Friday Finishes!

This week I got a couple of projects done, one was my noodle board, I finally finished it.
Bill made the board for me and I painted it black. I was going to do mustard over black, but decided that would be too busy in the kitchen and left it black.

The problem was, the board had been sitting for months and the paint was really set into the wood and I do not have a lot of strength, so I didn't sand it very well.  My stain was old and I had to water it down, so that didn't help and my spray varnish was way too old, it wasn't going on right and left a messy finish, but it will do.

This is how it looks on the stove. We made it to cover up the old stove, it was a mess and this would have looked nice on it, but I think it is too much for my new stove and I love my new grates and don't like covering them up.

Then I used the broiler without taking the board off, not a good idea. The varnish started melting, so never use the oven with a board on top;) I decided it would be better to use it elsewhere and now it is sitting on top of my chest. The chest is another future project, I think it needs to be painted and antiqued. I like how it looks on the chest and keeps things from being knocked over by the kitties.

The hooked rug and cat pieces were gifts from my friend Kelley, With Hook & Needle.

I also decided to try another needle felted project and I needed an eyeglass case. I used designs from online coloring book pages. If you use white wool for the backing, you can trace designs onto it with a light box. I like to have the outlines to follow, even though my version is definitely not as detailed as the original. I made the case in one piece, doing a design on each side. It has a fabric liner inside, then I added a twisted cord for the edging.

This is what I did as the front side. My seagulls are sad looking, I think I should have gone with simple black outline gulls;)

And this is the backside, I kept it simple and had fun with the fibers for a sunset look. I think it is time I dye some roving so I can do more shading and details in my pieces. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Mini Christmas Hexagons!

After I finished the punch needle, I decided I wanted to make a mini hexagon quilt and use homespuns. I tried to stick with more green and some red, but I don't have much in scraps for those colors and I didn't want to get into my fat quarters for this. I used the accuquilt small hexagon and 1/4" seam. I do not use paper, I mark the seam lines and sew them together. For this one, I used the machine to sew the pieces into rows, then I hand sewed the rows together. I usually sew all my hexagons by hand, but for the straight seam, it seemed to make more sense to save some time and my fingers. I bordered it with greens to keep a Christmas look and used floss to do the tacks. I haven't stained it yet, still trying to decide if I should leave it as is, or maybe add a little snowflake applique or something like that in a corner?

I decided to let one of my old kitties, show it off.

Mini Tumbler Quilt!

I wasn't up to doing too much yesterday, so I grabbed my box of scraps and made myself a little tumbler quilt. I found a template online and used the inside dimensions of the 2", then added the quarter inch to make it smaller. I was looking for a one inch tumbler, but didn't see any. I sewed the pieces by hand, but decided to sew the rows by machine;) Also the border was machine sewed, but the rest I hand stitched with floss. It is a fun project to do and I think it would be fun to do in Christmas colors too. Great way to use up those scraps and great gift idea for friends. I do have a Go tumbler die and plan on making a large one for myself.

This piece measures a little over 11" x 8". I also stained it with walnut spray, after it was finished.

Little Quilts

I finished two of the little quilts I am working on.
The first is 8" x 7". The design is by Twigs n Sprigs and I added the lettering to that.
After I did the stitchery, I painted in the design with watered down acrylics. Then I heat set it in the dryer, washed it with soapy water and redried it and the paint did not run or fade out.

This is the piece after I finished.



This is the piece, after I antiqued it. The painted areas look more faded than they appear in the photo. I also think, I could do a light sanding in some areas to get the antique medium to take on the paint.



This piece is one I decided to whip together and you can tell, I did, by the lopsided triangles, lol. I had a bunch of little squares, so I sewed some together to cut triangles from and put them all together. I just wanted something quick and prim. It is 13" x 10". I started working on the annie, so that will be done next. I started to paint the cat stitchery, but used too much water and I had to rinse it out to avoid more run off. I will work on that when my brain can handle painting again.

Doll Quilt

I decided to make a doll quilt, something quick and easy.
Only I, could mess up such a simple thing, lol.
I machine sewed the pieces and used lana wool thread for the stitching.
I antiqued it, but I really wanted it to look old. Well, I accidently spilled some water from the bottle on it and noticed it when I took the picture, nice stained look;) So, I will spritz it a little here and there to get more of an aged look.
I was wondering whether I should be little black ties on it? What do you think?

My Secret Projects revealed!

Now that the gifts have arrived, I can show you what I was working on.
My friend Kelley is turning .... tomorrow and I wanted to make her something special.
She had shown me an antique cradle that she would have liked to have. So, I had my husband build me one just like it and then I painted it to match the original. We had to work from scratch so the sides had to be redone and I didn't realize until I painted it, that he messed up the rockers, they should have a slight dip in the middle. I notice these things;) But, it all worked out and not bad for our first try. I made ticking pillows and then antiqued them. This is a photo without the matte spray. If you want to see a picture of it with the finish you can check out Kelley's blog, on the left side column.



No cradle is complete without a doll quilt. I had planned on doing a hand pieced quilt, but then I got an idea and this is what I came up with. It is a combination of Janet Bolton, Jan Patek and Me.