Dear Liza,
The Crazy Quilt’s top is almost done! It has been pieced and embroidered and just about ready for the back and batting…..
Or is it? Is there anything else I could add? I don’t much care for lace or ribbon…. But beads could work! I found some on sale a few weeks ago at I’ve Been Framed, watched a few YouTube videos, and decided to give it a try.
Mostly ignoring the advice of the videos, I used three strands of embroidery floss to attach the beads rather than a special thread. The rest of the embroidery is done with it, so it all goes together.
Beading is very fiddly and fussy. The needle is thin, extremely flexible, and sharp AT BOTH ENDS. The beads themselves are always trying to skitter away and escape. But once my fingers got used to it, it got easier.
I made a straight row of beads, which felt very heavy. A row of blanket stitches with a bead on each stitch looked better.
I finally decided to just put a bead in the middle of all the little flowers, a sprinkle, rather than a flood. I like how it looks!
So now I am ready (after five months of work) to put the quilt sandwich together. I’ll tell you about that when it happens.
Love,
Grandma Judy
Dear Liza 