Many Thanks ~

 

. . . for all the kind comments on my blahs.  After reading them and doing a Google search on the side effects of the antibiotic, I'm pretty sure the med was making me feel that way.  I took my last pill yesterday so I'm hoping to perk up and lose this nasty taste in my mouth.  Plus, tonight I can have a glass of wine :)

 

Nothing I can share on the creative front.  Daisy has been set aside to work on my Rebekah Smith Facebook stitch along that I am participating in.  I can't show that or I'll be kicked out of the group :(  I've also joined a swap so cannot share what I'm making for that.

 

Spring has arrived in northern Ohio for the day.  It's Ohio, so I know winter is not yet done with us, though it has been the mildest winter we've had in years.  Green stuff is popping up in the gardens.  The snowdrops have been up for a couple weeks . . .

 

. . . winter aconite (eranthis) will be blooming soon . . . 

 

. . . and the hyacinth are peeking through.   

 



Happy Saturday. 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

 

The Blahs :(

 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day.  My sweetie and I visited our favorite restaurant ~ Five Guys.  We love that place :)  The best fries in the whole wide world - IMHO.

 

I'm just feeling kind of blah and really don't have anything to share.  I'm more than halfway through a 10 day antibiotic and for the last two days just have no spunk.  I'm sure the two are unrelated.  Not sick enough to stay home from work, but just no energy or ambition.  Yesterday I came home and slept for an hour and a half - most unusual for me.  I haven't hooked much on Daisy nor have I started on the hooking for my class in 2 1/2 weeks (the hooking must be done beforehand).  I think I've finally chosen the wools for the first month of the Rebekah Smith stitch-a-long and hope I find the energy to cut the pieces out this evening.

 

We got a bit of snow.  Not much of an accumulation, but the pretty kind that is heavy and sticks to every twig.  In a day or two it will all be gone but no complaints from me.

 

Friend Bobbie gifted me with this little pincushion she made using an antique cutter quilt for the cushion.  She did a great job painting the base and the little old newspaper clipping reads,

 

The Best Example

Little George, aged 7, was being reproved for his bad table manners.  "You act so bad, Georgie,"said his mother.  "So bad that one would almost think you had been brought up in a stable."

"But, mother," answered George, "the Sunday School teacher taught us that Jesus was born in a stable, and look how good he turned out."

                                  Willard S. Fawcett

 

Saturday I headed out to a local antique mall.  Didn't find much (at prices I was willing to pay), but did find this red rug hook with worn paint ~ for only $1.  I don't find them often.  I keep them in an old flower frog.  They are very usable, but I can't hook with anything other than my Hartman.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Donkey Tail Revisited ~

 

 

I started hooking Daisy like gangbusters, but since then, even though I've worked on it a bit each day, I don't seem to be making much progress.  I still haven't decided what I am doing with the tail.  I think I will get more of the background hooked before deciding, but it will be an easy fix if I want to change it.  I just may leave it so every time I see the rug I can laugh a little.

 

 

I had so much fun reading all your comments about my "Donkey Balls" post, that I've done a little give-away for all those who left a comment.  I've drawn three names.  Congrats to  Middle Sister Gayle, Jacqueline and the Dirty Martini Queen.  I will send each of you a paisley necklace I made :)  Please send me your snail mail address.

 

Soon I will need to set Daisy aside to hook these (must be hooked and prepped before the class) for a dimensional hooking class I am taking at the beginning of March with Annette Shaffer.  I also need to hook or applique something "Eastery" for a friend. 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Like many areas, we are in a deep freeze that thankfully will only last for a day.

 

Pug hugs :)

Lauren

More Sauder and a Give-Away Winner ~

 

Our trip to Sauder did not quite start as planned.  About 30-40 minutes from Sauder, still on the Ohio turnpike, a warning light appeared.  I looked it up in the owner's manual, and it was electronic throttle thing-a-ma-bob.  The Jeep was running rough but we drove on.  Thankfully got off the turnpike before it died :(  AAA was called and luckily Bobbie had already arrived so came to our rescue.  Melissa was sure she had blown the engine but it ended up being a dead battery.  Dead battery???  I thought a battery only started the vehicle, but I guess it also keeps the electronics working. 

 

Here are a few of the amazing rugs being hooked at the Sauder retreat.  Tulip Cross (so sorry I can't identify the hooker) is 48" x 48", me thinks.  Simply amazing with breathtaking colors.  Acorn Hollow Cathy, you hooked this one, right?

Dawn, our overachiever was hooking with handtorn strips for the first time.  I don't know how she got so much done because every time you saw her, she was socializing, not hooking.  She may have even finished before leaving.

Don't you just love this face.  Sweet hooking by Pam.

Charisse chose the most beautiful colors for her rug.  I hooked this one last year, but like her colors so much more.

Melissa was hooking this heart and hand.  I hope to share her finish soon.

Bobbie was working on a sheep rug and had just one small troublesome area to finish and decided to start on this antique adaptation.

Isn't this too cute???  The sheep were hooked Waldoboro style.

Check out the sweet little butts.

Just a fun rug.

 

Congrats to Susie.  She won my heart hooked with handtorn strips.  Some of you may recognize the name from eBay or Facebook.  She makes the most incredible pin keeps, sewing birds, etc.  Susie, you have three days to contact me with your snail mail address. 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Donkey Balls ~

 

When I hooked Daisy's tail, I remarked to Melissa and Bobbie that I thought it looked like that redneck "thing" that guys hang from the back of their pickup truck.  Well, one of the first comments I got was from Kelley.  "I'm concerned about that tail...it looks a little...um...masculine to me ? pardon my concern...but I showed it to a coworker in the ER without saying a word and she said the same thing..."  Then came a series of emails from Kim and Saundra (no big surprise, right?) with Donkey Balls as the subject.  More comments have followed.  Perhaps I need to rehook the tail???

 

 

Some rugs from the throw down . . .

 

Adapted from an
antique postcard

 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

 

My Sauder Rug ~

 

Once again, the hooking retreat at Sauder was a great time.  Friends, old and  new.  Lots of laughter.  Yummy snacks.  Plenty of hooking time.

 

I started on Daisy, a pattern by Spruce Ridge Studios.  I completed hooking Daisy the first day.  Yes, I did hook her in a 9 and 9.5 cut.  Yes, I did hook from 9 AM until midnight.  But for me this was HUGE.  I know I've never accomplished that much hooking in one day.

Day #2 was another story.  I didn't start hooking until about 10 AM and by 2 ish we were packing to go home, so not much was hooked :(

 

This is what I accomplished last evening and today.  Not nearly as much as I had hoped for . . . but some progress is better than none.

 

 

Here is the wool used for Daisy.  I looked through some of my old wool fliers to try to find whose wool it is, but could not find it.  Anyone know?

Lots more Sauder to share, but somehow the day has slipped away.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Another Rug is Bound ~

 

 

What a great feeling to have all my rugs bound.  Here is Stag, pattern by Lori Rippey, finally finished.  He will be rolled up and put away until next Christmas.  It's a terrible problem not having places to put all my rugs :)

 

I've also finished the last two hearts, hooked with handtorn strips.  The wool is similar on both fronts, so the backs were finished with the same wools.  They are stuffed with snippets and some heavenly lavender.  I still have several pumpkins to finish this way, but since they are not rugs, they don't count as not bound in my world :)

Tomorrow I leave for Sauder Village for two days of hooking heaven.  It's something I look forward to every year.  My hooking supplies are packed and ready to go, but still need to pack my clothes.  I left work sick today which is a rarity, so I do hope I am over this by tomorrow.

 

Because I have THE BEST readers, I am giving away one of my hearts.  The rules are simple ~ leave a comment on this post or send me an email with give away in the subject line.  The winner will be chosen next Wednesday and must contact me within three days or I will choose another. 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren