This & That

I recently found a nice recipe box at the thrift store for $1. I don't know what used to be in the lid, but there was a large open area that I thought would be perfect for a punch needle insert. I traced the opening onto weavers cloth and drew on my design - thinking that I was making a crazy quilt. My friends quickly corrected me and told me it was stained glass instead - so that's what I'm going with!

The finished design turned out to be a bit bigger than it started, so I had to add some padding underneath it to take up the slack.  This happens to me often and it drives me crazy - anyone have suggestions on how to prevent this from happening? Maybe I should add some fusible interfacing to the back before I begin punching and that would stabilize it? Hmmm......

My Margaret Shaw crow hooked rug is finished - just need to steam it one more time to get those edges to lie nice & flat after being whipped with yarn.

Show & tell at my rug group on Tuesday was wonderful. Jeanette brought two little pincushions and they were adorable. The star was a free pattern we received at our recent hook-in - I love how she added colored pins to add to the design. It's stuffed with wool snippets leftover from her rug hooking projects. She found a quilty mug at a yard sale during the summer and made it into a pincushion that was embellished with some standing wool circles made into cute little flowers.

Jeanette also showed us her finished poppy rug - a Sharon Smith design. For some reason my favorite part is the single line border that changes color around the edge. Gorgeous rug!

She's now working on a dancing elephant rug for a granddaughter's Christmas gift. This design combines the girl's two favorite things - so clever - what a happy rug!

Victoria finished her Daniel rug that was designed by Tonia - she liked the original so much that she made it exactly the same. You can purchase the pattern on Tonia's website here.

And this is Tonia's newest design - a great floral. She has the knack of choosing colors that give a real old feel to her finished rugs.

I've been doing a little stitching on two projects with English paper piecing - hubby & I are taking a little trip next week while he attends a conference for work - so these will be perfect to take with me. I'll share a picture when I get home......