Zero Degrees?! I mean seriously!!

I absolutely cannot believe how freakin' cold it is today!! Weather.com says it's 14 degrees but feels like zero! The wind is whipping around the snow, and my loverly daughter is scheduled to go snowboarding after school! Jess joined the ski/snowboard club at her high school again, and just let me know that they are still going tonight. I'm not too happy about it, but can't seem to talk (bribe) her out of going so she doesn't get frostbite on the mountain. I really am at a loss to explain why these teachers don't call this stuff off when the weatherman says it's even too cold to let kids stand out at bus stops for very long.

Anyway, with that rant over, I've heard from the ladies in my hooking group, and it looks like a near full house for the hook-in next Thursday! One of the ladies has recently found out she is going to be a grandma, and is itching to do a rug to commemorate the occasion. Someone else also said they were interested in learning how to do needle punch. It's going to be a fun night!! After my next round of classes starts, our group just might grow a bit bigger, I hope! It's great fun to be able to get together with people who are interested in the same types of crafts you are, and just chat, nibble on goodies, and have a glass (or two) of wine!!

I'm off to try to contact the high school again to see if they really are planning on going to the mountain today *sigh*

Stay warm and be creative!!
Naomi

SNOW!

Ok, so a bit more snow, and luckily nowhere near what the original forecast, thank goodness! The kids lucked out with an early dismissal, and I baked a bit. A bit pot of chili for dinner and chocolate frosted brownies for dessert. Yep, my butt is growing just thinking about the pan of leftovers!

I did work on my sampler a bit last night. I also worked up the pattern for my Pennsylvania friend, and picked out some wool. I'm still not itching to hook, and would really like to finish the sampler. Here's a stock picture of it, and when I finish mine, I'll post a picture of it. I have missed cross-stitching, but I figure once it's finished, I'll be ready to hook up a spring rug.

Speaking of hooking, it looks like a hook-in is in the works for the 13th! A few have rsvp'd, but I figure whoever shows up, then great! My next round of classes starts on February 24, and I'm hoping for another full house. I'm also going to throw in an hour lesson on punch needle if there's time. I've tried out three different types of needles, like two, and HATE one! The one that I hate just doesn't work on so many different levels. It's very difficult to thread, and once I got it threaded, the needle portion would bend to one side or the other and not want to go into the material. Maybe tomorrow I'll drop in a little post about needle punch and a quickie review of the needles I've tried. If you are a floss collector (like many cross-stitchers, embroiderers, and quilters) this is a neat new craft for you!

Well, it's off to drop some laundry in and start on the sampler. I'll stitch til about 10:00am then start cleaning up our spare room for an office/guest room.

Do something to make you happy today!!
Naomi

The Winter Blues!

This winter has really blindsided me! I'm usually a snow gal, ready to bake and crock pot with the best of 'em on snowy days, and get outside for walks as soon as it's possible. Not this year. I'm in hibernation mode and my crafty imagination is tough to muster up! Since I'm not one to wallow for long, I'm taking a very proactive approach to this nonsense! lol We are looking at another stormy Tuesday/Wednesday, and I've stocked up on goodies for the day in, and I've already strapped on my snow boots and headed outside. I hate feeling blah when there really is so much to be happy about. I believe that looking at things from a positive view is very much a choice, and I've just got to "reprogram" myself this week!!

On the rug hooking front, I've managed to finish one pretty big rug/wall hanging, and even got out an unfinished cross-stitch project. I've got a ton of bare walls in our newly decorated guest room, and this reproduction sampler will look great when it's finished and framed. The current rug is quite the primitive valentine type, but would look great hanging year round.
It measures 21"tall by 15" wide, and is bound on the back with strips of the same wool as the background. It was on Ebay twice, but no bids. On the positive side, it's going to look great hanging from the inside of my armoir door in the living room!

I also sold my first pattern to a rug hooker in Virginia, and I really hope she enjoys hooking it. I am planning on offering more patterns here and at my Etsy shop, but I'm waiting on a monks cloth order to come in. For me, monks cloth is the easiest backing to use that doesn't cost an arm and a leg! Scottish linen is dreamy, but a bit beyond my budget.

Now I'm off to draw a pattern for a friend, collect a bit of wool for her, and get it into the mail. I'm also going to get in touch with my hooker friends here in town and try to get all of us together for some hooking finally! Time to shake the winter blues and get creative!!!

Sending out creative vibes to you!!
Naomi

Fantastic Meteor Video

Ok, seriously, how many of you would flash to any end of the world disaster movie if you saw this?!!!!

Thankful!

Happy Sunday everybody! Well, I guess winter is here to stay! It's cold and windy here, but the sun is shining, so as long as I can stay home, it's all good! lol

I have finally finished my most recent hooked table runner, and am very happy at how it turned out! This will be a pattern offered at my Etsy shop, but I'm really wanting to keep the original piece. I was lucky enough to win a book on fraktur how-to that had some beautiful pictures and line drawings that are inspiring.



The background looks black, but it's actually an antique black with overtones of brown plaid. I am planning on building some kind of light box for future pictures because I'm having a hard time getting realistic pictures of the colors in my dyed wool and rugs. All the colors are a bit more muted and primitive than shown in the picture, and I'm really happy with it. If I can't find a nice place for it, I might just offer it on my Etsy shop alongside the pattern.

My birthday was November 8, and hubby came through in a HUGE way! I've been asking for a spinning wheel ever since I took spinning lessons from Pam at Dream Come True Farm in Oxford, CT. Well, this was the year! He snuck around in true surprise birthday present fashion, and completely surprised me with my new Ashford Kiwi wheel!! I have spun a few times, but need to stock up with some basic roving to practice on because spinning is all about learning the basics, then practice, practice, practice...lol How lucky am I, I ask you? Aaron(hubby), our son Andrew went in together on the wheel, and our daughter Jess gave me an iTunes gift card so I can load up my iPod with some cool holiday tunes! November is quite an expensive month for us because we've got at least 10 birthdays, then Jessica's is on December 4. It takes all year to save up for November and December! lol



My Ashford Kiwi spinning wheel!

Next week will be a flurry of getting ready for Thanksgiving and cleaning up enough to get Christmas decorations up. We have 11 of our closest family and friends (lol) coming over for Thanksgiving, and I'm pretty excited! Everyone is bringing a dish, and we'll back up with a ginormous turkey and desserts. Then it will be a day of eating, visiting, napping, then eating again! That's the best!!

Fun in the dye pots!

I'm finally back into rug hooking! My plans for birthdays and Christmas gifts revolve around knitted gifts, so I've been a mad knitter lately! lol I do enjoy knitting, but had to take a break this week to re-energize my hooking passions! Dyeing wool does just that, let me tell you! I've taken the plunge and listed some of my dyed wools on Ebay, so if you're looking for some great Fall or Christmas colors, take a look. I've only offered a few just to see how it goes, and will probably shift over to Etsy in the end. I'm also working on some patterns and maybe a kit or two for beginners to list in the next week or so.

I have missed rug hooking immensely, and have gotten my brain whirring about thinking up a pattern to work on. I did win a beautiful fraktur book from a fellow PRHG member which I'm hoping will get my creative juices flowing for future patterns and rugs. I've also reorganized my wool studio and had to add another six wire crates for wool storage. I didn't realize how much wool I actually had until it was separated out into more specific color categories. I'm officially overwhelmed! lol If you are a hooker and are looking for specific colors, drop me a line. I am going to start "de-stash" and might just have the exact color you're looking for.

It's off to the studio and some drawing...enjoy a couple of pictures of my crazy cats..lol

Zeke missing Andrew since he moved out.

Lily laying claim to a shoebox.

Don't Forget!!

Did you??!! Whatever your party, whoever your favorite candidate, get out and vote!