: Moved and Sorting

Yes, We are moved and I am still unpacking and sorting through stuff.   I never knew that I could accumulate so much stuff!  I guess that I did but just didn't want to admit it!   We are still painting and redoing to make our new home ours and it is slow going but I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!   I am also slowly getting back into my art as well.  My most recent project using Sculpey clay was introduced to me by my sister in law!  I had a blast working with her. She was getting ready for a art exhibit.  I told her my art is not realistic as hers is and very beautiful!   So this is what I came up with!

Clay Sculpture 2012

I'm not really sure what it is supposed to be.  My kids think its a monkey creature!  

Next up is a picture of my new work room!   I am very happy about this space.  It's not all finished a few more things to work on but I and the family have been spending some good quality time creating art.

Luke making himself at home

My husband grumped because he had to hang my cubbies cabinet and it weighs a ton!  We have hauled this from many homes.  I found it in (umm... my husband found it!)  the trash from a daycare center that closed.  It is great for storing all of my dyes.  I guess he can't  grump too much because he knows how much it makes me happy!   

The one thing that has kept me sane through this move is looking and reading everyone's blogs!  I certainly have used a lot of ideas in my new home.   

  I am really glad to be back and hope to post soon.

Elaine

Friendship

Having good friends is a wonderful thing!   My good friend, co-worker and blogger friend has always been very generous in her crafting!   I have been the lucky recipient of some of her many talents.    If you have time please visit her at: Beautifully Exquisite Experiences.   You might just find a new inspirational idea to make.  I was trying to think of some way to thank her when I thought that she might like a little hooked mat for her home.   I know she likes dogs so I decided on this antique rug adaption.

8x11  using a six cut

 

When I finished the binding I made a little tag and rolled it up and tied a ribbon around.   She really loved the rug and that made me very happy!

Happy Hooking Friends,     

Elaine

ps i must say that i really loved working on this small project!

Changes

In a lifetime I wonder how many changes we make?   Millions or possibly more?  I do know that I have had many in my lifetime.  Some good and some that are just bad.    My family's big change for this year is selling our house.  So if I am not blogging very much it is because I am boxing up and sorting things that go to charity.   There are many reasons for our move.  We would love to live in a ranch home and have more land. The good news for my husband and I that we are not doing a cross country type of move!  We have done this and those are very hard!  This is just going to be a neighborhood kind of move.   I found a blog that had a few good tips for moving:  The Moving Planner Blog.
 Now our house hasn't sold and goes on the market this week.  If the market is good we hope to sell quickly.  It took us two years to sell our last house.  That is partly because the market at the time fell apart in the state that we lived in!  The thing that I most look forward in is finding a new home that fits our needs.   If you Pinterest you may have seen some of the homes that I have pictured below.   These are just a few of my favorites that I have on my Pinterest boards!  These homes are not for sell but homes that I just love!   Most homes here in the Dallas Fort Worth area are made of brick.  At least the area we are looking in and they are newer.   When we moved back to Texas it took sometime for me to get used to the brick look again.  
 I do love that my husband pointed out that some of these are two story homes. I also love the way they look and think that they would make wonderful hooked rugs.

 

www.oharainteriors.com

www.southernliving.com

www.bhg.com

www.bhg.com

Wishing you a Happy Easter!    Elaine

Spring

Spring is here and  I think it has arrived a wee bit early.  It also is not doing well for me!   Having to stay home from work....I have no voice today.  I didn't think that this would go very well with my preschool friends at work.  On the other hand my boys at home are enjoying  time with their mom!  Luke has patrolled the yard most of the day looking for birds and other critters and Mr Pudge well he just wants to be close to me.   So we had a little photo shoot out back!

Luke

Mr Pudge

I would of had them sitting next to each other but that is near impossible!  They really like to chase each other when they are outside.  I must say that I do love my rescue pups.  They each have such great personality's.

My brother and his family will be arriving tomorrow for a wedding so I thought it would be a good time to give him his gift!   I finished it up last week and snapped a few better photos for you to see!  Plus it is always a good way to catalog your rugs that you make.  I have a album that has all the rugs that I have done in years past.

close up

35x22    #8cut

Label I made with printer.

Now onto next project.......must be smaller!  Have I already said that!!

Wishing you a happy spring and if it hasn't arrived yet hoping it will soon! 

  Elaine

Cats and Birds

 I hooked my Crazy Cat rug years ago. Not my design but by Quail Hill.   I really doubt that the background is what they might have recommended for this rug!  Honestly I have no where to put this rug in my home.  Not my colors or really my style. It never really has fit in anywhere I have lived!  Just had fun hooking this one.  I am starting to think that I like cats with birds because I  hooked another rug with this same theme!   I don't even own a cat now.  I did have cats growing up.  First I had Maggie....Umm  she just followed me home from school! She was a  beautiful Siamese cat.  Then we adopted Oscar who was orange and had long hair and last came Toby a Siamese mix.  Found him in the rain as a kitten and bottle fed him.  It's another rug that I just hooked and once again it was a wing it type of thing!   So it is now rolled up and tucked away and maybe one day my children will want it for their home! 

 

Happy March!

Elaine

When Perfect Shouldn't Always Be

First here is a photo of the fish rug!  It is not all done yet but so very close and yes it is not perfect!

Twenty some years ago when I lived in Cheyenne Wyoming I met a woman named Grace. She was in her late 80's back then. I was so excited to meet her because she hooked rugs! She had never known anyone else that hooked rugs. So I brought my rugs and we had a show and tell. She started hooking because she needed rugs for the 20 thousand plus acre cattle ranch they lived on. It's a cold place to live! Her rugs were fantastic. Her own patterns of course on burlap. She never heard of rug hooking magazine and she learned to hook on her own. When I saw her rugs I saw how beautiful they were!  Her rugs by all means were not what we would hook today because she did not have anyone telling her what others conceive as the right way.  The whole part of it was they were functional, beautiful and it was what she liked! They also told stories. I felt almost ashamed showing her my rugs. I felt that I was tarnishing her hooking method and that was No Advise from anyone!  She had her style of hooking and it worked.   I guess what I am trying to say is today everyone has a rule for rug hooking.   What you really don't want a rug to look like is a machine made one. What is the point of that?  You could just buy one at the store if that is what you are after!   It is not always wonderful to be so perfect. It makes things start looking just a little bit stale. My only regret with talking to Grace was not taking photos of her beautiful rugs!   So if your new to hooking find what makes your heart skip a beat and enjoy!

Not always perfect in so many ways!

 Elaine

Going To The Dogs

I decided it was time to redo my children's bathroom.   I certainly am not a decorator but had a idea in mind.  It needed to be something they both liked.  So we went with dogs!  I had plenty of stuff for that theme.

 

I still need to work on the mason jar soap dispensers and find a couple of other dog items but so far the kids love it!

Sorry that my pictures are not the best!  I am in need of a new camera.

Elaine

One last thing......I promise to post photos of the fish rug!  It is almost done.

Happy Valentine's Day

No hooked hearts for me this year!  Still working on the fish rug ....fish are coming out of my ears! I will post a picture of what I have done so far very soon.  I wish that I could do two projects at once but if I loose my focus on the fish rug I might never get it done.   

Focus, focus, focus! 

Elaine

It's Moving Along

Well I have finished hooking the fish part of the rug and it is moving along. Now I need to get going on the background. I did decide on the background words of Lake Winnibigoshish. I had to laugh though I noticed on the rug that I already had a spelling error! Something I will have to correct before I start to hook! I will hook the words first and then start hooking the background color. I am thinking red for the words. I wanted to thank all of my new and old blog friends for the nice comments! It's always nice to hear back from you! I have really enjoyed looking at blogs lately. I love seeing what everyone is working on. I have learned a few new tricks that have really helped with my hooking! It also gives me new design ideas. I am really wanting to hook up something with hearts but don't want to get sidetracked from the fish rug.








Happy Hookings! Elaine

Made Me Laugh!

Maybe you have seen this video already but  thought I would share with you if you haven't.
Laughing out loud.......Elaine

Deanne Fitzpatrick "Teaching Grandma to Hook" Rug Hooking - Funny 

 

Shh! It's A Secret!

Don't you just love surprising someone with a special gift?   Well that is what I am going to try and do for my big brothers 50th birthday in May.   He has asked me now for years if I would make a fish rug for him.  Well I guess this is the best time to start and hopefully finish it up in time for his big birthday.  I looked at lots of fish rugs that I could find on the internet and in books. I needed some idea's on  the color and type of fish.   So I drew one up and I have to say none of the photos really helped in my color planning ideas!  Yikes!   So I just started to hook and this is what I have come up with so far.

My "much" older brother likes striped bass so I am hoping that is what this fish will turn out to be.  The background is another story!  I guess I will hook and just see what happens like the rest of the fish.   I did realize in this whole process that I like to "wing it" when it comes to color planning.  I had some wool for the fish but had to get at the dye pots for the rest. I also have not decided on the words that I am going to put in the background.  My choices are:
Pine Cabins or Lake Winnibigoshish.  This is a place we used to go when we were children.  Hopefully he won't find out about this little secret and that I will get this done in time!

Winging It!   Elaine