DYEING RESULTS…

FIRSTLY let me apologize to Lorraine for my error in crediting Tara (sorry Tara it is no longer yours 🙂 ) for the lovely Orca rug! As I mentioned to Lorraine, I have been trying to cut back on caffeine so hmmm, either not enough or too much!

Mini fishbones are back in stock so if you are looking for a fun little project that you can punch up in about an hour! the pattern and bones and instructions are once again available…

I also have a wonderful little wood and wire hanger made by Betty that would be fabulous for a medium sized punch needle – measures about 13.5 inches wide with a center width of about 7 inches. Contact me if you are interested…

I did get quite a bit of dyeing done yesterday…

Hmmmm, thats a lot of blue!!!! but the blue on the left is multiple values in regular and sparkle wool and is a colour I sell a lot of for winter skies and snow…

– perfect for some of the Lisa Ferguson patterns such as…

and a close up of the smoky old navy… which I love for background on primitives…The striped one is Birches – a dyeing technique I developed a number of years ago – when the wool is cut length wise and hooked length wise it gives you amazing birch bark trees without having to work too hard! Perfect for some of the Karla Gerard patterns…

Here is how it the Winter Sky, Old Smoky Navy and Birches look hooked up… So if you are looking for Winter Sky, Dirty Snow, Old Smoky Navy or Birches I now have a good supply on hand…

And just a reminder that my rughooking kits and patterns will stay at 20% off until we meet again … and may that be soon! (punch needle kits are 10% off)…

 

WHAT DAY IS IT?…

Does anyone know – or even care? Saturday? Monday? Thursday? – ahhhh, no!!! it is dye day because it is going to rain today and gardens are reworked for the third time so dye pots are out and wool is soaking!  Will post the results later on. I plan to do some spot dyeing and “birches” dyeing and dyeing on the stove. Not only will it be fun and replenish my suitcases but it also!!! stops me from cooking and baking! Although, I did bake scones this morning. Years ago my friend Donna gave me the recipe for her delicious scones. Being somewhat lazy when it comes to baking I did not want to roll them out and cut with a cookie cutter so I added a few things!!!! and changed a few things scooped them out and made a flattened ball – and they are always delicious! This time however, they were not my usual – when Gord bought flour a few weeks ago he inadvertently bought whole wheat. Well, since I did not have 3 cups of white flour I used 2 cups white and 1 cup whole wheat. Totally changed the texture of the scones – very light and fluffy (I prefer more dense, claggy baking – something that leaves a rather large lump in the stomach!) and a little grittier and nuttier. But Gord loves them! I will be looking for white flour next grocery trip! so that I too can love them! Or maybe it is better that I don’t! Fewer steps on the stair master!!!!

Thank goodness I won’t have this problem with my dyeing – lots of wool, lots of dye and lots of vinegar.

And now a few rugs to share:

Mary sent me this story about her wonderful rug:  “Thought I would send along a pic of my latest (ongoing). I drew it out from a picture that I took while on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. Love how the sheep seem to have the right of way on any of the roads. Here they are meandering along towards the yellow fields of canola in the distance. Phase two will be the sea/landscape meeting the sky. I picked up this old frame years ago in Hubbards, Nova Scotia and had always meant to design an art quilt for it, but between kids and work that never happened. Finally happy to see it framing a view of a favourite memory!”

Tara’s Orca rug from Willow Creek Rughooking…

Michelle finished off her Deanne Fitzpatrick pattern of the month and is working on a Martina Lesar heart…  Andrea’s 1 inch wide hand torn strips rug for her bathroom – this will be sooooooooo comfy on the feet – and two of the looking through the window rugs…

 

MORE SHOW AND TELL…

Yesterday I woke up and could not understand why it was so bright outside at 5 a.m. SNOOOOOWWWWW – end of April and we got snow! It melted quickly but nonetheless SNOW!!!! Really!

So it turned out to be a good day to change my routine from news, gardens, cooking to news, baking, Mexican train and hooking (changing that first letter from a c to an h made a world of difference!). Yes Purple Rain is coming along but slowly! There’s a lotttt of purple sky! But here are a few pieces that others shared this week:

Anne finished her beautiful Crossing the Delaware (Pris Butler design)…

Tara finished ANOTHER rug – a wishing rug!…

Dianne finished her Folky Cat kit – I think this is probably kit number 5 since January…

Liz finished her lovely pastel garden rug…

Louise made a fabulous little ship for her grandson…

and Betty did a 3 row whipped edge on her Tom Thomson rug.

My TT of course, is still sitting on the table trying to make its way into the antique frame I had it custom designed for. I measured so that it would fit perfectly inside the frame but of course as you hook the linen stretches and shrinks so I needed to remove a good half inch on the length and on the sides. Well Lengthwise it worked! but sideways it left me short so what to do!!!! all the strips end at the side! yikes – so I have put it aside for a day when my mind is actually working properly and will decide – do I rehook the ends of each strip and make it that 1/4 inch wider! or do I hook a row from top to bottom but the problem with that is that the colours all change as I go down the side.  or do I take out another 1/4 inch and hook in a border like I originally had! ahhhhhhhhh decisions decisions…

And a picture of Foxy cat on her trunk…

SATURDAY’S SHOW AND TELL…

Just received notification this week of a few more show cancellations – check my events page for updates. I think it is very important that we be proactive on our handling of this Virus but I am sad about missing the shows and seeing so many old and new friends. 2021 will hopefully be a better year but it will be a new life for everyone I think – even heard that maybe handshaking is a way of the past! Definitely I will try!!! to stop hugging 😦 – hmmmm Gord may not be happy about that!

I know we are all so thankful we have our hooking, punching, knitting, quilting, reading etc to keep us sane and busy. I have to admit – my concentration and focus are lagging somewhat! But it appears others do NOT seem to have the same problem 🙂 . So here are a few newly finished pieces to share:

Elizabeth’s colourful rugs!!!!…

Nancy’s lovely chairpad…  Amanda’s scrappy rug… Sandi sent me a picture of her puppy at work – I told her she needed to tape alllllll those pieces of toilet paper back together as she will need them!!!… Helen finished her beautiful Poinsettia table mat…

Shelagh’s True Colours (Line from Cyndi Lauper song)….and are we all starting to feel a little like this?…This was me as a baby (I was much cuter back then!).  I always remembered that Steiff red cat (well actually I always thought he was a fox!) and when we were clearing out the house to move my mom I went through hmmmm, what felt like the never ending attic that was cram packed with stuff. Unfortunately, it was a day in July and about 130 degrees Fahrenheit in the attic and I just threw most of the stuff in a dumpster – now I realize there were probably a lot of things I could have kept but! one thing I did find – yup – the red foxy cat! In amazingly good condition. This piece belonged to my mom when she was little! It now sits in my bedroom in pride of place on an old hump backed trunk. I do think that one day I may attempt to hook this piece.

A FEW MORE PIX…

Finalllllly, I was able to connect with my sister Di on her LTC facility Facebook page – I can email, send pix and do video chats but the best thing is seeing a picture of her happy and safe. Being a resident or staff in LTC facilities these days must be so stressful and scary – I am so grateful that Di’s is posting updated pix of the residents and taking such good care of them. Thank you to allllll the front liners!

Since some of you know Di I thought I would share a picture … Di on the far right and her neighbour and best!!! friend Maureen on the left…

 

Marjorie’s latest rug – a great way of using up small pieces and leftover worms… (if you are interested in this pattern Marjorie will do it up for you – just give me a shout and I will put you in touch with her) Ruth finished hooking her Folky cat kit … and now is off and running with another piece!… Lorraine did a wonderful job hooking Lisa Ferguson’s Pileated Woodpecker in a combination of wool strips and yarn…and the same piece but hooked with Briggs and Little yarn by Holly… I love seeing how different the same piece can look hooked in different mediums and by different hookers…

Jill’s wonderful little 3D hooked bunny…

Maureen’s first piece – Nighttime Houses kit – beautifully hooked…

HAPPY HOLIDAYS …

These days holidays will be celebrated in new ways – my family usually gets together at my sister’s (she is a much better cook than I am 🙂 ) with mom and Di and all the kids and now little grand baby. We eat way too much, play cards or games and have a fabulous family day. This year we will call Mom, cannot call Di, kids are at home and noone is getting together but through all the different social networking options we can still stay in touch and celebrate the holiday – just in a different way – and be safe. I hope you and your families are able to do the same…

This morning I caught the deer in the garden enjoying THEIR Easter feast! At first I was not happy!!!! But it was momma and her two little yearlings and I cannot stay mad at them for long – they are just too cute. So I tempted them away from the little green sprouts with a few scoops of grain and corn! Of course, the minute they had scoffed that down it was back to the delicious shoots.  Yesterday I spotted what I initially thought were big black floaters in my eyes! After rubbing and blinking a number of times, I realized nope! biggggg turkeys in the woods – 2 males fanning their tails and a few females not paying ANY attention 🙂 .

And now a few lovely rugs etc. to share…

Karen’s lovely finished pieces!  Laura finished a pair of moccasins she started a few years ago…  and her amazing primitive rug… Karen’s beautiful pillow started in a class with Martina Lesar…note the unhooked background – yup just linen! that was dyed…Alexandra’s almost completed huge!!! rug…

and Susan’s rug in the process of being showbound…

MORE VIRTUAL SHOW AND TELL..

During these days of isolation I have divided my spare time between hooking and punching, dyeing, gardening and oh my gosh, COOKING! If you know me at all, you know that cooking is NOT one of my favourite past times – nor is it something I excel at 🙂 .However, it is amazing how my talent in the kitchen has taken off! I have learned to take whatever mystery packages abound in the freezer and turn them into something actually edible – Freezer Surprise! Now I don’t want Gord thinking that this will become a way of life – just short term necessity! I still like frozen pizza for dinner or a can of pork and beans for lunch! But, since we have decided to eat our way through the freezer as part of our social distancing and spring cleaning, ready made foods are in short supply (as those went right at the beginning). Yesterday, I threw together a can of lentil soup, left over ham and sausages from the freezer, grated up carrots, chicken stock, stewed tomatoes, extra lentils, half a jar of left over tomato sauce and cumin, curry powder and garlic and made a rather delicious and edible soup. Neither of us got stomach cramps! Watch out Martha!!!!

So a few pieces to share in our virtual show and tell:

Liz with a helper for her new rug… Karen hooked her Karla Gerard pattern in record time – love that sky… Well I guess I won’t inherit that beautiful trampart frame after all – Wendy’s punch needle pieces all finished up – the one on the right is a Lisa Ferguson pattern I carry in punch needle and rughooking… the back of her pillow … Nancy finished her Tom Thomson… with a little help!!!… Jackie’s lovely pieces… and ohhhh how I love this piece (one of the Karla Gerard patterns I carry) hooked by Arlene…   we still have about 15 deer coming daily for their feeding – but the grain is running low and they will soon have to fend for themselves – hmmmm I see the one in the rug is eyeballing someones garden!!!

MORE VIRTUAL SHOW AND TELL…

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE for sending your pictures to share.  I truly believe our beautiful rugs and quilts and punch needle pieces are inspiring and create positivity when it is hard to find.  So here are some of the beautiful pieces people have shared:

Many years ago, after emailing back and forth for quite a while, I met a lovely lady from BC by the name of Sylvia.  She and her husband were visiting Ontario and while her husband visited family, Sylvia came to stay with me – we spent a couple of days dyeing wool for her future projects and in return I received an absolutely stunning quilt that she had made (which now hangs in our stairwell). It was exactly my colours! How did she know? I have treasured the quilt and the friendship for many years since… Recently Sylvia sent me pix of some of her finished quilting and wool appliqué pieces – they are amazing!… Note – these are not prefinished panels!!! they are all pieced and appliquéd and are stunning!…

Lynne tells about the inspiration for her beautiful rug…”I attended The field rug course last fall with your sister and friends. I was one of the nine who opted for the large size rug. Finished and hung! It was a great way to spend a winter. I chose colours based on all the wildflowers growing in the fields around my cottage. The barn and wooden silo are on Althorpe road on the way to Perth”…

Lisa’s lovely pieces…

Tiger will be a round neck support pillow called ‘love and support’…a small wrist doodle bag…
“A meditation on marriage”…Kaffe Fasset inspired pillows and Karla Gerard mat…

WESTPORT HOOKIN…

Temporarily postponed. We have made the decision to postpone our hookin to a time when normalcy will have been reestablished and it will once again be safe to gather in groups (though maybe smaller).  We will keep you posted. We are so sad to make this announcement as Carol and I look forward every year to seeing so many of you – for us it is always a very special time. And it will happen! – we will host a Post Covid Celebration!

Be safe – stay home and HOOK! Here is a picture of Tara’s Covid Anxiety rug – a great way to destress and use up ALLLL THOSE WORMS…

I am inspired to hook my own worm rug with a speech bubble entitled (see the. most recent Rughooking magazine article by Ellen Banker about Speech Bubbles) THIS TOO SHALL PASS…

 

PLAYING IN THE POTS…

🙂 DYE POTS  that is… The last few days have been soooooo lovely and warm that I have been cleaning up the gardens. They finally thawed enough that they did not feel like rock when I was turning the soil and little wonderful sprouts are coming up everywhere. Yeah, because we spent a ton of money and time redoing the gardens last year and I would have been devastated if things had not come back.  Such a wonderful feeling – sun beating down on my back and fresh air. And I see my deer are well trained –  not only did they cut back all my gardens overnight for me last fall but during the winter they have fertilized the gardens! Yeah – free fertilizer!

So, a few lovely finished pieces to share in our virtual show and tell:

And if you need a good laugh in these sad times check out this youtube video – I have watched it many times and each time it makes me laugh and laughter is a good thing…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgJ2tihTL-E 

This pattern by Marjorie Swift punched by Trudie…A wonderful Anne Hallet design hooked by Beth…
Dianne has finished hooking her minis for her Stocking Stretcher… Elizabeth send me a picture of her gorgeous shoe rug – and her daughter’s family shoes that inspired the fun rug… and her objet Trouve mat…
and her punch needle pieces with THE perfect hanger… Rochelle completed these two pieces – first from Olde TatteredFlag and second is a Michelle Palmer design…

Isabelle punched Brightly Shining – a Marjorie Swift pattern…

 

and then a rainbow of hope!and Kim finished her colourful Karla Gerard rug…