Basic crazy quilting class -- my finished block

Kudos to Kathy Shaw for offering a free online basic crazy quilting class!  It was fun and informative -- and very, very well organized!  Kathy's a great teacher.  The format of the class was for us to do one task at a time (there were 12) which Kathy emailed directly to us.  Then as we finished each task we photographed our progress and posted it on the class blog, which was private/available only to students.  Kathy then emailed the next task to us -- often within hours!

Here's my finished block -- it took me about seven weeks to complete.

As you can see, I am going to use the finished block as a journal cover.

 I thought I'd show you my start-to-finish; first, Kathy recommended the use of this square snap frame.  I had never used one before and although I found the size cumbersome, I thought overall it was a great tool to facilitate the fancy stitches we had to do on the block.

It's lightweight and easy to hold in one hand while you stitch in the other.  Above, my completed block after choosing the fabrics and piecing them onto a base fabric.  While my piecing leaves a bit to be desired, I found I was still able to use it just fine.

 We gathered supplies...

 some of which were new to me, like the beading thread (above).  Then, using templates Kathy provided, we stitched vairous crazy quilting seams in different colors on the block:

And here's my progress with the seams...

At this point, I began to add beads.  The beading was a great learning experience -- I never knew there was so much to it, but Kathy's directions were fabulous and I now have beaded embellishments that don't wobble!

I have always been quite intimidated by french knots -- and there were many, many of them on this class block.  But I rolled up my sleeves and, once I got into them, I found it was my very favorite part of the whole class! I have mastered french knots!

I've also always been wary of silk ribbon embroidery, but Kathy taught us some basic stitches and I was thrilled with the results. My favorite probably were these irises.

But the roses were fun, too -- overall, we did three different styles of roses.

The last step was to embellish with "extras" -- mine included ribbon roses, embroidery patches, sequins, buttons, beads, and vintage tatted lace.  Also, a sparkly butterfly charm.

Then, I traced and stitched the word JOURNAL.

I'm thrilled to be finished, and grateful for the fabulous class -- which I recommend to anyone who wants to have run and learn from an expert.  And, did I mention it was free?

I'm not signing up for the intermediate class yet, but it might be in my future!