Sunday, March 17, 2024

Tipp City ~

 

Tipp City is a vibrant, upscale little community in SW Ohio near Dayton.  Dayton is the home of Orville and Wilbur Wright and the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.  This is the second time I have attended a 2 day hooking event hosted by Ali Strebel, Jo Wick, Jenny Smallridge and Chrisi Koehl.  This little get-away did not disappoint.  The above mentioned hookers each have a hooking business and offer the most wonderful goods.  One could easily go broke there!

Ali is set to teach at the Crooked River Rug Hooking Guild in June.  I had absolutely no intention of signing up.  Our hooking styles are at the total opposite ends of the spectrum.  I use wool.  I pull loops.  The end.  Ali, on the other hand . . . uses wool, pulls loops AND adds needle felting, couching, quillies, sari ribbon and other alternative fibers.  I am sure there is more 😁  So while Ali was giving her little talk she showed this little "memory" mat.

I thought, "Hey, I can do that and change the date to something meaningful for me!".  So the wheels started turning.  While perusing her patterns, I came across this little one which I like even better.  It is only 15" x 12" and should be doable in a 3 day class.  I purchased the pattern as my incentive to really sign up.


A couple more of Ali's creations.  She loves quillies . . . wool strips rolled in to circles or manipulated in to other shapes.  I, on the other hand, do not enjoy making them so much . . . but they are fun on hooked and appliqued pieces.



Here is my rug progress.  Of course I did not get done what I was hoping to, but I should have known better.  The circles were all hooked and I just did that little bit of background.


Hooker friends are the best.  Deb, a hooker and fantastic appliquer/stitcher who I met last time in Tipp City, gifted me this wool carrot.  It fits perfectly in to the bed spring.


Travel mate Val made these sweet little owls and was giving them away.


Travel mate #2, Linda, shared this gorgeous !!! blue hand dyed linen with me.


Snow was falling from the sky here in northern Ohio earlier today, but thankfully not sticking.  Shouldn't it be green?

Happy St. Patty's Day 💚💚💚
Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Thursday, March 14, 2024


Dear friend Julia just finished her tree skirt.  She started it at rug camp mid-January.  It is 34" in diameter, hooked in a 6 & 7 cut with a 4 cut for detail.  That is some seriously FAST hooking.  Pattern is No Crib for a Bed by Irene M. Carter.  Isn't it just the sweetest?  The animals just make me smile.

Here is my progress on Askew.  60% of the circles done (I am not a big fan of hooking circles!) but did not yet get any background hooked.


Background worms are ready for my hooking get away.  It will be totally no brainer hooking 😁


Speaking of worms, I have been good so far and have not gone to the wool stash to pull wool.  The only cutting I have done is small widths of wool that are in the worms tubs.  Sadly I have barely made a dent in them.

Yesterday was a gorgeous spring day in Ohio!  I mowed the yard for the first time.  I always get antsy to start mowing, but by August I will be totally over it . . . LOL!

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Sunday, March 10, 2024

Floor Frame ~

~ For you non-hookers, 
I will probably be speaking Greek to you 😁 ~

In all my years hooking, I have always used a lap frame.  6-8 years ago I purchased a floor frame.  It was an inexpensive one found on eBay.  I tried it and hated it.  It did not hold my linen taut and it being octagonal in shape, the work area was very small.  (It was not the more pricey octagonal frame many hookers rave about.)  I eventually sold it and never tried another floor frame, although I know there are great ones out there.  My Snapdragon frame has me spoiled.  I really need to see about getting it put on a stand.  Anywho . . . I digress. 

A couple years ago a local hooker asked if I would like an Ault floor frame or if I knew anyone who could use one.  I can't say no to any free hooking supplies.  This person was no longer hooking and had taken the frame to Goodwill and they would not accept it.  She was told they did not need any more furniture.  She tried in vain to explain it was not a piece of furniture, but it fell on deaf ears.  I am thrilled to have been her second choice.  The frame sat in my attic until last week.  I knew this rug I am working on was going to get quite heavy, so decided to take the frame for a "test hook".  It is a learning curve but I am doing ok.  The work area is so much larger than I am used to (about 14" x 22" vs 10 1/2" x 13") and since I only hook in one direction, sometimes my arms just aren't long enough.  It doesn't keep the linen as taut as my Snapdragon, but I am making it work.

I have hooked 21 of the 45 circles but have not yet started on any background.  That will be very mindless and the perfect thing to work on when I head to a two day hooking getaway a few hours away with friends.

I know some of you (Robin) hate the time change, but I, for one love it, except for losing an hour sleep when springing ahead.  This year, I guess I didn't lose an hour because I slept in 😅  Here it is, 7:30 and it is just now dark.  

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

What's Up Next?

 

I found this hooked rug on Facebook ~ I think I noticed the stone fruit before I noticed the rug.


I knew I had the book the pattern came from. 

The rug is titled Askew and it is a pattern by Pat Cross.

The enlarged size is 36" x 23" but I knew I needed a much bigger rug to put in the little hall that leads from the garage to the kitchen and past the newly renovated half bath/laundry room.  I thought easy peasy, I would just add another long row (for a total of 5) and 2 shorter rows (for a total of 9).  Let's just say it did not go as planned.  I got the pattern transferred to screen all wonky but thought I could transfer to the linen without issue.  WRONG!  I got it about 85% transferred when I discover my rows were too off.  More than an inch and a half off in some cases.  Nobody else probably would have noticed, but I knew I would never be happy . . . so I turned the linen over and started again.  This darn thing took me hours to transfer, measuring and re-measuring.  The size of my rug will be  27 1/2" x 45 1/2", which for me is H.U.G.E.  I am hoping it is going to be a real worm buster!!!

There are a total of 45 circles and my goal is too hook 2 a day and hopefully some background.  Here's my start.




Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Sunday, March 3, 2024

Wabbit Season ~

 

So hard to believe it is the Easter season.  I know it falls early this year, and here is what I found in a search.

"Easter, the annual Christian celebration of Jesus Christ's resurrection, can fall anywhere from March 22 to April 25.

Easter as early as March 22 is very rare.  The last time it happened was 1818, the the next time will be 2285.  Easter last fell on the latest date in 1943, and will again in 2038.

How the date is determined sounds simple, but is pretty complex.  Generally, Easter is observed on the Sunday following the first full moon in the Northern Hemisphere, or the first full moon after the vernal equinox March 20.

But astronomical observations depend on where you are in the world, so a table is used to set the date ever year."

More than you wanted to know, right?

Did you know that rabbits are known to live in a colony, warren, fluffle or herd?  More trivial info . . . but I just love the word fluffle 😁

Last year I found these Dollar (and a quarter) Tree bunnies on Facebook.

It inspired me to make these.


It is once again bunny season at DT so I have bought more than a few.  This year I found some of the brown bunnies.  It is hard to tell in this picture but they have all had a coffee bath except the two on the right.


I will be getting together with a couple groups of friends (yes . . . I do have a few friends) and we will dress them.

Here is the only one I did not give away last year.


If you decide to head to Dollar Tree for bunnies, go sooner rather than later because near Easter last year they were hard to find.  Look at them carefully.  If you plan to stain them, be sure no glue is slopped on their faces.  Even though I looked carefully, I still had to glue some bases that were open and some loose noses and arms.  If you remember, last year I actually bought one without arms . . . lol.  They are not a quality item, but you can't expect much for $1.25.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Bunny hugs 😊
Lauren

Thursday, February 29, 2024

Why did it Take so Long?

~ HAPPY LEAP DAY ~

Geez.  I just don't know why it took so long to hook this sweet little sheep mat I have named Maria's Sheep?  It took a week to go from this . . . 

. . . to this.  The pattern is only 11" x 13"!!!

We are back to cold temps for a couple of days, then back to very spring like weather.  The winter aconite are blooming like crazy.  This was a couple days ago with warmer temperatures.


Today the snowdrops and aconite have closed their buds it only being 28*.


Daffodils are budding.  I cut the buds when they are just a few inches high.  Cut as close to the ground as you can.  It is amazing how much they will continue to grow once placed in water.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Thursday, February 22, 2024

A Finish and a Start ~

The little heart mat is hooked and bound and ready (except for the label) to be taken to guild to add to the door prize mats.  For once I used all worms instead of cutting new wool.  We have twenty five tables at the hook in and like to have at least one mat on each table.

Another door prize mat I am calling Maria's sheep.  Years ago Maria Barton team taught with Ali Strebel and we were all given some of Maria's line drawings.  Maria has such a style of her own and her designs can be spotted a mile away 😁

I found this painfully funny!

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren