Back Home Again ~

It was a fun get away to Off the Ocean rug camp in Jacksonville, Florida, but it's always good to be back home again.  (Remind you of a song?)  The drive to and from Jacksonville was mostly uneventful, but there were moments.  I am a fair weather driver since crashing on ice on a highway 14 (?) years ago.  Well, guess who was driving when there were white out conditions in West Virginia?  Thankfully it only lasted about 20 minutes!  Coming home we left the hotel in northern South Carolina at 6:21 am to beat the rush hour traffic in Charlotte.  It was dark and the traffic was heavy, but thankfully not stop and go.  Did I mention Ohio to Florida is a loooong drive?  But we did it 😁

The weather the day we arrived was gorgeous, then some rain and chilly temps and when leaving once again beautiful.  Here we are home to frigid temps with possibly large accumulations of snow this weekend and it will be in the low 70's in Jacksonville while we are freezing our butts off in Ohio.  At least we are not alone.  I heard something like 35+ states may be affected by the storm.

Anywho, back to camp.  My class was with Lucille Festa of Vermont.  Of course I didn't make nearly as much progress as I had hoped, but I never do.  Here is my progress at the end of camp.

Sue is speed hooker and nearly finished her rug!  If it hadn't been for her reverse hooking, she may have had it done.  Isn't he just the sweetest little pooch?

 

Sue has shared many pictures from camp (since she can blog from her phone!).  Check it out here.

I have a bit more to share in another post.  There was supposed to be a throw down for each class so we could see what others were working on, but it did not happen 😞

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Meeting Myself Coming and Going ~

My class in Pennsylvania with Katie Hartner of the Woolley Fox was THE BEST!  I would highly recommend if you ever get the chance to take a class from her, jump on the opportunity.

Most of the students in the class were working on HUGE rugs and I was working on a weenie 12" x 36" rug.  The first day I made great progress . . . and this was even after totally rehooking his tail.

Days 2 & 3 I was a real slacker.  I thought I would at least be at the halfway mark.  I was close . . . but not close enough.

I think I need to work on the comb a bit.  It is pretty lost against the background.

Sue and I went a day early and stopped at a few shops in PA.  The one antique mall that was recommended - Laughlintown Antique Mall - was incredible!!!  One of the best antique malls I have ever been to.  Not one of the huge mega-malls, just a nice size with incredible antiques.  I could have totally spent my kids' inheritance 😁 (but I'm purging, remember?).  I did buy a few gifts, a couple pieces of antique coverlet and a cast iron eagle to join my growing collection.

We then headed to the Flight 93 Memorial.  Sadly the GPS was not cooperating, steered us wrong because of a detour and we arrived at the visitor center 5 minutes before closing 😒

Thursday morning I am heading to southern Ohio for a two day hook in.  Nothing for many months and then two hook-y things in a week and a half.

Be sure to check Sue's blog to see what she was hooking!  She was also hooking something small, but it is just beyond gorgeous!

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Trying to Pack ~

 

Any of you who have been reading my blog for a while know that I always wait until the last minute to pack, and this time is no different!  I finally have my suitcase (overpacked, of course) and hooking supplies ready to load in the car . . . except for wool.  That is always the hardest part trying to choose what wools to take.  What colors am I going to use in my rug?  Perhaps the teacher has better choices than mine (that's why I'm taking a class, right?).  I just figure the more wool I pack, hopefully the less wool I have to buy.  I know I will come home with some.  I hear her wool is just beautiful.  Decisions, decisions.

I am almost done with my little bunny rug.  It is a fun little hook.  A paper pattern can be purchased here.

When I got my oil changed a couple weeks ago, the mechanic (who I totally trust) told me I needed new tires.  I thought I maybe got tires 2-3 years ago.  Nope . . . 4+ years ago and had 44K miles on them.  He suggested I get them before doing any travelling.  I thought better to be safe than sorry, so had them put on last week.  A few days later heading about 75 miles away for a fun day, my tire light came on.  Turned around and went to the mechanic (thankfully 5 minutes away) and he said the one tire was low.  All was good until yesterday when DSO checked the tire pressures.  Argh!!!  Low again.  Went to the shop first thing this morning in a near panic.  A bad valve stem was replaced so I am good to go!!!  It's always something, isn't it?

Hopefully will get lots of hooking done (never as much as I think I will . . . sigh) and have a great time.  If only my travel buddy will behave herself, but with Sue, you just never know.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren