Monday, September 23, 2013

Maggie B.

Last weekend was our Guild's 3-day workshop with Maggie Bonanomi. It was a lot of fun to spend so much quality time with my rug hooking friends. Each of the attendees received kits to make the velveteen strawberries and puzzle balls that are included in one of Maggie's books. I got the strawberry stitched up this weekend - I added beads instead of using dyed pins like she suggested.


And I'm well on my way to finishing the puzzle ball - just need to get the fancy stitching done along each of  the seam lines and attach each section to each other. 

Maggie suggests using cotton stuffing for these small projects - I believe she uses the kind of cotton balls for removing makeup - but I went to my local upholstery shop and bought a bunch of cotton for $2 - I think it's used to pad arms on chairs and couches - and it worked perfectly for these. I stuffed it in there really tightly and it gives a nice heft to the project. 

This is the small heart mat I made when she taught us her Wonky Technique. I had never realized it before, but she never uses a wool cutter for her strips. Instead, she tears a piece of fabric that's between 3/4" & 1" wide - then she uses scissors to cut that strip up the middle. It ends up imperfect and wide - gives a really nice effect.

And here is the main project I worked on for the class - made a little bit of progress on it and hope to get it done kinda quickly - using that wide cut helps it move right along.  

The highlight of the workshop came on the last day when we got to see the projects from her new book in person. If you'd like to see them you can click on this link to view the Guild's blog - there are lots of photos there.

This photo below shows my favorite item from her new book - she showed us how she cuts her letters freehand for her applique projects so I think I might like to try and make one similar to this using a bit more color. Fun weekend!

20 comments:

Art and Sand said...

Love your heart rug . . . love the piece you are working on . . . and love your strawberry too!

Yvonne said...

Beautiful strawberry, curious how the ball is going to look like. Fun rug pieces you are all making, I am sure it must have been a fun gathering!

Cheryl said...

What a fun class and I love the project.

Saundra said...

You lucky duck to have a class with Maggie. I love her designs and enjoyed insight into her hooking strips. Your project looks fantastic.
Saundra

moosecraft said...

Great idea to go to an upholstery shop for the filler! I've been ordering cotton fill online... Thanks for the teaser for Maggie's new book! That sampler piece is something I would be interested in stitching up too! :-)

Raymond Homestead said...

Oh Gayle, really enjoyed this post, thank you thank you!

LauraLillyLaura said...

Thank you for sharing, I love everything Maggie does and so enjoyed taking a class from her a few years back.

Samplings from Spring Creek said...

WOW! Looks like an awesome event--you made so much progress with all your projects. my Maggie book came on Saturday--I also fell hard for the sampler

Nancy in MT said...

Lot's of wonderful ideas from your post, will have to remember to find cotton filler. Love the Sampler piece and on your Quild site, the rug with the vases that look to have scarves draped over them.

Nedra said...

How wonderful to take a workshop from the famous Maggie B. That strawberry is the cutest.

Rugs and Pugs said...

I just love Maggie's patterns and projects. Lucky you having a workshop with her! The puzzle ball will be so cool. Please share when finished.
Hugs :)
Lauren

Janet O. said...

The strawberry is fun, but I love that heart mat. And your "main project" looks like it is going to be great!!

annie said...

Love the strawberry!
I love her work!
Freehand letters? hmmm
A great post!

Me and My Stitches said...

Oh, what fun! I'm looking forward to seeing your puzzle ball Really love your heart rug and your main project - wow - it is going to be amazing!

Kindred Quilts said...

I have a friend with a wooden bowl full of strawberries, and I don't think there are two alike... someday! Puzzle balls have always intrigued me... can't wait to see yours! Could there be anything better than a class with Maggie B? How lucky are you!!!

Kyle said...

What an amazing opportunity. Each little tip adds to the whole. Your projects are lovely, especially that sweet huge strawberry!

Carole said...

Ohhhh.... lucky you to have met Maggie! Thanks for sharing! Cheers!

Carole said...

Ohhhh.... lucky you to have met Maggie! Thanks for sharing! Cheers!

Lori said...

That looks like a fantastic class! I love your hooked rugs especially.

Karen said...

Interesting about purchasing the cotton at an upholstery shop. I need some and have wondered where I could find it locally.