Shopping

Who doesn't love a reason to go shopping? Well, we had a great reason last weekend - a brand new shopping center opened in SLC amidst a whole lot of hoopla, so we decided to go check it out - and it's totally awesome! The City Creek Center is the only new mall scheduled to open in the entire country this year - all 90 stores opened the same day - what an undertaking! This whole project has been four years in the making. Very upscale - with stores like Tiffany's, Nordstrom, Michael Kors, Macy's, Coach, & Brooks Brothers amongst others. It's an outdoor mall that stretches two city blocks, but when the weather is too hot, too stormy, or too cold, they can enclose it with a retractable glass roof - the only structure of it's kind in the country.

Hubby & I didn't actually buy anything, but spent six hours exploring and oohing and aahing. There is actually a creek running through the middle of it - it was piped underground years and years ago, but the developers brought it back to the surface for this segment - and it's even stocked with trout! Beautiful fountains are programmed to music to put on a beautiful water show to rival those found in Las Vegas.

There was various entertainment scattered along the way - everything from live music - to human statues.

We finally left when the crowds got too big to be comfortable, but I'll definitely go back in a few weeks to experience it again. The best part of this whole thing (in my opinion) is that the mall is closed on Sundays - to reflect the standards of our community.

If you are ever planning a trip to Utah - be sure to include a visit in your plans!

You can see more pictures of the mall on their website here where there is a slide show that includes art work and other features.

Prep Work

I've spent several hours over the last few days, preparing fabric pieces to make appliques for a quilt. There is SO much prep work - once I start sewing I think it will go together quickly and then I know it will all have been worth the effort. 

I started this Kim Diehl design years ago and gave up on it - but I've pulled it back out again and I'm determined that I will at least get the top pieced!


I had lunch with hubby yesterday. As I was walking down the hall of the courthouse where he works, I came across this bit of wall art that caught my attention - a quilt - covered in buttons. It really wasn't made very well - no batting - no precision piecing - and all the buttons were adhered with hot glue. But it added a bit of color to the hallway and that's always nice, huh?

This & That

When I went for my visit to California last month, I took a bunch of 1-1/2" strips of fabric with me so I'd have a project to work on if I had some down time. I got the quilt top all pieced but I'm not very happy with it - not enough color perhaps? It measures about 25" x 36".

I chose the design after seeing this pillow on a recent trip to IKEA and figuring out how to replicate it using more that two fabrics.Kind of reminds me of a zipper.

My new hooked rug measures 24" square and I finally put it on the table with a big old wooden bowl - just like I had originally planned. Found some nice-looking apples and pears to put inside of it and I'm happy with it - now to decide on my next project.

I read a LOT of blogs - and thought I knew about all those related to rug hooking - but I stumbled upon one the other day that is new to me. A mother/daughter team who are just delightful. Stop by and visit them at Ewe & Eye Designs.

Karen Kahle of Primitive Spirit recently started blogging and she shares lots of good information with her readers. I loved seeing her new studio - and she has posted a tutorial on how to make a spiral chair pad that is awesome.

A couple weeks ago I won a giveaway that Lauren had on her blog - I received a copy of the new book that Polly Minick & Laurie Simpson wrote. I have all of their other books so I was excited to add this one to my library. There is a great pattern for Lady Liberty that I really like in it.  And, because Lauren is such a sweetie, she included one of her hand-stamped spoon necklaces - what a treat for me! It's been fun to wear it!

Salt Lake Hookers

We were so tickled to see Nancy's finished rug on Wednesday. The borders make this rug much larger - and add so much more interest to the design. She used a very limited color pallette that worked perfectly for this project!

I especially liked the way she hooked the first border border to include some picot-type lines with the black wool.

Her next project was inspired by a trip through the cosmetics department at Macy's where she saw this tote bag. She fell in love with the playfulness of the design, as well as the riot of color and the way each motif was outlined in black to make it pop.

She drew her own pattern and just started pulling the first few loops while we were there. It's going to be a fun one to watch!

Myra brought her hooked runner all finished and it's a BIG one - at least six feet long I think! Her distribution of color was perfect which could have been very difficult on a project this size!

And Yvonne is making progress on her Emma Lou pattern - it is a square pattern which is kind of unusual for a rug - it will be 5' x 5' when she's done with it.

Done With The Hooking!

Hooray! I've finished hooking my scrappy hit & miss rug and I got it steamed this morning. Now I just need to stitch those edges down and it'll be all done! Lots of color on this one!

It's Been Awhile

Spent a week visiting family in California (my mom loved her stamped spoons). Rode Amtrak this time cuz there are absolutely no bargain flights between SLC and Sacramento - and I wasn't up to making the twelve hour drive all by myself. After I got home my computer started having issues - they're still not resolved but I guess I can deal with them for awhile longer.

Last week our 1st Tuesday rug group met and there was some great show & tell that I'm excited to share with you here.

Tonia started this sheep rug at our last meeting and she has now finished everything but binding the edge. I love the vibrant red background!

She has been making these sweet needle-felted sheep to sell at hook-ins. I had a hard time getting a good picture because it's so tiny - it's mounted in a bottle cap! Cute, huh?

Cindy was adding twill tape to the edges of this rug inspired by a visit to the lavender fields of Sequim Washington. In addition to wool strips she used hand dyed yarns and roving. I think it has a real Impressionistic vibe going on.

Jeanette drew up a design like the one I've been working on and is hooking it up a whole lot quicker than I am! I think her's is larger than mine is too!

The colors she's using are so fun and I wanted to point out that the flowers in the border are hooked from the same piece of wool. She cut the strips from different parts of the plaid so they're slightly different shades.

Sharon's hubby drew up a new Fraktur design to hook after studying some vintage examples.

Marliss is hooking a bird and a cage.

Kim showed us a darling scissor fob that she had cross-stitched - so perfect with her cute floral scissors.

Marilyn has started her third Deanne Fitzpatrick design - this one has quilts on a clothesline that is so appropriate since she's ann accomplished quilter.

Her daughter gave her this wonderful cross-stitched sheep - not sure how she will finish it. It was stitched on the tiniest linen I've ever seen!

A friend sent her this cute needle punched sheep - he is aged to perfection and looks like it's mounted in a rusty metal cupcake paper.

Sandy had just returned from the Bahamas and was sporting a lovely tan - she's making good progress on her stained glass rug.

I have just a bit of the border to finish on my rug and will share a picture of it soon.