Sheep and strolls

 I took some better photos of my folk art sheep. Getting in natural light, and then adding some other colors (brick, bush, mulch, etc) seems to really bring out the colors of the photo.

It will be listed in Ebay Sunday evening. :)  I like it so much, that I'm having second thoughts of selling it.

Today Rachel and I went on a Saturday stroll in search of a bald eagle. We've had some places mapped out where others have spotted them. So, off we went. Funny that there was an article in the local paper today about another bald eagle nest further up the river.

 We didn't spot any eagles, but did see and hear other birds. I'm not a bird watcher, and don't know many varieties, but this is a heron. Had fun watching him catch a fish and eating it. I need to get a better camera to get the close ups without being blurry.

 Another heron in the algae covered cove.

Another pretty spot of the river. There's a nice paved bike trail that runs along this part. Although we didn't spot any eagles, we'll be back to try again. One person said he spotted the eagle this morning, so I know it hangs around the area. It was fun to discover a scenic part of our area that I hadn't been to before.

I'm off to put another coat of paint on the table legs. As soon as I'm done with that project, I'll post some photos.


~*~ Laura ~*~

~*~ A Friday Finish ~*~

 I've been punching all week, and just finished this! I'll have to get some better photos before putting it on Ebay, but I couldn't resist showing you all. The sheep has ecru floss that was overdyed with walnut ink for some very subtle shading. The green grass is different combinations of floss. The background is a combination of some hand overdyed floss, and different combinations of it. All done in 3 strands.

I think I mistyped the size of the punch piece in my previous post, it's approx. 10 x 4 1/2. It's still a larger piece. It has so much depth and color variation in person. Time to get my camera out tomorrow for better photos.

Now it's back to my snowman rug!

~*~ Laura ~*~

Switch of gears

I decided to switch gears, and start a punch needle project this week. I've had this vintage wash board for a year, just waiting for a project to be attached to it. So, I got out some paper and pencil and started designing. This punch project will fill almost the entire top of the board, and is roughly 12 1/4" x 4 1/2". 

If found this vintage grater at a local thrift store this week. It, too, will eventually have a punch needle project adhered to it. I'm thinking a chicken of sorts.

One of my boys left today to work for a week pulling targets at a rifle range. I had to pack all his food for the week, so hopefully he'll have enough. (he's camping up there) Hopefully he'll do well and make some money.

Summer school starts this week, so it's back to getting up early. I just hope the air conditioning is on at the school!

~*~ Laura ~*~

What's on my frame?

What's on my frame? Still the snowmen. I started the other snowmen, and now the ground. I'm not sure of what red I will use for the scarfs, so I just filled in the scarf fringe with some scraps for now. I want to finish the snow covered ground next. I'm hooking it in a combination of off white, a mottled grey/white, a grey plaid, and a darker plaid.

I also have a couple vintage washboards that I've had for the past year. I would like to hook a small piece or attach a punch needle piece to the top. Now that it's summer and I'm not working as much, it's time to make and sell a few items. (plus search for a new job)

Yesterday we attempted geocaching. James wants to do the geocaching merit badge for Scouts. We tried to find a couple caches, but were unsuccessful. I think part of the problem is not using our GPS correctly. (I'm new to the GPS stuff) I don't know if our car GPS will sufficiently work for geocaching or not. Next time we'll bring Rachel's iPod Touch, and use that as well for searching. But, while searching, we saved a turtle that was crossing the road. We stopped the car, and the boys made sure the turtle was safely off the road ~ but not before the turtle peed!  (ok,  maybe part of it was water) 

~*~ Laura ~*~

Snowmen and Saturday

 I started my snowman rug this week. I loved the colors on the example, so I'm going to stick with similar colors for mine. The pants are a light brown wool, with a hint of a tan plaid. The blue jacket is some hand dyed wool left over from another rug. The face is a very lightly mottled grey/blue wool. I can't wait to start on the next snowman!

 My baby turned 12 yesterday. He loved his gifts!

I had a family party for my dad, and for James. Gotta love a couple trick candles that kept re-lighting after James blew them out!

~*~ Laura ~*~

Thursday happenings

 I've been slowly working on my old snowman rug. I finished hooking the snowman, just need to decide on a background. The original pattern had a red background. I'm thinking either brick/barn red, or maybe a smokey blue/grey. I don't have any wool in either of the exact colors, so I just started on a small section of the new snowman rug.  :)

Tonight we saw a raccoon in our backyard ~ before it was totally dark. We watched, and it's a mom with 4 babies. They are cute, but coons can be so destructive. I really hope they leave ~ soon.

It sure doesn't feel like summer vacation to me. I've been cleaning, washing walls, curtains, blinds, and cleaning carpets. Still a lot more to do. I want to finish all the deep cleaning by the end of next week. Then I'll be working for summer school during the mornings. I want my afternoons free to do other stuff - like hooking, punch needle, etc. This summer I need to make some Christmas ornaments. Last year I did a mouse in a mitten pattern by Country Stitches. I need to find another cute pattern to make a few dozen of.  (anyone done any they can recommend?)

~*~ Laura ~*~

School's Out ~ time to get to work!

 School is officially out for the summer. So, I now have to get to work on all my household projects. I didn't like how this last piece of scarlet red wool turned out. A few too many areas that didn't get enough dye. So, I put it back into the dye pot with a little more dye.

 This is the result. It's still mottled, but more evenly covered.

 I took out my new snowman rug and my big box of leftover worms. I found some great wool for the snowmen faces and the ground snow.  I think the faces will be the very light greyish/blue mottled wool. For the ground, I'll mix the rest of that with an off white and very light plaid wool. I'm hoping I have enough.

 The blue is for a snowman jacket.I'll have to dye some buttery yellow for some other parts.

 The tan/brown will be for the snowman pants and dress.

 The trees are large. I really liked the example with various combinations of greens. I found a couple plaids at a store yesterday. I might order another wool to coordinate. I've had them in sunlight, and they do go together, it's just the flash that changes the colors. I could always marry the colors to get them in the same family.

The background will be various darks. I love the dark reversible stripe. It gives the dark, as well as lighter grey with green. I also have some chocolate mocha wool and a dark olive green plaid I found yesterday. (much darker in person) . I might change a the chocolate mocha to another wool, but am still in the thinking stage. Maybe a few rows of experimenting will help.

I'm off to start some summer cleaning!

~*~ Laura ~*~