Our little quilt group met at Janet's house the other night - strangely enough there weren't many quilts to be seen. Instead we admired Janet's new lamp that she made using an old book that she altered a bit.....

...... and she walked us through making some small mixed media books using fabric, stamps, ink pads, buttons, zippers and rick rack. These are the ones she had worked up before our arrival so we'd have an idea of what the finished project would look like.

A Finish and a Start

I just finished up this little oval rug - the free pattern from a recent issue of Rug Hooking Magazine. The first time I ever whipped the edges of a rug with curved edges I got tons of ripples that were nearly impossible to get out. Since then I always sew my twill tape around the outside before I begin hooking and I've never had that problem again - it stabilizes the curves and lays nice and flat!

And I started this scrappy one trying to use up some of my worms. Here's a sneak peek.

Claudia's House

When I had first planned our trip to the Denver Hook-in, I thought we would be staying in a hotel, but Tonia's best friend Claudia lives there and we were able to stay in her beautiful home instead. She allowed me to snap some pictures that I'd like to share with you here. She had a ton of wonderful hand-stitched alphabet samplers displayed throughout the entry area.

This is a needle felted pillow  of a willow tree that Tonia brought to her as a gift. I think I'd like to make one for myself too! Cute, huh?

Her fun bookshelves that had all the books turned around backwards - what a clever and original way to diplay them! She says she knows exactly which each one is even without the covers on them.

Glass cloches on the piano.

These are the guest rooms where we slept.

Such a wonderful comfortable home where we were made to feel very welcome. Thank you so much for your hospitality Claudia & Kendell!

Dolls

Today I stopped at JoAnn's and found a copy of the new magazine called Prims - I've heard good things about it on other blogs so I'd been watching for it. Lucky me, I even got to use my 50% off coupon for it, which is a good thing because $15 for a magazine is just crazy!  It has tons of prim dolls in it that are so interesting to look at! I'm not huge into making dolls, but I have made a few through the years. This is one of my favorites - a pattern from Kindred Spirits. Her wings, the heart, and the flowers on her dress are all hooked, and I love how they add a bit of extra texture and interest to the doll.

This is my favorite doll in the magazine - it was a corroboration project between Kim Dubay and Andra Hepler. The doll's face is hooked and is supposed to look like it's made of granite like on an old gravestone. I just love her wings, and the expression on her face is so sweet. They did a great job on it!

If you're in to primitive dolls at all, keep your eyes open for this magazine and snag your own copy - I think you'll like it!

Denver Hook-In

Several weeks ago I learned that there was a hook-in being held in Denver. I asked a couple gal pals to go with me - thought it would be a fun road trip - and Sharon had to cancel at the last minute because of a sick hubby, but Tonia & I went over the weekend and had a great time. It was fun just to be around so many like-minded people - there were probably 60-70 people there - and since we only have about 30 rug hookers here in Utah it seemed like quite a crowd to us! We enjoyed shopping the vendors booths, seeing what projects everyone was working on, and the rug show was inspiring, to say the least! I was busy taking pictures when my camera battery suddenly died, so I didn't get them all, but here are some of my favorites.

I voted for this one in the Viewer's Choce because I just loved the floral wallpaper that was hooked for the background. I believe this is an Emma Lou Lais design, but the hooker added the background on her own.

This one with the crock and the flowers is the rug that Tonia entered in the show - she finished whipping the edges during our 10 hour drive to get to Denver.

I really liked the proddy fringe that was added to this pillow which is a Karen Kahle design.

These next few pictures show the rugs that were being worked on throughout the day, and others that were shown by their makers. The first two show the results of a group challenge - the floral design was provided and the participants were free to finish it any way they wanted.

This was a fun one - the design was a simple branch with stars & birds, but the background with all these lovely swirls was what really grabbed your attention.

This long runner was 2' x 8' and being hooked with beautiful all as-is wools in a 8-1/2 cut.

This was a crazy quilt design that I really liked - she was using some fun techniques to add dimension -

And here's a close up showing how she used some 1" strips and hooked them in really high.

This design below was being hooked directly into a wool background that had metallic speck in it - purples and gold looked really pretty together.

It was so much fun to be there - I hope we get to go again next year!

Springtime

Springtime has been slow arriving in Utah, but I think it's getting closer. To celebrate, I made a new necklace out of old t-shirts in soft pastels mixed with a few pearls. It's been really fun to wear and seems to be getting rave reviews from those who have seen it.

I picked some daffodils from my yard today and have been enjoying them in the house - I forgot what a lovely scent they have! I remember as a kid my mom used to let us add food coloring to the water - as the flower drank the colored water it would make the petals change color - so much fun to see!

Rug Camp

I've signed up to attend my first ever rug camp in June and I'm getting so excited! It's called Cambria Pines and it's run by Gene Shepherd on the coast of Southern California. My teacher will be Susan Quicksall - I've loved her designs and color style since I first laid eyes on her rugs. The rug I'll be hooking is called Crazy Horse Quilt - with some slight alterations. Since I recently hooked my Portugal rug that had a horse in it, I asked her to replace the horse (and the other animals) with some flowers. I received my pattern in the mail today and it looks fabulous - can't wait to get started! I don't think there will be a moment of boredom with this rug because there is so much going on in it. Susan has just recently gotten her website up and running - check it out if you'd like to see some eye candy!

Penny Rugs

I love penny rugs and have made just a few through the years. I prefer the traditional ones made of stacked coins - they make a wonderful project to work on while traveling on vacation because the pieces are small and easily transported. And they are a great place to use some of my wool that is too heavy for hooked rugs. This is the first one I ever made, and I believe it is the largest one I've made. The colors are rich and scrumptious.

A close up so you can see the stitching......

This one has all my favorite colors in it - I usually display it with bowls of spheres on top - croquet balls, pool balls, and other ball shaped items to carry out the theme.

This one I left open in the middle so that when I place a basket or box on top as part of the vignette it doesn't hide any of my stitching.

This one is quite small - about 8" across. I stitched it up as a sample when I taught a group of women how to make penny rugs - thought it was a good size for learning on.

Instead of using embroidery floss to stitch these, I prefer to use perle cotton, and sometimes I'll use crochet thread too - I like the way it makes the stitches a bit beefier and more visible.

I Won a Giveaway!

Last week I entered a birthday/Easter giveaway that Becky, at PrimitivesnStitchin was doing, and I was chosen to be one of her lucky winners! My prize package has arrived in the mail - just in time for me to enjoy it for the holiday. Becky is very talented with her needle - the stitches on the penny rug are perfectly spaced - and I love that she used an old tattered quilt to make the eggs out of. The bunny is made from cotton batting and then distressed and aged a bit - always one of my favorite ways to make something look old and worn. The fabric flowers are mounted in old spice tins that have been painted. It's a great little gathering of goodies that is helping me celebrate Easter. Thanks so much for your generosity Becky!