My new Oxford Punch!

On Saturday, I went to a rug hooking class. The teacher invites back previous students to encourage new students and do a show and tell. While I was there, I started hooking more of my rug. I finished the flowers, and started the leaves. I'm not sure I like the blues that I picked out for the flowers. They are very pretty blues, but I think I might need something a little more toned down/primitive. I'll wait to see how the leaves look before I decide to change anything.

Friday night I went to the football game to see Matt in the marching band. James brought a couple friends so they could hang out at the game. It was cold, but we won and advanced to the next round. Andrew and Rachel went to a Svengoolie appearance. For those not familiar with Svengoole (a Chicago area celebrity), he plays horror films, and makes fun of them. Andrew brought a rubber chicken to be autographed. I think this made his entire year!

Now onto the really cool news ~ I got an Oxford punch needle. It's been sitting in the shop, just waiting for me to purchase it. I figure I know how to punch needle and now rug hook, so this is a combination of the two.



I don't want to use wool yarn, but strips of wool from rug hooking. This is my first attempt without reading any instructions. I just need to work on spacing, and make sure to punch all the way to the handle.

The gold was punched with a #8 cut (1/4" wide). I then wanted to see what a #6 cut looked like. The loops a a bit higher, but I like them higher. This will be fun to play with once I'm done with the couple projects that I'm working on. I just wish there were a few more hours in each day!

~*~ Laura ~*~

Goodies!

Last evening, I went in search of some candle rings for my dining room chandelier. I didn't realize how difficult it would be to locate them. Guess the stores don't carry them. So, not wanting to wait to order and ship some, I made my own. I found some berry branches at Hobby Lobby, twisted them into a ring, and placed them on the chandelier candles. Since the candles hang high, no one will see the twisted wire ~ only the berries hanging down. Best part ~ they were 40% off!



I started a Thanksgiving turkey punch needle for a special order. I loved punching this pattern last year. This one will be done with 3 strands, and I changed the date to this year.


Today, the mailman brought me my package of wool that I ordered from Ram in the Thicket! Yipee! http://raminthethicket.ecrater.com/ I found Susan's site while browing for rug hooking wool. Best part is that you can purchase a small amount, as in a 3x18 strip of wool. No need to buy 1/8, or 1/4 yard, when you only need a small amount. It's a great way to get a few shades closely matched. I can't wait to cut and start hooking with this! It's for my floral rug that I started.

Now to see if I can get my photos uploaded. I've tried several times, and blogger won't upload photos for me. Finally got the photos to upload!

*~* Laura ~*~

Happy Monday!

Only 1 more week until we get all the trick or treaters. I've been a scrooge this year, and haven't really decorated for fall. Just a couple door hangers on the front doors and a few bowl fillers. (like my Frankenstein faces above) I don't like to do corn stalks anymore, as it attracts mice, squirrels, and raccoons. We've even had outdoor pumpkins eaten by critters. We certainly don't need more of them around!

I finally got my camera working today. My SD card was stuck on "locked", so I was unable to take photos. Got a new card tonight, and I'm good to go. I realized that there was only 1 choice available for SD cards, as my camera won't accept the HD cards. (yep, I have an older Canon, but it works and I like it. I'll use it until it dies) This is my rug that I've been working on. I didn't get anything accomplished this past week, as cold season hit my household. But, now that we're feeling better, I ordered more wool for the flowers/leaves. Can't wait for it to arrive!

While I'm waiting for my new wool, I also have been re-working the bird rug. I didn't like the background, so I tore out several rows and re-hooked them. I'm still thinking of doing something different with the wing. It just doesn't stand out enough.
I have a pile of worms that I tore out. I would like to re-use them, but will need to iron them to flatten them out. Anyone have any good techniques for doing this?

~*~ Laura ~*~

Playing hookie

I'm playing hookie from work today. (ok, a personal day) Couldn't ask for more gorgeous weather! I need to spend some time this afternoon working on my rug. I started the flower this week. I LOVE the red flower. It's 2 barn red wools, but different plaids. (click on the photo, and you will enlarge it to see more detail) It really gives nice dimension to the piece.


Last night I looked out our patio doors and saw something crawling out of our neighbor's shed. I had to see what's there now. ( we've had foxes, skunks, and raccoons)


Still a raccoon. A really BIG raccoon. Might make a nice coon skin cap for my son. =)

I'm off to wash the car in the gorgeous weather!

~*~ Laura ~*~

~*~ Went Shopping ~*~

I decided to head out and do some shopping today. Not the regular grocery/errands shopping, but shopping at the Country Folk Art Festival in St. Charles, IL. I haven't been to this show in many years (too many kids, not enough $ to spend). It's a small show, about 40 vendors. But, it's all good, high quality folk art.

I did try to snap a few photos. (I feel funny taking photos, as it's their booths/items. I don't want to make them think I'm stealing their ideas/patterns. I would rather give a link to their website/blog and hopefully get them some more customers. I just enjoy browsing!) The above photo was from http://www.carolecollinsquilts.com/ . There were some hooked rugs that I was admiring. He did wonderful work, and I was amazed at how low his loops were, but very even. Gives me something to strive for.


I also admired a booth by The Cooperage http://www.cooperagedesigns.com/ (blog at http://www.flew-the-coop.blogspot.com/ )She had tons of punch needle items, plus patterns.
Here's some more of her items. She also had a couple wool hooked items. My kind of stuff! =)
While I didn't buy any finished items, I did find some hand dyed wool pieces. (in my opinion, it's even better!) A couple pieces of gold and reds for the rug I really need to start. Now that I have the starting colors, I can start cutting and hooking.
~*~ Laura ~*~

Re-working

Though I haven't posted this week, I've at least thought about it and took a few photos! I ended up re-working the wing on my bird rug. I switched the color scheme by using red for the wing and grey for the inside. I did a little outlining of the wing and the squiggly inside wing area. I think the contrast in the colors is a bit better now. I've blocked it, and now just need to bind it.



I won a giveaway on Ann's blog http://aholeinthebasketprimitives.blogspot.com/ !! It's a rug hooking pattern designed by Buttermilk Basin. I can't wait to get to do this project, especially now that I know how to transfer patterns onto monks cloth. Thanks so very much, Ann!

This week I transferred a pattern onto monks cloth for the first time. When I ordered my wool cutter, I asked for some red dot transfer paper. They didn't carry the red dot, but suggested a product called crack stop. I decided to give it a try since I haven't used either product before. When I got it, it reminded me of the drywall repair tape that I've used, but it a large roll. That's exactly what it is! One side has a slight adhesive on it, so that it sticks to the backing and doesn't move. I first put it over the paper pattern that I had and traced using a Sharpie marker.


I lifted the crack stop off the paper, then placed it on the monks cloth. It held with no movement, even when I was tracing.

When finished tracing, I peeled the crack stop off the monks cloth, and viola ~ the pattern was on the backing!



I now have the next pattern ready to go. (don't look at the line on the right side of the backing. The directions said to draw a rectangle a certain size, and once I did, the floral design didn't fit inside of the rectangle. So, I ended up enlarging the rectangle.) Now to zig zag the edges, cut my wool, and start hooking!



Yesterday was Andrew, Matt and Rachel's 16th birthday! Hard to believe it's been 16 years since they were born. There was a home football game, so we went to see Matt in the marching band. He's one of the trumpet players up front.

Today was a family birthday party for my trio. They now have money to spend, so we'll see how quickly they spend it!

~*~ Laura ~*~

~*~ HooKeD ~*~

The bird rug is hooked! After finishing the background, I ended up hooking the wing in a mill dyed black. (cut on my new Rigby wool cutter) I'm not sure if I'm crazy about the solid black, but it will do for now. I wanted a really primitive, folk art piece, so the black fits into that color scheme. Now to block it, then do the binding. I'm thinking of binding it with the same wool as the edging and bird, the spot dyed grey/black wool. There's not enough of this wool left over, so I'll have to dye up some more. As I look at the photo of the background beiges, it's not as defined as this photo ~ it's more subtle. I outlined the bird and borders, then worked my way into smaller sections, slowly going inward until all the area is covered. (just what I do for punch needle) I think on the next rug I will hook it with more rows on the bird outline (or whatever picture I'm trying to outline). Just so much to learn on rug hooking.

I won a giveway on Ann's blog http://aholeinthebasketprimitives.blogspot.com/. I can't wait to get the adorable rug pattern, especially now that I have a wool cutter. Thank you SO much, Ann!

This week was the first full week of school. I haven't worked this many hours (or should I say, worked outside the house) in 16 years. Needless to say, I was tired, and my feet were tired. With 27 kindergarteners in the class there's just not a lot of time to sit. I'll have to search around for some comfortable shoes with good support. Glad I didn't go and buy any cute, even if they hurt my feet shoes. But, it gives me an excuse to sit on the couch with my feet up, and do some rug hooking in the evening.

The weather has been hot here the past couple days ~ way too hot and humid. I'll be glad for the cool down when it's only going to be 60 degrees on Monday. That will feel down right frigid!

Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

~*~ Laura ~*~