Sunday, March 20, 2011

Fourth Blog Challenge Project Revealed!

Here's the fourth and final (for now) Blog Challenge Project!  As you remember, Alice Frazier sent a "conglomeration" (those were her words!) of wool fabric, nubby wool yarn, shibori ribbon, pieces of knit sweater, piece of purple paisley, and three beads.  I was totally at a loss...nothing was speaking to me....this was a true challenge...what to do?
I did a little sketching.
I hooked a little bit of wool.
And then hooked a little bit more....
Guess what?
I think this little guy turned out pretty darn cute!
I call this piece "Dreaming."  

 "thought-cloud" with fish and dragon fly

 I hooked the nubby yarns around the edge to create a funky frame for the piece.  The chenille yarn was used for the cat's whiskers, the shibori ribbon was used for the bow around his neck.  You can see the strip of purple paisley along the upper left side of the piece.  I used the various blue strips of wool in the sky.  The glittery navy knit sweater piece was cut into smaller strips and used as the outline around the cat's head.  And of course the two fish beads and the dragon fly bead are used in the thought cloud.  Little kitty is thinking about his next catch-of-the-day and he is licking his lips!  Yum!
Even though I used #8 cuts, this piece is small and I mounted it on a piece of gator board.  I wanted the yarn edge to be the border so opted not to whip the edges or finish them with crochet like I did with the previous project.
Check out Maria, Ali, and Alice to see what they have cooked up!
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It was a grand challenge indeed!  I am off to other adventures this Spring and Summer, but I'm sure at some point we will all put our heads together and figure out another challenge to keep our creative minds and hands busy!

Monday, March 7, 2011

I Love This Rug!

The hooking on my Midnight Clear rug is completed!  I pressed it last night and now have to decide on a binding technique.  I love how a good steam press really brightens up the colors and makes your rug look a whole lot better.
This is hands-down one of my most favorite rugs I have ever hooked!  The color plan came together nicely and the rug was a pleasure to hook.  I was sad to pull up the last loop, knowing that it was over. 
Note the glow of a light in the upstairs window of the blue house...someone is trying to stay awake for Santa!

There's nothing on my frame right now but I can't feel too sorry for myself...I have lots of hooking projects waiting for me.  One project is my blog challenge (still have designer's block about that one!) and now there are new Notforgotten Farm patterns posted on my website!  Hmmm, which one should I choose??????

Saturday, March 5, 2011

A Carefree Girl

 It was sort of a weird weather day today.  First it poured down rain and then in the afternoon, it turned to snow and it came down all day long.  I'm sure we have two inches of fresh snow on the ground right now.
I was so amused to look out of the window and see little Miss Emma laying out in the snow storm, chewing her cud and acting as if she didn't have a care in the world.  I took these photos from the back window.  If I would have opened the door, I would have interrupted her beautiful and carefree daydreaming....


I love her spunk!
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The colonoscopy went well...everything was clear and I don't have to be back for 10 years...yippee!  PS:  The anesthesia was worth the whole thing...best nap I ever had!  Now go schedule yours!

Thursday, March 3, 2011

March Happenings!

Alice's blog challenge material came Monday in the mail.  It is quite a collection of various wool and yarn pieces, a strip of purple paisley, shibori ribbon and some little glass beads.  One is a dragon fly and two are tiny fishes.  This box is proving to be quite a challenge for me as nothing comes to mind just yet.  You and I will both be surprised on March 20th!
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I have been working on my Midnight Clear rug and it is almost done!  I have just a few little areas left to hook so I won't show a picture until it is all finished.  If you are a fan of Lori Brechlin, you might want to take a minute to visit her blog...she is having a great give-away and the drawing is this Sunday, March 6th.
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And lastly, did you know that March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month?  I had no idea either until yesterday but the timing is perfect.  I am having my routine colonoscopy tomorrow.  Yes, I am apprehensive about the prep (I'm going to start drinking that yucky liquid in about an hour) but I have decided that I'm going to do this in honor and memory of my brother-in-law who passed away from colon cancer just this past January.  My sister-in-law is certainly too young to be a widow.  I decided it was time to quit putting it off and just get it done!  I hope you make the same decision.