Almost Ready ~

I'm almost ready for tomorrow's class with Annette Shaffer.  The buttons are sewn on the funky chicken.   I can't believe how long it took me.  All I have left to do it braid her legs and tomorrow she will be mounted on an old bed spring.

Aren't these buttons fun?  I love the face button on the left.

 

If there is time to work on a second project, this bunny will also be mounted on a bedspring.  Wow, in looking at the picture, the nose seems so not right, but nothing I can do about it now because the back has been glued to prevent fraying when it is cut out.

Even though a Cabela's is opening this summer just 20 minutes from us, DSO and I headed two hours to Michigan to take my grandson Jake.  I believe it is the largest store they have. and it is quite impressive.  Jake was excited because he had never been to Michigan.  He was disappointed when he found out we were not staying overnight.

He definitely was impressed with all the taxidermied animals. 

 

He was hoping to get a camouflage jacket and the one he wanted to try on was $199.00.  We were both shocked to say the least and that was the end of his hunt for a camo item . . . lol.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

A Little Reverse Hooking ~

 

After posting the chicken, I decided it really did need some red in the tail feathers.  That was the original plan but then I changed my mind.  Should have stuck with it.  I'm not a big fan of reverse hooking, though this went quickly.  Here it is with the buttons, though they are not yet sewn on.

 

I found an old shoe button that I used for her eye.

 

Here is the honeycomb wool I used.  I'm not sure whose wool it is, but I'm sure one of my readers will know the source.

I also posed the question on Facebook.  I'm told that the Old Tattered Flag carries it (called Henny Penny wool) and it can also be found at   Designsinwool on Etsy.  Facebook readers are saying it is both a Rebecca Erb and a Dorr wool.

 

It's the second time I've used it for a chicken and it's just perfect.  I used the above wool for the chicken and a darker honeycomb for the border.

 

Pattern by Kris Miller

 

It's 6:20 pm as I'm starting this post and it's still not dark.  I am looking forward to the time change to have even more daylight  hours in the evening, though it's not fun going to work in the dark.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Harbingers of Spring ~

It looks like our snowstorm is fizzling once again.  No complaints from me :)

 

These pictures may not look like much, but these sweet little flowers are harbingers of spring.  (Oh, lots of work to be done in the flower beds.  I have these crazy maple (yes, maple) trees that do not lose their leaves until late November, early December.)

 

Snowdrops and winter aconite (eranthis)
(They really are maple leaves.
That oak leaf to the left is not from my yard.)

Lenten rose (hellebore)

Daffodil buds

 

My little bunny is on his way to winter in Arizona :)  He was a 2015 freebie pattern by the Woolen Willow.

 

 

I'm making progress on my funky chicken.  You can see she's not very big but has to be hooked and prepped before Sunday's class with Annette Shaffer.  I'm not hooking those teeny tiny circles.  I'm thinking of using buttons.  I also hope to get the bunny hooked in case I have time to work on a second project in class.

 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Daisy's Been Put Out to Pasture ~

 

 

It's a blustery day here on Ohio's north coast, but the sun is out and it's 64* so no complaints from me.

 

My poor Daisy rug has been put on hold.  I haven't pulled a loop on her in a couple weeks.  As I said, I did get a little mat hooked for a swap and finished the February Rebekah Smith stitch along, but in just a couple days will get the next part of the pattern.  Sorry, but can't share either with you.  I'm currently working on this little bunny applique that will be heading west soon I hope.  It was a freebie pattern from Buttermilk Basin, if I remember correctly.  Oops.  The pattern is from the Woolen Willow.

 

 

I also need to get these two little designs hooked up before my class next Sunday.  They are small, but if I don't pick up my hook soon I'll have a hard time getting them done.  They will be cut out and mounted on old bed springs. 

 

 

AND . . . there is a new rug challenge on Facebook.  Kelley Belfast has shared a pattern for us to hook.  We have until May 1 to hook it and can't show what we are hooking.  You can find the link here if you are interested.  If you are not a member of the group, you can request to join.  SO . . . I guess I won't be having much to blog about for a while.    There's also the braided edge that hasn't been stitched to the little snowman mat.  And how much am I getting done sitting at this computer???

 

Congrats to Cathy over at Acorn Hollow :)  She is one of my longtime and most faithful followers.  I will send the magazine and book out to her soon.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

 

 

Great Truths ~

 

 

GREAT TRUTHS 

1. In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man  is a shame, two is a law firm,  
and three or more is a congress.  
-- John Adams 

2. If you don't read the newspaper  
you are uninformed, if you do  
read the newspaper you are  
misinformed. -- Mark Twain 

3. Suppose you were an idiot. And  
suppose you were a member of  
Congress. But then I repeat  
myself. -- Mark Twain 

4. I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and  
trying to lift himself up by the  
handle. --Winston Churchill 

5. A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul. -- George Bernard Shaw 

6. A liberal is someone who feels a  
great debt to his fellow man, which debt he proposes to pay off with your money. -- G. Gordon   Liddy

 

7. Giving money and power to  
government is like giving whiskey  
and car keys to teenage boys.  
-- P.J. O'Rourke  

8. Government's view of the  
economy could be summed up  
in a few short phrases: If it  
moves, tax it. If it keeps  
moving, regulate it. And if it  
stops moving, subsidize it.  
--Ronald Reagan (1986)

 

9. I don't make jokes.  I just watch

the government and report the  
facts. -- Will Rogers

 

10. If you think health care is  

expensive now, wait until you  
see what it costs when it's free!  

                                                 -- P. J. O'Rourke                                      

11. No man's life, liberty, or  
property is safe while the  
legislature is in session.  
-- Mark Twain (1866)

 

12. Talk is cheap, except when  
Congress does it. -- Anonymous 

13. The inherent vice of capitalism is  
the unequal sharing of the blessings. 

The inherent blessing of socialism

is the equal sharing of misery.

-- Winston Churchill 

14. The only difference between a  
tax man and a taxidermist is that  
the taxidermist leaves the skin.  
--     Mark Twain

 

15. There is no distinctly Native  
American criminal class, save  
Congress. -- Mark Twain 

16. What this country needs are  
more unemployed politicians  
--Edward Langley,
Artist (1928-1995) 

17. A government big enough

to give you everything you want, is  
strong enough to take everything  
you have. -- Thomas Jefferson

FIVE BEST SENTENCES 

1. You cannot legislate the poor into  
prosperity, by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity. 

2. What one person receives without  
working for, another person must  
work for without receiving. 

3. The government cannot give to  
anybody anything that the  
government does not first take  
from somebody else. 

4. You cannot multiply wealth by  
dividing it. 

5. When half of the people get the  
idea that they do not have to work,

because the other half is going to take care of them,

and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work, because somebody else is going to get what they work for,

that is the  
beginning of the end of any nation!

 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Out of Control ~

 

 

How do things get so totally out of control?  My 2015 New Year's goal was to declutter, purge, organize.  HA.  That never happened.  I have just over 1500 square feet with a full basement and walk up attic.  It is only me.  How can I be overflowing with STUFF???  My house was built in 1940 but I am blessed with 2 walk in closets.  They are small, but should one look like this?  I took the picture after I had already taken some stuff out.  I bought a cheap bookcase to put in there and hope to at least get the books organized.  Magazines are being sorted and organized in the spare room closet.  The sad part is that stuff I didn't know what to do with ended up in the basement.  I think I need an intervention . . . lol . . . but it's really not funny. 

 

 

In the sorting of books and magazine, I did come across a few duplicates (why???).  Today I offer these two - March/April/May 2013 issue of Rug Hooking Magazine and All-Time Favorite Hand-Hooked Rugs, presented by RHM.  If you are interested, please leave a comment on this post or send me an email with give-away as the subject.  A winner will be chosen Sunday and must contact me within 3 days.

 

 

I must share this picture of grandson Jake.  He was chosen to participate in a math tournament last Saturday, one of only six students chosen from his school.  He's the studious looking one in the glasses.

 

 

Not much else going on this hump day.  We've had lots of rain today that is supposed to turn to snow overnight.  I actually like a late winter snow storm because I know it won't stick around for too long.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Favorite Khaki Background ~

 

Do you have certain wools that must be in your stash?  Favorite khaki background, a Rebecca Erb wool, is one of mine.  Used alone, it hooks up great.  It can be cut in either direction and if you mix them both, you get a great primitive background. 

 For this little mat (which I still can't share), I've used the khaki background and these additional wools. 
 

Had I been a little less lazy, I would have headed to the worm stash so I could have had even more variety.  Oh, the never ending multiplication of worms.  I do believe they procreate while we sleep.
 

 

I hope your week is off to a great start.
Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs :)
Lauren