THIS AND THAT -

Last Thursday I went to the Grant Street hook-in. It was the first time I had been able to go for about a month. It is always a delightful time with good friends and lots of companionship. Hooking with friends is such a delightful time. There is nothing as soothing as being with hooking friends. Here is Pat working on her beautiful sunflower piece. She really has done a wonderful job of this since she is working with colors completely "out of the box" in comparison to her usual color pallette.

This is Gertie. She came for her very first hooking lesson. Linda had her hooking in no time at all and she did a remarkable job. She and I left at the same time and as we walked out together she told me how happy she was to learn something new and that she certainly would be back to do more. It's so wonderful to encourage a new hooker - after all - sharing is what it's all about.

Here's Kathy working on a randomly hooked piece. Note the "small" amount of miscellaneous worms!!!

Linda smiling and laughing about something as usual.

And Bo came to visit. He has had a hair cut and looks half as big as the last time I saw him. Such a cutie!

Beth and Jill joined the rest of us about 3 in the afternoon. Always fun to have them on board.

SUNDAY

On Sunday Jill K. came to consult with me on her teaching project. Jill will be taking her second year of teacher's training later this month. One of her assigments was to prepare a three day lesson plan for a hooking workshop. We went over the plan and fortunately I was able to point out a few things to her that she had not thought of and to suggest a few changes that would make the plan more feasible. In addition to that, Jill had to color plan a primitive rug. She is primarily a traditional hooker and I was able to help with this project. She has selected some lovely wools to do this rug with. Part of the homework from her first year of training was to hook 3 different types of small pieces. Pictured below is one of her pieces that she will be taking with her to show her teachers.

Jill had done a wonderful job on this scroll. The pink wools were furnished at the teachers workshop and the dark blue background had to be dyed later. This is a truly beautiful piece, the picture does not do it justice.

These are the wools that Jill has dyed for the rug that she had to color plan. This was quite a project. She had done some dyeing but not a lot and this was quite an experience. She was "stuck" in her color planning when trying to bring in the blue wool which she wanted to use as part of the background design. Together we "re-color planned" the rug using the colors in a different manner than she had originally planned. I think she was quite happy with the new color arrangement and the rug should be very nice.

SIDEBAR

I want to thank everyone that has called and e-mailed my mom about my condition. Yes, I was operated on last Friday. The surgery went well and I also had my teeth cleaned. (makes better breath, you know!). I am being very good, holding still for my eye drops and taking my medicine. My mom is putting my pills in chicken and roast beef - so why would'nt I take it?? I also am sleeping quite a lot and mom seems to think it is a reaction to the meds. I will go back in about 14 days to have the stitches taken out of my eye. The vet has done a very good job and my eye is not distorted as he thought it might be. In the meantime, mom is staying home with me to make sure that I don't rub my stitches because if I do I have to wear that awful plastic collar thing that looks like a cone head. She is doing a lot of hooking and a lot of belly rubbing which is making me happy. I want to thank all of my friends, especially Margaret and Pat, for caring about me.

Doris and Eloise

SATURDAY EVENTS -

On Saturday, the Boonsboro chapter of ATHA sponsored a workshop given by Jane Halliwell Green, at the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center in Shepherdstown, W. Va. What a wonderful place to have a workshop. The room was well lighted, the chairs were very confortable, a must for an all day workshop. The staff was cordial and cooperative and the food was delicious. What more could a hooker ask?? Not much but we got much more in the person of Jane Halliwell Green.

Pictured below are some of the works of hers that she shared with us. This first piece was a small pictorial but a very interesting one. Birch trees are among the hardest to portray in hooking. A wonderful magnolia done with very wide strips and beautifully shaded.

This colorful butterfly with lattice work really caught my eye.

A very large rug done with wide strips - an ode to Merlot wine! A girl after my own heart!!!!!

This is Jane telling us about this lovely rug. How to do such a rug and how to prepare the strips for hooking.

Here she is with me magnolia rug - the whole class was very interested in this piece.

She brought several tables of interesting wool for us to peruse. Many of the attendees went home with armloads of wool.

Look at the color specturm of these wools. Some of the highest chromas that you will ever see and yet so beautiful to behold. Wonderful to hook with. Love the purples!

This is the piece that I started. I am very unhappy with what I accomplised. I never hook very well in a group setting. I am to busy listening to what the teacher is saying and looking at all of the wool available. I seem to loose my concentration. I will take some of this out and start again as I sit quietly in my hooking room and think about the things that Jane had to say about the sunflower.

I was so glad that Pat and Linda came down from Chambersburg to take this workshop. I do hope that they enjoyed the day. It was their first experience with the Boonsboro hookers. Getting to meet some new people and also to meet Jane. I had invited them to stay for dinner but after a long day of driving and hooking they were both very tired as was I. Sooooo, I shoved all of the food that I had prepared for our dinner back into the freezer with the exception of the macroni and cheese dish. I baked it for my Sunday dinner and it turned out so pretty I could not resist. I took a picture of it. See what you missed Pat and Linda? Maybe next time.

All in all, Saturday was a great day. I enjoyed the teacher, the surroundings and the companionship of my fellow rug makers. I hope that all of you get a chance to share the experience of a workshop of this kind. In the meantime, have a wonderful week, keep yourselfs well and enjoy your family and each other.

Doris

THINK SPRING!

When I find out what corner it's around, I'll let you know.

Doris

MOTHER NATURE AND ME -

She did it again! Mother Nature gave us 31 inches of snow last Friday and Saturday and now another 14 to 18 inches Tuesday and Wednesday. Will spring never come??

This first picture is looking out my front door. These iciciles are hanging over the door. This is the bird feeder on the front railing. If you look closely in the middle of the feeder there is a small black spot. This is the tail of a Junko shoveling the snow off of the feed. I felt really sorry for the little fellow - he was such a hard worker.

Meanwhile, in the house, things are also happening. I have finished the rug that I started in November with Cynthia Norwood at the Howard County Arts Center. I love the background of this rug. It is 6 different shades of wine and is really a beauty. The pictures do not do the color justice.

I don't know why the greens look so washed out. Believe me they are vibrant and lovely with the rest of the colors.

I made a few adustment to the design of the rug. I added another group of leaves in the bottom center of the rug instead of using the design heart. Also, since I consider this to be a floral rug I removed the distelfinks located in the four corners of the rug and extended the tulips in their place. This made the rug more pleasing to me.

I used five different paisleys in the rug as well as number 5, 6, 8, 9 and hand cut material.

This was truly a fun project. As soon as I began to put the background in I knew that I would love the rug. I'm sorry that the pictures do not show the true beauty of the background.

So on to the next project. While I am getting my head "wrapped around" a pictorial that I intend to do, I am working on my scraps rug. This rug is being made from a lot of the #3 left over cut strips accululated over the years. It is what I call a "no think" rug.

I hope that all of you rug artists out there are keeping warm and dry. We certainly have had our share of winter weather. In the mean time, it is great weather for hooking, reading and just relaxing.

Eloise and I keep looking for spring. Here she is in the window watching the neighbors and hoping that spring is just around the corner.

We both send our good thooughts and blessings your way. Keep those hooks moving!

Doris

A DUSTING????


The weather man said we would get a dusting. HaHaHa!!! It "dusted" up to 7 inches when I measured the height of the snow on my picnic table. The table is in a sheltered spot and does not get blowing snow so it is pretty accurate.


It started about 9 am on Saturday morning and didn't quit until about 9 that evening. Richard and Danyel came Saturday morning and brought in loads of wood for the wood stove and I kept it roaring all day long. For those of you that didn't get snow I thought you would like to see some pics of my property. This is a view from the deck.

The barn and part of the deck. I love the snow caps on the top of the railing.

The sky was so beautiful. In the winter I love the looks of the spidery tree limbs against the sky. They are truly beautiful. An art lovers dream.

This is Eloise's path to her favorite spot in the yard. She loves the snow but hates the cold. If it would snow in July she would be happy. She loves to roll in it and make snow angels with her body!

This is the front railing. The bird feeder and a flower pot are wearing hats of snow.

The snow and cold was reason enough for staying inside but in addition I had a runny nose and sore throat. So a good excuse to stay quiet on Sunday. As a result I finished the hooking on my latest project. I now have to clean the back and check to see that I didn't skip any spots. I also have to dye the wool and binding for the finishing. I plan to do both of these things today. In addition, on Sunday I put away all of the leftover wool from this project. I'm so proud of myself! I almost never take the time to do that I'm in such a hurry to get to the new project. I must admit that the hooking room looks pretty good at this point. I don't think that my table will ever be completely clean but after all a girl has to have a place to lay her tools and assortment of junk.

My new project will be to finish an already started rug. Since I have 5 unfinished projects I'm not sure yet what I will tackle. It gives me something to think about today while I am doing the laundry. Today promises to be busy if I get everything done on my "to do" list. Time to get started.

Take care of yourselves and keep warm. Eloise and I send our love to all of you.

Doris