Easter Blessings !

What a beautiful day so far...sun shining, warmer temps, but clouds on the Horizon....expecting rain, then snow for a few days, then back to a warm up almost 50. ...yay
Have a blessed Easter Day !!

 

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Robin

Good Friday

Some wool dyeing .... sorting...working on my rug....

Happy Wednesday !
 I'm busy working away on my "secret" rug ....
I did get all the wools....Teresa made a trip down to the wool shop by her , Grant Street Woolworks.
Kathy Harris (woolfind) and Rugs of Mine in Time , works there, and her and Teresa ( with me on the phone...lol ) picked out the perfect wools for this project . Teresa had printed off a copy of my colored in design and went from there... They did a super job !!They even wrote down each element that each wool was being used in and stuffed in to the folded pieces of wool.  I thank them both so much for their time and effort they put into this for me !! Love you guys !!
I wanted this hooking adventure to be a little more planned and organized , and so I cut my strips and printed off what each color was for, onto card stock, punched a hole in the tag and strung a strip through it and bundled them together...what a joy it has been to just grab a worm from each bundle as I need it.

There was only one little problem....the background we chose was just a smidgen too light and blended too much with one of the elements in the rug. I only wanted to go a tiny bit darker .

I got out my dye book and swatches and decided on a color that would work perfect.

I purchased a book by Cathy Meyer of Hooked on Primitives a Rustic Pallette . It's perfect and came with the swatches...

Here's the book ;

Here is the color I chose;

And here is the end result:

 

Sorry...lighting in here stinks... I should have gone in the other room....but it is perfect now, hooked against the lighter object in the rug.

Here is another little goody I purchased recently from Wool-N-Wares on Ebay...I thought it would good for me to help in color planning my future projects.

 

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So it's back to work on my rug, for me... hope you are all being creative or constructive on this fine Wednesday .

Robin

Start on a giveaway pattern...

Last week I won Saundra at Woodland Junction's giveaway , which was an antique adaptation design of Two Roosters facing each other. She drew this out on wonderful hairless linen and like I told her, the wool pulls through this like a hot knife through butter.....lol
I couldn't wait to get at least a start on it, so I threw it on my frame and pulled some loops..
Here is what I have so far :



Finally found out how to get it on straight..yay

Here is the rug that Saundra hooked:

 I only hope mine doesn't embarrass me....lol
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Now....I need to get a start on my "secret rug"....
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Here is one of my beautiful daughters, Taylor . Actually, she is the BABY in the family.
she doesn't do a lot of cooking except for mac n cheese ....lol...
But today, she decided to make Alfredo Spaghetti Bake , and Cheesy Garlic Bread.
Here is my baby Taylor;

Here is her delicious meal :

 

A Freebie Doodle...and......

Not too much going on around here !! I did up a Rooster doodle awhile ago and have played around with it, painted it, wanted to hook it up but never started...and then I found a new way to color in my drawings..it almost looks like watercolor paints... so...I have now decided to offer this as a freebie doodle...It's not super primitive , but I think it's kinda folky .....

I added the text to the colored in doodle.... here is the line drawing :

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I am getting ready to do a big rug...It's a secret , for a secret special thing happening later on this summer....deadline is soon, so I'll be spending most of my time on it...it stinks I can't show you ...
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My oldest daughter Ashley wanted to pick up the hook again...she LOVES sheep , so I drew up a simple designs of a sheep some flowers a border and a date....She just got started...and she says it's like learning all over cause it's been almost a year since she last hooked her first little mat, a crow...
Here is her progress ( she loves black sheep )

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Ok....it's almost bedtime...trying to get on a better , normal ? sleep pattern...no more 3am's for me...we'll see how that works out...lol.

Good night,

Robin

Troubles with Blogger...PHM Update...stuff

Hope you are all having a very blessed, easy , relaxing Sunday today !!
I am just kickin' ( as my daughter would say....lol )
Did you notice my new banner ??? I am now the proud owner of an iPhone4s...I've been due to update my phone for over a year...I had a blackberry, which I loved !! did you see I wrote past tense....loved..
I now LOVE my new phone !! It is beyond amazing and just for the megapixels on the camera ...my old phone had 2 MP...this has 8...what a difference !! I took the pics with my phone and made up the collage in an app for it...having fun !!
Ok...sooo....Thursday night at Midnight was update time for Primitive Handmades Mercantile ...For some reason, blogger was having fits and we almost lost all of our Artists pages...YIKES !! I decided I wasn't touching anything, so I got up early Friday morning to update...it didn't happen..all day there was just one thing after the other....so...yesterday, I begin to update...I had 3 of my items added, pics, descriptions....Internet Explorer decides to shut down on me....nothing was saved !!!
Ok, I'm tenacious....start all over again .....added first items descriptions...add the pic...What ???pics are sideways ???? went into both photo editing programs I have...resaved the photos, right side up....add the pics to Blogger...sideways....I gave up...
Teresa Miller texted me about some PHM business....She called me and I told her about my dilemma...God bless her, she offered to add my items...So...I finally did get updated...
So...go take a peek if interested.....Here is a pic of a pea hen I made up...sanded the fabric right through in some spots...painted and stained and sanded the can it sits in...

I had to post a link from picture trail to get this pic right side up....grrrrrr......
 I had wanted to get my sheep rug finished for the update, but I am working on that in teeny tiny spurts...I'm having a hard time with the Scottich BURLAP....it surprises me how tight the weave is on this and the wool does not pull through nice and smooth.....Oh well...I'll live and just keep at it a little at a time.... :)
Enjoy your Sunday...
Robin

Colonial Floral Fraktur Rug Pattern

I put my adapted drawing for rug hooking and the picture of finished rug and added the colored in doodle,,decided to sell as a pattern.I had quite  a few requests for this design to be made into a hooked rug pattern...I'm so blessed and apreciate each and every one of you, my dear friends and supporters !!





Colonial Fraktur Floral Hooked Rug Design


This is one of my original doodles, adapted for rug hooking. finished rug I made measured 22"x 24".

Price: US$6.00

A wonderful finish by a sweet lady..and just LOTS of stuff....lol

Hello...Today's post is just going to be a menagerie of random pics and stuff going on...
But first...a talented lady , Sandy Lewis, sent me her finished rug, hooked up using my Freebie Rabbit in a Garden..
Cute story about hers...she has an 88 year young neighbor named Gerald.... He is a sweety she says and can be found in his garden all summer long. He gives much of his bounty to the neighbors and is just really such a sweet ol gent !! So , the bunny in the doodle reminded her of Gerald her neighbor, and so that is what she titled her rug...When she told him about it, she said he was tickled....Here is her awesome finished rug :

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Next...I had comments on the sweet hooked Chic in my pic of my Spring corner of my craft area...I did not hook the lovely little chick, and I am so ashamed that I cannot remember for the life of me, who I swapped with from AAPG , that made it... there is no tag on it or signature, and I looked through my other swap goodies around the house and unless they are signed, I can't remember sho made the other goodies either...So, whom-ever you are, nice talented lady...Folks love your hooked chick !!!

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I am so excited about the up-coming Rug Hooking Retreat that I will be attending in April !! Margie of  Hungry Hook Primitives  will be joining Teresa and I for the ride down to WV and is our bunkmate !!!

Isn't that cool ?? I will get to meet her , Joanne McIllmurray of Snippets and Scraps of My Mind ... Lori  Brechlin of Notforgotten Farm... Jeni from Jeni's Blog From the Willow ( she is also an editor for Primitive Quilts and Projects Magazine)... And who knows who else will be there ?? I feel blessed to be going !!!

Well...have I told you what a sweet Hubby ( Randy my love) I have ?? He really is !! He screwed a piece of wood accross the top of one of my little wooden caddies , and mounted my wool cutter on it !! I am all set now and can take my cutter along with me !!

I am thinking of painting and distressing it a bit ...just to dress it up ...:) looks a bit naked with all that natural wood showing...lol

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I worked a little on my "Wool a Plenty " rug...I wanted to see what the wools would look like in different spots, so I started filling in here and there...I had wanted to dye some new colors for this rug, but alas, my life just kept getting in the way...Just can't take the whole day hoggin up the kitchen like that...I need to wait till noone is home!!!

But here is a little more progress and I did dab some walnut stain on what I've got hooked of the sheep so far..

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And lastly... I've been "keeping" Amish Friendship Bread started for some time now...I was given the started by my DIL Hannah a few weeks ago, made bread and started more batches and now today here is what I made...  Sadly I only have 1 bread pan...Used a small square casserole dish and a vintage small glass bread pan of my Daughter Ashley's...I've been wanting to get all new bakeware ...I've lent out, gave away and lost or broken so much of my stuff...geesh..well here is the goods, and 4 bags of starter set aside...

Here is the bread....in all of it's moist , cinnamonny goodness !!

And...since we love this bread so much and I think it's fun to keep the started and give it away and so on...I typed it out, added some old timey embellishments...then used grungy Modge Podge , brushed it on and punched a hole in it and I keep it hung on the side of my big handmade cabinet in the kitchen...
Here are the 4 starters and the recipe :

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Ok.......all done !! Have a good night all !!

Robin

Spring in my craft room area.....New rug progress...and a new inspiration....

Been doing a whole lot of nuthin round here ! ... Not sure why, but it seems like I've just been either doodling or daydreaming... A little " break in the action "....lol
 I did up my little corner of my craft area for Spring....I don't have much and it isn't real primitive or early looking..... I needed a little Spring in my corner here... I just made a small vignette.......

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I started on my  " Wool A Plenty" Rug... I will try to make this short............

I thought I'd save a little money and so I bought Scottish BURLAP...The weave is nice and straight, and tight...almost too tight !! The wool doesn't like to pull through very easily...

The first drawing of this design was a little too "cramped" for hooking....I re-drew it to do the pattern, but I traced the original design first and then I didn't even enlarge it quite as much as I should have...After all the work of drawing it out, tracing..re-tracing onto backing... I just said heck with it...I dug my heels in and started hooking...I quickly realized for the cramped lettering, I would need to cut my #8 strips  down the middle...I only have one blade for my cutter...so, I just did it with my scissors...

I also am more of a directional hooker, but I wanted to make the inside areas of the sheep look more like natural wool, so I've been doing the loops side to side......

Also....I think the difference between the outline of the sheeps face and folds is a little stark...The white wool is a little too white...I'm going to try to dab the entire sheep with some walnut stain when I finish it....we'll see how that looks....

So here is my slight progress :

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I have an exciting "event" happening later on, in the Summer to be exact, so my inspiration is turning more towards Nautical, Americana , etc....

So I'm just doodling around trying to figure out exactly what I want to do...

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Well, I'm going to do a little more hooking ...I may move my frame and wool into the living room tonight, to watch some recorded shows..hubby and I have a list of favorites...I am usually all by my lonesome at the other end of the house , but soon, that will change. Youngest daughter is moving out soon...guess who will TAKE her bedroom.... :)

I told her how much I wish she was staying, and I'll miss her, but there is always that little bit of me thinking..."sooon...sooon ...you'll have you very own ROOM for a studio...." Am I a bad Mom ??? 

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OHHHH...ALMOST FORGOT !!

I'm going to a Rug Hooking Retreat in April !!

I saw where Lori Brechlin posted about it on her blog a few days ago... Talked to Teresa ( Teresa's Primitive Treasures ) .. she said she'd like to go....so we both made our reservations and yippeeeee..I'm going !

It is being sponsored by The Woolen Willow ...click on the name to check it out...There is only room for 50 folks, so if interested better skidaddle on over and read about it !

This is my very first experience of any kind going to a rug hooking ANYTHING !! I can't tell you how excited I am !!!

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Ok....now I'm going to go watch some TV with hubbs..

Goodnight !!

Robin

New Rug Pattern "Wool a' Plenty "

All I can say is WOW...I am amazed at the emails and comments on my blog, asking and begging me to offer this desgn as a rug pattern....It is exciting for me!! Humbling also....I still don't throw my hat in with many of the other primitive artists as far as talent,,,but I'm enjoying the process !!





Wool A Plenty Hooked Rug Pattern


One look, and you can see, there is alot of wool on this sheeps body...Time for a haircut. line ...

Price: US$6.00

I re-traced it and placed some elements furthur apart for hooking made easier...
I really hope that this patern is well received by my prim friends....I am feewling inspired to keep going along...doing the right thing...and doing it right...lol
I should be in bed...so should you...goodnight !!
Robin

New Punch Needle Pattern finished.....started a new design...and , I 'm showing it anyways...

Why, do I always think, that the entire content of my blog post must in some way be included in the title of the post ???? I just noticed that as I finished typing it up....it probably comes from having such a large family, and having to get what you need to say, in quickly, before someone else butts in with their newest topic of conversation.....lol.
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I finished up my punch needle pattern....I call it "March Hare Sampler"...available for purchase on my sidebar...or, there is a new pattern selling group on Facebook called The Prim Pattern Shoppe  .
Here it is :

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Every month we have a theme or themes for Primitive Handmades Mercantile. this coming update, the themes are pineapples, sheep, Spring.

I wasn't sure about making this a Rug Design, but thought, what the heck...

Here is my new Sheep design... " Wool a' Plenty"  :

Notice the circled blue lights and arrow ?

Well.....I had just finished taping the pieces of the enlarged pattern together ( also note ** the tape...after I ripped off each piece I stuck it on the edge of the table...it took me a few pieces to realize, I had wool dust that was getting "picked up", making the tape look dirty....lol)

I had it laying over my laptop when I snapped the picture...those 2 glowing blue lights are from the computer...Just think how spooky it would look if they were farther apart and right where the eyes are ????

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And now......I should be hiding this, but nawwww....I looked up and found some FREE ART classes online.One of them , was a pen and ink/watercolor class. I was practicing doing some hatching/cross hatching for shading...( I never heard these terms...or stipling... Remember, my Mom was an artist...I HATED art class !!! )

Well, it was going ok, till number one, I misspelled THOU...I actually had a W on the end .....Wow...I really should be too ashamed to be writing this ...!!

Then....I didn't pull the watercolors out to the center well enough..I ended up making the paper slightly mushy trying..Seems, you should let it dry between efforts....hmmmm...they didn't teach me that !!

and then...I tried using my new fancy shmancy new walnut stain in the blotter bottle...whoa Nellie !! Need practice controlling that, and I left circles and rings pounding it on the paper ( duh !!) to get more to come out...I made too much come out...tried to dab it and I ended up rubbing off some of the lettering I did....and then, alas, I tried to fix it with my marker...while it was still damp...the marker bled out...

A disaster you say ?? I say NOT !....A learning experience..I do say though, that it's a good thing, I bought a BIG tablet of watercolor paper !!!lol

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May your artsy fartsy fun times, be a little more successful than mine was, that is unless you are like me...I learn better from my mistakes ... :)

Robin