Once again . . .

. . . I put on my "big girl panties" and went up in DSO's airplane.  For those of you that don't know, this is an airplane he built. It is small ~ very small.  It only weighs about 700 pounds and the engine is smaller than the engine on his motorcycle.  Does "the difference between men and boys is the price of their toys" come to mind?  We flew about 100 miles south to a pancake breakfast.  We hit a few bumps (potholes in the sky . . . lol) but it wasn't bad. 

 

The ground from above always reminds me of a patchwork quilt.  As you can see, northern Ohio is flat.  VERY FLAT.

 

 

Here's my handsome pilot upon arrival at Grimes Field, aka Urbana Municipal Airport.

 

I really need to stop being such a chicken and fly with him more often.

 

I finished my wool applique.  I'm pleased the way it came out.

 

 

I've started another little hooked mat.  For you non-Buckeyes, 1803 is the year Ohio became a state.  It is hooking up quickly as I've only enlarged it to 9 3/4" x 15 1/2".  It is a freebie doodle by Kelley of With Hook and Needle.  You can find it here.

 

 

It has been a beautiful weekend here in northern Ohio.  I hope we get some of the rain that is in the forecast for the next few days.  It is much too early in the summer to be this dry.

 

Thank you so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

TGTF ~

Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday ~ and payday.  Life is good :)

 

I started What Nots, a Woolley Fox pattern, at the Heavens to Betsy retreat at Shaker Village back in July of '12.  I have finally decided it's time to finish it. 

 

The only thing left to do is add my border.  I am going to hook one row using the wool below and then an additional three rows of black.  But before I can start on that, I need to finish (well actually start) a gift - or three :)

Last Saturday when I went in search of vintage flatware, I stumbled upon an estate sale.  It was a huge Victorian house full of antiques - all very Victorian which is not my style - and most very pricey.  This is one of my purchases.  (I also bought a soapstone bedwarmer and some clothespins.)  I'm not sure what kind of record it is.  I think it may be Dutch.  The cursive, though I can not read it, is true penmanship.  The frame is beautiful  It is dated 9-4-1878, New Castle, PA.  DSO has a friend originally from Holland and I will see if he can translate if indeed it is Dutch.

 

This antique sampler also made its way home with me.  It is small, only about 8 1/2" x 9".  Not signed or dated, but was guestimated to be early 19th century.  I'm not wild about the frame . . .

 

. . . but is has been in this frame for quite some time.

 

I want to go pull a few loops, and if I don't off this machine, it is not going to happen.  Oh, how this thing sucks me in ~ and I still don't peruse pinterest.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

I Wasn't Meant to Dye ~

Next Saturday if all works out I'll be heading to friend Sheila's house to dye wool.  Maybe I'll learn the correct way . . . sigh.  Yesterday I thought I'd try again after my last dyeing fiasco.  I had time so didn't need to feel rushed.  Problem #1 ~ I didn't stir the dye mixture long enough so it was not all dissolved.  Problem #2 ~ I'm a dumb **** sometimes.  All was going well until it was time to add the glug of vinegar.  My vinegar was not under the sink so I figured it had to be in the basement or garage.  Not sure why I thought it might be in the garage since I never use it there.  I go to the garage first since it is closer and see a gallon jug with a vinegar label.  I bring it to the stove and start to add a glug and am wondering why the vinegar is blue.  Well, the light bulb goes off and I realize that the "vinegar" is the vegetation killer I made.  Thankfully it consists of vinegar, Epsom salts and a little Dawn dish detergent (hence the blue color).  Luckily those are the ingredients used in dyeing wool so I did not ruin the wool. 

 

The color formula, Emma Lou's Putty (old) is from "Antique Colours for Primitive Rugs" by Emma Lou Lais and Barbara Carroll.  I mixed up two pots, one using 4 tablespoons of the dye mixture and the other using 5 tablespoons.  There is not as much difference as anticipated.  The color doesn't look a whole lot like the sample in the book, but I LOVE it.  (Of course, the colors are more muted in person.)

 

 

 

As if I don't have enough to do, Thursday with the Hidden Hills Hookers, I took a wool applique class from Donna of Crows on the Ledge.  The sample was done up in bright colors,

 

 

but the majority of us were working with primitive colors.  Here is my progress so far. 

 

 

Not too much more to do, but there are a couple overachievers who are already done :)  I had never worked with Valdani pearl cotton before and now I know why everyone raves about it. 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Happy Sunday ~

It's a gloomy, rainy Sunday here in northern Ohio but no complaints from me.  We need the rain, and though I have lots of yardwork to do, I have a good excuse why it's not getting done :)  Yesterday I went and played all day ~ I was in search of more vintage plated flatware.  I did find quite a few pieces, but also came home with "something" that was not on the list . . . lol.  I will share that with you in a future post.

 

I've finally drawn a couple winners for the garden markers and hors d'ouevre knife.  Congrats to Julia Bush who entered via email and to Sue Tokash.  You have five days to contact me.  Please send my your snail mail address and let me know what you want your markers to say.  (These are just examples.)

 

 

 

If you are interested in purchasing any markers, I would be happy to oblige.  They are $6 each or $5 each for 3 or more.  I don't think shipping would be any more than $4 for 4-5 markers via USPS mail.  Shipping will be much more outside of the US.  For 5 markers to Canada I believe it would be about $9.  I will charge exact shipping only.  I am one who hates being gouged for shipping.

 

Thanks to all who take the time from your busy lives to read my blah, blah, blah.

 

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

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