Hooking at the library ~ ~ ~

First of all, a Frannie update. Here's Frannie perched on the back of my couch. My "personal pug" Loocie and all the pugs I've fostered LOVE to jump on the back of the couch and sleep like a cat. The saga of Frannie continues. {{SIGH}} Monday was the hernia surgery and Tuesday we were back at the vet. I was panicked when I looked at her belly at lunchtime. She had a huge lump again and I was so worried she had somehow gotten another hernia. We headed to the vet and to my relief (???), it was just swollen. He drained a significant amount of fluid and said we'd probably have to come back again on Friday, and it looks like we will need to return. I'm just thankful it doesn't seem to bother her!

Since Frannie seemed to be doing fine, I snuck out to hook for a bit with the "library hookers". It was a smaller group than normal, but what a talented bunch of ladies. Lisa was finishing the binding on this fall rug. The colors are much more muted than they appear.

Here's Lisa's current project. I always love her color choices.
Karin did a fabulous job on her Rag Doll rug!
Here's an antique adaptation that she is now working on. At the rate she hooks, it will probably be done by the next time I see her.
Here is a close-up. She does beautiful work.

Last but not least is Leah's feather tree rug ~ very sweet and very near completion.

A big thank you to all the ladies for letting me share their rugs. I really do appreciate it and all of you inspire me!

I can't believe the week is already half over. Where does the time go?

Pug hugs to everyone :)

Lauren

# 2 Bad Boy ~ ~ ~

Here is my #2 Bad Boy...lol! His birth name is Jason, but he simply goes by J (though I still call him Jason most of the time). Since I already posted about his older brother, I don't want him to feel left out. Yeah, right. He'd be MORE than happy if I didn't post this. You can see how happy he is to have his picture taken. (Actually he comes by this justly. I HATE to have my picture taken.)

This was last Halloween. He and his girlfriend Janet (who is absolutely wonderful to his son Jake!!!!) belong to the S.C.A., the Society for Creative Anachronism. It is an international organization dedicated to researching and recreating the arts and skills of pre-17th century Europe. Their "Known World" consists of 19 kingdoms with over 30,000 members worldwide. (For more information, visit www.sca.org.) They dressed up to go trick-or-treating with Jake.

J is such a great Dad. I'm very proud of him!

Here they are last summer being "cool in the pool".

My poor little foster girl Frannie. If it wasn't for bad luck, she'd have no luck at all. She tore her spay incision stitches internally, and ended up with a hernia. They repaired it today. Hopefully this time she can heal without a problem. She is so active and to try to stop her from jumping or climbing stairs will be a challenge for me. I must be more diligent this week than I was last. Wish me luck.

Hopefully tomorrow night I can sneak away for a couple of hours and head to the library to hook with the ladies ~ and hopefully I'll get a few pictures. They are all so talented!

Pug hugs to everyone :)

Lauren

Antique show goodies ~ ~ ~

Sorry, my pictures are out of order, and blogger has decided it will no longer let me move them. GGGGRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!! This picture was originally after "wool", but I inadvertently deleted it and when I added it once again, I can't move it so it is here to stay! (Does anyone else have that problem? It just started a couple of posts ago.)

It was a perfect day for the antique show in Milan, Ohio, birthplace to Thomas Edison. It is held outdoors on the town square. This show seems to be blessed with good weather every year. (Last year it rained in the morning but soon cleared up.) I ran into a couple of my hooker friends, Karin and hubby and later Mitsuko with her daughter. Also one of the dealers set up I had met in a class I took from Alice at Folk Art Primitives.

If money was no object, there was plenty I would have bought ~ crocks, baskets, samplers, Leeds...but that not being the case, I was rather conservative.

A few years ago, my DSO gave these printer blocks to me at Christmas as a stocking stuffer...

...I then stole the idea from Linda over at the Wool Cupboard to add these words. The blocks were a bargain at only 25 cents each!
Luckily I tracked down a good friend at the show, so I was able to buy a couple of Christmas presents for the DSO without him seeing them. Now if he decides to read this post, he'll have months to wonder what I bought.

I collect treen (aka treenware). Treenware means that the item was derived from trees. This particular piece is known as Peaseware, made by the Pease family of Ohio in the latter quarter of the 1800's and early 1900's. It is about 5 inches high and about the same width. Peaseware has very delicate turnings and such great form. I have a few smaller pieces but nothing this large. Normally, I can't afford the pieces, but the lid on this piece was broken in half and re-glued and the body also has a crack. Nonetheless, it is a wonderful addition to my collection and I'm thrilled to have found it.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Pug hugs :)

Lauren

Rug and pug updates ~ ~ ~

Welcome and thanks for stopping by. I hope you are enjoying your summer!

For those of you who did not see a previous post, I am fostering a three year old female pug through Ohio Pug Rescue. She came into rescue with the name Fat Girl. I just couldn't call her that and she finally has a new name. Her is name is Fran and I call her Frannie. She has been such a sweetheart. Tuesday she went to the vet and was spayed and brought up to date on all her shots. Her only problem was whip worms and tomorrow she has her last dose of medication. (If you live in Ohio and are interested in adopting a pug, please visit the website www.ohiopugrescue.com.) She is going to make someone a wonderful pet ;-)

As you can see, I've made some progress on my rug, but not as much as I would have liked. I thought the rug looked a little top heavy, so I removed the top two rows. My goal is to find a half hour a day to hook, and this week I have failed miserably! There are also three birthdays this month I wanted to hook or needle punch a gift for. Well, the first birthday is today ~ needless to say that one did not get done. Heck, it didn't even get started...lol! Also, if you stop by Linda's blog, www.thewoolcupboard.blogspot.com, she has a great little freebie pattern I hope to make.

My favorite antique show is this Sunday in Milan, Ohio. Milan is the birth place of Thomas Edison and has a wonderful town square. Many quality dealers set up and I have found some great antiques there over the years. If you are anywhere near, you should try to stop. Oh, I did not mention the best part ~ ~ ~ the show has NO admission.

Here's hoping you've had a great week and your weekend will be even better.

Pug hugs :)

Lauren

Confederate Cemetery ~ ~ ~

I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday, spent with family and/or friends or doing whatever made you happy.

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day on Ohio's north coast. The perfect day for my first motorcycle ride of the year. We hopped on the Honda Valkyrie and headed to Johnson's Island, located in Sandusky Bay. Johnson's Island is a private residential area accessible by causeway. The only area open to the public is the Confederate Cemetery. The cemetery is owned by the Federal Government and maintained by the Veteran's Administration. It is Ohio's most significant Civil War site. The following is taken directly from the website http://www.johnsonsisland.org/.

Military Prison on Johnson's Island

The creation and administration of the Depot of Prisoners of War, Johnson's Island, Sandusky Bay, Ohio, is perhaps the most historically interesting part of the island's colorful history. During the 40 months of its existence, approximately 10,000 men were processed into the stockade on Johnson's Island. Most were Confederate officers. Twenty-six were either generals or officers who became generals during or after their imprisonment. Others confined there were a small number of privates, bushwhackers, guerrillas, and citizens suspected of disloyalty to the Union. The maximum number of prisoners at any one time was about 3224 in January, 1864.

This is a view of the cemetery looking north. The 1912 date on the sign refers to the year the iron fence and gates were installed.

View looking south to the monument.

This is a view looking southeast from the monument. If you look out over the water, you can see rides from Cedar Point Amusement Park.

I hope you have enjoyed today's little history lesson.

Pug hugs :)

Lauren

Happy 4th of July ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ to everyone! ~ ~ ~

I hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday. Last year, my dear significant other (DSO) Fritz and I spent the 4th in Petaluma, California. His older son, Frank, an Army doctor stationed in Alaska, had just returned from a tour of duty in Iraq. His younger son Matt lives in Petaluma and his daughter Heather flew in from Michigan. Pictured below are Matt, DSO, Frank & Heather.A couple pictures of the fireworks we enjoyed.

We stayed at the coolest little hotel in Petaluma, the Metro. It was decorated in a kind of funky, Paris chic decor. Just a fun little place to stay.

I highly recommend it!

There was a little patio outside of most of the rooms.

A view inside the "lobby" area.

Inside our room was the smallest claw foot tub I had ever seen!

Here is a funky goose lamp that was in most of the rooms.

It was tacky, but it made you smile :)

(Yes. our room really was lavender.)

The lavender was in bloom and it smelled heavenly!

From Petaluma we headed to San Francisco. What a fun place to visit. More about that some other time.

Thank you for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)

Lauren

A peek in the hookin' room ~ ~ ~

A BIG THANK YOU to all who have stopped by in the last month! Today I had my 1000th hit. I am so happy. For months I thought about starting a blog, but was afraid no one would drop on by. Thank you all for erasing my doubts.

Today I thought I would give you the ten cent tour of my hooking/computer room. This is the smallest bedroom in the house and when I moved in almost ten years ago (where did the time go?), I got brave and painted it hunter green. I had never painted a room a dark color, let alone a small room, and to this day I still love the color! This built in corner desk is a little cramped, but it works as long as I don't let it get too cluttered.

Here's the file cabinet that keeps me semi-organized and an antique cupboard full of books. The grape ivy in the crock was started many years ago from a few snips from a friend's plant.
A view to the north wall. I use an old tool chest as a coffee table. The hanging corner cupboard is a reproduction made from tiger maple. On top of it sits a "snow bird".

Here are a few samplers I stitched years ago. (Sorry about the spots ~ I don't know why they are there).

The little table was made by my older son in high school shop class. It's hard to see but I have a little hit and miss rug on top ~ the third thing I hooked back in May 2005.

This little hooked mat was hooked by Bonnie Stahl and purchased on eBay.

And finally ~ a couple of months ago I picked this up from a neighbor's trash pile. This is NOT quality furniture...lol! It's not even wood. I suppose at one time it had a picture of wood on it! Some day I may repaint it, but for now it's okay. It's just just the perfect spot for holding all that I need for my current project. I have my wool cutter there also. It's great to use when I only need to cut a few strips of wool. For serious cutting, I move it to a better location.

I hope you have enjoyed my little tour. Before you can peek in the wool closet, I need to straighten it a bit. I have a very hard time keeping it neat.

Thank you for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)

Lauren