A (very) Little Progress ~

Just wanted to pop in for a quick second!

I have been working on Proud Lion, but I sure haven't made much progress in the last week, but as I always say, a little progress is better than none.  I really need to figure out what color the lion's body is supposed to be.  Hopefully that is not wool I "borrowed" years ago.

I did another cross stitch on the rug linen.  I have a plan for this . . . well maybe . . . but executing said plan is another story!  (What appears to be brown yarn, is more of a barn red but I'm not in the mood to fight with my camera to get better color!)

I always say that once the 4th of July gets here, summer is half over.  Tell me it isn't so!!!!!!!!  We went from chilly and rainy to stinkin' hot and humid.  Today we got some much needed rain.  I am always amazed how quickly things dry out.  I'm sure the flowers are doing a little happy dance tonight.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

More Cross Stitch ~

You'd think I had not start doing counted cross stitch five decades ago.  I think I did more frogging on this piece than I have ever done.  Not sure why I kept making so many counting errors 😡.  It was supposed to say God Bless America, but I didn't plan my spacing so it didn't fit.

The colors do show up a bit better in person.  I haven't a clue what I will do with it.  Perhaps just tack it to a cupboard.

I thought this would be my last cigar box (#8), but the boxes are coming in a little more slowly than hoped for, so to help our cigar box "coordinator", I brought two more boxes home with me from guild today.

This may be my least favorite box so far 😒

The inside is just kind of blah.

That's it!  Only two more days of eye restrictions and I can wash my hair without help and not have to wear my eye shield at night.  YEAH!  But as anyone who has had cataract surgery knows, 2+ more weeks of eyedrops.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

One for Sue, One for Saundra ~

When Sue spent the night after the first day of our scrappy hooking class, she wanted to know why I had my Proud Lion wool in a cardboard banker's box and was not using one of my many vintage baskets.  It was in the same box for the past eight years and had not seen the light of day since the day the class ended!

So Sue motivated me to move the wool to this big ole basket . . . 

. . . and once the wool I will use for the background is cut, it will be stored in the top basket.

Thanks for the nudge, Sue.  The baskets looks much better me thinks.

Saundra had asked for an update on Proud Lion.  I had barely pulled any loops in the past month (but I did hook my pumpkin teapot, a couple cigar box tops, the sheep for the pie basket, and my scrappy horse in the interim),  Here's what Proud Lion looked like a month ago . . . 

. . . and here he is today.

A little progress in better than none 😁.  Hopefully I will continue working on him until my next class mid July, though I have been kicking a little project around in my head.

Stay cool everyone.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Raffle Prize ~

In addition to making the cigar boxes for door prizes, I will also donate a couple raffle prizes.  It is the biggest money maker at the hook in.  I love vintage baskets!  This one is a pie basket that still has the little pie shelf inside.

I hooked a sweet little Maria Barton sheep and attached it to the top in the same way I attached hooked pieces to the cigar boxes.

Now maybe I can get back to pulling a few loops on Proud Lion.  He has been totally neglected for a few weeks.

Happy summer solstice.  Argh!  The days will now start getting shorter 😢

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs 😊

Lauren

Horse Stitches ~

I often wondered if you could cross stitch on rug hooking linen, but of course never tried.  Jenny from the Wooly Horse answered that question for me.  She had a couple examples, but I failed to take pictures.  I grabbed a scrap piece of linen I had and gave it a whirl.  It is being stitched with hand dyed sock weight yarn that Jenny dyes.  The biggest alphabet I could find in any of my books/sampler charts was 11 stitches tall.  I could have charted larger, but chose not to be bothered.

These are definitely horse stitches.  Six crosses to the inch!

Jenny had pieces of linen that she had serged and were free for the taking.  Here is the start of God Bless America.

Not sure what I will do with these, but they are fun.

Cataract surgery went well.  Now it's the follow up visits and the eye drops for the next 3+ weeks.  It is wonderful to no longer have blurry vision.  As everyone says, colors are much more vibrant.  And I am much more grey than I was pre-surgery 😁  I thought I was just blonde . . . lol!

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Attaching a Hooked Piece to a Cigar Box ~

A day late ~

I'm sure using glue on a hooked piece is a no-no, but rules are meant to be broken!

First I run a bead of glue around the edge of the hooking.  This time I used Aileen's tacky glue.  I have also used Elmer's.

Then smoosh it around to get a few threads of the linen and on to the last row of loops.

It may take a few hours to dry, depending on the temperature and how thick the glue was applied.  It will dry clear.

Then carefully trim away the linen as close as possible to hooked row., being careful to not cut the wool.

After trimming, I use a Sharpie to disguise the cut edge on the front.

Now run a bead of glue on the edge.

Carefully place on the cigar box top and weight it down to dry.  A heavy crock does the trick.

All finished!

And the inside.

Think good thoughts for me tomorrow.  I have had a slowly developing cataract for many years.  About six months ago it developed into a cataract on steroids.  I am so tired of blurry vision!!!  I just want to see well again.  Prayers appreciated, too.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

More from the Scrappy Class ~

Sue is way ahead of me in posting about our scrappy class so you can check more of it on her blog.

You can tell Jenny LOVES teaching!

A few before and after a walnut dye bath pictures!  Our overachievers 😁 

Just an after.

Darn blogger would not let me put this picture under Jenny's.  I have never had that problem before.  ARGH!!!  Jenny was adamant we must label our rugs.  If my penmanship was better, I would make a label such as this!

A few more rugs in progress.

Jenny's sister Laurie travels with her and is her right hand hooker.  She also hooks amazing rugs.  This rug is HUGE and gorgeous.

I will share my rug finish soon!

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Scrappy Hooking Class

You would never know that this was the first time that Jenny of the Wooly Horse taught her scrappy style of hooking that she developed.  She had inspiration from a punch needle piece, but this is truly her style she has developed for hooking.  (She is a teacher by trade and has taught many other hooking classes.)  Scrappy style of hooking . . . how to describe it?  Uneven loops spaced far apart, long tails, alternative fibers, adding patches as if the rug had been repaired.  

It was easier than I thought it would be, but I had to constantly be reminded to space loops apart and leave lots of spaces because when finished, loops would be squished down and cover most of the spaces.  I used wool in cuts from about an 8 to a 10, a couple kinds of sari ribbon, wool yarn, velvet and stained tobacco cloth.  I came so close to finishing!  Some of the tails may be trimmed later.

Close up.

Had I finished, he would have gotten a walnut crystal dye bath.  Jenny did send us home with walnut crystals so we can do it at home.  Only a few hookers had theirs totally done.

Jenny was THE MOST generous teacher.  She had these basket filled with pieces of wool for us to use as needed.  Plus sari ribbons, wool yarn, velvets, tobacco cloth and more . . . all for us to use and absolutely free to us.

Sue has also posted about the class.  Check it out here.

I will have more rugs to share next time and hopefully mine will be finished soon.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Sister Visit ~

The eighth grade class of 1966 has been visiting Sister Marian Coughlin since 2018, just missing a couple of the Covid years.  We had her as a teacher in 2nd grade and as a half day teacher in the 8th grade.  Back then, she was known as Sister Mary St. Patrick, but took her maiden name when Notre Dame nuns were able to do so.  She will soon be 97.  Still sharp as a tack but very hard of hearing, sad to say.  Back in the day she was this larger than life figure and she really is such a tiny little thing.  She was so excited about our visit.  One of our classmates also became a Notre Dame nun, so Sister Valerie is there for each visit, too.  I didn't get a picture, but it doesn't seem right that a nun can wear capri pants and sandals 😁

Yesterday's trip to Michigan was uneventful . . . the best kind.  I got most of my little Maria Barton sheep hooked but had not cut enough wool.  When finished it will be attached to a vintage picnic basket and used as a raffle prize at our guild's hook in.

Tomorrow.  ARGH!!!  I have a two day hooking class with Jenny Smallridge of the Wooly Horse.  She is going to be teaching her style of scrappy hooking.  Lots of alternative fibers to be used.  Have I even begun to pull wool for class?  Uh, no.  Somehow it will get done tonight.  I am not a fan of using anything other than wool for hooking (remember Saundra's challenge a few years ago?), but I am putting on my big girl panties and will use some!  I have chosen to hook her scrappy horse.  Sue from Vernon Junction is coming to class and will spend the night with me since I am only 35 minutes from the class venue and she is much farther.

MUST get busy!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

What's Blooming ~

Trying to get ready for a crazy busy week so nothing much in the hooking department.  I did finish yet another door prize cigar box for the guild's fall hook in.  I didn't do anything special on the inside other than put some scrapbook paper on the bottom.

The yard is looking so pretty!  I love this time of year.

I did not have the luck Cathy from Acorn Hollow did with overwintering my geraniums.  This was one of my two successes but it has not yet bloomed.  Love the nut tin.

DSO reinforced my falling apart chair to get another year's use out of it.  

An old chicken waterer missing its top.

Clematis.

Happy flowers.  Evening primrose.

And one happy bee.

Cool old tool box from a friend last year.  Only one or two of the plants survived the winter, but she was gracious and gave me plants from her yard to fill in.

One of my son's old workboots on an old tricycle.  I just love yard junk!

At Aldi's the other day, they had these gorgeous hydrangeas for only $14.99.  How could I resist that color?   Now to figure out where to plant it!

Michigan for the day tomorrow (early Father's Day celebration at DSO's son's house), Monday the annual "nun visit".  She will be 97 soon.  Then Tuesday and Wednesday a hooking class.  ARGH!!!  I am thankful for my crazy, busy life.

Must share.  DSO just stopped by for a minute.  This is the hotrod he built from a kit a few years ago 😁

And the sweetest passenger ever sitting on her custom made "perch" so she can see out the window.  (Yes, that perch makes her a** look fat 😉)

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren