Hooking Progress ~

Askew is hooked, bound, labeled and in its new home.  This is the highest traffic area in my home from outdoors, but am sure it will wear well.  I am just so happy to have her done.

I just have a little more background to hook on Flowers & Berries, the little mat started in the class with Ali Strebel.  I added this little quillie leaf (also known as standing wool) as shown on the pattern.

I thought is looked like a hanging pear 😁 so I eliminated it.

Not much progress has been made on Shady Spot.  I am still not liking the bright blue but will hold off toning it down or changing the wool until more of the background is hooked.

And finally . . . last week DSO and I took a day road trip to Michigan for a Father's Day celebration at his son's.  I needed something no brainerish to hook in the car.  Easiest thing is to hook another handtorn pumpkin.  I should have taken two because I may have gotten them both hooked, but one is better than none.  I have drawn up some pumpkin patterns to try to sell when I vend, so having a sample is a plus.

I will be happy when Flowers & Berries is hooked and bound.  I like having one or two projects in the works, but 4-5 is just too darn many.

I am not a fan of the days already getting shorter!!!  Thankfully the progression is slow for a couple months.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs 😊

Lauren

Sunday Snippets ~

Yesterday I vended at a small hook in.  Hooker Susanne hosts it annually, generally about 35 of mostly the same people every year.  Always a top notch affair.  I came home with a couple yards of wool (surprised😁?) and a bit of cash in my pocket so it was a good day.  No pictures to share.

Many of you hookers will be familiar with Ali Strebel.  I have a 3 day class with her this week.  She is a lot of fun, but our hooking styles are worlds apart.  She hooks with lots of alternative items and incorporates quillies, couching, needle felting, etc. in her pieces.  I am a just a wool hooker who pulls loops.  It will definitely be a learning experience for me.  I purchased this small 12" x 15" pattern from her a few months ago.

I have been binding Askew and am probably more than 50% done.  I will be happy when that is finally finished.

I am also back to hooking my camp rug.  I have been outlining all the motifs with my background wool.  For now I am going to leave that bright blue in, but will try coffee staining it later and if that doesn't help, will reverse hook it.  Even though I took the rug outside to try to get a decent color representation, it just isn't right 😡

Enjoy your Sunday.  A gorgeous day here on Ohio's north coast.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Doing a Happy Dance ~

Askew is finally finished . . . at least the hooking part.  I had my doubts it would ever be done.  It is 29" x 45" ~ really big for me.  Not my largest, but close.  This was a "worm buster" project.  Except for "darks", which I ran low on and had to cut, it was hooked entirely with already cut worms or narrow pieces of wool.  It made a dent in the worms, but by no means have I run out.  As any hooker will tell you, they multiply while we sleep.

Hopefully now I will have time to work on my camp rug 😁

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs 😊

Lauren

Camp Rug ~

HA!  Absolutely nothing to show on my camp rug.  Nary a loop has been pulled since I returned home.

Yard work is never ending.  Darn yardboy never shows up 😡

The handtorn pumpkin is bound.  It is a donation mat.

The binding on Scaredy Cat.  This was gifted to a friend for her birthday.  I whipped it using size 8 1/2 strips which I found difficult.  However, I love the look!

I hooked 2 little eagles and now they need binding.  At just over 10" in diameter, they both will be donated to the guilds I belong to.  Hopefully they are the last of my mats for donation.

No progress on Mr. Jingles.  Close, but as the say, no cigar.

Still working on Askew and am anxious to have this hooked but dreading the binding!!!  I am so close.  I knew not to set it aside and work on my camp rug because it would probably be a very long time before I got back to it.  I am just so bored with it!!!

Cedar Lakes is just beautiful in the spring.  Here are a few pictures I took in my wanderings.

My artsy fartsy shot 

Log cabin seen through the covered bridge

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

One Plus One ~

Yard work has not yet begun other than having mowed a few times, so I have been spending more time than normal hooking.  Progress has been made on Askew and like I said before, I am getting mighty bored with her, but will soldier on.  I don't need another unfinished project.  I am still using only worms or small bits of wool that are in the worm tubs.  

The other day I was heading to DSO's and needed something small to work on, so decided to start on another mat that will be given away.  I have hooked Mr. Jingles (a pattern by Notforgotten Farm) several times.  It will either be another door prize for my guild hook in or given to the other guild I belong to.  This other guild is collecting small mats that will be donated to a group that will then use the proceeds from the sales for kids' programs.  

I know why I have so many darn worms.  I have cut wool twice for the background on Mr. Jingles and each time there was not enough contrast.  Hopefully this wool will work.  I really should figure how to use a greyscale camera so I could avoid this problem!

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Monday ~

 

Happy Monday to one and all.  Just popping in for a quick post.  Really don't have much to blog about today, but wanted to stop in for a minute.

Maria's Sheep is hooked, bound and labeled.  It will be turned it at our guild meeting this week ~ a door prize at our September hook-in.

Askew is coming along.  I am not one who hooks really big rugs, and for me, this is REALLY BIG.  I think I am nearing the half way finished mark.  I normally enjoy hooking mindless backgrounds, but I am starting to get B.O.R.E.D.  I may have to do a Saundra and start on a "plus one".

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Tipp City ~

 

Tipp City is a vibrant, upscale little community in SW Ohio near Dayton.  Dayton is the home of Orville and Wilbur Wright and the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.  This is the second time I have attended a 2 day hooking event hosted by Ali Strebel, Jo Wick, Jenny Smallridge and Chrisi Koehl.  This little get-away did not disappoint.  The above mentioned hookers each have a hooking business and offer the most wonderful goods.  One could easily go broke there!

Ali is set to teach at the Crooked River Rug Hooking Guild in June.  I had absolutely no intention of signing up.  Our hooking styles are at the total opposite ends of the spectrum.  I use wool.  I pull loops.  The end.  Ali, on the other hand . . . uses wool, pulls loops AND adds needle felting, couching, quillies, sari ribbon and other alternative fibers.  I am sure there is more 😁  So while Ali was giving her little talk she showed this little "memory" mat.

I thought, "Hey, I can do that and change the date to something meaningful for me!".  So the wheels started turning.  While perusing her patterns, I came across this little one which I like even better.  It is only 15" x 12" and should be doable in a 3 day class.  I purchased the pattern as my incentive to really sign up.

A couple more of Ali's creations.  She loves quillies . . . wool strips rolled in to circles or manipulated in to other shapes.  I, on the other hand, do not enjoy making them so much . . . but they are fun on hooked and appliqued pieces.

Here is my rug progress.  Of course I did not get done what I was hoping to, but I should have known better.  The circles were all hooked and I just did that little bit of background.

Hooker friends are the best.  Deb, a hooker and fantastic appliquer/stitcher who I met last time in Tipp City, gifted me this wool carrot.  It fits perfectly in to the bed spring.

Travel mate Val made these sweet little owls and was giving them away.

Travel mate #2, Linda, shared this gorgeous !!! blue hand dyed linen with me.

Snow was falling from the sky here in northern Ohio earlier today, but thankfully not sticking.  Shouldn't it be green?

Happy St. Patty's Day 💚💚💚

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Dear friend Julia just finished her tree skirt.  She started it at rug camp mid-January.  It is 34" in diameter, hooked in a 6 & 7 cut with a 4 cut for detail.  That is some seriously FAST hooking.  Pattern is No Crib for a Bed by Irene M. Carter.  Isn't it just the sweetest?  The animals just make me smile.

Here is my progress on Askew.  60% of the circles done (I am not a big fan of hooking circles!) but did not yet get any background hooked.

Background worms are ready for my hooking get away.  It will be totally no brainer hooking 😁

Speaking of worms, I have been good so far and have not gone to the wool stash to pull wool.  The only cutting I have done is small widths of wool that are in the worms tubs.  Sadly I have barely made a dent in them.

Yesterday was a gorgeous spring day in Ohio!  I mowed the yard for the first time.  I always get antsy to start mowing, but by August I will be totally over it . . . LOL!

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs 😊

Lauren

Floor Frame ~

~ For you non-hookers, 

I will probably be speaking Greek to you 😁 ~

In all my years hooking, I have always used a lap frame.  6-8 years ago I purchased a floor frame.  It was an inexpensive one found on eBay.  I tried it and hated it.  It did not hold my linen taut and it being octagonal in shape, the work area was very small.  (It was not the more pricey octagonal frame many hookers rave about.)  I eventually sold it and never tried another floor frame, although I know there are great ones out there.  My Snapdragon frame has me spoiled.  I really need to see about getting it put on a stand.  Anywho . . . I digress. 

A couple years ago a local hooker asked if I would like an Ault floor frame or if I knew anyone who could use one.  I can't say no to any free hooking supplies.  This person was no longer hooking and had taken the frame to Goodwill and they would not accept it.  She was told they did not need any more furniture.  She tried in vain to explain it was not a piece of furniture, but it fell on deaf ears.  I am thrilled to have been her second choice.  The frame sat in my attic until last week.  I knew this rug I am working on was going to get quite heavy, so decided to take the frame for a "test hook".  It is a learning curve but I am doing ok.  The work area is so much larger than I am used to (about 14" x 22" vs 10 1/2" x 13") and since I only hook in one direction, sometimes my arms just aren't long enough.  It doesn't keep the linen as taut as my Snapdragon, but I am making it work.

I have hooked 21 of the 45 circles but have not yet started on any background.  That will be very mindless and the perfect thing to work on when I head to a two day hooking getaway a few hours away with friends.

I know some of you (Robin) hate the time change, but I, for one love it, except for losing an hour sleep when springing ahead.  This year, I guess I didn't lose an hour because I slept in 😅  Here it is, 7:30 and it is just now dark.  

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren