Spent all of last week in Hawaii with family - we had a wonderful time - went to a beach every single day - got sunburned of course. We saw whale spouts off in the distance and hubby & the kids got to see a three foot sea turtle while they were snorkeling as well as tons of tropical fish.
My favorite moment came when we 'hiked' up to a waterfall (the trail was wide - and paved - so it wasn't really much of a hike). There were a bunch of people swimming in the pool at the bottom of the falls. After awhile they got out and I realized they were all local Polynesians. Before leaving they lined up along the edge of the pool and sang a song that echoed off the rock cliffs - it was spontaneous and authentic - not canned entertainment like you'd see at a luau. Awesome!
I only did a small amount of sewing in the airport and on the plane - just too busy the rest of the time. I appliqued a couple of basket blocks that I've been working on for ages - I remember stitching them in Portugal when we went there about four years ago and I haven't made much progress since then!
And I got a couple tiny Grandmother's Flower Garden blocks made.
This is a project from a recent issue of Primitive Quilts and Projects magazine and it'll probably take me years to make this one too! LOL
Both of my rug groups meet this week so I'll be able to share pictures by the weekend. Today is hubby's birthday - I'm going to meet up with him in the afternoon and we're going to see an art exhibit where he has a wood carving on display - I'll share pictures of that too. It's good to be home.
I just finished hooking these little hearts - they're all pressed and the edges folded back. Now I need to hand stitch a backing on them - stuff them - and mount them onto vintage wooden bobbins. Hopefully they'll be balanced enough to stand on their own when I'm all done with that.
Here they are right after being hooked onto the linen backing - I had a little scrap that was just the right size to fit two of them on it. I won the pattern for this heart awhile ago and made the one with circles from that. Since I didn't want both to be the same I just drew some squiggly lines on the other heart and started hooking from my worm pile. 'Twas fun!
Two weeks ago at our Salt Lake rug group Nancy told us about the surprise adoption of a new grandbaby - she had this horse rug all finished and ready before she even knew that she'd be needing it for the little guy! Since she had given it away, I had to take a picture of a picture - that's why it's not very clear. She was very excited by this new development in her family's life.
This is the rug she's working on now - the pattern for it is in the most recent issue of RHM - and she added her own touches to it (of course). Everyone else was working on projects I've shown before so I didn't snap pictures of them this month. I noticed that she got a shout out in the latest ATHA magazine from someone who used one of her published dye recipes for their rug.
I spent all of last week in the Phoenix area - hubby had to attend a conference and I got to go along with him. It was our first time there and we really enjoyed the desert and the city. The saguaro cactus were especially beautiful everywhere we went and we definitely appreciated temperatures that were thirty degrees warmer than we'd been used to. We found out that there was lots of rain, hail and even snow here at home while we were gone.
I snapped a picture of the carpet in the hallway of the conference center cuz I liked the geometric design - would make a great rug, huh? I seem to remember doing the same thing at the hotel we stayed at last May in Denver! LOL
Over a year ago I found THIS great tutorial for a cute little zippered bag to hold ear buds for my iPod. Today I finally got around to making it and I'll get to use it this weekend on a long plane ride.
I'm usually a pretty good seamstress, but this didn't turn out perfectly round - I guess cuz I was in a bit of a hurry - but it'll do the job okay.
On the sewing front, I've been working on some tiny little hexagons - a great portable project to stitch while traveling. Hopefully I'll get a lot of them finished by the time I return home.
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 - - -
It's taken me almost eleven months, but my row rug is finally finished - YAY! Can't believe it took me so long - because it wasn't really a hard project - guess I got distracted by too many little quilts calling out to me.
Another view showing how each row is a different design. The finished size of the rug is 26" x 53" and I used a #8 cut for the entire thing.
And here you can see the crocheted edge I attempted for the first time. I had yardage of this brown wool and it was great to cut strips of wool that were three feet long to use for this. Although it's not perfect, it's good enough for me.
I think my favorite row is the red & gold Greek Key at the far right end - what's yours?
I have finished the twin sized quilt I made for my grandson!
Here is is laid out on the floor before assembling.
Here it is while being quilted on my home sewing machine at the kitchen table.
And thanks to a timely post from Kyle - who blogs at Timeless Reflections - I even made a label for the back of the quilt! Thanks for the reminder of how important this step is Kyle!
Yesterday was the 1st Tuesday and our rug group met at Angela's house this month. Lots of great show & tell - as well as a yummy lunch and delightful conversation!
Sandy got her rabbit rug done in time to display it for Easter last weekend!
And now she's working on these fall pumpkins with a big yellow moon and a couple of crows.
Tonia made a fun, fun wooly basket to store worms or whatever else she might want to put in it. With all those pockets around the outside she can carry her hooks, scissors, cell phone and other goodies. You can see more details photos on her blog. She made it from a pattern designed by Kerry Stitch Designs - who is a local gal - but she changed all the appliques to her own designs.
Her new project is a fairy tale rug - Billy Goats Gruff - and it's off to a great start! I can't wait to see that troll under the bridge all hooked up!
Last month Angela helped teach a dyeing class for our state Rug Hooking Guild. When she got home she dyed two pieces of wool using a technique that one of the other gals taught - isn't it beautiful? I missed that meeting but hope to get the information so I can give it a try too.
Angela shared this Disappearing Nine Patch quilt that she recently made - she's says it's really, really easy - but has a lot of WOW factor when it's done!
Jeanette also had a quilt to share - a table runner that she's making for the 4th of July - I love how the center of each star has a different quilt block in it - and of course the color combination is always a winner!
Jeanette's Fraktur Bird is finished and bound now - such a fun little piece that Sharon designed.
I should have the crocheted edge of my row rug done soon and I'll be posting pictures of it then. Trying to decide on what to hook next - I have several UFO's that I should finish - and I'd love to hook a 5'x7' area rug for my living room - so we'll see what I end up doing.......
Tuesday I got the itch to stitch up something quick, so I made this little quilt - don't even know if there's a name for this block. Measures about 14" x 20" finished.
I finally finished hooking my row rug - now I need to finish the edges. I usually whip with yarn, but this time I'm going to try a crocheted edge. Wish me luck while I try to figure it out!
My little grandson moved from his crib to a twin sized bed a few months ago. I've been collecting fabrics to make him a new quilt and I think I finally have what I need. This should work up quickly and it'll be fun to work with these bright colors that are not part of my normal palette. The background will be a plain white, and the grey polka dot at the bottom of this pile will be the back of the quilt.
I made my new header months and months ago, and then couldn't get it to load. I found the picture and tried again the other day - voila!
Years ago when my kids were small I used to pull out all the stops when it came to decorating for the holidays - I've slowed W-A-Y down since then. This is the extent of my attempts at Easter this year - a small tablescape. About five years ago I switched from using Easter bunnies and now enjoy making and collecting little yellow chicks. I have a hooked rug and several chicks made in different mediums on display on my kitchen table - fun stuff. I did make a couple of chocolate rabbits out of painted muslin that I included in an old wooden bowl of mossy rocks.
Last week was my meeting with the Salt Lake rug group - Nancy has finished her little rug showing a house on a hill.
This is the cross stitch she made 20+ years ago that inspired the piece - can you see the similarities between them?
And now she's working on a fun little horse rug that was a free pattern in a recent issue of Rug Hooking Magazine that she has personalized with some of her own touches to make her own. Everyone else was working on the same projects that I shared last month so I didn't snap any pictures of them.
A couple weeks ago I won a giveaway on Anne's blog for a lighthouse ornament and I realized that I hadn't shared a picture of it yet - so here it is - it's hooked with yarn that she gets from her own sheep that graze right near the ocean - so the lighthouse has extra special significance. Thanks again Anne! I love it!
Lauren has received the little quilt that I made her so I can share a picture of it now. She's passionate about her pugs - and she's so generous - always giving away hooked rugs that she makes - so I decided she needed to be on the receiving end of a gift for once. This was a fun little project - I printed the picture on muslin and pieced a small border of squares to frame it. I think the finished size was about 10" x 12" or so.
A couple weeks ago I met with a group of friends and we had a tea party at Janet's house. She asked everyone to bring a vintage hat if they had one - and to wear a string of pearls. Each of us also brought some kind of finger food. We had cucumber sandwiches, eclairs, dipped strawberries, tiny muffins and apple tarts - all of it was delicious. We also had our choice of 6-8 different kinds of herbal tea to drink.
The table was set with some pretty dishes and a small square tablecloth that she bought on a recent trip to Sweden.
Here's a picture of us wearing our hats behind a display of all her vintage goodies.
After eating, we used the supplies on this tray - - - -
- - - to make these cute little wool felt charms. She had kits made up for each of us and we hand stitched them together - stuffed them - and embellished with beads. Each one measures about 1" tall.
She had this vintage baby quilt on display for the evening - one of many great ones she's purchased through the years.
I've been fighting a bad head cold for the last couple of weeks - the only good thing about being sick is realizing how healthy I usually am. Hope it's gone soon!
