Progressing

It's a wrap on the weekend again.  My migraine did not return and I was able to enjoy this nice sunny weekend.  What has been a rare treat lately - an entire rain-free weekend! 

I have even made some progress on the abstract flower rug.  I think I have passed the point where I usually give up so you might get to see an actual finish on this one someday!  In fact, I think my original idea has expanded a bit, but before I go into any of that detail here - lets wait until I get a little further along.  (Just in case)

Since relaxing was the theme of this weekend, I thought I would close this post with a picture of the Queen of Relaxation.  She works so hard all day, following the sun spots around the floor, stretched out on all her glory, basking in the heat.   It is exhausting work, or so she says.....

Can't you just hear what she is thinking?  "Mommy I'm tired, please rub my belly".  What a life!!

Straight ahead or sideways?

Sometimes when you start something you have no idea how it will end.  Will it run smoothly (like the delusions in your head) or go sideways mid way through?   (sideways is most likely)

I finally decided on my next rug hooking project.  And ironically, that piece of wool I showed you in the last post, will not be anywhere in this rug.  Go figure huh!   It will avoid the cutter for now and live to see another project.

I was looking through some old photos I took last summer of some flowers and one of them was always one of my favorites.  It is taken from the back stem angle of the flower, not front on.  So I thought I might try and hook it.

I have this dream of hooking one great abstract rug.  I have tried a couple of other times and given up early on.  The partially completed messes are stuffed behind one of the sofa's, hopefully never to see the light of day.

I'm not sure what possessed me to try again.  Even now as I look at it, I am lost.  I am going to keep going (for now).   I'm sure every abstract project looks bizarre in the early stages.  (Right??)     It probably was a stupid plan to try and get re-inspired with a frustrating project, however I am trying to hold on to the notion that this rug will not go all sideways in my head.  

In the event, after a few more hours of hooking this week, you never see this rug again (or ever hear me mention it again) - you will know it has joined the other flops stuffed behind the sofa.

Soggy Saturday

After 5 long workdays, the weekend finally arrives.  And what happens??  You wake up to rain, rain and more rain.

That put a crimp in my plans.  No backyard, no sitting out on the deck, no barbequing.

I woke up with this desire to hook.  I haven't felt much like starting a new project.  But then the mental nagging started.  I "should" be doing lots of other things - housework, office work, etc. 

So I wasted so much time arguing with myself, I ended up drinking coffee with baileys and laying on the sofa reading all afternoon. I did finish the 3rd book in the 50 Shades trilogy.  (blush)  I think my next book choice will be a little more serious :)

I have this piece of wool that has been taunting me.  I have been hoarding it, waiting for the right inspiration.

This is a crappy iPad picture but the wool is very rich and pretty.  But I don't have a clue want to do with it.  All I know is I want to cut it up and use it.

Any thoughts?  Something simple and primitive?   Hookers Block......what a pain!



Still Relaxin'

So, it has been more of the same around here.  And by that I mean lovely, relaxing vacation days.  On Day 2 (Thursday) I dropped Mom off at the Alzheimers Day Care and Auntie and I went to a nearby City shopping.  We had a nice lunch together and we did buy a few little things - mostly new clothes for Mom.   We had a great day - just like old times.  We laughed and giggled as opposed to the caregivers stress fights we have been having lately.

Yesterday I made our traditional Good Friday brunch of Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon.  It is so good I didn't even care about the calorie or cholesterol count.  I could just eat that Hollandaise sauce with a spoon :)  Then the day was capped off with a little gathering of friends.  There were lots of laughs, a few inappropriate stories and a few beverages.  Perfect!

I am working on a few little projects using the bag of leftover wool strips.  It seems that bag of wool strips never goes down.  The strips multiply like rabbits (or Easter bunnies??)

The last thing I am going to share with you today is another milestone.  Miss Millie turns 10 years old today.  It seems like just yesterday she was a new puppy.

Happy Birthday Sweet Baby!



Ta Dah

My motivation eventually kicked in today and I just pulled the last loop on my rug about an hour ago.    

I  then spent the last hour looking for the specific piece of material I needed to start the new project.  Did I find it?   No

Did a little April Fool elf hide it on me?  Possibly.  Hopefully it will turn up tomorrow.  It is material I have been hoarding because you can't get it anymore.  

So I suppose I will resort to knitting a little dish cloth tonight instead.    Here is the rug - not bound yet.  That part can wait.

Not the best quality photo.  Just snapped it quick on my iPad.  Once it is bound I will take a proper photo.   This is last of my "friends" rugs.  I'm getting bored with that one.  Time to move on. 

Did I mention I am only working 2 days this week?  Yippee.  After 4:30pm on Tuesday I am on vacation for a few days.  Lets hope Monday and Tuesday fly by quickly and uneventful.

Have a great week :)

Just a small town kind of day

March snuck in today like a lamb.  It was a bright, sunny, cheerful kind of day.
 It was the kind of day where everything seemed to be OK in my little town. 

I have told you about our Town's Believe Campaign in support of a beloved citizen battling cancer.  The latest news is the surgery today was successful.  It was almost like you could hear a collective sigh of relief as news spread.

Mom was at day care so that meant Auntie and I could enjoy a rare treat - lunch out together.  We took a friend with us and had a great time at Bella's Cafe and Bistro.   We saw lots of people we knew and had a few laughs.   (photos borrowed from fb)

We all had something different and it all looked and tasted amazing.  But the best part was it was just a nice break.   After lunch I stopped in just next door to Flow Lifestyle Boutique where Stephanie has just started a new coffee/tea bar. 

She has me addicted to the Chocolate Chai organic coffee.  I grabbed one before returning to the office.  We had a great laugh on facebook yesterday at another friends expense.  (Just teasing of course)  Much to my pal Terri's chagrin, Steph had a coffee delivered to my office yesterday.  Naturally I rubbed it in to Terri who works waaaay on the other side of town.  (Yes, I am spoiled)   And Yes, I love it. 

So today as I picked up my coffee, I paid for an extra one.  So tomorrow when Terri makes her regular Friday afternoon visit to Flow - she will be surprised that her coffee is on me!

A rug update:   Thank you for all the suggestions.  I agree that the plain blue isn't exactly right.  I tried to think far outside the box last night with a burgundy plaid but after only adding 3 strips I quickly ripped it out.  I was almost paralyzed with where to go next. 

Then this afternoon at work (I really hesitate to admit this here but......) I looked through a bag of wool stash in my office.   Yes, I have a small stash of wool behind my desk.  Don't ask......     Well, deep in the bottom of the bag is a large piece of dark blue plaid wool.  Lighter than the outline wool and darker than the blue from the last post.  Yippee!!  I think this might work.  I hope to cut some of it tonight and try a small section.   Fingers crossed.  



I hope you all had a great day too.

A hookers dilemma

I know that in my last post I mentioned that I was planning to take a bit of time off between my next hooking project.   But almost as soon as I said that,  I had an idea.  

I know you are thinking "Woo, alert the media - Kim had an idea"  LOL  It does happen every once in awhile.

When I want to hook something new I can never think of anything but as soon as I take a break........an idea appears out of nowhere.

I started this project the other night and now I think I need to change it.  But I'm going to see what you think first.   I wanted this to be darkish blue with the yellow.  The blue wool I had was dark but I thought it would still work.  However, it is so dark it is hooking up like black.

You know how much I hate to re-do something I have already hooked.  I went to Deanne's shop today to see if I could find another blue to try and work in to the project.   I was hoping to find a darkish blue plaid but didn't so I picked up some other blue. 

But now that I lay it all out on the floor I am having doubts.   I could remove the existing "blue-black" and replace with the blue.  (Groan)   The colors for the Canadian Cancer Society are blue and yellow.

Is there maybe some kind of border option I can do here??  I would really like to work the blue in here somewhere.  

  Attention all friends and/or Hookers - - - Please help me.  



Thank heavens for Betsy

This has been one of those weeks best summed up as a schmozzle.  Lots of bad news, crazy schedules, meetings up the whazoo, lack of sleep and minimal patience.

Whew.....I feel better just saying it.

But then a delivery arrived.  A big, beautiful bag of wool from Heavens to Betsy. 

Their wool is so beautiful and the customer service is great.  And this order arrived in a handy tote bag, great for taking supplies to hook-ins etc. 

So many potential projects contained in this tote.  Bundles of new fluffy "hookers crack".  What an addiction!!

I'm plodding along on the current project.  I have resisted the urge to rip out sections so far.  Now I just want to finish it and move on to the next.

Super What ??

I may be the only person not watching the Super Bowl today.  Quite frankly, I'm a little sick of hearing about it.  It's not that I'm anti-sports but I just don't get football.

And what is up with the 4 hours of pre-game coverage?  PRE- Game.....like the actual game isn't long enough already.   Oh well, it's almost over.



Instead of being glued to the TV all day I extended my burst of hooking energy I seem to be experiencing lately.  This morning I drew out a new pattern, scavenged through my wool stash and selected some colors and cut strips to my hearts content.

I have a question for my hooker readers.  What do you do with all your rugs once they are hooked?  Do you keep them, gift them, sell them??  Every time I start a new one lately I think I might try to sell it but then once its finished I chicken out.  Maybe one of these days I will open an etsy shop and see what happens. 

Have a great week.   

A Snow Day

It's rare to get a snow day once you become an adult.  I remember snow days as a kid.  If you heard it was supposed to snow the next day, you went to bed and prayed for school to be cancelled. 

Unlike today, back in those days school was rarely cancelled unless it was a major blizzard.  Nowadays 4 flakes fall from the sky and school is cancelled.  Sheesh

But work is almost never cancelled - Except for today at noon.  I would say that if I had waited another hour or so, it might have been difficult to get in the driveway without getting stuck.  A free weekday afternoon with no chores.  It was heaven. 

I hooked away on my new rug for most of the afternoon.  Well, except for a few times that a jealous little dog required some attention.  It's hard to hook when something is staring at you and head butting your arm.  But I would be lost without her :)

The snow stopped around supper time and I shovelled for about an hour.  It wasn't that bad actually.  It was still the light and fluffy kind so I didn't mind it as much as usual.  I can't believe I just said that, but it was kind of refreshing out there tonight. 

I added a pretty new teal strip to this rug project.  Not a great picture but once the rug is finished I will post a proper picture.

February is off to a roaring start.  I wonder what the Groundhog will have to say?

Sunday at home

Another weekend is coming to an end. It was a bright sunny day that melted most of the new snow.  I played with  wool and sharpies this morning. 

Its hard to go wrong when you spend a day doing something you love.  Just a simple little idea on the frame. 

I love the early stages of a new project.  It could be anything, changes are still easy to do and it always looks great in your head.  Lol 

I think it was Ellen who asked for the pattern for the knit chemo cap.  Here is the link to the very simple pattern  http://www.bernat.com/pattern.php?PID=4634&cps=99999944 

Remember - Be Nice

Sometimes we all need a little reminder to be nice.  Everyday stress plus all this holiday hoopla can take a toll on the nerves and common sense.

And especially at this time of year (you know, with Santa watching and all) we should all be on our best behavior :)

Do you remember in a post earlier this week I mentioned getting low on a pretty piece of plaid wool?  Well, last night I got a message from a friend that she found a piece of it in her stash and was willing to part with it.  Another example of the generosity of hooker friends.

So on my lunch hour I stopped in to pick it up (before she changed her mind  LOL).  As I was leaving I mentioned I was on my way to a local store to raise heck about an trouble-filled purchase.   I was all wound up and loaded-for-bear.   And then she hits me with this . . . . . "Now Kim, Be Nice"     Dang it.  Don't you hate it when someone is right ?   (And I had a really good rant all worked out for the store manager too)   And even worse, she had to remind me to be nice after just giving me a kind, nice gesture.  Sheesh, sometimes I need a bonk on the head. 

As I left and was driving to the store I realized I was smiling.  I looked down at that pretty piece of wool on the seat next to me and giggled all the way to the store.  And as I arrived in the parking lot I was repeating "Now Kim, Be Nice"    So I WAS and got my issues all straightened out.  Sometimes we all need a little reminder to be nice. 

Tomorrow I am going to see the Nutcracker Ballet.  That should help with the Christmas Spirit.

And so it begins . . . Part 2

I knew the weather was too good to last.  The weather witch was right - the first storm of

season arrived as predicted.

This was the view from my office window this afternoon

And so it begins . . .  Winter.  BAH

Within a very short time after the snow began there were multiple fender benders throughout town.  People seem to forget how to drive in the snow from year to year. You could see morons flying down the streets and then skidding and sliding through stop signs.  Sheesh

It is still snowing with some rain mixed in.  Just a perfect combo for a mess.

There is only one thing that could warm a cold, frosty heart on a day like this

- - - - -

Coming home to find a big box of Heavens to Betsy wool had been delivered.

That almost makes the weather tonight tolerable. 

I hope all my American friends have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day

filled with family and friends.



JOY

Last night was a blast.  We had a great time at Sandy's party and the Parade was lovely.  And before you ask - Santa was all lit up.  Not in our "Baileys" kind of way - his float was covered in tons of twinkly lights.   Murphy's Law was visiting someone else last night.  :)

However the weather has taken a turn today with gale force winds and scattered rain showers.  It is so windy I am considering putting ankle weights on Millie the next time she has to go out to pee. 

This morning I got busy and finished binding the last of the 4 little holiday rugs.  Woohoo.  You have only seen a sneak peek of the final rug.  Here is Joy

I decided to whip the border on this one.  I could not find the off - white whipping yarn.  I am sure I have a half a ball left but I couldn't find it anywhere.  So I decided to try something different and whip with a contrast color.  It was either that or put it aside to sit with all the other unfinished projects.  And I did promise to bind all four rugs.  This soft green was a ball of Bernat Roving yarn.  Very soft and pretty but I would not recomment it for whipping.  It broke and frayed so easily.  But in true stubborn fashion, I kept going.

Weekend Update

Hi folks.  You guys made me laugh with all your comments about yesterday's "almost" road rage incident.  I was still fairly mad all the way home but once I typed out the post I was laughing too.  

I had lots of things I should have done this weekend but instead I retreated to the hooking frame and forgot about everything else.  I will probably pay for it tomorrow but it felt good to not think about anything and just create something.

I finished the candle mat and also finished another little holiday mat.  I love the wool I used for the border.  I think I have enough left for another little something.  Just waiting for the idea.

There is enough linen left for one more little mat on the end of this piece.  The only downside is that when I finish I will have 4 mats to bind before Christmas.  And it is a well established fact that I do not enjoy that part and procrastinate, and procrastinate, and procrastinate.   Fingers crossed that I don't do that this time.

Here is a little peek at the current mat.  I added a little sparkly ribbon to this one.  I love this ribbon and luckily I bought some ahead because you can't get it anymore.  I treat it like gold now.

So that is the results of my lazy weekend.   Have a great week.   

Small and simple

In my quest to get my hooking mojo back, I decided to just draw out a small, uncomplicated little pattern that didn't require a lot of color planning and thought. 



This little mat is approx. 12 x 12 and I am amazed at how quickly it is hooking up.  I dug out my #8 cutterhead for the background.  Now I can't remember why I put that #8 away - I love it.  I will be leaving it in my cutter for awhile.   



I think I have my mojo back.  I still have some room left on the end of this burlap.   Any suggestions for the next little 12 x 12 project ?

Proud as a peacock

Yep, I'm a little proud of myself tonight.  Since we last talked, I managed to get a lot of little pain-in-the-butt jobs scratched off my list.

I have been without my handyman lately.  Poor guy has had a serious health issue in the past few weeks and it looks like he is officially retired.  The doctor and wife have both laid down the law.  So, now I'm in a bit of a bind. 

There are lots of things I can do but not enough to keep this 100 year old house functioning.   So I supposed I will have to start auditioning new replacements.  Young and buff wouldn't hurt (heehee).  

He and his wife came for a brief visit today and he showed me a few things I needed to do in the basement before the weather turns colder.  This old house has a rock wall foundation and a mud floor basement, so you can imagine how much I LOVE going down there.  (Where the spiders live.....)   But I put on my big girl panties, went down (to where the spiders live), reached my hand in a few cobwebs (ewwww) and drained all the pipes to the outside water sources.  The last cobweb was a big one, so "find new handyman" is moving high up on the list of to-do's.

Then I tackled that pile of wool I was complaining about the other day.  I went to all the various household hiding places and dumped everything on the living room floor and started to sort.  I am too ashamed to show you the photo of the entire floor so this is just about 1/4 of the mess.

The last bag I looked in (of course) was the one I was looking for the other night.  So now that I had found all the wool, I put all the small leftover worms together in one hit 'n miss bag and the other pieces of un-cut wool are together, somewhat color sorted and stowed away in the bedroom. 

No excuses now, so I started to hook again.  Yay, it felt great.  And in only a very short time I managed to get this done

Doesn't he look happy ?  I should have half the background finished later tonight.  I wish I had the committment to hook a large rug, but for now I like doing the little ones.   Who knows, he might be a pillow soon.

As usual, the weekend has flow by much too quickly.   Lets hope the next 5 days fly by so another weekend will be here quickly.

A gift and a mess

A few weeks ago I won a giveaway from Jacque at The Doodles of my Mind.   If you follow her blog you know that she makes the most beautiful quilts.   And now I have a little quilted piece of my own.

She calls it Sun Kissed and trust me - her work is perfect.  Here is my little sun kissed quilt.

Thank you Jacque.  I love it.   Well that is the gift part of this post.  Now for the mess......

My hooking supplies are a MESS.  Today I got out a piece of  burlap and drew out a little primitive snowman.  I figured I could hook the majority of it from the scrap bag.  I have little bags of wool (cut and un-cut) tucked all over this house.  I wasted so much time looking around for a certain bag with the right colors.    Arrrgh,  I need an extra room in this house.  I got so fed up looking that I gave up. 

But at least the pattern is drawn.  Maybe tomorrow I will have the patience to attempt to organize the wool.    When I win the lottery I will build myself a little studio.  (Yeah, keep dreamin Kim )
But for now it is like a treasure hunt to find stuff. 

Slow progress

My attempt at a large abstract fall leaf is progressing slower

than I had hoped.  Today when I took it off the frame to

photograph it, I was a little disappointed at how much empty

space I am still seeing.   Sigh........

It just didn't seem that large when I was drawing it out on the floor.

Now it just looks massive to me. 

I need to get some more filled in before I lose interest.  This always

happens to me when I attempt a larger rug, yet I never seem to learn.



I do love the colors though.

Fall Bounty

Yesterday was the first day back to school in town.  On my way to work I watched all the little ones walking to school.  Some of them seem so small - much too tiny to be heading off to start a new adventure in independence.  I started grade 1 at 5 years old and I'm sure I looked small too.   Everyone looked so happy in their new clothes and backpacks, skipping along the sidewalk. 

I have to admit it - I had a tiny twinge of jealousy.  I always loved the first day of school.  (Clearly I was a nerd)  It was like a new beginning.  Even after all these years I still miss it.   I consider the fall to be the start of my new year.  I don't make New Years resolutions but I do make a Fall Bucket List - a list of things I want to do, change, accomplish etc. 

One of the things I want to focus on this season is eating a little heathier.  Its so easy, especially with the crazy schedule around here, to slide into quick and easy foods.  And those choices are rarely healthy.   So as luck would have it, a few days ago I learned about a local farm initiative through Deanne's blog.  You purchase a share in the farm and receive an assortment of fresh vegetables every week.  They deliver to a location in town once a week.

I had heard about these before but didn't realize we had one in this area.  I signed up and picked up my first package of fresh veggies after work tonight.  There is what I got for this week

I think its going to force me to cook better foods during the week.  I always make good meals on the weekends but slack off during the weekdays.   I can't believe I'm so excited about a box of vegetables.  Its a long way from hiding them in my pockets as a child!

Another bounty of Fall are the colors.  I'm using lots of rich fall colors in my current rug project but as I  hooked a bit this weekend I felt like I needed a bit more in contrast colors.  I grabbed a piece of each wool I have so far and headed to the studio shopping.  I found 2 gorgeous slub yarns in gold and rust to add to the mix.

I just love working with that slub yarn.  It hooks so beautifully and it has such a nice sheen to it that you just can't capture in  wider strips of wool.

There is just so much to love about Fall's Bounty.