Reverse Hooking ~

I am not a fan of reverse hooking.  For you non-hookers, reverse hooking is ripping out and re-doing ~ frogging in cross stitch parlance.  I know many hookers don't have a problem with removing loops and replacing them with a different wool.  I am better than I used to be about doing it but still would rather not.

Henny Penny is a Barbara Carroll pattern I finished hooking last summer.  I never was quite sure about what I called the "blobs" on either side of Henny.  After posting this picture a couple weeks ago, I decided I would never be happy unless I changed it.

It didn't take very long and I am so happy I did.  I actually like the rug now.  Alice, remember those purple feet are for you :)

Now all I need to do is bind it . . . sigh.

Thanks for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

A Finish ~ & Two More Un-finishes ~

I finally got the binding sewn on my belated Christmas present, "Pup", a Magdalena Briner Eby adaptation.  It's about time, don't you think?

Bound with the wool I used for the border.  My corners are never perfectly mitered.  Now all I need is the label :)

I finished hooking Maria's little lamb.  Isn't she sweet?

Soft, spring colors for the scallops.

I also completed this little sampler by Falling Star Primitives.  The bottom half is not quite stitched as charted.  I left out a couple motifs.

Hard to believe another weekend is over.  So much to do and so little time . . . sigh.

Hugs :)
Lauren

A Hook-y Tip ~

This great tip comes from fellow hooker Melissa.  {Many of you probably already knew this, but not me!}  I don't have a place to keep my sewing machine out so every time I've drawn up  a rug, I drag the machine from the closet to zigzag the edges.  I think it takes as much time to get the machine out and put it away as it does to zigzag.  I purchased Heat n Bond at Walmart . . .

. . . and ironed it on the edges.  Easy, peasy and fast.  Voila!  No more fraying.  The only caveat is to cut it off before steaming your completed rug since it will melt to your iron.

As I've mentioned, my daffodil buds have been up a couple inches since December.  Last week I picked 2 buds and one has bloomed.  We have had a couple nights of single digit temps so I'm hoping the buds have survived.  Let's all say a little prayer that the groundhog was correct in his prognostication.  I am so ready to go play in the yard.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Maria Drew a Little Lamb ~

Her fleece is kind of dirty.

But when I get her all hooked up

I think she'll look real purdy.

How's that for a redneck poem?  I know, don't quit the day job :)

So often when it's time to go to hooking, I have nothing on the frame.  That was the case last week as I was heading to That'll Do Farm.  I had just finished Tin Rooster (another of Maria's patterns) and hadn't planned ahead.  I quickly put this little sheep on linen.  I think she is coming out quite sweetly, even if I do say so myself.

Yesterday my hooker partner in crime, Melissa, and I headed to Shelby, Ohio, to the Ault's for their sale.  We thought we died and went to wool heaven.  Even sale wool add$ up quickly!

Today I went to an antiques show.  This show seems to alternate from wonderful to so-so to not so good at all.  I suppose if you like jewelry or glassware items, this would be a show you would enjoy.  Unfortunately this year it wasn't very good at all.  With only 30 vendors and a $6 admission, I won't be attending next year.  I did find this vintage pond boat (50's or 60's???) for my brother's birthday next month.  Other than that, I bought a $1 bag of buttons and a little $1 tin heart mold.  

It's a cold one in northern Ohio today (about 20), but the sun was a welcome sight.  Here's Ellie soaking up a few rays.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  To those of you lucky enough to be off tomorrow, enjoy!  This is the only government holiday I don't get off.  It would be nice, but I'm not complaining (well, not much).  I'm just thankful to have my job.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Happy Valentine's Day ~

I don't understand 

why Cupid was chosen

 to represent Valentine's Day. 

When I think about romance, 

the last thing on my mind 

is a short, chubby toddler 

coming at me with a weapon.

-unknown

Happy Valentine's Day!
Pug hugs :)
Lauren

A Start and a Finish ~

Welcome!  I've started new little sampler, the Lydia Tyler Ames Sampler, a design by Lee of Falling Start Primitives.  I had to change the colors a bit since my linen was a bit darker.  It will end up being about 7" x 7".  A fun, quick stitch.  Lee has some great patterns so check her out.

I finished Tin Rooster, a Star Rug Company pattern.  It's about 12" x 25".  I hooked this in only twelve days (two of which were at the retreat at Sauder Village) which is REALLY FAST for me!  I will now add it to my un-finished stack of rugs :)

I can't believe this is post #600 for me!  I never knew I had so much to blather about.  Thank you so much for following along with me and making me feel so welcome on this amazing journey called blogging.  I enjoy it more than you will ever know and I appreciate you taking the time from your busy day to stop by.  I will try to have a give-away soon to celebrate this milestone.

Thank you for stopping by!
Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Goin' to the Dogs ~

Welcome friends!  I hope everyone in the New England area is safe and warm and "plugged in". The snow is gorgeous but I cannot imagine that much accumulation.

I have Loocie today so I thought I'd post a picture of her perched like a cat on the back of the couch. It is her favorite resting place and she sometimes spends the whole day there.

This grey face just melts my heart.

Ellie, for the most part, is being a very good house guest.  I think I've been bragging about her a bit too much, and every time I do that, she makes me eat my words.  She left me a "little something" in the kitchen and the thing is, she knows she wasn't supposed to do that!  When I went to get her (which was just moments after the accident) she went running upstairs and hid under the bed!  

Please say a prayer for her mom.  She is not progressing in therapy like the insurance thinks she should, so may get kicked out of therapy and just put in the nursing home.  I guess they don't take in to account the C-Diff and how that has affected her :(

And then there's Annie.  I am so happy to report that I got an update from her furever mom and she is doing well and they just love her to pieces! She gets to go to doggie day care, is learning new tricks and even goes out running with dad Travis. Oh, this sounds like a match made in heaven, well worth the wait!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Un-finishes

Rebecca from The Simple Quiet calls them un-finishes.  I like that my pieces finally have a name.  This evening I will share my hooked un-finishes with you.  When I finally finish them, I will have to go back to my old posts to find when they were completed so that I can add the date to the label.

A Wendy Miller pattern, 1822 Fraktur Tulip Chairpad, purchased at Sauder Village in 2011.  I chose not to hook it as a round chairpad.  The finished size is 15" x 16 3/4".  This was taken without a flash.  The background is several shades of dark blue.  Sorry it's a little blurry and still a little too bright.

Henny Penny, a Barbara Carroll pattern.  This is the smaller version and the finished size is 15" x 20 1/2".

Berk's County Bouquet.  Another Barbara Carroll pattern started in a class at the ATHA Biennial in October 2011.  Even taken without a flash, the background is showing up much too washed out.  It is hooked with several shades of black.  The finished size is 17" x 20".

Dog and Cat, an antique adaptation.  I started this last April at Susan Feller's Retreat in the Mountains in West Virginia.  It is 16 1/2" x 25 1/2".

Finally, here's Pup, finished just recently.  It's a Magdalena Briner adaptation.  It's a belated Christmas gift and is 12" x 20 1/2".  I really MUST get the binding done on this one.

Tin Rooster, a Star Rug Company pattern started last weekend at Sauder Village.  If all goes well, this will soon become another un-finish.  I just realized I used the same wool for the rooster that I used for the chicken in Henny Penny.

I really hope that you do a better job than I do at finishing projects.  In another post, I will show my cross stitch un-finishes.  There are MANY, some from decades ago.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

JRT hugs :)
Lauren

A Little More from Sauder ~

A few more rugs from Sauder Village.  I know the first two rugs are the work of Heidi of Wool Nuts and the maybe the third one, too.

I'm sorry I cannot tell you who created this.  It was about five feet  tall and two feet wide.

Enlarge the pictures to see the details.

Even the tree trunk and branches were constructed using wool.  Very different but very cool!

This is one organized hooker.  My woolly worms are usually in a plastic bag or lying in the bottom of a basket.

Sauder was great fun but it's back to reality. 
Lots more snow in Ohio today.  I hope that darn groundhog was correct in his prognostication that we will have an early spring!
Thanks for stopping by.
Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Sauder Village Hooking Retreat ~

The two day hook-in at Sauder Village in Archbold, Ohio, was great fun.  So many talented hookers.  Here is a sampling of the rugs being hooked.

This was one of my favorite rugs.  Such great colors.

Melissa was hooking Barbara Carroll's Distlefink pattern.  She changed the bird to look like her lovebird.

The hooker of this rug lived in Hawaii for a time and she is hooking this from a photo she had taken.  It is a rather large rug and she is hooking it in a  3, 4, and 5 cut!!!

Thirza was hooking this huge rug with hand torn strips.  The colors were truly magnificent.  The picture does not capture the beauty.

Isn't this a fun rug.  This hooker said she normally hooks "dirty".

Bobbie, the Evening stitcher, was making great progress on her Wendy Miller (The Red Saltbox) rug.

Katie of Kidl de Divey Woolens was hooking this wonderful bed rug in a 6 cut.  She is the fastest hooker you've ever seen.  (I love you, Katie!)

I was trying to talk her in to giving it to me . . . lol!

I am hooking the Tin Rooster, a pattern from Star Rug Company.  This is my progress day one. 

And day two.  I was hoping to get more done since I am hooking it in a nine cut.  {Big sigh.}  

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs :)
Lauren