Heading Out!

Hubby & I are heading out for vacation in a few days, and we're going to Mt. Rushmore - a place I've never been to before! We're really looking forward to taking a break from our everyday routine, and will be traveling with our 5th wheel trailer with no itinerary or schedule. If any of you have been there before and can share some information about the area, I'd love to hear about it - we don't want to miss anything important!
Thanks!

Lovely Swap

Julie - of Me and My Stitches -  started blogging back in January, and I fell in love with her beautiful minature quilt pendants as soon as I saw them. I've done paper piecing myself before, but never anything on a scale as small as what she does. The colors she uses appeal to my love of all things primitive. I admired them from afar until recently, when she shared a picture of some wool that she had purchased. The thought occured to me - if she was wanting wool, that I have a LOT of that - and maybe she would be interested in doing a swap. I bravely emailed her to present my idea and she wrote right back saying that she loved the idea! So we made the arrangements and now I am the lucky owner of this 2" pendant. She puts her work under glass and solders the edges - adding a ring for a cord or chain. Each little strip of fabric is less than 1/4" wide! Teeny, tiny!

In exchange, I went through my stash of hand dyed wool and carefully chose several pieces in the colors she wanted and mailed them off to her. I think we're both happy with the results!
Thanks Julie!

Same Design - Different Fibers

I made this rug a few years ago, but I had forgotten that it was originally designed to be a quilt pattern.......

.........until I recently saw this post on Carol's blog showing the quilt she made using the same design. I love that quilting and rug hooking are so compatible!

The pattern can be found in Lori Smith's book titled "Fat Quarter Quilting".

Yay For Yard Sales!

Good shopping today! My favorite bargain was this collection of punch needle supplies that included a Cameo needle with all three sizes of needles, plus two needle threaders, plus a sunflower pattern, plus the kit to make it - all for a total price of $.75! Can you believe that? WooHoo!

At a church rummage sale I found this little flying geese quilt - already quilted for just $2.00. I think I'll turn it into a pillow.

Someone did a really nice job on this little stitchery - it was $1.

I got this little vintage metal funeral basket for $.25. There's one listed at this site for $74, so I think it was a good deal, yes? (BTW - has anyone ever heard of this auction site before?)

A little metal stool on wheels that will look cute with a pot of flowers plopped on top. ($1)

And this metal floral display stand - I'll need to find some pots to fit in the openings and plant something that will trail down and look pretty - maybe give it a fresh coat of paint.

Summer is NOT my favorite season - because of the heat - and the bugs - and the road construction that I always have to deal with - but yard sales are one thing that I DO enjoy about this time of the year!