On the Frame ~

Today was the first day upon arriving at work the security light did not come one.  How ironic that in five days it will once again be totally dark on the drive to work, but I am looking forward to the time change.  I would much rather have the daylight hours in the evening.

* * *

I am hoping the only "rules" in hooking a Magdalena Briner rug is that there are no rules :)  Melissa hooked a version of this rug while at the hook-in at Sauder Village.  (You can see her rug here.)  As Saundra pointed out, because of the age of Magdalena rugs and the design being in the public domain, there is no copyright on her designs.  Melissa gave me the templates.  I enlarged them and put them on linen.  The rug I've drawn is 13" x 21".  I don't hook LARGE rugs ~ the largest rug I've hooked to date was another Magadalena rug that was about 16" x 46".  It's funny because on the Woolley Fox website they referred to rug (I don't remember which one) that I think was 23" x 39" as a small rug.  I guess it's all relative.  Anyway, here's what I've done so far.  Kind of flying by the seat of my pants.  I'm not yet sure if the background will be light or dark.  I guess I will be deciding soon!

Here are the wools I used for the animals.  The colors aren't too bad except for the last wool.  It is the raspberry crumb wool from Betsy's most recent mailer and it's much more subtle in person.  I've hooked the animals in two evenings which is pretty fast for me!

We've had some more crazy weather here on Ohio's north coast.  Two days ago we had a few inches of snow and tomorrow the forecast is for temps in the low 60's.  The wind has been howling for several days, but thankfully we have not had the tornadoes and devastation of other areas.  Let's keep those in our prayers who have lost so much.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Lucky Me!!!

Happy Sunday, everyone.  Another weekend will soon come to a close.  The weekends just seem to pass all too quickly!  I have been battling something for a few days.  I'm not sure if it's allergies (which I think I've just gotten the last few years) or a cold.  I spent 11 1/2 hour sleeping last night and did not get my sorry butt out of bed until 10:30!!!

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I was one lucky puppy!  I was the winner in a give-away by the oh-so-talented Marly of Samplers and Santas.  Marly is an amazing cross stitcher (among other things!).  Her blog will keep you in stitches, and I'm not talking the counted cross stitch kind.  I won this stack of boxes measuring a mere 7 1/2" tall.  She takes paper mache boxes, ages them to perfection and attaches copies of samplers she has stitched.  I've admired them on her blog and when she has had sets up for sale, they are immediately SOLD!  If you are interested, she may be listing some more for sale tonight so stop on by.  This stack is perfect for the top of my pie safe that I use for wool storage.  Thank you, Marly!  I will treasure them always.

I finished my fraktur tulip, a pattern by Wendy Miller of the Red Saltbox.  I opted not to finish it as a 15" round chair pad.  My finished size is 15 x 16 1/2".

These are the true colors.  The background was hooked with three different dark blue wools (not the washed out color above).

My next hooking project had not yet been planned, so last night I started on this little punch needle piece that had been previously drawn on weaver's cloth. 

I don't think I will ever tire of taking pictures of Annie's tongue!  It is very rare when it is not hanging out.



Thanks for stopping by!
Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Just for Fun ~

To write with a broken pencil is . . . Pointless.

When fish are in schools they sometimes . . . Take debate.

A thief who stole a calendar . . . Got twelve months.

When the smog lifts in Los Angeles . . . U.C.L.A.


The professor discovered that her theory of earthquakes . . .Was on

shaky ground.



The batteries were given out . . . Free of charge.

A dentist and a manicurist married. .. . . They fought tooth and nail.

 A will is a . . . Dead giveaway.

If you don't pay your exorcist . . . You can get repossessed.

 With her marriage, she got a new name . .. . And a dress.

 Show me a piano falling down a mine shaft and I'll show you . . .A-flat miner.

 You are stuck with your debt if . . . You can't budge it.

Local Area Network in Australia: . . . The LAN down under.

 A boiled egg is . . . Hard to beat.


When you've seen one shopping center . . . You've seen a mall.



Police were called to a day care where a three-year-old was . . .
Resisting a rest.



The fellow whose whole left side was cut off . . . He's all right now.



If you take a laptop computer for a run you could . . . Jog your

memory.

A bicycle can't stand alone . . . It is two tired.



In a democracy it's your vote that counts; in feudalism . . . It's

your Count that votes.



When a clock is hungry . . .. It goes back four seconds.


The guy who fell onto an upholstery machine . . . Was fully recovered.


He had a photographic memory . . . Which was never developed.



Those who get too big for their britches will be . . . Exposed in the

end.


When she saw her first strands of gray hair . . . She thought she'd

dye.

Happy weekend to you.
Pug hugs :)
Lauren
P.S.  Blogger - 1   Me - 0
Blogger will NOT let me space things evenly and I give up.  Blogger wins!

The Winner Is ~ ~ ~

Congrats to Gayle, the Middle Sister!  She is both a quilter and a hooker so I'm sure she will put this book to good use.  Thanks to all who entered, and special thanks to Polly for making this give-away possible!

Just a couple of pictures from the computer desk looking in to the upstairs landing.  Annie is like a little kid leaving her toys everywhere.  She is so funny.  Every night at bedtime she runs and gets a toy or a chewie thing to bring to bed.

Can you believe it is already March 1?  Spring is just around the corner!!!

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

The Girlz ~

DSO got a new camera that takes amazing close-ups!

Here's our Loocie . . .





. . . and my foster Annie.

She has a face that makes you smile ~

or maybe laugh!

One of these days someone will meet her . . .

and fall in love with her . . .

and she will finally have her forever home.

{If you haven't already done so,

you still have time to sign up

for the give-away.}

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

A BIG THANK YOU to Polly Minick ~

In a recent post, I mentioned how much I love Polly Minick's new book, "American Summer, Seaside Inspired Rugs & Quilts".  Saundra of Woodland Junction sent Polly the link to my blog and I received the sweetest email from Polly offering to send me a copy of "Victory Girls, Patriotic Quilts and Rugs of WWII" to give away on my blog.  This book is co-written with her sister Laurie Simpson.  Within days, I had an autographed copy in my mailbox.  It is the only Polly book I do not own.  {{Can I enter my own give-away???}}  I will definitely be buying this one soon.  I am not a quilter, but this is a book any quilter or hooker should have on her bookshelf.  I just love a book that offers patterns!

Anyway . . . entering the give-away is simple.  Just leave a comment on this post or send me an e-mail with give-away in the subject line.  I will pick the winner Thursday evening. 

Thank you so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Down on the Farm ~

Last night was hooking at That'll Do Farm.  The usual suspects were there . . . actually I should say the usual hookers.  Check out Andrea's blog for more pictures.  Here's Andrea's chicken rug.  She is getting SO CLOSE!!!  And it's lookin' SO GOOD!!!  I keep trying to convince her that if you hook in something larger than a 6 cut it goes much more quickly, but she is not yet convinced :)

Here's the latest rug on my frame.  It's a Wendy Miller pattern I bought at Sauder Village last year.  I plan to finish it rectangular, not round.  The colors in this pic are quite accurate (thanks, Andrea!).

I wanted to show the wool I used for the urn.  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that wool.  I only used the lighter area of the wool.  This should hook up pretty quickly.  I am using an 8.5, 9 and 9.5 cut.

Here are a few daffodils I got from the garden several days ago.  It is amazing how much they continue to grow!  The stems have probably grown close to three inches and tomorrow they should be blooming.  

Have a great weekend!  My next post will be a really cool give-away.  Stay tuned.

Pug hugs : )
Lauren