A Whole Lotta Hooking Going On....NOT

Sometimes All You Need is an Ear Rub to Make it a GOOD DAY!

Monday Monday

Last night I stayed up late hooking and watching movies. Of course it was challenging when I needed my lighter wools because I had not one but two knuckleheads sound asleep in my worm pile. Don't know how they were twisted up - looks like Riley was stretched out over top of Jonesy - who knows with those two.
This afternoon I was sitting back and whipping a rug I just finished - Jonesy had been playing with his mouse and tearing around - I thought it had gotten quiet - well here is where he passed out - right on the base of my hooking frame.

Later found him on top of the basket again on top of the cobbler's rack. This boy always has his head hanging down - how can that be comfortable? He is sound asleep in this pic!

I have a handful of patterns in my stash and sometimes wonder why the heck I bought some of them. Well this one I bought 3 or so years ago - It's called "Mildew Man" from Searsport Rugs and since our theme on our group was Pumpkins, figured I would do this one. Finished it up today - so here it is all steamed and whipped. The background is really dark purples and dark purply blues - looks blue in the pic.

Besides hooking and whipping today, I finally listed some items to Freecycle and have a pile of stuff to donate. My husband has a bunch of stuff to put out with the trash tomorrow too. I don't know if anyone else feels this way but I know from cleaning out my hooking room a few weeks ago and having my husband really clean out the basement of stuff we never will use again or need for a long time, that it feels better. I think you feel really good when you simplify things in your life - it really makes for more creativity and just a happy lighter feeling, or maybe it's just me that feels this way. Who knows - either way - I've been working on this for a few years now and trying not to clutter up my house with useless things I really don't need. Don't get me wrong - I'm the first one to find something at a yard sale and think I have to have it or buy something I thought I couldn't live without but I do ask myself a lot of questions and instead of impulse buying - I wait and let it sit a bit! I am really trying to do this with my rug hooking too - I look through some of my books and patterns that I thought I would love to hook and wonder why I ever thought that! So again- just trying to simplify and turn off that "need" to have things I don't need. LOL!

Wishing you all a great week!

Weekend Craftings and Nappings

This was a lazy weekend - again! I got home from a few days down the shore on Friday - rained out again - I'm tried of rain. I think next time I'm just going to wait for a nice day and get in my car and go - every time I seem to plan it rains.

Checked on the veggie plants - Here are the first two cherry tomatoes! The one on the left i ate right away - mmmm good - nothing like a good tomato! From the sun and rain we had this weekend I'm betting more are ready - We have a Roma tomato plant which is really producing a lot of maters and I saw a pepper just about ready to be picked! At this point I always wish we planted more!

That afternoon I spent a lot of time playing with Jonesy - he was very excited to see me back home as was Miles - they were the first two at the door when I got home. Riley, however, was giving me the "cold paw" for being away. He's too funny - he won't let me pet him or "look" at me but he will always be near me and watching me but if I look at him he looks away! Took him until Saturday until he gave me the time of day and a hug!

Guess Jonesy got tired out from all the playtime

Friday nite went to a carnival with a friend, Elvis was there singing his heart out and lots of good "fair food". Played some walk-in bingo and won a few games.


This weekend on our online group, AAPG, we had another retreat. This month's theme was "Pumpkins" so on Saturday, Saturday, with my sidekick (check out his tongue hanging out!)

I hooked a pumpkin, then pinned on some fabric and whipped it together and stuffed it with snippets.

This is the fabric I used to back it. The black ticking I am going to attempt chair pads one of these days.

After I did that I started "Halloween Stroll" by the Star Rug Pattern, designed by Maria Barton. Finished hooking, whipping, and steaming that this afternoon - It's more muted in person.

We had a few thunderstorms and lots of rain today while I was hooking - At one point - here was Jonesy (and yes, someday I plan on hooking a top for that basket!

And Riley -

Rough life don't you think!

Here's a pic of Riley this morning amazed at the junk I guess - My husband has finally been cleaning out the basement - He's such a packrat anytime someone offers him something - he takes it and he saves things to "fix later" and so on - I'm really shocked at all the stuff he's finally getting rid of - Riley in this picture is sitting in a crate atop the furniture I'm not sure what I want to do with yet - a few of the pieces I want to refinish but of course the state of the basement I could never find any of our paint strippers and stains and things - he finally put it all in an area I can get to! My dining room looks like we are getting ready for a yard sale but everything is getting donated - I'm sure I could "ebay" some of it, consign some, or sell it locally but I just want it gone - let someone else get the "treasures"!

Well off to start another rug - gonna keep the momentum going - just hope the electricity doesn't go out with all the booming out there!

A Great Day Out Exploring

Well first I thought I would share a picture of my little helper last nite - He was helping me update the blog - Can you tell? Normally he has plenty to say! LOL!
Well it was a fun day out - Kathy met me in Morgantown around 10 this morning - she came all the way from Shippensburg so she had almost a 2 hour drive and we shopped all day and didn't even drop! Let's see if I can remember our route!

First stop was the rug hooking store in Morgantown - Olde Peddlar Wools - they have lots of yarn and things and upstairs hooking and spinning supplies, etc.

Then it was on the Morgantown Re-Uzit Shoppe in an old Church up the road - one of my favorite thrift stores for finding items nice and cheap. Today I only bought some thread and a knob. Kathy got a great find for the price too.

Next it was up to Blue Ball to the next thrift store - I think Kathy found some fabric there. Lots of stuff to paw through.

Then it was over to the New Holland area to "The Cornfield" - this is a unique store - lots of pine Amish type furniture, lots of "renewed items" like old shutters made into tables, painted shutters and doors and make into hangers, etc. Some nice rustic prim items, and silly items too - Always fun to walk around this store. Any type of hardware you need they have in piles along with old doors and shutters and windows and things to make your own.

Next was to the New Holland Re-Uzit Shoppe - didn't find anything today in there but again fun to look around. This is the store where Kathy was misbehaving in - I mean really - how old is she? LOL - they had a box of letters and, my stars, the words she was spelling out, made me blush! What a good laugh there. Now I know what she does in stores - she "spells" things!

After that I took her to the Flower and Craft Warehouse in Blue Ball. Upstairs they have a country shoppe, a Christmas shoppe, outdoor furniture, and more. Downstairs is every dried flower you could image, a basket area, a scrap booking room that is huge, a candle room that is huge and just rows of general craft supplies

After that it was off to Shady Maple's downstairs cafe for a bit to eat - Not really into their "famous" smorgasbord unless you want to lay down stuffed to the gills the rest of the afternoon. After lunch it was over to Shady Maple Market to buy a few fruits and veggies and groceries. We were both good and just looked at the baked goods which are very tempting.

This it was down to Churchtown. The last few times I've been out there I noticed a sign for a "fabric warehouse" - So we stopped there - Well warehouse is the word - huge place - must have been an old manufacturing plant or something -


What's that off in the distance?

Why that's Kathy waving at me from behind the huge rows of bolts of fabrics.

Geez - that place was huge and filled with fabric - not too much knocked my socks off in all that - We bought saw a sign that said "Wool" and headed that way - but it was all wool that wasn't really good for hooking unfortunately - unfortunately it would be a hooker's heaven in that room if it was full of good hooking wool. That have tons of notions and things too.

After the fabric warehouse we drove down to the Blue Snickel - it's an extreme primitive story - the grungy primitive. She has a lot of "made in the USA items" which is great to see. Like going in there for ideas.

Next was to the Antique Co-op - two floors in a big old building of antiques - each space is maintained by whoever rents that space. Lots to look at in there. Again - nice to get ideas and have fun with the items - like what the heck was that used for?

After that it was across the street to Treasure Hill Antiques - more of the same - a big old musty building with a puppy running around who seemed to be pining when Kathy left.

By this time it is 5:30 and they roll the carpets up there but the "Hayloft Fabrics" was still open. This is cool fabric store but it's a funny store the way it is set-up. It's actually above the grocery store but on the perimeter - you go up the stairs and the store itself is shaped like a "U" and it's all open and you overlook the grocery store downstairs. I know you can't tell from the photo below - but I'm standing on one side of the fabric store watching Kathy shop on the other side - She turned just as I took the pic. That's the grocery store below us - and where the railing is on the far side is the other side of the store - pretty large considering up there.

I managed to find some nice black ticking that won't need to be aged - already looks it - I want to attempt to make chair pads for my dining room and I couldn't resist - had to have some Halloween fabric - will post pics of that in a few days if my idea of what i want to make with it works out - of and course - it has cats on the fabric. I bought a bunch of cording too - I generally finish off my rugs with cording and wool. I mean you can't beat it as $0.10 a yard for the thin stuff and $0.16 a yard for the 6/32 thickness.

At that point we were out of stores that were opened so we went to grab a bite at Pizza Hut and then went our separate ways home!

Anyway it was a great day - fun to shop with someone else so thanks for coming out that away Kathy! So glad you had a good time too! Will have to do it again sometimes - this time maybe out in Lancaster itself!

Well I better get my buns to bed - Supposed to be off to the shore for a few days tomorrow - but not sure if I'm going yet - I so want to jump in the ocean but every time I make plans to go down the weather is crappy! Will decide in the morning!

Goodnite!

Getting Things Finished Up and New Things being Created

Well the past couple of weeks I actually got a bunch of things accomplished. The other week I needed to go into my closet (which isn't all that big) in the rug hooking room - well it's very dangerous in there - Needed to find something that I thought was stored in one of the tubs - Not an inch of space wasn't used in this closet - on one side I have tubs floor to ceiling and beside that this rack system on rollers which has to be pulled out to get to the tubs and things! And more tubs on the other side and things perched and piled everywhere - well ended up pulling everything out - never did find what I was looking for in that closet - and thought to myself that rather than putting things back half-assed I would do it right - Well it took a good three days - This rolled over to the entire hooking room - furniture got moved, quilts hung on the wall got moved, pictures got moved, things got organized - What a great feeling - Well this Friday past I had a nice clean organized room and felt like actually hooking - haven't done that lately - but let me tell you - by organizing and simplifying and just getting rid of "stuff" that weighs you down is a great feeling! Anyway - I started a rug Friday and finished it Saturday. So Saturday and Sunday I ended up "whipping" (finishing off) that rug, and two other projects I had hooked in the past month. I also found a couple of items in a bag in the closet I had totally forgotten about - Must have been ones I took to work to do during the lunch hour or something! Anyway - got all that done! This weekend I drew up 5 little rugs - 4 size 10" x 5" to use as stool toppers, and one just as a mat approx 18 x 12 - finished them up and have them all whipped and steamed. So posted pics below of my projects.

Also what could this be a picture of?

Why it is a demon in plastic! LOL - To most it is a sewing machine - but I have a bad history with sewing machines. Won't even go into all that - but Thursday nite a week ago I went to play bingo and won $208 - so came home and ordered myself a new sewing machine - it was on my doorstep Monday morning! I am determined to make friends with this machine. I do have a serger but really do not need it - it's a bugger to thread and all I need is straight stitch and zigzag (and yes I'm a daughter of a woman who sews to perfection - never rubbed off on me! She makes quilts faster than I can hook a rug). So not sure what I will do with the serger - my give it to my Mom or sell it. Still deciding. Anyway - I "unveiled" the "machine" last nite and threaded a bobbin with no problems and the machine and was able to zigzag around the 5 rugs i just finished! I was so happy - no broken threads, no jammed bobbin cases, no broken needles. I do hope this a start to a good relationship with my new machine!

Almost all the rugs I have been working on I have been only using "leftover" worms - do they multiply in their baskets? Geez i still have way too many!

Here are the 4 stool toppers I made and I have already fastened them with nails to the tops of the stools - not a good "color wise pic" they are more prim looking in person and not so bright.

This is a rug I started well over a month ago and finally finished the other week. Just something simple and to use up some leftover worms.

This is one I found in the closet - i finished whipping the edges - Just gave this rug to my Mom to put around her feather tree in the fall - she changes things around the tree and on it to seasons -

This is called "Spring Kitties" - this one took my only 2 days - again the colors are so bad in this photo -not so bright and more prim in person - This is a pattern by Woolen Willow.

This is a silly snowman stocking I had made - It still needs a loop to hang it - but found this in the closet too - I had started whipping wool to the back.

Another feather tree skirt - Sheep and stars - made this a few weeks ago

Just a geometric I made yesterday to use up worms -

This i a rug I did last year - it's been on my floor for well over a year right when you walk in my front door - It's approx seven feet two inches by 26 or 28". Can you believe when I made this last year I still had leftover wool strips left! I'm telling you - they multiply -

This is a rug I finished to go on my settler's bench which sits right beside the above rug -

Miles

Ah Miles - My sweet grumpy old man - He really is the sweetest little guy but so grumpy when Riley is around and of course he doesn't like to be held like he used to - he was like Jonesy - would love to be held for hours - because his bones hurt him so much - We pretty much leave on a heating pad for him and he spends hours on it - He moves so much better with it. Lately when we have these rainy days - just like people (and me) you can tell he's more achy than normal. One thing though - since Jonesy came into our lives - he's been better - Riley and he are both dominant Males and of course that's not a good thing - but I think Jonesy is a buffer and I swear Miles wants to join in their play but of course his aches and pains hold him back. Often he will sit by my side if i'm working on the computer or hooking - If not there he can be found in his basket under the bed or downstairs on the heating pad!

So here are only a couple pics of Miles as he's normally under the bed! LOL

Enjoy a morning of sunbeams -

He arranged the pillows somehow - guess they are helping his bad joints feel better -

Probably thinking he wishes I would get lost with the camera -

Poor baby - you can see how painful it is for him to lay like he used to - this is a pic of him napping this afternoon -

Jonesy

Well what can I say about Jonesy - He's still a little goofball. Always happy to see you. When you go out - guaranteed he'll be the first one tearing down the steps to great you with a loud chirp - yep he does this chirping sound - hard to explain - sortof like if you roll your tongue - His "meow" is still "little" but getting bigger every day. You can not walk in the kitchen alone anymore - that little guy will be right there chirping and meowing at you - He loves food - he loves to steal food off your plate too and popcorn right out of your bowl! Oh and ice cream - forget about eating that without him hanging from your dish - honestly - he's a chow hound! He's at that stage where "No" means "Yes" to him and hasn't grasped the concept of why he keeps getting pulled off the chair to the floor when we are eating! He's so darn cute though!

He's been playing hard, eating a lot, and napping a lot! He's growing too! I sometimes swear he grew when he was napping! But he still loves to be held and cuddled and is alway happy!

So here is a bunch of pics of Jonesy and his past few weeks - most of them are of him napping as it's hard to get an action shot of him - he's so fast!

Another pic of the two of them taking a nap near the sunbeams -

Hmmm - let's hope he's not reporting me to the Cat Protection Agency because I didn't give him any ice cream -

Remember that Creamsicle recipe I posted - seems to me that Miles and Jonesy both love it too!
As you can see - Jonesy is wearing some of the Creamsicle Cake on his face! (He's not the neatest of eaters

Everytime I try to hook - he wants to help - problem is he likes to take out what I just hooked in! So he gets picked up, kissed and set on the floor! With this face, more times than not I put the hook down and pick him up and hug him -

As you can see, no hooking is happening -


Having a problem with him liking to lay on the laptown - He has "IM'd" my brother in law and my husband - I got back in the room once and my brother in law sent me an IM that said ???? - i then opened it up and saw gibberish was sent! He also did the same thing to my husband. Wish I could lock the laptop keypad like I do with my phone. I just leave it on all day whether I'm home or not because I'm having problems with it starting up - much easier - but besides the IM'ing by Jonesy - he shuts it down a lot too! I think in this picture, he had up the AOL "Help" menu - guess he got tired waiting for help (what a surprise!)

Rough life in a sunbeam -

Here I was taking apart a gray coat I had forever hanging in the closet to use the wool - someone found it very comfortable this morning.

This afternoon -

Yesterday afternoon -

This evening -

Jonesy and my husband "fishing"

Well at least he's not sitting on my hooking here - now he's in the "worms"

Jonesy loves to be held - especially when I'm trying to work on the computer - again - not hard to resist picking him up -

Jonesy still loves to sleep in the wool - this is from last week - everyday I find wool on the floor

Another pic of the boys fishing - Jonesy is in the tent entrance -

Another day in the wool pile -

Jonesy getting another cuddle -

And another -