Hooked, Bound & Labeled ~

Yellow Bird is finally done.  I mean completely done!!!  She was one of my most challenging rugs and without Kris Miller's guidance, I never could have hooked that darn face.  I hooked it all . . . except for the lips 😁.  The background is much more subtle in person.

I don't think I shared the wool used for her skirt.  It is amazing what a good plaid can do.  It's a real workhorse.

My labels aren't fancy like Saundra's, but I will call it good.  They print off white and I coffee stain them after sewing them.

Today we finally had temps above freezing.  Rising temperatures are most welcome.  Have I ever mentioned I HATE winter?  (Only about a hundred times, I suppose.)

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs 😊

Lauren

Prepped for Binding ~

 

Yellow Bird is finally prepped for binding.  She is trimmed, zig zagged (I don't have a serger) and finally steamed.  Have a ever mentioned that I hate steaming as much as I hate binding?  It is amazing how a steaming evens out the loops.  She is being bound with wool using one of the wools used in the background.  One of these days I hope to get a picture showing her true colors!  

I rarely hook during the day, but for the last week have been a hooking fool.  I will share soon 😁

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Wool Surgery ~

 

The OR was open yesterday, and surgery performed.  The abscess is gone and me thinks she looks much better.  Thank you, Julia 😁

Oh how I wish I could capture her true colors.  I normally fail miserably, but this time worse than usual.  I tried . . . sigh.  iPad camera.  iPhone camera.  Different lighting.  ARGH!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs 😊

Lauren

I Just Can't Unsee It ~

 

Yellow Bird is still not done but getting closer.  I seem to be struggling.  It is not my usual "coloring book" shapes that I normally hook.

So it was pointed out to me that it looked like there was on abscess on her face.  Yes, Julia, you are so right!  I don't know if that is supposed to be her ear or what, but now when I see her it is like nails on a chalkboard.  I'm glad you was pointed out while it was still a relatively easy fix.

When this is finally done, rather than go back to the rug started in my Maria Barton class in the fall, I have drawn out a simple hit and miss to work on for a while.  It is my go to when I need something totally mindless, and DSO wanted a rug for at the base of his stairs.  You'd think with all the rugs I have rolled up I would have found something suitable in the size he needed.  Nope!

Hard to believe January 2025 will soon be history.  Scary how quickly time is passing!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs 😊

Lauren

Yellow Bird Update ~

 

I am finally making progress on Yellow Bird.  I must say I am getting tired of this one, but being so close I must soldier on and finish the darn thing!

I am happy that I put my big girl panties on and hooked a real face, but this will not be one of my favorite rugs!

Her left arm was too fat and her hand ginormous . . . 

. . . so I have skinnied it up and will reduce the size of her hand!

Hopefully the next time you see her, the hooking will be completed.

Being a dog person, this always cracks me up.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Yellow Bird ~

Just a quickie update to show my progress on Yellow Bird, started in September of last year.  I was trying very hard not to hook in my normal, orderly fashion on the blocks on either side of the design.  Trying to make them a little wonky.  I somewhat succeeded 😁

That's it for today.  The sun was shining today in northern Ohio, a rare occurrence in January.  Tomorrow rain is forecast for a good part of the day.  What a sloppy mess it will be.  Bitterly cold weather a couple days next week.  If you don't like the weather in Ohio, stick around for a day and it will change!

A friend said this was AI generated and I don't doubt it (it's getting harder and harder to tell what is real), but it still cracked me up!

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Not a Tease ~

The little snippet of the corner of my rug in the last post was not meant to be a tease.  It is a corner of the rug, Yellow Bird, started in a class with Kris Miller in September.  It is a pattern by Ann Willey that Kris sells on her website, Spruce Ridge Studios.

It looks like the last time I posted the rug on my blog was early in November and this is what it looked like then.

I pulled a few more loops after that and here is where I left off.

The true color is somewhere between the two pictures, but closer to the first one.  I probably have not hooked on it since mid November so I guess it's about time to get busy on it.  I have too many unfinished rugs from classes (and will have another class in March).

Please keep my son J in your prayers.  He just finished chemo round #3 yesterday and was feeling pretty lousy when I picked him up.  A two week break and than another five days of chemo and hoping that will be it.  It is not easy seeing a child, no matter the age, going thru this.  At 43, he is still my baby boy.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs 😊

Lauren

Plus Two ~

Ok.  When Saundra is working on two rugs at a time, the second rug is a plus one.  Since I am alternating three rugs, I guess I have a plus one and a plus two.

Yellow Bird, started in my Kris Miller class, doesn't have a number 😁  A little progress has been made, but I need to reverse hook the waist a bit to get the spacing better.

If you are a hooker, in your wildest dreams would you imagine that this is the wool I used to hook the face?  Friend Sue suggested the wool and she so graciously shared a piece with me.  I LOVE IT!!!

My plus one is Ezra's Farm, started last week in Maria Barton's class.

So what did I decide to do?  Start another small mat since Halloween is quickly approaching and it would be fun to get this one done.  The hooking is nearly complete.  Now whether I get it assembled in a timely manner is another story!

Shady Spot is finally bound.  It took me almost forever.  Now to get it labeled and I can really call it d.o.n.e.  The background is much more subtle in person.

I am about ready to give up trying to get the wool colors to photograph properly!!!  It just isn't happening.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

This Too Shall Pass ~

The insanity called my life.  Truth be told, I bring it upon myself 😖

I am co-chair of Crooked River's hook in.  I feel my co-chair has done the bulk of the work and to make matters worse, my son's girlfriend's dad passed away a couple weeks ago and they are having a celebration of life this Saturday, late morning, the day of the hook in, and of course it is an hour+ away from the venue.  (That sentence must be an English teacher's worst nightmare!)  I am hoping I can make it to the hook in sometime early in the afternoon.  On top of everything, I am also a vendor but thankfully have friends who will man the booth.  (I guess I am not being woke . . . lol!)

This Thursday and Friday, Kris Miller (Spruce Ridge Studios), is teaching a 2 day class for the guild and of course I could not pass up such a great teacher.  I have had her several times in the past and am looking forward to having her again.  She tells THE BEST stories.  The pattern I have chosen is different than I normally choose.  It is a pattern by Ann Willey, offered by Kris, and titled Yellow Bird, measuring 24" x 32 1/4".  I am going to wish I chose a smaller pattern . . . sigh.       

       

So in addition to doing some odds & end for the hook in and getting items made for vending, I have also been working on consignment items for Kris' rug camp in October.  Here are the pumpkins and snowguys I got done.  They take much longer than they appear to take.  (Ugh.  Washed out colors as usual.)

AND!!!  Last year since I was in the midst of my kitchen/bath remodel, I did not get my Halloween stuff out.  I am currently knee deep in Halloween boxes.  No one should have this many decorations.

Then the day after the hook in I volunteered to work a pug event for Ohio Pug Rescue, well over an hour away.  I don't think I have been to a pug event since pre-Covid.

In a previous post I mentioned a family matter that had come up.  A close family member went to the ER a couple weeks ago with what was thought to be a kidney stone and left a few days later with a probable cancer diagnosis.  Surgery was performed yesterday and now it's the waiting game to find out the biopsy results.  Please keep this family member in your prayers.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs 😊

Lauren