You can all relax now

The hook in at Grant Street was a lot of fun yesterday.  Had a good turnout.  Just going to get right into it..
Here is Jill working on her sons rug. Keep going Jill, sooo close to being done :)

She then took a break from it and started some Christmas gifts.

Her sister Beth is working on her rabbit rug.

Nancee started a new project. A Polly Minick design of all houses. Will get a better shot next time she comes. Sometimes I don't like to bother them when they are hooking to take their piece off their frame.  Better to keep on working!

Genny is doing another of her chair pads.

Doris and Pat were leaving.  Pat did hook on her rug, and I'm hoping she posts her progress on her blog since I didn't get a shot of it.  Doris came to shop and didn't bring any work with her, but stayed and chatted for a bit.

Joanne brought her friend Nettie with her. Nettie's rug had some beautiful colors in it.  Good to see you Nettie, hope you come back soon!

Cherina has some colors that really pop on her antique black background. Very nice!

Bethany is filling in nicely on her rug.

As the night went on, the shoes came off, the feet went up and  just some fun times just relaxing....

Then LOTS of laughter... You can see how pink her neck is. Ooooh too funny....  

Joanne finished whipping 4 of her chairpads.

They are wonderful!!!

Finally got a shot of my rug. Cannot seem to capture the colors right. Might have to take this one outside sometime to get a good pic of it. I ripped out the border (I'm a good ripper lol) and changed it from black (was too stark for me) to the subtle color of the vine. Looked so much better to me. Oh and the s's on the pattern are just for me. I am just giving the background some movement. Experimenting on this rug with different things. Will place the s's closer together on another rug to see the difference it makes. And I also see a couple things I will still change on this piece. Glad there is no rush to get it done!

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And yes, there was more celebrating for my Birthday.  Joanne baked a cake. This one has little Fall colored leaves on it.  And it was ooooh sooooo tasty!!!  Chocolate all the way through with chocolate chips in it.  Yes, Sharon, it was Heavenly :)!!!  I brought the rest home with me and will have some later..

I was also given some gifts. The cake was MORE than enough, and just having everyone there.  But I need to say Thank you again. I'm not good at receiving, would rather give.  This was given to me by Beth.  Love the simplicity of the picture. Trying to see which room I will put it in. Will be doing some stitching and punchneedle soon with the floss.

I had received a card in the mail before I came to the hook in from Jill, and there was a gift card in there. I will be shopping this weekend :)

Joanne, along with the cake gifted me with this bundle. I took the fabric out of the package to show you that goes with the little quilt square. Looking forward to stitching it up! A lovely pincushion made from wool she bought, A large rusted key (cool!), an awesome necklace that has rug hooker stamped in it, along with a key and a thimble.  AND a gift card to the Hayloft that will be used when I go out to spend the day with her sometime soon!

Thanks to Everyone!!!    I won't torture you any more with the celebrating,  because quite frankly the sighing that came along with the singing after the  10 or 15th, or even 20th time was quite depressing.  LOL.  I'm still giggling.   How Blessed I am  for the friendships that I have formed with all of you.  You've all made my year.

Hoping all of you have a wonderful weekend filled with things you enjoy ~~~~

It's over? Maybe..... maybe not......

It's been a great two weeks of celebrating. Some days full, some days not.  So the two weeks have come to an end, but am I really done celebrating?  I think I'm going to look at each day as a celebration.  That's what life is meant to be anyway. Will try to turn every bad situation into a good one. Try is the operative word. Will succeed some days and some days I won't. But at least the effort will be there :)

Here is a tree in our small town of Shippensburg. I can't wait every Fall for it to turn. Just traveled by it a few days ago, and quickly grabbed my phone for a shot. It really brightens up the street!

This past weekend was our on line groups retreat. Holly, birds and berries was the theme.  I was able to finish the piece for Tanya.  She seemed very pleased with it, and I'm relieved.

I also was able to finish this stitched piece off.  Ok, don't laugh too hard. I'm not a quilter by any means, and the prairie cloth stretches a bit. So the top and bottom are crooked.  But, it makes it more "prim" for me lol.  I'll get better with practice.  I also had to fudge the fabric for the backing. It wasn't wide enough to go length wise, so I had to turn it sideways and cut it into two pieces. Finished it like  pillow in the back, so if I ever want to stuff it I can. 

Went to East Berlin again on Monday. Met up with Beth for dinner at Rocco's pizza.  She gifted me with some beautiful gifts for my Birthday.  Beth made the mat with the yo-yo's. They have old buttons on them. She did a wonderful job! The large acorn is a candle inside and the small acorns are from her mom to me :). She gave me a big bag full. I'll have fun displaying them.

 She also gave me some kitchen towels. Love the colors, and 2 patterns I can stitch up, along with a set of rusty keys that will go on a piece one day. I didn't get a shot of the pin I put right on my coat. It said I Love Rug Hooking... Thank you again Beth for dinner and my gifts! Loved spending the time chatting with you.

At Janice's, we worked a little.  Here are some pennies Beth was working on.

And here's the group.  Taking time out to chat.....  Janice's daughter Krista was here from Florida with her 14 month old daughter Emma. No shots of them though. It was a really nice visit.  Emma is just precious!

Really bad at taking pic's of my own work.  I will promise to get a shot of it tomorrow at the hook in.  Hard to believe it's Thursday already!  The week has flown by.  Looking forward to some hooking, and hopefully a room full of people!  Will work on getting some good pic's to share.  And thanks for letting me share my 2 weeks with you all lol.

Have a wonderful rest of your week :)

I'm still at it ~~

Wow, it's already day 10 of my celebrating.  Still going strong and doing things I like to do.  A couple days I did absolutely nothing... That was wonderful in itself!  Then yesterday was the hook in at Grantstreet.  It rained quite a bit of the day, and got windy at some points too. But by the end of the night, the rain had stopped and the stars were bright!  I was very surprised at the turnout considering the weather. It was so nice to see them walk through the doors.  And so many finished projects too! 
Here is Nancee and her rug.  She does a wonderful job with the binding in ticking.  Got a shot of her below. We just need to see who does the nice work!

Judith's large Fall rug. Coming along so nicely. She chose many dyed wools to hook with.

Bonnie was so happy to finish her first piece! She was shown by Linda how to finish it off and I "think" she had it done by the time she left.

Jackie was there only for a short few minutes. She got called away for work. But look how wonderful her piece turned out. This one she dyed the background all by herself!!  The pattern also had 2 chickens on either side of the pot. She didn't want them, and Joan Strausbaugh suggested her hooking one of them with her background wool. It's to the right, and she did a Great job!! She told us her son loved the rug... Guess you know who is going to get it some day :).

Betty finished 2 of her rugs. Both the same pattern and both are gifts. Lucky reipients, eh? 

Gloria stopped by to get instructions on how to finish her mitten. She finished hooking hers too. Love the difference between hers and Bonnies. Both great backgrounds!

Genny has been really busy with her chairpads.  2 of them completely finished on the left, and she was starting to hook on another one last night. She married her wools for the backgrounds. Great job!

And poor, poor Louis (probably been spelling his name wrong all this time, will check that one out lol). Rick went somewhere last night and he was so lost again. It was late, and can't you just see the "can't we please go home now" look? 

I did get some work done on my rug.  And at this point it's giving me quite the headache. Something sooo simple and I'm just not satisfied.  I did another flower and then did some of the background. But there isn't enough variation in it, so I picked some other wools shown in the picture. Might even see what I have on my shelves and play some more with it. Also the leaves (Joan, you hush now lol), I played and played with them. Still not satisfied. BUT, I picked another wool out at 12:20 a.m. (yes we stay that late lol) when we were packing up to leave last night and I'm going to try it this weekend.

Our online group is having their retreat this weekend, (theme is holly, birds and berries) and I really don't have plans on going out tomorrow. Soo I'm hoping to get some done on it. I would also like to finish off my acorn stitchery that I still have laying on my table.  Sunday is the only day I have something that I need to go out for. Church and then a Crop Walk benefitting the Hungry.  I signed up for it a while back. And with chilly weather, I should be done in no time at all. I'll walk fast :).  It's only 2 miles through town. Definitely a good cause, and I'm glad to be participating!

Still deciding on paint color for the computer room here. I have eliminated quite a few and have moved them around the room so I get the affect of different times of the day and how the color changes.  Really can't wait to get that started, but it will be a little while yet.

Well, off to clean up a bit more so I will have all the time to relax tomorrow.  Can't wait! Have a wonderful weekend everyone.......

Another fun day

Day 6 came and went pretty fast....  Or do all days seem like that most of the time?  Maybe when you are trying to fill them with all that you can, they go a little faster :).  It was a pretty quiet day at work today.  Did a little bit of this and that. Before you knew it, it was time to go home.  As I was heading home, I was lucky that I looked down at the highway as I drove a little closer. It was backed up.  Must have been an accident, so I didn't get off. I just took the long way home through some backroads.  Made it home in time to grab a quick bite, make George something to eat and then out the door I went. I was heading out to East Berlin to go hook with my friends.  What a beautiful ride it was!! The mountain was just lined with COLOR!!

                                      

Janice and Joe have a beautiful home. Here Janice is showing a new girl Valerie who came this evening some of her embroidery floss. Valerie is doing some pennies to make a penny rug.

Louise is working on her scrolls.  She'll be done soon. She's way ahead of me. Not sure if I'll ever get as far as her. It's not speaking to me, so it sits....  (I know, I know Joan.... I don't want to hear it lol )

Joe had made some brownies for the evening. What a guy! But of course, I had to tell them I was going to post that they were made just for me and my Birthday LOL.  They certainly got a laugh out of that !!  Topped with Vanilla ice cream, mmmm. (and they really did sing Happy Birthday to me lol)

Joe and I had once talked about the dark chocolate covered pomegranates. He gets them too!  So he brought out his bag and emptied them in a dish.  How could I not add them to my plate???  lol.

Janice finished this piece and is working on another mat.

And Willa is working on a vase with flowers in it.

Tanya arrived a bit later. She had spent the day with her Mom today. They had a nice time.  She's showing Valerie how she does her punch needle. 

And of course I had to take a picture of Millie.  She was so good.

I worked on the border of my rug. Just a strip of black, nothing special to see yet.  Had more fun talking to everyone.  Was happy that I didn't see any deer on the way home. I had a cup of coffee while I was at Janice's. Wanted to be awake and alert for the ride back. 

Well, I figured I'd post before I head up to bed. After all, I need a good night  sleep for Day 7 tomorrow :).  Not sure what is in store. Will just have to see how it goes!!!

Hope you all had a wonderful day!  This weather has been soo nice. I hate to see it end :(. 

Day 5

Day 5 all done. What a relaxing day it was.  It's been a real adjustment for me to go to a church service that is at 11:00.  But I'm starting to enjoy it. I get to sleep in a little bit later, and not be so rushed in the morning. I actually get time to relax before hand. Now that's nice! 

After church I putzed around the house and was trying to figure out what to get into for day 5.  It didn't take long for me to settle into a chair in the family room and turn on the Lifetime channel.  I even closed my eyes for a bit in the afternoon.  I decided to clean up the wool room a bit more and then got out the linen to work on a piece that I am giving to Tanya.  We traded our wares after Colonial Day. I was able to get some beautiful pillows from her that she made,  and in return I am making her a pincushion from a pattern by Stacy Nash. 

So while watching a couple mindless movies and some football, I was able to complete this much. It's 32 count linen which meant some eye strain for me. I have been used to using 28 ct for a while.  Whew, I need my reading glasses AND a magnifyer around my neck lol.  I was pleased with how much is done. Only a few more symbols and then it's time to put it together. I will still need to make a bird for the top of it when it is all done. Such a sweet pattern. You can find it here.

Just getting ready to leave for work in a few minutes.  Making the time to get the most out of every day. I usually just tell myself I'm going to do this and I'm going to do that, or I want to do this, or I want to do that, and then I just sit and not do any of it.  Sooo, when I thought this morning about posting on the blog, I just did it! Might not sound like it is a lot to any of you, but for me, it's a huge step forward in the right direction. And after all this celebrating is over :), I'm hoping it will just be more of a way of life for me. I guess what I'm really trying to say is that I'm a huge procrastinator and I'm tired of dreaming my life away. Time to just DO!

Wishing you ALL a wonderful day. Some of you might have off for the holiday today. If you do, I hope you do something just for you today! Working or not, have a great day. Just remember, do the best job that you can do.....

Col. 3:23... Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Now on with Day 6 :) ~~~

Day 3 and 4 :)

Just updating the last couple days of my Birthday celebration. Yesterday was day 3 and my day off from work.  Really enjoyed my quiet morning. That was until my Daughter called me and said I'm coming home, my power steering went.  She was on her way to school.  Thankfully, she made it home. Ended up not being the problem, it was the water pump, and the belt came off. All fixed by last night for her.  Her boyfriend Andrew started the fixing but had to go to work, so George finished it when he came home.

So I looked around the house and thought what am I going to do?  So I decided to complete at least one thing I started, and that was finishing up removing the border on the wall.  All done!  I was waiting for a phone call from a woman who came to the hook in the night before.  Her daughter left her pocket book there so I offered to meet her at the shop since Linda was not going to be in town.  From there I went to the paint store and got some paint chips.  Yep, ALL neutral colors.(go ahead all of you stinkers that tease me) Off whites, beiges, taupes, and even pulled some gray greens. I'm thinking for the trim.  Came home, and then had to pick up Nicole from school. 

I also had a dinner date with my friend Donna. Her birthday is also this month on the 17th. Will be celebrating her Birthday real soon! We are both 49 until that day. She'll be one up on me!  We went to AppleBee's, and just talked and talked and talked. She told the waiter it was my Birthday and asked him if he sang. He said "I don't sing". We just laughed.  But at the end of our dinner, he did bring me out this little glass of icecream with oreo's in it. I asked for 2 spoons and shared it with Donna. I thought that was sweet. We then ended our night with a Mudslide... A favorite of ours :).   We had made plans for today to go for a bike ride.

So on to today, Day 4 LOL.  Woke up after 6:00. Heard Nicole getting ready. She was off to take her SAT's today.  I laid back down for a bit and then Donna  called and she came and got me and my bike. We went out to the park. She was telling me about this trail. It's the Cumberland Valley Rails-To-Trails. I knew nothing about it. My daughter said oh yeah, I used to run back there with Michelle when she was on cross country for practice. Hmmph. Always the last to know.  But this trail is an 11 mile passage from Shippensburg to Newville. It's for walking, jogging, biking, and horseback riding. No motorized vehicles allowed.  It's all wooded area and farmland. This trail was a former railroad corridor.  It's a non-profit corporation dedicated to the conservation and recreation of the area.  They have annual events for fundraising to support the trail like running events and biking events.  I just found it very interesting.  It's not a paved  trail. It is loose gravel. It's kind of packed down, but still a workout for any runner or biker.  Their goal is extend it another 11 miles.

What a beautiful day it was for a bike ride. Although I have to admit, it's the least of my favorite of exercises.  I used to have to bike to work and back at the age of 14 and really ended up hating biking.  But I am sooooooooooo glad I went.  My butt is sore, but I'll get over it.  Just wondering if I'll be able to walk tomorrow lol.  We rode 6 miles out and 6 miles back. Coming back was definitely harder and the wind was fighting us.  Took a break here and there for some water. Caught our shadows while Donna was telling me where the trails went.

Here's Donna!  I was surprised I even got her in the shot because it was so bright out today. Just perfect. Felt like Indian Summer. I know it won't last long!!

These are just 2 shots from when we stopped at a road to cross. Just beautiful open area. Wish I would have gotten a shot of the trail itself, but can't ride and take pic's at the same time.

It was a just under 2 hours when we got home.  I decided to keep moving so I wouldn't stiffen up. So I went outside and did all the weeding and removing some dead stuff. Now that is all cleaned up! I'm starting to feel it all now and I'm just going to relax for the rest of the night.  Doing some laundry so I don't have too much to do tomorrow. 

Definitely a lot to smile about and celebrate the last 2 days.  Not sure what tomorrow will bring, but I'll fit something in there for me :).  My wool room needs a backhoe, but really doubt I could get one up the stairs, so I guess I'll have to tackle it all by myself.  Perhaps that will be "my time" tomorrow right after church! 

Hope you are all enjoying this beautiful weather. Enjoy your Sunday :).....