What an interesting year 2010 has been. I count my blessings before making any resolutions, and the blessings have been many! Aaron and I are both working (which is a huge blessing in this economy), and both kids are happy and healthy. Our daughter is graduating from high school this year, and is looking forward to heading to college and really work on her art. Our son is doing well at his job, and has some pretty great friends. All our critters are happy and healthy, and we're pretty lucky considering Rangers age! My resolutions are pretty simple....I want my own business, and eventually, I would like to be able to move to a farm and really get into the fiber business. I've broken it down into smaller steps which are going to be great fun, starting with brushing up on my spinning, and really learning about owning sheep. If you check out a couple of bloggers on my sidebar http://coonhollowfarm.blogspot.com/ and http://pamsfiber.blogspot.com/, you'll see some cutie Olde English "Babydoll" Southdown sheep that just seem to smile all the time.There will be more rug hooking, more wool dyeing, and creating patterns. My goal toward this business will be to use my Etsy shop more and really try to post on Ebay at least three or four times a month.
I hope everybody has a safe and fun New Year celebration! Talk to you in the New Year!!
What a storm we had! The wind is still blowing, but the snow finally stopped around 7:30 this morning. It's tough to tell because of the drifts, but Aaron thinks we got about 15 inches in our area. Luckily we didn't lose power so everybody stayed warm and cozy and I worked from home (lucky me!) and made chicken and dumplings for dinner....YUM!! Here's a few pics. Shoveling a "potty path" for the dogs!
Coming in after a few minutes at the beginning of the storm. Aaron looking not to thrilled while shoveling!
My poor car after the storm. She usually lives in the garage but between putting in new floors downstairs and working to rebuild an old horse drawn sleigh, there's no room.
I knitted some after being done with work, but am going through some kind of creative block! Since I'm having this block, I'm going to try hooking a freebie doodle offered by another blogger. I really try to create my own patterns, but it's just not happening right now. I'll draw it up this week and pick colors. Hopefully I'll have some hooking pics to show here in the next couple of days! The blog is on my sidebar if you're interested in seeing her freebie doodles. http://birdinthehandprimitives-robin.blogspot.com/2010/12/first-freebie-doodle-of-new.html
So, my last post had spring in the title....long way from spring now! lol Christmas is almost here, and the northeast is looking at a possible walloping from a Nor'easter on Sunday into Monday. I could use a good snowstorm, but as hubby says, "You're not the one out there shoveling!" I always answer..."Yep, you're right!"
I haven't made time to do much hooking lately. I have been doing so much traveling for work that any down time is used for laundry and reconnecting with the family. Our daughter Jessica is a senior this year, and is due to take her driving test. Boy am I glad she's the last one we are teaching how to drive! I don't think my nerves could take another new driver even though she did just finish driving school! Andrew is still living with friends one town over, and is planning on taking a trip to Alaska to work in a fish cannery. I think his goal is to get on one of the fishing boats, so the cannery is the way to get there. I'm not thrilled with the thought of him going so far away, but I guess when you're 22, adventure comes in all kinds of disguises (even stinky, fishy ones...lol). We are still a two dog, two cat family...... Lily and Zeke relaxing on the table....
Ranger and Coco waiting for dinner! Ranger is now 15 and on about four different kinds of meds. He has arthritis, old-age vestibular disease, and dementia.....but still gets around just fine. Coco, our Lhapso Apso is blind, and just as bossy as ever.
As for hooking, I have managed to get at least one new mat finished, and have one on the frame. I have been doing quite a bit of knitting seeing as that it's more portable than rug hooking. Here's my new mat....I like the background, but it seems to blend too much with the inside of the tulips.
Tonight I am going to attempt to make my own feather tree. I have wanted one for about five years, but while they are quite beautiful, most are out of my budget. I think I have figured out how to create a "faux feather tree" and will take pics of the process. If it turns out even half as good as my imagination has it pictured, I'll be thrilled!!
I can't tell you how happy I am to see more warm days than chilly/cold! I've been doing some rug hooking and even cross-stitching, but when I'm not at work, I'm out in the yard and garden. Aaron has been hard at work building me an arbor as well as some raised beds for the garden, I've kept him busy! :o) Jess and I also spent a week in Arkansas visiting my parents, sister, brother-in-law, and nephew and had a great time!! Here's a few pics of our visit and the work Aaron is doing in the garden. I'm a lucky gal!!
Evening out the dirt!! Our front door ready for spring. Jess, Jake, and their artwork. The raised beds all ready for the garden.
While at Home Depot last night getting the boards for the raised beds, I took a look at the veggie plants and boy was I overwhelmed!! While driving to Home Depot, I was so excited and had a long list in my brain of what I wanted to buy, but as soon as I saw all the plants, I went blank. *sigh* I'm going to make a list and head back over one night next week after work. Tomatoes are definitely on the list, and Aaron wants cukes. I've also got a space for an herb garden which already has chives, thyme and chocolate mint growing.
This weekend was so beautiful and really needed around here! I love each season for what it brings, and right now, Spring is bringing exactly what I need to see. Aaron worked on the yard the last nice weekend we had, and since it's still not planting time, I looked over gardening magazines and seed catalogs and started making plans. Pellet stove off, windows open, it was wonderful! Jess had friends over Friday night and Saturday, then finished chores on Sunday. After her chores, she was outside painting. Daffodils are her favorite flower, so out in the sun she went, paints, paper and pencils in hand.
Jess is such a natural artist, and I must say I'm quite jealous of her talent. She has a list of requests for artwork from family, including me....not sure when she'll get around to it. ;o)
Our next door neighbor's yard is covered with a cute little spring flower which I think are called "Snowdrop". They are almost like a trail leading from their yard to ours, and I just love it. So as you can see, I'm ready for Spring! Red geraniums in pots on our front steps to greet visitors and all over the deck just because, a vegetable garden bursting with tomatoes, cukes, and all kinds of herbs, and our rock wall spilling over with different types of hosta, astilbes, and ferns. Hope this weekend got your Spring and Summer dreams started!
I found this link on a fave blog of mine....Karen Ranney,the romance author. I think I'm likin' what it says except for the part about lying...I don't lie! And wait, I'm "essentially" smart, what does that mean?!! Oh wait....I'm "extremely adorable"...all's good! ;o)
Well, it was forecasted that we were going to get hammered by at least 18 inches of snow accompanied by howling winds and possible power outages....humph! It's been snowing since about 7am, there's only about two inches on the ground and while the snow is still falling, and it's quite windy....18 inches?! I don't think so...lol A lot of the schools announced closings last night, and my wonderful boss called a snow day and we all get to work from home. There is still time for more snow, but it's just not looking like any blizzard I've seen....*waves to the mid-Atlantic states".
I am getting work done...here's proof with my work at home boss ready to supervise....
Meet Zeke Kadiddlehopper....ready to lay down the law (and start munching on my cinnamon bun...lol). I am actually working on a project for work...once I'm done I just might start talking like a government official! Then at 4:00 sharp I will take the short commute to my studio and get to hooking an easter rug I started a couple of days ago.
My flash brightened things up...the colors are a bit more drab in real life. The background is a mix of dark and light army blanket greet, and I really like how the bunny's color looks with the other colors.
Here's one picture of our snow so far.....it's a shot of the garden where we park our sleigh when it's not decorated for the current holiday (or when it's snowing!) Oh and our son's car parked waaay off of the driveway in anticipation of the plowing of 18 inches of snow...lol
The weather today was gorgeous! I tell you, those of us in the northeast really lucked out this past week, and today Aaron and I took advantage of the warm weather (well, warmer than usual), and sunny skies. My original plans included laundry and a bit of hooking, and Aaron was going to work on his boat....but the open road beckoned, so off we went! We ended up driving up through part of the Hudson Valley, and almost into the Catskills, stopping along the way at a few antique stores and indoor flea markets, finding a couple of treasures to bring home. Of course, my treasure was a great vintage hooked rug, and Aaron found an old picture of a man that could be Bill Murray's double from his Caddy Shack days. Bill Senior (his new nickname) is now hanging in the mancave by the bar, and my rug is in my studio, ready for a bit of cleaning. We drove through an old one lane covered bridge, and saw more small towns and villages in one day than we'd seen for the past year. I still want a place in the country one of these days, but I swear all we kept saying was, "I wonder where they buy their groceries?! And what about a Dunkin' Donuts craving?!" lol
This is the rug I bought today. The colors look much brighter in the picture than the actual rug, but what really caught my eye was the border. The wool used looks like maybe herringbone or checks, and reminds me of a kind of paisley pattern. I'm going to tack down the binding, and reinforce some of the backing around the edges, but other than that, I really like it!
Just to show my recent addiction to vintage rugs, this is one I bought at a flea market in New Milford (the Elephant's Trunk), and it's just gorgeous! Again, the binding needs to be tacked down, but other than that, I'm not going to touch anything else on it. It does need a gentle cleaning, but from what I've read, some time right side down in the snow, then club soda on the leftover spots, and it's ready to hang. No, I don't put my rugs on the floor mainly because of our two dogs, two cats, two kids, and all their friends!
This is a rug I bought at a local antique store that needs quite a bit of restoring, but I just love the colors and the pattern. Here's a few more pictures of the damage, and if anybody has any advice on the restoration, let me know!
There's also a hole in the pattern that I'm going to need to patch with backing, then rehook the area after I dye some wool to match the surrounding pieces. I may have taken on more than is possible to fix, but I just couldn't leave the rug where it was....on the floor!!
One of the women that took my hooking class a couple of years ago gifted me with a rug she had found in an attic, and while it's not all the way finished, I just love the pattern. It's not a hooked rug, but one that maybe used some kind of rug punch needle and yarn. I am really itching to get it finished and bound, but it's not something I've ever done before. Again, if anybody is familiar with the stitches of this rug, please let me know! The colors are every bit as bright in person as they are showing up on the picture!!
This is a close up of one of the blocks, and following is the back. As you can see, the pattern is drawn on the back of the rug instead of the front, which I what I'm used to working with. Well, I'm pretty well exhausted and ready to hit the sack. Hope everyone had a great Saturday, and is looking forward to a restful Sunday...I know I am!
