A Bit of Christmas

I did my large tree with creamy white ornaments this year - angels & birds & stars, plus a bit of glass. I made a garland but cutting six yards of tulle netting into 3" strips - then ran it through my sewing machine to gather it into fluffy, feather, lightness.

My kids helped me make small white paper Moravian stars one year and I always enjoy pulling them out.

DD#1 brought me home a dozen soldered glass stars from a trip to Mexico.

And I bought a crystal chandelier several years at a yard sale. Harvested the crystals and hung a few on the tree to reflect the light.

I've enjoyed watching and listening to this Christmas video several times already - and each time it gives me goosebumps. Hope you like it too. It is a local production with some well known Utah talent like the Piano Guys, David Archuletta and Alex Boye.

I've heard about the scrap bags that are available from Heavens to Betsy on occasion, and I was finally able to purchase one. I expected true scraps - pieces of wool in funny shapes & sizes, but was pleasantly surprised to find 19 eighth yard pieces. They're all washed up now and ready to hook with. YUM!

Mostly Hooking

I've been spending most of my time working on rug projects lately - this star runner has nine more 'blocks' completed for a total of eighteen so far. However, I'm not loving the background on a few of them so they might need to be pulled out and replaced.  BTW - see those green strips across the top & bottom of my picture? Those are pieces of polar fleece fabric that I sewed onto the linen to make it big enough to fit my rug hooking frame - I bought a remnant for just a dollar or so. My friend Sharon does this and I thought it was a great idea since my linen only had a couple of inches on either side.

Last week at rug group there was some nice show & tell. Nancy finished this floral which is an adaptation of a Pat Cross design - she added her own border and it looks great.

Nancy has made good progress on the rug she started in the Sharon Smith class. She purchased a kit and is determined to only use the wool that she received for this project. I especially like the flower boxes beneath the windows of the purple house - it's an antique paisley that is perfect for that!

And she is done with the stockings she made for her two new grandsons and a grand niece. Christmas in JULY!

Yvonne finished this little log cabin rug while she was there with us. She has a spot all picked out for where it will be displayed on an antique table in her home.

My little quilt group met at Jackie's this month - she has crocheted cotton rugs scattered all over her log home. These were being aired on the deck railing when we arrived and I thought they looked so neat hanging there.

And finally - I wanted to give you all a heads up about a great sale. The shop "I Have a Notion" is having a clearance sale on books - each one is only $4! I bought eight of them and they're all wonderful. There are still a lot to choose from and include some for rug hooking and quilting - check it out HERE! Shipping costs are reasonable since she uses book rates.

Sharon Smith Workshop

I sure enjoyed my workshop last weekend with Sharon Smith from Off The Hook Wool Rugs - she drove to Utah from California hauling a trailer FULL of supplies behind her vehicle - LOTS of eye candy and shopping opportunities! A lot of her rugs reflect the places she has traveled - she definitely has her own style. Amazingly, she has only been hooking for five years - and has hooked over 70 rugs - can you believe it?

I was one of just a handful of students who didn't work on one of her designs - but still learned a lot and definitely enjoyed spending three days in the company of good friends. This is the geometric/mosaic that I drew for the class - it's pretty big and will take me awhile to get it finished. It will be totally scrappy, with no two blocks having the same color combinations - I'm still trying to decide what to put in the center of the diamonds...

Each day we received a special treat from the class organizers. First was a kit with all the fixins to make this darling sunflower pincushion on a rusty bed spring.

Then we got birds - with instructions to fly - filled with candy.

And on the last day a fun paper mache box with inspiring words and treats inside.

You can see class projects on the Guild's blog HERE. I sat near the four gals who were hooking the poppy rugs and it was so fun to watch them each develop their own style - with their own slightly different colorway!

Sharon told us how she dyes some of her splotchy wool, so when I got home I pulled out some pastel yellow fat quarters that I won as a door prize years and years ago - b.o.r.i.n.g.!

This is what I ended up with after spending an afternoon in the dye pots - not exactly like hers - but definitely more usable than they were before I started.

I have started another new rug - it will be a table runner. Lots of antique blacks for the backgrounds - and various golds for the stars.

My sister's birthday is next week so I made a postcard quilt with a bouquet of flowers to send to her - lots more fun that a card from the store, huh? (Jeanette - this is some of the crocheted trim that I bought at the yard sale with you)

Heading out for a weekend of camping with hubby - so if you leave a comment and don't hear back from me, I'm not ignoring you - LOL!

Seeing Stars

A couple weeks ago I bought five 36" strips of lathe from Lowe's. I wired them together in the shape of a star and slapped on some blue paint. Then I wrapped some Virginia Creeper vines around it and stapled them on so they would stay put as the vines shrink.

Now it's hanging above the garage between two of my studio windows to make the house more interesting to see from the street.

I'm also seeing stars on my work table. I'm making a quilt using some 'oops'  from another project. Here's a sneak peek - I just have four more sashing strips to sew on and the top will be finished for a new couch quilt.

I started a small hexie quilt early in the spring when I took a couple trips because they're so nice and portable for traveling, and I've been spending a lot of sewing time with them while watching TV in the evenings lately. It's getting there! These are 3/8" to a side, so pretty small. I was struggling with the needle I was using - it was just too fat and hard to use while thread basting AND whip stitching, so I asked Jo Morton (on Facebook) what kind of needle she uses for hers and now that I've made the switch it's SO much easier! (John James 11 sharps, or Jeanna Kimball 11 straw - in case you're wondering).

Last week at a Quilt Shop Hop I bought myself a new rotary cutter cuz it was 1/2 price. It's made by Olfa and is designed just a bit differently than the one I've been using for years. Much easier to change the blade and it seems lighter too. The new blade slices through my fabric like butter!

This morning I stopped by a LQS that is closing and I bought this DMC floss organizer for $10. I took out the dividers and will use it for storing various notions and sewing supplies - it joins the other two that I have found previously. However, there is a lot of sticker residue on the drawers - any suggestions on how to remove them and clean it up before I fill it with goodies?

Tomorrow is our Guild's Hook-In in Salt Lake City so I'm looking forward to a fun day with friends. Hope I make some progress on my Maggie B rug, but that doesn't always happen at these events when I get to distracted with visiting and shopping and rug sharing! 

The wedding quilt is at the long arm quilter's, and I only have two more polka dotted table runners to finish