What Was I Thinking?

I've been remiss. I mentioned my big a** star rug in my previous post and it didn't occur to me that not all of you would know what I was talking about.  And that, even if you knew, you may want a reminder of how it looks.  Thank you for the gentle reminder, Lauren of Rugs and Pugs.

So, I give you...my big a** star rug aka Stars and Fans by Sally Kallin of Pine Island Primitives.

 
I bought this rug in 2008.  I last worked on it in September of 2010.  This rug measures 30 x 60...the star measures 21 inches across.  BIG.  I did the star in no time, but when it came time to do the background, I got stuck.  I may reverse hook what is done on at least part of the background. Someday.  When I finish this rug.       

Here is Sally's version.  She added a proddy edge...wide wool fringes.

Both of these rugs with their primitive colors are so much more dramatic in real life. 
 

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Jeremiah 29:11

3 Collies and 1 Lab...

I used to do crewel embroidery.  And, needlepoint.  And, counted cross stitch.  For years and years.  And, years.  Then, I got into rug hooking.  During all of those years, I sewed.  Always.  But, I never sewed quilts.  Until 2009.  And, since that time, I don't do much else.   

Except.  As most of you know, Sharon and I got each other all excited about the Snow Days quilt, which involves a great deal of stitchery/embroidery.  We're 7 months into it and I do not regret one single stitch.  I find it very relaxing - and enjoyable - to work on while watching tv in the evenings.   

One day, while thinking about projects past and present...and about embroidery...and about my big a** star rug...and then about another rug that has been waiting to be started for several years, I had an idea!  

But first, let me fill you in with some background.  Back in February of 2006, I received a rug hooking pattern of my 3 collies and 1 lab that I had commissioned Elizabeth Black to draw for me.  She is an artist/rug hooker well-known for her animal designs.  It's a wonderful design, and it's all drawn out on foundation fabric for me.  3 x 5 feet in size.  At the same time, I commissioned Gail DuFresne to dye wool for it.  Yup, I did.  

And, what have I done with it?  Nothing.  The pattern on foundation fabric and the wool are stored very carefully, but they are stored.  On my closet shelf.  Back then, my first hesitation was the amount of time I would need to commit to hooking a rug of that size...in the small cuts of wool strips that Elizabeth recommends (#3 - #5).  I had intended to begin it as my 2007 project.  But, everything changed that year...I moved, I lost Cruiser...just a really bad time of my life.  

Time went by.  I worked on other rugs.  Then, in 2009, I started making quilts.  Well, that put all of my rug hooking on the back burner.  Heck, more than just on the back burner...more like in the back 40.  It's been 3 years since I picked up a hook (well, except to do the sheeps' eyes on the 2sheep rug I finally finished this past winter).

About a year ago, I gave some thought to doing the collies/lab design with fabric.  In a smaller size as a wall hanging.  That's as far as that went.  Thoughts. 

Then, one day this summer, while I was thinking about the collies/lab design, I came up with an excellent idea.  Truly!  I have the drawing saved on my computer...which means that I am able to make it as large - or SMALL - as I want.  So.  I could make it an easy size to embroider.  Right?  It wouldn't be too difficult at all...just need to follow the lines Elizabeth drew.  I wouldn't really need to add much, if anything, to it.  At all.  I am kind of excited about this.  I will finally be able to use this beautiful design that Elizabeth drew for me.  And my beloved collies and the brown boy will be memorialized.  This project won't be started until after Christmas, of course.  



What do you think of that idea??

Want a peek at the pattern?  Here it is...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Speaking of stitching.  I finished block 7 of the 'Snow Days' quilt.  It is amazing how much one can accomplish when one has nothing else to do is under doctor's orders to rest.  This block is 9 x 9 inches. 

With a total of 14 blocks to be stitched on, I am now at the halfway point.  Course, I have yet to begin piecing the fabric blocks.  I think that will be best done once all the stitched blocks are completed.

I must get moving...way past time to start my day.  

Hope you have a good one!

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11

Back to Work...

Vacation is over.

I'm back to work.

My coworkers are happy.

I am not.

I love staying home.

And working on my stuff.

And, Tag would prefer that I stay home.

Though, I assure you, he does fine here by himself.

I delivered the Kashmir tote I showed here.

O'Mandy LOVES it!

YAY!

(Okay, so her real name is Amanda...

her nickname is Mandy.

But I call her O'Mandy...

from the Barry Manilow song.

Ya know, just can't help myself!)

And, the smartphone cozies went over very well!

Got big bucks for them!

Something fun is on its way to me!

Remember the 'snow days' quilt

that I showed you here?

Ya know, the one I was drooling over.

The one that I haven't been able to stop thinking about.

Perhaps 'obsessing over it' may be a better way to put it.

The pattern is now on its way to me.

I did not join the Block of the Month.

I am just getting the pattern.

Which is more than enough to get me started.

I'm so excited!!!

More on this later.

I work out with Mike tomorrow.

Time to get on track.

Must be in shape for all the stitchin' and sewin' 

I have coming up!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remember this rug?

Pattern is 2Sheep by Beverly Conway.
It measures 2 x 3 feet.

I last hooked on it in November, 2007.

I started it in 2002.
YIKES!

See the black rectangles where the eyes should be?

That's all I have left.

Think I can do a decent job of hooking eyes?

Apparently not.

If I'd get those eyes hooked, I could finish the edges!

At last!

I love this rug.

I would love it more if it was done.

Seriously...how long do you think

it would take to hook 2 eyes?
Decent eyes.

I would really like to get this done.

Ya know, yet this winter.

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might. - Ecclesiastes 9:10

The Chocolate Puppy!

I started a new blog...a place to sell my rug hooking stuff!  'The Chocolate Puppy'...see the picture there in my sidebar?  Just click on that to hop over and see what is needing to move out of my house.

Oh. My. Gosh!  This is going to be a huge task...to weed through all of my rug hooking stuff!  Almost overwhelming.  Methinks I'll need to devise a really good plan before starting to sort through it.  

For now, I'm going to put some rug hooking books up for sale.  If you're interested, please hop over to 'The Chocolate Puppy'.  My goal is to get this (mostly) done by this time next week.  So, please be sure to stop back often to see what else is being sold.  And, be sure to tell your friends.

Hope you're having a good weekend.  I'll be sorting, photographing, and measuring woolens.

Later on today, I'll have a photo of what I got accomplished this week.

 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might. - Ecclesiastes 9:10

Coming Soon...Very Soon!

Big news!!!  Exciting news!!! 

Brenis and I have decided to collaborate and open an etsy shop!  Our focus will be fresh, modern quilts in varying sizes, but we will also offer rug hooking supplies (like hand-dyed and as-is woolens!) and finished products.

The name of our shop is 2Peeps.  Cuz we're peeps, and there are 2 of us.  {grin}  Please be sure to visit us and mark us as one of your faves!  Check in often, as you never know what we'll have there to tempt you!  

I am really hoping that items get listed by this weekend.  After today, that will be my focus.  

There will be a grand opening special...be sure to see the announcement on the opening page of the shop. (It isn't there yet, but will be once items are listed and the shop is officially open.)

We are very excited about this new venture!

25 Hours With My Sisters...

Wow, I finally have some time to do this while my satellite speed internet is being cooperative. Finally.

I last wrote on Thursday night, when I made a quilt block for Julie.

The next day, Friday, Julie & I went to the vet school (where I work & where she used to work) so that she could visit with some friends.

We did a few errands and then came home to get
ready for the other two sisters.
Julie wanted some photos

taken with the pups.

Here's Tag, sitting nice & straight for her

(her hand - holding a stick - is just outside the shot).

I think she's whispering sweet nothings to Allegra.

Joyce & Jill finally arrived! YAY!!!

We had pizza for supper and then sat & gabbed.

(l to r: Julie, Jill, Joyce)

Each time we have our 'sisters weekend' we exchange gifts. Jill gave sister plaques, Julie gave each of us 3 jars of jam (oh, it's sooo yummy), Joyce gave each of us a votive candle, dishrag that she made + money. I made aprons for everyone. Julie's has a wine motif, Jill's has motorcycles, and Joyce's is black/cream with a pocket that matches the fabric of theplastic bag holder I made for her last Christmas. I think they all were very happy.

(I made one for myself...pizza slices!)

Mom and Aunt Bev sent gifts, too,
but I don't have good photos of them.

Thank you very much...the gifts are great!

I wanted to give Jill her Christmas/birthday gift so

that Julie and Joyce would have a chance to see it.

(yup, she's crying.)

We got our jammies on and were all set to watch a movie (he's just not that into you). Julie grabbed my 'practice' quilt, Jill grabbed a tan quilt that I usually have on the ottoman, and I had my star quilt that Brenis made for me last year. Joyce sat there in the middle...here's how it went. (Close, anyway.)

Joyce: don't I get a blanket?
me: oh. do you want one?
Joyce: well, yeah.
me: {sigh} I suppose I can get something. (walking toward the hallway) I think I have an old...

Joyce to sisters: I suppose I'll get an old army blanket or something...that'll itch.

I came down the hall with the black and white quilt (I know, you haven't seen it, yet...be patient!) and tossed it into her lap. She looked at it and asked if I had made it. Told her I did...she noticed the patch of purple on the back (her fave color) and we told her to look at the label. She did.

It read: "To Joyce, From Jacque. Heart, 2009."

She sobbed. Not kidding! See?

And, sobbed.

For 10 minutes!

She finally calmed down and looked it over.

I think she likes it. 

And, here it is...the black and white quilt I made for her.

I bought the fabric last spring and made it
in 4 days a few weeks ago.

It's Joyce's birthday/Christmas gift.

See the text pieces? They are verses from Psalms.

Here's the back. See the purple?

She LOVES purple, so I had to put a piece in there for her.

I didn't want to have any quilting in the text blocks,

so I just quilted it in straight lines on both sides of each horizontal seam.

After all the excitement died down, we settled down to watch the movie.

The pups got comfy, too.

We stayed up late, chatting and laughing and having a good time.

The next day, Saturday, I made breakfast for everyone.

We showered, etc., and went shopping at Gordman's

(a discount department store that is Julie's all time fave store!).

Joyce and I talked about the doll quilts she wants me to make...

so we ended up at Stitcher's Crossing to look for some fabric.

Went in with Joyce saying she wanted purples and pinks.

Here's what we ended up with.

They are gonna be so dang cute! {grin})

Julie bought some fabric for a quilted kitty blanket. More on that later.

We ate lunch here...

(left to right: Joyce, Julie, Me, Jill)

Salute! To the 4 J's!

Of course, time for them to leave came all too soon.

I love them & miss them very much.

Doodling...and a basket!

Here are a few doodlings...

1. Did you know...instead of placing your hands at 10:00 and 2:00 on the steering wheel of your car, the NEW advice is to place your hands down farther...more like between 7 & 9:00 and 3 & 5:00. Apparently that old rule of thumb was changed with the advent of airbags. Less injurious to your arms/hands, I gather.

2. Screeched is the longest one syllable word (thanks, Jill & Snapple!).

3. Some people don't know what color their dog is. Drives me nuts, I tell you! All I can say is that if people educated themselves before purchasing a dog, I'd be happy. I know...I'm kind of a snob about the whole thing...but geez. One day while making up a medical record, I saw that the color of the dog was designated as 'peach'. It was a Golden Retriever, whose official colors are blonde, gold & red. But, can't you just hear the owner saying, "well, she's kind of a peach color". The really sad part about this, though, is that the receptionist (ya know, the young gal who works at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital) didn't know the difference, and just put down what the owner said. {sigh}

4. The last letter to be added to our alphabet was "j"...thank goodness for that, hey? (If not for that letter, my sisters and I would be Oyce, Acque, Ulie, Ill....hahahahahaha!!!!)

That's all the doodlings I have for today.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now, for the basket...here's a mat I hooked

& attached to a basket lid form. Took 2 days - start to finish.

It's my design...just got the inspiration and went with it.

I am very pleased with how it turned out! YAY for me!

(For sure my Mom would say,

"Don't break your arm patting yourself on the back!",

but gee whiz...I think it turned out reallllly well!!!)

Have a great evening!

My Next Hooking Project...

Yup, I've decided! YAY!

Now that my New Life Challenge mat is done, I've been thinking about what I have that I want to work on. It was no easy task making the decision, let me tell you!

I have several unstarted/unfinished projects! But, I decided to work on The Fruit of the Spirit, a design by Sally Kallin. I saw this hooked up at the last hook-in I vended at in 2006 and fell in love with it! Here is the pattern hooked by Sally...this photo does not do it justice!

Mine will be look very similar, as I also bought the background/border/basket wool for it. The size is 26 x 35 inches and I will hook it in #6 and #8 cut strips.

I am so excited to finally be starting it! I may not show each loop I hook, but I will keep you posted on my progress.

I am on VACATION!

I'm on VACATION!!!! YIPPEEEEEEEE!!!! 10 days with no work!!!! I have lots & lots of stuff to do...my list is about a mile long, but I don't have to leave the house until Thursday! I am hoping to get LOTS done.

The most important thing on my list is to prepare for the online course that I teach for MATC (tech school). The course begins on Thursday with a mandatory meeting and I've got much to do before then. I taught it last spring and it went well, but I have some changes I need to make.




Here's one thing that I am really wanting to finish before I go back to work...this sampler rug for Kim. I'm making it as a 'thank you' for all that she does for me. This is a design by Kelley Belfast that I "tweaked"...I took out the cats that were on the original pattern and put in dogs (like that would surprise you?) and made a few other changes. So far, I think it's going okay. The big flower is not that pink...more orangey/red.


I got a new chair today! New to me, that is...YAY! A cast-off of Kim's, it goes with the sofa she gave me when I moved last summer. WOW...it's so BIG! and COMFY!!! Lovin' it!




Kim is re-doing her living room, dining room and 3rd bedroom...what fun! Hopefully, she'll get a little help from Nate Berkus...well, from his book, anyway!

That's it for now...gotta work on the list. It'll be interesting to see what I actually accomplish this week!

...gettin' carried away ~ available to PRE-ORDER

YAY...My number 1 project is about ready to go! Time to start getting the word out!

I have been mulling this over for several months and finally decided to go for it! So...

What I am offering is a selection of Melinda Watson's primitive designs...6 in all, with one of them being a design that was available for a very short time on my website and has not been seen since 2003!

"...gettin' carried away, part 1" is available to

PRE-ORDER until November 1

when I list this in my eBay store.

First shipment will be November 2.

These designs may be hooked, punched, stitched or painted.

The booklet is priced at $13.00, which includes

shipping via USPS First Class Mail.

If paying with PayPal, send money to browndogprims@wildblue.net.

If you'd like to pay with a personal check,

please email me for my mailing address.

All pre-orders will receive a bonus pattern.

I am so excited to have finally finished this project...and to be able to offer it to all my rug hooking, needle punching, stitching and painting friends!

2Sheep

I worked on my 2sheep rug this weekend...it's getting pretty close to being done! The border is finally up around the corner and the background on the left side of the ewe is done! YAY!

BUT, I am almost out of the border wool! OHNO! I dyed some today but it's not quite the same, so I guess I'll have to start hooking it here and there into the already done border so I can use what I pull out. Geez.
I probably won't be hooking for the rest of the week. Two of my sisters are coming at the end of the week for our annual get together - SISTERS Weekend. YAY! I'll write more about that later. At any rate, here's how far I got...


Eyes are still undone and I see a few more things I need to correct. One being the upper left corner leaf. The original pattern used that leaf as the outside corner, but I added 2 rows...may have to rethink that. I have another photo with all of my 'to be tweaked/fixed' areas circled! There are a lot of circles, that's for sure! Do you have that going on when you hook? Photos are great, cuz they allow you to see what you're doing from a distance and all kinds of things show up!
I just want to be done with this so that I can start my next project! I started pulling woolens out of my stash...am most anxious to start it!
Tomorrow is Monday...and no mail. I only work 3 days this week. YAY!

2Sheep

I'm getting there...slowly. Here is the entire rug. The eyes are yet undone and I have about 5 other areas I need to tweak or just plain do over.

Here is a closeup of the border, which is a yummy black/brown...

Hook ON!

Hooking...

I got quite a bit done on my 2sheep rug...have just that little bit of background to do and this corner will be completed. I'm over half done with the background/border now...YAY! I hope to do more hooking tomorrow, but thought I would show this now. I am anxious to get 2sheep completed, as I have a very fun and exciting NEW project waiting. I was going to do the 'antique symmetry' pattern I have, but the one I am going to do instead just cannot wait. {grin}

2Sheep

Here's where I am with my 2Sheep pattern...I'm about 1/2 done with the border and background! If the eyes look a bit odd to you...it's cuz they're not hooked, yet! No special reason...just haven't done them. You know, I'm not a huge fan of hooking round shapes...I've already hooked 15 of those berry/cherry/grape thingies...and have 21 of those little suckers left to hook! ugh!!

This has been a great learning experience for me...it's the first time I've used several different textures and it's been very interesting! The only areas that are NOT textures are the border and the background (ohyeah, the ewe's face and legs). The border is a brown/black and the background is Kashmir, a dye recipe of my own. I started this rug in 2002 at the one and only rug camp I attended...became determined to finish it this year! I have completely changed everything I had done back then...even the color planning!

That's it for now!

Doodling...

I did a bit of dyeing and hooking this a.m., but now it's time to put everything away...it's lunchtime! I haven't had pizza for a week...so that is what I shall have! It's no wonder I've been feeling deprived for the last few days. {grin}

For your viewing pleasure, here is another sneak peek at what I'm working on.

I see at least three things that I need to fix on this section. ohwell...that's the great thing about rug hooking! One can always go back and re-do!

I finished listening to the 'Blood Covenant' bible study series. Whew! I tell you what, if I wasn't a believer before, I surely would be now! What a powerful series this is. And, what a powerful speaker Pastor Jerry is! He's so easy to listen to...and humorous, as well!

Just a note...sometimes when you click on my photos, they enlarge. Other times, they don't. Not sure what's up with that. Is it me or is it the software? hmmmm...

Have a great day!

In Progress...

I haven't written about my rug hooking. I actually haven't been doing too much of it, what with moving, final exam/grading for my online teaching course, etc. While packing up my personal rug hooking 'stuff', though, I did remember to keep my latest project here in case I had the time - or the desire - to hook. So, my 2sheep rug is what I'm working on...I did pick up the hook and pull some strips last night for the first time in almost a month. I started this rug at my first rug hooking camp back in 2002...and it's been sitting here all these years, waiting for me to pick up where I left off. Funny how things work...when I pulled it out this last time to decide if I was inspired enough to finish it, I had an entirely different idea of how I wanted it to look. I tore it all out (had the ewe's head and all of the baby done, is all) and started anew. I have struggled with it a bit, but right now, I think it's looking okay. Here's a photo of it...



I am reallllly looking forward to organizing all my rug hooking (business and personal) woolens, patterns, etc. at the new house. I have 1/2 of the entire basement to spread out in...can you imagine having all that space? Wall to wall wool (well, maybe not at first...ha)!!! Believe me, I am sure that eventually I'll be using all of that space up, though! Why crowd things if one has room to spread, hey? I'll take photos as I go along. ohyeah, I also need to get going on a top 10 priority list of projects.

I started with punch needle this past winter and find it fascinating (and soooo quick!). I completed punching a few pieces, but haven't done any finishing work on them. Looking forward to rediscovering what I have...I'll probably be surprised.

It's a beautiful and sunny Sunday morning...