Hooked Alot Today!!

Boy, did I ever!! I realized I don't have that far to go! Do you remember the original antique I showed you? It had a fringed edge. I would like to do that but I am not quite sure how. I guess kind of like you attach tassels, through the hole with a knot?!? I would appreciate any suggestions.

Today I was in the kitchen and I heard a bzzzz behind the wooden blinds in the kitchen. I have a big phobia about wasps!!! So, I grabbed a towel, closed the blinds and smashed the bug!!!

Not.... I broke the window out!!! And the bug was still buzzing in the broken glass. He finally made it to the back door and I opened it and let it out. Now to clean up the glass. The windows in our house are original (1929) the kind with the little bubbles in it. We just happen to have a new window in the basement. We just haven't gotten around to installing it. I have really been avoiding replacing the windows, because they're so "vintage". But the wind just howls through in the winter and the sun cooks in the summer. Oh well, now we have no choice!

I'm going to try to finish this rug by the end of the week. That would be my fastest one yet. I started it on the 21st. The only problem I have is I can only sit for about one hour before the FM pain sets in. I can change chairs or get up and walk or stretch and then get back to it after a while. But some days all I can do is lay down. That puts a damper on hooking.

Oh yeah, I need to mention a new Yahoo group started this month called Fibre and Fibro. It's for people not only with fibromylgia, but with other chronic pain symptoms too. It is funny how we are all drawn to wool and working with our hands. Here's the link: www.groups.yahoo.com/group/fibreandfibro/

Have a good evening and visit the new group if you are interested.

Let the beauty we love be what we do...

Sheri

"In progress " photos

Thought I would show you some pictures of the rug I'm working on. Hooking circles is very slow work for me for some reason.

And the deer took forever. I think I got it right though.

I like to take black and white photos of my rugs to check the value of the colors. Notice how the black jumps out at you? It is way too stark. I am going to pull it out and use a much more antique black. Also the real light color jumps out, but there will be more of it and I hope it balances it out.

Also I remembered today that I had purchased a computer program that would take a photograph and turn it into a paint by numbers print out. It even suggested the colors of acrylic paint to use. It would be so perfect for rug hooking. It definitely shows the different values and highlights. Well it won't install on Windows Vista!! I emailed the company where I bought it and they said "yeah, we're sorry it won't work on Vista". I had bought it a couple of years ago, you see and never installed it on my old computer. Do any of you know of another similar program? I would love to do a portrait rug and that would be sooo helpful. Please let me know if you have any suggestions.

Hope you had a good Monday.

let the beauty we love be what we do.

Sheri

The county fair!

Hi Ya'll. You know I don't think I've ever used the word ya'll. This whole county fair thing has me being a real country gal. Last night we went to the Ozarks Empire Fair. We had a ball. I thought I would show you some pics of the exhibits we enjoyed. Mostly rugs, some quilts and cross stitching, etc.

This next quilt blew my husband away! He's still talking about it this morning. We can't tell exactly how she did the faces. Are they printed on the farbic, like a transfer?

Do you recognize her? She's mine and she got a second place ribbon!! Talk about humbling.

We loved the cardinal. Hmm... that would go in my house. I'm so sorry the names of the artists didn't show up in the photos.

We've got talent in these Ozarks hills...

This is Renee's from our hooking group. I love proddy but haven't done it yet.This is hers too. A girl after my heart... a pink lamby. I'm such a girl. LOL

Best primitive design. I love it!

OK, this blew ME away.... my dh (Mickey) said, "hey Sheri come down here and look at this rug... it has three ribbons on it.......... AND IT'S YOURS!!!!" Really, I almost fell over when I saw it. I totally did this for fun with NO expectations of a ribbon. This rug hangs in our living room and I told him I'm keeping the ribbons on it when we hang it back up!

A lady in a nearby booth heard me squealing and offered to take our picture.

Ok no more bragging, but I've never won anything in my life. Back to the other talented artists......the next group is collage and painting.

We ate foot long corndogs..with a diet coke ...it cancels out the calories you know. Then I had to have a funnel cake, but we ordered it on the way out of the fair. It was too hot to sit on my lap, but I managed.

Great fun for a couple of old folks on a Friday night. If you have a county fair near you, by all means go. If nothing else to look at the people. That's a whole other story!!

Take care and...

Let the beauty we love be what we do.

Sheri

Photos from our garden and another new project

Our garden isn't as grand as the master gardeners, but I still think it's beautiful. Just like a mother!! Here are some pics from this morning.

This hosta is "fragrant beauty". It smells like sweet perfume.

Our guard dog...

Our long and narrow lot... way back there is a blue bench. I want to make it a secret garden someday.

Mmm...blackberries. I haven't had one! I've had the bushes for three years and when they are good and ripe the birds swoop down and eat every one! I ate this one today, even though it was still sour. I wonder what time birds get up in the morning!?!

And here's the other project I started this morning. I started with 2 garage sale candleabras and an antique bird cage stand. I spray painted them white. Somehow I am going to marry the light fixture with the stand. I still haven't figured out how to wire it. It will be about chest high when put together. Not a real tall floor lamp.

See that lime green desk? That was in someone's trash!! LOL. How could I let that be thrown away? My poor husband. He tolerates me but always says if I bring in something new, I have to get rid of something. Sometimes I actually do throw stuff out. Not really throw it out, but I donate to the Salvation Army where I love to shop!!! Once I honestly saw a sweater and thought, "that's really pretty", then I realized it used to be mine. I didn't buy it again. How's that for not bringing stuff home?

Tomorrow's Friday!!!

Let the beauty we love be what we do...

Sheri

Demonstration garden

Last night right before sunset we went to a local park that has the master gardeners demonstration garden. I was supprised to find so much in bloom at this time of year.

This is the entrance...

There are these beautiful statues....

The "thyme" garden.

DON'T LOOK AT THE NEXT ONE IF YOU DON'T LIKE BUGS!!! It is June bugs as we call them on a sunflower stalk. GROSS... but interesting...

This one is a clematis seed pod. These will fluff out as they ripen, kind of like a dandelion.

This is cleome, which I have grown from seed. Now I wish I had sewn some this year. They are so beautiful, but they get big thorns on them!

Getting dark...

My hubby is mowing our lawn. Maybe tomorrow I'll have new pictures of our yard.

'Til then..

Let the beauty we love be what we do.

Sheri

Starting new rug

I found this antique rug in a library book and I didn't write down it's origin. If anyone knows please let me know. I think it's beautiful. This is what I dyed the wool for on Saturday. I hope I do it justice. I didn't draw it very big-22" by 32". I may have to use a #6 cut on some of it. I will have to borrow someone's cutter or hand cut them. I only have 8 and 8.5 blades.

I would like to add the fringe too. Has anyone ever done this? I think it would look good with wool strips for the fringe. That's a Long way off though. Plenty of time for you to help me!!

Have a wonderful Monday.

Let the beauty we love be what we do...

Sheri