I finished my punched rug this morning and got it all pressed - now I just have to finish the edges. I must say I'm not in love with it - the loops are terribly uneven and twisted - some are even folded. I'm glad I tried the Oxford punch needle though - it was a new experience for me - now I'll go back to hooking and use my favorite Hartman hook for all future projects. This rug measures 15" x 19".
You need to pop over to my friend Tonia's blog (BaaRamEwe) and see the great hooked rug project she just made - an insert for a step stool that her hubby built. I haven't seen it in person yet - she leaves tomorrow to attend and be a vendor at the Denver Hook-In on Saturday and I'm sure she'll have some available for purchase there.
Last night my quilt group drove up the canyon to eat dinner together at a nice restaurant. They're famous for the peacocks that wander around the property - when we drove up, this guy was showing off his full splendor for us in the parking lot! The weather wasn't nice enough to eat on the patio, but the food was good as always - and we enjoyed visiting.
I saw a handful of wool quilts at the HMQS I attended in SLC last Thursday - thought I'd share them with you. I've never made a wool quilt - seems like it would be kinda bulky to work on although these were cotton with wool applique - I guess that wouldn't be so bad.
And this was a vintage quilt in the show that was over 100 years old - looked brand new! I love the vertical rows and the colors and the design itself. All the seams were set in - very labor intensive - and if I remember right it was hand stitched. It looked very contemporary.
Awhile ago I found a stack of blue triangles and a stack of ivory triangles buried on my cutting table. I took some time to stitch them up into scrappy HSTs. Then I stitched them into hourglass blocks. I started playing around with them and this is one of the quilt tops I made by adding some cheddar to the mix. 7.5" blocks.
Right now this arrangement is on my design wall - nothing has been sewn together yet, but I think I'll add a blue border to the edge when I get to that point. BTW - I know a lot of quilters spent a lot of effort & money making fancy design walls, but I use an inexpensive flannel-backed vinyl tablecloth that I thumb tacked to the wall - works GREAT and probably cost $3-$4 - so you can't beat the price!
I still have quite a few of the blocks left and have been trying to decide what to do with them - maybe I'll put these with some red and do something with an Americana flavor. If anyone has a great idea for a little quilt setting that I can use these in, please leave me a comment with your suggestion, okay? Thanks! These are 3" and will finish at 2.5" square.
Last summer when I took the Ali Strebel workshop that our Guild arranged, I purchased an Oxford punch needle from her and I've decided it was time to give this tool a try. I borrowed a frame from my friend Sharon and drew out a little floral design to make. Here's the progress I made today - from the back side - which is face up as I'm punching.
I seem to be having trouble keeping the loops straight and of an even length - you can see that from this view of the front side of my work. Don't know if I'll get better as I go, or if this is a problem inherent to the tool? If any of you have used this and have advice for me I'd appreciate some input on how I can improve. It does seem to go faster than using a hook, but I'm not thrilled with the quality of my work.
Last week I got to meet a blogging friend in person and enjoyed eating lunch with Janet of the Rogue Quilter. We talked about husbands, kids and especially quilting. We each brought little gifts for the other and I received three of her special handmade soaps - they smell so good! And she also gave me a bundle of wonderful Civil War scrap fabrics to add to my stash. Today in the mail I received another gift from her - these two adorable little paper pieced pineapple quilt block ornaments. She has shared pictures of these on her blog before, but I wasn't prepared for how SMALL they are in person - only 2" square! They are so much fun - I just love them! Thanks so much Janet - and I look forward to visiting with you again some time!
After a couple weeks of spring-like weather, we're back to winter in Utah today with a dusting of snow and temps in the 30's. Sigh - - -
