Lot's to Share!

I haven't posted for awhile, but I've been busy with several projects that I can share with you now. First off, I totally finished the rug I started in Diane Stoffel's class in March. I have named it Bluebirds of Happiness and here is is in all it's 'glory'. The finished size is 30" x 43".

I used yarn to whip the edges and did a spot dye to help it blend more with the dappled green shade color behind the lattice in the border.

I think it turned out pretty well!

I decided to replace the bird's beaks with a darker wool....

....after I did a Google image search for bluebirds and discovered that they actually are darker.

Another bird project I worked on was this cute little garland made of wool. I attended the Open House at Black Sheep Woolens and this kit was a free gift to all those who came. It's hand stitched and I love the felted wool balls and beads that add to it's charm. Thanks Leisa!

A few posts back I shared photos of furniture my friend Kathy was making for her little Haunted House. I thought she might like a little area rug in one of the rooms, so suggested that she find a design that would work and she asked for a spider web. Here is is drawn on paper, and then transferred to the weaver's cloth.

This is the finished rug - done with needle punch - that finishes 3" in diameter. She hasn't seen it yet - I will deliver it to her next week - sure hope she likes it! I'll share more photos of her Halloween project as it progresses.

I finally got all the blocks made for the Woolen Willow sewalong - even got the blocks sewn together and the borders attached! Now it's all ready to be quilted, but who knows how long that will take! LOL The finished size of this quilt is 48" x 54" and most of the applique is done with scraps of wool.

I've also been stitching up the blocks that Cheri Payne is sharing on her blog - each 6" block is quick to make and the quilt is guaranteed to be a winner because that's all Cheri knows how to do!

I recently won a giveaway from my LQS and received a huge package of elongated hexagons for English Paper Piecing. I have begun working on a small quilt using some of these -  they're great to do while watching TV in the evenings.

As you can see, I've been quite busy with a variety of projects - which is my favorite kind of busy!

Rug Update

I've been spending all my free time hooking and I'm making good progress on this rug, so thought I'd share an updated picture of it with three of the four borders hooked. I used a #9 cut to do this part so it went rather quickly.

I had planned to use this marbleized green wool behind the white garden lattice (top of photo below) because it looked like dappled shade, but I didn't have enough for the whole thing. I tried to duplicate it by cooking up some camel with jade green - two different times - but neither of them turned out right, so I ended up just mixing in some textures and solids that blended okay with it. I'll save the failed attempts for use in a future project. (I had forgotten how fun it is to marbleize!)

I can hardly wait to get this finished!

Just a Short Post - - -

I've been feeling under the weather all this week because I caught the crud from my hubby - ugh! I missed a rug group meeting yesterday and another one today, but I hooked at home and imagined that I was visiting with all the nice gals I look forward to seeing each month. I have finished the center of the rug I began in Diane Stoffel's class last month - now on to the border - which will look like a garden lattice.

Do you think I need to change the beaks on the birds? Seems like they don't show up very well from a distance.

Last weekend hubby & I went south for a few days, and while visiting a quilt store there I saw this cute little sign made of license plates - now I'm on the hunt for all the right letters so I can do one for quilting and another for rug hooking. Fun, huh?

I recently stumbled upon a YouTube video that I thought I'd tell you about. A gal named Annette who lives in Connecticut started filming herself hooking rugs in her basement studio about six months ago. She calls her program The Rug Hooking Talk Show.  I guess she has always been a solitary hooker and uses this as a way to connect with others in the same situation. You can view her most recent video HERE and she also blogs HERE.

I've Been Hooking!

I attended a three day rug hooking workshop last weekend, and I haven't been able to stop hooking since then! I started a brand new project and it's been so fun to work on it! Diane Stoffel was the national teacher that our rug guild brought in for this event and she was so knowledgeable and helpful. Everyone was working on totally different projects and she capably steered us all in the direction of success. I started an old floral pattern that my friend Nancy gave to me when she was cleaning out her supplies. This is supposed to be a wedding rug with love birds - - -

- - - but I changed them to bluebirds and I was able to get this much done in class - - -

- - - and have done a bit more since then. I love the swirly background that's happening in it.

Diane suggested drawing shapes like a jigsaw puzzle piece in the background and so that's what I did - it gives the rug some movement and interest.

I wrote a post for the Guild's blog that you can read HERE. I hope to get some rug pictures added to it soon. If you can't wait for that, my friend Leisa attended the class too, and has added some photos to her blog - she's a much better photographer than me so you'll enjoy seeing them HERE. And while you're there, be sure to visit THIS PAGE to enjoy a tour of her wonderful studio.

(edited to add: rug photos from the class can now be seen HERE)

I was able to meet up with Janet of Rogue Quilter one day while I was there, and we enjoyed a nice lunch together - I love spending time with her - I've met the nicest people through blogging!

I was especially taken with Diane's dye technique using a Presto electric pot and can't wait to give it a try myself (before I forget what she did)

This week has been a bit stressful for me because my wallet has gone missing. I looked for it for three days and finally gave up - have been cancelling credit cards and notifying business of the problem. Today I got a new drivers license and a new wallet. Luckily no activity was detected on any of my accounts, but there was $200+ in cash inside that I'll probably never see again - sigh! Not fun!

A Productive Week

I've had a chance to work on several projects this week and made a lot of progress. I hooked two more sections on this rug I've been working on.

And one day I got the urge to stitch up a little quilt with 4-1/2" squares. Didn't like the first sashing I cut for it....

....so I cut some lighter fabric to use and I think it works much better.

I have appliqued a few circles for the medallion quilt I've been working on - these will be incorporated into one of the borders. I work on them while watching TV at night. The light in our family room isn't the greatest and so the curves aren't smooth and perfect, but I can live with it.

Wednesday night I met with my little quilt group and there was some great show & tell. I have amazingly talented friends! Kathy is enamored with Halloween. A few months ago she found a doll house and has slowly been turning it in to a haunted house filled with custom made furniture and other goodies. She shared these two pieces with us and my mind was boggled! The cupboard stands about 8" high and the shelves are filled with little knick knacks that she made and gathered. The upholstered chair looks cushy enough to sit in! These are both made with mat board & foam core board.

Jackie is an avid knitter (as well as a quilter). She has knitted innumerable sweaters through the years, and I know she's knitted a couple hundred pair of socks. She said this teddy bear is the hardest thing she's tackled to-date. It looks old, and weathered, and well-loved, doesn't it? But it is fresh off the needles. Amazing!

And Janet shared these two dolls she made that have a distinct Steam Punk vibe going on. Her workmanship is incredible and these were fun to examine up close.

She also had just finished this quilt made of beautiful batik fabrics. I'm afraid I missed hearing the information about who this is for and if it is for a special occasion or not.

Next weekend I will be taking a three day rug hooking workshop with Diane Stoffel when our Guild brings her in. I have decided on my pattern and needed to dye some wool for the background.

I used some of my natural wool and just did a spot dye using some black walnut liquid that I had in my supplies. I'd never dyed in my oven before, but it worked pretty well. The end result is much more subtle than this pictures shows at the beginning of the process.

This & That

I finished a little quilt last week - the top was already pieced so I just had to do the quilting & bind it. It's wool diamonds appliqued onto a cotton backing.

The spiral I quilted in the open spaces turned out kinda neat.

I spent a couple evenings sorting buttons that I'd accumulated over the last year or so - such happy cheerful colors. These jars are just about full - guess I'd better stop buying, right?

And I finally got a start on this medallion quilt that was released as a mystery quilt in Quiltmania magazine over the course of a year or so. It's looking quite different than the original.

Inspired by this floral print that I found at Walmart, of all places! It has been fun to do broderie perse for the first time ever - the flowers are a bit bigger than those used in the magazine project, but I'm making it work. It's been a long time since I've done any hand applique and I'm quite enjoying it.

Here is a picture of part of the original quilt.

Catching Up

Last summer when hubby & I were vacationing in Montana, I found this set of sewing machine drawers at an antique store in a small town - I think I paid $25 for them. There was no top, because they used to be attached to a sewing cabinet, so I knew I would have to do something about that.

I could have added a piece of wood  to cover the opening- cut to size and stained to match.

But I decided to hook a little rug for the top. The hooking has been done for months, and my mom helped me put it all together while she was here last week. Those two extra hands were very helpful.

The wood was a little worn, so I sanded it lightly and brushed fresh stain on it - very pleased with the way it turned out.

I made another heart quilt for Valentine's Day, but didn't get it finished till today. So now it'll be ready for NEXT year! It's kind stiff cuz it's heavily quilted. I'd like to soften it up by washing it, but I'm kinda nervous about the red bleeding.  Not sure what to do.

My grandson's birthday quilt is all finished. We'll be taking it to him next Saturday.

The back is kind of fun with his name appliqued on there - and I embroidered my name and a message on the letter 'O'.

I was very lucky that a friend let me use her longarm machine to quilt this on. It was a lot of fun and only took me about three hours from start to finish.

I received a Quick Curve Ruler for Christmas, and although I won't be able to make a quilt with it for quite awhile, I wanted to stitch up one block just for fun so I could see what it's like. The gal who designed this is here in Utah and most of the quilts made using her method are Modern Quilts,  but I think it's going to work just fine in my dark & dirty scrappy style. Her company is Sew Kind of Wonderful.