Friday, July 26, 2013

A Few Projects

I haven't been doing a LOT of sewing or hooking lately - the heat is just sapping my energy every single day - can't wait for cooler temperatures. However, I have gotten a few things done so I'll share them here.

Last week I attended the preview of the Springville Quilt Show, but I didn't realize that none of the quilts had info attached to their displays so I was disappointed in not knowing the names of the quilters who made the projects I liked - or who designed them. This was my favorite - I've developed a real fondness for, and interest in medallion quilts lately and I liked how this one is off-center - very interesting - and of course the applique border makes it special too.

I also liked this hexagon piece - it was in a frame and each hexie measured 1/2" - there was a small sign that this was for display only and was not to be judged since it wasn't actually quilted.

Last Friday was the annual Antelope by Moonlight bike ride that takes place on an island in the middle of the Great Salt Lake. For several years I've helped register people who show up at the last minute and want to ride, but for a change this year I decided to help with setting up and serving the food instead.  I had to drive through three herds of buffalo on my way out to the ranch house.

Hubby has designed the t-shirts for this event for 20 years now - this is the current design that each rider received upon arrival. All twenty of his tees were on display and lots of people could point out the ones that they owned - kinda fun. I got home about 2:00 AM - covered with mosquito bites - sigh!

Our county fair has started something new this year to try and UP the participation in the home arts department. For $1, I purchased a fat quarter of this fabric.

Then I made this little chevron quilt out of it that I will enter when the fair starts next month. Not sure if they're awarding ribbons, or prize money - but I doubt I'll win anything - don't like the way I cut off the tops and bottoms off the zigs and zags - oh well. It'll be fun to participate anyway, and I look forward to seeing what other quilters did with the fabric.

I made this small pioneer braid quilt from a book by Tara Darr - it's really, really busy - especially with that floral border I added, but I like it. Maybe I should have added a darker stop border to contain things a bit, but too late now. All those bias edges were a bugger to work with!

I've been keeping up with Pam Buda's current sew-along....

...and I'm trying to finish the hexagon quilt from her Prairie Women's Sewing Circle that I started a few months ago - only a couple more rows to stitch and then it'll be ready for some wool applique and quilting.









Sunday, July 14, 2013

This & That

I'm just going to do a little catching up with this post. Last week I attended my monthly meeting with the Salt Lake Rug Group. My rug is making progress - it's about 20" square and I think I'll use it for a table centerpiece so I'm not sure if I'll hook that center flower motif because it'll probably be covered up by a candle or a pot of flowers. I might  just use background wool to finish the middle of it - guess it depends on whether I have enough of the light background wool from the skirt I've been using......

Here are some of the other rug projects that were being worked on at that meeting. Terri was able to join us for the first time in a long time and we enjoyed visiting with her - she took a class from Karen Kahle in Phoenix earlier this year and is hooking a floral basket design of hers.

Myra is making good progress on her little purse - those flowers really pop against navy background. Her proddy flowers are so nicely done!

We meet at Nancy's house and this cute wreath greeted us on her front door - it's made of felted wool sweaters that her daughter made from thrift store finds - so cute!
Nancy was pulling the last few loops of the third piece that will become a pillow - her version of Magdalena Briner's lollipop tree.

Yvonne has started a tradition log cabin quilt design.

Awhile ago I was thumbing through some of my really old Miniature Quilts magazines and saw this little quilt called Bricks done in Christmas colors. I thought it looked like a quick sew and I dove right in using fabrics from my 1" scrap basket. Finished size is about 7" x 9". I guess you could call it a charm quilt because each piece is a different fabric. I should have done a better job of spacing the light blocks, but I didn't notice that until it was too late.

At the thrift store last week I stumbled upon this small quilt top and bought it for $2.99. Whoever made it did a good job on the sewing, but it's too plain for me so I think I'll spiff it up with some kind of applique after I tea dye it a bit. I could add some blue stars and give it more of an Americana flavor - or I could add some green holly leaves or trees and make it have a Christmasy  theme - any other suggestions to help me figure out what to do? The blocks are about 9" square.

I have been working diligently on Pam Buda's new sew along - I have all my HSTs made and a couple of the blocks sewn together - will share a picture of it soon.

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Some Finished Projects

Well, I did get my red, white & blue quilt finished before the 4th but haven't had time to share it until now. 



It finished up at 36" square and I'm very pleased with it - especially glad to have it done since it's been in the UFO pile for 2-3 years! Yay!



I saw some darling little basket blocks shared by Temecula Quilt Co so decided I'd make a few for myself. Well, one is made - and that's the end of THAT! A 2" block with that many pieces is beyond my comfort level so I'll just pin this up on my board and call it good! LOL



Last week my rug group met at my house - usually in the summer we enjoy the day out on the patio under the shade trees, but we were in the middle of a horrific heat wave so opted to stay inside where it was cooler. Jeanette brought this Americana table quilt that was so cute - I love how each star has a different quilt block in the middle of it.



And she has totally finished her sheep rug with the owl perched on his back - FUN!



Sandy brought a little quilt with sheep - I have this pattern printed out SOMEWHERE in my stuff, but need to dig it out so I can make one for myself - every time I see it I fall in love with it again!



Angela finished punching this little piece while was here - she has a wonderful wooden box with an insert in the lid that she will mount it in.



Monday, July 1, 2013

Most Unusual Sewing Project

I've sewn a lot of different stuff through the years, but this is a first. Hubby decided to build a sandbox for the grand kids to play in when they come to our house in the summer - we don't really have a lot of outdoor toys for them so we thought this would be great. We knew that we didn't want an in-ground sand box because if they sat in it sand would get in their shoes and pants and eventually end up in the house. So he made a table sandbox just the right size so they can stand around all four sides and access the pails, trucks and shovels. 



We have a real problem with the neighbor cats using our yard for their litter box so we knew that  the sandbox needed a cover to prevent that from happening in there (yuck!). I expected just a board to place on top of the sandbox when it wasn't being used, but hubby constructed an arched framework using PVC pipe and wire.



It wasn't too hard to trace off the shapes and take measurements to sew a cover from fabric for the framework. At first I wanted to use bright cheerful colors - JoAnn had their outdoor fabrics on sale awhile ago for 50% off and I thought that would be perfect - tough and semi weather proof. However, I needed four yards and that would have set me back $40 - too much money. I ended up finding this lightweight fabric - sort of like rip stop nylon - at Walmart for $1 per yard and it worked perfectly even though it's kind of boring. There are fabric tabs underneath with velcro attached that wrap around the PVC pipe to hold the cover in place.



As an added bonus our little grandson has discovered that it makes a fun hiding place when the cover is placed on the lawn and he crawls under it - kids that age LOVE hiding! Now we just need to convince him to keep the sand in the sand box instead of dumping it on our brick patio! LOL

On the quilting front, I have finished the top of my RW&B pinwheel quilt - I might get it machine quilted by Thursday, but it's not a sure thing. I tried to find some red, white & blue variegated thread at the store this morning, but had not luck so I'll just use variegated blue. (unless anyone has a better suggestion?)