AND THIS IS WHY I HAVE NO FLOWERS (JUST LEAVES) IN MY GARDEN…

Taken during the rain last night. Mom and her baby hung around for quite a while watching us watching them! I did notice that hmmm all my rudbeckia buds are gone but how can you deny something so beautiful a treat!
So yesterday Gord and I went junkin’ with Bill and Diane – ohhhh we had fun. And we got some good stuff.  Stopped at the Crosby market and got books and sopping wet feet because the field in which the market is held was 3 inches under water! Diane got a little faux fishing creel that she is going to punch needle a fish for and then hang on the wall to hold all her punch needle patterns. Then off to the expensive antique store – lovely stuff but beyond my pensioner budget! Then Millers in Rideau Ferry – yeahhhhh we hit paydirt. I had been looking for an old rusty metal wheel to plant herbs in but we found one that we can ALSO put our umbrella in as our base rusted away – so it will serve 2 purposes!  Here is a picture I found on pinterest that gave me the idea:

Then I found (or rather Gord found) a wonderful little really different footstool that I will try to reupholster with a hooked piece. It is probably a Victorian piece – not my usual grungy old primitive style butttt it was so different and really is so very comfortable that hmmm had to have it!

Diane and Bill also got a wheel, 2 wonderful primitive benches(guess Gord was not looking hard enough!) and a beautiful old window with cream paint on one side and old red on the other and original green glass panes all the way around one clear one (would be wonderful with a mosaic in the center and hung outside).

So today dock time and hooking!!!! Good rainfall yesterday cleared away some of the humidity so I think it will be a wonderful day – hope you all have as much fun as I do!!!! and HAPPY CANADA DAY WEEKEND and FOURTH OF JULY.

GARDEN DECIMATION…

Welllll all that work building a moss garden(gathering moss from the woods and transplanting it carefully into our moss garden) – was it to provide our Phoebe with construction material? Yup she is back – after the 5 babies flew the coop and did not come back for 2 days we decided it was time to clean up the mess – construction sites on the top of every window, moss and mud all over the porch floor and little poo piles! And can you believe it – 2 days later she was back building another nest – although this one looks like a multi family condo! the entire top ledge of the window (at least she chose ONE window this time) is covered with moss, mud and other building matter and we now have layers of newspaper under the window to catch the overflow. Ohhhh all that work – for her and for me!

At the same time the other garden with the biggg 3 foot wide hosta is now empty! hosta leaves all stripped off by our lovely deer and her spotted fawn! If she would just confine herself to that one plant I would not mind so much – but she considers alllll the gardens her personal salad bar and nips the buds off all the day lilies, finds each and every hosta out there and cleans out the gardens.

Yesterday I went to Anne’s for a little hookin – thank goodness it was cooler and rainy – a perfect day for a visit and hooking. Before leaving I made Deanne Fitzpatricks Oat Cakes recipe – there is not a single healthy thing in these – well maybe the rolled oats (reduce somewhat the cholesterol added by all the butter!). Here is some of the show and tell from Anne’s hookin…

Linda found this tray out of an old metal tool box for $1.00 and punched a few pieces to fill in the spots…

…and hooked another of the canvas dollar store bags (check the eyelashes on the sheep!)…

…and locker hooked another mat…

Barb’s Yankee Peddlar mat to which she is attaching a corded binding – need to try this finish!!!…

Elizabeth’s HUGGGG rug (sorry cannot remember the designer) but those flowers are about 18 inches wide!…

Andrea’s beautiful Susan Quicksall design all done in yarns – amazing colours…

A little vignette in the cottage – quilts and pillows and rugs done by Anne…

Barb’s geometric – cannot wait to see this one in a few weeks…

Lydia’s Crow Hill rug…

One of Lydia’s new quilt patterns (The Rabbit Factory for those of you who love quilting…)

And another of Lydia’s new quilt patterns (The Rabbit Factory)…

And here is a rug by friend Elizabeth(the other Elizabeth 🙂 – this is a truly beautiful rug. Check out that amazing background – a mix of navies and browns. From her very first loop I think Elizabeth was hooked – I will never forget her excitement the day I met her. She is one talented lady…

FRIENDS RUGS…

I wanted to share these rugs with you done by friends of mine because they are such fun. Cheryl just finished hooking a pattern by Martina Lesar with the most amazing background. This is NOT a colour I would ever think to use as background but because of the colours Cheryl used in her leaves (bright Chartreusey green) it works so well. I think this is a wonderful rug:

Jane hooked the Rabbit Head chair pad pattern by Margaret Shaw that I carry in the studio. However, unlike me, Jane did not mess up the finishing edge.  I had wanted to prod my edge but must have been asleep when I cut off my linen and cut it too short to prod it – Jane did not make the same mistake and prodded the edge of her rabbit chairpad so that it looks like a field of carrots around the rabbit:

And finally, Wendy’s Lac Sam Rug – rehooked a few times according to her. This was made as a topper for a wonderful folk art table she found at a garage sale made from recycled spinning wheel parts??? (Ahhhhhhh my junkin friends find the most amazing treasures!)… See that wonderful carved bird – done by our friend Donna Code!

MARRYING … (wool that is…)

Ohhhhh heat and humidity have set in so hmmm no sitting in the porch to hook today! Instead I am in the studio dyeing wool and making up kits. A few weeks ago I was asked to make up the kit for this little mat that I hooked a few years ago:

I call it Hit and Miss Squares and it is 17 x 9 – not huge but a fun easy beginner kit. What I loved about hooking it was that it used up LOTS OF SCRAPS – all those  3 – 4 inch wide pieces of wool that were left over from previous projects. However, I wanted the mat to have a very cohesive and old look and the left overs (like most of the ones in my fridge) did not work too well together – either they were too bright or too dirty and had I used them as is it would have been a very jarring mat. I wanted old and dirty and blended! So what to do with all those scraps to make them work together. Welllll, this is nothing new for those who have been hooking and dyeing for a while but I thought I would share it anyway. I married the wool together. Took all my scraps, threw them in a big pot and brought them to a simmer. What happened was that some of the red bled from one piece of wool into the neighbouring piece of wool; some of the greens did the same thing. But it still was not exactly what I wanted – I wanted to age the colours a bit more. So I turned to my dyes and mixed up Magic Carpet orange and moss green in equal amounts and threw it in the pot(along with vinegar) and stirred a bit and continued to simmer until the dye was all absorbed. In the end not only did my wools bleed into each other giving each piece a wonderful mottled look but the orange and green browned out or dirtied(perhaps antiqued is a better word) the wool. I ended up with a wonderful old and aged palette of wool that I then cut up and hooked hit and miss style into my squares. The colours do not contrast – they blend(which in this case is what I wanted) and they all work together from light through medium to dark, from dull to bright!

So have I mentioned that Kathy Clark of Briarwood Folk Art is coming to teach a group of us here in September. Am I excited? You BET! Because Kathy’s rugs all have an aged, timeworn look to them and we both LOVEEEEE primitive rugs and I am thinking the wool I have left over from my dyeing this morning will be PERFECT in my rug I will do with Kathy.

MY WILDLIFE(not wild life!) – UPDATE…

We seem to have a ton of wildlife these days – 2 weeks ago the fox was here (although it turns out I might need an update on my glasses – apparently it was a coyote!), today 2 yearling deer were licking the salt lick, our baby birds outside the front door had flown the coop(so we have cleaned up the nest and poop only to have a couple come back to roost last night), garter snakes in the garden(needless to say Gord will not be weeding anymore!), ants in the basement(nasty things! – exterminator has been called) and ohhhh my wonderful snapping turtle – Gertie – is back laying her eggs or at least trying to all over my driveway. Last year one of the eggs actually hatched and in the fall we found the sweetest little 1 1/2 inch baby snapper covered in sand (it had just dug itself out of the sand). So maybe a turtle rug is in my future. ANDDDD this morning I heard a lot of splashing down by the water soooo that might mean either our beaver or wonderful otters are back! So off to the dock I go – coffee in hand..

Our pond where our snapper seems to live overnight…

One of MANY holes in the driveway…

Gertie…after digging in the GARDEN – could she at least WEED while she is in there…

ART AMONG THE RUINS…

Ohhhh did we luck out yesterday – weather was absolutely perfect for an outdoor show. Low 70’s (hmmm do I date myself by not using celsius – my brain can only comprehend hot and cold in fahrenheit!), no humidity and even though I was located off in the woods beside a bubbling brook and pond only 2 mosquito bites! What an amazing location – used to be a variety of mills in the 1800’s and early 1900’s – paper, grist etc. It was BEAUTIFUL. I spent the day meeting new folks (many from the area), and chatting with old friends (well not OLD but existing!!!!) and hmmm maybe converting a few ladies into future hookers! And a handsome rather bohemian gentleman bought the hat I had made for my cousin with the too big head (hmmm or was that I made the too small hat!). It looked perfect on him! Took a few pix to show the beauty of this location:

one of my favourite salvage artists Penny Gorman setting up…

ruins of the old mill still in evidence…

over 50 artists but tons of room for everyone!…
Today I would have liked to go the Art in the Garden show at Kiwi Gardens but hmmmm before it rains I need to sand down and restain the front steps. Our little porky (pine!) has gnawed on the steps to the point where we had to flip a few treads and now need to restain as he does not love the flavour of our stain and then goes to the neighbours for dinner instead! (oh badddddd)… And the 14 foot ladder needs to be removed from the living room where it has been set up for 2 days in anticipation of our alarm going off again (and again and again!!!!!) – so far so good – looks like Mr. Handyman might have fixed it. Plus hmmm some dock time, finishing off the celtic pillows, putting together the purse that I hooked yesterday – oh well may not make it to Kiwi after all!…

NEW KIT…

I just kitted up a pattern by Woolen Memories – I love Sandy’s patterns. Very naif and fun to hook. Sandy’s pattern is on primitive linen so in the kit you get the pattern and all the wool precut in 8.5. I have one pattern(kit) only – I added 2 extra rows of red around the outside when I hooked my version so included this in the kit making the total size (before finishing) 21.5 x 16. The price for this kit is $140.00. I do have a few other patterns by Woolen Memories that are similar in style and size and could be kitted up in similar colours for companion pieces:

STITCH BY STITCH MORNING…

Had a wonderful morning at Stitch by Stitch yesterday. We seem to be growing – 7 people with various projects and questions and suggestions. Here are pix of some of the pieces being worked on or finished off. Next Stitch by Stitch morning will be July 17.

Pat’s own design started in her May class with Deanne Fitzpatrick – lots of wonderful wide strips and textures…

Sally’s completed Karla Gerard rug…Yesterday we pulled the wool for the next one!!…

Sally’s hooked version of my Antique Rabbit and Tulips…And a picture of my version of Martina Lesar’s Star Pony pattern. I have this pattern in stock in the studio and decided for our Lac Sam retreat weekend I would hook my version and make it up as a kit so pattern and precut (8.5) wool is $125.00. Now I am going to attempt a braided finish again! hmmmmmm am I letting myself in for hours of frustration – last time I tried this it took me 5 hours to figure out how to join the ends!!!

POST LAC SAM…

Well I made it! and had a wonderful weekend. Of course we ate wayyyy (or is that weighhhhh) too much; laughed ourselves silly (sides are still aching) and did a LOT of hooking. We even had company – lovely little mother grouse with 9 chicklets. As we watched from the upper stairwell window she scurried from under the cottage into the woods and plunked herself down and called all the little chicklets to her. They ALL came – what obedient little children! – and crawled under her until she was double her size. It was so adorable! Then 2 of the girls went kayaking and met up with a honkin big snapping turtle. Just a wonderful weekend of fun and friendship. So here are a few pix of what was going on – well hookingwise anyway because! as little French Louise says – what happens at Lac Sam – STAYS at Lac Sam!…

Little chicklet through the window…A wonderful old foot rest that Louise is covering with a hooked mat…

Laura’s finished punkin piece…

Louise’s wonderful fish with sculpted and stitched and quilly bubbles and shells…

Betty soaking up the rays…

Karen’s Karla Gerard Sunflowers – the centers were a mix of yarns, strips, velvets, ribbons – stunning…

Betty’s black cat being hooked for her daughter…

Donna working on her nylon rug – almost done!!!!!!…

Wendy’s little table mat for a vintage table made out of parts of a spinning wheel…

Andrea’s version of a Rosemary Leach painting (with permission)…

Laura’s snowman head stuffed and ready for his stick!…

LAC SAM – WILL I GET THERE…

This coming weekend is our girls’ hooking retreat at Lac Sam. We have been doing this for years and I have only missed one retreat but events this year are conspiring to keep me away. I am a verrrrrry superstitious person and was beginning to believe there was a reason this was happening and that I was MEANT to stay home and then Monday this almost was confirmed…

Decided to garden – not a good thing to do when noone is home and you live in the bush. Donned my nonstable Croc knockoffs and out to the garden I went. Got almost the entire garden done and all of a sudden my foot twisted on its side, I heard a CRUNCH(crunch is good if you are biting into a pickle but NOT GOOD when you are older and have fragile bones!) and over I went. The pain!!!!! almost got sick and lay on the ground for about 10 minutes (Gord was golfing of course so yelling for help was not going to do much good!!!) before the pain subsided a bit and I decided to crawl to the house. Well if you have ever seen our landscaping – we do not have grass! We have stones – big and little and riverstone! So crawling on that was not going to work. Decided to get up and try walking – and I managed to make it to the house. However, there was a big THING sticking out on the side of my foot right below my ankle that did not look good so slapped on a bag of frozen chicken bits (thawed well enough to cook up for supper a few hours later) and lay in the living room. Then I grabbed a tensor bandage and wrapped that around the foot REALLLLLY tight and waited for Gord. Should I go to the hospital for xrays or just wait – well being the daughter of my parents (my dad broke 3 fingers sticking his hand into the snowblower – crunched them back into place and finished the driveway before he drove himself to the hospital!) I decided to wait. Turns out it is probably just a nasty sprain but sooooo disappointing. I hobble now! and my once skinny ankle (the only skinny part on me!) is now FATTT and going purple. But the pain is almost gone and the thing that was sticking out must have gotten squished back into place by the tight tensor… So does that mean I get to go????? Is it a sign?

I missed posting one rug that I saw at the show – not in the display but in Karen Kaiser’s booth. This is an incredible rug – bigggg and done in really wide cut. I always chuckle when people tell me they are hooking in wide cut and proceed to say number 6. Even 8 seems small to me after hooking for so many years in 8.5. However my 8.5 is POSITIVELY PUNY compared to Karen’s 1 inch wide strips. This is just such a beautiful rug that I had to share it with you…

Next Wednesday I will be at Stitch by Stitch – cutters and helping hands in attendance. Plus next Saturday (the 15th) I am doing a show in Newburgh. I have been wanting to be part of this show for years. The location is absolutely beautiful so if you get a chance come to the show – lots of wonderful artists…