The Wool Cupboard

New Hooking Project

2012-01-23T19:56:00.000-06:00

This month for Wool Club, I had no project started, so I flipped through my current Rug Hooking Magazine to the featured free pattern, the owl and sheep pattern by Maria Barton. The owl was so cute that I decided to come up with my own version of an owl rug, so here is the still-in-progress rug which was inspired by Maria's owl.

I think it is turning out to be rather primitive, which was what I wanted. The colors are a bit off on my own monitor, but hopefully it will all come together well.

I haven't chosen background wool colors yet, so I'll have to think about that for a while!

We've been having the same snowy, cold weather with lots of icy, damp, and windy conditions that many of you have. I'm so sick of winter this year for some reason and just want it to be sunny, clear, and warmer...must be my age. I used to love the changes in the seasons...even WINTER, but this year I wanted to skip right over the cold snowy stuff.

I want to post more often, so I'm going to try to make a concerted effort to get with it and just do it! I do enjoy reading all your posts and seeing the great projects you are working on.

My daughter (with a little help from me) made two bears for the twin great nieces who will come probably late next month or possibly the first week in March. Their room will be done in shades of pink, so the bears were made of pink sueded cotton with coordinating reversible vests and collars. We were in such a hurry to get them finished in time for a baby shower that I forgot to take pictures!! Grrr. My nephew and his wife live about 120 miles away, so I will have to talk my sister into taking some pictures during one of her visits.

Have a great week!!
Linda

SMOKE AND MIRRORS!

2012-01-09T08:56:00.001-06:00

Whom can we trust is Washington??? This is a question which all Americans must address in this very important election cycle. Please inform yourselves and consider the possible consequences of casting your vote for anyone supporting this type of smoke and mirrors tactic for any legislation.

We cannot afford to take any promise at face value...we must do the work and research the candidates and those already in power to learn the HISTORY of what they have done in the past. I believe that some have truly changed their minds about important policy issues...AND SOME WILL SAY WHATEVER NECESSARY TO WIN OR KEEP THEIR POSITION. We must not be fooled by false statements made by politicians.

PLEASE STUDY THE ISSUES AND THE POSITIONS BY ALL WHO SEEK ELECTION OR RE-ELECTION. Your future depends upon your decision.

THE BELTWAY BANDITS HAVE DONE IT AGAIN!

By indianriverteaparty.com

The debacle of the two month payroll tax "cut" extension is enough to make a calm person's blood boil. In addition to the smoke and mirror antics by the President of the United States and Senate Democrats, Republican leadership did little to inform the public of what was unfolding and even less to stop it.

To pay for the 2 month extension, the Senate simply tacked on a new fee for mortgages backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the FHA. This accounts for almost 90% of all new loans! So how long will this "small fee" be in affect? Only the next 10 years! And how much will be added to the upfront cost of the average mortgage? Only a mere $4000!

And it gets worse. Most new homeowners will likely roll this new fee into the mortgage amount. At today's interest rates, the extra $4000 would add $19.80 a month to the carrying cost of the mortgage. On a 30 year mortgage at 4%, the $100 of tax "savings" would cost the luckless new homeowner a whopping $7128 over 30 years.

Could they possibly stick it to the people any more? Of course. Just a few days ago it was announced that there will be a 10 basis point increase for FHA mortgage insurance premiums. And just for kicks and grins, anyone who happens to make over $110k a year will not even benefit from the payroll tax "cut".

The bill touted by your leaders as a tax cut for the middle class effectively took an overt tax that everyone saw in their paycheck details, amplified it significantly and transformed it into a hidden tax on a housing industry which is already struggling to regain stability.

For more information:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/story/2011-12-17/payroll-tax-mortgages/52027164/1

http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2011/12/24/payroll-tax-cut-skips-some-of-the-99/

Merry Christmas...pictures!!

2011-12-22T11:17:00.001-06:00

I hope you and your families have a blessed Christmas with lots of time to visit and have fun just being together. We will hosting one dinner and gift opening evening on Christmas Eve with our children and grandchildren, and then going to church and to my sister's house for another family gathering on Christmas morning.

I'm thankful for having most of my family close enough to see often. My brother and his family live near Birmingham, AL so we will miss seeing them. There will be phone calls, however!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

A Wonderful Day!

2011-12-11T19:12:00.001-06:00

Twin girls are coming in March!! Actually my nephew and his wife are expecting twin girls the first week in March, and we had a baby shower yesterday. I love baby showers and this one was perfect! Of course, everything was PINK!

You can see from the picture that the cake was especially adorable. I didn't get a good picture of the top of the little blocks on top of the cake, but they were cake squares decorated with tiny little pink footprints....waaaaay cute!

There were also little cupcakes with tiny baby bottles, pacifiers, and diapers (all made of fondant)! We played some cute games and talked a lot. My sister and brother-in-law are excited soon-to-be-first time grandparents, and they really hosted a wonderful family gathering in celebration of the two sweet little blessings who will come in the Spring.

It was a wonderful day.

Christmas Wreath

2011-11-28T08:37:00.001-06:00

I've been in a crafting mood lately, and saw a great wreath in the Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Ideas magazine. I tweaked it a bit and love the result. For some reason it does not photograph well, but look on page 92 of the magazine for a much better photo of the wreath. It is sparkly and fun with all the curly willow curls!

I've drawn up a new rug which features Jess and Graybee (our dog and cat) in a rather unusual design, so soon I will post a picture of the rug in progress.

We've had a hectic month, so I've been neglecting my blog...sorry. I hope to be a little more connected in the coming weeks. Hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving. We enjoyed a wonderful day with family on Thursday.

Now I'm in the spirit to decorate for Christmas, so I will post pictures of the results in a future post.

Have a great week!
Linda

Finished Rug!

2011-10-16T11:07:00.001-05:00

The hooking is finished on the cat with pumpkin rug, and now the "fun" part...hemming! I'm not sure that I love the border. I considered several possibilities, but when I drew them around the border, it just seemed too busy, so I decided to just go with a few colors of brown wool and made it random for a couple of rows and then used a darker brown for the last two border rows.

I'm now looking forward to my next rug...whatever that will be. It is really enjoyable having more time to hook.

For the past several months, I have been attending a "Wool Club" meeting in a nearby town. There are about 8-10 ladies who meet once a month and work with wool projects. Most are appliqueing with wool, but for the past two meetings, there has been another rug hooker in attendance. It has been really fun to have another hooker there. She is working on her very first rug, so she was encouraged to see some of my rugs and is very enthusiastic about rug hooking right now. The wool applique projects the other ladies are working on are beautiful, so I'm planning to try it soon.

Have a great week!

A Fun Snippet Bowl You Can Make

2011-10-09T21:35:00.002-05:00

Here is a wool snippet bowl that is so easy to make. It takes just about 30 minutes to finish and can be made from your favorite wool fabrics or you may want to make one from quilt fabrics for thread ends!

I have chosen a plaid wool from The Red Saltbox and another brown that I have used in several of my hooked rugs.

1.Start by drawing a triangle (mine is 9 1/2" on each side.) Round off eachof the three points. 2. Cut one triangle from each of your two fabrics andplace right sides together. 3. Sew the two together using a 1/4" seamallowance, leaving approx. 1 1/2" open to turn right sides out. Be sure toclip curved edges and trim corner seam allowances to eliminate bulk. 4. Whip-stitch opening and press. 5. Pinch the center of each of the sides together andtop stitch close to the edge for approx. 2" from base. 6. Fold each of therounded points to the outside and sew a button to hold in place. Voila!! Youhave your snippet bowl!

Prettycool! Mine turned out to be about 4 1/2" wide on each side and 2"high. Hope you enjoy your snippet bowl. By the way, it would be easy to makethis larger if you wish, but I think the little ones are cute. I'm starting tothink of other uses for these. How about one by the sink for your rings! Theycould hold buttons, or change, or your thimble and measuring tape.

Busy Two Weeks!

2011-09-29T10:23:00.001-05:00

We've been having all kinds of wonderful Autumn weather, from rain to sunshine and very cool. This is my front patio fall grouping in the rain. The past two weeks have been crazy! I've been pricing tons of stuff for a huge garage sale and then "enduring" the actual garage sale. We, of course, had stuff left over and took that to the local Mission Mart store. The next day, my entire family (including my brother who lives in Alabama) came over for a wiener roast. The weather was absolutely perfect. It was frantic getting ready for the gathering, though. You know how dragging all kinds of stuff from every corner of your house and the basement makes dust and dirt and clutter. I had to clean the ENTIRE house the day before after spending three solid days pricing, digging through the stuff and then carrying much of it upstairs and outside for the sale...yikes! The sale went very well and I was very happy to find homes for all those things!

This is from my front porch table. The little spider was found at a local pumpkin farm. It's kinda creepy, but I thought our grand kids would think it is pretty cool. It has a short sharp spike that you push down into the pumpkin so it stays in place.

This week I've sewn three pairs of swim pants made from towels for our 7 year-old Granddaughter, Olivia. She is on a swim team, and was supposed to be in her first meet this weekend. The pants turned out really cute, but she came down with strep throat and has had a fever all week. It looks as if she will miss her first competition. So, I've been pretty busy and need to clean my house and catch up on laundry...AGAIN...a woman's work is never done, right?

The above little pumpkin man was made by my daughter a few years ago. It is made from papier mache' and wire.

I was going to add another picture, but blogger has decided that I am no longer connected to my server and won't let me add the picture. My server shows that I'm still connected, so I don't know what the issue is! Anyway, I will just stop with the pictures posted for now.

Hope you are all having a great week. I'm in limbo with my cat rug for now. I need to make a skirt for my DIL for a school activity...I had never even heard of Miss Frizzle! She is supposed to dress as Miss Frizzle and needs a skirt with planets all over it....ok....I can do that....

New Autumn Wreath

2011-09-19T19:11:00.000-05:00

We are enjoying a beautiful Fall evening here in Illinois, after rain fell all day. The sun is shining (and will be soon setting!) and it is 65 degrees...beautiful.

I'm still working on some Autumn decorations. This week I decided that I was in need of a new wreath for the front porch, so I made a trip to Hobby Lobby and with coupons in hand purchased three pumpkins. I love the way they are made, but the color was really bright orange, not my favorite.

They actually look even brighter in person than they appear in this picture. I love the green/white pumpkins, so I painted one of them with several different colors and attached it to a grapevine wreath that I already had. I added some flowers, berries, leaves and ribbon and came up with this for the wall next to my front door:

I liked the way the painted pumpkin turned out, so now I need to decided if I want to paint the other two above just like this one in the wreath...I suppose I could try to make the orange look a little more primitive instead...I'm not sure what I will do, but here is a picture of the finished wreath:

I'm very happy with the wreath, and think it adds a great Fall touch to my front porch! All I need now are a few real pumpkins sitting by the door to finish the look.

Graybee watched the process and I think he was impressed, too. I think he is smiling! He is such a handsome boy!

Autumn Decorating Fun

2011-09-13T21:50:00.000-05:00

I finally started dragging all my Fall decor out and began to decorate for Autumn. It is my favorite time of year, and I do love to put out all the fun things that I have collected. One of the best things that I decorate with are fabric pumpkins, fruits and vegetables, and candy corn. They are all sewn with very primitive fabrics and look great together. The picture above is from last year's centerpiece with my favorite 17" diameter wood bowl. It is a large look!

I decided to try this look this year with a rather large wire basket filled with the fabric items. The basket is 20" wide by 14" by 10" high. The wire photographed a little greyer than it looks in person. I love the basket, but I'm still deciding whether I like the look better than the wood bowl. I'll live with it for a few days to see if I want to leave it or change it.

The long wire basket with the handmade pears was an instantly loved item found at a local antique shop. Wire baskets can look so rustic and primitive, and this one really spoke to me! It measures 23" long by 4 1/4" by 3 1/4" high. I can think of so many ways to decorate it. Small pumpkin shaped gourds would look great lined up in a row inside. Bittersweet branches tucked inside the full length would be another great look! I've collected fabric pears for awhile and have quite a few, so they were the first things that came to mind for filling the basket.

I'm still working on the pumpkin/cat rug and am getting close to finishing the background. I've had a few delays this week, so it is not progressing as fast as I had hoped.

Have a great week!
Linda

2011-09-10T18:58:00.000-05:00

GOD BLESS AMERICA
NEVER FORGET 9/11/2001

2011-09-07T09:38:00.001-05:00

I've been making progress on my newest rug, but still have a bit to go before I can call it finished! The border needs a little pizazz, so I'm planning to add some element to it as soon as I decide what that will be :0)

Hope you all had a great Labor Day. My husband had to work (on LABOR DAY), so my daughter and I took Jess to an area park for a walk. The park is very large with several lakes and wooded hiking trails, so we took our favorite trail which includes woods, a creek, meadows and lots of wildlife. We've seen lots of deer in the past but none on Monday. It is usually not very busy, and Monday we saw no one on the trail, and only a photographer taking pictures at the very beginning. It was cool and crisp here, so we really enjoyed the walk. Jess was so excited that she pretty much dragged us along at her pace, stopping frequently (thank goodness!) to sniff some new scent she wanted to investigate.

I spent yesterday with my two and a half year old grandson, Kale. He is talking a lot more lately and he is so cute! My mother and sister came over to see him, too, and I had to leave for a couple of hours to get a desperately needed haircut, so I didn't do much hooking yesterday. I hope to get the background finished in the next few days and then on to the border!

Hope you have a great week!
Linda

How Do You Display Your Rugs?

2011-08-24T09:44:00.001-05:00

Do you generally hang them on a wall?

...or on a cupboard door?

...or all over a cupboard?

...or as a pillow in a chair?

...or carry them in your purse on a keyring?

...or pinned on your sweater or coat lapel?

I hope you are enjoying the hooked projects you finish...anywhere your imagination takes you!

Progress on New Rug

2011-08-19T18:51:00.000-05:00

Here is a picture of the progress so far on my rug. I've really been enjoying hooking this rug. I like the colors and the way it is turning out up to this point. I will hopefully finish the main design areas tonight and start on the background. I may add something in the border, too. I think it might need a little more around the edges...we'll see!

Had to go shopping today and my feet are letting me know about it. I can't seem to find good walking/shopping shoes where I live...does anyone know who makes such a shoe? I'm beginning to doubt their existence!

Anyway, hope you have a great weekend!
Linda

New Fall Design

2011-08-15T11:15:00.003-05:00

Since I'm really in the mood for Fall...the weather here in Illinois is changing to cooler evenings and mornings...I have drawn up a Fall-themed rug and am ready to start color selection. The design is inspired by Kelley Belfast's great cat/pumpkin drawings, but the rug is my composition and drawing. I just hope the finished rug will be as primitive as her wonderful rugs and punch needle creations. Here is a picture of the rug:

I don't know if I've mentioned this in a past post or not, but I won't be babysitting my grandchildren this school year. My granddaughters will both be in school all day and my grandson will be going to a friend's house to be around other children more, since he will be attending pre-school a year from now. I will have much more time to spend hooking rugs and designing (I hope). I'll really miss spending the days with Olivia, Allison and Kale, but look forward to being home and having some free time. We live 5 minutes from my son and daughter-in-law, so we will still be able to see them often.

A school friend and former neighbor from the small town that I grew up in phoned me out of the blue last night. I haven't seen her or heard from her for nearly 35 years. She had just come home from visiting her elderly parents who still live in that small town, and the evening was clear, cool and moonlit-reminding her of the summer nights that she and my three sisters and I would walk around town and talk and "hang out." We would sit on the front porch and talk for hours about friends, school, and boys. She is a couple of years older than I and she was feeling a little nostalgic about her youth, I guess. Anyway, she told me how much she appreciated the feeling of belonging to our family during those years. She said that she thought of us as the sisters that she never had (she had two younger brothers.) It was a nice time of catching up on the paths our lives have taken since high school, children, grandchildren, jobs, etc. We talked for an hour!

The really strange part of the story is that I had just mentioned to Rachel (my daughter) during a recent gentle summer rain that it reminded me of the times during my teen years when our neighbor (the lady who called me) and we would walk around town during the summer rains and just talk and enjoy the rain. I can't remember the last time I actually walked in the rain!! It was a wonderful time in my life, and I have decided the next time it rains, I'm going to go for a walk!

I hope you all have a wonderful week!
Linda

A New Little Christmas Rug

2011-08-13T23:31:00.001-05:00

I finished hemming the Christmas mat that I've been hooking this week. It is 8" X 14" and is hooked entirely with hand dyed wools. The background is hooked with about six different blue wools, but for some reason it is looking a little purple on my monitor! I've used a few snowflake buttons (they glisten like real snow) and a primitive star button for the tree top. The "Christmas tree lights" are tiny freshwater pearls which had been drilled for beading. Now I'm in the mood to do something Fall...I seem to have my seasons reversed!

Have a great weekend!

My Newest Rug is finished

2011-08-08T20:05:00.000-05:00

Here is a picture of the rug I just completed (except for binding) yesterday. This is, of course, a Kelley Belfast design from her most current booklet. I love her designs, and this was so much fun to hook. I enlarged this punchneedle pattern to 15" X 21". The wools are both hand dyed and as found. I may need to take another picture in brighter daylight. The colors are not displaying accurately, esp. the sunflower colors.

I've begun a new Christmas design and hope to finish it fairly quickly since it is quite a bit smaller than the sunflower one above. Hope to have more pictures soon. I hope everyone has a great week! Linda

An Elegant Confection...Delicious!

2011-08-05T10:25:00.000-05:00

Madeleines are truly the perfect elegant confection, in my opinion. They are also very versatile as they may be baked in many delicious flavors. This particular recipe is my favorite! It has the perfect level of sweetness and lemon, and we have found these to be perfect at any time or event. (I enjoyed two at breakfast this morning!)

MADELEINES

This cookie launched a thousand memories—and a literary masterpiece—for Marcel Proust. The group enjoys madeleines with tea, just as the narrator did in Swann's Way.
Yield: Makes about 20

2 large eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
Pinch of salt
1 cup all purpose flour
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly

Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375°F. Generously butter and flour pan for large madeleines (about 3 x 1 1/4 inches).* Using electric mixer, beat eggs and 2/3 cup sugar in large bowl just to blend. Beat in vanilla, lemon peel and salt. Add flour; beat just until blended. Gradually add cooled melted butter in steady stream, beating just until blended.
Spoon 1 tablespoon batter into each indentation in pan. Bake until puffed and brown, about 16 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Gently remove from pan. Repeat process, buttering and flouring pan before each batch. (Can be made 1 day ahead.)
Dust cookies with powdered sugar.
*A metal mold with scallop-shaped indentations, sold at cookware stores.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/printerfriendly/Madeleines-102893#ixzz1UAQKywsM

I am also making very good progress on my current hooked rug (a Kelley Belfast design) and hope to post a picture in a day or two. We all LOVE Kelley's designs, and this one is great! I adapted it from one of her punchneedle designs from her newest booklet.

The Rose of Sharon in my back yard is covered with beautiful flowers (and a few Japanese beetles), and we snapped a few pictures this week.

Hope you have a great week!! Linda

Antiquing and a New Rug Preview

2011-07-06T22:23:00.000-05:00

I made a quick trip this afternoon to my favorite antique shop. It was one of those rare days when I found MANY things that I wanted to buy. In fact there were so many treasures that I spent WAY more time there than I had intended, trying to decide which items to purchase. Complicating the decision making process was the pitiable state of my checkbook!

There was a great old basket (one of my biggest weaknesses!) There was also a to-die-for hand carved wooden bowl with tin repairs which I could just picture on my kitchen counter filled with apples...sigh. A child's rocking chair painted white caught my eye, as well...my grandchildren would look so cute sitting in it! Then there was the black sofa table with carved legs...I REALLY wanted to snatch it up and take it home.

The grand total for all of my objects of desire would have been around $300, so I came back down to earth and faced the bitter reality...I couldn't buy it all...sniff...sniff.

I did, however, LOVE the few things that I felt within my price range today.

This one quart stoneware bowl appealed to me because I love this kind of stoneware and it is a shape I had never seen before. It is small - 6" in diameter and 4 1/2" tall, and I plan to fill it with some hand sewn vegetables (carrots, radishes, peas, etc.) found another day. This will go in my kitchen.

The woven table runners are wonderful. The red one photographed a bit brighter red than it actually is. It is long and narrow (9"). The other runner is shorter and 12" wide. There are several possible places I have in mind for them. It was a fun afternoon!

Also, I have been working on a new rug, and here is a small preview:

I've always loved very primitive floral rugs, so I will show you more as it progresses...as you can see, I've just begun!!

Have a great week!

Antique Store Bargain Project.

2011-06-24T17:45:00.000-05:00

Hope you are enjoying the first few "official" days of summer. We have been having lots of rain, resulting in LOTS of mowing! Our granddaughters are playing T-ball and baseball for the past several weeks, so we've been spending two evenings and Saturday morning each week at games. It's fun to watch them play, but it does take lots of time, too, so I haven't been doing much rug hooking lately. I've drawn another design to hook and plan to transfer it to backing tonight, so hopefully, soon I will have a progress picture to post.

I enjoy searching local antique shops for bargains to "update," and the above lamps are one of those recent projects. I found them for $1.00 each in a little shop that I love in Kickapoo, IL. My wool room looks a little more "cottage" than the rest of my home, so I decided to paint these lamps white and use them there next to a daybed which I had previously painted white. The daybed turned out great, so I was hopeful that the lamps would, too.

The lamps are completed and are now being used in the wool room. The white shades were under $10 each at a local home improvement store, so for $22.00, I have two "new" lamps. One day when I get my wool room clutter under control, I will take a picture of the daybed to show you how it looks together with the lamps.

Have a great rest of the week!

Linda

Progress Picture on the Cat Rug

2011-06-07T22:25:00.000-05:00

Even though I had decided to not finish the cat rug, I keep going back and forth about whether or not to just go ahead and complete it. Has anyone else had this experience? A very hectic year and frustration at not feeling happy with the rug have zapped all enthusiasm that I had at the beginning. I think the worst part was just not having time to really work on it, and then feeling as if I had hurried all the decisions about colors, background, border, etc. Anyway, I may finish it sooner or later...

My husband had emergency eye surgery in November to repair a detached retina and has had two other eye surgeries since then. A couple of other health issues have also taken attention away from rug hooking. The flu season this past winter was especially tough for our entire family, as well. Everything was so hectic, that I really dropped out of my bi-weekly rug hooking group, which had suffered dwindling numbers anyway. I miss it, though and wish the group could grow. I think what I really need is a few days at a camp (rug hooking of course!) I'm feeling a bit out of the loop...what a horrible pun :0)

Reading about your rugs and hook-ins and camps has kept me plugging along, so thank you very much! Here are a few pictures from this spring:

This is a VERY vocal frog (we think a gray tree frog) that we caught resting on our fence. Our backyard pond hosts quite a few visitors each year.

Our "Beauty of Moscow" lilac was especially beautiful this spring! The scent is wonderful, too.

As you can see, Jess took a particular liking to a hound on Animal Planet's airing of the Westminster Dog Show. She loves to watch television and gets a little over enthusiastic when any kind of animal (even cartoon animals) appear on the screen. You can see evidence of her nose prints and saliva all along the lower part of the television! That hound must have been hot in Jess' opinion.

Jess is doing well. She really is a lovable pup, and gives "kisses" upon request. My husband is a little bummed...she doesn't like hot weather and is a less than enthusiastic walking partner for him. When he gets the leash out, she hides under the bed! She does love investigating our large shady yard, however.

Talk to you again soon. Have a great week!

St. Louis on Saturday

2011-05-29T22:25:00.003-05:00

For my birthday this year (in January) our son and daughter-in-law gave us tickets to see "Jersey Boys" at the Fox Theater in St. Louis (on Saturday). It was my first live performance of a Broadway show and my husband and I did love it! It is the true story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, with lots of their hits being sung by the cast. The cast, by the way, was fantastic, and their performance was great. It is a very fast moving and high-energy show, and very well done. If you haven't seen it and have the opportunity, I recommend it highly...with one caveat. There is a fair amount of swearing in parts of it (lots of "f" bombs), so be prepared...I wish they would have made it a little more "G" rated in that department, but it was worth watching.

It was just good to get away and go somewhere together, something that we don't do often enough! By the way, it was worth going just to see the theater...it was beautiful and very ornate.

I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day. We owe a great debt of gratitude to all of those who have defended our liberty serving in the military. To the families of those who died while preserving our freedom, "Thank you for your sacrifice, and may God bless you and God Bless America."

Blogging Again!

2011-05-27T22:07:00.003-05:00

Lots of busy months have passed since my last blog post, and I have missed talking with you all. I can't believe that it has been 10 months ( it seems to have passed so quickly), and I have been wanting to jump back into my Wool Cupboard blog.

I did become a little obsessed with another blog (political) for much of the time that I have been away from The Wool Cupboard. Lately, I've grown frustrated with not having enough time to devote to research and writing on the other blog, and have realized that it had become more and more like "homework" and had changed from being a challenge to being a weight on my shoulders.

Anyway, I have continued to follow many of your blogs and have been both impressed and JEALOUS of all the projects and hook-ins and camps that you have written about. I have been working on a mid-sized cat rug for over a year (sporadically). It has been the most frustrating hooking that I have attempted, and I recently decided that I don't even think I like the incomplete rug enough to finish it! That was a shock to admit to myself. After spending so much time and effort, not to mention WOOL, I felt obligated to see it through to the end...and then I asked myself, "Why?"

If I don't think I will ever display the rug, then why waste more time and use more expensive wool on a project about which I have so little enthusiasm? Anyway, I'm on to the next rug!

Tomorrow, my husband and I are going to St. Louis. I'll talk to you about the trip in another post soon.

Thank you to those who have continued to visit The Wool Cupboard even during my extended absence. I'm looking forward to hooking rugs with friends again...thank you.

Busy Summer Greetings, and a New Rug

2010-07-17T09:23:00.003-05:00

It has been waaay too long since I have posted, and I really don't have a good excuse...I've been pretty busy, even though I'm technically "off" for the summer. I guess my only defense is that I have not done as much rug hooking this summer as I would have liked, so it was rather embarrassing to confess. It is always more fun to post when you have some exciting new project to share. I do have a recently finished (except for hemming) rug. You may remember my post this spring when I wrote about my trip to Indiana to a Red Salt Box hook-in. This is the free pattern that we received in our gift bag. The pattern is, of course, from Wendy Miller, and is called "Cup of Spring." I liked the finished result, and I think I will hem this and hang it in my living room.

I have periodically checked in on many of your blogs this summer and am envious of all the great camps and rug-related trips you all have taken. You all make me feel like a slacker this summer with your great projects in progress! In my defense, though, I developed a cold the first week of June and it has been on and off all summer with a bad sore throat, coughing, watery red eyes, sneezing, and general tired feeling. Every time I sit down, I fall asleep, which tends to curtail rug progress. :0)

Hopefully, this post will re-ignite my desire to get more rug hooking time in and the result will be more projects to post. Strangely, I've been in the mood to work on Christmas items, lately, so maybe I will surrender to the feeling and work on a winter rug!

Thank you to all of you who have continued to check in on my blog, and again, I apologize for my neglect. Have a great weekend!

Rug Pix

2010-05-11T23:05:00.007-05:00

These are more pictures from the Wendy Miller Hook-In in Indiana a few weeks ago. I think this rug was a Barb Carroll design. ***OOPS! I need to make a correction on this rug. Bev Cole, the lady who was hooking this beautiful rug contacted me to tell me that this is actually an Emma Lou Lais pattern called "Old Saltbox with Willow Trees." Bev is also the talented lady who created the mini wool quilt frame cover two pictures down. I loved the idea and the finished cover!! Thanks to Bev for sharing her creations and for contacting me about Emma Lou's pattern. The beautiful cat rug shown below the mini quilt was hooked by a gracious lady named Barb Hoffman. Wonderful rug, Barb! You inspired me.***

This is one of Wendy Miller's rugs.

This was a cover for a hooking frame that caught my eye. The woman who had made it designed this mini-quilt in colorful wools for her frame. The cat rug below was a Barb Carroll design that an attendee had adapted by making a mirror image of the cat and creating a two-cat rug. It was absolutely beautiful. The colors were very vibrant, which usually is not appealing to me, but this rug was gorgeous.

This last picture was the rug pattern that everyone received in their gift bag. It is called "A Cup of Spring," and this particular one was Wendy's project during the hook-in.

Sorry for taking so long to add these last pictures, but we've been sooooo busy with school activities and recitals and meetings at church for the past two weeks. I have literally been gone from home for two weeks!

Have a great week!

More Pictures from Wendy Miller Hook-In

2010-05-01T08:15:00.004-05:00

More pictures from the Sycamore Farms Hook-In by Wendy Miller of the Red Saltbox. I didn't realize that I had taken so many pictures! These are all Wendy's designs and rugs. I do still have more pictures, so it looks as if I will have two more posts with pictures. I also have a few pictures of some of the rugs that attendees were hooking.

Hope you are all having a great weekend. The weather in the Midwest has been springlike and warm, so no complaints in that department. We've had a couple of thunderstorms in the past few days, so more mowing is in our future.

There are only about four weeks of school left, so I will be on SUMMER VACATION around the first of June. I can't wait. There are lots of projects that I want to accomplish this summer, so I'm going to make my list and hopefully gets lots of things checked off before fall...and have some fun hooking, too! :0)

Red Saltbox Hook-In Part II

2010-04-27T23:44:00.005-05:00

FINALLY, after 4 attempts to upload the above pictures, they showed up! I don't know if Blogger is having issues or perhaps my computer is not cooperating...anyway...here are more pictures from Wendy Miller's Hook-In in Terre Haute this past Saturday. These are all Wendy's rugs and aren't they great? The setting was a two story old barn that was just perfect to display her rugs.

I will have at least one more post with pictures from Saturday :0) Enjoy!

Red Saltbox Hook-In Pix

2010-04-25T20:57:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was the long awaited (by me anyway!) of the Red Saltbox Hook-In in Terre Haute. My Friend Julie and I left VERY early in the morning and drove the little over three hours to get there (a little late). It was a little rainy, but we had a great time. There were about 50 ladies attending, and we met some very talented hookers and enjoyed seeing all the beautiful rugs, wool and other hooked items.
Wendy Miller brought lots of her wonderful hand dyed wools, and had a great sale on yards of factory made wools
This horse was one of Wendy's rugs that I just loved. It is pretty large with beautiful primitive wools.
This rug was so dramatic with its bright colors and dark background. Wendy is a very talented rug hooker. Her loops are so even!
This very tall sampler rug was a favorite of many of the ladies.

We had lunch at the Bed and Breakfast (wonderful) and each person was given a great gift bag filled with an original Red Saltbox hooked pattern called "Cup of Spring," two fat quarters of beautiful wool, a hooked bluebird pin. And a little bag of chocolate!!! She had coffee, tea, and lots of baked goods to enjoy all day.

I will post more pictures of the great rugs on display in the next couple of days. I worked on my cat rug, by the way, and will post some pix of the progress soon.

I have been unable to stay awake today. We had a garage sale this week, and I was up very late 3 nights in a row! I think I will be going to bed early tonight...yawn.

A Few Pictures!

2010-04-11T14:40:00.004-05:00

I'm sorry for the long gap since my last post. I don't know where my time goes. I have been working on finishing the Harvest Moon rug from my March 4th post. I'm doing a whipped edge using wool yarn, and it is very time consuming, to say the least! I've started working on the cat rug again, and hope to actually finish it this time around. I've decided to go with the wool colors that I had chosen and just see how it turns out.

Still in the works is a design that I will take to hook when I go to the hook-in with The Red Saltbox on the 24th of this month. I may just take the cat rug! :0) I can't wait to go!

The above picture is my plate rack that I bought probably 17 years ago in Bean Blossom, Indiana. It came from a great shop with lots of primitives and antiques. The antique bowl on the top is from my collection of big wooden bowls, and measures 14" across. The pewter charger is also 14" in diameter and has initials engraved in it. It looks really old, but I'm not sure of its age. On the bottom shelf is a small red ware plate (6") and three pantry boxes found at antiques shops and one from the Third Sunday Market in Bloomington, IL...a GREAT place to find primitive antiques. The small square pewter plate is not old, but I really liked it.

I think I have mentioned before that I love samplers. The above picture is of a sampler that I bought/won on Ebay about 5 years ago. It is (as you can see) a red work sampler. It is not dated, but I don't think it is really old. I like the look, though.
This sampler is one that I bought in Ohio at a trade show several years ago. Its primitive look and its message appealed to me.

I have started another blog recently. This one is strictly political, and will help me to not offend those who do not want to hear political discussions mixed in with the rug hooking posts. If you are interested in what is going on in our country politically, please click the button at the top right. Hope you have a great week!

New Wool Pin! Love it!

2010-03-20T08:40:00.003-05:00

My friend Julie mentioned to me at rug hooking last week that she had seen pins using wool spirals. My curiosity about how they would look took over and I decided to make one this week. I used hand dyed wools and LOVE the way the pin turned out. I've been smitten with this idea and want to make more in different colors and petal shapes. I hope you like it. The colors are so much more primitive in person.

HAPPY SPRING!!!!! It seemed as if it would never arrive, but the weather has been beautiful this week with lots of sunshine and warmer temps (50's mostly and a few low 60's.) The grass is already green :0) Jess has been playing outside more and just can't wait to go for her long walk every day. We have stumbled upon the answer to our mystery about Jess' breed mix. We logged onto Petfinder and saw a picture from the same shelter from where we adopted Jess last year. The picture was of another dog who had been happily adopted and she was the "spitting image" of Jess!! We read the information, and they described the dog as a Basenji mix. We googled Basenji and voila there was Jess in every picture! At last we now know that she is a Basenji/terrier combination. She has many of the Basenji traits such as being very affectionate and playful. She doesn't bark much, but "yodels" when she is excited about something outside the window!
Hope your day makes you SMILE!!!!

GIVEAWAY WINNER IS.......

2010-03-11T18:31:00.003-06:00

The random drawing was held this evening and the winner is........PATIJANE!!!! Congratulations, Patijane! As soon as I receive the mailing address, I will send your prizes (I am including three pieces of great prim wool, as well) out to you. Thank you all for participating and for all your kind comments. Contests and giveaways are always fun.

The above picture shows one of the ways that I have used my small (6"x8") mats in decorating. I tacked a strip of wool to either side of the back top and tied this mat onto one of my favorite small antiques. Please excuse the dust ;0)

I also want to thank you all for your comments about the health care issue. I know this topic generates much passionate discussion on both sides. If we cannot discuss issues which are important to our country and its future without angry name calling, then we have lost a valuable tool. So I am thankful for the calm and thoughtful way that you all expressed yourselves. It is always so surprising to me to find that people can have such opposing viewpoints on an issue, but I guess that is what makes the world go 'round!

Wendy Miller of the Red Saltbox will be hosting a luncheon and hook-in on April 24, and my friend Julie and I will be going! I'm really excited about this opportunity. Are any of you attending this hook-in? I'm really looking forward to a day of hooking and seeing all the great rugs others will bring. I need to get busy and decide what I will be taking as a project for the trip.

Again, congratulations Patijane!

CUTE PET VIDEO!!

100th POST, FREE PATTERN, FINISHED RUG AND A GIVEAWAY!

2010-03-04T19:33:00.007-06:00

F**I**N**A**L**L**Y!!! I am so thrilled to have finally finished hooking this rug. I don't know why, but I became really bogged down during the work on this project. It seems that life got really hectic, the holidays were in the middle of it, and things just seemed to drag along so slowly...not sure why. It turned out a little different from my "mind's eye" version, but for the most part, I'm happy with it. I don't think it looks quite as primitive as my vision for it. It measures 16 1/2" X 21" and is hooked in #8 cut. I used both hand dyed and as found wools. The only thing left to do is to finish the hemming.

This next picture is something that I saw somewhere (several years ago), and I had one of those "I can make that!" moments. I did come home and draw up my own version and made one for myself. It is a cover for my Puritan frame, and is one of my hooking "necessities." The fabric that I used was a commercially created "quilt-pieced" design. Since I sandwiched some coordinating quilted fabric on the back before binding the edges with bias tape, it is great for protecting my frame as well as my hands and other surfaces that accidentally come into contact with the needle sharp carding strips on my frame.

I made the bias binding ends long enough to wrap once around the legs of the frame and tie securely. It is really one of the most useful accessories that I own! I've decided to make this a free pattern in honor of this, my 100th post!! It also coincides with my one year blogging anniversary. So...

......here is my "really primitive" hand drawn pattern. I've included the measurements that I used on mine, but you can change dimensions, of course, to fit your particular frame. The binding is attached to all the edges with the longer tie-ends fitting in each "c" curve fitting around the legs. I hope that is clear. If you need further information, please don't hesitate to email me. If you do decide to make one, please send me a picture of your creation. I would LOVE to see what you do with it. Thank you!

Now I come to the 100th Post/One Year Anniversary Giveaway!!! Another of the great tools that I have found....

HOOKS!! These were found at a local quilt shop, and I have no idea what the "official" name of these are. They were sold in packages of one dozen and are absolutely wonderful for hanging small to medium rugs. I've never tried to use them to hang a really large rug (only because I have never hooked a really large rug!) You just slide the two sharp prongs under (or into) the hem binding on the back of your rug and hang. They really do work very well for me. ( The most I've used on one rug is four across the top.) I have a package of 12 to give to one person (plus I'm adding another surprise to be included), so please leave a comment saying...in your own words, "I'd really like to have those hooks!!" I will enter your name in my totally random drawing. Good luck, everyone!

On to a serious topic...I'd like to ask everyone to really pray for our country right now. I have a feeling that we are at a crossroad where we will either follow our wonderful Constitution and survive as our wise, wise Founders intended...with our freedoms and liberty intact, or we will take a terrible path that will lead us to a place that none of us want to go. I really feel that we are standing in the shadow of Socialism or worse. The complete lack of consideration of the wishes of the majority of Americans with regard to health care reform by the majority party is stunning and shocking. Even in the face of possible losses in Congress to conservatives, the liberal majority leaders and President Obama seem bent upon forcing this unwanted legislation upon us. I know in my heart that this legislation, if passed, will further destroy our economy and steal our right to make our own very personal decisions about our own health care. This is so very important. We may be witnessing events that will doom our children and grandchildren to decades of crippling debt and a loss of liberties which we have taken for granted our whole lives.

I plan to call again this week to remind my representative and senators to stop the insane runaway spending, and to stop trying to force this terrible legislation upon us against our will. I hope you all will do the same. Our future may depend upon making our wishes known. Please pray for President Obama, Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Reid and all those in positions of power that they will act in accordance with our Constitution and the will of the people.

A View on Aging

2010-02-17T19:51:00.002-06:00

I was never a fan of George Carlin, but a friend sent this to me this week and it's pretty good!!

GEORGE CARLIN'S VIEWS ON AGING
Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.

'How old are you?' 'I'm four and a half!' You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key.

You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.

'How old are you?' 'I'm gonna be 16!' You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life! You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony.YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?

You BECOME 21, youTURN 30, then you'rePUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50, and your dreams are gone...

But! wait!! ! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!

So you BECOME 21,TURN 30, PUSH 40,REACH 50, and make it to 60.

You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that, it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!

You get into your 80's, and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; 'I Was JUST 92.'

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. 'I'm 100 and a half!'
May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay them.

2.. Keep only cheerful friends.. The grouches pull you down.

3.Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever, even ham radio. Never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's family name is Alzheimer's.

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5.. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever.Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

AND, ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

A New Finished Pillow

2010-02-14T18:36:00.003-06:00

Jess is certainly loving the snow we've had the past few weeks. She can't wait to go out and run through it, plowing with her nose and eating as much of it as she likes. She seems impervious to the cold, and it is sometimes a challenge to get her to agree to come back into the house. We've started calling her Jessa. It seems more natural when we call her. It didn't seem to bother her that we tweaked her name a bit!

I was hoping Jessa would outgrow her love of chewing pretty soon, but she took it a step farther this week...the victim was a pair of heels...MY heels! I don't know how she did it, but she dragged them under our bed (well out of sight) and managed to spend enough time under there to eat...yes, I said EAT part of the back above the heel and part of the toe (sole and all) of one shoe. She just nibbled a little on the other. I'm beginning to suspect that she is part terrier and part goat! Looks like shoe shopping is in my future. :0)

We had two nights this week with heavy fog resulting in some absolutely beautiful morning frosts. It really looked like an enchanted winter wonderland with the white trees and shrubs and.....fences!

The Austrian pine trees were particularly beautiful. They looked like huge flocked Christmas trees.

The fog is still visible in this sunrise shot. It would have been nicer without the husband and dog tracks criss-crossing all over the yard! I would have to get up pretty early to get pristine snow pix with no tracks! All in all, I'm satisfied with the snowfall that we've had and am ready to move on to flowers and green grass. Can't wait for Spring.

This is a 9" X 12" hooked pillow that I finished this weekend. It was a fun little project, and I really wanted to try the rolled wool strip circles that Deanne Fitzpatrick demonstrated on her blog. They were pretty easy to do and make a nice variation to hooked circles. I may give this to my granddaughters. I worked on it while babysitting this week and Allison asked if I was "sewing" it for her and her sister, Olivia. I asked if she wanted me to make one in colors that would match their room (pink, green and white), but she said, "No, I like this one, Grandma!" Maybe, Valentine's Day had something to do with her wanting to have the red one...she and Olivia both had Valentine's parties at school this week.) Anyway, it was a fun project and I like making pillows.

I hope you had a great weekend (and Valentine's Day) and have a great week, too!

Winter Beauty

2010-02-07T15:24:00.002-06:00

It is so beautiful outside today. The sun is shining and there is hardly any wind blowing...just perfect. We have had a few days with snow falling, and everything is fresh, white, and sparkling. The people on the east coast have really been "blessed" with a lot of snow this weekend, and I'm sure that those who are not used to so much snow are going through some trials right now. I've always enjoyed "snow days" when everyone has no choice but to stay home because of weather. There is something cozy about being inside by the fire while the snow falls (and drifts!) outside. An unexpected day of forced vacation can be a great time to catch up on a project or to read a book that you have been wanting to read. My favorite, of course, is to pick up my rug hooking and to spend the major part of the day sitting with some great classical music playing and working on my latest hooked rug. It can be so relaxing, and a lot of progress can be made. It is so great to get more than a few minutes at a time to work.

My cat and pumpkin rug is coming along, and I will try to post a picture soon. I can't wait to get this rug completed and to start on another project. I have already drawn another mat and am pondering color choices now. Hope you have a great week!

The Statue

2010-02-06T08:44:00.003-06:00

This statue currently stands outside the Iraqi palace, now home to the Fourth Infantry Division. It will eventually be shipped home to be placed in the memorial museum at Ft. Hood, TX. The statue was created by an Iraqi artist named Kalat, who for years was forced by Saddam Hussein to make the hundreds of bronze busts of Saddam which dotted Baghdad. Kalat was so grateful for the American liberation of his country, that he melted three of the bronze heads of the fallen Saddam and created this statue as a memorial to the American soldiers and their fallen warriors. Kalat worked on this memorial night and day for several months. To the left of the kneeling soldier is a small Iraqi girl giving the soldier comfort as he mourns the loss of his comrade in arms.

We don't hear of this heartwarming story in the media because it has no shock value. It should be made public to honor our brave military who ARE making a difference. God bless our troops and God bless America.

This was received from a friend via email this week. Hope it is an encouragement to you today.

High School 1959 v 2009

2010-02-02T22:33:00.007-06:00

I received the following in an email this week. Hope some of you can relate!

I think the baby boomers can relate to how stupid we have become in this country...PC is ruining our country

HIGH SCHOOL --1959 vs. 2009

Scenario 1:
Jack goes quail hunting before school and then pulls into the school parking lot with his shotgun in his truck's gun rack.
1959 - Vice Principal comes over, looks at Jack's shotgun, goes to his car and gets his shotgun to show Jack.
2009 - School goes into lock down, FBI called, Jack hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors called in for traumatized students and teachers.

Scenario 2:
Johnny and Mark get into a fist fight after school.
1959 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up buddies.
2009 - Police called and SWAT team arrives -- they arrest both
Johnny and Mark. They are both charged with assault and both expelled even though Johnny started it.

Scenario 3:
Jeffrey will not be still in class, he disrupts other students.
1959 - Jeffrey sent to the Principal's office and given a good paddling by the Principal. He then returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.
2009 - Jeffrey is given huge doses of Ritalin He becomes a zombie. He is then tested for ADD.. The school gets extra money from the state because Jeffrey has a disability.

Scenario 4:
Billy breaks a window in his neighbor's car and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt.

1959 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college and becomes a successful businessman.
2009 - Billy's dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy is removed to
foster care and joins a gang. The state psychologist is told by Billy's sister that she remembers being abused herself and their dad goes to prison. Billy's mom has an affair with the psychologist.

Scenario 5:
Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school.
1959 - Mark shares his aspirin with the Principal out on the smoking dock..
2009 - The police are called and Mark is expelled from school for drug violations.. His car is then searched for drugs and weapons.

Scenario 6:
Pedro fails high school English.
1959 - Pedro goes to summer school, passes English and goes to college.
2009 - Pedro's cause is taken up by state. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that teaching English as a requirement for graduation is racist. ACLU files class action lawsuit against the state school system and Pedro's English teacher. English is then banned from core curriculum.. Pedro is given his diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he cannot speak English.

Scenario 7:
Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from the Fourth of July, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle and blows up a red ant bed..
1959 - Ants die.
2009 -ATF, Homeland Security and the FBI are all called. Johnny is charged with domestic terrorism. The FBI investigates his parents --and all siblings are removed from their home and all computers are confiscated. Johnny's dad is placed on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.

Scenario 8:
Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee. He is found crying by his teacher, Mary. Mary hugs him to comfort him.
1959 - In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing.
2009 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in State Prison. Johnny undergoes 5 years of therapy.

What a difference a few decades make!!!

The picture is of a hooked key chain that I made several years ago. The eyes are beads, and the tail is a tuft of roving that I hooked into the appropriate area!

The Mayonnaise Jar

2010-01-19T18:45:00.000-06:00

The Mayonnaise Jar

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle,
When 24 hours in a day is not enough;
remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class
and had some items in front of him.

When the class began, wordlessly,
he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar
and start to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full.
They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured
it into the jar. He shook the jar lightly.
The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.
He then asked the students again
if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand
and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else
He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded
With an unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table
and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively
filling the empty space between the sand.
The students laughed.

'Now,' said the professor, as the laughter subsided,
'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.

The golf balls are the important things - God, family,
children, health, friends, and favorite passions
Things that if everything else was lost
and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the things that matter like your job, house, and car.

The sand is everything else --
The small stuff.

'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued,
'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.
The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff,
You will never have room for the things that are
important to you.

So...

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.
Play with your children.
Take time to get medical checkups.
Take your partner out to dinner.

There will always be time
to clean the house and fix the dripping tap.

'Take care of the golf balls first --
The things that really matter.
Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.'

One of the students raised her hand
and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled.

'I'm glad you asked'.

It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem,
there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend..'

Maxine Again!

2010-01-15T18:45:00.003-06:00

Maxine is pretty right-on here, isn't she? January is the month when many families look at their tattered budgets and resolve to change the way they "do Christmas!" This is my year to try to get rid of things around the house that have not been used in the past few years. Our basement seems to be the catch-all for everything we grow tired of and don't have the heart to throw away. The stuff of dozens of future garage sales lies patiently in the semi-darkness of the basement. The hard part is digging through all the boxes and storage bins to find and price all the "treasures" to be sold for a few cents on the dollar! Our community has a town-wide garage sale in April every year, so that gives me a few months to dig through it all and get ready. The more likely scenario will be that two nights before the garage sale, I frantically try to price as many items as I can, and then everything clutters the living room and kitchen until we haul it outside in the early morning darkness (and usually, rain) to put it some sort of "order" on tables.

My son and his family have been hit with strep throat (four of them at the same time!), so things have been hectic. The girls have missed some school, but fortunately Kale has not been infected with it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my husband, daughter and I don't come down with it.

Still not much to show for my rug hooking. Progress has been very slow this winter. I want an entire day to sit and hook. I may just do that on Monday. No school means I get a day off! My husband gets the day off from work, too, so I may have to work around his plans somewhat to get my hooking time in. :0(

Have a great weekend!

Birthdays!

2010-01-03T20:52:00.003-06:00

The month of January is full of birthdays in our family. Mine, my Mother's, and the most fun of all Kale's first birthday come this month! My son and daughter-in-law are planning a large party for his 1st birthday, with lots of family and friends. This picture was taken at our house on Christmas Eve, when we open our family gifts. Kale wasn't interested in opening any more presents after he opened his first gift (a train) which he promptly began to push across the floor while making truck sounds. He does love trucks and trains!

Tomorrow I begin watching my grandchildren again. I had planned to get lots of rug hooking finished over the week and a half I was home, but, alas, that did not happen. I'm just going to try to get as much as possible finished whenever I can, so hopefully, I will have a completed rug (even if it is a Fall rug) sometime in the near future. I'm working on the background, so at least the end is within reach!

I hope you are accomplishing more than I am! Talk to you soon!

Fun In The Snow

2009-12-27T12:57:00.004-06:00

We in the Midwest are into our third day of snow! We had had several inches fall about four days before Christmas and then for three days before Christmas, we had warmer weather and rain. We had so much rain that there was flooding all around, and Christmas Day began as gloomy and wet. Then around noon on Christmas it started snowing again and it has been snowing ever since! This is the front of our house, and the picture below is of the back.

I don't exactly know what happened with the above picture, but the flash on the camera may have illuminated some snowflakes, because it looks like magical lights falling from the sky!!

This is Jess' favorite perch. She sits here several times each day and surveys her back yard to make sure there are no intruders encroaching. She watches the birds on the feeders and occasionally barks at the kittens playing. She also watches for my husband to back the car out of the barn when she is going for her walk and sits whining until she sees him drive around to the front of the house. Then she jumps down and runs to the front door!

She LOVES to play in the snow and would stay out there for hours in the cold, but we bring her in to warm her feet. Maybe she needs some doggy boots.

Her whiskers got all icy and frosty, but she didn't want to come into the house just yet.

She still had some running and playing to do. We finally picked her up and bodily carried her into the house to warm up. She then took her nap and rested up for more play in the snow. We need to teach her to toboggan down the hill!!

Pix of My Christmas Stuff!

2009-12-20T22:49:00.005-06:00

I'm sorry for being so absent lately, but things have been pretty hectic for me. I've been spending long days away from home and have been pretty wiped out when I do get home! I did finally get around to decorating for Christmas, so I hope you enjoy the pictures. One request...please don't focus on the layer of dust on my floors and furniture. I did get the decorating finished, but the cleaning is still on my "to do" list. We have for years and years always bought Frazier fir Christmas trees. I still LOVE the scent and look of the Frazier, but we waited so long to get our tree this year that they were sold out in our area. Since we were in a hurry, we decided to put tradition on hold this year and buy a kind of tree that we had never even heard of. It is called a Plantation Grand Fir. The needles are very soft and it is VERY full. The branches are a little wimpy, but I managed to find enough sturdy ones to hang the heavier ornaments. I decorated it in gold and silver, but I did add a few small green glass ball ornaments, too. I also used several different icicle ornaments, as well. It is a little different look from our usual more primitive tree, but I do like it.

Yet another wooden bowl! This is another 17" diameter bowl filled with pears that my daughter and I made. I also added some small grapevine balls and some dried oranges. I like the primitive look. The garland around the bowl is adorned with gold berries and gold bells. It was a great find at a local nursery.

This cupboard is in the hall near our bedrooms, and it holds all our DVDs! I loved this cupboard as soon as I saw it and left it as found for several years. Last year, I decided to paint it, and I love it even more now!

This is the entry to our home. As you can see I love the large candy canes. They are described later in this post since I haven't figured out how to re-arrange pictures after they are uploaded, so my post is all out of order. Oh, well, I hope it all makes sense eventually!

I really liked this candle holder/star when I saw it in the same local nursery I mentioned earlier. Bottle-brush trees are another thing that I have collected for a few years. I now have a virtual forest of bottle-brush trees. This year I spread them out all over the house instead of displaying them all together. It is fun to change decorations around each year. It would be less interesting to do everything the same every year, don't you think?

My sister gave this sled to me a few years ago. I love the antique look, but I don't think it is really old. It is made of iron and wood, and I added the greenery, glass balls and ribbon to add a Christmas touch.

A garland of greenery with pine cones dresses up my hanging wooden bowls. Love it!

These glass ornaments are very heavy and change in appearance in different light. You can see through the glass in daylight, but at night the finish is like old mirror. They are large (approx. 6" in diameter). Looks Christmassy outside with the snow!

This swag hangs on the door of the ash cupboard which belonged to my husband's grandfather.

The above picture is my "beloved" large wooden bowl filled with 8" whitewashed grapevine balls, greenery and red berries. I love the look, and use this as my dining table centerpiece.
This is a large hand painted tin bucket that I have filled with various greenery, berries and one of my favorite things, three of my large prim candy canes. I have collected these for a few years and buy them whenever I find them for half price after Christmas. I just last weekend found two more! The candy canes are approx. 32" tall, so it makes a nice large display.
This little snowman is my favorite Christmas ornament. He is really cute in a primitive sort of way, and adds some winter whimsy wherever I decide to hang him every year.
Antique ice skates are a fun winter touch. The ribbon adds a little shimmer for Christmas! I haven't quite figured out how to move pictures around once I upload them, so I'm going to add more pix which may end up above these. Sorry for the confusion!!

Well, even though things got out of order, I hope you enjoyed seeing a little of my Christmas decorating this year. I always love to see what others do and many times get some great ideas for my own home.

Merry Christmas!

URGENT INFORMATION!! PLEASE READ.

2009-12-08T02:00:00.006-06:00

This is so urgent. Please go to http://www.biggovernment.com and read the article about health care being written in prison. Here is some of the "why" for what is happening in our country with regard to health care and other socialistic change:

Robert Creamer (IL Rep.Jan Schakowski's husband) who is a convicted felon, wrote a lengthy political manual, Listen to Your Mother: Stand Up Straight! How Progressives Can Win (Seven Locks Press, 2007).

"In the book, Creamer draws lessons from decades of experience on the radical left, including the teachings of arch-radical Saul Alinsky, and several episodes from Rep. Schakowsky’s political career. He also lays out a “Progressive Agenda for Structural Change,” which includes a ten-point plan for foisting universal health care on the American people in 2009:"

•“We must create a national consensus that health care is a right, not a commodity; and that government must guarantee that right.”
•“We must create a national consensus that the health care system is in crisis.”
•“Our messaging program over the next two years should focus heavily on reducing the credibility of the health insurance industry and focusing on the failure of private health insurance.”
•“We need to systematically forge relationships with large sectors of the business/employer community.”
•“We need to convince political leaders that they owe their elections, at least in part, to the groundswell of support of [sic] universal health care, and that they face political peril if they fail to deliver on universal health care in 2009.”
•“We need not agree in advance on the components of a plan, but we must foster a process that can ultimately yield consensus.”
•“Over the next two years, we must design and organize a massive national field program.”
•“We must focus especially on the mobilization of the labor movement and the faith community.”
•“We must systematically leverage the connections and resources of a massive array of institutions and organizations of all types.”
•“To be successful, we must put in place commitments for hundreds of millions of dollars to be used to finance paid communications and mobilization once the battle is joined.”
Creamer adds: “To win we must not just generate understanding, but emotion—fear, revulsion, anger, disgust.”

You can see from reading just these few objectives, that there is an orchestrated effort by progressives to take away our America and to replace it with this socialistic version. If you have tried to discuss health care reform with any proponent of President Obama's health care plan, you will recognize ALL of the above points!! Please educate yourself about these people and understand the future that they want to force upon us. It is truly frightening!

"Creamer’s broader aim, as laid out in his book, is the “democratization of wealth” in America and “progressive control of governments around the world.” As he recently wrote on his blog at the Huffington Post: “If we succeed in winning health insurance reform we will have breached the gates of the status quo. We will demonstrate that fundamental change is possible. Into that breach will flow a wave of progressive change.”

If you don't want this "progressive" change, then please do everything you can to expose their agenda and its consequences for Americans.

Peaceful Morning Walk

2009-11-22T22:00:00.004-06:00

Friday was one of those still, peaceful, and perfect days for an early morning walk. I grabbed my camera and jacket and walked for a while all by myself in the quiet fog. We have had so much rain this fall that the ground is "squishy," but it was a crisp fall morning and just relaxing to be alone with my thoughts. I watched the birds at the feeder for a while. The blue jays were talking to each other and hurrying back and forth between the birch tree and the feeder.

While strolling and taking pictures, I ran across a LOT of deer tracks in the soft, rain-soaked grass. The deer have scuffed up a couple of the smaller trees (we should have wrapped them, I guess), and they have been visiting the backyard pond. We must be a local watering hole for them!

I still have not taken a picture of the rug, but I have started the background color and plan to get some work done on it this week. I need to clean my house, since I'm having Thanksgiving dinner Thursday, but I can't get in the mood to do it. I did some cleaning in my rug studio this weekend, and still have a bit to do. I found a poem this weekend, author unknown, and I hope you like it:

Be Thankful

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire. If you did, what would there be
to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don't know something, for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times. During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations, because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge, because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes. They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you're tired and weary, because it means you've made a difference.

It's easy to be thankful for the good things. A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are also thankful for the setbacks.

Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive. Find a way to be thankful for your troubles, and they can become your blessings.

I hope you all have a very blessed Thanksgiving!

God Bless Our Veterans and Those Serving Our Country

2009-11-11T21:08:00.004-06:00

Maxine said it all in those two little statements! Thank you, Veterans, for your selfless sacrifices for your fellow man. May God bless you in wonderful ways for your bravery, and for your giving spirits. News clips from Iraq, Afghanistan and other places always bring tears to my eyes when I witness the professionalism and integrity of our American soldiers. America salutes your valour and honors your service to your country. Happy Veterans Day!!!!!!

Dorothy, Glinda and a Little Lion

2009-11-10T20:39:00.004-06:00

I finally got a picture of Olivia (Dorothy), Allison (Glinda) and Kale (Lion) in their costumes. I'm obviously biased, but I think they are adorable! :0) Isn't being Grandma fun?

I've been making a little progress on my rug, and will try to post a picture in the next few days. I'm close to starting on the background, so I need to decide which way I want to go with colors. I don't have much to report, but I did have a very hectic day, and boy, am I tired!!

Sunday Afternoon

2009-11-09T21:04:00.004-06:00

Nearly all of our leaves have fallen, so it is beginning to look like early winter here. The farmers have finally been able to harvest some of their crops without being rained upon, for which I know they are all thankful. My days have been spent mostly watching Olivia, Allison, and Kale, and then from 5:30 until bedtime (in my case around 1:00 a.m.) I do whatever I need to get accomplished and try to squeeze a little "me" time into the day. Many days that means falling asleep in my chair while I try to watch the news of the day!! Some evenings I do manage to get some rug hooking finished, even if it is only for a few minutes.

Sunday afternoon I decided to go to Jeffrey Alans to look at Christmas stuff. When I arrived, an employee handed me a form and told me to look for the decorated Christmas trees that they had placed around the store and choose which one I liked the best and sign up to win my favorite tree. There were about 9 trees from which to choose, but I had the hardest time deciding which one I liked! I have very primitive taste when it comes to decorating, and none of the trees were at all primitive. They had one that they called "Country Manor" which had lots of "lodge" type ornaments, but it really didn't appeal to me. The colors were bright Christmas green and red, which I normally don't use at Christmas. Some were very traditional with lots of satin ribbons and bows. Many had crystal and glittery ornaments. There was one tree that had a black and white theme which I didn't think of as very "Christmasy". I finally decided that if I were ever going to choose one, I needed to look at the artificial trees UNDER the decorations to see which one I liked. We always buy a real tree at Christmas, so we don't own an artificial tree (except for a few primitive looking small ones that I place in different rooms.) Finally, after about an hour of looking at all the trees over and over, I decided to check the box next to the black and white tree. The tree itself looked like a Frazier fir which is the variety of real tree that we normally buy each year. It took me so long to decided upon the tree for the drawing, that I didn't get to spend much time actually looking at Christmas decorating items!! I'm not holding my breath about winning! I'll have to plan some time to go to Michael's and Hobby Lobby, too.

Some of my favorite places to go at Christmas time to look at decorating ideas are three garden centers in our area. They usually have great ideas and it is just fun for me. I usually pick up a magazine or two and look for ideas in them. Last year Paula Dean had a great Christmas magazine with coverage of her trip to Old Sturbridge Village (I think that was where she went!) Lots of great ideas (and recipes) in those pages.

Well, I still have a few chores to get finished before I give up and go to bed! Hope you have a great rest of the week!

When You Thought I Wasn't Looking

2009-11-03T18:38:00.005-06:00

WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WASN'T LOOKING

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you hang my

first painting on the refrigerator, and I immediately

wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you feed a

stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kind to animals.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make my favorite

cake for me, and I learned that the little things

can be the special things in life.

When you thought I wasn't looking I heard you say a prayer, and

I knew that there is a God I could always talk to,

and I learned to trust in Him.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make a meal and take

it to a friend who was sick, and I learned that we all

have to help take care of each other.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you take care of our house

and everyone in it, and I learned we have to take

care of what we are given.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw how you handled your

responsibilities, even when you didn't feel well, and I learned

that I would have to be responsible when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw tears come from your eyes,

and I learned that sometimes things hurt, but it's all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw that you cared, and I

wanted to be everything that I could be.

When you thought I wasn't looking I learned most of life's lessons

that I need to know to be a good and productive person when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking I looked at you and wanted to say,

"Thanks for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn't looking."

A friend sent this email to me today, and I wanted to share it with you. I'm sorry that I don't know whom to credit for the verse or the picture of the adorable child.

31 Degrees this Morning and Heavy Frost - Can Christmas Be Far Behind?

2009-11-01T14:21:00.003-06:00

The weather this year has been unusual to say the least. Spring was cold, wet, and very late in coming. Summer was also very wet and uncommonly cool. Fall came early, has been extremely rainy and colder than usual...this does not bode well for winter!! If the moisture pattern stays the same, we may have tons of snow...sigh. Thoughts of snow have put me in a Christmas mood, so I'm posting a couple of wintry items. The small mat above is entitled, "Papa 'n Me" and I still plan to hook a larger (and maybe more elaborate) version. It features button stars, and the hat on the small snowman is a miniature stocking cap that I hand sewed onto the rug. My rug hooking sessions have been very sporadic lately, and I am frustrated at my slow progress on my current two projects. My life seems very hectic right now, and I'm looking forward to the holiday vacations to get down to business on some projects.

My brother (from Birmingham, AL) and my sister (from Knoxville, TN) were here this week, and I was able to spend some time with them. We had planned a wiener roast for Friday night, but the weather was windy and rainy, so we moved it indoors. Two brave souls weathered the rain and wind and cooked the hot dogs for everyone (14 of us) and we visited and ate waaaaay too much!! I found the cutest little sparkly black cat gift bags for Olivia and Allison, which we filled with candy and kids card games and gum. I bought Kale a little dump truck to play with. Everyone had lots of fun visiting and playing with the kids. Olivia was "Dorothy" from the "Wizard of Oz", Allison was "Glinda" the good witch, and Kale was the Lion with a "badge of courage" from the "Wizard of Oz" for Halloween. Their costumes were very cute...I hope to post a picture soon.

This is a needle felted snowman pillow which I designed a few years ago. Needle felting is so much quicker than hooking!! The snowman has blue bead eyes. I hope you all are enjoying beautiful colors and weather this fall, and I'm actually starting to think about Christmas decorating already. I guess it won't hurt to at least start planning how I want to decorate this soon! Have a great week, everyone!

A Few Thoughts About Health Care

2009-10-27T23:52:00.004-05:00

The beauty of the Autumn foliage contrasts starkly with the ugliness going on in the halls of our Congress in recent weeks. I don't think that I have ever seen the levels of hatred and ill will displayed by so many as I have in the past several months. It seems that our freedom to express our concerns about the actions, decisions, and appointments of our President and other leaders is under assault. I regularly read several political blogs, and while there is anger on both sides, it seems that some do not want to hear the concerns of citizens who happen to be of a different party from their own. This is serious, because the loss of our ability to reasonably discuss issues is key to our finding common ground and at least some agreement.

The health care issue is so critical, and the fact that it is being written by a handful of members of the Democrat party behind closed doors without input from those who have differing opinions should send out alarm bells to both liberals and conservatives. President Obama promised transparency and bi-partisan input for all legislation considered, but there is absolutely no transparency and no bi-partisan discussion. The bills are being written by a few who don't seem to be interested in concerns that very nervous citizens are raising. This is no way to arrive at a solution to the problems of health care. The rush to write and pass legislation before the end of this year is a grave disservice to the citizens of America who will be expected to pay for and to subject themselves to its limitations and restrictions. This is especially difficult to accept knowing that none of those who are involved in the writing nor their families will be required to accept this end product as their own health care plan.

The backroom deals and arm twisting going on to try to ram this down the throats of Americans is truly revolting. Harry Reid has even written into the bill an exemption for his home state to be excluded for 10 years from having to pay the higher taxes to cover its residents' under the new plan. This was included, of course, because Mr. Reid is facing a tough uphill battle to be re-elected and doesn't want to anger his voting constituents. Who will have to pick up the tab? You know the answer...we taxpayers in other states!

This President has brought with his promise for change much division, turmoil, anger, and broken promises. I hope that it will not always be so, but for some reason, it doesn't seem to be a major concern. It seems to me that the important thing to his administration is that his plans for the remaking of America be instituted and instituted immediately! The take-over of 20 percent of our federal budget by way of socialized health care will not be easily sold to Americans, nor should it be. This needs to be closely examined from every possible angle and viewpoint. Half of America (or more) should not be expected to swallow their opposing opinion and to follow along blindly into a MAJOR change to our way of life just because the other viewpoint demands that it should happen. This is much too important for it to be reduced to angry accusations of racism, and selfish uncaring. There are very legitimate questions that need to be answered before any legislation is enacted. One of which is how in the world will we be able to pay for the trillions of dollars that this plan will cost? We are already in danger of losing our country's AAA status with the global financial world. When that happens, our health care costs will be one of the least of our worries.

Rug Progress

2009-10-21T22:26:00.003-05:00

It has been a long time since I've posted - seems like months!! We have been passing colds around between grandchildren and children and ourselves, so that just makes everything seem slower. My energy level has taken a dive with this cold I have, so I haven't done much of anything except babysit. ;0) This is as far as I have gotten with my rug. As has been the case with my rug hooking lately, I have been having fits with colors, esp. the cat. I think I need to have a whole day of "cat colors" dying sessions. I'm going to change the color of the facial features of the moon, also. I wanted something more subtle, and this will be too much contrast, I think. I've been getting more enthused about making some progress on this rug, so I've been trying to spend more time on it. I will post more pictures soon...I hope!

Yoda took an interest in a dangerous insect today. Fortunately, it ended well with no injuries to anyone!

Jess LOVES being outdoors, and she has been running through all the leaves and chasing the cats and having a great time. She weighs 20 lbs. now and we hope she stays pretty much the size she is. She is still very energetic and cute and STILL "chews" as her main pastime! Despite an ample supply of chew bones, rawhide chews, rubber squeaky toys, etc, she has managed to chew up and destroy 2 puppy beds, 7 stuffed toys, 2 Nylabones, 1 blanket edge, and she has started on her fleece sleeping crate bed!! Since she has all her permanent teeth, she is a chewing machine. We hope she doesn't ever develop an interest in chewing furniture!! Jess has also taken an interest in watching television. Whenever there is any kind of animal or bird on the screen, she runs up and jumps up by the screen and whines. Sometimes she will sit on the arm of the love seat right in front of the television and just sit and watch it!

My husband tied a rubber ring chew toy to a branch in one of the backyard trees, and Jess has great fun jumping up to catch it and pulling on it.

We think we have finally figured out her mixed breed. We think she is rat terrier and pom. Her facial features and ears really do look like rat terrier, and a rat terrier color called blue fawn looks just like her fur color and markings. She really is a good dog with lots of personality, and she is a lot of fun!

I wish I had more rug hooking to share, but my hooking group has taken a few weeks off and I haven't gotten as much completed as I had hoped. I've enjoyed seeing the progress on several of your blogs and have really enjoyed the rug pictures you have shared. Have a great rest of the week!

Random Pix

2009-10-04T20:51:00.004-05:00

This is one of my favorite primitive antiques! Decorating this for Autumn and Christmas is great fun, since the very weathered primitive wood lends itself to greenery and Fall primitive pumpkins, gourds and vines, etc. The English garden trug is a treasure found at a local antique shop. On the floor beside the cupboard is an old milking stool which I love. It is small and the perfect spot to set seasonal decor. I think I need to hook a small round mat to lay on top of the stool! The 5"x7" crow mat is one of my own designs from about 5 or 6 years ago. The crow has a small black shiny bead eye.

This wall cupboard hangs in my bathroom and is the perfect display spot for part of my yellow ware collection. I LOVE the tiny little bowls. Sorry my picture is a little dark.

This is a small wreath I decorated with a tiny gourd birdhouse and silk flowers. Wreaths are always an enjoyable project.

Well, it is October, so I put out some of my Halloween stuff! This is from a Soft in the Head pattern and was great fun to make. The tie is made of black and taupe striped silk. I just love the little spider dangling from his hat!

I'm still working on my newest rug and slowly making progress. It's hard to accomplish much when you fall asleep every time you sit down in a chair!!! The rug so far is looking good, and I hope to make major progress this week.

My grandchildren came over (with their parents, of course!) for dinner today after church, so we had a lot of fun this afternoon. Jess got a workout playing with Olivia and I read quite a few books to Allison. Kale has four little teeth, so he is enjoying some real food. He weighs 22 lbs now!

It sounds as if there may be a push this week to get some sort of health care legislation passed, so please make some time to call or email your congressmen to let them know how you feel about the proposed changes. The problem is that Mrs. Pelosi does not plan to post the finished bill on the Internet (as promised last spring), so knowing what they are foisting upon the public may be out of the question. I just hope THEY read the bill and really consider the consequences to our economy and all of the taxpayers. I guess this would be a very good time to pray for wisdom for all the legislators!

Have a great week!

New Rug in Progress

2009-09-27T22:21:00.004-05:00

I've been busy and haven't posted for a while, so I thought I would give you a look at the rug that I am currently working on. It is my own design, and I like the way things are going so far. I haven't drawn the border on yet, but I plan to add one. The overall size should be approx. 24" x 18".

I posted some spider web pictures in an earlier post, but this weekend, we had some beautiful misty, foggy mornings, and we snapped a few pictures of yet another huge spider web in the back yard. They are so beautifully decorated with the dew! This one was over 36" in diameter. We seem to have an abundance of ambitious spiders in our area!

The web was attached to our grandchildren's swing set on one side and a juniper on the other. Beautiful...

I've been busy drawing patterns for the past week or two, and I hope to have a new needle felt pillow finished in the near future. I have several new rug designs that I want to do, but I just wish I had more time and energy to get them done!

I found a bargain at our local Kohl's store this weekend. They had an Urban Rebounder on clearance for $23.99!! It retails for $119.00, so I felt like I couldn't pass it up. We set it up, and I tried it out this afternoon. It is a lot more fun than the treadmill!! For those who are not familiar with the name, it is a really good rebounder (little trampoline) with a bar attached to hold on to. It also came with a couple of DVDs, so I tried the easiest one to start with. I've decided that I need some exercise in addition to picking up grandchildren all day 4 days a week! I'm determined to get more fit than I am now!

Our trees are beginning to turn. Right now we have yellowing ash trees and birch trees. There are a few red leaves on our black gum trees, our pin oaks, and also on two of our hard maples. We've had a lot of rain this week, and it looks like Fall will be pretty colorful around here this year! I LOVE FALL!!

Surprise in the Mail!

2009-09-15T21:14:00.003-05:00

Don't you just LOVE surprises? My mailbox contained a HUGE surprise today, and here is a picture of the beautiful gift that I received from Lauren at Rugs and Pugs. She made this beautifully done punch needle version of the free pattern that I offered in my July 20, 2009, post. Thank you so much, Lauren! I will treasure this and your kindness, as well! My husband saw this when he got home from work and asked where the "rug" came from. I told him and he commented, "Her colors look good, don't they?" My husband NEVER comments on colors and things like that, Lauren, so you made a huge impression on him, too!

I had a very hectic day today and am really tired, so this post won't be long. I carried my grandson, Kale, through the mall this afternoon (yes, next time I will bring a stroller!) He weighs over 20 lbs., so my arms actually went numb before I made it back to my car. Twenty-plus pounds of wriggling baby seems much heavier!! What was I thinking????

Thanks again, Lauren!

Fabulous Fall!

2009-09-13T15:00:00.003-05:00

I have some of my Autumn decorations up now, but I want to do more. For some reason, I'm a little tired of some of my stuff, and I'm in the mood to do something different. This grass garland has been part of my Fall decorations for several years, and I have never gotten bored with it. It is simple, but adds a lot to the wooden bowls, I think! I know of some people who completely take all their regular accessories out of their rooms and replace them with seasonal stuff, but I like to add seasonal things to what I have.

This pumpkin head doll was a must have from about 6 years ago. I love her wide, toothy grin! Her kitty has the same great smile.

The pumpkin is one that my daughter and I created together. It is rather large at 18" tall and has been stuffed with fabric pieces so that it is also heavy. We then hand painted the fabric and antiqued it. The faux bittersweet vine is just tossed over it for a little flair. I love projects!

I have a couple of other projects going on right now, so hope to post pictures soon! Have a great week, and I hope your weather today is as wonderful as it is here!

Another Centerpiece

2009-09-12T20:10:00.003-05:00

A few days ago, I posted pictures of my dining room table centerpiece. Here is the wooden box I spoke of. I have had it for years, and I've used it for lots of different looks for Autumn and also at Christmas. It looks great with Christmas greenery and dried oranges and whitewashed grapevine balls inside. The antique box measures 33" x 11 1/2" x 3", and the corners are dovetailed. Which look do you like better, the wooden bowl from my post two days ago, or the wooden box? I love both of them, so I'm just curious which others like best.

Any suggestions as to other things to put into the box for Autumn? What I really need after looking at these pictures is a new dining room table and chairs! :0) This set is 31 years old and is looking every bit of its age! Another thing to start saving for!

Hope you have a great Sunday!

A White Rose for Remembrance

2009-09-11T22:07:00.002-05:00

I've been watching television and news personalities today discussing the things that they remember about the horrifying events which took place on September 11, 2001, and I thought about what I was doing when our country was attacked. My daughter and I were home. She happened to be watching the morning news and told me that an airplane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers. It did not occur to me at that point that it was anything other than an accident, and I remember thinking how horrible it would have been for the people on the plane to be able to look out of the window of the plane and to see that they were going to fly right into that huge tall building. We watched the intermittent coverage of the "accident" on national morning news and were truly horrified when the second plane hit the other tower. The graphic pictures of that second plane crashing into the tower made me feel ill. The realization that it was no accident was frightening. How could human beings do such things to other human beings?

So many people with families and lives, destroyed by hate. It is still hard for me to understand years later how people can hate so much that they are willing to kill.

The thing that I've been struck by today in watching the news clips of the events of Sept. 11, is the goodness and sacrifice of so many people who saw the need for help and selflessly risked themselves to help others. What a contrast! In this single event, we see both the worst of mankind and the best. We saw the hate which prompted the acts, and then we saw the kindness and love of those heroes who tried to comfort and to rescue the victims. It warms my heart and soul to know that the majority of Americans are kind and compassionate and caring.

This is a white rose of honor and remembrance for those who died and also for those who gave of themselves to try to save those that they could. God Bless You All and God Bless America.

Random Photos

2009-09-10T20:59:00.003-05:00

This is a picture of my current centerpiece for my dining table. I have collected sewn and stuffed pumpkins and squash for a few years. There are also a couple of ears of corn and some candy corn. This very large antique wooden bowl has a great primitive finish. The bowl is 17" in diameter. I have always loved hogscraper candlesticks, and these are two of my growing collection, decorated for Fall. I'm not sure if I will leave this as is on my table. I also have a very long shallow wooden box that looks great with Fall items inside. I may post a picture of it decorated, too.

This is one of the kittens by the backyard pond. Looks relaxing, doesn't it?

Meet, Isis, one of the kittens. She is really sweet and good natured. She looks bored with picture taking today!

My daughter found this little baby in our drive yesterday. She is the size of a half dollar and still has her little egg tooth! She is a snapping turtle who could grow to 85 lbs. one day. Her shell is still soft and she is really cute! We've tried to feed her tiny fish from the pond, carrots, lettuce and earthworms, but she doesn't seem very hungry. I think we will take her down to the big lake soon and release her in the very shallow, muddy part where she should be able to find plenty of food and places to hibernate this winter. What a cutie!

Home Sweet Home

2009-09-05T20:49:00.003-05:00

I absolutely love being home - I've always been a homebody and my idea of a great day is to be able to just stay home and make something I've wanted to make for the house. The next best thing is to shop for something for the house!! Today was wonderful, because I decided to cut some fresh bittersweet from my vines and to make an Autumn wreath for the front porch wall by our door. It is large (about 24" in diameter). I didn't want it to look too fussy, so I just loosely wrapped the bittersweet pieces around each other and secured them with a little wire. The wreath looks nice against the weathered wood of our house, and I hope it holds up for the next few months!

This is another wreath that I made a couple of years ago. I'm ashamed to say that I can't remember the designer's name of the pattern I used. I apologize to the pattern designer for my memory lapse. I still love crows, and even if I don't have as many crow items as I used to have (I have done some serious downsizing this past year,) I am still drawn to them!

No, Jess is not killing the kitten, she is "loving" the kitten. These kittens are soooo laid back and mellow, that Jess has to work at getting them to run so that she can chase them! I did have to intervene a couple of times today when Jess got a little too eager. The kittens took a few swipes at her also, to let her know when they had had enough!

Jess is growing still. She weighs about 14 lbs now. Her baby teeth are still falling out. She only has one canine tooth right now. The other 3 have fallen out, and she looks a little goofy with only one. The replacement tooth for the canine is coming in already right behind the baby canine, so it will be coming out soon, also!

Jess scared herself yesterday...and us! We were making iced tea, and the jar with the water and the tea bags was sitting up on our kitchen counter. We were not looking in that direction when it happened, but we heard a crash and Jess ran into the living room yelping! It scared me to death and we figured out later that she had JUMPED up and grabbed the paper & strings from the tea bags and had tipped the jar of hot water and tea bags over. It then crashed to the floor in front of her splashing hot tea all over the kitchen. After we checked her over carefully and determined that she was not injured - only frightened, we cleaned up the huge mess in the kitchen. There was tea all over our hardwood floor and the cabinets and the stove! It could have been so much worse if she had been burned with the hot tea. We had no idea that she could possibly jump up that high and reach anything on top of the kitchen counters. Needless to say, we are pushing everything waaay back from the edge of the counters now.

Hope you have a great weekend and Labor Day Monday.

Patriots in Iraq

2009-09-02T23:28:00.003-05:00

I received this in an email today:

"From a Chaplain in Iraq:

I recently attended a showing of 'Superman 3' here at LSA Anaconda. We have a large auditorium we use for movies, as well as memorial services and other large gatherings.

As is the custom back in the States, we stood and snapped to attention when the National Anthem began before the main feature. All was going as planned until about three-quarters of the way through the National Anthem the music stopped.

Now, what would happen if this occurred with 1,000 18-22 years-olds back in the States? I imagine there would be hoots, catcalls, laughter, a few rude comments, and everyone would sit down and call for a movie. Of course, that is, if they had stood for the National Anthem in the first place.

Here, the 1,000 Soldiers continued to stand at attention, eyes fixed forward. The music started again. The Soldiers continued to quietly stand at attention. Again, at the same point, the music stopped.

What would you expect to happen? Even here I would imagine laughter as everyone finally sat down and expected the movie to start. But here, you cold have heard a pin drop. Every Soldier continued to stand at attention.

Suddenly, there was a lone voice, then a dozen, and quickly the room was filled with the voices of a thousand Soldiers, finishing where the recording left off.

'And the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does that Star Spangled Banner yet wave, o'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.'

It was the most inspiring moment I have had here in Iraq. I wanted you to know what kind of Soldiers are serving you here. Remember them as they fight for you!

Pass this along as a reminder to others to be ever in prayer for all our Soldiers serving us here, at home, and abroad, for many have already paid the ultimate price."

Written by Chaplain Jim Higgins, LSA Anaconda at the Ballad Airport in Iraq, north of Baghdad

And yet there are those in high places who hate our military and want to tear it down. They don't respect what America has sacrificed to try to make the world a better place. They demean the very men and women who have put their own lives at risk to stand for freedom and for that which is right. They travel the world apologizing for what America stands for and criticizing her ideals. They won't even defend America with their words, but these brave Soldiers who finished the National Anthem defend her with their very blood. Shame on those who are trying to destroy what those Soldiers so bravely defend...SHAME ON THEM!!

2009-08-30T20:51:00.004-05:00

This is one of my favorite pictures of Olivia, taken (a few years ago!) on a Fall trip to Tanner's Orchard. She loved all the pumpkins, and we ended up picking out a pumpkin to bring home. Grandchildren make every season more fun!

Remember this rug? This is the one that I finished in the off season - too late for Fall last year. Well, I put it up on a wall in my living room this afternoon, and it is the first Autumn item decorating my house so far this year. I was really in the mood to put up all the Fall stuff since the weather has been unusually cool this week, however, we ended up going over to our son's home and shared pizza with our grandchildren, so my decorations will wait until another day!

I still haven't started my new rug yet, so I'm going to draw it on the backing tonight and then start the hooking tomorrow. I will be watching only my grandson tomorrow, so I may have a little more time to get some hooking done. He still naps for an hour or two at a time, so maybe I can get something accomplished!!

Hope you have a great week!

Hodge-Podge!

2009-08-27T21:27:00.007-05:00

Zeb, the beautiful cat, in the garden. This picture makes me smile, and I needed something to smile about tonight after watching the news! So many changes are being made in our government with so little regard for what those changes will mean to Americans. It makes me ill to think about how our lives may never be the same. Quite frankly, I am so sickened by politicians and their duplicity right now that I would like to chuck the whole lot of them out of office and start over with some REAL people who CARE about America and Americans. Every couple of hours there is some report put out about how President Obama and his leftist progressive "czars" are changing some other part of the government.

Two things reported today: In the health care bill, there is a section that MANDATES that the IRS must make everyone's financial records (tax records, etc.) available to the Health Care Commissioner (another czar??) so that the determination may be made as to whether you qualify for certain coverage. It doesn't matter if you want the coverage or not. They will determine if you "qualify." Great...our finances will be open to inspection by who knows whom in Obama's bloated health care department. We all know how secure the government systems are. Any 11 year old with a computer can hack in! I hope everyone is letting their representatives know how they feel about all this proposed outrageous intrusion into our lives.

Secondly, President Obama has decided to declare September 11 as a day of "service." Another way to erase history and to downplay what really happened on Sept. 11. I'm not complaining about having a day of service, but it should not be on this particular day. Americans should never forget what happened on that day and how fragile our freedoms and our way of life really are in today's world.

Guess what this is? This is an owl pellet! Evidently when an owl has a successful day of hunting his dinner, he eats the whole critter. Some things are not digested and he....well he......I can't think of a polite way to say this. HE THROWS UP! It looks like a hair ball that your cat would deposit on your carpet, but it contains information about the owl's lunch....

Bits and pieces of the "meal" are encased in the pellet. Here we find a few bone fragments, some fur, and a claw. I wonder what type of creature was eaten? A rabbit, possibly? The claw doesn't really bring to mind a rabbit, though. The claw is pretty sizable... I think hawks may toss their pellets in the same manner. Ick!

I collect alphabets and samplers, and this is one that hangs above the bed in our bedroom. The punched hanging was purchased from a local antiques store. I'm not sure what it would have been used for or exactly how old it is, but I liked the look. The design looks like a rising sun (or possibly setting!) and stars.

I have been drawing rug designs this week, and will be starting a new rug tomorrow. I hope to post pictures soon.

Have a great weekend!

Birdhouses and Hooked Cell Phone Case

2009-08-25T20:34:00.003-05:00

This is the cell phone case I hooked months ago but never got around to posting. This one turned out much sleeker than the first one I hooked. It is definitely much slimmer and neater looking.

This is a birdhouse constructed of weathered barn wood and rusty corrugated tin. I purchased this from a local antiques shop about 5 years ago. It sits on a rustic bench made by my husband. The birdhouse looks every bit like an old rustic house with a porch. The kittens like to walk through the front door and sit inside the "great room" or lie on the floor of the porch. Some of them have been pretty large when they went inside, and I was afraid that they would get stuck! Somehow, they all managed to wriggle their way back out. I have a miniature set of metal garden tools, including a shovel, a rake, a wheelbarrow, and a bucket, and a miniature woven basket that I used to place on the little front porch for fun. It looked very realistic. Whenever we have garage sales, people are always interested in this birdhouse sitting in front of our home.

Here is another bird house which is attached to a charming old oak tree near the lake. I don't know if any birds live in this house, but it does have a great picturesque location! The view of the 15 acre lake from here is fantastic!

When our children were young, we used to swim in the lake and camp on its shores on warm moonlit summer nights. It brings back a lot of wonderful memories. I am a bit claustrophobic, so I used to sleep by the screened door on our tent. I remember one night lying in my sleeping bag looking out at a full moon reflected on the water. It was so peaceful and quiet (except for the frogs!)

The most recent use of the lake for me has been kayaking. We have two one-person kayaks which we paddle around the lake for fun. It is good exercise, too! My daughter and I have been known to race across the lake...she usually wins! OK...she ALWAYS wins!!

My cat rug has become an annoyance. No matter what colors I have tried, it is not looking like I wanted it to look. I may set it aside and move on to another rug for a while. Does anyone else have these problems? Maybe it will look different to me after a break.

What a Week!

2009-08-22T19:17:00.002-05:00

This has been "one of those" weeks. I started babysitting my three grandchildren as my DIL went back to teaching school. I have been wiped out at night!! I've never been in charge of three children before, so this is new to me. Let's just say that three are a lot more challenging than two! :0) I've been coming home after 10 - 11 hours with the kids and then having to make dinner...ugh! There have been nights that I didn't even do my dishes, I was so tired...I think I need to up my vitamins!

Friday, my husband had an outpatient medical test at the hospital, so I spent pretty much all day sitting in the hospital with him. (All is well, BYW!!)

Wednesday night our computer crashed and we had to take it in to have it checked out. Of course, it was the "motherboard", so that meant a new computer in our future! We actually stopped at our local store to look at them on the way home from the hospital Friday night. We picked one out, which of course they did not have in stock, so we drove to another city nearby and purchased the computer that we wanted. We couldn't bring it home last night, though, because they were doing whatever they do to get a new computer ready for use.

This afternoon was our granddaughter, Allison's, 4th birthday party, so we were partying with a large group of family and friends (lots of kids!) all afternoon. After the party was over, we stopped at the computer place to pick up our computer, and spent the evening so far, getting everything all set up and working. This new computer came with "Vista" and I'm used to Microsoft XP, so now it is like starting all over with everything. I lost all my passwords, emails, and email addresses, etc. so now I'm trying to rebuild my files! :0( You had better believe there will be backups this time! The one bright spot in this was that we had recently backed up all the pictures that were stored on the computer, so we really didn't lose pictures.

This has been like a lost weekend to me, so hopefully, everything will work itself out and I will get comfortable with this new operating system and be able to get back to blogging more often. I felt cut off from the world with my computer down!

I have a lot of blog posts to catch up on, so I will close for now. My rug hooking has been very sporadic this past week, so please forgive my lack of pictures and rug hooking news! Have a great Sunday!!

Backyard Photos

2009-08-15T23:51:00.003-05:00

I don't know if Praying Mantis are found all over the United States or not, but they are plentiful around here! They are so unusual looking and kind of comical. If you click to enlarge this picture, I think you will be able to see his cute heart shaped face. Two years ago we had a huge population of these on the side of our house. They would just walk up the siding and sit in the sun. If you move near them, they turn their heads and watch you.

I had a little trouble posting this tonight, and lost one of the pictures in cyberspace somewhere! This is a very large spider web that my daughter, Rachel, captured still decorated with early morning dew. It was really beautiful in the early sunlight. Fortunately, the resident and creator was not present for the photo-shoot! This web measured about 36" in diameter.

We snapped this picture of a resident of our garden pond. He was sunning himself on a lily pad. We had a bumper "crop" of frogs in the pond this year, but many of them have moved on. There are 3 larger lakes within visual distance of our home, so I'm sure that some of them relocated to larger living quarters!

We took Jess to the local vet this morning to have her stitches removed. She was a big hit at the vet's office. The employees all thought she was adorable and she, of course, had to "kiss" everyone and wriggle excitedly at all the attention. She weighs around 12 lbs. now and is doing great. Her baby teeth have been falling out, and she was gap-toothed for a while, but her new teeth are coming in quickly. Her biting and chewing capabilities were never hindered!! She now knows how to sit, shake, lie down, and roll over.

I will have to keep my rug hooking up off the floor from now on. Jess managed to "reverse hook" two strips of wool from my cat rug yesterday! Since I'm watching my grandchildren 4 days a week now, my time is limited, and I don't want to have to re-hook the entire rug. :0)

Hope you have a great Sunday!

First Free Pattern Finish!

2009-08-10T21:59:00.004-05:00

Lauren, from Rugs and Pugs (please see my blog list in the sidebar), emailed me a picture of her finished Willow House which she completed in punch needle. (See July 5 post for free pattern) It turned out great and has already been given to a lucky college friend of Lauren's. Great job, Lauren! Thanks for the picture.

Jess had her surgery (spaying) Friday, and we picked her up Saturday morning. She also was micro chipped and given all the rest of her shots, so she is free from vet visits for a while! It was strangely quiet in our house Friday night, and even Saturday Jess was somewhat subdued and sleepy. But Sunday look out!!! She was baaaaack. It seems impossible, but I think she has even more energy now :0)

I've been working on staying up to date on my 10 Minute Rug Challenge, so I'm getting a little hooking finished. I've started babysitting my grandchildren already, so my time has been cut dramatically! Also my energy :0)

I still hope to have an update picture on the large cat rug soon. Sorry to be so slow... :0(

Hope you all have a great week!

I Survived!

2009-08-05T08:11:00.004-05:00

I'm back from my 3 days of babysitting...a little frazzled, but otherwise none the worse for wear! There is nothing like being around preschoolers to remind you of how many decades have passed since you were a young mother, yourself!! I've also noticed how families have changed over the years. When my children were young, conversations could actually be had and one could really think about something for more than 2 or 3 minutes at a stretch! What has happened to attention spans?? I'm a talk radio fan, but about an hour of sitting with my left ear plastered to the radio and my hand over my right ear, I gave up!! I did, however, get to watch "Max & Ruby" (cartoons about brother and sister bunnies) several times and 3 "Baby Einstein" DVDs! At least the music on them was good (Mozart & Bach)!! At one point, I was carrying a crying baby, clearing up supper taco dishes, listening to a 5 & 3 yr. old sing a duet, and scrubbing spilled taco stuff off white carpet...all at the same time! Good practice for multi-tasking, I guess. My son and DIL arrived home with gifts from the beach for the girls and they were all so happy and excited and hugging...a good ending to my 3 days away from home! Next week, I start my 4 day weeks babysitting when Ashley goes back to teaching. Am I really ready for this?!?!

The above pillow is one that a hooked a couple of years ago. As I have said before, candy corn is a favorite fall motif, and this 6" x 8" pillow turned out great. The colors are much more muted than this picture depicts. For some reason, the orange looks very bright in the picture, but in person is much more primitive. I did do a tiny bit of hooking (or as Olivia and Allison referred to it as "sewing") while away, and I hope to have a progress picture within the next few days of the large cat rug that I began a few months ago. I've also started another project that I will share soon. The rug that I hooked from the small cat design that I posted a couple of weeks ago as a free pattern has been finished into another pillow, and has begun to grow on me. I have decided that I like it and still want to hook another version in different colors.

I hope you all are enjoying the same beautiful weather that we are having. This summer has been great! I think we have only had two days that were in the low 90s...HIGHLY unusual for central Illinois!! Hope you all are having a great week!

Wonderful Wreaths

2009-07-31T21:55:00.006-05:00

I'm still in a serious Fall mood, so I'm posting this picture of a wreath I decorated . The flowers are dried and some are faux. The pumpkin is papier mache' that I painted with acrylic paint and then antiqued for a prim look. Wreaths are so cheerful to me. Whenever I see a great wreath in a home or a shop or in pictures, it makes me smile. There is a floral shop near my home whose main decorator is very talented. Her wreaths are breathtakingly beautiful (and expensive!) She doesn't over-do them or make them too fussy. They are generally simple, airy & light, and unusual...not run of the mill. I think that that would be a great job! I would love to see her home and the wreaths she has made for herself. Maybe she is like the plumber whose home has leaky pipes, or the roofer with the hole in his own roof! She may not have any wreaths at all in her house! What sorts of things make you smile when you see them in shops or catalogs? Do you have a decorating "vice?" What would you like to bring home if money were no object?

I may not post for a while, as I will be babysitting for the next 3 1/2 days. My son and DIL are out of the country on their 10th anniversary get-a-way. They need some time away with their busy lives! If I survive 3 kids 5 yrs. and under, I will post again in a few days. Have a great weekend!

One More Needle Felted Mini Pillow and A Bowl of Cute!!

2009-07-28T00:01:00.005-05:00

How about another needle felted mini pillow design? Candy corn is a favorite fall design motif for me, and I have made a number of these for others, but don't have one of my own :-( I may have to find a little time to make another of these for myself this year! For some reason I'm really in the mood to decorate for fall. Our weather this summer has been more like Autumn than summer, so perhaps that is the reason. I can't complain at all about our temps and sunshine. It has been perfect! This pillow is tiny (about 2 1/2" x 4"), so it is perfect for cupboard shelves, window sills, little bowls or baskets, etc.

Remember the bowl I planted this spring with several types of mosses and little rocks? Check out the May 6th post...Well, it seems there is another use for a bowl full of moss...

Evidently it is a pretty comfy bed! These kittens (neighborhood residents) have taken a liking to climbing up the twig plant stand and taking a catnap on the cushy moss. As you can see, there is still a little of the moss surviving the takeover.

How could I begrudge them such a soft (and lofty) resting place. They seem perfectly happy there. Oh, well...I can always re-plant next spring!

Kitty Rug and Jess Update.

2009-07-26T16:00:00.004-05:00

I have finished one example of the free pattern offered last week, but I want to do another one with different wool colors. I've been hurrying to get this done, but my week has been crazy and I just feel that I can come up with a more primitive look. I'm batting a thousand with the last few rugs not being exactly as I pictured them in my mind's eye! My husband has been off work the entire month of July, so you know how that can re-arrange your day...bless his heart!

Jess is growing like a weed! She doesn't seem as "puppyish" lately...at least in appearance. She is still as energetic as any three puppies. She can go for a 3 mile walk and come home and race around the house looking for something to get into! I wish I knew her secret! She has chewed up her bed, and a few things around the house (my husband's cell phone charger...uh oh). No matter how many toys we put out for her, after she chews them up, she moves on to her bed and other things :-) She is so cute. Fortunately, she still likes her sleeping crate and goes inside easily.

Doesn't she look innocent? She has learned to sit, lie down, shake, and roll over, so far. She also has had a couple of run-ins with felines this week, too. She is sporting a scratch behind one ear, the result of getting a little too familiar with Zeb. Potty training is going pretty well, unless we tell someone how well she is doing in that department...inevitably bringing about an "accident!" She is a lot of fun and loves to give "kisses."

Well, on to another hooking project! Have a great week!

Moonlit Pumpkins Needle Felted Pillow

2009-07-21T21:10:00.004-05:00

Today was not the best day I've had for a while. My sister rolled her car trying to avoid a dog who ran out in front of her. The good news is that both she and her two Maltese are ok. She missed the running dog, too! Our tractor which is used to mow our 3 acres and our son's 5 acres quit running this morning. The good news is that the repair guys got it going again. The bad news is that it cost $100 to repair with parts. The good news is that it could have been MUCH worse!

I have felt pretty "blah" all day...hope I'm not coming down with the flu or something. We did have a great dinner tonight with burgers cooked on the grill, fresh peas from the garden and the best corn on the cob in the world. (I must brag on our local corn--it IS the best corn in the world IMHO!!) The only thing missing from the table was fresh ripe tomatoes from our garden. For some reason, our tomatoes are not ripening very quickly. The plants look great, but the tomatoes are still pretty small and green. (Possibly our extremely late spring may be the cause.)

The above needle felted pillow was a spur of the moment design from a couple of years ago. I tried to make it look like moon light on the tree and pumpkins, but it may look more like frost!! I like the way it turned out, but if I had it to do over again, I would have chosen different wool for the background. Live and learn! I have a rug started that I really like so far, so hopefully, I will have a new finished (small) rug to post soon. Hope you are having a good week.

Oh, by the way, I keep forgetting to mention the Paper Back Swap button in my side bar. If you like to read, please check out this website. Literally thousands of people exchange books to save money and trees! Believe me when I tell you, nearly any book in print (and quite a few which are no longer in print) is available on this swap site. We have been members for quite a while and it works very well. Great idea!

New Fall Pattern and It's Free!!

2009-07-20T20:03:00.003-05:00

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, you must go to Kelley's blog and see her kitty and pumpkin punch needle projects. They are great! Her blog, With Hook & Needle is on my blog list in the side bar. I love her color choices. Her work inspired me to sit down last night and to try to come up with my own kitten and pumpkin pattern for a fall rug. I wanted it to be simple and cute. Here is the pattern I drew, and I thought it would be fun to make it available for anyone who wants to hook it (or needle punch) to do so. If you do this project, please email pictures, and if I figure out how to transfer them from email to the blog, I will post them! I will be making one myself too. Happy Fall Hooking!

Fall Fever?!

2009-07-19T19:07:00.004-05:00

This tiny needle felted mini pillow is one from several years ago. Needle felting is fun, fast, and rewarding to do. I've never yet felted a 3-D object, but I would like to give it a try some day. I've seen some really cute and surprisingly realistic little needle felted animals. This fall pillow was a favorite, and I've made about 10 of these for customers. I did discover that making so many of something tends to take some of the fun out of it!!

The top and middle 6"X 8" mats were designed and hooked by my daughter, Rachel. She has only made three rugs, but has done a great job on all three. I made the star rug about 5 or 6 years ago. I've really been in the mood to do some Autumn things lately, so I may pause on my cat rug (which has been a trial!) and move on to something else. I've found that a pause may be just what is needed to clear my mind and maybe see another possibility in color or design element. It is just not coming together as I wished!

If you have not yet gone to Kelley's blog, With Hook & Needle, then you must go and see her recent posts showing her punch needle designs. She is very talented, and I love her new kitty and pumpkin creations. I think she is the reason that I'm in such a Fall mindset!

We had a busy week and weekend. We went to see our son in the Evergreen Triathlon Saturday, and I also watched Kale Thursday while my DIL took Olivia and Allison to the American Girl Doll Store in Chicago. They had so much fun choosing a matching dress for themselves and their American Girl dolls. They had their picture taken (girls and dolls in their new dresses), and it was very cute! If I can get a copy of it, I will post it. They had a great day together.

Have a great week!

Hummingbird Hierarchy

2009-07-10T23:39:00.005-05:00

The backyard hummingbirds have been really humming this week. We have had to refill the feeder once a day and it holds a cup of liquid! The flowers did not do as well as we would have thought with all the rain we've had this spring, so there are fewer sources for them to feed. This first picture didn't turn out as well as I hoped it would. Maybe if you enlarge it you can see them better. It is amazing how they fight! Hummers must be the most territorial birds in existence, because all day long every day is a high-speed "dance" for eating rights. They don't seem very often willing to share the bounty, so it is constant bickering.

We have watched a hummer after he has eaten his fill sit on a branch nearby and lie in wait for another hummer who dares to attempt to infringe upon his turf. He would fly out and scare the intruder off over and over again. They are really fascinating to watch. It is rare that one will tolerate another at the same feeder. These two got along for a short while!

Jess gets so excited when the hummingbirds are at the feeder. She jumps her front feet up on the windowsill and looks up at them and just wiggles all over. She would love to get up there. Her eyes follow their darting back and forth. She looks like she is watching a tennis match! It is amazing how tiny they are and how fast their wings flutter. While I refill the feeder, they are buzzing all around my head impatiently waiting for me to leave. They sound like giant bumblebees.

Jess had her second set of puppy shots today. She was a big hit at the vet clinic. The vet had a hard time examining Jess because she is so full of energy. She was busy trying to lick/bite the vet's chin and nose. At one point the stethoscope was being gnawed upon by sharp puppy teeth. She has gained a pound and a half! The vet doesn't seem so sure that Jess is part Jack Russell, but she is not sure what mix she is. She does think that Jess is close to 12 weeks old. We made the appointment for one month from now to have her spayed, micro chipped and her next shots. She will have to stay overnight, so it will seem quiet around here for one night!

Have a great weekend!

Prim, Practical Coasters You Make Yourself!

2009-07-08T21:49:00.003-05:00

Here is a really fun and inexpensive do-it-yourself project that yields wonderfully useful coasters for your home. They also make GREAT gifts! Go to your local home store such as Home Depot or Menards, etc. You can actually go to any store that sells tile. At Home Depot you can buy boxes of 4" x 4" tiles for under $10.00. Look for bargains! The coasters that I have made are slate and very porous so that they will absorb condensation from your cold glass of iced tea! Some tiles are salt glazed and will not be as absorbent, so choose tiles which will work best for you. The styles and colors are endless. The slate tiles usually are rather dusty in the box, so wipe them free of powdery dust on both sides, using a damp cloth. Allow the dampness to dry, and then...

stick four felt (or rubber) cushioned tiny circles (also available at Home Depot or even Wal-Mart.) on the corners. These will protect your furniture from being scratched by the tiles. Once the little protector pads are stuck to the bottom of the tiles, they are done!! How easy is that? Have fun with these!

They can look pretty, prim, or even formal or contemporary, depending upon the tiles chosen. Another idea is to buy some 8" tiles and make trivets to accommodate your hot serving dishes to protect your dining room table.

Jess Update

2009-07-08T09:36:00.005-05:00

Jess is having fun exploring her new home. She is more curious than any cat and will eat anything that moves and most things that don't! She will chase flies, lightening bugs, toads, birds, cats, butterflies, dragonflies, Japanese beetles, and naievely HUGE bumblebees!!

Her favorite activity in the house is CHEWING. She loves shoes, fingers, toes, noses, chins, and hair. She also loves to bury her nose into corners of her bed, the sofa, chairs, and some rather embarrassing places! (That has got to stop! :-D )

Fortunately, she takes several naps per day, which gives us a much needed rest! She seems to love her sleeping crate, which to quote Martha Stewart, "is a very good thing." Her floppy right ear is now standing straight up (not sure why). She is definitely part Jack Russell. How big will she have to grow to fit those ears???!!!

Not a Favorite!

2009-07-06T14:34:00.002-05:00

In a past post, I commented that some projects are loved right away and some have to grow on you! I've been looking at this finished mat for several days now, and it STILL hasn't grown on me. I've decided that this one will probably end up as one of my "UFOs". It is 6" x 6" and was originally intended to be a pillow. I had also thought of making a pocket of it to store "whatever." I guess nearly everyone has results like this now and then, but I hate to invest even an hour or two in something only to toss it onto the hopelessly "ugly" pile!! I suppose that something can be learned from failed projects, such as I've decided that I really don't like the shape of the flower petals in this. The colors didn't turn out as I had pictured them either. Come to think of it, I'm not even sure that I like the proportion of the whole design...

Well, enough of the complaining...on to another project!

FREE PATTERN!!

2009-07-05T21:21:00.006-05:00

I have decided to offer a free pattern this week. The Willow House is a 5" x 7" pattern that I designed several years ago and it makes a terriffic little accent pillow! If you prefer, you can enlarge the pattern and add a border for a larger wall rug.

If you decide to hook the pattern, please email me with a picture of your finished project and I will put the pictures on the blog. It is always such fun to see finished rugs from the same pattern done by different people. It is amazing how differently hookers envision a finished rug in their mind's eye.

Have a great week!

HAPPY 233RD BIRTHDAY, AMERICA!!

2009-07-04T23:11:00.006-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA! I truly hope you have many, many more...but that may not be a certainty anymore. With the attacks on the Constitution coming from the left leaning politicians in OUR OWN government, who knows how long our freedoms and liberty will endure. I actually have seen a glimmer of hope recently, when some of the White House Press Corp. (Helen Thomas, a liberal) have posed some tough questions to Press Secretary Gibbs. It was so heartening to hear her DEMAND an answer to a question when the giggling Gibbs tried to laugh and joke his way out of answering. It is about time that some of the main stream media DEMAND answers from this administration about the way the economy is still failing and the stimulus money is being wasted or simply not applied. Barack Obama is not above the rule of law or the requirements of the Constitution, and it is about time someone held his feet to the fire about the way he is circumventing our Constitution. His tactic of appointing czars for every perceived need is his way of avoiding the safety feature of "accountability" as set forth in the Constitution. His czars are required to report only to the President. He sets their salary, and they have to answer to no one but him. How's that for transparency?! Where are the checks and balances in that tidy little arrangement?

Meanwhile, the push for Cap and Trade and nationalized health care rushes forward. Both of these bills, if approved, will destroy our economy. The limitations put upon businesses by the emissions caps and the carbon credits scheme will eliminate the possibility of fiscal success by American businesses. It will also have the added effect of raising the cost of EVERY SINGLE THING PRODUCED, BOUGHT, SOLD, SERVICED, SHIPPED,ETC. in America. Our standard of living will plummet! I'm sure you've heard about the requirement buried in the fine print of this scheme whereby, when you go to sell your home someday, there will be a government appointed inspector who will examine the energy efficiency of your home (window leaks, insulation in walls and ceilings, old appliances which use more electricity, and efficiency of your furnace and air conditioner, etc.). If the inspector finds your home to be deficient in any area, you must (at your own expense) repair or replace those items before you ARE ALLOWED to sell your home! Talk about BIG BROTHER! Please contact your Senators and plead with them to vote "no"on these these two pieces of legislation.
I've already contacted mine, but they are both liberal and likely to vote for these horrific bills. Every Congressman should be REQUIRED by law to read every sentence and every word of a bill before they are allowed to vote on its passage. The practice of voting into law legislation without having studied every possible consequence for American citizens is just reprehensible. Legislators should be ashamed to admit to (much less joke about) not reading a bill that they just voted to adopt into law. Ridiculous.

The above picture is one of the early rugs that I hooked, and measures 7" x 11 1/2", and is hooked using all #8 cut, hand dyed wool.

The above picture of a picture is one that is in my studio. I love the folk art print, bought locally several years ago. Please excuse the awkward angle of the shot, but I was trying to avoid camera flash reflection in the glass!

I hope you had a wonderful Fourth of July and a great weekend!

Puppy Love...

2009-06-29T09:02:00.003-05:00

This is Mikki. Our family adopted Mikki in 1992, and she was THE cutest puppy I had ever seen. She was part of our family for 16 years. She loved to ride in the car and play outside. She used to enjoy leaping off any item of furniture into my daughter's arms, and she would do that over and over as long as my daughter's arms held up to the strain! Mikki was the perfect little fun member of our family until last summer when she passed away at age 16. We still miss her. Just the past few months we have finally felt like seeking out another little four legged family member, and this weekend we found.....

Jess! We adopted Jess from a shelter, after finding her on a pet finder website. She had been dumped (hard to imagine that, isn't it?) and needed a forever family. Since no one is quite sure of her breed or age, we are left to guessing. We think she is part Pomeranian and part terrier (possibly Jack Russell). After researching mixed breeds online, we found a picture of a "Jack-aranian," and she looked exactly like the pictures. Her age is estimated at 11 - 12 weeks. We got her Saturday, and she is the sweetest little thing...literally! She only weighs 7 lbs. and is smaller than most of the cats! Olivia and Allison just loved her and cried when they finally had to go home Saturday night. They didn't want to leave her.

She is a bundle of energy, so "grandpa" and "grandma" are feeling their age as we struggle to keep up with this tiny bolt of lightening! She is getting along pretty well with the cats (a few hisses here and barks there) and is now attempting to learn "potty" manners...yikes. This could take a while! Anyway. We are having fun and will maybe lose a pound or two (one can only hope!) Jess looks a lot like a very miniature white-tailed deer, as you can see from the pictures, and yes, we did consider the name "Bambi!"

My rug hooking may be in serious jeopardy for the new few months!

Just Words!

2009-06-24T08:42:00.007-05:00

You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence. You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves.

I received the above statements in an email from a friend today. The email (forwarded from someone else to her) attributed the quote to Abraham Lincoln. Always attempting to be as accurate as is possible, I looked it up! It was actually not stated by Abraham Lincoln, but by a Presbyterian minister in the 1940's. At any rate, see the absolute wisdom in the words of these statements. Truth is truth....

The eagle picture above is one that I have had in my computer files for a while. I have no idea where I found it or who should be credited, so I apologize if this is your work. I LOVE this picture. I think that the bald eagle is the most regal looking creature in the skies, and I love it that it is our national symbol.

God Bless America.

Isn't Nature Wonderful?

2009-06-22T15:31:00.004-05:00

A few posts back I mentioned that our backyard garden pond is FULL of tadpoles. I thought maybe I would try to get a picture of some of them. It's hard to take pictures in the pond because of reflection, but we managed to get a pretty good shot. The entire pond is like this...covered with the little wriggling creatures. I also mentioned that some of them were starting to get their legs...

Some of them now HAVE their legs - all four of them. Here is a baby frog sunning himself...herself on a rock by the pond. He is the size of your pinkie fingernail! If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you can see him better. Cute!

Here is one of our newest varieties of cone flower, "Big Sky Sunset". I love how unusual it is. It is not fully open yet, but you can see the pink underside and orange inside the petals. If you look very closely (enlarge) you can see that we actually captured a bee gathering pollen. The bee is not our usual looking honey bee, so we'll have to investigate to see if we can find out what kind it is. He is green and has stripes! I don't think I've seen this type here before, so it's a little backyard mystery.

I've been working on my cat rug today, so hopefully after I get a little more hooked, I will post a progress picture. Hope you are having a great day. It is HOT (94 degrees and very humid) today, so going outside is like stepping into a steam bath.

AAARRRGGGHHHH!!

2009-06-20T19:52:00.003-05:00

Computer problems are the pitts! For about a week now I keep getting error messages when I try to look at other blogs. IE pops up the error message that Internet Explorer is unable to open site. It then gives me possible solutions - none of which work! Also, when I try to post a comment on a blog that I do get to look at, I can't post it. The word verification feature (the wavy word pops up and you type it in exactly as you see it) won't load, which makes it literally impossible for me to post a comment!! I'm so frustrated! Anyone have any ideas? Thanks, in advance.

Christmas in June?

2009-06-19T11:05:00.005-05:00

I've decided to begin a second new project today. This is my original design, and when finished will be a "winter" pillow. It is nearly 90 degrees and very humid here today, thus the dreams of snow and snowmen. I can handle cold weather much more easily than hot/humid, which is not good during summer when you live in the many extremes of Illinois weather. I have hooked this particular design in a 5" x 7" mini rug in the past, so I know I will love it as a larger pillow. This will measure approximately 12" x 15" when completed. I think I am going to make some patterns available on the selling blog this week - some of you have emailed kindly asking if I will have available patterns, so please check in to see within the next few days.

I'm including another picture of flowers from my backyard. This is a piece of vintage fence that I found locally in an antique shop a few years ago. My husband attached some metal stakes to the back so that it will stand upright (even in our strong winds). It makes a great backdrop for these perennials. The rusty metal sculpture is my garden bee (non-stinging!) Hope you have a great weekend.

One of Those Days!!

2009-06-17T21:09:00.008-05:00

Today was "one of those" days when there is no specific plan or agenda, but you manage to get a few things accomplished anyway. The picnic table got a much needed coat of paint, as well as did two garage doors! We finally got all the wire cages that my husband made put around the tomato plants, and I also did some much needed weeding of the peas. Our garden is looking pretty right now with all the rain we've had this spring. The cucumbers and zucchini are doing great. The lettuce, spinach, and radishes need some thinning, so that will probably be done in the next few days. Our garden is much later this year than in previous years, so we'll see how everything turns out. I can't wait for the first tomatoes!!! The Lily above is one of several we planted last year. They really are beautiful this spring, and the color is so breathtaking. We also now have our first flower (pink) for the year on the waterlily in the garden pond.

I was doing some work on the computer the other day and Zeb was in the house. He came into my studio and made himself comfortable (unfortunately for the teddy bears who normally reside in this basket. You can see one in the back raising a paw for help!) Zeb just plopped right down on top of all of them and had a little cat nap. The bears were all made about 8 to 10 years ago by my daughter, Rachel.

I know that I promised to limit my political comments, but I just have to say a few things about "Obamacare". Did you all see the news pictures of the size of that proposal!!!??? There is absolutely NO WAY that anyone in Congress will be able to read, much less scrutinize everything in that bill. It had to have been a foot thick at least! What-are-they-thinking? This is the one massive change that President Obama is proposing that sends a chill through my veins! All the things that have been railroaded through in the last several months (can it ONLY have been 5 months?!) will pale in comparison to the disaster that this health care plan will be. If you have a great privately run plan now (or even a mediocre one), enjoy it while you can because once Obamacare is enacted, one by one all other health plans will disappear. What employer will continue to provide his share of your expensive health care benefits, when there is a governmental alternative? Don't believe for a minute that there will be healthy competition between your private health care provider and the bloated federal government plan! In the end, there will be only one provider and it will be controlled by the likes of Ted Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank and Harry Reid. Just contemplating that crew in charge gives me a migraine. This plan must be stopped before we are forever trapped in the quicksand of expense, ineptitude, corruption, and waste that is the hallmark of Federal government oversight. The Congress will attempt to pass this bill (possibly even over the mass protests of American citizens) without deliberate, thoughtful, thorough, honest debate and consideration. These are the same people who passed the Stimulus bill without ever having read it! The Republicans tried to stop the rush to vote long enough to allow members time to study it, but Mr. Obama wouldn't hear of it. The Stimulus was "far too important" to delay passage. You will note, however, that after the rush to pass it, less than 10% has actually been put into the system to start "stimulating!" The urgency was fabricated to encourage passage before scrutiny could shed light on its questionable content! Even worse, there has been so little oversight over money spent, that even Joe Biden was announcing that "of course we knew that there would be waste!" What would be the worst that would happen if the health care overhaul were to be put off to allow exhaustive examination? Why can't the government just provide a low cost alternative for those who do not already have health care insurance, or even better, just subsidize (like food stamps only fraud-proof) those who can't afford it so that they have the option to shop for health care that fits their needs? It could be such a simple and less expensive solution. I honestly don't know where Mr. Obama plans to get the funds to pay for this massive over-reach of government, but you can just bet that your tax bill and mine will soon be going waaaaay up!

Finally! I'm Beginning a New Rug.

2009-06-11T11:26:00.006-05:00

First of all I want to reassure those of you who happened to have read yesterday's post that I have not gone off the deep end! Upon re-reading the post, I sounded angry to myself, and truthfully, I was not. I am a "news junkie" and the rapid changes in the way the government has begun intruding into the private sector, combined with the possibility of governmental control of health care was overwhelming to me yesterday, thus my "ardent" reaction! I'll try to keep my politics to myself...(smile)! The wools in the picture above are some that I have chosen to hook the new rug. Some are hand dyed, some are over dyed and some are as found. I think the background will be a dark color, but I probably won't decide for sure until the main element is hooked.

This center picture is some white wool that I tray-dyed. I put the wet wool into a 13 X 9 granite ware pan and poured hot liquid dye over it. I used Cushings tan, dark brown and old gold. It turned out pretty much as I wanted it to (maybe a tad darker), so now we'll see if it looks as I pictured in my mind in the finished rug! Dyeing wool is both challenging and rewarding.

Here is the design! I drew this on linen (instead of on dot transfer fabric), so I have a few crossed out areas (my bad!). It may still change here or there before I complete it, but this is the basic idea. Hopefully I will be able to show the progress in pictures over the next couple of months.

Hope you are having a great week!

Beauty and A Breach Of Promise!

2009-06-10T20:03:00.007-05:00

FIRST, the beauty!! My daughter and I found these miniature toad stools in our front flower bed this morning. They are sooooo tiny! When I saw them, I immediately thought of a fairy garden! There were several groups of them and they would have been a perfect setting for Tinkerbell!

One of my favorite shrubs on our property is the Diablo Nine Bark. I LOVE this plant!! I should say these plants, because we have three of them around our yard. As you can see from the above picture and the one below, it actually looks like two plants in one! The Diablo has both reddish leaves and green leaves, and its flowers last for several weeks or more. The great thing is that not only does it have two colors of leaves, it gets two colors of flowers, as well! Oddly enough, it develops white blossoms and pink blossoms. After a while, all the blossoms begin to appear a darker red as they develop seed pods! It really is unusual.

Here you can see both types of leaves and flowers on the same plant at the same time! Cool!

My sister gave me seeds for a plant that she and her husband grew at their home near Knoxville TN last year. She loved it so much that she shared it. I planted them late this Spring (thanks to our unusually rainy weather). The plant is called an Egyptian Bean Plant, and I researched it online, and found that it is also called the Hyacinth Bean Plant! The white flowers are supposed to be very fragrant and beautiful. The seeds have germinated and the little plants have grown to about 4" tall in about a week! I will post pictures when it flowers.

SECONDLY, I would like to vent about Mr. Obama's breach of promise to every voter who supported his bid for President of the United States. If politics is not your cup of tea, I apologize. I do hope you will read this though, because I feel that every American has a duty to investigate what his elected officials believe and ultimately DO while in office.

When he took his oath of office nearly five months ago, he swore to defend the Constitution of the United States of America. Who knew then that he would set about to systematically DESTROY it! I don't say this lightly. Many people were so excited that he won the election and his popularity has been astonishing, especially when you consider how far he has taken us down the path to Socialism. I cannot understand why more people are not up in arms at what is happening to our country! The main stream media won't report negatives about Mr. Obama and many people seem to separate the man from his actions. If you ask people if they think that it is good for the government to borrow TRILLIONS of dollars, or to PRINT trillions of dollars, they shout a definite NO!! If you ask even those who voted for the man if they think that the government takeover of privately owned businesses and the forced breaking of legal contracts is the right thing to do, they say, "NO!" I have yet to meet anyone who thinks that the government is on the right track with all the stimulus payouts and the raising of taxes on one select group of people to pay for all this runaway spending . This is absolute chaos in our government. I am so frustrated that no one in the government seems to be listening to the people. The tea parties SHOULD have been a big wake up call to the administration that people are upset about the lack of common sense fiscal restraint in Congress. The politicians explained it away as nothing...no big deal. It was a big deal! "We the People" were speaking, and the arrogant leadership didn't think it was important to listen to the little people.

One by one our freedoms are being taken away. Our free market capitalism is being destroyed and our business owners replaced with incompetent government bureaucrats who have no experience with those entities that they have stolen from the investors and rightful owners!

The press is so enamored with President Obama, that they report that he is above us all, floating above the earth like a god...

This is so frustrating for those of us who believe that the Constitution is our rightful model and guide, not the flowery speeches of an ambitious politician who is setting about to change our America into what he believes it should be.

The takeover of the auto dealerships has been the most frightening episode of private property theft by our own government that I have ever seen. Those poor people who owned dealerships, profitable dealerships, are now being forced to immediately sell their inventory at a loss and to turn over their customer base to other dealers! What right has Barack Obama to take property from one business and give it to another? This really is unprecedented and merciless.

I'm sorry to go on and on, but this whole situation is so unbelievable. Major changes are being made (outside the limitations of the Constitution), and no amount of warning by anyone seems to stop any of it. It almost seems deliberate!!! Please contact your representatives in Washington. It is so very important.

I'm getting down off my soapbox now, but please join me in prayer daily for our country!

New Needle Felted Pillow

2009-06-06T20:53:00.005-05:00

Just a little project that I finished today. The pillow is sewn from hand dyed wool and is needle felted with wool roving. I like the way the shading in the wool highlights the design. This particular piece of wool is from Lancaster. They no longer (as far as I know) sell hand dyed wool, which is very sad because they produced some of the most beautiful colors I have ever seen. This color was called Shaker Green, if I remember correctly. My very first hooked rug, the Willow Log Cabin, was one of their designs. I think they are now having their designs manufactured in China. The quality of the imported rugs is not great, but they are better than some imported hooked rugs that I have seen.

Today was picture perfect here. It was sunny and low 80's, but, as usual, was a little windy! My son was in a triathlon this morning, so we went to watch him (and about 600 others) torture themselves by swimming, biking and running non-stop for about 2 hours!! I admire the efforts put forth, but I can think of much easier ways to have fun! I also spent some time in the garden this afternoon trying to stay ahead of grass and weeds. Our garden is so late this year because of rain and late cold weather. In our area, the field corn is usually waist-high or higher by now, but it is just now peeking out of the soil! This spring has been challenging for farmers here in the Midwest, for sure!

I still have not settled on wool colors for my next rug. Too much going on. Our 3 grandchildren were here for about 5 hours yesterday afternoon and evening, so we had lots of fun. Olivia and Allison rode with Grandpa in the go-cart for about an hour. Kale is teething, we think, so he was a little cranky and wanted to be held (I gladly helped out there!). Olivia and her Aunt Rachel were scooping up tadpoles out of the backyard pond and watching them wriggle in their hands. They put them back in, of course. This is the same Olivia who used to scream when she saw a "bud" (aka bug...) anywhere! She asked her mother a few weeks ago if she wanted a worm. Ashley replied that she didn't think she wanted a worm just now and casually asked where Olivia would get a worm if she changed her mind. "In my pocket." was the answer. Yes, she did have earthworms in her jacket pocket! Anyway, back to the tadpoles...our pond is just FULL of tadpoles. Some of them are just starting to get their back legs, so they look kinda funny. Yesterday was a great day.

Hope you all enjoy the rest of the weekend and have a great week!

Prim Speak!!

2009-05-31T19:21:00.004-05:00

Can you imagine how time consuming it was for printers of yesterday to use these wooden letters to print newspapers, etc? I can't!! These letters are now great primitive antiques. I have collected them for a while, but they have become increasingly difficult to find. Also, they have risen in price from around 50 cents to $4 - $6. I love to mix the styles of print and and different sizes to create really prim looking words and phrases. "Ks" are the hardest to find, in my experience. My collection has grown and I now have enough to spell "Christmas", "Ho Ho Ho", "Hooked Rugs" (twice), "Woolens" and "Boo"! I'm sure I could come up with a few more words as well.

In recent years, a large importer has taken the antique printer's letters and turned them into a very lucrative tool with which to generate sales! She is "capitalizing" on these letters. (Sorry about the horrible pun...I couldn't resist!!)

Today was perfect! I sat outside in the shade with a glass of iced tea (sweet) and read. It was great. Have a wonderful week!

New Visitor to My Backyard!

2009-05-29T00:33:00.003-05:00

I'm sorry for the pathetic picture, but I had to hurry before he flew away, and I had to work through a window with a screen! This is the first time that I've seen an Indigo Bunting at my feeder, so I was excited to get a picture of him. They are such a beautiful blue. He came to the feeder several times today, so I'm really hoping he will become a regular sight around here (and maybe bring his family and friends!) The bright yellow goldfinches have been coming regularly also. They are such cheerful birds!

The flower beds are finally blooming brightly with the many varieties of Spiderwort that we have planted. They are easy to grow in our area and are really beautiful on overcast rainy days like those we have been having. They just seem to glow.

Olivia's preschool graduation was a lot of fun. She was so excited and felt so grown up when she received flowers. She and Allison attend a Christian preschool, and the program was very cute. I found a great gift for Olivia (actually two great gifts). One was a very colorful hopscotch game. It had butterflies and lady bugs in the design along with pretty flowers and numbers. It goes together like a jigsaw puzzle and is made of thick cushioned vinyl. Since the large pieces lock together, the kids can jump on the numbers without slipping. I also found a New Testament Bible that looks like a little purse. It is pink and white and has a strap/handle to carry it. The envelope-style flap snaps in front to protect the Bible pages. She loves anything "girlie" so it was a hit. I also bought one for Allison so that they would have matching Bibles for Sunday School.

I have finally started a new rug! I drew the design on the linen today and hope to start hooking it soon. I am in the process of deciding which wools to use, so hopefully it will come together smoothly and quickly!

Have a great weekend!

Wish List

2009-05-17T19:46:00.003-05:00

Do you have a wish list of things you would love to own one day? I have seen several things that I have on my "someday wish list". New living room furniture, a brick or stone herb garden in my back yard, a sunroom, a zero turn radius riding lawn mower!! Above are two examples of wonderful Shaker baskets that I would love to find (and be able to afford!!) I love pretty much anything made by the Shaker craftsmen of the past, but for some reason, these baskets speak to me. Their simple design is so beautiful. These examples were for sale on an auction site and went for far more than I could afford, but I'm hoping to run across one reasonably priced somewhere. Think it will ever happen? Maybe not, but I guess it doesn't hurt to dream!

Today was perfectly beautiful with bright sunny skies and upper 60's temperatures. I spent most of the afternoon outside swinging in our big rustic log swing. The cats (3 of them) decided to sit with (on) me and sleep in the sun! I did manage to get out from under them for a while and pulled a few weeds out of my neglected flower beds. We have had more rain this spring than I ever remember having before. We still have not been able to plant our garden (squishy soil.) I have tomato plants and lots of seed packets ready to go if we can just get 3 days in a row without drenching rain. The weeds and grass love it!

I found a blog today that I just LOVE!! It is called "Between Naps on the Porch". I have listed it in my favorite blogs, so please check it out. You MUST click on the post about her sleeping porch and be sure to click on the extra pictures on the right. It is fabulous! I will definitely be going back to see more. Her house looks great...even if it isn't primitive. :0)

Tuesday night we are going to Olivia's Preschool Graduation. She is so excited. They will be wearing little caps and gowns and marching in. They also have a program they are doing, so I'm sure it will be adorable. I hope you have a great week!

Useful Little Things

2009-05-13T01:07:00.004-05:00

These little trunks have been stacked in my living room for quite a few years. I accumulated them over a several year span from different places. The one on the bottom was given to me by my sister Jan. She and her husband love to visit antique shops and are great at decorating their home. They really are perfect for each other! Anyway, back to the trunks! Don't you just love the versatility of antiques in country decorating? It's great with children and grandchildren because everything is already timeworn and dinged up! This stack of trunks looks great and they also are great for storing things. I have seasonal decorations stored inside. I also have some small items that I rotate in and out of my rooms stored in them. The two larger trunks in my living room (see former posts) hold magazines, books, and other seasonal items. They are also favorite places for Olivia and Allison to color in their coloring books or to make things from Play Doh. Oh, don't we all just love Play Doh! I usually find little crumbs of it for at least a week after the girls have been here for a visit.

I was thinking today about work. So many people are being laid-off from jobs right now. My husband is going to be off again next month for a week and then more in July and August. It makes a mess of the budget! I was trying to come up with ways to make money from home. If you look online for ideas, you can find all kinds of schemes, but I worry that they are just that....schemes that don't work! Earlier in my life, I wanted to be a writer, and I sometimes get the urge to try my hand at writing children's books. I have thought about characters to develop and plots for the stories, but I can't seem to take it to the next step and just DO IT!

What kinds of jobs have you held in your life? In my past I have done secretarial work at an insurance company, for a Social Security Office, and for an educational film company. I have worked for a crafts manufacturer and at its retail store. Another job was telemarketing (I only called businesses - not homes!) Once I worked at an antiques shop/coffee shop which turned out to be mostly waiting tables. I have worked for a woman who taught folk art painting, and have done home craft shows. I have sold Longaberger baskets. I was also a rural mail carrier (where I gained a great deal of respect for how hard postal employees work!) I have done typing from my home. My favorite job was working at a great primitives shop...I think I spent more than I made, though!! The last job I had (prior to babysitting my grandchildren) was to teach rug hooking and I had an online rug hooking business. I LOVED it, but it got to be too much to do while watching my granddaughter. Designing and making up rug kits takes a LOT of time! I also decorated and sold wreaths and other prim items on the website.

I would love to hear about the jobs you've had that you loved (or hated). If you feel so inclined, please tell me in a comment to this post. It would be fun to find out the kinds of jobs you all have had!

Prize Package Finally Reaches Gayle!!

2009-05-08T19:34:00.003-05:00

I received an email from Gayle (she won the "Guess the Number of Worms" contest) and the prize package FINALLY arrived 10 days after it was mailed First Class. I don't know what happened with the USPS, but they took plenty of time to get it there!! Above is a picture of most of the prize. Included were a yellow redware star, a hand hooked key chain, the Polly Minick's "Rug Hooking Book of Days" and a stack of wool. I did also include two rusty wire garlands, one with tiny stars and the other with tiny hearts (not in picture). She seemed very pleased with the prize and I'm happy about that. I hope to see a rug you create using some of the wools, Gayle! Congratulations on winning!

I spent most of today with two of my sisters and my Mom. We went out to eat at Mom's favorite place and then went to a local nursery to buy flowers to plant. We got some pink double impatiens, some of the yellow-green sweet potato vines (LOVE THOSE), some purple petunias that were edged in white (really pretty), some pink petunias, and also a Limelight hydrangea bush for in front of her house. We then went to her house and planted a window box, three pots, and the hydrangea bush!! It was fun being together, and Mom is happy with the way everything looks!

Tomorrow is Olivia and Allison's last soccer game for the summer, so Mom and my sister are coming to that, too. (Then softball starts....busy summer!) I think we are all going out to eat tomorrow evening (our whole family) for Mother's Day. It will be nice. I hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day with your families. Until next time.

Garden in a Bowl

2009-05-06T23:44:00.004-05:00

I had some leftover moss from the moss terrarium (see last post) that I made this week, so I decided to do something else with it. This clay bowl was collecting dust in the garage all winter, so I washed it off and using the same methods as the terrarium, I planted a moss container garden!

As you can see, Rusty decided to "help" plant the moss. He was better at digging it up than planting, however!

Today was in the upper 70's and partly sunny, so I took advantage of it and planted a lilac bush and a viburnum. I also weeded some of the flower beds and decided that some changes need to be made. Grass has always been a problem in my flowers and it sometimes wins a battle or two. I think some re-planting is in order, so I'm going to try to come up with a plan to update a few areas. The garden pond needs some sprucing up, too! We have lived in our house for 29 years, so we are at the point where lots of things need some TLC.

My rug hooking has been stalled for the past few weeks. I had a couple of projects that I wanted to start, but for various reasons didn't get going on them. I would like to begin a larger rug and then another pillow, I think. Have a great rest of the week!

Make a Cool Moss Terrarium!

2009-05-05T14:24:00.003-05:00

Here is a new moss terrarium that I made this week. It was easy and looks great! First, of course, find and empty container to fill. I found this one at Hobby Lobby for half price (yaaaay), and it was a nice size. You can make it in an open container also. A large somewhat shallow bowl would be perfect, too!

I went to a local nursery and found some different types of live moss. When you call to ask if they carry moss, specify "live" or they will say, "Sure, we have Spanish moss and sphagnum moss--not what you want! The types I found were Irish Moss and Scottish Moss. I also found a different kind growing on the north side of the barn, so I put a little of it in the terrarium, too. If you dig your own, make sure to look at the soil on the roots to check for bugs.

In the bottom of your container, place some rocks for drainage. I found some river rocks and some small black stones. You can layer these if you like. It looks great to see the layers from the outside of the jar. On top of that put some good potting soil or mix.

Then, add your different mosses. I broke the moss apart somewhat to make different sizes and shapes. Mixing different colors makes it more interesting, too. After I planted the mosses, I added some of the more interesting rocks between the mosses to make it like a garden or mossy hillside. You could get really creative here and add miniature decorative garden items (mushrooms, garden tools, baskets, birds, etc.) After you get it just the way you want it, then water it and enjoy! If you cover the container, you won't need to water it as often.

I placed mine in a north window, so it will get indirect light. Moss generally grows naturally in shady places, so I wouldn't put it in the hot sun. It was easy and fun to make!

40 Days and 40 Nights?!!!

2009-05-02T10:53:00.002-05:00

Maybe this is the end of the rain for a while??? The farmers have been unable to get into the fields to do any work this spring. Here it is the first week in May and there are puddles everywhere. The Canada geese have plenty of water to swim in around here...in open fields! My husband keeps trying to mow, but the squishy ground prevents that in several areas, and since we have three acres of grass...you can see the problem! At least the sun is shining right now and it is warm today. Beautiful.

The birds have been out and about more lately. Bird seed costs more than our food, though, so they may have to search on their own sometimes, too!! I love to watch the different birds in the back yard. We see lots of different species now that our trees have gotten taller, and it's a lot more interesting. It would be a very dull world without the colorful and cheerful songbirds.

We have seen some other visitors around too. A rather portly squirrel has been getting into the bird feeder, and this this little fellow showed up under the deck. Our numerous cats outside seem to curb the rabbit population anymore, but we have seen a pretty stout opossum up on the deck at night...looking for a morsel of cat food to eat. We have also seen evidence of deer in the yard. I flipped on the front porch light one night and surprised a raccoon with his front paws up on the step ready to visit the front porch. Visiting creatures make life more interesting and fun and sometimes challenging to keep them from destroying plants, etc. in the yard. Hope you are enjoying a beautiful Spring day as we are here. Have a great weekend!

Cherished Belongings and Things You Love

2009-04-27T19:44:00.003-05:00

I've mentioned this sofa table in a previous post, but this is a front view and with closer detail. My dad, who passed away nearly 12 years ago, made this table for me. When he retired from his job, he took up wood working as a hobby. Over the years he made everything from clocks and wooden bowls to desks and framed dressing mirrors. He used to work crossword puzzles a lot and would sit around reading encyclopedias. He had a love of learning and was always reading something, which was surprising since he had never finished high school. He joined the Navy during WWII at the age of 17. During his lifetime, he had been a farmer, a salesman, and a factory worker, and he was a life-long St. Louis Cardinal baseball fan! Anyway, this table is something I cherish because my dad made it!! The wooden bowls on top are part of my wooden bowl collection. I LOVE large old wooden bowls (the more primitive and weathered, the better!) The three big pears were made by my daughter. She is very talented at making her own patterns, and I love the things she creates. I guess the love of creating has been part of three generations. My dad, then me, and now Rachel. I don't know about any generations farther back. That would be interesting to research.

Here is the view from my kitchen, looking down the hallway. The room in the middle of the picture on the left is my living room. The three large bowls are hanging with leather ties from an old tobacco rack. There are hooks along it from which the tobacco leaves would hang in dried bunches. Most of our walls (the non-wood ones!) have a textured finish which we did ourselves. We took drywall compound and made random trowel marks on the walls before painting. It's a nice look like old primitive plaster.

My sister is still in the hospital, but improving, and will hopefully be able to go home soon. I got a much needed haircut today, and now feel a bit scalped! It turned out to be quite a bit shorter than I had planned!! Thank goodness my hair grows fast!

It is raining right now and has been most of the day. At least it is warm! Hope you have a great rest of the week.

Worry and Faith

2009-04-24T22:03:00.005-05:00

I received a phone call this morning early that my sister had been taken to the hospital and that she is in intensive care, so as you can imagine, my day began in worry. This sister is two years younger than I and lives within 30 miles distance. Her situation was serious and the cause of her illness is still unknown. While waiting to hear more news, I prayed for her. I prayed for the doctors to have wisdom as to how to treat her. I spent some time praying for family members as well. She has improved, but is still being tested and may be in the hospital for at least the next several days. Praying for someone is so comforting, and I cannot imagine the despair that some experience when there is no faith in God to give peace and to lessen their worry.

The above 5" x 7" mat was one of a series of small designs I created about 6 years ago. These were created specifically for those who would like to try rug hooking without having to buy a large expensive kit. I think when some people start rug hooking, they get bogged down with large projects that leave them discouraged and regretting the expense. These small kits were intended to make trying rug hooking more appealing to beginners. I found that even those who have been hooking for years like the reward of a finished item in just a few days. These small mats can be combined with other items in displays and have been lots of fun to make. The small "Willow House" mat above is one of my favorites. It is simple but cute!

This sunflower mat is 6" x 8" and involved the use of "proddy" to make the sunflower petals. This was fun to hook and compliments any decor. Primitive designs are so appealing!!

I hope you have a great weekend and we'll talk soon.

Contest Winner Announced!!

2009-04-23T20:41:00.002-05:00

The guesses have been submitted, the numbers have been recorded, and the winner has been determined. Before I announce the winner's name, I want to thank each one of you who participated. I enjoyed it, and those who commented seemed to enjoy it as well! When I decided to do this, I sat and counted each "worm" as it went into the pint Mason jar. I was totally surprised at the number that it took to fill the jar. I had expected the total to be a far different number. Soooooooo (insert drum roll here in your imagination!) the winner of the first ever Wool Cupboard Contest is...............GAYLE, with the winning guess of 77 worms!! The actual number of wool strips that it took to fill the jar was 57, so you can see, Gayle was pretty close!

I will be sending her prize to her home in the next few days, and will at a later date post pictures of the prize for any who are interested to see it.

Yesterday and all day today were taken up with a yard sale, so I am asleep as I type this! Garage sales are SO MUCH WORK. I have made about 300 trips up and down the stairs to my basement, trashed my house, and endured gale winds outside during the sale today. I know I picked everything up off the ground about 10 times. It sounds like a hurricane going on outside even now and it's raining again! Oh well, enough complaining...at least I made a little fun money and got rid of a lot of excess "stuff". Yard sales are great!!

Have a great weekend!
Linda

Talk to you soon!
Linda

Rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain.......

2009-04-22T00:28:00.004-05:00

Finally, tomorrow we are supposed to get a break from rain! I shouldn't complain, everything looks sooooo green. Yesterday, it rained literally all day except for the several minutes that it hailed!! It was (fortunately) very small hail that fell so quickly that we had "drifts" of hail stones all piled up on our deck.

I am going through a bunch of "stuff" tomorrow in an effort to try to get ready for a garage sale on Thursday. The weather is supposed to be great, so that will help. Garage sales are so much work, and I'd rather be hooking!

The entries for the contest are coming in really well, and I'm glad so many of you are enjoying it. Good luck everyone! By the way, I put a few new items on The Wool Cupboard Shop today, and hope to put new items on more regularly. I've been having a terrible time uploading pictures for the past three days. I think there is some issue with my server. It took 45 minutes to upload two pictures!! UGH!

Have a great day!

For some reason, the items that I added to the sale blog show up only occasionally. I don't know why this is happening, so I will try to solve this problem asap. Sorry for the inconvenience!