New Punch Needle

I finally sat down and worked on a new punch needle. I do love making pieces, but my arm still bothers me, so I will have to use smaller threads or make smaller pieces. This one was a larger piece, than I usually do, but it was fun to do. It is a design by Kelley, Kanknchester, from her new book; "Sweet Friends and Flowers."

I will be putting this piece up on ebay, later tonight. I decided to make it into a pillow. I think it will look nice on a prim shelf or cubby. I love mixing colors to give it a more primitive look and the variegated linen is what I used on the light kitty.

Framed Quilt Square

I am working on finishing the gifts I am making and the others are on their way, so I can't show you those yet;)
Tonight I worked on finishing a new punched piece, so I should be done by tomorrow.
So, since I have nothing new to show you, I dug in my files and found this piece that I found at an antique consignment.
I thought it was a beautiful old piece and gifted it to a friend. I have no idea how old it is, maybe the more experienced quilters might know?

I also have primitive Dorr linen for sale. One yard cuts, with the cut ends serged, for 25.00 a yard, plus shipping. If you are interested, you can email me.

Cute Kitty and Weird Kitty

I am busy working on a secret project, so no new things to show you today;)
So, I thought I would show you something I made in the early 80's. This was during the country period, when things were cute and blue. This is a kitty I made, complete with flannel outfit and felt hat.



On another blog, someone asked, what do you collect and if you haven't figured it out, I collect cats, lol.
This piece is one my BIL gave me, he said it was too big for his cabinet, so I was happy to have it. It is by Sergio Bustamante and unfortunately, fallen a few times, so has some damage. the other kitties are ones my husband got me for my collection. I really need a better display area for my special cats. Every Birthday I got something with a cat and for Christmas, I got more, so I had to tell him, no more;) Now if I get one, it is either an antique kitty or something unusual I find in the thrifts. Like I have room for more, lol.

Buys and Braids

I hit some stores this week and got some great buys.
One was a yard of upholstery fabric from Jo anns. Seems someone made a mistake and marked it down to 3 dollars and it was originally 40 a yard, nice deal;) I think it will make a beautiful supply bag, once I figure out how to make one.



The second find was new wool fabric at the thrift. Only .99 cents and over a yard each, so was very happy when I found that.



I found a new use for my old basket. It now holds wools and my braided rug, as I work on it. I was going to make stair treads, but thought it was too thick for that and decided to just keep going and make a large one for my living room. I want to make a hooked rug, but that will take a long time. This way I have something for now and allow me to plan and work on the hooked one.



And this is what I have done so far. I work on it part time, in between all my other projects. I am using up the wools that are not great for hooking and trying to stay on the darker side with this one. We shall see, as it progresses and what wools I pull out of the cellar. And yes, it is cockeyed, like everything else I make;)

Something new, something old

I am still working on secret projects, so I cannot show you, what I have been working on;)
I did make a couple of new hearts. One I made by using a muslim heart for the back and placed pieces of scraps on top and then used my sewing machine to do the stitching, over the raw edges. The second one, I sewed scraps together, then cut out the heart and did the stitches on the seams with floss. I think the machine one came out nice, on the right/front. The second one, has less pieces, so I don't like it as much, but easier and faster to do it that way. I think they look good in my new candle holder. That was a find at an antique booth.



And for something old. This is a rug I made, in my first year of hooking. We had a contest, to make a game rug and this is what I came up with. It has been hanging on the wall and starting to warp, so time to take it down and give it a good steam press, then find a better way to hang it. I would like to make a wood, box frame to put it in. I think it would look nice and lend to the gaming look.

Crock Penny Rug

I realized, I never posted the Penny Rug that I made for a friend.
This was a pattern I got from Lynda Hall. She does the most wonderful primitive patterns and has a beautiful sense of color in her pieces. She is also selling instant patterns now, so great for those days when you want to make something and not wait for the pattern. You can also click on her links and enjoy beautiful photos of her home and her quilting.

This pattern was modified a bit. I reduced the size of the designs a bit to make it smaller. I did it all in wools and then antiqued it with walnut spray. I have been working on a lot of different projects and haven't finished them, so once I do, I will show you some and some will have to wait until the recipient gets them;)

Crazy Hearts

Today I was doing a lot of cleaning and lugging boxes of junk to the cellar and wore myself out.
I couldn't get motivated to finish any of my projects and I don't want to start new ones until I do finish them, so I made up some hearts. I used a white cotton and laid pieces of scrap fabrics I keep in a basket. Then I sewed stitches on with floss. I have no idea what I was doing, just keeping my hands busy. Some of the fabrics lifted off the stitch area, but I left them like that and then sewed a wool backing and stuffed them. I wanted them to look old anyways, so with the stain and rips, I got the right effect;)

I might try it again by sewing pieces in a block, then cutting out the heart shape. That way the edges will stay put and I can do crazy quilting over the seams. Or I might try it on my machine or both. I like to experiment with simple things to get practice on my stitching and machine skills, so this is a good project for that.

Valentine Angels

Last week I wanted to try some angels that I got from Tiffany's site and since they were smaller, I made up two of them.
The first one I added a face and some hearts around her. The dress is an over dyed dmc floss. The wings are an over dyed wool floss, that was gifted to me.



The second angel, I did in a plum/purple and the yellow wool wings. I also left it as is, this is the actual design. I used dmc variegated, linen floss for the background. I think it looks much more primitive, than the first. When I do the pictures on my screen, they have the actual colors, but when they hit the web page, they tend to wash out. My pieces are always darker in person. I also didn't add an edge, so do you think it looks good without one or do you prefer the wool yarn edge? These are not for sale, they will be gifted.

New quilt ideas

I have been check out other quilting blogs and one I love is Marylou Weidman's.
She has such a way with making memories into fun and whimsical designs, so I thought it would be fun to start thinking of making my own memory quilt. I have an old picture of my son when he was little and I think it would be a great start for my first block. Maybe I might even make one with memories of him and one with my daughter. They will be works in progress that I can finish and give to them in the future.

Memories do make me sad though, he was such a sweet boy and now he is going to be 28 in March. Time sure flies by as you get older. This will be the idea for my first block. I will be working it in a primitive, folk art style, so we shall see what I come up with.

More Work on my Bird Quilt

I finished up the stitching on my bird piece and like how it came out.
It was fun to do this piece, something a little different for me.
I would like to do some more art pieces, but try them from my own sketches and photos, so we shall see what I can come up with.
I am still not sure what to do with the background, I would like to do quilting that works with the design, so any ideas would be appreciated. Thinking clouds for some reason, but not sure how I could quilt that, except to do some free motion cloud like shapes.

The design comes from Carol Armstrong in an older issue of BHG quilting and patchwork.

Snow Cleaning a Hooked Rug

Someone asked on our rug hooking group, if anyone had snow and could do pictures on using snow to clean a hooked rug.
I have dirty rugs in my kitchen, so thought I would give it a try. The problem was, even with a cloudy day, the photos got washed out, but it gives you an idea on how it works.

I took the rug I use in front of the sink, it is dirty, spills and that overall dull grime look.



I laid the rug, face down in the snow and left it there for three hours. Not only did it remove dirt, but the cold snow lifted the hairs off as well. I think if it was left out all day, you could get more dirt off. Also, make sure the snow is cold, not on a warm day when it is melting, or your rug will be soaked. This way, I just hung it on a rack and the next morning it was dry. I have also heard that you can use snow and lightly brush the rug to remove dirt. The end picture came out too bright, but the next day, I could see the difference and the rug looks a lot better. It is hard to see, but there is more dirt and hair, than shows in the photo.

Nature's Beauty

I have been working more on my new piece and now you can see what was missing;)
I found this pattern in a BHG quilt magazine. It is a pattern by Carol Armstrong, she does wonderful quilting with nature and animals. I thought it would be fun to try an art piece, even if I cannot follow directions, lol. I off set the main tree, and there was only supposed to be another branch to the left. But since I messed that up, I added a bit more on the right and more blossoms and cherries. I went with wool for the bird, flowers and cherries and like the overall effect. Next I will add the details on the leaves and flowers, along with stitched stems.

On the original, there is less design and more quilting, so I have to decide how I will work the background. She also used light purple for the thinner border and then a medium green for the outer edge. I am thinking of blocking off the border I have and maybe adding black as the edge border to frame it off? Another thought is, the upper area that is empty, wether to let the quilting fill that in, or add a simple saying?

Wooden Quilt

A fellow blogger was talking about quilts painted on barns and wood and it reminded me of a piece I was making years ago.
I had decided to paint a quilt, onto a full piece of plywood, and hang it over my entry way.
I did most of the painting and then put it aside and never finished it. I planned on using black to outline and give it the look of a quilt when all finished, but all it got was musty and spills from something and someone. So, it sits in the cellar and I told my husband to throw it out, but he said he can still use the board, for what, I have no idea;)

It does inspire me to do something similar on wood, but in smaller versions.