LIFE BEFORE RUGS -

I did have a life before I learned to hook rugs. It is hard to believe as I look back that I did some of the things that I did. I so loved all of these skills I wonder how I let them get so rusty since I have not knitted (my first love!) in the past five years. When I graduated from high school I asked my father to set me up in a knitting business that I knew was for sale at the time. His answer to this was a big fat NO. He felt that I was to young and that the times were to precarious. There was a war on and the economy was up and down. (so what's new?)

I am baking bread today and while I was waiting for it to rise I decided to open my Pennsylvania Dowery Chest - I haven't looked in there for several years - and lo and behold I found several interesting projects, unfinished, of course.

I recall saying a few blog's ago that I would try to diversify so that I wouldn't bore you. So here are a few examples of skills from long ago.

Sweater with Fair Isle yoke.

I knit this some years ago and have worn it many times.
Entire sweater done in Fair Isle designs. This sweater
also has been worn for many years and I just
love it. It is knit of Southdown sheep yarn. These sheep are raised in Ashton Maryland on the Southdown South Farm. The wool is then sent
to New England to be cleaned and spun.
When it is returned, it is hand dyed by Norleen Schultz a wonderful
sheep farmer and wool gatherer!

This crewel pillow was done some years ago. The picture

does not show it but the squrriels tail is sculpted.

I had forgotten that even in those days I was sculpting.

Guess it has always been one of my specialties!

A pair of needle point pillows. The one on the right is a

Maggie Lane design and the one on the left is

a compiliation of various needle point stitches.

Both pillow were blue ribbon winners.

When I opened the dower chest I found this piece which I

had forgotten about. It was designed to be a piano bench cover. Of

course I no longer have the piano! It is unfinished but all

materials to finish it with were in the chest.

Close up of a bit of the design and the different
stitches used.

This needle point was done by my daughter Kris. It was done

to honor her father and me. It should be mounted as

a pillow.

A close up of the various designs in the A.

I hope that you have enjoyed this little tour thru my creative past. Gosh how time does fly especially as you get older. So many interesting things to do and so little time left after taking care of the necessities of life. I really need to get my act together and finish a lot of these unfinished projects. I wonder if I still have the skills. . . . . . .

This next picture has nothing to do with skill.

Last night I had the last fried green tomatoes of the season.

It's enough to make a grown woman cry!

Enough ranting for now. The bread has been rising for two hours and now I need to take care of the next step. Today it is two loaves of white bread and two loaves of cinnamon raisian. The kitchen smells wonderful.

Doris