Disorganized Hooking ~

Normally I have one, maybe two (as Saundra would say, a "plus one") hooking projects going on at the same time.  Somehow I managed to have five 😛

1.  Raffle rug.  As posted previously, my hooking part of the rug is done and passed on to the next hooker.

2.  Askew.  I started this in early March, planned to have it done before vacation, then before rug camp.  Ha ha!  Haven't pulled a loop in weeks.

3.  Mr. Jingles.  So close.  He hasn't seen the light of day in a long time.  I think I am going to need to outline the holly leaves and change the color of the berries.  In person, the leaves blend in to the background 😡

4.  Scaredy Cat.  Hooking is done and I am working on the binding using wool strips.  The cat is much more subtle in person.

5.  Hand torn pumpkin.  Hooked and binding half done.

Numbers 3, 4 & 5 are all small projects that will be given away to guilds.  I will be happy to have all the "give aways" finally done.

Today is crunch day getting ready to head to rug camp tomorrow in Ripley, West Virginia.  The pattern and wools are all ready to go.  Gotta deal with the important stuff first.

Not sure what to pack clothes-wise, but since I am driving will definitely overpack.  Temps in the low 70's a couple days.  Is that summer clothes weather?  Will the classroom be cold or hot?  Decisions, decisions.

I really must mow today but it is RAINING.  We need the rain, but not today.  Plus I want to head to an outdoor craft show after the rains.  Oh, I am my own worst enemy!

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs 😊

Lauren

More Charleston & Car Hooking ~

After our carriage ride, we took a half hour boat ride out to Ft. Sumter, which is where the first shots of the Civil War were fired on April 12, 1861.

Note the unusual configuration of the American flag.  You can read more about it here.

After our return to land, we headed to Patriots Point to see the USS Yorktown, an aircraft carrier built during WW II.  

We then toured the USS Laffey, a destroyer also built during WW II.

Sadly it was time to take the two hour drive north to our hotel without seeing all we had hoped to.  Upon arriving at the hotel, we needed to pack our bags in order to leave bright and early the next morning.

I got a lot of hooking done in the SUV heading south and then back home.  Had I cut enough wool, I would have gotten the raffle rug background done.  As they say, close but no cigar.  The background is actually a very dark blue, not black.  The rug has since been delivered to the hooker who will hook the leaves.

I then started on Scaredy Cat, another small mat that will be given away.  If this looks familiar, it is because I have hooked it several times.

Both of these have been finished since my return home, but nary a loop pulled on Askew 😢

I leave for rug camp Sunday and have been trying to get yard work done.  Too bad it never stays done . . . sigh.  Thankfully I know what rug I will be hooking and have most of the wool pulled that I plan to take.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs 😊

Lauren

CHARLESTON ~

 My first sight in Charleston . . . 

I thoroughly enjoyed the carriage ride around the city with our guide Trey and our four legged guide, Ron.   

A few images from around town.

Too bad the wires are in the picture ;-(

Now I am going to climb on to my soapbox!!!  The Amish have the reputation of being a "kind and gentle" people, but if you would ever do an internet search, you will find they are notorious for horrible puppy mills and the mistreatment of their farm animals.  The draft horses used by the carriage company (the company we used - not sure about other companies) are bought at Amish auctions in both Ohio and Pennsylvania.  When they get to Charleston and begin to pull the carriages, there are strict rules that the stable owners must follow.  I'm sure the horses think they have won the draft horse lottery!  I hope you can enlarge and read this.

My computer is not playing nice today.  This post has taken far too long, so I will finish up our Charleston adventures in the next one.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Myrtle Beach ~

Our whirlwind trip to Myrtle Beach is now just a pleasant memory.  We had a great time 💖.  I knew Myrtle Beach was a tourist destination, but didn't imagine how tourist-y it would be.  We were fortunate to have an oceanfront room.  That was one of the best parts of the trip ~ looking out, seeing and hearing the ocean.  Falling asleep to the sound of the waves.  We had great weather, sunny and mid to high 70's.

A beautiful sunrise ~

I thoroughly enjoyed my morning walks on the beach.  I did find some shells, but nothing out of the ordinary.  I was surprised to see all the jellyfish that had washed ashore overnight.  They were simply beautiful but sad to see.

The sandpipers were a hoot to watch running around, pecking in the sand.

We stopped at Warbird Park.

A piece of the World Trade Center from 9-11.

The highlight of my time in Myrtle Beach was the Segway tour we took.  They are just so much fun!!!

More to share next time.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

As Usual ~

Typical me.  We are leaving at 6:00 am tomorrow morning, and knowing DSO, he will actually be here at 5:45.  All will get done, and if not, oh well.  I guess I am doing pretty good for noon the day before departure.  The lawn is mowed and the houseplants watered.  Hooking projects are ready to go.  Of course I will not get half done of what I am taking, but a hooker must have hope 😁.  I have pulled out some summer clothes because here in northern Ohio, even on warmer days, I am still in winter clothes mode.

Nothing more has been accomplished on Askew.  My new goal is to finish the hooking before I leave for rug camp on May 12.  My consignment items are ready for the camp store, but since I am vending at a hook in a day after my return from camp, that still will need to be organized next week.

That's about it, dear blog friends.  Will be back upon my return . . . hopefully with a few adventures to share.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs 😊

Lauren

Hooking Detour ~

As previously stated, I had hoped to have Askew finished before running away from home on Monday.  I didn't see it happening, and the last two days I have worked on my guild's raffle rug, so now I am sure it is not going to happen.  I had said I would hook the background 😁  The rug was hooked in a smaller cut than I like to hook, but knew I could hook most of the background in my favorite 8 1/2 cut.  Here it is when I got it.

Wednesday at guild, the rug was passed to a volunteer who planned to hook the leaves.  The leaves are to be hooked in a dip dyed wool IN A 6 CUT!  That is WAY above my pay grade.  That is one long piece of wool dyed many shades.

Even though the leaves are not done, I decided to take the rug so I could hook the background on the way to Myrtle Beach.  I hooked a holding line around them.  The gold holding line will be removed and replaced with the dip dyed wool.

I wanted to outline the motifs before the "car hooking" which is a good thing because it took way longer than I thought it would.  Now all I have left is the easy peasy background . . . and there is not that much to hook.

I need to get a couple small projects ready to take along because I should have time to work on other things.  Askew is just way too big to work on in the SUV.  Thankfully DSO is very tolerant of wool dust, because anyone who works with wool can attest to the fact there is a lot of it.

Friday chuckle . . . 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs 😊

Lauren

Oh, Darn!!!

My first blog post with Askew was on March 6 and at that time I had 8 circles hooked.  I really hoped to be done by now, but progress has been very slow the last couple of weeks.  I am so tired of hooking it.  I have to force myself to pick up the hook.  It doesn't help that yard work season has begun, although my heart isn't in that either.  So far I have only used my worms, but I am running low on dark ones.  You know, blackish, dark gray and black.  I still have lots of browns, but since there are blacks in all the stripes already hooked, I need to continue to incorporate those.  Sadly, I now need to cut some strips.

Here is what is left of the "dark" worms . . . and most are not very dark.

Here is where she is today.

I am hoping to finish by Sunday, though I can't see that happening.  Monday we are leaving on a little get away to Myrtle Beach ~ never been there ~ and will drive down to Charleston for a day ~ been there for just a few hours.  I get home, am home for a week and then head to rug camp.  It will be crazy busy getting ready for camp, getting camp store consignment items organized and being ready to vend at a hook in the day after I get home from camp.  Just thinking about all that is making me tired.  Oh, and of course there will also be plenty of yard work to do since that yard guy never shows up 😁

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Playing in the Dye Pots ~

I am heading to rug camp in West Virginia in a few weeks.  Usually I agonize over what rug I am going to start in class.  I purchased this pattern on a Facebook buy and sell group and knew I wanted to work on this.  For me, it is a large pattern at 26" x 36".  I just love the funky horses, but not the color palate that was used.

I thought I would dye wool ~ easy peasy, no?  NO!  I decided to use formulas from this dye book.

I wanted a horse of a different color - teal.  I did not have any teals in my wool stash so . . . I had some leftover dye, a formula called Wild Flower Blue.

The results are MUCH brighter, but as we all know, it is so hard to get a good color!!!  And so much brighter than I want in my rug.

Then I used a formula called Champlain Blue.  Not teal.  I guess I'd call it a very soft primitive blue/gray/green.  I LOVE IT!  (But still not a truly accurate 😢 )

I figured I needed more of the Champlain Blue so made up another batch, once again with good results.  This color is a bit more accurate.

I also dyed a pot of Mustard Seed.  I'm not wild about it.  I think it looks too bright???  Looks more of a sunflower color to me.  But darn . . . in person looks much different.  Has more of an orange/brown color???  Hard to describe.

A couple posts back I mentioned about using a grey scale camera to check to see if there was enough value difference for wools that abutted each other.  I was not looking to purchase an actual camera.  At one time I had an app on my iPad but it seems to no longer be available.  Amanda, a no-reply blogger, said to look for Paint By Note Specs.  She said they are glasses with red lenses with the right shade of red to remove all color and should run about $20.  Saundra mentioned she had a green and red value finder.  I think I have one somewhere, but I did also find them on Amazon. 

This most likely can be applied to any craft . . . lol!

I have been fighting with my computer for two days.  I am suddenly having a problem transferring my phone photos to my desktop.  SO FRUSTRATING!!!  She is old so maybe she needs to go to the computer doctor?  I hope not.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren