Catching up

Just getting to down load the pic's on my camera. I am behind, I know. But gee, when I do post, you get quite a bit to look at!

Earlier this week, I met up with Beth in East Berlin to have some dinner and then go over and meet with the girls who were hooking. Beth and I didn't take anything with us. We just wanted to get together, since it's been a while. She also gave me my birthday present. Here is Beth relaxing at Willa's after our dinner. She had someone to keep her company on the couch too!

And here is her gift to me! Some really cute punchneedle patterns, a sheep and a really nice brown recycled skirt! Love it all Beth, Thank you!! Here are some shots of the girls in EB.

Here is the rug that Katie is working on now using yarn.

And here is her last rug mounted by Joe Heine. Hope I spelled his last name right. He is the husband of Janice who wasn't there that night. What a beautiful job he did!

this is Willa's.

Here's Becky's.

And this was Brenda's. She really likes the sculpting. It looks wonderful!

Louise is trying really hard to finish this rug. I am always teasing her about when she is going to finish it. It is sooo close.. Her background is done with some onion skins over some different camel wools. It is just stunning in this rug.
Beth and I had a good time just sitting and chatting while everyone else was working. And speaking of work, I had to get up early the next day to go to work. The week went by quickly too. Before you knew it, it was Thursday and time for the hook-in.

We had a good turn out. The morning was a little slow, but then it picked up. Linda really wanted to get some work done. I think she is determined to "finish" some of her pieces. Here she is hooking on her latest little mitten. And that is Rob standing next to her. He is a friend of Linda's who stops by now and then.
This is another Linda who was doing the latch hook that I showed in another post. She wants to try and finish it by Christmas.
Genny and Kathy came by too, and Genny finished her birdhouse rug. I'm so happy for her. She did a great job. Here is kathy working on her rug.
Linda's shop has taken on a different look inside too. She has moved around a few things and it is looking so much bigger! It's really looking nice. She's displaying some of the antiques in her shop as well.

Later on in the day, some of the girls from East Berlin came! It was so nice to have them there.
Willa is doing a beautiful rug with Imari colors

And Louise, oh Louise, she pointed out to me that she had 7 tongues left to do!!! By the end of the night, she was just about done!!! Go Louise, Go Go Louise!!!

I could have sworn that I got a shot of Tonya's rug, but I couldn't find it on my camera :(. Sorry Tonya. Will get it next time you come out!

Sherry stopped by too and was working on her cat rug. She stayed till the end when her and Linda and I left for the night. It was a fun time. Lots of laughs as usual. Yep, and Linda is done hooking her snowman mitten and she is whipping it.....

Annnnddddd...... it's completed! Woo Hoo Linda!

Today was another run around busy day. Lots of catching up to do around the house and doing errands. Nothing crafty done today.

Tomorrow I will be meeting up with Beth and Joanne at the York Folk Art Show. Linda is going to drive along with me. Going to stop off at my friend Joan's church bazaar first. It's always a nice variety of items to shop around for. The day should be lots of fun.

Sunday I have church and then I'm hoping to get back to some cleaning and working on my Christmas gifts. I did actually get some work done last night at Grantstreet. But can't show ya's!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend. The weather doesn't look too bad on this end. Hope it's the same where you are.

And the winner is~~~~

I want to thank each of you for writing what you are thankful on my blog. I truly enjoyed reading them all. Some from people I know, and some from lurkers who haven't posted before. That was really nice.
I took the amount of responses and them into a number generator, and it picked a number for me. And the Winner is............ Corinna . Congratulations Corinna! You have a lovely blog. I've visited your blog often. Beautiful stitching. I will leave a comment on your blog for you to contact me with your address if you don't see this.
I hope to do another giveaway again. It was fun, and thanks to everyone, really.

Grantstreet had their hook-in yesterday, and it was a quiet day. Not too many people showed up. People came at different times. But it was a really nice relaxing time. I helped Linda during the week with rearranging some things again. It's really looking bigger! I did manage to get some cross stitching done. Didn't take any pictures at all!! I must have been really relaxed lol.
Today was a run around day. Glad to be home and in for the night. Will try and clean up a bit, so I'm not bombarded with too much tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, my husband and I will be celebrating our 22nd Anniversary. I made reservations for tomorrow night for dinner at a restaurant we haven't been too before. I've heard some good things about it. Just getting out and me not cooking is more than I can ask for lol.
Tomorrow is also the retreat for AAPG. It is to try and finish up any ufo's we have lying around. I have a few, so we'll see what I can get too.
Sure hope everyone has an enjoyable weekend. Use your hands to be creative. No matter what you do....

Time for my First Give away~

Well, here we are. Blog post #150. I know I talk a lot, but never thought I would be able to post so many times. It sure has been fun, and there isn't a better month than November to be doing my first give away.

I just love Thanksgiving. It is just very sad that this Holiday is one that is so over looked. Just the other day I was in Kohl's, and what was playing over the speakers? Yep, Christmas music already. That was a huge disappointment, and if it were just I doing the shopping that night, I would have walked out. Way too early to be playing it in my opinion. Ok, enough on that subject.

More on being Thankful~
Did you know that if you wake up in the morning and just think of 5 things that you are thankful for, it puts you in a better mood for the day? How hard is that? So I'm going to list 5 things right now that I'm thankful for.
1. First and foremost, my personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I'm thankful to God for sending his son to die for my sins, so that I can ask him to be my personal savior and know where my eternity lies after I die.
2. I am thankful for my husband and children and all the ups and downs that come with them.
3. I am thankful for the provision of my husbands job which in turn pays for the roof over our heads where we can call home and be warm this Winter, and that puts food on our table.
4. I am thankful for "my" job for which I feel has been an answer to prayers where I can use the gifts that God has given me in order to please Him and others around me, along with helping out with some bills.
5. And the last one for today is that I am thankful for ALL my friends. Both near and far. Ones that I have known for a long time, and ones that I have never met in person, but have made friendships with over the Internet.

I could go on and on. The next time you look at your hand, count on your fingers what you are grateful for.

To celebrate Thanksgiving, I made up a little pinkeep/pillow. I love pincushions, so I wanted to give one to you, and I used one of my favorite fabrics for the backing. I also love wool, so I am giving a couple of my favorite colors to you. And I love candles, so I am giving you a little battery operated one with a bittersweet wreath around it. It's not much, but it is from the heart.

I want to thank all of you that post here, and all of you that just read my blog. I started this to just be something for me to write about my rugs and my family and friends. How thankful I am to have met so many wonderful people. I love reading all your blogs too! Wish I could have gotten a better shot of this.

I hope you all don't mind, but I just ask that you leave a comment here about just one thing you are thankful for. Sometimes when we read what others have to say, there may be some little thing that makes us think "yeah, I'm thankful for that too", but we have been just taking it for granted.

I will be collecting the names, and putting them in a random generator next Friday the 13th. There will be one lucky winner that day. And who says that day is bad luck lol?

If you don't have a blog, please leave an email for me to be able to contact you. Now that the details are taken care of on that, I thought I'd just share with you about the hook in yesterday. It was a really slow day. Not too many people coming through, but we still had lots of laughs and I actually got some work done! There were some that just came in to shop in the morning. I'm hoping Ruth will come back and hook with us some Thursday!

And just look at what you will see the next time you pull into the driveway!!! Yes, their sign is now hanging proudly out front!! The guys did a wonderful job, don't you think? The whole outside is now looking so much more inviting.


Now I don't think Linda will mind me sharing with you that she has this problem with bags lol. Every time she starts something else, a NEW bag comes out to put it all in. I just had to laugh, because I'm sure most of us can relate. Here is Linda being Johnny Carson as Carnac the magnificent. She's deciding which bag will be the one that she works on. Uh oh, she's feeeeeling the energy!
Yep, she picked one! And she got a lot done yesterday too! Just wished I would have gotten a picture of it.
A new girl, Linda came by and was working on a latch hook kit. It's going to take her a while. But she is enjoying it for sure. She tried rug hooking, but just had surgery on her hand, so it was tough for her.
Jill and Alyssa stopped by and I forgot to get the camera out. It was fun seeing them. Alyssa tried some punch needle, and she was already hinting to Jill that she would like to do it. Alyssa is 17.

And Sherry stopped by about 10 minutes or so after they had left! Jill was asking if she was coming. We weren't sure.
And here is what I finished. I stayed up some late nights to finish the hooking, then I whipped it yesterday. This weekend, I plan on doing some cleaning and giving my car a good wash and wax before the cold weather really sets in. I think I saw that Sunday is supposed to be a really nice day.

I hope everyone has a terrific weekend. And don't forget to be Thankful~~

Not a dull moment~

Last night was the hook-in at GrantStreet. Joanne drove all the way here again to come hooking with us. Gotta love her for that! We stopped at a couple yard sales, and then went to lunch before heading to Linda's. Yard sales are always fun. I had stopped at this one early in the morning after taking Nicole to school. She lives around the corner from me, and after talking with her, I found out she is originally from NJ too. We had a nice chat. Her name was Faith and she even took me into her house to show me some old things she had. How sweet was that? I ended up buying from her a small washboard and an old ticking pillow. She used to have an antique shop in NJ. After I got home, I was thinking about this jar she had. Well, when I was finished drying my hair, I knew I wanted to go back. Someone there was looking at it, but put it down, so I took it. I took Joanne there, and then ended up buying a cupcake tin and a grater too. Joanne had suggested punching a piece and hanging it from the grater. I like that idea! Not quite sure where they'll end up in the home, but I'll find a spot. When we got to the hook-in, we were pleasantly surprised to see so many cars! My friend Joan had come out to see it for the first time. She brought a rug she did in camp, my goodness, all that detail..... and she was finishing the edges. I like the way she did it with the wool. Dottie (if I got her name right) is doing some knitting next to Joan.
And Pat was there too. She had her Baltimore quilt pattern with her, but I didn't get to see how much further she got on it. Joan also brought me a gift for my birthday! I had to hold on to this for dear life. All eyes were on it lol!! Joan, it's just beautiful, and I can't wait to use it in that "perfect" piece, or pieces. She dyes such lovely pieces~~

Along with the wool, there were a few stitchery patterns, and a piece of backing to stitch on. Hard to see behind the patterns. And Joan has a true love for books. She gifted me with this book also. I can't wait to sit and read it this weekend. Thank you Joan for everything! I love it all! Joanne is quite the baker. I got a quick shot of what she brought for us to endulge in. Oh my, sooo moist, and soooo delicious.

Joanne was working on her rug that she finished hooking. The girl is a fast hooker and whipper! She got it whipped in the time she was here. Just gorgeous!

Doris was looking at a piece of paisley that Linda had. And she ended up buying a piece of it. So soft in color.
Here is what Doris was working on. You are almost done!
Here is Kathy on the left looking at the applique quilt piece her sister Mabel is working on. She showed us a picture of it. It's going to be very big! Two more of their sisters came, Doris and Bert. Bert is the twin of Mabel. Hard to keep it straight lol. And Genny couldn't make it because she was watching her grandchildren. She has them every other week, so hopefully she'll come next week! Kathy is really enjoying the hooking, and I'm guessing she'll have her most recent piece done soon. Sorry I didn't get an update on it.

Here is the quilt that Bert is working on. The deer will be appliqued to the center of this piece she made. She was working on cutting the pieces out with Judy. Boy, I sure did miss getting pic's of everyone who was there.

I finally got a picture of Sherry when she wasn't leaving! I usually get her on the way out. Towards the end of the night, we had a nice time just chatting. (and laughing of course. That is always a given!) If you can get a close look at Sherry's sweatshirt, you'll see the cat face on it. There were 2 0r 3 on the front and 2 on the back. The woman who painted them did an awesome job.

Well, that was it for the pictures. Jill came towards evening, and she needed some help with finding some wool for a project she was going to do today. So we were busy. They were coming at 9:00 or so this morning. She had invited some of her hooking friends over and they were going to learn a little bit of applique. I taught her the blanket stitch last night too. I sure hope it went well. I was invited, but today was so jam packed with running, that I didn't have the time. I hope she took pictures, and posts it on her blog (hint, hint, wink, wink Jill!!) lol. And hmmmm, never even got a shot of Linda last night.
Well, I'm catching up on here for a couple reasons. I'm being a little selfish. I want the weekend to myself, and I don't want to feel guilty for not updating the blog. I want to sit and hook and then work on something that will be for my next post. If anyone was paying attention, I said on my 150th post, I was going to have my first give away. You'll just have to stay tuned to see what I come up with. Could be in a day or two, or up to a week. Depends on when I get time to come back on here to post it.
Wishing everyone a Blessed, Creative weekend!!

Hook-in and lots of pic's

Time to share some pic's with you from the Brandywine Hook-In that took place this past Saturday. Busy working this week, and it certainly takes time to sit and put all these pic's on the computer and then upload them onto here. Just glad I'm getting the time to do it now.
It's amazing how the weather was the same as last year. Rainy! Didn't care for that, but once you were inside, you forgot all about it.
Linda was kind enough to drive me and Sherry. I was surprised how many people were there when we pulled up. Joanne pulled in just a few minutes after us. Sharon came from NJ, and is a member on the aapg group. It was the first time for me meeting her. Joanne had met her before. I'm so glad she came~~ She said it was her first hook-in! And then Pam (also from aapg) came with her friend Peachie from Delaware!. In the picture from left to right, Sharon, Pam, Peachie, and Joanne. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to talk more with Pam. Her friend Peachie even won a doorprize!

Pat could not join us that day. She was recouping from a stiff neck and a headache. I sure hope she is much better now~ We missed you Pat!!!!

There was so much going on that day, it was hard to stay focused for me. I was up and about quite a bit. Shopping, talking with people I hadn't seen in a while, shopping some more, talking some more, taking pictures, oohing and ahhing over everyone's rugs, etc. I did sit for a tad bit and got a few loops pulled, but that was it. I was busy just being inspired by everyone else! This was Joanne's rug. I think she said it was called Kathy's garden. I just love it. She got lots of compliments on it too!
And Yes, I did bring chocolate for our table, 2 baskets as a matter of fact! But wouldn't you know it, I walk away for just a few minutes, and Poof, it's gone. That Sherry and Linda sure were hungry! Both baskets, just about empty. LOL, nah, they were just teasing me. I told them I was walking away again, and when I get back, it BETTER be there lol. I tried to sneak a pic of Linda putting it back, but I wasn't fast enough. I think Sharon found a new candy she likes too. The Twix. Joanne was pulling out the rest of them when it was time to go home to give to Sharon. I'm sure she drove FAST lol. I had a picture of Sharon and a rug she bought at the show, but I thought I read on her blog that she wasn't showing it until she worked on it some. But oooh, let me tell you, it's a beauty!!!! I can't wait to see what she does with it.
Take a look at this strip holder! Whew! Here is a rug from someone that I didn't even catch their name. It has so much going on in it. Take notice of the windows. They are made from that fabric you put through the computer and print a picture on it. She said her husband put the grids on it using some kind of program. So many little details throughout the whole rug. It will be just wonderful when it's finished. Here are some shots from around the room.

Nancy was busy helping someone out here, it seems..
And here are my friends from East Berlin!!

Tonya, all the way on the right at the table above is hooking this rug. I was so drawn to it. I just love what she is doing with it!
And here is Diane's rug, but she wasn't at the table when I took it. This one was hooked by some one, who's name just won't come to mind. I apologize for that. It's a beauty.

This year, they had something called Men vs. Fiber or something like that. Sorry if I got it wrong. Here is a gentleman that I talked to for a bit. His name is Don, and he was hooking a stair riser. He was doing a great job. Said he's been hooking for 3 years or so. Here are some of his other rugs.



Ok, now sit back and enjoy the rest of the rugs that I took pic's of. I did not get all of them. They had a rug show, but the rows were so close together, it was hard to get each one. You can't help but get inspired by the works of art that is out there!











This one was really long. I tried to get a few close ups of it too.





These next 4 were all done by the same person. Definitely made to look old.

This is just a bit of what I bought that day. I loved this pattern. And then I bought some of these little pieces of wool. Also bought some of Rebecca Erb's wool, but didn't get a shot of that.

It certainly was a very long day. We stopped for dinner on the way home, but of course we had to stop at a thrift store first lol. I actually found a wool skirt and pair of pants. It was very hard waking up the next day for church, but I made it. Have to admit though, that I've been dragging for a few days. But I would do it all over again......

It's been a busy work week, and now I'm trying to catch up on a few things around the house. Tomorrow is the hook-in at Granstreet Woolworks, and I hope we have a good turnout. Joanne says she is coming again, woo hoo! I know I want to get some hooking done!! After seeing all that beautiful work, I can't wait to finish what I am doing and start another! And before you know it, Christmas will be here. Have to get moving~!

Hope you've enjoyed the eye candy for the day... Enough to keep your mind going, that's for sure! Enjoy the rest of your week~~

Pic's from our retreat..

This past weekend was the retreat for AAPG. The theme this time was stockings. When I had won the fabric scrap box from Kelley, inside were a few patterns too! One just happened to be a stocking with a snowman in it. I knew I would be doing it. I adapted the pattern a little. Left out one candy cane, and made the snowman bigger. The greenery was all I had at the moment, and I will change that as Christmas approaches. But all in all, I was pleased with the way it turned out. When that was finished, I had fun going through some of the fabrics that I received from Kelley, along with my own fabric. I made up a bunch of these stockings. I can add things to them for Christmas gifts. At least I got them half done!

During the sewing of these stockings, I had to take a few breaks. Nicole had her Homecoming dance to go too. So I had to help her and take a few pictures.

And of course, you ask them to do something different for the camera, and I get this LOL. Darn kids!

I am really looking forward to this Saturday. It's the Brandywine hook-in. I haven't missed one yet. It is always a good time. Lots of hookers, lots of vendors. I'm just looking forward to the day out!!!!! I will be driving with Linda and Sherry. We'll meet Joanne there, along with some of the girls from East Berlin, and I just heard that Sharon from NJ and Pam from DE, both from AAPG are going to make it too! It will be nice to meet them in person. Going to need a few tables!!

It's been a busy couple of days. None of hooking :(. I just can't seem to bring myself to hook lately at night. Too many other things to do. And my friend Donna and I have started a 2 week, (watch what you eat diet) and exercise program. We started yesterday, and in the evening walked 4 miles. Today we walked just 2, but we did it at a faster pace. I'm definitely feeling it. Everything we eat is getting written down, and we are going to share it with each other. Might do that on Sunday night, since one week will just be about done. (we even weighed ourselves and wrote it down LOL). Definitely going through chocolate withdraw. Especially tonight for some reason. I think I'm going to have a cup of chai tea, and that will be it. I have done real well with the eating so far...... (saving up to have a piece or 2 of chocolate on Saturday!!)

I hope everyone is having a good week so far. The weather today was absolutely gorgeous. Last night for our walk, we had sweatshirts, turtlenecks and even gloves on!! Not tonight!

Be creative this week with whatever you do~~

I think someone did a rain dance

Linda, could that have been you?? (lol) This has been one yucky week for weather. All I did was run to the car, run into work, run back to the car and then run back into the house. Who wants to be out in this weather???? Not I that's for sure.
But the week was busy and it sure flew by. I had to stop and think what today was! Yesterday was hooking at Grantstreet. There seemed to be a steady flow of people coming and going. That was so nice to see. Barb was there, and then Pat and her husband Zip showed up. And then Marion came after them.
Marion was working on a snowman, and I didn't get a good shot of it. And Pat brought her quilt, but didn't hook at all. I think just the chatting was enough for her.
I had to giggle to myself. I think Zip is a ham for the camera. If only this was in video form, you would have seen him shaking his bottom while showing off the back of his jacket. LOL, too cute!

And then he had to show off his name. They call him The Flash.. Pat did unroll her rug for us to see how much she has gotten done. The background she dyed for it, is just beautiful. I know she'll be curled up this weekend working on it!
Barb was busy handpiecing some triangles together. She got quite a bit done during the time she was there. Her husband came later on in the evening and sat for a bit too. This was just one of them that she had gotten done.

I had to leave for a bit, but when I came back, Kathy was just coming out and walking to her car. Kathy is just "one" of Genny's sisters. If anyone remembers, Genny wanted to teach her sisters to hook. There are 7 of them. What a hoot when they are all in the same room! Anyway, Kathy just wanted to stop by and show us the little mat she had finished back when Genny had them all together. She said she might stop back later on that night, but I wasn't sure if she would or not. Well, sure enough she did! And along came Genny and another sister Bert. Bert finished her first mat, and brought it too. I thought their pieces turned out so cute. For the first one, they did really well!!

Here is Kathy's~

And here is Bert's! ~

They are both really excited to do another piece. Kathy had brought the paper pattern she wanted to do next and I showed her how to transfer it. Bert bought another pattern that night of an angel. Another small piece. Just right for her. Wish I would have taken more pictures. I got so busy with helping them, I plum forgot! Genny ended up buying a new frame for herself. Her husband gave her some money to get it if she liked it, and it will be her Christmas present. I'm sure it's going to kill her to wait that long LOL!! I sure hope they come back on another Thursday to sit and hook with us. Sherry came right after they did, and I think she'll be done with her cat mat real soon. It's looking sweet. You know it's a small town when so many are related. Sherry just happens to be a cousin of Genny and her sisters lol.

Along with a great day of hooking, I was blessed with another Birthday package in the mail the other day. This is from Pam, another girl from aapg. What a lovely Fall assortment. The orange wool is so pretty. I'll have to decorate up the cornicopia and put it out on a table. There was also some Fall colored floss, some Fall mini baking cups. My daughter will help me fill those! Tissues with a K on it, and some notecards with a K on it. And there was a cute rug hooking paper pattern with Fall pieces to make by Buttermilk Basin. Just the right size, won't take long at all. Thank you so much Pam for everything!

Today was a busy day running around. Again, running in and out in this rainy/cold weather. When I got home, I got the mail off the porch. There was a big package for my son, and then our mail was behind it. It was rubber banded together and I just put it on the table for later. When I finally did look at it, there was a priority envelope with MY name on it. My goodness, another Birthday package for me. It was from Kimmie on aapg. She had gifted me with two booklets. One was Lancaster Album and the other was called Hook & I. Both have some wonderful patterns in them. Along with those was a sweet little bag that had a cross stitch piece attached to it. Adorable Kimmie! And then there was a paper patter of a chairpad by Buttermilk Basin. Am I going to be busy or what??? Kimmie, thank you so very much for everything. All you girls are so kind and thoughtful.

This weekend is the retreat for the group, and the theme this time is stockings. I have some ideas. And with the weather being so yucky, I plan on parking my butt and getting some things made. What and how many? Well, we'll just have to see.

Ok, for some reason this is weighing on my heart today. So while I'm blogging, I'm going to ask for prayer for someone. His name is Rob. Linda had befriended him a few weeks back. He is having some difficulties with getting back on his feet. Linda has been there off and on for him trying to help him with finding a job, etc. Without going into specifics, Rob is in the hospital and could really use some prayer. I'm confident the doctors will do what they can for him and then he will be moved to where he can get the help he needs. I've only met him a couple times. He seems like such a nice guy and I know with prayer lifted up for him, he can make it. So thank you in advance for stopping for a second and just asking God to do what he has planned for Rob. Rob is a Christian, and I know he would appreciate your prayers. Thank you..

May you all have a Blessed weekend! I'll take pic's of this weekend, and share with you soon!!