I Found It!!!!

I finally found it!!!  *Pumps fist into the air*  I found my rug hooking hook!  

I know I haven't said anything but I have been looking for my favorite hook for over a month now!!  Crazy I know - I didn't even mention this to my husband because it is so silly.  I was even about to order a new hook from Gene Shepherd since I love his hooks - but stubborn me - I kept looking and looking every so often hoping it would turn up.  I did try to use a different hook for a bit but I really like my hook and wanted it :-(

Well my bad little hook rolled under my cutter and until I got down on my hands and knees to search through a bin, and happened to look up at the cutter, it was completely hidden from my view.  Can you see the hook in the photo?  Sigh - so there is sat until last night when I finally found it. 

 

Well, needless to say, I hooked for a few hours last night on a pattern I had started a loooong time ago.  It is a Star Rug Hooking Company pattern that was a free pattern in Rug Hooking Magazine a while back.  I don't know why I love her patterns so much - maybe it is that they have such a sense of whimsy to them and are just so primitive and CUTE!

 

Isn't he a cutie??  It's Mr Iggy going out Trick or Treating.  I had Mr Iggy's head and the crow hooked but that was about it until last night and then I couldn't stop hooking - yey!! My youngest son - the one who loves pumpkins, said; "Mommy that's a silly pumpkin!"  I asked why he was silly and he said, very matter of factly, "Silly pumpkins have a mouth that go up and down, Happy pumpkins have a smile, angry pumpkins have a frowny mouth and scary pumpkins have a mouth like this" (makes a wide-mouthed circle with his mouth).  I had to laugh!  So apparently Mr Iggy has a silly pumpkin treat holder LOL!

Oh it is so wonderful to actually find something that I have been looking for for so long now (ok only about a month but it felt a lot longer)!  it is so nice to get back to hooking too - the cooler weather always makes me want to get back into hooking again.

So what would you have done?  Keep looking or buy a new hook?

A Busy Couple of Days!

Now that the weather has cooled down a little bit I decided to spend some time in my swing room and have some fun!  I have to say I actually got quite a bit of sewing done - yey!

Have you seen those Jelly Roll Race Quilts yet?  Well I think that they are a pretty cool idea so I thought that I would try one out (you can find the instructions here).  But, no Jelly Rolls at home - woops!  But, what I DO have is a great big bin of various 2.5" strips that I cut a while ago using my Accuquilt Go!!  Want to see that mess that I transformed into useful strips?  Here it is!  So I pulled that bin out and selected a blue/green/brown/burgundy sort of pallet and eye-balled what I thought looked like approximately a Jelly Roll amount and then followed the method.  Mine ended up a bit on the skinny side, I guess I needed a few more scraps ;-) , but, considering that this was all just scraps and left-overs,  I am really happy with how this turned out!!  I might add some boarders - or I might leave it as a lap quilt for the couch or car.  I'm undecided - any thoughts?

Next I pulled out my new Accuquilt Go! Pumpkin die and decided to try out the free pattern that comes with the die.  I had all the dies needed to make this completely with my Go! cutter so I thought that I would give it a try.  I love pumpkins and so does my youngest son.

 

I am in LOVE with this wall-hanging!  Once again this was completely out of my stash and I was able to use up some odd bits and, again, left-overs.  This is the first time that I have almost completely die-cut a project like this (ok well except for the Jelly Roll Race quilt above - that was all cut with the 2.5" strip cutter) and I am amazed with how easily everything went together.  I love those pumpkins and I think it will look nice hanging on a door - once I finish it!

Pretty great pattern for a free pattern that came with the die!  If you would like more free Accuquilt patterns you can get 22 free patterns by signing up for the Accuquilt newsletter!

My youngest son, the one who loves pumpkins, came down-stairs and saw it and said "Ohhh can I have that to hang in my room when you finish it!!??"  I laughed and said "Of course!"  Talk about some validation - that really made my day!

Looking at these two quilts together I seem to be in an orange/tan/green/deep colour sort of phase.  It must be because fall is approaching!

Now I just have to quilt these quilts!

Are you working on any fall projects?  Or are you finding you colour palette changing now that summer is starting to ebb?

We Have A Couple Winners!

Hey all!
It is time to draw for the ScrapmaBobs!!!


Using a Random Numer Generator I first drew #27:

Emma has left a new comment on your post "Review of The ScrapMaBob and GIVEAWAY!!":

I am a follower of your blog

and then I drew #35:

Nancy has left a new comment on your post "Review of The ScrapMaBob and GIVEAWAY!!":

I follow your blog.

Congrats to the winners I will contact you and get your mailing info!  Woohooo you will LOVE this product a lot!

Not Quilty But This is What I Sewed Today!

 

Not very exciting I know but this is what I worked on today.  Can you guess what they are?

Some of you may know that in my other life I teach fitness classes and we use stretching straps periodically to add in a deep stretch.  Well, if you can believe it, a stretching strap usually costs about $8 retail.  When I was at Fabricland, a while back, they had this bright pink strap material on sale for about $0.25 a meter so I bought what they have and some buckles to fit so that I could make a bunch of these for my classes.  The stuff all sat and sat for a LONG time until today.

I felt like sewing something today but I am so sick with a bad summer cold so I knew I couldn't do anything that required a brain.  So, I decided to sew these up and Voila!  A bunch of new stretching straps that didn't cost $8 each!  I couldn't find the little metal clamp-type-of-things that go on the end of the straps usually so I just overcast the edge a few times and applied some fray check and I was done!  Yey!

BTW have you entered my give-away for a ScrapMaBob yet?  If not head to this post and enter because I am in love with this product!

Review of The ScrapMaBob and GIVEAWAY!!

I am so excited about sharing this product review with you all today!  As a quilting instructor, and home sewer, I find that I am always faced with how people can safely have a beverage in class without endangering your own sewing machine, or your neighbor's sewing machine, from accidental spillage.  As we all know, our sewing tools are not cheap and we don't want any type of liquid to come into contact with anything.  

Couple the beverage safety issue with the inevitable scrap/garbage issue and we have a couple of problems that I think most quilters/sewers/quilting instructors face on a regular basis.

I have been looking for a product that would help us all deal with these trials - and quilters - I think I may have found the answer!!  *Insert drum-roll*  The ScrapMaBob by The Original Scrap Box company is a truly amazing and well thought out design!  This product is actually marketed to scrap-bookers but hey we quilters like a cup of tea while we generate scraps too!!

Here it is!!  (Yes that is my Jane Austen tea mug)

 

The ScrapMaBob can hold a 32 oz drink - that's a Big Gulp if you like those!  The frame is all steel so it is nice and strong and easy to clean.  The scrap bag is a nice canvas that is large enough for lots of scraps (or snacks!).  You can never have enough room for scraps in my house!

  

I absolutely love how well thought out the cup holder is - notice the open slot on the right side for a mug handle?  My tea mug is easy to pick up but yet it still holds the mug safely in place and away from my sewing machine.

 

The scrap bag is easy to remove just by squeezing and lifting out.   The bag is very large so you won't have to remove it very often - unless you are going on a scrap busting marathon!!  the only assembly required is threading the bag onto the ring and attaching the bag to the cup holder - a nice quick set-up that allows more time for sewing.

 

The clamp, to attach the ScrapMaBob to your work area, is very large and can accommodate even a very thick table so this will easily fit most work areas (maximum table width 3.25”).  If you don't want the scrap bag, but only the drink holder, you can just leave it off like in the picture.

Final verdict - I really love the ScrapMaBob and I am going to recommend that my local quilt shops carry this very well thought-out, well-built and useful product.  I can see quilters wanting one by their sewing machines at the very least; but, if you're like me, you'll also want one by your cutting table and perhaps even on your ironing board.

This is a must have  tool that every quilter should have!

Now on to the GIVE-AWAY!!

You have a chance to win one of two ScrapMaBobs generously provided by the Original Scrap Box Company.

Ok here's the fine print!

For one chance to win you can comment on this post.  Tell me why you would love to win a ScrapMaBob.

For a second chance to win, become a follower and leave another comment here for a second entry.  If you already follow my blog that's fine just leave a comment here telling me that you do.

Every comment is your entry - 1 comment one entry ;-)

Please, please make sure your blogger is not set to no-reply!!!!  Please see my previous post here on how to make sure that you are not a no-reply blogger!  If a no-reply blogger is chosen then I will be forced to draw another name and I really don't want to do that!


I will be holding 2 draws so get entering and good luck!!   I will draw for the winner, using a random number generator on Sunday.


Good Luck everyone!