Millersburg Rugs ~

So many wonderful rugs were being worked on at the Millersburg retreat.  I took more pictures than normal, but still missed some of the rugs.

Show and tell . . . completed rugs that were brought and shared.

Stubbs' Runner ~ so long I had to take two pictures.

I have this reproduction pattern.  One day I need to think about hooking it 😁

This rug was completed at the retreat.  Beautiful colors!

And another retreat finish.

Some of the rugs being worked on ~

So much talent!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Nurse Ratched ~

Thank you for all the well wishes and prayers for DSO's back surgery.  Doctor says it went exactly as planned.  I must say I was happy they kept him in the hospital overnight.  He is home now and overall doing pretty darn good, me thinks.  Now my stint as Nurse Ratched begins 😁  I am sure the majority of my readers will know exactly to whom I am referring.  I mentioned it to my son and his girlfriend and they hadn't a clue who she was, but then again, the movie came out six years before he was born.  Oh, how time flies.

Thanks so much for stopping by. 

Pug hugs 😊

Lauren

Quick Like a Bunny ~

What my mom always said when we needed to hurry.  Well, today has flown by.  My to-do list is still pretty much full, and I must leave soon to buy some wool and drop off a birthday gift.  More on that later in the post.

I am home from my hooking retreat.  As always a wonderful time with lots of laughs.  

I was going hooking a couple weeks ago and had nothing ready to work on, so grabbed a piece of linen that was already zig zagged and drew out a hit 'n miss mat.  My "go to" project when I need something quick.  I only had 3 squares left to hook so quickly finished that.

Then I moved on to the my challenge rug that will be displayed at Sauder Village during rug week.  One of the guilds I belong to, Crooked River, had a challenge of "All Things Chicken".  Well, nothing like waiting until the last minute.  I had most of the chicken hooked before the retreat and came very close to finishing the little mat.  The area around the circle is what I had left to hook when I ran out of the background wool.  ARGH!!!  I know I could have fudged it by incorporating a similar wool, but I am taking the easy way out and buying more wool this evening.  I won't reveal the finished piece until after rug week.

ALL DONE!  Thankfully I had just enough ties with colors that coordinated perfectly with the hooked area.

I just love the Nordson ties.

The back.

I wanted to incorporate this tie because my brother had a sailboat for 40 (?) years, but it just would have stuck out like a sore thumb as one of the tongues.  I was just going to stitch a piece to the back, but one of the hookers suggested putting the label on the tie.  Perfect!  this will be delivered to the birthday girl this evening.

Will share some of the rugs being worked on in my next post.  

Please think good thoughts for DSO.  He is having back surgery on Wednesday.  Praying that he will recover quickly with minimal pain.  He has suffered long enough!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

A Lesson Learned ~

Before leaving for Tennessee, I started this little oval mat.  I've never hooked an oval mat such as this before, and started on the outer edge.  After getting the first four rows done, I took a good look at it off the frame.  I didn't like what I saw.  The exposed inner linen was wonky and not lying flat.  I wasn't sure if I should proceed, but decided what the heck.  That was a lot of hooking to tear out.  

I have found that hooking in DSO's Honda Pilot is easy, and since it is a larger SUV, I have plenty of room . . . and thankfully he does not have a problem with the wool dust.

There is even a built in snippet bowl in the door 😁

I got lucky because it ended up ok.  In fact, it lay perfectly flat before I even steamed it.  But . . . by the time I got to the center, I no longer had oval rows.  They ended up being rectangles.  Not exactly what I wanted, but no way am I reverse hooking any of it!!!  Friend Heidi, who also teaches, says that I should have started in the center and worked my way out.  The finished size is about 15" x 19".

Here are some of the ties I will be using for the "tongues".  They all belonged to my older brother and the mat will be a birthday gift for his long time significant other, Lyn.  Her birthday is the 24th of this month.  She may will be getting this a few days late.

My brother spent his career at Nordson Corporation, and I think it is so cool I can even incorporate his Nordson ties.

I am off bright and early Thursday for four days of hooking heaven in Millersburg.  I was not going to procrastinate this time and be ready early.  Guess what?  Isn't happening . . . LOL.  

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Great Smoky Mountain National Park ~

Cades Cove is an isolated valley located in the Tennessee section of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  The valley was home to numerous settlers before the formation of the national park.  There is a one way, 11 mile scenic loop through the area.

Several churches are still standing, each with its own cemetery.

Stones worn smooth and totally illegible.

Lequire seemed to be a common name.

So many infant graves, many topped with a sweet lamb.

Numerous log structures.

We did not see any bear or other wild animals other than this coyote who was jogging off the side of the road.

Notice all the dead trees?  A raging inferno swept through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and into the city of Gatlinburg on November 28, 2016, killing 14 people and injuring 190 more.  Damage caused by the fires is estimated at over $500 million.  2,460 structures were damaged or destroyed and 17,136 acres were burned.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Anakeesta ~

We only had two days in Gatlinburg, so we were limited on what we could see and do.  We went to Anakeesta which is considered a theme park, though not the kind of theme park I would normally think of.  To get to Anakeesta you rode on a chondola, which I would just call a ski lift chair.  The ride takes you up 600' to the summit of Anakeesta Mountain.  

At the top there are a few restaurants and of course the requisite gift shops.  

We climbed 84 steps to the top of AnaVista Tower, Gatlinburg's highest point, with beautiful 360* vistas of the surrounding area.

Treetop Skywalk is the longest tree-based skywalk in North America with 880' of spectacular bridges suspended 50' - 60' in the air.

We even took the lift back up in the evening to walk the Skywalk at dusk.

The flowers were spectacular!

Anakeesta also has a single-rail mountain coaster, the first of its kind in the US.  You fly down the mountain on this single rail track with 1600 feet of downhill twists and turns at speeds up to 25 mph.  You control the speed as you descend.  I must say, it was great fun 😁  DSO opted not to ride because of his back issues and it was probably wise he decided to pass.  Not me, but the picture gives you an idea of what the coaster looked like.

I was going to share a bit about the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, but this post has taken far too long and I am hoping to pull a few loops.

Thanks so much for stopping by 
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren