Experimenting with finishes

I've been experimenting with finishes of punch pieces this week. I like the blue and white stripe hanger on the last piece that I did, so I used it again for this one. The floral graphic is from a rug hooking pattern and I'm using as a punch piece. I tried to get as many colors as possible for the flowers. Many are small sections of overdyed floss. I find it's so much easier to use overdyed floss than to keep changing colors while punching. It does take a while to dye and dry the floss, but I like the look, so it's worth the extra time to dye.
To pick up the pale blue flowers on the front, I used a small section of a vintage, tattered quilt for the backing. It makes it very folk art and primitive looking.


I didn't experiment with the backing on this one. I did experiment with a bit of color on the front, though. I love the look of the cranberry buds, but wanted to do something other than white or ecru for the small flowers. I used a flesh/peach/pink color. The photos don't do this one justice, as it's pale, and much prettier in person. I highlighted the leaves using an overdyed green floss. Having 2 shades of green brings some depth and definition to the piece. I love the idea of using quilt blocks for punching, so my next pieces will be doing that. I'm using an applique quilt block pattern from my giveaway win to create a punch piece. I'm hoping it turns out how I envision!

Andrew (on the right) got a haircut, which is big news. He's always had it long, but found out it's too hard to take care of. Plus, it drove him nuts when he went shooting, and he couldn't see the sight/target. He's on a shooting team and has excelled at it. He just got his friend from down the street to join, too.


Last week I was browsing through ads for trumpets. I've been dreading the idea of renting trumpet for Matt for band next year, but didn't want to spend over $1000 for a new instrument. I stumbled across an ad for a Getzen and bought it. I did replace the strap on the bag, and will need to clean up some of the spots on the trumpet. I've read so many different opinions of whether to remove the rust or not. I'm thinking I might try, as we didn't pay a lot for it. If he ever decided to keep going and needs to upgrade, it might be better to get another trumpet. He doesn't start until August, so we still have time to get it ready. At least it works, and he has time to practice and remember how to play.

Have a great week!
Laura