Rug Hooking, Placemats and A Blast from the Past

I'm happy to report that my rug hooking is completely done!  Right now, it is pinned to my design wall but I will be hanging it on the wall in my sewing room soon.  Such a nice reminder of our trip to Newfoundland in 2023. 

I was cleaning out a box in my fabric storage area and found the bag I made in Grade 7 Home Ec class.  In those days, the girls went to Home Ec and the boys went to Shop Class. All the girls made this bag...the outside is denim which the teacher had made off grain before giving it to the students.  We all had to learn how to check that the fabric was straight and then fix it before cutting out our bags.  I was very surprised that I still had this. 

I worked on the placemats for Meals on Wheels again this week.  The two in the first picture have Christmas fabric on the backs. 

I need to hand sew the binding on these four and will do that tomorrow for Slow Sunday Stitching with Kathy. 

Two placemats are completely done.  

My daughter has been working on two of her crochet blankets this week as well as some granny squares for her book blanket.  There will be an August update on the book blanket next weekend. 

Finn received a parcel in the mail this week.  It was very obvious that it was for him. 

He is now sporting a new collar and looks quite spiffy!

My husband and I went to the Lambton Heritage Museum one afternoon this past week to see a display of quilts by members of the Lambton Quilt Guild. The show takes place every couple of years. The quilts will be at the museum until tomorrow. 

Christine and I went out for lunch and then to the Waterford Museum to see their special exhibit of Red and White quilts.  The museum building used to be a pickle factory. 

All the quilts were hand quilted and many were hand pieced as well. 

Lunch was at the Marshview Patio, overlooking Longpoint Bay in Lake Erie.  My husband and I have been there to eat a few times over the last few years--they have the best fish tacos I have ever had, so that's what we both decided to order that day.  They were wonderful!!!  That is fresh mango salsa on those tacos...

 I will link up with Kathy and Frederique. 

Placemats, HST's and the Hooking is Done!

I went to the guild sewing day this week and worked on my pitcher plant rug hooking project the whole time.  I managed to finish all of the hooking!  The first picture below was after I steamed it and the second picture was taken before steaming.  It really makes a difference, making it look much smoother afterwards!

I have started the wool edging but forget how to turn the corner and will have to consult with one of my hooking friends on how to do this.  The wool for the edging is a dark purple, even though it looks black in this picture. 

My daughter started a new crochet project this week.  Finn is guarding her wool.  He's very helpful. 

I made and pressed all of the HST's I need for the next blocks for the Thread House Modern Sampler project.  They are on the design wall and may get some rearranging before I sew them together. They will be sewn in the groupings as shown. 

Our guild is making placemats again this year for the local Meals on Wheels recipients.  I have decided to make 12 placemats for this cause.  This week, I put ten tops together and cut out the backings.  The tops are all Christmas or winter themed and the backs are fabrics that will work well for the rest of the year.  I quilted 6 placemats today and the other four will get done this week. I still have to figure out what I'm doing for the last two. Goodness knows there is no shortage of fabric to choose from!  I will do the binding when all the placemats are quilted. 

I made two snowman placemats. 

And four like this.  The little squares were printed on the fabric--it just looks like I sewed them all together.  

There are two of each of these placemats waiting to be quilted.  I am using up scraps of batting too.

In the garden, the gentian is in bloom.  

The bees and wasps are having a party on our Clethra bush these days.  This is a Great Black Wasp.  I had not seen this one before.  The wings are an iridescent blue colour.

My husband and I went for a walk in Port Stanley one evening this past week and a tall ship was coming into the harbour.  This is the St. Lawrence II from Kingston.  The sky was full of dark clouds but it did not rain. 

Here's a picture of Finn in his favourite morning nap spot.  He likes to be touching my daughter when he naps.  

 I will link up with Kathy, Frederique and So Scrappy. 

Starting a New Quilt

 I signed up for a subscription to The Thread House Academy this year.  It is a series of online classes, one per month, led by Lynne Goldsworthy, Karen Lewis and Jo Avery.  One of the projects is a modern sampler quilt with three types of blocks released every four months.  The first three blocks were released at the beginning of August so I have pulled my fabrics--navy, aqua, and magenta prints and a light gray on white print for the background.  Everything came from my stash.  Here are my first two "blocks"--this is not a traditional 12.5" block quilt.  

The pieces for the next "block" are cut out but no sewing done yet.  I will work on that tomorrow. Since Aqua is the colour of the month for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, I will link up with Angela when I finish this post. 

I finished the binding on the gift quilt that I made so it is now ready for giving.  I will show pictures when the recipient has their quilt. 

I added more blue to the sky on my rug hooking project this week.  I wonder if I can get it done by the end of the month?  That would be great as I purchased a couple of fall cross stitch patterns this past week.  I even have the Aida Cloth and the threads ready to go...  I keep telling myself I can't start a fall project until I finished my knitted scarf and the rug hooking. This might take some will-power!

I have four different colours of phlox blooming in my garden at the moment.  Such pretty flowers that signal to me that we are nearing the end of the summer. 

My husband and I spent a couple of days in Toronto this past week.  We visited the Ripley's Aquarium, a dog fountain, the Royal Ontario Museum where we saw two exhibits-- "Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away." (very thought provoking and moving) and "Nature in Brilliant Colour" (the exhibit highlighted animals and plants in all the colours of the rainbow, colour by colour.), and we went to a play "Natasha,  Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812".  We packed a lot into our two days!  Here are some pictures of the highlights. 

Pizza at Eataly

The Aquarium

The Museum

Finn had a good week.  I can't touch the end of my nose with my tongue like he can. 

I will link up with Kathy and the Slow Sunday Stitchers in the morning as well as Frederique and Angela.