Happy Halloween

Ok, so the day is just about over. I really tried to get on here earlier, but no go. I've been fighting a cold, and I'm feeling a little better each day. Woke up a little after 4:00 this morning coughing and decided to go down stairs so not to wake anyone up. I hooked some more in the morning on my rug and then just finished it up this evening. Well, not the whole thing. But my new goal was to finish the entire center by today. Did it! I had some other things that needed to get done today that kept me from being on here, but was well worth it. Took my hubby to lunch. Now "technically" I was still celebrating my birthday since I used a gift certificate that my son gave me on that day LOL. Ok, I'm stretching it a bit. But it was nice to get some fresh air and we had a good meal. The rest of the afternoon was grocery shopping. That is a job in itself. Not my favorite thing to do, but now I don't have to do it over the weekend.


We had our trick or treaters last night and there were many. I was a little concerned that we would run out of candy. They were coming in huge waves, but we had enough. My daughter Nicole held the basket and let each child pick what candy bar they wanted. At the end, we realize the Nestle Crunch is not a popular one. That's what we had left. Funny how I was just saying the other day that I felt they didn't taste the same as they used to. Perhaps the kids agree. Will know better for next year!
So here's my rug ......

I just got done pressing it a little bit ago, so that is why it is wet on the edges of the linen. I will need to dye the border color yet. Hopefully by next week sometime. This would be great if I could get it done by Thanksgiving, but I'm not promising anything. Will keep updating it as I go along. Thanks for letting me share it with you.
I hope everyone had a great Halloween!!!!

More hooking today

I guess I can say I'm really lucky that I have a few groups to hook with each month. I hear some rug hookers don't have any one to hook with. Wish you could be here with me! Today I was able to go to the Cumberland Valley Rug Hookers group in Chambersburg, Pa. I got some more done on my rug, but it's on the frame right now and haven't taken an update of it. Sill hooking this evening. I did however get a few shots of what the group was working on. Wish I would have gotten more. There were a few I missed....Yes Marian, I forgot to take one of yours. (Marian likes to read my blog lol). Next time for sure! And I forgot to take one of Doris' rug.
Here is Joan peeking behind her rug. It's almost done. Isn't it great?? Wonderful choice of colors.
This one here is done by Ruth, and it is a gift for her daughter. I believe she is working on a pillow right now for her daughter also. Lucky girl!

This is Peg and her rug. She's just about done and has a little bit more border to do. Very nice colors.....

And the last one is Ann with her rug. Just a little bit more on the border on the side to hook and it is done. It's just beautiful in person.
Some of the girls ended up following Linda to her rug hooking shop which was right around the corner to see it for the first time. I'm sure they loved it! I'll get back there soon enough..

Well, I'm not sure what is going on with me, but I think I may be coming down with a cold. I've been coughing all afternoon and I'm ready for another cup of tea to soothe it. I will take some cold medicine before I go to bed and see if I can knock it out of me. I was fine this morning. Weird how it came on all of a sudden.

Hope you all enjoyed more pictures! Sure is fun being able to share them with you. I will try and post another update of my rug tomorrow sometime.

Finishing my update on Brandywine hook-in

Those flannel sheets last night did me in. I didn't get out of bed until after 10:00 this morning. I wasn't sleeping that long, just laid there. That never happens, so it felt really good. Took the day to hook some more on my rug. My new goal is to finish the entire center of this by Friday. My husband is on vacation this week, so we'll see if it's do-able. I have a hooking group to go to tomorrow, so that will give me some time. So here it is.... Now back to the Brandywine event. They had a featured artist there by the name of Sally D’Albora. Here are some pic's of her display. The rugs were fabulous.


And here are some close ups of a few of the rugs.





Now back to the rest of the rug show.

Now who wouldn't want to be surrounded by all of this beautiful workmanship??? So sorry that it only happens once a year, but it was a wonderful time.

If you are a rug hooker, I hope this inspires you to get your hook out and finish a rug, or start a new one. That goes for anyone who enjoys doing any type of craft. The holidays are fast approaching, and perhaps you will want to make some of your gifts this year. I know I appreciate home-made...... Be inspired, and enjoy your week everyone!!

Eye candy from Hook-In Today

I got to get away for the day today and go to a hook-in that was out in Coatesville, Pa. The Brandywine Rug Hooking Guild put it on. This was their 4th annual hook-in, and I haven't missed one yet! I look forward to it every year. It was wonderful to be able to drive with someone this morning. I went with my friend Linda, and of course I didn't get a picture of her. But she is in another post I did that opened up a rug hooking shop in Chambersburg, Pa. What a pleasure it was to be able to talk with someone instead of listening to the radio and talking to myself. It was rainy and windy, but with the talking, it made for a nice ride. We got there about 8:10 and it didn't start until 9:00. We sat and chatted for a bit in the car and then saw that others were going in, so we did too. I put down my stuff and when I turned around I didn't see Linda. She was already shopping at the vendors LOL. I did my share of shopping. Said I wasn't going to buy as much as last year, but I did. Even bought a pattern that my mil will give to me for Christmas. I bought the My House Sampler which was adapted from the folk art of Lori Brechlin/Notforgotten Farm by Spruce Ride Studios/Kris Miller.

I'm not going to post all the pic's of rugs today. It would take up too much space and I'm really tired. It's been a long day. I did get just a couple shots of the room. Linda and I sat with Joanne and Nettie. Hey Joanne! Was great to see you, and Nettie, it was very nice meeting you. It looked like these two had a great time! The girls from East Berlin had a table right next to ours. That was really nice. Becky couldn't make it. I even brought her some Butterfingers cause I know she likes them. I had a basket of chocolates on my table. Missed you Becky!!
You can see that the place was quite full. I did get some hooking done too. Didn't snap a picture of that yet. Haven't unpacked my bag, but will do that tomorrow. They had some really nice door prizes. My table didn't win anything, but the girls from East Berlin won. Tanya won 2 times and Louise one once. Nice to see your friends receive!

The Rug Hook Project of Las Rancheritas was there. I have a little section of the flyer we received and it's best if I just tell you what it says. "The Rug Hook Project of Las Rancheritas in the villiage of Agustin Gonzales, located in the central highlands near San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Las Rancheritas is a group of women using rug hooking to create folk art that reflects life that surrounds them: burros, rabbits chickens, mountains, homes, churches. Each piece is unique, and all proceeds from the sale of rugs goes to the individual artists. Many of the women are the sole support of their families." The rugs were for sale at the hook-in and they were asking for a donation of a small piece of wool as part of admission to be sent to the women of Las Rancheritas. I'm not sure if any rugs were sold. I sure hope so. But I do know that they received a LOT of wool for donation from the hookers that came today. That was very nice to see. Here is a shot of the rugs that these women made.
I'm going to finish up here tonight with just a few of the rugs that I was able to get pic's of that were in the rug show. They were all winners in my opinion. Very hard to pick just one.

I wish I could tell you who hooked these pic's. Not sure if when you click on them you'll be able to see the name, but it's worth a shot if you are interested. I do know that my friend Joanne hooked the Lion rug. Great job Joanne!

Linda and I stopped at Pizza Hut for dinner on the way home. It was nice to sit and reflect on what we did, what we bought lol, and how we are looking forward to it again next year. Well, that's it for tonight. I'll post more tomorrow, cause it's bed time for this gal. Those flannel sheets are going to feel fantastic tonight!!

Quiet day today

After yesterday and all the cleaning I did, I am pooped today. I never got to the computer room, but did do the windows inside and out on the bottom floor here. That in itself was a chore! Didn't realize how dirty they were until I came down this morning and could see outside lol. Now that's embarassing. Oh well. My house is lived in, definitely not a showcase.
I putzed around today and did a few errands, transferred two patterns onto red dot, but that's as far as it went. Came on here a little while ago and saw that Ginger left me a surprise on her blog. Well Ginger, Thank you! That is so sweet..
Now I'm supposed to pass it on to 6 others. There are so many good blogs out there. But I'll do my best.

Shanda at Front Porches - Sweet Tea & Old Aprons

Lori at Norforgotten Farm

Laurie at Woolyredrug-prairiesedge primitives

Paula at October moon primitives

Tammy at Skip to my ewe

Rondell at Tomatoe creek prims

Now I need to go and let them know they have a surprise here! Thank you again Ginger, that was a sweet surprise...
Not sure what I'll do tonight. I hope to at least pick something up and hook or stitch. The weather sure is changing. Thanked God all day for the heat in my home and in my car.
Enjoy your night....

Busy day after a great night

I've been cleaning all morning. The house has been neglected due to all the hooking time I did over the weekend, and the birthday celebrations. So it was time to get back to it. I'm just about done doing what I had set out to do today, washing floors, the kitchen, laundry room, entry way. Will shoot for the computer room in a bit and then save the family room for tomorrow and the bedrooms upstairs. House sure does smell clean though lol. I have an apple tart burning in one room and a Yankee frosted pumpkin burning in the other. Candles always put me in a good mood.
Last night I was able to meet with my friend Beth for dinner in East Berlin before I had to take my rug over to the woman who bought it. We had a really nice time. Had pizza. I think it's both our favorites. Anytime! I'm really mad at myself for not getting a picture of me and her together. Beth, next time for sure. She gave me the sweetest gifts too.

I love the bowl and can't wait to hook, or make the items for inside. The punchneedle is adorable with the squirrel and the Be Thankful will get hung up today. All of this was wrapped in a really soft piece of taupey camel wool that will be overdyed for sure! Thank you Beth for such an enjoyable time.

From there, Beth came with me so I wouldn't get lost dropping off the rug. The woman, Pam, was so thrilled with the log cabin rug. She asked me if I wanted to see where she was going to hang it. Of course! It was in a room with a whole collection of log cabin items. She held it up to the wall in the spot she had chosen for it and I asked her if I could get a picture. She was very happy to do so. It looked wonderful in this room. The red I used looked great with the beadboard and trim work she had. From there, Beth and I went to Becky's house for hooking. Becky makes redware pottery, and I've been in her little shop, but never in her home. Very, very nice. Very warm and inviting. I got a couple shots of the gals hooking. I didn't hook a loop. Was just relaxing and enjoying the company. Here's Becky.
Everyone looks so serious lol.

Well, I guess I better get back to my cleaning. It doesn't get done itself!

Finished and what's next

Wow, it sure is a cool morning today. Soooo thankful that my dear hubby fixed the heater in my Jeep on Saturday. Just in time, since the temperature dropped so quickly. He sure is blessed with a lot of gifts. Saved us a bundle. He even put a new digital thermostat in the hallway. Our old one was hard to read. We both needed to put on our glasses to read where the line was lol. Thank you George for everything!

I hooked the entire weekend to finish the commissioned piece I was doing. I finished it up last night and am sewing on the label and sleeve today. Called her last night and I will take it to her tonight since I will be out that way anyway. Doing what you ask?? Why celebrating more of my birthday LOL. Yep, I'm meeting my friend Beth for dinner and then we are going to go hooking with the girls out in East Berlin. I'm amazed how long I've been able to hold on to it and celebrate it with friends. It truly has been a blast. This weekend was also the Halloween parade in town. Got to take a quick pic of my daughter and her saxaphone lol.
So hard to believe that October is almost over. Now that this piece is done, I can get back to my pomegranate rug. I know now that I will not finish it by the end of the month, but that's ok. I am going to the Brandywine hook-in this weekend and I'm hoping to get some of it done in between shopping with the vendors of course! Last year I was there all day and hardly pulled any loops. It's very hard to when you are soooo curious to see what others are working on and talking and shopping and......All you hookers know what I mean.
After this weekend, I need to start figuring out some kind of a color plan for the rug I will be doing at camp in November. My teacher will be Cynthia Norwood. I hear she is very good. Can't wait! I'll be busy hooking for a while. Will want to take a break though in between some of these and do some cross stitch or punchneedle so I don't get burned out.
Wishing everyone a wonderful day!!

Hooking AND More Birthday fun..

I've been working on a commissioned piece and thought I'd post what I have done so far. I'm hoping to really push it out this weekend. The size is 22"x22". I just hope I can sit down for a long period and just hook. My husband has to work on my Jeep, so I think I'll be in for a bit. This has been enjoyable and I'm hoping she will be pleased with it. We discussed what she wanted, and it started with the log cabin house. The rest grew from there. So here is what I have done so far. I hooked for a long time yesterday and then for an hour this morning before I had to do some errands, and then fill in my day with lots of fun. After I did some running around, it was time to meet my friend Donna at the Corner Coffee here in town. Talk about some delicious frozen coffee. A true dessert. It was our lunch for today, we got a large lol. Donna's Birthday is tomorrow, but I knew she would be busy getting ready to go to Sweden this weekend, work related. I got there a little early and tied a balloon to her chair. Didn't get it in the picture though. We had a nice time sitting and chatting. Happy Birthday Donna!! Enjoy your day and take time out for yourself, you deserve it! Praying for safe travels for you....
Straightened up some things around the house afterwards and then had to pick up Nicole from school. I was grilling chicken at 3:30 in the afternoon so I could make some dinner for George and Nicole because I was going out AGAIN for a Birthday dinner. This time it was Vicki, her daughter Merissa, Melanie and LeeAnn. We went to Red Robin and oh my, I'm stuffed. Tonight the workers there clapped and sang for me and LeeAnn. Now THAT was funny. LeeAnn celebrated her birthday on the 10th. So we each got balloons and a sundae. Merissa likes to be silly, so of course I had to snap some shots. Here she is eating some of MY ice cream lol. Seriously though, we had to share it. I was stuffed!
We really did have a good time. Laughed a LOT.

Look at those BIG mouths!!!
And of course, nothing better than a group shot!! Left to right, Merrissa, LeeAnn, me, Vicki and Melanie. Thanks Ladies for a wonderful dinner and an enjoyable evening. Till our next get together.......