Help Me Decide!

I have a dilemma!  I have made a quilt top for my newest grand baby. It was super easy and it's super cute using only black & white solids.  My DIL saw a picture of it somewhere and I went from there. Made entirely of HSTs.

I found a white/black print for the back, and the aqua will be used for the binding. I plan to applique the baby's name on the back with the aqua also.

SO - I have no idea of what color of thread to quilt it with! Black? White? Gray? Clear? Maybe change colors to match the fabric in each section? I just can't decide, so I'm hoping someone will give me a solution and steer me in the right direction! And any suggestions on a quilting design would be greatly appreciated too!

Last weekend I had an itch to make a quick small project, so this is what I ended up doing.

Allover meandering turned out pretty well the very first time I used my new sewing machine.

It's a Juki and I'm really liking it so far.

I'll Start With The Thread...

Last month I stopped at the thrift store and found a large bag of thread cones for only $5 - so I snatched it up quick. Most were still in their wrappers. Only problem is - now I'm not sure what it's designed for. Machine quilting? Machine piecing?

There isn't a label telling me what the fiber content is and I'm not familiar with the logo. Does anyone know anything about it?

I even tried scanning the bar code with my smart phone but came up with 'no results found'.

I started a new rug hooking project last week and I'm loving the way it's turning out. I just figured out what kind of border I want to put on it and got that drawn on the linen today. I've been pacing myself so that I won't finish it before going to my next couple of rug group meetings. It's a quilt pattern from Kim Diehl that I found in one of my books - I love that quilting and rug hooking are so compatible and interchangeable!

My two sweet daughters were SO good to me at Christmas - and gave me gifts that I absolutely LOVE! I've been seeing lots of coloring books for grown ups at the craft stores and online, but have never found one that really appeals to me. DD#1 found this one and it is so perfect - full of wonderful primitive folk art designs. Only problem is, I'm not sure I can bring myself to actually color them since several of them are perfect for rug hooking and quilt applique. So fun!

DD#2 found this table lamp with a clear glass base. I filled it with vintage wooden thread spools from my collection and it looks great sitting on a table made from a treadle machine base in my living room. I added one of my toy sewing machines, a small quilt, and other goodies for a display. Cute, huh?

Remember last month I made Christmas stockings for my son & his family? Well, for one of them I used a specialty ruler for cutting equilateral triangles and I had a lot of fun with it. So I decided to make myself a small quilt  using the same ruler. It's been pieced for quite awhile now and I finally got it quilted and bound yesterday afternoon. Pulled it out of the dryer just a few minutes ago and it's ready to use in my decorating. It measures about 18" x 34".

I used a variegated thread and did allover meandering - the type of machine quilting that I'm most comfortable with. I really need to branch out a bit and try something different one of these days. (sigh)

I had so much fun with the mug rug swap that my rug group did for Christmas, (see photos a couple posts back) that I made another one to coordinate with a mug I found at the thrift store. I'd like to give it away to one of my wonderful readers & friends. It's got a Valentine Day heart theme going on so it's perfect for this time of year. The rug measures about 5-1/2" square and in addition to using strips of wool fabric, I also used some wool yarn because I happened to have the right color (pink). Hope you like it! I'll take comments until Saturday, January 9th, and then draw the winning name from all the entries and pop it in the mail. Good luck! And thanks for making blogging such a fun experience for me each time I publish a post! I love sharing with you!
                                                      (GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED)

Home Sweet Home

Just got home from a week long visit to see my family in California - the weather was perfect. I had a great time with everyone and we did some fun things together -  lots of antiquing, shopping, eating, visiting and game playing. But it's always good to come home again.

One day while I was there, we had nothing planned for the afternoon. I had fallen in love with the micro mini 9-patch that Janet made recently, so I rummaged through my mom's small fabric stash and found stuff that would work to make my own version - on the right in the picture below. After my mom tried to steal it from me, I decided she needed one of her own, so I stitched up another using different colors. The 9-patches measure 7/8" - teeny tiny - and the finished size is 7" square. Neither of them got quilted before I left - we'll each have to do that on our own.

I cut the strips 5/8" wide and used the narrow edge of presser foot on my mom's old machine for a seam allowance - probably 1/8". Fun and challenging at the same time!

Looking around my mom's house I decided to snap pictures of the little quilts I've made for her through the years - I'd forgotten about some of them. This bear's paw quilt in her bedroom is probably 12" square. I also made the bear on the shelf and the little pieced heart he is holding.

This Double Wedding Ring is displayed in an 8" x 10" wood frame under glass.  It was made by appliquing bias strips onto a muslin backing - then fussy cutting the floral hearts in the center of each ring and fusing them into place.

This twister quilt is probably 5" square.

And this tumbler quilt is 10" x 15" or so - boring using only two fabrics.

This scrappy zig zag quilt is about 6" square - not sure why I gave it to her since red is NOT her color! Displayed on a small wood easel with a piece of cardboard behind it so it won't flop around.

Another project we worked on while I was there was this cute little rocking chair my sister bought at the thrift store for her grand daughter - only $4.99! I forgot to take a before picture, but it was just natural wood with a light stain. A can of red spray paint and a new cushion made with lady bugs made it look brand new. We had planned to add some details on the back spindles using black & pink paint, but ran out of time before I left.

Below is a small 21" quilt I made before I left home - it's a Kim Diehl pattern - a variation on a bear's paw block. I have a grundle of 1-1/2" HSTs all ready to use when the need arises, so it worked up pretty quickly for me. Quilted with a 1" grid over the entire surface.

I'm anxious to get back to some of the things I was working on - and maybe start something new too! Happy Halloween!

Home Again

Got home awhile ago from a one week outing. Spent a couple days in a hotel room while hubby was in meetings, but I took my Featherweight with me and got this little scrappy quilt made while I was there - a good use of my time, don't you think? It hasn't been pressed or blocked so it will look better after I do that & get it quilted.

Then some of the kids and their families joined us for a few days and we did fun stuff like hike in this kind of country - we also played in some sand dunes and explored a lava cave.

This is the new rug I'm working on - I had to start a small portable project because my family rug was getting too big and bulky to transport to gatherings.

My family rug just needs a little more of the border finished and then I can tackle the center part again and hopefully get it all finished.

Here are some show & tell photos from my recent group meetings.

Tonya is making this rug for her grandson - a warrior wearing the Armor of God with a scripture around the border.

Kathy is a brand new hooker and this is her first project - she drew it herself - I think she's a natural!

Jean is her friend who is doing a great job on a hooked penny rug. These gals are a great addition to our group and I look forward to getting to know them better - they both live quite near me.

Nancy got her Maggie B rug finished - fun to see it done so vibrantly instead of the drab colors that Maggie uses. The design looks good every which way it gets hooked.

Janet shared a couple quilts she recently made. This small green one looks great with the spiral machine quilting that she did in each block.

Her & her sister both made quilts exactly like this one - very graphic and modern looking.

Jayna showed us a pretty bowl that she recently bought - - -

- - - she works for the school district and during Spring Break took a trip to Venice Beach CA with a couple friends. Her favorite part of the trip was touring the Mosaic Tile House where she bought her bowl. She shared a slide show with us of this house which was amazing. The artist was delightful and friendly. Guess the house has been featured on several HGTV programs, in books and magazines - it's very unique - you can tour it yourself if you click here

I got a couple rows done on the baby quilt for DD#2 - I'm having fun with it!

OK - I'm all caught up now!

A Small Project & 1st Tuesday Rug Group

Two weeks ago our rug Guild had a meeting where we learned how to make a darling small bag. We used lots of the techniques that Ali Strebel taught us when she came to Utah last summer - especially quillie flowers and proddy. I got a pretty good start on mine that day, and when I got home I was determined to finish it up - otherwise it would have ended up in a pile of UFOs and who knows when I would have gotten back to it....... 

The paisley fabric was the inspiration for the color choices I made. The lining is stitched totally by hand to the outside of the purse.

You can see some of the other color combos that the group made here on our blog. It is so fun to see the versions that people created.

Yesterday was our annual outdoor meeting at Kay's house for rug group. I didn't snap as many photos as I thought I did, but I do have a few to share. Tonia has finished hooking her Three Billy Goat's Gruff rug and was crocheting the edge while we were there. Her next project is all drawn on linen - it will be Little Red Riding Hood. Fun rugs!

Sandy finished her fall rug and was also crocheting the edge on it. Love those colors. (sorry the picture is crooked)

Angela has been having a love affair with vintage sewing machines for a few years now - I think I heard her say once that she owns about 35 different ones. She has recently begun buying old damaged Featherweights when she finds them. Then her hubby repairs them so they run like new and gives them a fresh coat of paint in the most wonderful colors you can imagine. This is the first one that they've finished and it's totally awesome! She has started a blog to document her journey.

Last year when I made strawberry jam, I added the ingredients in the wrong order and it never set up properly - turned out more like syrup than jam. So a few days ago I dumped it all out and made two fresh batches that are perfect. Now it's getting eaten almost daily on toast and peanut butter sandwiches!

I recently finished reading the very last book that Maeve Binchy wrote before she died in July. She's been one of my favorite authors for a long time, and I really tried to savor each page and take my time with this one, but as usual, I gobbled it up because I enjoyed it so much.

And finally I wanted to share a pet peeve. I often used to use my 40% off coupons at Jo-Ann Fabrics to buy magazines cuz they're SO expensive these days. Then they started have them on 'sale' for 10% off so the coupon wouldn't work. Now I've discovered that their coupons state that they cannot ever be used to purchase magazines - what's with that? ARGH!