Rainy Day ~

What a glorious rainy day, but how can it possibly be June?  It's hard to believe just a couple weeks ago we had serious flooding issues. My gardens have already become dry and the ground cracked.  We have had several hours of a gentle, steady rain.  I do think I hear my flowers singing and doing the happy dance.

To all my Canadian friends . . . I went to the post office to double check the price to ship to Canada and it wasn't as bad as I thought, so you are most welcome to enter my give-away.  Just leave a comment on my last post or drop me an email.

I finished the Hearts and Clover mat.  It's an antique adaptation and the finished size is about 19" x 22".  I've even gotten the binding done ~ whipped it with wool yarn from Ali Strebel.  She has the most wonderful, chunky yarn.

Here are some of the wools I've used.

Both these wools are from Rebecca Erb.  I believe the wool on the left is called Favorite Khaki Background and it is one of my favorite wools. On the right is a wonderful dusty pinkish color from a recent flier.  It hooks up so old looking ~ and I am NOT a pink person.

I think the wool on the left is from Heavens to Betsy.  I used it to hook the clover, but I guess you could say I fussy cut it because I did not use the solid blue stripe.  I don't know whose wool that is on the right that I used for the hearts, but I LOVE it.  I recently purchased some from The Old Tattered Flag, but just went to their website and couldn't seem to find it.

 

I'm hooking a bit on What Nots before I start my next gift rug.  

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

It's About Time ~

A few months ago I started making garden markers from vintage flatware.  I think they are fun but so difficult to photograph.  I should have taken them outside but by the time I thought about it, it was already getting dark.  I have stamped the names of herbs, flowers, weeds, hooker's garden, mom's garden etc.  I've also stamped grow dammit, bloom dammit and dirty hoe :)

I've also been embellishing hors d'oeuvre/butter knives with Lake Erie beach glass.

Since it's been almost forever since I've had a give-away, I will pick a couple winners Friday or Saturday.  You will receive 3 of the garden markers (you can choose what you want them to say) and one butter knife.  Please leave a comment on this post only or send me an email with give-away in the subject line.  That's it.  No other rules.  I do apologize but this give away is open to US residents only due to shipping costs :(  TO ALL MY CANADIAN FRIENDS ~ I went to the post office and I miscalculated the shipping cost, so I will include you in the give-away :)

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Not the Sharpest Knife on the Christmas Tree ~

I don't dye wool.  I want to, but the only thing I've ever done is tone down a bit of wool with a black walnut dye that I made.  I have all the supplies - books, some Cushing & Pro Chem dyes, spoons, pots, etc.  Last night I thought I'd give it a try to create some of Saundra's "dirty muddy".  Saundra blogged about it here. 
I chose these wools.

Since I didn't have all the dye colors she used, I thought just using the khaki drab would be a good choice.  I mixed 1/2 tsp of dye to one cup of boiling water, figuring I'd add about 5-6 tablespoons to the dye pot.  I even made the label for my jar so I'd know what dye was mixed.  I then proceeded to walk over to the stove and dump the entire cup of dye in the pot of water.  It took a few minutes for me to realize what I had done.  Crap!  Even as I was dumping about about 3/4 of the dye mix, I'm thinking I should save it but continued to dispose of it.  I then added more water to the pot.  I also broke what I believe is another cardinal rule of dyeing.  I failed to use rubber gloves and now have a couple of brown cuticles.  
So here is my dye pot in progress.

When the water was almost clear I added a glug of vinegar and let it simmer about 15 minutes more.  By this time, it was past bedtime, so I removed the pot from the burner and let it cool down overnight.
This morning I threw the wool in the washer.  The results are definitely not dirty muddy, but a really wonderful green that all blend well together, nothing like is showing in this picture.  It is much closer to the color in the dye pot.  I guess I can call it a happy mistake.

A couple things I've learned about dyeing ~ don't try to dye when you don't have much time and THINK BEFORE YOU DUMP :)

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs :)
Lauren

A Visit to Merry Wind Farm ~

Last Friday I took a vacation day to have an extra long weekend.  I wanted to head south and visit with Melinda of Merry Wind Farm.   The reason for my visit was Oliver.

You see, Oliver is one of Melinda's furbabies.  Last fall when I posted that I had purchased this picture, Melinda commented that it looked just like her Oliver, so how could the picture not go to her?  There is an uncanny resemblance :)

That was a great excuse for a visit.  It is a delight to spend time with her and to drool over her house and gardens.  She lives in a 200+ year old home filled with antiques and her handwork.  She is an excellent quilter, rug hooker and sampler maker.  She has dozens (and dozens and dozens) of HUGE reproduction samplers she has stitched over the years.  She puts me to shame :)  The rugs she hooks are big, too.  Isn't this one wonderful???  Here she is with Oliver and little Bella.

  

We did a little antiquing but of course ran out of time before we ran out of shops to visit :( Anything I really wanted to bring home was more than I was willing to pay, so I didn't buy much of anything.

But look what I came home with.  A reproduction Quaker sampler she stitched.  What a kind, generous soul.  How lucky I am to call her friend.

She also gave me this little stack of pillows made from old quilt squares.  Look in the bottom right corner of the middle one and see how the maker pieced that block to not waste any fabric.  Waste not ~ want not.

We have been having delightful weather here on Ohio's north coast.  I've been busy in the yard and hopefully will have some pictures to share soon.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Memorial Day ~

ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD,

AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT

SHINE UPON THEM.

* * *

Thank you to those who have served

and to those who continue to serve.

God Bless America,

Land that I love.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Just a Couple Hooky Things ~

I finally did it.  I broke down and bought another Hartman hook.  One of my biggest fears was losing/misplacing mine.  (After many months, I still haven't found my proddy tool.)  I have several other hooks, but have been hooking with my Hartman since day one and have not had any success with any other hook.  I was all set to buy one at the hook in from Alice.  Thankfully she let me "test drive" the pear handle hook (she didn't have any ball handle hooks) and for the way I hold the hook, it just didn't work out.  I know you are supposed to periodically switch hooks so your wrist gets a break, but I ended up buying the same ball handle hook I had, except that the shank is a 9 mm rather than an 8 mm.  I found a couple sites that sold them but they wanted $9.95 for shipping.  I HATE being gouged on shipping, so finally found one on etsy with a better shipping deal.

Another great tool I recently purchased ~ at the pet store.  I heard dog brushes were good for cleaning gripper strips, and let me tell you, this one works great and it was about $5.00 on sale. It cleans the strips much faster than anything else I had tried.

I know, boring post, but just wanted to pop in and say hi.  I thought I'd have Hearts and Clover done by now, but just can't seem to find any time to hook.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Hook-in ~

Today was the annual Western Reserve Rug Hooking guild's hook-in.  What fun.  Of course, I barely got the camera out and only have a few things to share.  

Betsy's bunnies ~ Betsy of Heavens to Betsy fame.  They were hooked with handtorn strips . . .

. . . and finished "Betsy style".  Aren't they fun?

I purchased the pattern for the medium sized bunny.

Rhonda (My Glory Stars) and Betsy.

Oh, I do love this rug Kaye is hooking.  She always chooses THE BEST primitive colors, but she did say she hooked the rooster THREE times.

Alice's gorgeous wools . . .

. . . and Donna's.

Isn't this bulldog a hoot?  The dog was hooked in handtorn strips.

My winnings from the Chinese auction.  It also came with the finest rug hook I've ever seen.  I think you'd use that hook to hook dental floss . . . lol.  I gave it away before I thought to take a picture.

For the second year in a row I got lucky and won a door prize.  

Even without a flash the colors are too bright.

Yummy new wools (not the true colors, either).

And another Heavens to Betsy pattern. I still haven't hooked the cat pattern I bought from her a couple years ago :)

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)

Lauren