Yoga

Darcy is starting a five week yoga class next week. I can't wait. Thought I'd show you how I've been getting ready for my first ever yoga class!!

Not bad huh? I actually found this photo on Josef Vital's photostream on flickr. How inspiring. I can't hardly touch my toes!!

I'm going to try my hand at needle punch today. Wish me luck. I'm going to do Primitive Betty's free pumpkin pattern. Thanks Betty!!

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall...Confucius

Peace, Sheri

Henry is on Ebay!

I have added Henry the primitive black cat on ebay. Click on "my ebay stuff" to the right to go there to bid....bid.. bid..! He's a very jolly cat. He would look great hanging on the front door all autumn long. Maybe put him in a wreath!
I will be listing more fall/autumn and halloween pieces soon. Check back often, please.
Have a good hump day!
Sheri

Halloween cat

Meet Henry-The Primitive Black Cat by Maria Barton. This made up so quickly!! I started last night and finished the hooking. Today I put him together. I think the sewing part took longer than the hooking. I am not a seamstress. I have a new sewing maching, but that doesn't mean I know how to use it very well.

The pattern was in last years Sept/Oct issue of Rug Hooking magazine. I have had it drawn on linen since then, but just now got around to hooking it.

I got fantastic news on the phone today. After a four month wait, I have been approved for my long term disability for fibromyalgia and migraine headaches. I had two of my doctors tell them I could not work, but they still wanted me to go to one of "their" doctors. Well he agreed. It has been a very stressful time for me. Knowing I don't feel like working eight hours a day, but also knowing that the mortgage is going on whether or not I can work. I started sobbing after the news. Relief....the pain has made me depressed anyway, but not knowing if I could do my part in paying the bills has been very stressful. You know today it seems like there have to be two incomes to just survive. I don't know how single people or people on minimum wage do it.

Also, I have finished my Wool Snippets geometric challenge rug. I think I will make it into a pillow. Can't show a picture of it though. Not until after Sept. 30th.

I hope now I can relax and hopefully hook some items for sale on ebay or etsy. I just read Tammy's switching to ecrater because of ebay's continuing changes and charges. I will check that out before I list anything for sale.

Hope you have a great week....

Sheri

Santa is finished!

Well here he is! What do you think? Maybe I shouldn't have put the sparkly things on the tree? It takes away from the antiqued look, but it is for my sister and she doesn't like primitives.


I don't know, don't you have to have shiny things on the tree, prim or not?

It's been raining here so I couldn't take him outside to spray the varnish until today. I still have two more ironing boards in the basement. I will make one for myself this time. My family has so many one of a kind things that I have made and didn't make one for myself. Every time I visit I think, I wish I had one of those!



Also I am making progress on the Wool Snippets challenge rug. It's a geometric with a pumpkin in the center. I have the border geometric finished and am ready to hook the center. I have no idea what colors I'm going to use for the center which is not odd for me. I usually decide on all the colors as I go and don't plan it all out like some do.

I am already planning my next rug. It is a santa on a rocking horse. I painted it a few years ago on a paper mache' box and I think it would make a great rug.



One year I painted boxes for everyone on my Christmas list. Each one different to match the recipients personality. I usually pick out a theme and make everybody the same thing. One year it was soap, lotions and bath fizzies. Another year it was jewelry. I don't know what I'll make this year. I'm running out of things I know how to do! I can't possibly make rugs for everyone this year and start now. I did think about making mats to use as hot pads maybe with a Christmas theme. I would probably have plenty of time to do that. I kind of worry about what to do when they get dirty which they will.



I am still doing a good job with the vegan thing. I have found some interesting meat substitutes that are pretty good! I'm going to go cook some vegis for dinner now. (I can't believe I said that!!!)

Have a great evening...and
Let the beauty we love be what we do...
Sheri

New book

I heard the postal carrier making alot of noise putting the mail in the box. She was cramming a book into the mailbox! It was much too large to fit, but somehow she managed. It's title, "Creating an Antique Look in Hand-Hooked rugs" by Cynthia Smesny Norwood.

I seem to have trouble acheiving the antique look with my rugs because my color choices are more vibrant. I like primary colors and the book says to avoid them when trying to make them look antique! I'm sure I will learn alot from reading it.

Some great pointers on dyeing. I am still learning in the dye pots. I guess you will always be learning though. This is one thing that doesn't for me seem to be proving "practice makes perfect". One reason is that wool is so expensive I hate to experiment much. I know that's how the experienced dyers come up with such beautiful colors, but until I can find a bolt of light colored wool at the thrift store, I will have to stick to formulas!

All I have to do varnish and "antique" the ironing board Santa. He's looking good. I hope to be able to finish him tomorrow. My sister's birthday is the 29th. That would be waaaayyy ahead of schedule for me! I'll show you when finished .

Bye for now...

Use what talents you possess;

the woods would be very

silent if no birds sang

except those that sang best.

Henry VanDyke

Peace, Sheri

Road trip

Yesterday was the most beautiful day weatherwise I have ever seen! We loaded up the gas guzzling Durango and headed on a short road trip to Point Lookout, MO. It's where The College of the Ozarks is located. They have a museum called the Ralph Foster Museum. It is also called the Smithsonian of the Ozarks. Ha--Ha Anyway... My husband and I have lived here all our lives and neither one of us had ever visited the museum. It's only about 40 miles from home. It houses the original Beverly Hillbillies truck. Woo hoo!!!

There were some nice old crazy quilts, but no hooked rugs which very much surprised me.

This museum houses all things from the Ozarks. There was a Huge gun collection which didn't hold my interest very long but DH loved them all.

All 4 huge rooms full . This guy Foster was a real gun freak!

Here is an old spinning wheel and a large loom. I would like to learn to spin one day. I'll have to say it's a far cry from the Smithsonian. Even though I have never been there! There was a small log cabin constructed inside. Here is the old rope bed. Can you imagine sleeping on this?

On the way home on the side of the road on the highway was the familiar bright neon green garage sale sign!! I begged, please take me there! We followed the signs to another Ozarks tourist destination. Bonniebrook, the home of Kewpie doll creator Rose O'neill. The garage sale was inside the gift shop. It was a flop but this place was awesome. Again another place we've never stopped. On the grounds is the original house she lived in and created the dolls. A beautiful stream runs right outside the side porch. We both looked at each other and said oh I wish we lived here.

This is the stream that runs along side the house. There is a small porch right above it. What a nice place for morning coffee. They have also constructed a little bridge over the stream with a gazebo at the end. So relaxing. It is all very shaded by the stream. I swear it was 10 degrees cooler there than out in the grass.

Back at home I have been working on the geometric challenge rug for wool snippets. I had quite a bit finished when I decided I hated it! I was doing a monochromatic with creams and whites. I really didn't like how it was turning out so I took it all out and started over. I am much happier with it this time. Can't post any pictures of it though, since it's a challenge rug. The deadline is Sept. 30. I think I'll probably have it finished this week though. There's a Santa rug I want to hook. I have it painted on a paper mache box and I think it would be a great rug.

Also I'm almost finished with my sisters birthday Santa. I think she has her computer fixed now so I'm not going to post pics of that till I'm sure. I would hate to ruin the surpise!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week.

Sheri

Antique rug finished

I whipped the edges this afternoon. I love it!! It is at the front door. (Everyone comes to our back door when they visit) I still can't get the hang of people actually walking on my rugs. I haven't done that many. I'm sure as I hook more I'll feel more comfortable with shoes on them.

The flash on the camera makes it look much brighter than it actually is. It's a grayish blue. In paint colors it's "soldier blue".

Here are some of the girls from our Wednesday night hooking group. What a bunch talented women. They're great!

And finally, here are three small footstools I found at garage sales. I want to hook a top for each one and probably sell them on ebay or PRHG. A man told me the tall one is probably 50 years old. His dad made it and he sold it to me for $2.00. I'm much more sentimental than that. I could never sell something my dad made with his own hands.

Don't forget to wish the US olympians good luck. Go USA!!!

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

Sheri

Kitchen pictures

Here are some pictures of our kitchen. We completly gutted it when we got married. It still had metal cabinets from the 1950's when I moved in. Where the plate rack is now, used to be a countertop stovetop with the range hood and fan in the upper cabinet. I built the plate rack myself!!


Here's the view from the dining room. We built the island too and put in a downdraft stove so we didn't have to have the hood. Imagine newlyweds remodeling!! What a test of true love!?!?!

Here's a fun wine glass holder. Patti will probably laugh at this!!!

And here's our breadbox. I painted this years ago when I acutally lived in the country and there were cows outside the kitchen window. I loved that...

I finished hooking the antique rug and have begun binding it. I am wrapping it with wool yarn. I haven't finished one this way. It looks like it's going to take a long time! But I love the look. I'm going to put this rug at the front door and want something that will wear well. That's why I really decided not to do the fringe. I'll show you a pic when it's finished.

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

Sheri

Our shabby bedroom

Thought I'd show you some photos of our shabby bedroom. My husband is a real trooper!! This is the only room in the house that is this shabby ~ romantic. The rest is more cottage style.

Here's the headboard wall. The headboard is an old door from an armoire we were going to rebuild but never did. The pillows I made from a dresser scarf, placemats and a dollar store doily. I made the wreath too. I copied this whole room from a magazine page in Country Living. It is by Magnolia Pearl, whose link I have listed on the right.

The next is my night table. I made the hanging wreath light by painting a grapevine wreath white and wrapping it with Christmas lights and sparkly thingys.

Wreath close up. I hung it from 3 wires that I twisted at the top and just ran the cord down the wall.

A little corner vignette

A hand me down chest and a door I got at a garage sale!! The chest was a dark green and the door had Years of stain and paint on it. Nothing pink and white paint and a few mismatched knobs won't fix!Corner shelf. The shell on the bottom shelf is a lamp! Flea market purchase of course.You can see the walls in this photo pretty good. In the magazine pic I was copying, she had wood planks on her walls. Well I couldn't or didn't want to do that so I painted them to look like wood!

This was the buffet in our dining room before I shabbified it. Now it's my dresser.

The "sheers" are a tablecloth. Notice on the chandolier the dripping wax? I used hot glue and let it drip down before I painted it. This was a gold when I got it. I love spray paint!!

Looking at the pics you can't tell the room is only 10 by 12 ft. Boy can I fill up a room. I can still get around and get in bed. That's all that matters. My motto is the more the better!!

I'll show you the kitchen tomorrow. AND I'm going to finish my "antique" rug today. Tonight is our hooking group at Simply Fibers and I'll buy the yarn to whip it with. I have decided not to use fringe because I'm putting it at the front door and I would be constantly straightening the fringe. You know the ADHD thing!?!

Have a wonderful day and...

Never let yesterday use up too much of today.

Will Rogers

Peace, Sheri

Didn't finish by my "mental date"

I had said I wanted to finish my antique rug by the weekend. Well that didn't happen. Last Wed. afternoon I got a Killer migraine which lasted through Thurs. night. Well, that really messed up my mental finish date. I have to do that in order to get anything finished. Soooo I'm shooting for this weekend to have the hooking finished. The borders have stripes and it will be getting a bit technical to figure out. My poor little brain!

Here's my progress

The black animal at the bottom will hopefully be a horse after I finish the hooking around him. My hubby thought it was a dog. sigh.....

It's been so hot here I didn't even go outside over the weekend. Watched alot of movies and took some naps! It's supposed to be 98 today. Again too hot to do much of anything outside. I do have to go to the fairgrounds to pick up my rugs. Can't wait to get them hung back up.

I am going to start a painting project too. My sisters birthday is the 29th and I'm going to paint a Santa on an old wooden ironing board. I'll show you my progress on that too. I will try to get it primed today. That is why I have started my "mental finish date".

Used to be I would be putting on the varnish when I needed to be wrapping the gift. Too much stress!!!

Have a great Monday!

When the power of love

overcomes the love of power,

the world will know peace.

Jimi Hendrix

Peace sistas,

Sheri