What have I been doing?

Since I started blogging, I don't think I've gone this many days without writing at least some little thing. However, I've been busy sewing and such. I'll get to the "such" in a post later today. In the meantime, here are the results of my sewing.........
A few posts ago, I showed you some fabrics that I planned to use in quilt for a doll quilt swap and here is my finished quilt. I combined several techniques to get the end result. I paper-pieced the "snowball" squares and then did "turn-under applique" for the fussy-cut snowman heads. After that I used Perle cotton and did a button-hole stitch around each one. I cut strips and sewed the blocks together and then added that wonderful wiggly stripe for the binding. And all along, I planned to use these glittery snowflake buttons so when I got them stitched in place, I was pleased with the result. I hope my swap partner likes it. She encouraged in her preferences to "use color and pattern and to try something new" and that is just what I did. These are not the holiday colors I would normally choose but something about the fat quarter pack of these fabrics just caught my eye and it was fun to do. So much fun, in fact, that I want one for me, so I have started another one!! But before I can finish it, I have four ornament swaps to wrap up and get in the mail and I will have finished by "Season of the Swaps" for this year!!

In addition to sewing on the little quilt, I also put the finishing touches on this Holly penny rug that I designed. This will go off to my Secret Santa Swapper along with a couple of other goodies that I will tuck in the package. Unfortunately, the colors don't look as nice in the photo as "in person". Perhaps I'll try another photo with a different background. Anyway, my Holly penny rug is made of wool. The beige oval is a lovely cashmere wool that I found several years ago and bought a good length of. I really wish I had bought more!! I haven't talked much about my penny rugs but my friends nearby know that even though I enjoy quilting, the thing I really like to do is make penny rugs! I offered my first class and design at our local Michael's store several years ago. That was long before I knew about woolfelt and I searched for "country" colors in the acrylic felt but never got the nice look that you do with woolfelt or wool fabrics. Then I began teaching penny rug classes at a local quilt shop and woolfelt was one of the products they began carrying. I loved the look and feel and the ease of stitching. And I loved that if a flower petal wasn't quite right, well, you just trim it up a bit, something one can't really do in traditional quilting. I taught designs offered in patterns the shop featured for almost three years. Then in 2003, I scaled back on my teaching as family health issues took precedence. During the years since, I have drawn sketches, stitched up some of those designs and have many more (over three dozen) just waiting to be taken from paper to an actual textile! My pattern line is Pleasant Memories and come December, I'll be sharing more on my penny rug designs and the patterns that will soon be available. And there's more to look forward to as next week, I'll be telling you about a "Tea and Stitches" little delight that I have planned. Years ago when I worked for a computer company, I had a boss who talked about "delighting the customer". He was a very good boss and well-liked by his staff. (I was fortunate for the most part when I was working in the "corporate" world to have good supervisors and great co-workers!!!) That "delight" conversation has stayed with me and I hope to "delight" you next week when I introduce "Tea and Stitches". It will actually have a connection to that Redwork pincushion I made for my mother's birthday and that I keep telling you I'll be posting the tutorial!! Stay with me. Sometimes, I may be "all over the board" with my projects and plans, but I can guarantee you, it is never boring around here!
Hope you are having a good Monday!! I'll be back later on with a picture of my husband and I on our wedding day which was forty years ago today!!! And I'll finally tell you a little about that trip to Turkey and my "Turkish Delight" quilt. Later then.............
Sandi