Another Rug Finished

 Despite the assistance of my feline "helper," I was able to finish a second rug last weekend.

I was a little uncomfortable with how close her tail was to the needle, but we managed! Here is the finished rug. It's the original Jelly Roll Rug pattern.

I used one of the new packages of 2 1/2" strips I've gotten in my shop recently from Wilmington Fabrics. What I like about Wilmington is that they have pre-cuts that are collection specific just like most other fabric companies, but they also have pre-cuts that are color specific. None of the other fabric companies I order from do this. So I've got pre-cuts that are all assorted reds, assorted greens, assorted blues, assorted browns, assorted grays/blacks, .... The one I used for this rug is blues and turquoises. It's called Night Breeze. Also, unlike other companies, Wilmington pre-cuts do not have pinked edges. I've got a lot of Wilmington pre-cuts in my shop if you'd like to check them out. Click here to view the pre-cuts in my shop.

Crocheted Rug :: Update and Finished

 My crocheted rug experiment was successful!

This is the entire 8 1/3 yards of fabric I cut up and processed to crochet. It finished at 24" by 30". It's surprisingly cushiony and soft. 

I wanted to see how it would wash up so I washed it and dried it in my machines. It's now even softer, still cushiony and measures 22" by 31". I find it interesting that it shrank in one direction but grew in the other!

I'm already planning my next one, but first I need to order myself a nicer crochet hook. The one I got is fine, but I found it hard on my hand due to it just being a hard piece of plastic. I've found one with a cushioned handle that I think will work better for me.

Crocheted Rug

 I bought a large crochet hook years ago with the idea that I would use it and fabric strips to crochet a rug. You can see it in the photo below at the top right of the photo. Fast forward about 10 years, I found the unopened crochet hook! I decided it was time to give this a try. Instead of using scraps I decided to use a fun batik fabric from my shop. I got two yards, ripped it into 1" strips, made the fabric yarn and started crocheting. Well, two yards doesn't go very far!

Sorry for the foot photo, but I needed something for scale. This is about an 8" by 25" piece of rug. Not nearly big enough! So I bought the rest of this fabric and brought it home. This time I cut it into 1" strips (much less messy than tearing) using my awesome Stripology ruler and got started making it into fabric yarn.

Based on how far 2 yards went, I estimated that I would need 10 yards to make the size rug I wanted. I only had 6 1/3 yards of this fabric left so I'm gonna just see how big I can make this rug with 8 1/3 yards of fabric. This is just going in my bathroom so if I have to use two fabrics to get the size I want that will be just fine.

It took me most of Sunday afternoon to turn the 6 1/3 yards worth of 1" strips into a ball of fabric yarn. I started to crochet with it but ran out of steam. It will get done over the course of the next few evenings of TV watching. It's a fun project and would be a great way to use up scraps. I might have to try that next. I certainly have enough scraps!

San Luis Valley Quilt Guild Challenges

 It's challenge time again for the San Luis Valley Quilt Guild. Every year the guild presents a challenge to it's members in January.

Below are the rules for this year.

Challenge quilt entries are due at the April meeting. In July I get to hang the challenge quilts at the shop for you to enjoy and vote for your favorites. So if you get a chance, stop by the shop this month to view them in person and vote. These will be hanging at the shop for the next few weeks. After that they will be in Del Norte at the Rio Grande Museum for a couple weeks while the SLV Quilt Guild Quilt Show is hanging at the museum. The dates of the show in Del Norte at the Rio Grande Museum are August 1 - 14, 2023.

Please note that these are original works of art. There are no patterns available for you to purchase or order for any of these little quilts. If any of them are for sale, you will need to go to the quilt show at the museum in Del Norte to inquire about purchasing. None of them are for sale right now at the shop.

If you would like to vote but can't stop by the shop you can email me your votes. You can vote for up to 3 favorites. Here are the voting categories:

• Best Representation of this year's theme
• Viewer's Choice
• Most Creative

Taking an idea to the next level

 I've been playing with this idea of scraps and hand stitching for a while. So far I've only made small projects, pin cushions to be precise. Now I'm going to try making a larger project, a pillow for my chair. It will finish at 16" by 16".

Above you can see the layout I have chosen using scraps from my scrap basket. I have everything cut to fit and pinned in place. There is batting underneath the fabrics. When I made the pin cushions I just laid the fabrics loosely where I wanted them, took a picture then removed all but the first piece of fabric. For this I decided to be a bit more organized. I'm doing this in front of the TV in the evenings. I didn't want to have to keep getting up to go to my sewing room and find the next piece. This way I have a plan and know everything fits.

Now I just need to stitch it all down. I decided to use just one color of thread. I picked a nice bluish green variegated thread. This should keep me busy for a few nights!

You can see my previous posts on this idea by clicking here.