Vintage Postcard Rug Finished

I managed to get the Vintage Illinois Postcard rug bound over the weekend and gave it another touch of steam tonight. I'm so excited to be able to mark another UFO off the list! I started this rug in Florida a couple of years ago. I thought I would be able to finish it during the vacation, but ended up packing everything but a hook, so I wasn't able to get started until half way through the week when we got to my inlaw's house (my mother-in-law had one I could use). I worked on it a bit after we returned home, but then packed it away in favor of starting something new (probably my Toddhall camp project) and didn't get back to it until recently. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, but won't be hooking another face any time soon!












I am working on a quilt block for a dear friend that is fighting cancer. I started working on it yesterday and managed to have one of the least productive sewing days ever. I had all kinds of great ideas, but some of them didn't work out so well. I decided to crazy-piece the dress using some of the fabrics my friend and I collected and used in a class we took with Judith Baker-Montano last year. That seems to have worked okay so far, but the real challenge will be needle-turning it. I found a beautiful silk fabric for the wings, but after numerous attempts to applique the, I decided that silk is not my applique friend. I tried needle-turn, stabilizer, sewing to stabilizer and turning inside out, etc. Nothing worked. I also painted some lace to use at the bottom of the dress, but I think it may be a little too bright. We'll see when I get a little farther along. I couldn't find anything remotely close to a flesh color, so I stopped by Jackman's on the way home and picked up fabric for the face and wings. I managed to get one of the wings down tonight, and hopefully can get the other one on tomorrow. Hopefully, now that I have a plan, the rest of this project will go smoothly.












I received my package of wool for this weekend's workshop from Jackye Hansen. The colors are beautiful and very interesting. I'll have to give it more thought over the next couple of days since I need to choose my backgrounds. The pattern I selected is her "Crazy Quilt". I have loved that pattern since I first saw it in Rug Hooking several years ago. Not a surprise, I guess! I'm thinking of doing browns and antique black for backgrounds, but I need to lay everything out and see what works with my motif colors.












Last, but not least, I received my "Wool Crazy" book and wool from Primitive Gatherings last week. I am waiting to receive the first mailing from the club meeting for layout ideas. Earlier this evening, I stumbled across a blog that is dedicated to making this quilt. What fun! I can't wait to get started - it's so much more fun when you can do things with a group!

Off to bed for tonight. More time to create tomorrow!