What's on my camera?

 What's on my camera?

 Well, a finished hooked pumpkin mat. I bound the edges using strips of the background wool.

A birthday party for my dad and my youngest, James.

 James got a Tribble for his birthday. And the fur trapper hat (I know ~ perfect for summer!)

Some senior portrait proofs.

I thought I would be able to sleep in a bit this summer, as I don't have to get up for school (just my job). But, Andrew took a summer job working landscaping. He has to be there at 7am. Since we only have 2 vehicles, I drive him to work.

I haven't time to do much crafting, but need to make some time to make some items. I have an idea of a few Christmas in July items to put on Ebay. We'll see how  much I get done.

~* Laura ~*~ 

Pumpkin mat

I finished hooking my little pumpkin mat! It measures 11 3/4" x 8", and was done in a #6 cut. (I figured a 6 would be easier for beginners to start with)  The colors are more muted in person, but I had to use a flash to get a quick photo. For the wing,  I ended up choosing a black/brown/with a hint of blue wool texture. It blends in, but yet is different from the body.  Much nicer than the gray wing I had first hooked.  (I really like having  a stash of wool for those situations) Now to decide how to finish it. Cording? What color to whip stitch over the cording? Add a hooked border of 1-2 rows around the edges to set it off more? I'll have to play around and see what I like. 

~*~ Laura ~*~

Pumpkin mat

 Well, it's been a couple months since I last blogged. I'm still working full time, which is really a change for me. It's been harder than I thought to go from an overactive/sensory kindergarten classroom to a very quiet office. Then add learning a new job, more computer skills, etc. Let's say it's been challenging. There have been days where I have second thoughts about changing jobs ( I loved being a kindergarten aide, it just didn't pay), until I get a paycheck every 2 weeks. Somehow that paycheck really helps.

I have been working on a small hooked mat for the fall. I will be teaching a beginning/introduction to rug hooking in the fall. I drew up this pumpkin and decided to see what it looks like. I'm still playing around with the wing of the bird. The grey is too light. I don't know if I'll keep the wing, or take it out. I tried to keep the design simple, not a lot of colors/wool to buy for the students. If you have any thoughts, please let me know. Is it to challenging for a beginner? Trying to work around the curves? Although I found it was easier to bind an oval compared to a small square mat.

I did manage to crochet a baby afghan and sell it on Ebay in the past month. I'm almost finished with another one, but in ivory. It's so easy to transport, so I can work on it at lunch.

 Last week I made a ruffled scarf for Rachel. It's made from Sachey yarn. It would be fun to make in them in school colors for the fall.

 In April, Andrew had his Eagle Court of Honor, where he received his Eagle Scout Award. We originally thought that maybe we would have 40-50 people. Nope. We had over 80 people come to see him get his award!

Last weekend Rachel and I went to do a little geocaching. We're new to it, so it takes us a while to navigate and locate the cache. Along the way, she spotted this little garden snake on the path.

We did manage to find the cache in the dead tree. It's a fun activity, especially before all the bugs come out in the summer. 

I'll try to update more often. (hey, I don't get paid to blog, so there's no incentive!)  I do try to read and browse other blogs. I still have to have my craft eye candy.   :)

~*~ Laura ~*~

What I've been up to

 What have I been up to? Well, I've been slowly working on my newest rug. I started the leaves first. I'm not sure that I like them, especially the bottom ones. A little too zig zaggy for me. I might try to round them more like the upper left one. Of course, the flash seems to really hi-light the colors, as they aren't this bright. I'll keep working on it, get to a few more sections, as see how I like it. At least it's easy to re-hook.

Last weekend I had the honor or attending a  harpsicord recital. He was nominated for a Grammy for his latest CD this year. I went to school from kindergarten through high school with him. It's fun to see where life leads others.

My life will be taking a different direction this week. Two weeks ago I received a job offer. I'll be working full time, as in 40 hours a week. (something I haven't done in 18 years) I, sadly, had to put my notice in at school. Friday was my last day. I start my new job as a customer service representative on Monday. I hope I like it and can quickly learn a new business. I'm also happy that I get to leave the kids at school with a new aide that I recommended, and was just hired.

I'm wondering if I'll be able to do any crafting during lunch time. I'll get an hour for lunch at the new job. It's right by the mall, which can be dangerous. But, I might be able to relax and stitch something. I'll have to look for a small, quiet project to put in my purse this week. I know punch needle could drive others crazy with the sound, and rug hooking is too big to bring along. Maybe some cross stitch or a penny rug? Hmmmm... I'll have to search through my piles of supplies to see what I have!

~*~ Laura ~*~

Green

 I'm back! I've been spending a lot of time doing other stuff, and have ignored blogging, crafting, and hooking. But, this is a 5 day weekend for me. Parent/teacher conferences give me 2 days off, and Monday is Presidents Day. So, it's a great time to delve into dyeing. I wanted to start with the greens, as I had the dyes on hand. The middle 2 colors are the middle value, and then I tried a lighter and dark value on the right. The left 2 are a different color. One was cotton eyed joe wool, and the other a khaki to start. It's amazing how different they turn out, but were done in the same pot.

Tonight I cut them, and am set to start! All this green gets me ready for spring. I heard a cardinal chirping this morning. Spring can't be too far away.

This week was a little busy. At Scouts, it was a Court of Honor, and James had a long speaking part. He did great! Now I need to get going planning an Eagle Scout ceremony for his older brother. Never a dull moment around here.

I"m off to try out my greens!

~*~ Laura ~*~

SNoW! ***

We got some snow Thursday. It looks so pretty sticking to the trees. I had to stop by a nature preserve to snap a few photos on the way home from picking up my new glasses.

I have some wool set, and ready to dye this weekend. I would like to start on my new rug. The backing has just been sitting there, waiting for me to start on it.

~*~ Laura ~*~

Valentine punch needle

I just finished the punch needle and listed it on Ebay as an auction. I ended up painting a hornbook, and adding a string of button and a tag aged with walnut ink. 

I'm in a crafting wasteland. Just can't seem to get excited about what I'm working on. Guess I need to switch gears and find something to get me going. 

Hope you had a good weekend!

~*~ Laura ~*~