IT's ALL ABOUT RUGS!

Some little time ago (3 years) Beth S, the president of our ATHA Chapter told me that

she had a rug that had been hooked many years ago by a lady that had passed away.  

It was to be a wedding gift

for her daughter, who is now in her

seventies.  The wedding was a long time ago!

Of course, the rug was unfinished and

Beth,  who does mostly primitive hooking

wanted some help with finishing.

The rug finally made it to my house

and I was "hooked: on finishing this rug.

It was an early Pearl McGown

design called "Patrician. number 714."

Obviously an early pattern design.

This rug really spoke to me and this is what it

told me.

The lady that hooked this had had a

lot of experience hooking rugs.

Her technique was impeccable.

The back of this rug is as beautiful as the front.

My guess is that it was hooked in the

late 50's or 60's.

The rug is hooked in soft pink, 

dull green and a soft mauve background.

The background material is "off the

bolt" with nothing done to it.

In addition, the rug told me that

the burlap was getting stiff and dry.

Now, for the finishing of the rug!

All four corners need to be finished.

As you can see all of background of the corner and part of the design need to be finished.

I lucked out in that years ago I had

bought a bolt of the mauve background

color from Dorr and I still had some.

A perfect match!

This is what 3 of the unworked corners looked like.

When I looked thru my stach of old

wools I found a Colorama Swatch,

dyed by Leona Cook, the orginal owned

of Colorama.  Pink, and also a perfect

match.  How lucky can you get?

Beth tells me she has the green

wool in a closet full of "stuff" and will get it for me.

Close up of the center of the rug.

As you can see, the colors are very soft.

It is a beauty!

I can't wait to finish this project.

Hopefully it will be a Christmas present

for the daughter.

As for Eloise and me, we are in the dye

pots and coming to the end of our

teaching season.  Looking forward to a

relaxing summer.

Quote of day,

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak, courage is what it takes to sit down and listen.

Winston Churchill

Doris and Els

1. 
   

THOSE WERE THE DAYS . . . . .

   WOW - it's been so long since I posted I'm not sure I still know how.  I hope all of my friends and reader's are still out in cyber land and will enjoy this post.
   Much has happened in out family since I last blogged to you.  I will go into that another time.  What has sparked me to do this report is this wonderful little poem I received from a friend in North Carolina.
   Since a lot of us are growing older I thought you might enjoy this trip down memory lane.

THE CLOTHESLINE

A clothesline was a news forecast. To neighbors passing by.

There were no secrets you could keep. When clothes were hung to dry.

It was also a friendly link, For neighbors always knew

If company has stopped on by.  To spend a night or two.

For then you'd see the "fancy sheets", And towels upon the line,

You'd see the "company table cloths", With intricate designs

The line announced a baby;s birth, From folks who lived inside,

As brand new infant clothes were hung.  So carefully with pride.

The ages of the children could so readily be known.

By watching how the sizes changed.  You'd know how much they'd grown!

It also told when illness struck,  As extra sheets were hung,

The nightclothes , and a bathrobe too, Haphazardly were strung.

I also said "on vacation now."  When lines hung limp and bare.

It told "we're back!" when full lines sagged.  With not a inch to spare.
New folks in town were scorned upon, if wash was dingy and gray.
As neighbors carefully raised their brows, and looked the other way.

But clotheslines now are of the past, for dyers make work much less,
Now what goes on inside a home, is anybody's giess!
I really miss that way of life, it was a friendly sign
When neighbors knew each other best,  
By what they hung on the line.

I can still remember the first time I hung clothes on the line for my mother.  I hung the sheets "upside down" - OH MY what would the neighbors thing???  I loved the goo old days and hope you did too.

  Eloise and I wish everyone of you are well and happy.  I will try to keep this blog updated and stop being so lazy.  Until then keep hooking!!
Doris

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

FROM MY MOM AND ME

My tummy is so full!

With love from:
Doris and Eloise

IT'S TIME . . . . .

TO START HOOKING CLASSES

It seems to me that I have spent

a good portion of the summer getting ready

to teach this fall.

The hooking and wool room has been

re-organized and cleaned.  I have been going

thru many reference books looking

for interesting things to share with my

students.

I found this poem that I want to

share with you.

DAD'S OLD BREECHES

When dad has worn his trousers out

They pass to brother John.

Then mother trims them round about

and William put them on.

When William's legs to long have grown

The trouser's fail to hide 'em'

So Walter claims them for his own,

and stows himself inside 'em.

Next Sam's fat legs they close invest,

And they won't stretch tighter.

They're turned and shortened, washed and pressed,

And fixed on me . . .  the writer.

Ma works them into rugs and caps,

When I have burst the stitches.

At doomsday we shall see (perhaps).

The last of Dad's old breeches.

Anon.

Hope all of you are ready for the fall season with it's glorious colors and delightful weather.

Keep those hooks moving!

Doris

IT'S OVER

SUMMER

Where did it go?

I think it sped by when I wasn't looking

There are some wonderful and some not so wonderful 

things about living in Maryland.

The wonderful thing is what happens here

in the summer time.

 Vine ripe tomatoes.  Sweet as sugar.

Then there are the ones we pick before they are

ripe.  Those tasty green tomatoes.

Breaded and fried in bacon grease.

some smoother them in cream gravy,

not me!  Just bring on the tomatoes.

The next to arrive on the scene is our

juicy white and yellow corn.

No sugar added to these ears - they are

already sweet as sugar and

deep enough to really sink your teeth in.

 Then around Memorial Day the piece that 

no one can resist!  Those beautiful blue crabs come

onto the scene.

What great treasures the Chesapeake Bay

offers to us!!

What does one do on a rainy Sunday

in the summer?  They go to Gilligan's

on Pope Creek in Southern Maryland, of course.

 It was raining cats and dogs several Sunday's

ago when our whole family went for a crab

feast.

 This has become the family's choice

of a place to celebrate any occasion that summer

brings to us.

We were celebrating granddaughter Vicki's

and husband Curtis' anniversary.

 Here are some things you should know about Gilligan's.

It is approximately a 2 hour drive around the Washington Beltway and down Route 5 into Southern Maryland.

In addition to crabs, they have the best spiced shrimp that

I have ever eaten.

The drive is very scenic and it is an

"all you can eat" menu.

These handsome crabs came home with me.

My hands are still sore from picking them.

However it sure was worth it.  I made 14 Crab cakes

and have them stashed in the freezer.

Ah, Blue crab in the winter.

The say children do not come with an

instruction manual.  However, it is my belief

that every child born in Maryland  comes with

instructions on how to pick crabs and a

road map to Gilligans.

Hope every one has had as great a summer as I have had.

I'm sure Eloise will be reporting on her summer

as soon as the computer is free.

Quote of the day:

Beautiful young people are an accident of nature, Beautiful old people are a work of art.

Eleanor Roosevelt

Until next time, take care.

Doris

IT'S A BEAUTY!

Night Blooming Cereus

Several years ago, my friend Pat W., gifted

me with a Night Blooming Cereus Plant.  She

assured me that it would be

BEAUTIFUL - REALLY??

The first year. after starting a new plant,

it does'nt bloom.  Many plants are this way,

so I did not expect it to bloom.

Knowing nothing about this plant, I did

not know what to look for the second year.

Therefore, I missed the
whole show."  I have had the plant down in the

family room near the sliding doors so that it

could get light without direct sun.  When I finally

went into the family room the dead flowers

were on the floor beside the plant.  It

had had two blooms.

 This is one of the ugliest plants I have ever seen.

It is a distant cousin of cactus.

It needs very little water and care during

the winter months but needs a bit

more to drink during the summer months.

 This is how the bud looks when it is

about a week into its growth.  It starts out as a tiny

"pine cone" shape on the edge of the leaf.

The leaves are quite large and rubbery.

 I consider myself lucky for this year there

were 4 blooms.  As you can see these two

are starting to open.  The process of opening began

about 9pm and the last one didn't open until

about 11:30pm.

1. 

 Here are the  two beauties on the

upper level of the plant.

 The aroma filled the whole house!

Just lovely.

 Just look at this beauty!  These blooms are

very large and heavy.

 This is the beginning of the end!  By

about 9am they were gone.  So much beauty

in such a short time.

These are the blooms on the lower tier.

I have to say that I was so thrilled that this plant

bloomed because I thought it would not and

had really neglected it.  It sure was worth

waiting for.  I have taken some cuttings and some

leaves and will try to root them.

A TRUE THING OF BEAUTY IN THIS

NOT SO BEAUTIFUL WORLD.

In the meantime I have been in the dye pots.

They are like the Siren's call of old, to the sailors. 

I cannot stay away from them.

My friend Traci and I are working together

to "redo" my hooking and wool room.

Until today I did not know how much wool I

had - we carried in the storage containers

from the garage - geesh!!!

A bonanza of goodies.

Quote of the day:

I could not at any age be content to take my place in a corner by the fireside and simply look on.

Eleanor Roosevelt.

I could not just look on either.

Until next time keep a smile and hook on!

Doris and Eloise