Daisy's Been Put Out to Pasture ~

 

 

It's a blustery day here on Ohio's north coast, but the sun is out and it's 64* so no complaints from me.

 

My poor Daisy rug has been put on hold.  I haven't pulled a loop on her in a couple weeks.  As I said, I did get a little mat hooked for a swap and finished the February Rebekah Smith stitch along, but in just a couple days will get the next part of the pattern.  Sorry, but can't share either with you.  I'm currently working on this little bunny applique that will be heading west soon I hope.  It was a freebie pattern from Buttermilk Basin, if I remember correctly.  Oops.  The pattern is from the Woolen Willow.

 

 

I also need to get these two little designs hooked up before my class next Sunday.  They are small, but if I don't pick up my hook soon I'll have a hard time getting them done.  They will be cut out and mounted on old bed springs. 

 

 

AND . . . there is a new rug challenge on Facebook.  Kelley Belfast has shared a pattern for us to hook.  We have until May 1 to hook it and can't show what we are hooking.  You can find the link here if you are interested.  If you are not a member of the group, you can request to join.  SO . . . I guess I won't be having much to blog about for a while.    There's also the braided edge that hasn't been stitched to the little snowman mat.  And how much am I getting done sitting at this computer???

 

Congrats to Cathy over at Acorn Hollow :)  She is one of my longtime and most faithful followers.  I will send the magazine and book out to her soon.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

 

 

Great Truths ~

 

 

GREAT TRUTHS 

1. In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man  is a shame, two is a law firm,  
and three or more is a congress.  
-- John Adams 

2. If you don't read the newspaper  
you are uninformed, if you do  
read the newspaper you are  
misinformed. -- Mark Twain 

3. Suppose you were an idiot. And  
suppose you were a member of  
Congress. But then I repeat  
myself. -- Mark Twain 

4. I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and  
trying to lift himself up by the  
handle. --Winston Churchill 

5. A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul. -- George Bernard Shaw 

6. A liberal is someone who feels a  
great debt to his fellow man, which debt he proposes to pay off with your money. -- G. Gordon   Liddy

 

7. Giving money and power to  
government is like giving whiskey  
and car keys to teenage boys.  
-- P.J. O'Rourke  

8. Government's view of the  
economy could be summed up  
in a few short phrases: If it  
moves, tax it. If it keeps  
moving, regulate it. And if it  
stops moving, subsidize it.  
--Ronald Reagan (1986)

 

9. I don't make jokes.  I just watch

the government and report the  
facts. -- Will Rogers

 

10. If you think health care is  

expensive now, wait until you  
see what it costs when it's free!  

                                                 -- P. J. O'Rourke                                      

11. No man's life, liberty, or  
property is safe while the  
legislature is in session.  
-- Mark Twain (1866)

 

12. Talk is cheap, except when  
Congress does it. -- Anonymous 

13. The inherent vice of capitalism is  
the unequal sharing of the blessings. 

The inherent blessing of socialism

is the equal sharing of misery.

-- Winston Churchill 

14. The only difference between a  
tax man and a taxidermist is that  
the taxidermist leaves the skin.  
--     Mark Twain

 

15. There is no distinctly Native  
American criminal class, save  
Congress. -- Mark Twain 

16. What this country needs are  
more unemployed politicians  
--Edward Langley,
Artist (1928-1995) 

17. A government big enough

to give you everything you want, is  
strong enough to take everything  
you have. -- Thomas Jefferson

FIVE BEST SENTENCES 

1. You cannot legislate the poor into  
prosperity, by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity. 

2. What one person receives without  
working for, another person must  
work for without receiving. 

3. The government cannot give to  
anybody anything that the  
government does not first take  
from somebody else. 

4. You cannot multiply wealth by  
dividing it. 

5. When half of the people get the  
idea that they do not have to work,

because the other half is going to take care of them,

and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work, because somebody else is going to get what they work for,

that is the  
beginning of the end of any nation!

 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Out of Control ~

 

 

How do things get so totally out of control?  My 2015 New Year's goal was to declutter, purge, organize.  HA.  That never happened.  I have just over 1500 square feet with a full basement and walk up attic.  It is only me.  How can I be overflowing with STUFF???  My house was built in 1940 but I am blessed with 2 walk in closets.  They are small, but should one look like this?  I took the picture after I had already taken some stuff out.  I bought a cheap bookcase to put in there and hope to at least get the books organized.  Magazines are being sorted and organized in the spare room closet.  The sad part is that stuff I didn't know what to do with ended up in the basement.  I think I need an intervention . . . lol . . . but it's really not funny. 

 

 

In the sorting of books and magazine, I did come across a few duplicates (why???).  Today I offer these two - March/April/May 2013 issue of Rug Hooking Magazine and All-Time Favorite Hand-Hooked Rugs, presented by RHM.  If you are interested, please leave a comment on this post or send me an email with give-away as the subject.  A winner will be chosen Sunday and must contact me within 3 days.

 

 

I must share this picture of grandson Jake.  He was chosen to participate in a math tournament last Saturday, one of only six students chosen from his school.  He's the studious looking one in the glasses.

 

 

Not much else going on this hump day.  We've had lots of rain today that is supposed to turn to snow overnight.  I actually like a late winter snow storm because I know it won't stick around for too long.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Favorite Khaki Background ~

 

Do you have certain wools that must be in your stash?  Favorite khaki background, a Rebecca Erb wool, is one of mine.  Used alone, it hooks up great.  It can be cut in either direction and if you mix them both, you get a great primitive background. 

 For this little mat (which I still can't share), I've used the khaki background and these additional wools. 
 

Had I been a little less lazy, I would have headed to the worm stash so I could have had even more variety.  Oh, the never ending multiplication of worms.  I do believe they procreate while we sleep.
 

 

I hope your week is off to a great start.
Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Many Thanks ~

 

. . . for all the kind comments on my blahs.  After reading them and doing a Google search on the side effects of the antibiotic, I'm pretty sure the med was making me feel that way.  I took my last pill yesterday so I'm hoping to perk up and lose this nasty taste in my mouth.  Plus, tonight I can have a glass of wine :)

 

Nothing I can share on the creative front.  Daisy has been set aside to work on my Rebekah Smith Facebook stitch along that I am participating in.  I can't show that or I'll be kicked out of the group :(  I've also joined a swap so cannot share what I'm making for that.

 

Spring has arrived in northern Ohio for the day.  It's Ohio, so I know winter is not yet done with us, though it has been the mildest winter we've had in years.  Green stuff is popping up in the gardens.  The snowdrops have been up for a couple weeks . . .

 

. . . winter aconite (eranthis) will be blooming soon . . . 

 

. . . and the hyacinth are peeking through.   

 



Happy Saturday. 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

 

The Blahs :(

 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day.  My sweetie and I visited our favorite restaurant ~ Five Guys.  We love that place :)  The best fries in the whole wide world - IMHO.

 

I'm just feeling kind of blah and really don't have anything to share.  I'm more than halfway through a 10 day antibiotic and for the last two days just have no spunk.  I'm sure the two are unrelated.  Not sick enough to stay home from work, but just no energy or ambition.  Yesterday I came home and slept for an hour and a half - most unusual for me.  I haven't hooked much on Daisy nor have I started on the hooking for my class in 2 1/2 weeks (the hooking must be done beforehand).  I think I've finally chosen the wools for the first month of the Rebekah Smith stitch-a-long and hope I find the energy to cut the pieces out this evening.

 

We got a bit of snow.  Not much of an accumulation, but the pretty kind that is heavy and sticks to every twig.  In a day or two it will all be gone but no complaints from me.

 

Friend Bobbie gifted me with this little pincushion she made using an antique cutter quilt for the cushion.  She did a great job painting the base and the little old newspaper clipping reads,

 

The Best Example

Little George, aged 7, was being reproved for his bad table manners.  "You act so bad, Georgie,"said his mother.  "So bad that one would almost think you had been brought up in a stable."

"But, mother," answered George, "the Sunday School teacher taught us that Jesus was born in a stable, and look how good he turned out."

                                  Willard S. Fawcett

 

Saturday I headed out to a local antique mall.  Didn't find much (at prices I was willing to pay), but did find this red rug hook with worn paint ~ for only $1.  I don't find them often.  I keep them in an old flower frog.  They are very usable, but I can't hook with anything other than my Hartman.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Donkey Tail Revisited ~

 

 

I started hooking Daisy like gangbusters, but since then, even though I've worked on it a bit each day, I don't seem to be making much progress.  I still haven't decided what I am doing with the tail.  I think I will get more of the background hooked before deciding, but it will be an easy fix if I want to change it.  I just may leave it so every time I see the rug I can laugh a little.

 

 

I had so much fun reading all your comments about my "Donkey Balls" post, that I've done a little give-away for all those who left a comment.  I've drawn three names.  Congrats to  Middle Sister Gayle, Jacqueline and the Dirty Martini Queen.  I will send each of you a paisley necklace I made :)  Please send me your snail mail address.

 

Soon I will need to set Daisy aside to hook these (must be hooked and prepped before the class) for a dimensional hooking class I am taking at the beginning of March with Annette Shaffer.  I also need to hook or applique something "Eastery" for a friend. 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Like many areas, we are in a deep freeze that thankfully will only last for a day.

 

Pug hugs :)

Lauren

More Sauder and a Give-Away Winner ~

 

Our trip to Sauder did not quite start as planned.  About 30-40 minutes from Sauder, still on the Ohio turnpike, a warning light appeared.  I looked it up in the owner's manual, and it was electronic throttle thing-a-ma-bob.  The Jeep was running rough but we drove on.  Thankfully got off the turnpike before it died :(  AAA was called and luckily Bobbie had already arrived so came to our rescue.  Melissa was sure she had blown the engine but it ended up being a dead battery.  Dead battery???  I thought a battery only started the vehicle, but I guess it also keeps the electronics working. 

 

Here are a few of the amazing rugs being hooked at the Sauder retreat.  Tulip Cross (so sorry I can't identify the hooker) is 48" x 48", me thinks.  Simply amazing with breathtaking colors.  Acorn Hollow Cathy, you hooked this one, right?

Dawn, our overachiever was hooking with handtorn strips for the first time.  I don't know how she got so much done because every time you saw her, she was socializing, not hooking.  She may have even finished before leaving.

Don't you just love this face.  Sweet hooking by Pam.

Charisse chose the most beautiful colors for her rug.  I hooked this one last year, but like her colors so much more.

Melissa was hooking this heart and hand.  I hope to share her finish soon.

Bobbie was working on a sheep rug and had just one small troublesome area to finish and decided to start on this antique adaptation.

Isn't this too cute???  The sheep were hooked Waldoboro style.

Check out the sweet little butts.

Just a fun rug.

 

Congrats to Susie.  She won my heart hooked with handtorn strips.  Some of you may recognize the name from eBay or Facebook.  She makes the most incredible pin keeps, sewing birds, etc.  Susie, you have three days to contact me with your snail mail address. 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Donkey Balls ~

 

When I hooked Daisy's tail, I remarked to Melissa and Bobbie that I thought it looked like that redneck "thing" that guys hang from the back of their pickup truck.  Well, one of the first comments I got was from Kelley.  "I'm concerned about that tail...it looks a little...um...masculine to me ? pardon my concern...but I showed it to a coworker in the ER without saying a word and she said the same thing..."  Then came a series of emails from Kim and Saundra (no big surprise, right?) with Donkey Balls as the subject.  More comments have followed.  Perhaps I need to rehook the tail???

 

 

Some rugs from the throw down . . .

 

Adapted from an
antique postcard

 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

 

My Sauder Rug ~

 

Once again, the hooking retreat at Sauder was a great time.  Friends, old and  new.  Lots of laughter.  Yummy snacks.  Plenty of hooking time.

 

I started on Daisy, a pattern by Spruce Ridge Studios.  I completed hooking Daisy the first day.  Yes, I did hook her in a 9 and 9.5 cut.  Yes, I did hook from 9 AM until midnight.  But for me this was HUGE.  I know I've never accomplished that much hooking in one day.

Day #2 was another story.  I didn't start hooking until about 10 AM and by 2 ish we were packing to go home, so not much was hooked :(

 

This is what I accomplished last evening and today.  Not nearly as much as I had hoped for . . . but some progress is better than none.

 

 

Here is the wool used for Daisy.  I looked through some of my old wool fliers to try to find whose wool it is, but could not find it.  Anyone know?

Lots more Sauder to share, but somehow the day has slipped away.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren