Down on the Farm ~

Thursday evening was our monthly hooking down on the farm ~ That'll Do Farm.  Andrea is always the hostess with the mostess!  She is making great progress on her sheep rug.  She is hooking this in a 6 cut and the rug is B-I-G!

Melissa is very close to finishing her Karen Kahle rug.  That's Andrea hiding in the background, but don't tell her she's back there.

 Here's Heidi hard at work . . .

. . . oh her piggy.

Jane was working on some little applique sachets that she is going to fill with lavender.

I was working on my proddy sheep rug.  Hopefully I will get a little more hooked this weekend and share it with you soon.

This is P.  Just plain ole P.  She belongs to the daughter of That'll Do's Farmer Gal Marilyn.  She is 12 or 13 years old, a pug / pekingese mix.  She is just the cutest little thing!

Here's one of the other farm dogs, a sweetheart named Grady.  She is so well behaved!!!  There are more farm dogs.  Hopefully next time I will get them on "film".

The weather here on Ohio's north coast has improved somewhat ~ at least enough to get a bit of yard work done.  We've made it all the way to 58 degrees and it is not raining.  Woo hoo!  I am so far behind so I'd better get off this darned machine and get busy.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

In My Garden ~

Just a few pictures

taken today in my gardens.

The sun is actually shining

though it is windy and quite chilly.

Overnight we had high winds

that caused damage to many trees,

but we are so fortunate

compared to so many other parts

of our country.

Please say a prayer for those

who suffered such devastation.

Jake's last swim class was yesterday.

I tried to get a good picture of him

in his Sponge Bob swim trunks.

Obviously, he was not cooperating!

Little boys can be such goofballs!

Tonight is hooking at the farm.

I hope to make some progress

on my proddy sheep rug.

* * *

Thank you so much stopping by

and I hope you will come again soon.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Treasures ~ from Gathered Treasures

I've finally taken a few pictures of my new/old

treasures from the

Gathered Treasures primitive/antique show.

A vintage shoo-fly rocker I looked at soon after I arrived.

It was still there when I was about to leave.

I figured because it was still there,

it was meant to come home with me {big grin}!

I think this will be someone's birthday present.

I have no idea how old this is

but I do know that it is vintage.

It was just too cute

not to bring it home.

Just a sweet little wall box.

Not antique, but it does have some age

{whatever that means!}.

There was a VERY talented bear maker ~
I believe she was from New York.

I'm so sorry I failed to get her name.

She also made the sweetest pin cushions ~

many made with vintage tomato pin cushions.

I also purchased four 48 star American flags.

Whenever I find them at a good price,

I snatch them up.

I got four of them

for only $5.00.

* * * * *

I got these pictures from Hopscotch's mom today.

Oh, that girl is a pistol.

This one just cracked me up.

I guess she figured if the cat could be on the table, so could she.

Eema is also doing great!

Her mom Dolly sent me a couple

snail mail pictures of her

sleeping with a mouse cat toy.

It is the first time

Eema has ever played with a toy.

Remember, Eema was my

girl who spent her first seven

years as a puppy mill momma.

How wonderful she is now living

the life she deserves.

It does my heart good!

* * * * *

Our weather is sunny and warm today.

We had torrential rains yesterday

and more are predicted.

I may never get my yard work done.

* * * * *

I've picked up a few new followers. 

Thank you so much! 

I've also passed my 300th post. 

In my wildest dreams,

I never thought I'd go this far with my blogging.

I must say, I am addicted.

Thank you so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Happy Easter!

~ HAPPY EASTER ~

* * * * *

Yesterday, I took my favorite six year old to the annual Easter egg hunt at Lakeview Metropark on the shores of beautiful Lake Erie.  Friday evening's thunderstorms had passed through and brought warmer temperatures.  We must have gotten up to 70 degrees yesterday ~ WOO HOO :) 

Here's Jake with the lake in the background.  Because of all the wind and storms, the lake was very murky.

Thirteen thousand eggs were each filled with a small goody and divided in to three areas by age group.

In a matter of minutes, they were all gathered!

This cement basket has been a fixture at the park for decades.  I remember having my picture taken there as a pre-teen.

My wish to you is a very Happy Easter, spent with those you love.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Proddy Tip ~ ~ ~ Pay It Forward

First I would like to thank everyone for the kind comments on my proddy tutorial.  I just wanted you to know how easy it is to do.

Also, a big THANK YOU for all your comments on Peanut's adoption.  I haven't heard any more from her new family, so I am going on the assumption that no news is good news.

Kathleen in New Jersey left me these proddy tips and I thought I would pass them along.

"You can cut your proddy pieces into shapes . . . rounded leaves, holly leaves, flowers . . . makes a great wreath. I've made a Christmas wreath and a year-round wreath using the proddy technique. I also proddied with ribbons to give the wreaths more dimension. Proddy does use ALOT of wool and it's a bit of a work-out. But so worth it. Think about proddy pins, ladies!"

* * * * * * * * *

I have been working on my Pay It Forward gifts and hope to finish them this weekend . . . but . . . the best laid plans of mice and men.  You know how that goes :)

In today's mail I did receive my PIF gift from the oh-so-talented Lori over at Home Spun Prims.  I received the sweetest little sewing pocket and dolly.  Here it is hanging on my jelly cupboard. 

The pocket is made from the most wonderful, old-looking brown fabric.

The little dolly is only 4" tall.

Lori, I really do love it and so appreciate having something made from your hands.

* * * * * * * * *

It is a rainy, whopping 43 degree day here on Ohio's north coast.  I wish spring would hurry up and get here.  I may never get my yard work done.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

How to Proddy ~

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Now, I am by no means an expert.  I learned to proddy less than two weeks ago, but I wanted to share what I learned and how easy it really is!  There are two different tools that can be used.  I learned using a spring-loaded tool.  The tool cost $32.00 and was purchased from Alice over at Folk Art Primitives.  

To proddy, tear your wool in 1" strips.  Then cut each piece 4" long.  I angled my ends, but that is not necessary.  Some of us in the class did, some didn't.  Also some of the ladies tore their wool wider than 1".  I think the size depends alot on how big the area is you want to proddy and the overall effect you want to achieve. 

According to Alice, to determine how much wool is needed, a good rule of thumb is to figure on nine times the area.  For instance, if the proddy area is 5" x 5" (25 square inches), you would need approximately 225 square inches of wool (9 x 25). 

When using the spring-loaded tool, you will work without a frame on the right side of the linen.  Insert the tool under several threads of linen.  Be sure to insert the tool in far enough so that when you open it, you do not catch the linen threads.  Alice stressed that not inserting far enough can cause a real headache!

Grab a corner of your wool . . .

. . . and pull halfway through.  As you add pieces of wool, they will stand up.
That's all there is to it!!!

Here is the backside of my sheep so you can get an idea of how closely I spaced each piece.

Here it is from the front.  Much easier than you thought, right?

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Proddy Class ~

~ WELCOME ~

Here are few pictures from the proddy class

I took with Alice ~ Folk Art Primitives.

A day with Alice is a always a good time ~

lots of laughs, a house tour,

yummy lunch and you even learn something.

Great fun!

Here's Alice helping color plan.

Pam hard at work on her sheep.

I think Pam and I chose the same

colors for our sheep.

Debbie came all the way from PA

for the class.

Here's Alice taking a picture of me

taking a picture of her.

Linda ~ Simply Country Seasons,

MJ {another hooker who reads my blog},

Pam and Jackie, the other PA hooker,

showing off their rugs.

A close up of MJ's rug.  What a fun sheep!

Here's the progress I've made so far.

I found the proddy very easy to do,

but does it ever use the wool!

* * * * * * *

I spoke with Peanut's new mom last evening.

Things are going better than she expected

and when I talked with her,

Peanut was cuddled up on her lap.

Oh, does that make me feel good!!!

* * * * * * *

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

A Little Piece of My Heart ~

Last evening my DSO and I headed south to Columbus, Ohio, home of the Ohio State University.  A trip that should have taken about 2 hours and 20 minutes ended up taking 3 and a half.  Between traffic back-ups and a detour, I wasn't sure we'd ever make it.  

Peanut was adopted last evening.  It was one of those bittersweet moments that I have mentioned often on my blog.  These pictures of Peanut were taken in the Wendy's parking lot on the way down.  I couldn't decide which one to choose, so I chose them all.  The lighting must have been perfect because these are some of the best pictures I've taken of her.  Doesn't it look like she is smiling at me?

Each of my fosters has taken a little piece of my heart with them ~ some more than others.  My Eema and Peanut have each taken a really big piece.  At this rate, I just may end up heartless...lol!

Here is the happy family ~ Tom and Ronna along with Peanut's new two-legged siblings Tess and Luke.  Tom and Ronna are pug people.  Their pug Otis passed away in January after having been sick for a year.  I think Peanut will have a very good life with them :)

Ronna was holding Peanut when I quietly left.  I couldn't bear to have her cry.  I do believe this is another Ohio Pug Rescue success story.

As I like to remind you on a regular basis, if you plan on getting a pet, please adopt!!!  Do not support puppy mills by purchasing from a pet store!

* * * * * * *

My son J and grandson Jake went to Chicago for the weekend to visit family.  Here is Jake with his two (second?) cousins riding the El.  They look pretty happy.

Today I headed to the Gathered Treasures primitive craft/antique show.  I will share a few of my treasures in another post.  I was going to take pictures of both Alice's and Rhonda's booths but forgot all about it until I was on my way home:(   Speaking of on my way home . . . the route home was through BFE.  One of the railroad crossing had a stopped train.  It would start, stop, start and stop again.  Get the picture?  I sat at this crossing for FORTY MINUTES!!!  I was going stir crazy ~ nothing to read, nothing to occupy my hands.  My GPS is in Chicago with my son, my cell phone has no reception, so I was totally stuck.  Oh, I just don't have the patience for that!!!  This was NOT my weekend for road trips.  I think I'd better stay home the rest of the weekend.

* * * * * * *

Thank you so much for stopping by.  I hope you are all having a great weekend.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren