A Little Out of the Ordinary!

I've worked on a couple projects lately that are a little different from what I usually do. First of all was a couch update. DD#1 was given this old couch by a friend and the cushions were SO dated - the fabric was literally falling apart - crunchy and gross - I would guess 40+ years old.

So she ordered some new fabric that would give the couch a fresh look and I stitched up new covers for her. I was able to recycle the zippers from the old covers, and the foam cushions were still in good condition too so we were able to use them. Her throw pillows add a lot of color to the couch and her family has a comfy new place to sit!

THEN, my son asked me to help HIM with a project. He is passionate about his vehicles. He recently rebuilt the engine on a Ford Explorer that he bought for a song. Then he made a new bumper for it from scratch - the metal cutting and shaping - the welding - the winch installation - and the painting. He added a light bar above the winch and worried about it getting damaged from road debris.

So we used some vinyl fabric and made a cover for the light bar that fit like a glove when it was snapped together underneath. Whew! Quite a team effort!

Earlier this week I learned that I had won a giveaway on Polly Minick and Laurie Simpson's blog. My prize arrived in the mail today and I'm SO thrilled with it! A stack of 40 fat quarters  from their newest fabric line - can you imagine? That's 10 yards people! SO generous! I have no idea what I will make with it but I'm just going to pet it for awhile until I think of something! LOL

Have a great weekend!

Back in Business!

I was unable to find my missing camera - figured as soon as I got a new one it would show up - isn't that how it usually works? Well, I ordered one from Amazon and it arrived yesterday, but still no sign of the old one so maybe it's gone for good. (sigh) Anyway, it feels good to know I can share my projects with my blogging friends again.

Took me four days from start to finish to make this Double Wedding Ring quilt using a Mini Quick Curve Ruler by Sew Kind of Wonderful. It's far from perfect and was a very labor intensive project but I'm happy with the finish.  The gals who design these rulers are definitely in the Modern Quilt camp of quilting, but I think with the colors and fabrics I chose it ended up being very traditional looking.

The pattern showed 12 blocks but I pared it down to only nine. Shrunk quite a bit when I washed it since it measured 33" square before and 30" square after. I plan to make a much larger version of this to fit my queen size bed eventually and it will look very similar.

Amazingly, I even added a label to it!

I've also spent quite a bit of time hooking a new Americana rug and it's coming along nicely.

I had originally intended to finish it by Memorial Day, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen now.

I saw this antique rug on Pinterest and that was the inspiration for making my version which is the same, but different!

I think my favorite part of this is the blue background behind the stars and believe it or not that is a single piece of plaid fabric that used to be a Pendleton shirt from the thrift store!

I've also been doing a bit of upholstery-type sewing which I hope to have before & after pictures of soon.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting up with a long-distance blogging friend Yvonne, from Holland. She arrived in Utah with six friends to attend International Quilt Market and made time to visit with Clydene & I at Clydene's house. Such a nice group of gals - I know they're going to enjoy their visit here. Yvonne has visited here many, many times and has a huge circle of friends in the States. I love reading her blog entries to see my part of the world through her eyes. Her first entry for this trip is published here and I'm sure there will be many more over the next few days until they leave for home from Las Vegas. After you see pictures of Clydene's home here you will understand why they wanted a tour!  Shockingly, I didn't take a single picture of us so this drawing will have to represent the occasion - I felt so bad!!!!!

I haven't been able to find my camera for over a week now, and a blog isn't worth looking at without any pictures to see, so until I find it or buy a new one I'll be missing in action. Sorry 'bout that!