you are stitching along please share what you do in either of the Crazy Quilt Divas and/or Crazy Quilt International groups on Facebook.
The quilt is on the front of two of my books: The Visual Guide to Crazy Quilting Design and my new book Crazy Quilting for Beginners Handy Pocket Guide. You do not need my books to join in on this stitch along, but I strongly recommend that you have at least the pocket guide, if not the full Visual Guide to Crazy Quilting Design.
Previous blocks in the series
Guidelines and general information about the series:
Tumbling Block 1;
Tumbling Block 2;
Tumbling Block 3;
Tumbling Block 4;
Tumbling Block 5;
Tumbling Block 6;
Tumbling Block 7;
Tumbling Block 8;
Tumbling Block 9:
Tumbling Block 10:
Tumbling Block 11:
Tumbling Block 12:
Tumbling Block 13:
Tumbling Block 14:
Tumbling Block 15:
Tumbling Block 16:
Tumbling Block 17:
Tumbling Block 18:
Tumbling Block 19:
Tumbling Block 20:
Tumbling Block 21:
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The next tumbling block in the series will be on December 14th. (I publish a block monthly, usually it’s the second Thursday of the month)
Floral-themed Stitchers templates for hand embroiderers
With this set of stitchers templates, you can create your own floral-themed designs. You can easily combine petal and leaf shapes with the curved edges of the templates to create all sorts of floral and organic motifs. You will be able to create hundreds of different patterns to embroider. It is the ultimate mix-and-match fun for stitchers.
The set comes with an e-book with instructions and is filled with patterns and designs that you can create and use as jumping-off spots for your own designs.
They are available now in the shop here
Enjoy your stitching!
