Finished the hooked purse and some gardening!

I finished the purse just in time for my mom’s birthday on the 27th! Crunch time. It only took a little while to hook~I mean FAST. But putting it together with the metal frame took a little longer since I had never done that. Here’s a pic with the hinges open. I like it and have ordered more hinges. I started out making this for me, than at the birthday dinner my sister said she wants one for her b.day in August.

I tried something other than the pattern directions (imagine ME doing that!) and braided 3 pieces of wool for the loops for the handles to go through. I love the way it looks. The pattern is Karen’s of Primitive Spirit and she had used embroidery thread for the loops. It just didn’t look strong enough to me.

You can also see in the following picture the strap itself. I did 4 rows of a decorative S shape stitches on it. Makes it look sturdier too! All this for a purse that’s only about 10” long and 7-8” tall!

A friend hooked this pattern a few years ago and I have always wanted to. Her colors are more “me”. Mickey looked at my hooking and said, “WHAT are you doing?” He’s never seen me use these muted colors that much either!

And Renee’ is getting ready to put the lining in hers. I love seeing the same pattern hooked by different people!

Remember Mick’s friend who is working on his parents house for an estate sale? Well, he told me I could go over any time and dig plants too! Stupid on my part (because of my health), but what fun I had.

Until this…..Remember those cute black clogs I hand painted? Well little miss priss was wearing those to dig in! I fell on our uneven brick patio. I cuss that thing every year. This year I’m covering it with river pebbles!

And doesn’t everyone wear their best jeans to garden in???

That was the only clean pair I had left as our basement was flooded and had a small river running through it. Guess where our laundry room is?

Then to top off that perfectly lovely day (until I got home, anyway) I fixed myself a plate of leftovers from Logan’s Steakhouse from the b.day party. Brought it to the living room, sat the tray on the coffee table and watched it in S L O W motion fall on the carpet~face down!! Ate it anyway!

Have a great rest of your weekend!

Peace,

Sheri

My hooked pumpkin....ta da!

I did this piece for a challenge and I can't remember Where the challenge was!!! The theme was hooking something round.  Anyone else involved in the challenge?  I love it anyway.  So glad I did it.  I had the pattern for years and this just got me motivated to do it. I used a real pumpkin stem that I saved and dried from last year. (See it IS handy to be a hoarder)  It is JoEllen's pattern.

 www.befruitfulkreations.com

Also I've made some progress on the cat rug.  His name is Max, I found out. 

The color planning has begun.  I am going to have to dye the red to the right, the turquoise and the pink on his chin.

1st day hooking

I was noticing little fuzzy hairs on the top of the linen.  It is bleached and I have never used this brand before.  NOT liking this!

You probably can't even see it.  But it was really bugging me.  So here's contemplating using my Usual linen!

You all know me and you KNOW I changed to the other linen!!! I re-drew and re-colored it.

OK, now hooking on the new linen.

Not liking the red color I chose.  You guessed it...I pulled it out and made another color choice.  Again...lucky I'm a wool hoarder too!

OK, now I love the pinkish/purple color.  But I HAVE to rip out the outline of his nose.  I used black yarn on it and it's looking scraggly already.  Just imagine what it would look like by the time I hook everything else and drag my hands and arms over it.  On the other outlines I just hand cut the wool.  I can only get it so small though.  I'm wondering what a 2 or 3 cut with a cutting machine looks like.  I simply can't cut it any smaller with scissors!

I may be able to hook some of the oranges in the upper left corner today.  I'm getting WEIRD on the color planning!  If my ProChem dyes would just arrive in the mail I could continue!  Tammy told me I can go over and borrow some of hers this evening if mine doesn't arrive today.

Tomorrow morning I'll be at the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer 5K walk.  I'll be in the registration booth.  Come by and see me and give me your cash!  It's at Jordan Valley Park...right by the Cardinals ball field.

Have a great weekend!  And please stop by and make a donation tomorrow.

Peace,

Sheri

No we didn't go on vacation and fall off the edge of the earth!

 

We did have a great time on the coast of Maine.  Lauri and Dick were great hosts. (That's their house and the little cabin we stayed

in)

 

I still can't get over how we got there from being blog buddies.  It is so true that there are really Nice people in the world.  Everyone is always talking about how bad everything and everyone is, but I'm afraid they're just looking past all of the good that is right in front of us.

Lauri took me to Cushing's and on a wonderful

historical tour around Kennebunk.  I bought some beautiful wool there.  She also took me to Stonewall Kitchen.  Yummy!  I have never heard of them.

And the day Mickey and I went "up north" we went to Searsport Rug Hooking.  WOW is not enough to explain that place!  I got to meet Chris.  Unfortunately Julie was out of town for the day.

I'm sure you heard the story about meeting JoJo.  she's from Kansas and I'm from Missouri.  Anyway, when I went in the door at Searsport I introduced myself to Chris and told her we were from Missouri.  She said there's a girl in the back from Kansas.  I went back there and it was no one other than JoJo!  (me on left, JoJo, and Chris on the right)

We have been blog buddies for years and have kept each other on our prayer lists for a long time too.  Crazy you have to go to Maine to meet someone from Kansas.  (One state over from us)  I guess it really is a small world.

After the trip I was TOTALLY worn out.  For weeks.  We think that maybe all the new meds are making me feel so tired and just not right. 

Today I finally got off my butt and went to Kinko's to have this photo blown up. I had it made to measure 30" by 20".

Remember I showed you this picture about a year ago?

It is a painting that was at Watercolor USA.  I was totally enamored with it and wrote the artist and asked her permission to hook it in to a rug.  She was thrilled and flattered!

The name of the painting is Peter's cat.  And the artist is Robin Avery from Texas.

I will have to dye ALL of the wool for this one.  I think I might have enough bright orange on hand, but that's it.

I made an order with ProChem tonight.  Their dyes are soooo vivid and bright.  Perfect for this project!!

I simply can't wait to get started!!!  I think all I needed to get back in the groove of life was a great pattern to hook!

This is the black and white blown up on paper.

And here it is drawn up on the linen.

It looks like a paint by numbers to me.  Does it you?  I only wish it would be that easy.  I have a feeling this will be my most challenging rug to date!

I'll keep you up to date with pictures.

Have a great week!

Peace,

Sheri

 

We're in Maine!!!

We arrived Friday after flying from Springfield to Dallas, then to Boston where we rented a car. We then drove to Lauri's place. (Lauri from Wool Snippets) She took me to Cushings. LOVED it there. Got lots of pictures. We got to spend a little time together before driving up north to Searsport yesterday.
We went to Searsport Rughooking this morning and I got to meet Chris. What a huge place! I had no idea it was so large!
I got a new Ipod the day before we left for vacation and have taken 1050 pictures!!! However, I had to bring my old laptop. ( I dropped my "good one" and bent the dvd drive thingy. ) Took it to the shop/Best Buy Thursday night. They said it might be gone for a month!!! Anyway, can't upload any photos to this computer, as it's full. AND the pictures that I was able to email to myself were upside down!!! I hope I don't have to go in and change all 1000+ pictures!!! It says this Ipod will hold 2500 photos. It's the new Touch that just came out last week. LOVE IT. Just sorry I can't share our vacation pictures with you yet!
More when we get home.
Peace,
Sheri

Pictures of hooking at the library Monday evening.

Dulcy working on her cottage rug she started in Jane Green's workshop in Maine.

A close up of the cottage. Aren't the rocks amazing? Dulcy is hooking this in a number four cut, which is TINY for our group!!!

Marsha is working on this large ship rug.

Contemplating how to hook the "waves" at the front of the ship.

Janette and her cute pumpkin couple. I think this is Maria Barton's pattern!?!

Renee' still plugging along on her window rug. I showed the rug, but not her face a few posts back. Very cool rug!

Next, the two Peepers!

Rita is working on another darling cottage rug.

Lovin' the colors of this one. The house wool is spot dyed and looks kind of like pink brick.

This is Vicki and her patriotic rug.

I've got a few projects going. No pictures though. I do have this picture of the wool I picked out for the 3D pumpkin I'm working on. It's a pattern by Befruitful Kreations. JoEllen has lots of neat patterns on her website.

Hope the rest of the week is divine for you!

Peace,

Sheri

Whipping an edge with wool strips~A little tutorial

First make sure you have serged or zig-zagged the edge about 1/2" from your hooking.

1.  Fold your linen (backing) towards the front of the rug and insert the needle that is threaded with a wool strip of whatever size you hooked the rug with.  I usually start at the middle bottom.  No specific reason.  Leave a little "tail" that you will cover up in a minute.

2. Pull the wool strip through to the back. 

3. Bring your needle back to the top and insert it in 1 or 2 holes next to the first one.

   

4. Make sure your wool doesn't twist before you pull it down.  I think this is the hardest part of the job~keeping it from twisting.

  

5. Pull this loop through to the back too, covering the little tail you had left.

6. Just continue inserting the needle one or two holes over and whipping from top to bottom.

 

7. When you run out of wool strip leave another little tail.  (You will cover it up like before)

 

8. I start the new strip in the same hole as the last one.

9. Showing here with a different color of strip.  Again, leave a tail on the top (new) strip too. 

10.  It's hard to see, but I'm holding both the tails.  One on top and one on bottom.

11.  Then just start the whipping process again.  Covering the tails.

 

Here's a finished corner.

1. I kind of pinch the linen together to form a corner and work with it to make the turn.

2. Whip just like before (while holding the linen corner together)  Kind of difficult!

3. Many times on the corner you'll have to stick the needle in the same hole as before in able to make the turn.  You'll move the wool strips around with your fingers too.

 

When you get to the end of the piece OR you can do this when starting a new piece.  Insert the needle on the back Through three or four previous loops (that are laying flat)

2.  Pull the strip through all three loops.

 

3. Snip off this piece of wool to hide the ends.

This is the piece I was working on.  This is the FIRST rug I ever hooked.  STILL HAD NOT FINISHED WITH THE HOOKING!!!   It only needed a few strips hooked on the right side!  I took the class from Tammy in 2004 or 5.  Last night I did finish the hooking and I will finish whipping the edge.  It WILL be on my table this fall!!!

And here's a picture of how I do a piece of wool to insert a cafe rod.  I simply cut a piece of wool to fit and hand stitch it on the top and bottom.  Easy Peasy!!   

I hope you could understand my tutorial.  And I hope you can do it now too!  If you have any questions feel free to email me!

One more note,  I've started adding small bundle packages of wool at my shop!

ShabbySheepWool

Peace,

Sheri