Show & Tell

The quilt I made from my dad's shirts is all finished except for the label and I can't quite figure out what it should say. Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!  Here's a picture of it - finished size is 50" x 60". Hope to get it in the mail to his wife very soon.

I used the remaining fabrics to piece together a panel large enough to use on the back of the quilt, so it's as busy as the front.

I incorporated the labels on the back just for a bit of interest.

I'm missing my monthly meeting with the Salt Lake rug group today - DD#2 & her hubby are in Cancun and I have their two little munchkins keeping me company. But here are some pictures of the group I met with last week. Coralee is working on a rug depicting the Pacific seashore she visited recently - kinda fun to preserve a memory this way.

The surfboard was interesting - she added tiny bits of dyed nylon here and there between the rows of hooking to add color and texture - amazing what an impact it has on the rug.

Sandy is also doing an ocean themed rug - this started as a punch needle pattern that she enlarged.

I just realized there were a lot of water lovers at this meeting as Marliss' mermaid rug is coming along nicely - I love the color she added with the coral.

Jeanette is doing a small sheep rug - we all love those, right?

Sharon's version of Lori Brechlin's Lancaster Barnyard pattern is awesome - she is really good at hooking in the anti-godlin style - as seen in the bird on the right. I love her colors.

Marliss showed us this shelf her hubby had just made of reclaimed lumber and some old hooks - it's available for purchase! Talent just seems to run in her family!

It was a really nice get together. I enjoyed seeing everyone since I missed last month.

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!!!!!

New Aquisition & A Gift

Last week I stopped by a local antique store on a whim - not very hopeful that I'd find anything that called out to me. But SURPRISE~! That's exactly what happened! I have wanted a vintage wooden shoe rack for years and years but all the ones I've seen were too big and too expensive. Imagine my delight when I stumbled upon this item near the end of my loop through the store. It was just the right size and just the right price. I paid for it, then drove home to get the truck while the employees dismantled the display that was on it. I got it in the house and found the perfect spot for it, then threw on some of my wooden bowls, trays and quilts to decorate it. I love my new treasure and am so happy I found it! Kinda funny, because hubby still hasn't even noticed that it's there! LOL

My brother is getting married in a week or so. They are combining two complete households, so I knew there was nothing I could buy them for a gift that they would actually NEED. So I decided to make them a quilted table runner for the dining room.

Dresden Plate blocks are always fun to make - these have 20 blades and it was a treat to choose the different colors and prints to use for them.

I changed thread colors for each section as I quilted it - don't know if that's how the professionals do it - but it worked for me on this small project.

I know that my future sister-in-law likes copper so I found this pretty bowl at another antique store and bought it - then added the ball of artificial greenery for a splash of color and texture to complete the gift.

I found a pretty basket to place everything in and will wrap it with clear cellophane and tie it closed with strips of fabric & lace to make a nice presentation.

I actually added a label to the back too - ran muslin through my printer - then went over the lettering with a fine line Sharpie marker. It was pretty easy to do and I need to do it with ALL the quilts I make. Sure hope they like it when they receive it!

I'm not a huge fan of mysteries, but I just read this book and enjoyed it.

Hooked Rugs & Quilts

I finished whipping the edge of my star table runner with black yarn and have it on my kitchen table. Found a few goodies to display with it, but will try to find more to spiff it up a bit more.

I hooked these three little mats for a specific purpose - didn't like the first one too much - wasn't crazy about the second one - so I'm hoping the third one will work. They're all supposed to be the same size, but you can see that it isn't the case. I think maybe whether or not you use the lengthwise grain of the linen makes a difference?

Earlier this week I made the annual trek to Springville to see the quilt show there - these were my two favorites.I love that this one is asymmetrical - and of course the scrappy nature of it appeals to me. What a great scalloped border with the appliqued vine!

It had a label on the back with a touch of applique - inspires me to be better at labeling my quilts!

This one was really nice too - that stripe on the inner border looks good.

I've spent a few hours the last couple days starting - and catching up - on the Marcus Brothers SAL - so all five of my blocks are completed now. Four more to go - - -

Hope you all have a nice weekend. Hubby & I rarely go anywhere on holiday weekends - we just don't like dealing with the crowds - so we'll just relax at home for a few days.

Labels

Most of the wool for my hooked rugs comes from thrift store clothing - I love the thrill of the hunt I guess - plus the price is much friendlier! As I dismantle each piece I save the buttons (of course), sometimes the seam tape, and usually the labels. Here's my stash of labels that I store in an old sewing machine drawer.

 I'm not sure what exactly I'll use the labels for, but I recently found some inspiration about that.

Janet buys wool sweaters to use for some of her crafts (you should see the family Christmas stockings she's made through the years) and she made this darling tote bag/purse as a birthday gift for her daughter using the clothing tags from those sweaters.

Several months ago I attended a quilt show and saw this piece that is totally covered with labels. The story of the quilt was especially touching because each block was laid out by a small boy who was hospitalized at the time - and the nurses and doctors who cared for him all donated labels from their own clothing, plus gathered some from friends and family. His mom would then sew the labels down and he'd start on the next block - eventually they had enough for an entire quilt.

Here's a couple of close-ups. .

And I found this jacket that was embellished with vintage clothing labels.

Hmmm....... do any of YOU have ideas of what I can use my collection of labels for?