Block of the month on display!

I'm so excited my January block of the month is on display. The hanger I ordered from Pumpkinvine Corner, www.pumpkinvinecorner.com came in the mail today.

 

It's 15 inches wide, perfect for my 13" square. It was so reasonable, $8.95 plus shipping.

Here is the backround square hanging on it: (my kitchen wall is off white so it doesn't show up in the picture.)

 



Are you ready? Here is the January square in all it's glory:

 



I'm so glad that Anna from the Woolie Mammoth Blogspot told me about this Wool BOM pattern by Buttermilk Basin and offered by Primitive Gatherings Quilt Shop, www.primitivegatherings.com.
It is so different, the middle block will change out each month. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!

On Monday I'm participating in the Grow Your Blog Party that Vicki from 2 Bags Full is throwing, so I have to work on my post.

I'll put up a link to Vicki's blog on Monday so you can stop by and join the party.

Til next time, Ronda





 



Hooked Rug Update

Due to problems with the hoop I was using to keep my project taunt I haven't been able to work on my rug. As I mentioned in an earlier post I thought I had found a solution at Joann's but DH had to tweak it to make it work.

Over the past few days I have made some progress, the sheep and flowers are finished.

 

As you can see the biggest part of the rug is yet to be done, the sky and the grass. My plan is to work on it each day, we'll see how that works out.

I love clouds and in the mountains I get to see some wonderful formations. This was an opening in the clouds over the mountains this afternoon, it's amazing to see that there is a bright blue sky behind all the clouds.

 

 

This was taken at sunset, the sun is shining on the mountains on the east as it set. 

 

 

 

My Doctor appt went well yesterday, now I have to do all the follow-up stuff, blood work, bone density test.... I tried to get a flu shot but they were out, probably a good thing since I had to have a tetnus/whooping cough shot. One shot a day is enough.

 

I enjoyed the wool club, it's nice having a three hour block of time to work on a project. I could kick myself for not taking pictures of what everyone was working on. I'll try to remember next time.

 

Til next time, Ronda

 



Dealing with the aftermath

My email account was hacked yesterday so I've been dealing with the aftermath, what a pain. I think it's back to normal.

I finished putting the binding on my crazy patch background square for my wool BOM squares and I ordered a cute wire wall hanger for it. I hope I'll be able to hang it next week.

Tomorrow is a busy day, wool club and my yearly physical.

After dealing with my email mess this made me smile:

"A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing"

Rainbow on the Mountain

I was working in my studio this afternoon, being creative is messy work:

 

 

I happened to look out my window:

 

 





The rainbow was beautiful and the clouds surrounding it were amazing:

 

After I finished enjoying the rainbow I returned to my project. I need something to work on at wool club this week so I made up a small project. Here are all the pieces traced on Steam a Seam lite. The little pieces are a pain.

 

 

The backround:

 

 

All the pieces fused down and ready to be stitched:

 







After today I may have to add a few clouds and a rainbow.

It's not very big but it took me all afternoon to get it to this stage. Kept me out of trouble.

Hope you had a productive day. Ronda

Update of Wool Block of the month

Busy day yesterday, worked on my wool  block of the month crazy patch backround block---almost finished, worked on my blog, watched an episode of Downton Abbey to get ready for Season 3 Sunday night and helped my youngest pull together an email for a prospective employer. Very diverisified day.

Here is the backround before I started work yesterday:

 

Here it is after I finished:

 



A close up on the decorative stitching:

 

 



I used my machine to do the decorative stitches. I am blessed to have a machine with a ga-zillion stitches (maybe not that many).

I took the Crafsty course "Stupendous Stitching" and one of the first assignments was to make a "stitch bible" by stitching each stitch your machine has and numbering it on a piece of material with interfacing attached to it. This was boring but well worth it.

 

It's a little hard to see so here is a closer look. My "bible" isn't beautiful but it sure is useful. As I went along I found that putting some straight stitches between the decorative stitches was helpful.

 



Back to wool crazy patch backround, the plain middle block will be covered each month. January's block is:

 I still have some work to do. I have to put the binding on the backround square, add a sleeve to hang it, add hooks and eyes so I can hang the blocks and order a small wall quilt hanger to display it. Maybe it will be ready for February's block. I can't wait to be able to show you the finished project.

Going to watch some football, catch you later, Ronda

Pictures of my Blog win

As promised here are pictures of my first Blog win from Vicki's blog 2BagsFull.blogspot.com.

It was nicely wrapped:

 

The box held a beautiful necklace and the card had my favorite flowers on it.

 

 I know a very special Bride to Be who will love this.

 

Thanks Vicki.

 

My hooked rug project was in limbo for a while because the hoop I was using to stretch the fabric wasn't keeping it tight enough. I went to JoAnn's and found what I thought was a temporary solution but it didn't work either. I'm so lucky that I am married to a problem solving handyman, he was able to make what I bought at Joann's work. (I don't want to invest in a rug hooking frame until I know that I like the craft). I made good progress today, I finished the sheep and one of the flowers. I'll take pictures tomorrow and post them.

 

Hey, is anyone else having trouble downloading pictures from their computer? I tried to do that tonight and the option didn't come up. Frustrating!

 

Stay warm. Ronda

 

 

 

 

 

 



Discoveries

Don't you love discovering new things?

Some of my recent discoveries: blog hops, linky parties, rug hooking, wool applique and Sue Spargo.

For those of you who are not familiar with Sue Spargo, she is a Folk Art Quilt designer. You can find her website at www.suespargo.com.

In November I bought her new book "Creative Stitching".

 

I was walking by a display and this book reached out and grabbed me.

 

 

The cover is amazing and the inside does not disappoint. This book demonstrates the embroidery stitches Sue uses in her work. It also shows actual examples of the stitches on portions of her quilts---wait for it----in color! And what colors there are, I love her color combinations. This book is delicious.

 

Today I made another Sue Spargo discovery, she has a new fabric collection for Rober Kaufman Fabrics, which includes two panels.

 

Here is a description of the fabric collection from Sue's website:

 

Designed in collaboration with my sister Wendy, I am so excited to release our first collection, 'Folkloric Blooms', for Robert Kaufman Fabrics. This eclectic collection highlights some of my 'funky folky' style while incorporating bold geometrics inspired by our African roots.

 

 

 

Here is a picture of one of the panels.

 

 

I can think of all sorts of things I can do with this panel.

 

If you go to Sue Spargo's facebook page you can enter for a chance to win the panel.

 

Can you tell she inspires me?

 

Breaking News: Ijust  received my first bloghop giveaway. Tomorrow I"ll post pictures of my beautiful new necklace.