That Time of Year!

A few weeks ago I showed you a new hooked rug that I had started. Well, it's all finished now, and has been delivered to it's new home. Such a fun project to make! I forgot to measure it when it was done, but I think it's about 10" x 36" or so. Should work perfectly as a table runner.

I used six different background wools because I thought it would make it look more interesting, but I think they ended up being too much alike in color and value, so that part didn't turn out quite like I had hoped. But I still like it - you can barely see the difference if you look closely.

My favorite part of the rug ended up being the binding because of a new technique that I tried for the very first time. Cool, huh? I followed the instructions that Saundra shared on her blog here, except I used a strip of wool to enclose the edge instead of cotton fabric like she used.

I finished piecing the top of my Dresden Plate quilt - no idea when it will actually ever get quilted. Kind of hypnotic if you look at it long enough! LOL

And earlier this week I started a Christmas project using these fun colors of fabric. Need to get it finished and in the mail ASAP!

Hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving holiday. We had all of our loved ones (except one) gathered under our roof for six hours or so, and it was delightful! I love that everyone helps with the meal by bringing a bit of this and that.  Plus, we had a bit of snow to fuel the celebration - yay!

Woot, Woot!

I have finished the large geometric rug that I've been working on for the last several months - sure does feel good!

The finished size of this is 34" x 56" - I would describe it as 'controlled scrappy'.

For now I have it on the floor just inside my front door. It's kinda slippery on the tile there, so I think I'll have to get some of that non-skid rubber stuff to put underneath it.

And, there's icing on the cake! Saturday was the Utah Hook-In, and my rug received a 3rd place win in the viewers choice - I wasn't expecting that at all! I received this adorable little pillow as a prize for that and it instantly became one of my favorite treasures!

The Guild had a fun Make & Take project - we each got to choose beads and assemble a scissor fob. This is what I came up with - very fun.

I have finished my little Tucker quilt from Pam Buda's SAL  and I was pleased to find that it fits the rung perfectly on this little ladder that I bought awhile ago at the thrift store - makes for a fun display.

I wrote a post for the Utah Rug & Fiber Guild blog where you can see pictures from our recent hook in HERE.

Oops!

A few weeks ago when I made the Dresden Plate table runner for my brother's wedding gift, I got a little carried away cutting the wedges and ended up with more than I needed. Rather than let them go to waste, I decided to make one more plate and use it for a candle mat or put it under a potted plant. Looks pretty good, right?

W-R-O-N-G-!  When I got the binding on it curled the edges - making it into a shallow bowl shape - ugh! Guess I'll have to try that again - anyone have suggestions for a happier result?

I enjoyed making the Dresdens, so found a striped fabric and used that to make a few more - the resulting concentric circles are kind of fun, but I wonder if the points should have been omitted - they're sure not very visible. Oh well, I only have one more left to applique onto the background square so it's going to stay the way it is. There are nine of these.

And speaking of Dresden Plate quilts, I thought I'd share this picture of the quilt I've had on my bed for several years - it's a favorite! I started out by making log cabin blocks, but the big open spaces were just too boring - so I made some scrappy plates to fill the void and it made such a huge difference.

This is one of the last quilts I hand quilted and might be the last. Appliqueing the striped Dresden blocks has been killing my hands the last few days - they just ache when I get into bed each night - so maybe that type of handwork is done for me (sigh)....

On to rug hooking - I met with the Salt Lake Group on Wednesday. Nancy was hooking a cute chicken chair pad that will eventually be centered in a larger rectangle to make a rug instead of a mat.

The other Nancy attended for the first time in over a year - she had a design from Lisanne Miller that she was working on. We had a new gal there working on her very first project, but I forgot to grab a picture of that.

I was working on my Christmas runner and it looks pretty much the same as it did last week, so I won't add a photo of that. Tomorrow is the Utah Hook In and I'm looking forward to attending. Will share pictures from that when I get home.

1st Tuesday

Yesterday was the monthly meeting of my 1st Tuesday rug group and there was some great show & tell. Kim has been working hard on two large rugs. This one is totally finished and it's a spectacular view of her neighborhood & the surrounding area. I think I like the purple sky & mountains the best.

She finished the edge of the rug by crocheting around it with wool yarn which adds a really nice detail.

She's nearly finished with this map rug that she designed to fit a window seat in her husband's home office.

Jeanette is working on a cute fall rug with a colorful turkey, pumpkin & sunflower - so happy!

Sharon has been doing a lot of punch needle lately with a great new frame that she bought. This little witch's hat is attached to a block of wood about 3" x 4" - I love the little twig sewn on to the brim.

And this framed piece of a witch and her pumpkins is wonderful!

Sharon always wears her hand knit socks and the colors in the yarn of this pair was spectacular. Don't they look cozy and warm?

I started a Christmas table runner with holly leaves & pine boughs - it looks pretty messy in this photo, but sometimes I get yelled at if I don't include a picture of my own project, so here it is anyway! LOL

The Utah Hook-In is on 14th and it's always an event I look forward to attending.  Next month we plan on exchanging mugs with coordinating rugs (5" square). I'd read about another guild doing this and thought it would be so fun. I can't wait to see them all! I'll be sure to share photos.