Saturday, April 28, 2012

Jayna's Studio Tour

Jayna & I have been good friends going on 20 years now. We met when she worked at the same elementary school that my kids were attending. I had volunteered to do any sewing projects that might be needed by the school, and she was in charge of an enrichment program where the kids ran a school-wide postal service - I was asked to make some mail pouches. When I went to her house to deliver them I couldn't tear myself away from looking at all her wonderful decorating. Her style and interests have changed through the years - from tole painting - to quilting - to jewelry making - her current passion - but she's always had impeccable taste. Her studio has always been one of my favorite rooms and she was recently convinced to send pictures of it to a national magazine that features such wonderful spaces. I asked her if I could share those photos on here on my blog and she consented - so here's a sneak peek of all her wonderful treasures and functional work space. ENJOY!












Thursday, April 26, 2012

Still Working On Them

I'm still working on both my hooked rug and my Kim Diehl quilt. This is what I've gotten done so far. I hadn't really planned on this rug being so bright, but that's the way it's turning out! LOL Maybe someone can help me decide whether to make the flowers in each corner the same red color - or should I mix it up and use something else? Suggestions are welcome.


And these four blocks are the corners of the border for my quilt.




We were supposed to go away for a long weekend again - hubby had a conference to attend and planned to tag along and entertain myself while he was in meetings - but he ended up sick for a couple days and we had to cancel. Dang!

Friday, April 20, 2012

Moab Vacation

Utah has some really beautiful scenery - I've lived here 35+ years now and still haven't explored the whole state! People come from all over the world to experience what we have right in our back yard!  One place that is especially attractive to thrill seekers and extreme sports enthusiasts is Moab. There are two National Parks nearby - Arches - home to Delicate Arch......


.....and Canyonlands - home to other beautiful redrock scenery.


The redrock is especially attractive to those who love to go 4-wheeling because big rubber tires make it 'easy' to drive on the sandstone rocks. The Easter Jeep Safari is the biggest yearly event held in Moab and thousands attend to do stuff like this!


Mountain bikers also love the slickrock for the same reasons.


As well as unicyclists



Skydiving is also popular


as well as base jumping


and rock climbing


and rafting and kayaking down the mighty Colorado River


Hubby & I spent last weekend in Moab. We took our ATVs to ride a couple trails and had LOTS of fun - here's a picture of me at one of the 61 water crossings we made on the Ten Mile Wash Trail we took one day. Looks pretty tame compared to what all those other people do, huh? LOL




Thursday, April 19, 2012

Thanks for all the suggestions you shared for getting rid of the masking tape residue I talked about in my last post. After reading them all, I started with the easiest solution - Dawn dish soap - that's the kind I had on hand - so I just soaked the glass jar in soapy water for awhile and it scrubbed right off!

Last week I attended my monthly rug hooking meeting in SLC and enjoyed visiting with the gals there. There wasn't a LOT of rug hooking going on, but the projects that WERE there were great!

Nancy had all the wools she was using arranged in a basket for quick access and they looked so pretty that I just had to snap a picture of them. I'm pretty sure all the colors are in her dye book  - Simply Beautiful Colors - available on Angela's website here.



And this is the rug they're going in - lots of fun stuff going on with this one!



Myra had hooked nearly this entire rug in 1-1/2 weeks and it was so cute. Just a simple Easter egg, but I really liked it - the pastels were so pretty together.



Yvonne came, but could only stay for a little while. So instead of bringing all her rug supplies, she brought a quilt so she could do some of the applique on it. Funny, because it's a Kim Diehl design, but it's in a different book than the one that I'm working on.



Next month I'm going to the Denver Hook-In. I was looking at their guild's website and I also visited their blog and saw this design challenge shared there - thought it would be fun to try my hand at it and hope to have it done in time to take with me. It's just 18" square so shouldn't take a long time for me to hook.


And finally, on my way home that day, I stopped at the thrift store and found this cute little felted purse - I see there is one exactly like it on ebay selling for $29 - I paid $1 for mine so think I got a good deal on it!

Monday, April 9, 2012

More Progress

Wow is that a boring title for this post! LOL Anyway, I've got a bit more done on my Kim Diehl quilt, and now I've reached a point where I need to go buy some fabric for part of the border. Those of you who have seen my studio and fabric stash will gasp to hear this, but it's true - I've gone through every single piece that I own - and while there is one that's just perfect to use - there isn't enough of it -----so off to the quilt store I must go! (yay)



And now I need some help. Over the weekend I went to a yard sale and bought a couple glass jars that will be great for storage. One of them had old, old masking tape wrapped around it but when I removed the tape, the residue stayed and I just can't get it off. Any suggestions for me?

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Progress

I've spent some quality time with my sewing machine lately - all the applique blocks are stitched. Now I'm working on the pieced blocks.....

When I got to my rug hooking meeting on Tuesday, I pulled out my camera and discovered that the batteries were dead - ARGH! So no pictures this month - sorry!

Monday, April 2, 2012

First Block Done

I've got one block all stitched down - I use the invisible machine applique method that Kim Diehl teaches. Four more applique blocks, four pieced blocks, and a couple of borders to go till I'm done.