Sauder Village ~ part 2

Thank you for stopping by for the Sauder Village rug show, part 2.

I must tell you ~ I am such a dork sometimes! I get to the show, get out the camera, and am stumped why it won't work. Somehow the video switch was on...turned that off and all is well. After about three pictures, another problem. I get a message that the "card is full". I have this huge card that holds a ton of pictures, but I never download them to the computer. Duh! I take some time and delete pics, take some pics, and pretty soon I get the same message again, so I take more time to delete more pictures. Good thing I take a lot of bad pictures so I had plenty I could delete!

Once again, here are more rugs in no particular order.

If my memory serves me correctly, the McLorney home is featured in the new Rug Hooking Celebrations magazine coming out any time now.

Close up.

Don't you just love Edyth O'Neill patterns?

I hope your week starts off with a bang!

Pug hugs :)

Lauren

The rugs of Sauder Village ~ part 1

Thank you so much for stopping by for the first of the Sauder Village hooked rugs. I have lots of pictures to share with you in the next few posts. The rugs were phenomenal, as always. So many talented hookers out there!

Since the blog is rugs AND pugs, I thought I'd start with the only hooked pug rug I have ever seen. It was obviously a much loved pug who has gone to the rainbow bridge.

A close up showing the attached rhinestone (?) collar.
The rest of today's rugs in no particular order.
You can click on them to enlarge.
Enjoy the show!

Another version of the same rug.

Please stop back. I have many, many more pictures.

Pug hugs :)

Lauren

Everything you wanted to know about hooking...

...but were afraid to ask!

Stop over at April Deconick's blog, Red Jack Rugs (see my side bar) and check out her virtual classroom. It has SO MUCH information, from the basics to techniques, color, dying, finishing, etc. She's also posted several rug hooking videos. Thank you, April.

She's inspiring many of us to become ten minute hookers ~ just 10 minutes a day and as her motto states, "a little a day, goes a long way".

If any of my readers are near north/north eastern Ohio, stop by the Candlelight Winery in Garretsville this Saturday from 2:00 - 5:00 and enjoy a glass of Pink Pug Wine to benefit Ohio Pug Rescue. All pets are welcome at this event. Go to http://www.ohiopugrescue.com/ for more information.

Tomorrow I'm off to Sauder Village for their rug show. The talent displayed there is unbelievable. I hope to have lots of pictures to share with you. I'm still deciding whether or not to buy a Townsend cutter, but with all the positive response I've gotten to my inquiry, I just may bite the bullet and do it! I'll probably add to my wool addiction, er, I mean collection, too.

Thank you so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)

Lauren

Hookin' at the Metro Park ~ ~ ~

Occasionally I get the opportunity to hook with a great bunch of ladies at the local Metro Park. Since it is only ten minutes from where I work, I combined my lunch hour with an hour of personal time and joined them yesterday. So much talent in one room!

By the time I remembered to get out the camera, it was time for me to head back to work, so I only had time to take a few quick pictures. Hopefully next time I will do better!

This one is all done except for sewing down the binding. I am not good at capturing the true colors. They were outstanding in this rug!

Very sweet and very near completion.
Another one almost done. So old looking!

These stars seem ready to jump off the linen.

I failed miserably in taking the picture of this HUGE Tennessee hearts rug.

The colors are gorgeous. Thanks to all the ladies for letting me share their rugs.

Hopefully next time I will get the camera out sooner.

Pug hugs :)

Lauren

How I became a hooker...

Over twenty (yes 20!) years ago, I signed up for a rug hooking class. I believe it was maybe four classes. None of the pattern choices really caught my eye, but I did chose a quilt star, if my memory serves me correctly. I swear we were hooking with spaghetti and I hated every loop I pulled. It ended up in the craft closet for the next decade and when I was packing up to move ten years ago, I think I threw it all away ~ frame, hook and project ~ because I had no intention of ever picking up a hook again.

Fast forward to late 2004. On ebay, I began to discover primitive rug hooking. I found a local teacher and signed up for a class. Unfortunately, the class was cancelled, but I figured "What the heck. I can teach myself." and so I turned to my best friend ebay and began to purchase hooking supplies. Luckily, I did purchase a Hartman hook from the teacher, but everything else was bought on ebay. I bought some linen (that I still buy to this day). I bought a frame, only to discover that the frame would not hold the linen taut. I didn't have a cutter, so I bought pre-cut wool strips. And I bought some more ~ and more ~ and more. (Get the picture?) Thankfully I never kept track of what I spent or I may have gone into cardiac arrest! I bought so many unbelievably poor quality strips, not knowing any better.

I drew out my first pattern ~ a small mat. I chose my colors. I'll never understand the ugly colors I chose ~ NEVER! So I began to hook. WOW! It was much more difficult and awkward than I thought it would be. Here is that first mat.

I still display it on a table in my living room ~ as a reminder of how far I have come!

My second attempt was much more pleasing to the eye.

I didn't hook it for the stool, but it's a perfect fit.

This is mat #3. Sorry it's a little blurry, but the colors were just totally wrong

taking it with a flash.

Most of the things I have hooked have been small rug/mats. I guess since I hook so slowly, I needed to feel as if I could accomplish something. Last fall I hooked a 13 x 25" Woolley Fox pattern and currently I am still working on my cat rug that is about 20 x 32". I'll post an update of that soon.

Thank you for dropping by.

I hope your week is off to a great start.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

A question for all you hookers ~ ~ ~

A post with no pictures. Very strange!

Just a quick question for all you rug hookers.

I am thinking about purchasing a Townsend cutter.

If you have one, do you think it is worth the cost?

I currently have a Rigby cutter and it usually does an okay job, but sometimes it is difficult to feed the wool through and get uniform width strips.

The cutter heads are new, so that's not the issue.

Sauder Village rug week is coming up and I believe they usually offer a 10% discount. Decisions, decisions.

Let me know what you think!

Hope your weekend is a good one.

We got some much needed rain today.

I don't have to water the flowers. Yippee!

Plus it's a good excuse not to work in the yard today.

Pug hugs :)

Lauren

Stone Fruit ~ ~ ~

Stone fruit and wooden bowls and trenchers ~ ~ ~ two of my favorite things! A number of years ago I started collecting stone fruit. I'd seen it at some of the better antique shows. The going rate was generally $30-$35 a piece ~ WAY WAY out of my price range, so I turned to my former best friend ebay (I say former because it's just too easy to spend way too much money there, which I did for years!) and was able to purchase it at a much more reasonable price. Granted, it probably isn't as old as the pricier pieces, but I am not a purist. As you can see, I got just a little obsessive-compulsive buying it (and I gave away many pieces as gifts to my BFF and to my SIL).

This bowl is on the upstairs landing.

On the dining room cupboard. Dining room table.

Living room coffee table.

Miniature stone fruit (the banana is 3") on a cherry wash stand at

the base of the stairs.

In the kitchen. More miniature fruit in the old pressed glass compote and life sized in the covered compote.

I should be heading to bed, but I still have not yet done my 10 minutes of hooking. Stop on over at Red Jack Rugs to join the challenge.

For those of you who "met" Frannie, I called her new mommy today and she did not return my call. I do hope she is doing well! I'll keep you posted.

Thank you for stopping by!
Pug hugs :)

Lauren