Back to Reality ~

I'm home from another fun retreat/hook in!  Sue and I headed to Shipshewana for a couple days of hooking and camaraderie.  Pop on over to her blog to see the vendor booths (but ignore the last picture!!!).

Attendees were asked to bring a completed project or two to share and it didn't have to be a hooked item.  Here is a sampling of the hooked pieces.

This is just too sweet.

Check out the little knitting needles and knitted piece.

Sue's fun purse, beautifully finished.

My rug in the show.

This Santa rug got Best of Show and the People's Choice Award!  Deservedly so!

Punch needle pieces ~

The punch needle version of Proud Lion which I am hooking.

Needle felted.  This must have taken forever.  I'm guessing it was nearly an inch thick.

And last but not least, a mixed media piece.

More to share in my next post.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Hook-y Stuff ~

I've hooked but as usual not as much progress as I had hoped for!

This is cigar box #9 for me . . . and I've committed to one more that has not yet been started or even planned.  Our guild puts on a wonderful hook in and I want this one to be just as much fun with lots of goodies to give away as door prizes.

The inside is rather uninspiring!

I am pleased with the progress made on my Classic Santa pattern from the Donna Hrkman class.  (As usual, no matter how many pictures I take, the color is so wrong 😡)  A bit challenging is an understatement.  I am going against Donna's wishes and hooking with some 7 cuts, which is still much smaller than I normally use 😁

 

And finally, progress on Proud Lion.  I have been stumped on the color to hook his body.  The overdyed wool chosen by the teacher has lots of pink tones in it.  I am NOT a pink person.  I thought maybe I "borrowed" some body wool from this project???  Had a different lion body color been chosen?  It's been so many years ago, I really haven't a clue.  

Tomorrow Sue and I are off to a couple day hook in over in Shipshewana, Indiana.  Sue is great with color so hopefully she will find the perfect lion body color for me!

See you when I return.
Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Senseless Act of Violence ~

I am sure many of you have heard of the senseless ambush of three police officers in Ohio.  It happened in the city where I live.  Two officers were sitting in their cars having lunch when ambushed.  A third officer came to assist and was also shot.  I know it happens everywhere, but not this close to home.  One 35 year old officer has  succumbed to his injuries. 

What the hell is wrong with people?  The shooter was 28 years old and lived in the city.  Now he is dead.  What must his family be going through?  How does a parent wrap their head around such a heinous crime?  I know these are all rhetorical questions to which we will probably never have answers.

Please keep the families of the officers in your prayers.  Pray for our city.

Lauren

Yard Stuff ~

Just wanted to pop in ~ and not yet ready to share hook-y stuff!

We are so dry in northern Ohio.  I have a friend who lives almost 3 hours south and they have been getting lots and everything is lush and green.  My flowers are doing ok, but the grass is beginning to turn a lovely shade of brown 😢.  The only thing I water is the pots, wheelbarrow, etc, and fill the birdbaths.

The other evening about 7pm I arrived home to find this d*#% deer munching in my front garden.  I was maybe 20' away from her and didn't faze her in the least.

When she finally noticed me, decided to saunter over to one of my newly planted trees and take a couple bites before walking down the middle of the street to find someone else's garden to destroy.

These day lilies are very prolific and long blooming.

My dumpster dive find from a couple years ago.

Garden statuary.

The lightening rod (but not the ball) is from my parents' barn.

Abby cypress

Another day lily

Love the spotted flowers of the tiger lily.  

Marly ~ here are my bubblegum 'tunias in the old baby bathtub.

The grasshoppers (or are they the crickets?) are chirping so loudly.  To me, that is the sound of fall, but puleeze, it is only mid July!!!

That's it for today!  We had some extremely hot and humid weather the last month, but when I got my electric bill today from running the A/C, I almost went in to cardiac arrest.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Donna Hrkman class ~ Day 3

Our day 3 class lecture was on borders, backgrounds, lettering and binding.

Here is Donna demonstrating how she does her lettering.

At the end of day 3, we had a throw down.  It is so cool to see what everyone has been working on.

A Tish Murphy Santa pattern.

From a photograph

I believe this hooker had started her owl in a previous Donna class.

The hooker and her sister.  Started this in a class with a different teacher, she is rehooking it all to her liking with Donna's guidance.

Two are hooking their beloved furkids.

The lone male hooker in the class (does that make him a gigolo?) is hooking Santas for his grands.  

This hooker has a son living in Texas and is hooking Cowboy Santa for him.

Val, my travel mate, is hooking her paternal grandmother's nursing school portrait.  WOWZA!

This hooker is hooking her two granddaughters.  Here is the start to one of them.

And she was stumped as to how to hook the driveway of her home.  Started in a prior class with Donna.

A moody sky over Lake Michigan.

And finally . . . my Santa.  I am pleased with my results so far.  Definitely a challenge for me.

Saundra, here are the wools chosen for his beard.  The wool on the right is much grungier than it appears in the picture, but perhaps you will know what wool this is.

I am so happy I put on my big girl panties and took this class.  If you are a hooker and have the opportunity to have a class with Donna, jump on it.  This was totally outside my comfort zone but I learned so much from her.  She is a true teacher and not just a color planner.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren