Another One Fully Finished ~

 

I do believe this hit 'n miss was hooked and bound in record time.  After the challenge of hooking Yellow Bird, I just needed something totally mindless.  The squares are 5 1/2" and the overall size is about 18" x 30".

I am not wishing my life away, but I will be happy to say good riddance to February.  The shortest month of the year always seems the longest!  We finally have temps above freezing and most of our snow is gone.  I have two hooking ventures to look forward to in March.  Praying that the weather cooperates.

A fun log cabin purchased a few weeks ago.  It will reside outside in the garden.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs 😊

Lauren

Mindless Hooking ~

 

After finishing the hooking on Yellow Bird, I needed something mindless to hook . . . and DSO wanted a rug for the base of the stairs, so this fit the bill perfectly.  I rarely hook during the day, but spent about a week taking making some time.  One more square to go and I will add a couple more rows of darks for the border.  The finished size will be about 29" x 17".  The only wool I have had to cut are the darks.  Worms used for the rest.

Karen, thank you for the kind comment on my house.  You are a no-reply blogger, so I can't respond via email.  Just wanted to mention that Gabby from Cape on the Corner is where you saw the video.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Quick Like a Bunny ~

What my mom always said when we needed to hurry.  Well, today has flown by.  My to-do list is still pretty much full, and I must leave soon to buy some wool and drop off a birthday gift.  More on that later in the post.

I am home from my hooking retreat.  As always a wonderful time with lots of laughs.  

I was going hooking a couple weeks ago and had nothing ready to work on, so grabbed a piece of linen that was already zig zagged and drew out a hit 'n miss mat.  My "go to" project when I need something quick.  I only had 3 squares left to hook so quickly finished that.

Then I moved on to the my challenge rug that will be displayed at Sauder Village during rug week.  One of the guilds I belong to, Crooked River, had a challenge of "All Things Chicken".  Well, nothing like waiting until the last minute.  I had most of the chicken hooked before the retreat and came very close to finishing the little mat.  The area around the circle is what I had left to hook when I ran out of the background wool.  ARGH!!!  I know I could have fudged it by incorporating a similar wool, but I am taking the easy way out and buying more wool this evening.  I won't reveal the finished piece until after rug week.

ALL DONE!  Thankfully I had just enough ties with colors that coordinated perfectly with the hooked area.

I just love the Nordson ties.

The back.

I wanted to incorporate this tie because my brother had a sailboat for 40 (?) years, but it just would have stuck out like a sore thumb as one of the tongues.  I was just going to stitch a piece to the back, but one of the hookers suggested putting the label on the tie.  Perfect!  this will be delivered to the birthday girl this evening.

Will share some of the rugs being worked on in my next post.  

Please think good thoughts for DSO.  He is having back surgery on Wednesday.  Praying that he will recover quickly with minimal pain.  He has suffered long enough!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

How do You Eat an Elephant?

How do you bind a rug?  A little each day.  I have the attention span of a gnat, though it has been pointed out to me that gnats are very persistent so I'm not sure where that saying has come from.  My hit 'n miss is finally steamed and bound.  It only needs a label . . . and I am falling behind in labeling my rugs.  It is my largest rug hooked to date.  I hooked it for next to my bed, but I've decided to take the front door rug, put it bedside and put this one by the front door.  Note my little photo bomber.

A smaller version of the same rug about 6' from the larger one.

I have started Madi's favorite by Margo White but not enough is hooked to make it worthwhile posting.  I am using some of the wool I dyed last week.  

Me some days . . . sigh.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Doing a Little Happy Dance ~

Just a quickie to let you know my hit 'n miss is DONE!!!  The hooking that is.  I trimmed the linen and zig zagged the edges today.   (Note to self . . . on a big rug, do this before hooking!!!).  Next up is steaming which I like about as much as I like binding.  I guess they are the necessary evils of a rug hooker.  The finished size is 30 1/2" x 48 1/2", my largest rug to date.

Sadly I have nothing planned to put on the frame.  I have plenty to choose from, but nothing is screaming at me to hook it.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs 😊

Lauren

So Close ~

I have been on a mission this week to finish my hit 'n miss rug.  I am so happy to be so close 😁  Binding is going to be a bear.  I should have zig zagged where I plan to cut the linen before hooking.  Note to self . . . next time do it!!!

My daffodils were so prolific this year but are sadly coming to an end.  On a happy note, the lilacs are beginning to bloom, but I must have pruned my bush too late so don't have that many flowers. 

The forsythia is in full bloom.

I don't remember the name of this flower, but it is spreading like crazy.  As you can see, the hyacinth are done for the season.

My brother's DSO gifted me a Johnny jump up plant last fall.  It sat in the unheated garage all winter since I never got around to planting.  Thankfully I did not kill it and it is beginning to grow in the garden.  They always remind me of my mom.  It was one of her favorite plants 💖

Please think good thoughts for my brother.  A little prayer would also be appreciated.  He ended up at the ER last night and has been admitted for pneumonia.  He has other health issues, too.  Hopefully this will be a wake up call that he needs to take better care of himself!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs 😊

Lauren

Happy National Pet Day ~

Molly would like to wish everyone a happy National Pet Day.

Another week has flown by.  I know I was busy all week, but it sure feels like I got nothing done.  I did go hook twice.  I can't remember the last time I have gone to hook twice in the same week!  The weather has been gorgeous so yard work was done.  Of course that is a never ending task 😁

I have been hooking on my hit 'n miss rug.  I am pretty bored with it, but I am afraid if I set it aside, it will become a long time WIP.  31 of 40 squares are done.  The color is terrible in this picture but nothing seemed to work in getting truer colors.

I also started a little cross stitch piece.  Not a sampler, which I prefer to stitch, but a sweet little piece nonetheless.  I'm thinking ahead to that "C" holiday.

I have started walking down to Lake Erie each morning.  (It's not like I am walking that far . . . lol!  I only live a couple blocks away.)  The lake has been extremely calm.  It is good for the soul to be outdoors.

I was talking with a neighbor today that I don't often talk with.  I mentioned that if I didn't have my "hobbies" I would be absolutely stark raving mad.  She asked me if I did diamond dot.  I told her I had heard of it but it was not something that interested me.  She then showed me a couple of her projects.  The part that cracked me up was when she said she thought it was a pretty expensive hobby and proceeded to say that the one kit cost $14.00!!!  (And for the record . . . it was not a case of that is all she could afford.)  Don't you wish you had a project (whether hooking, applique, stitching, etc) that only cost that?  Each to her own.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs 😊 

Lauren

Progress ~

It has been a do nothing kind of week.  I have plenty I should be doing (cleaning!) but that's no fun so I have spent more time than usual hooking.  I guess that's not a bad thing 😁

My hit and miss is coming along.  I am 37.5% done.  Each square is about 6" and it takes me almost an hour if I really just hook and don't do anything else.  At this rate, I have at least another 25 hours of hooking, but I am getting REALLY bored with it.  My goal is to hook one more row and take a bit of a break from it.  I am using all worms and small bits of wool no bigger than about 3" wide.  Sadly, I haven't even started to make a dent in the worm pile(s).

I only have background left on Dancing Bunnies and I do enjoy hooking background.  This isn't a big rug so I should be done with that in a few days.

March is a big birthday month in my family.  Son turned 40 (how did that happen???), grandson is turning 16 (holy hell!!!) and both my brother and I have birthdays.

Blogger is not playing nice again . . . gggrrrrr.  On my last post 9 comments were left.  Blogger notified me of only 2.  This is the message Robin forwarded to me.  Is anyone else having this issue or receiving this notification?

Today's pithy saying from my page-a-day calendar.  Love this one.  So me . . .

"Good moms can still say bad words".  At least I hope I am a good mom 😏

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Hook-y Stuff ~

My hit 'n miss runner is complete and the binding has been started.  The finished size is just over 1' x 4'.  Though I used many worms, the worm farm is far from being depleted.  One of these days I need to sort through the bins.  So many are pieces that will never be used ~ too short, too narrow, too ragged.  

I also hooked this little mat that will be a door prize at the Crooked River hook in this fall.  I need to tweak the nose a bit.  The free pattern can be found here.

I tried taking another picture of my fractur black wool.  This picture came out much better.  It is a smokey grayish color.

Molly . . . just because.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Be safe and stay healthy.
Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Sunday Stuff ~

Happy Sunday, dear friends.  I hope this finds you happy and healthy, social distancing, and doing everything possible to stay that way.

This week I was able to accomplish some yardwork.  The weather wasn't yardwork perfect, but I made do.  In fact, I am about half done with the spring cleanup.  I have never done yard work in March :)  

Sweet mini daffodils

I did manage to already catch poison ivy.  Not sure how it happened since I had on a jacket and gloves.  Funny.  When I moved here in 1999, there was lots of poison ivy along the neighbor's fence/my yard.  I tore it out and never got poison ivy.  Along that same fence, coming from the neighbor's side, I've now gotten it for three years.  I guess the old body is changing in more ways than I can possibly imagine.  Today I even mowed the lawn :)  It feels so good to play outdoors.

I finally have been hooking.  Just a mindless hit 'n miss runner that I am making for a friend's May birthday.  It will end up being about 4 1/2' long with each square being just over 4".  I am about half done and getting bored.  Something different will soon be on the frame!

Not much to blog about when one is home all the time.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)

Lauren  

Finally a Bit of Progress~

Christmas is approaching at breakneck speed.  The decorating has been done and I thought by now all the other tasks would be, too, but try as I may, there is still much to do.  The cards have been almost done for days, but still just almost.  Hopefully they will be in tomorrow's mail.  Wrapping hasn't begun.  Good news, though, the boxes have been mailed.

Not much creating has been going on, but I have managed to pull a few loops and am happy that I have passed the half way mark on the hit 'n miss background.  I have many tubs of worms but have I used any of them?  I'm guessing you know the answer to that one.  I wanted to only use the wools that are in the flowers so . . . no worm reduction.

Remember the shoo fly I bought last year that I had on my dining room table?  Now that I purchased the trencher I had to find a new place for it.  It ended up on the blanket chest turned coffee table in the living room.

I also found the perfect Santa to set in him.  Rhonda (a blog reader and Ohio gal who I have met several times) sells on Early Works Mercantile as Simply Quaint.  Santa is just perfect . . . and his reindeer's name is Elmer.  I'm so happy he wasn't already sold.  

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Hit 'n Miss Fini ~

I know it's not just Ohio that is waterlogged.  I was to go on my first ever motorcycle trip this past week.  DSO and I, along with my son and grandson were planning a trip to Niagara Falls, about a 250 miles.  We were going to take the scenic route along the lake.  Our rain date was this week.  That trip, too, has been I cancelled.  There is just too much rain in the forecast.  But as I've stated before, for me it is just an inconvenience.  My livelihood does not depend on it.

My so sweet baby bathtub fell over in my waterlogged flower bed.  No real damage done, but all the plants had to be moved back in place and some dirt added.  Several people asked what the yellow flowers are.  They are a medium sized petunia that I purchased at Walmart.  How ironic.  I was showing a neighbor who brought me a climbing rose bush (how very sweet of her!!!) my bathtub planter and she said she had one in her garage that was left in her attic when she purchased her house and even the antique shop did not want it.  It was mine for the taking :)  Well, how could I say no to that?  I've already had a friend threaten to steal mine.  It is currently sitting in the driveway by the garage.  DSO made some little wooden feet so hopefully it will not fall over again when it is put back in the garden.

I've finished my fun little hit 'n miss mat.  All it needs is a final steaming and a label.  As predicted, it did not make the slightest dent in the worm farm.  The finished size ended up being about 13 1/2" x 22".

It's been forever since I've had a give-away, so if you'd like a chance to win this little mat, leave a comment on this post or drop me an email with give-away in the subject line.  My only real "rule" is that you need to contact me within three days or I will choose another.  Please, no sharing on any social media.  I will choose a winner in a week or so :)

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren