NEW YEARS WISH ~ ~ ~

To each and every one ~ we wish you a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2010 !!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS ~ ~ ~

To one and all ~ hope you have a wonderful day!!

HANDMADE SCARVES ~ ~ ~

Several weeks ago, Sheri of the Shabby Sheep blog, asked her blog friends to help her out! Sheri is bravely undergoing treatment for breast cancer and wanted to do something for comrades at their local support group! I love that about Sheri ~ even though I only know her thru her blog ~ but she is approaching this diagnosis with a positive attitude and taking the path of being a giver. So many of the gals lose their hair and need warm hats and scarves and Sheri asked her blog friends to use their creativity and make things that she could share with her group! So, of course, I said yes and of course, I waited till the last minute! Their Christmas party was this past Monday and I started making mine last Tuesday!! And, of course, I was in a sweat as to whether they would reach her on time ~ as luck would have it ~ they did!!

The first scarf ~ which is located up in that first long rattling paragraph ~ is made out of wool sweaters that I have felted (initially to make into purses ~ which I have done). I had a cabinet full of these waiting to be made into something useful so I drug them all out on the floor ~ put together some colors that I thought would work ~ cut them into 1/8 yard wide pieces and zig-zagged them together end to end. I used a multicolored thread which was just what it needed to give it some pizzaz! Then I backed it with a white confetti wool and zig-zagged the two pieces together and then cut some wool hearts and appliqued those on the end. At first, I thought the whole thing was going to be wasted effort but as I got rolling along, it turned out kind of cute and funky!! And the edges get kind of ruffly as the sewing stretches the sweater material ~ Perfect!! And I pinked the edges after the stitching was done!

So, that one was for Sheri to donate but I thought she really needed one for herself, since this was her idea! I got out my black wool ~ tore a strip about 8" wide across the yardage and proceeded to go thru my roving stash and wool yarns. I had seen a knit scarf with these colors in a yarn shop and it stuck in my mind - imagine that! I first needle felted that green stem into a squiggle with my needle-felting machine, then added the leaves and embellished that with some sparkly angel hair fibers. The pink roving was perfect for some flowers with pink angel hair centers. I love sparkly things ~ kind of like a crow!! Then the raw edges of the wool posed a problem but there was the perfect rose colored yarn just waiting to be needlefelted all around the edge. I was so hoping that Sheri would like this one for herself ~ she emailed that when she took it out of the package, she told her friend that she wished she could keep it! After she read my note, she realized it was for her ~ that made us both happy!!
So say a prayer for Sheri as she travels this journey ~ not one she asked for ~ but one that she is facing with courage and a sense of helping others!

Less that 24 hours from now, the Seattle family of five will be pulling in ~ and Grandma is barely ready!! I have had the worst cold since last Thursday ~ finally called the doctor for an antibiotic on Monday ~ and it saved my life!! I was so sick and so unproductive all weekend and ~ I couldn't go out and have any fun ~ that really made me sicker!! But thru all that, I managed to get my office in tip top shape, do a little bit of decorating today( I will finish in the morning) and started a little hooked rug from a drawing that Hannah brought me two years ago! I wanted to have it finished before they arrive ~ but it's not looking good!

I hope you're more ready than me ~ and looking forward to enjoying family and friends. There will be 25 - 30 people here Friday ~ I still have grocery shopping to do, presents to wrap, laundry to finish ~ oh, you don't even want to know!!! Today, I took my son, Tad, out to do his shopping ~ Tad buys for everyone in our family and some who aren't in our family ~ and we did it all today ~ at Kohl's with my 30% off coupon!!!!! Now, that's a happy thing! And ~ I have to do his wrapping, too! I need to go to my bed now ~ see you in a day or two!
Alice

WHATNOTS ~ ~ ~

Is finally finished!! WHATNOTS is the name of my latest rug, designed by Barbara Carroll ~ I think it's an adaptation of an antique rug. I'm really happy with the outcome ~ nice antiquey colors and kind of a faded look to it! Perfect for our house! The flowers and stems coming out of the orange pots on either side of the pitcher, are done with 'friendship' strips ~ a strip from each of the four gals who were hooking at Barb's that week are incorporated into my rug. I love that idea ~ Barb's idea, by the way!

This is the spot where the new rug landed ~ in our bedroom. It was originally done for the bathroom but I don't want to put makeup on, standing on this beautiful rug, so for now it will reside in front of the dresser.

As I looked at the photo above, the rug hanging over the little mustard drysink is one that I did in a class with Emma Lou Lais, many years ago now. I don't think I've posted it before so thought it was a good time to include it. I've taken two classes with Emma Lou in years past and I love that woman! Well into her eighty's now, she is still teaching but not traveling to teach ~ I'd love to head out to Kansas City and spend time with her, soaking up all that she knows! I ran out of the background wool that she helped me choose, so I improvised with the darker gold spread throughout the background. In the 'olden' days, that's exactly what a rug hooker would do ~ use whatever was available to fill in the blanks! I love that look in a rug!

Still, no decorating ~ maybe today! I was busy at the beginning of the week, making a scarf for a donation. Then on Tuesday, we had a meeting to allot the money from our Homebuilders auction ~ we adopted 14 families that included 37 children and wrote checks to several local service agencies. A lot of it is done thru gift cards so that families can buy warm clothing and food for their tables. Our building industry has been hit very hard, yet all the builders and suppliers who attended the auction that night, gave very generously in order to help so many! We are very grateful, indeed, to be able to lift the spirits of these deserving people! Some of the stories presented to us are so heart wrenching ~ we must all count our blessings daily!!

So ~ the time is drawing near ~ eight days!!! Holy crow!! Our Seattle family will arrive on the 23rd ~ then the fun will really begin!! Enjoy these days ahead getting ready ~ that's how I'm approaching it ~ 'enjoyable'!!! I'll keep you posted!
Alice

ANOTHER FUN WEEKEND ~ ~ ~

See these two happy faces??!! Well, on Friday the old guy signed up for Social Security and I signed up for Medicare!! Never in my life, did I think that would be a happy thing ~ but it is! In January, we get a check to put in the bank and in March, I get lower insurance premiums!!!!!!! For self-employed people, this is a great thing! We celebrated by calling our friends, Cliff and Margo, and stopped by and let Miss Margo fix us a couple of cocktails!! After we took supper home to Tad, we met them for dinner at the Mexican place ~ and after drinking a peach margarita, I nearly had the big one!! I must be allergic to the artificial flavoring or coloring and kind of had a little tizzy (it's happened before so no more fancy schmancy drinks for me) ~ after drinking a big glass of water and eating a bit more, the sensation left me and we kept right on going!! We made a couple of other stops ~ ran into some pretty entertaining people and finally got home about 11 p.m. We are absolutely embracing this milestone in our lives and made a real celebration out of it!

Saturday was Miss Luci's 7th birthday and we celebrated that by going out to eat with the family at a local steakhouse ~ along with everybody else in the entire county!!! What a fiasco to get seating for seven and then to get served!!! But Luci was quite happy to be out ~ she likes to celebrate like her grandma ~ and is showing off her Red Hat purse that my sister-in-law gave her a couple of years ago. Rachel was carrying it one time when she came to visit and Luci admired it so that Rachel gave it to her! Last night, she had that purse stuffed with what seemed like everything she owned!!

Today, Grandpa and Grandma picked up Luci and Jordyn and took them to a Christmas Tea at the Blossom Cafe! This summer I had promised the girls we would go to a tea and finally, we made it happen! Our local Blueberry Patch and Greenhouse is the home of this cozy little cafe and they really did a great job of presentation and the food was very tasty!

Luci and Jordyn have such fun together and of course, there was lots of giggling going on! We were almost incident free until a glop of egg salad fell onto the floor ~ we felt pretty lucky to get out of there without making a scene!!!

I still have no decorations up (maybe I need to stay home!) ~ I'm guessing that will happen in the next couple of days ~ I did finish binding my latest rug just a while ago ~ and getting on top of the office work ~ here's hoping that soon it will look like Christmas here!! I hope you're ready for the holiday and enjoying the season!!
Alice

FUN WEEKEND ~ ~ ~

Just look at those faces!! Happy little souls, aren't they? Last year, Sonny and I went to our friend's Alpaca farm open house and this year, we took the grandpeople! Two were missing as they had a prior engagement, but Logan, Jordyn, Luci and Luke were happy to go! The cute white Alpaca has nibbling Luci's hat while I was snapping away!

Luke and Jordyn were trying to get these guys to give them a kiss!! Reba, the owner of Storybook Alpaca Farm, said if you put your hands behind your back and lean into them, they'll stick their little faces between the fence and rub noses with you ~ kind of like an Eskimo kiss! These animals are so soft and so sweet ~ there was a new little baby, 5 weeks old ~ so skittish that they named him Gizmo! After we petted and fed our new white furry friends, we took the group out to lunch ~ it was a fun day and we were so sorry that Jakob and Camden had to miss it! Maybe next year!

Friday night our annual Homebuilders Christmas dinner ~ we had a good time visiting with all our builder friends and suppliers! Then we made our way to the Martini bar and saw a bunch more people we knew ~ it was a great evening!

Saturday night, my son, Teddy and Miki, had a wine tasting party! What a great time! They had over 20 people and tons of food and my great niece, Amy, who sells the wine, did a great job! It's like a Tupperware party but better! Ted and Miki live in the first house Sonny and I built together and it is a fabulous house for entertaining ~ a big open great room with lots of space for guests. After the tasting, the highlights of the evening were that the charcoal on the deck caught on fire and there was wonderful wii RockBand concert by Ted and some of his friends!! It was such a fun evening and our kids and their friends seem to like to have us around! They are so nice to us ~ one gal brought bloody mary's to our door this morning for breakfast!! Talk about curb service!!

Seems like I should do some decorating this week ~ and my latest rug is ready to bind ~ and invoicing to customers looms large in front of me, as I sit at this desk!! I better hit the ground running in the morning!!

Have a good week!
Alice

MY 15 MINUTES ~ ~ ~

This is Jane Halliwell Green's new book on pictorial rugs and it is really a beautiful book! There is a lot of information on the details of hooking a pictorial rug ~ and lots of dye recipes as well. Jane is a watercolor artist who has used all that expertise to create beautiful hooked rugs ~ and she is a teacher of both of these arts! Actually, Jane will be teaching at Sauder Village next August!



I am thrilled ~ to say the least ~ to have my England Memory Rug included in her book ~ it's there on page 6!!! I am a regular reader of Jane's blog and last year, she asked for pictures of pictorial rugs to be sent to her for possible inclusion in her upcoming book ~ and I happily did just that! I didn't know if it would qualify but Jane said yes! When I look at all the beautiful rugs in this book, I am quite honored to have my rug in such good company! Most all pictorials are hooked in a finer cut that I use ~ this rug was hooked mainly in 8, 8.5 and 9 cuts ~ really large compared to most! Actually, looking at these rugs makes me think more about hooking a pictorial with more detail ~ if I do, you'll be the first to know! Thanks to Jane for the inspiration and for my 15 minutes of fame! I've actually received emails from gals who saw the book before mine arrived and it's fun to be recognized for my work!! I have two books to sell ~ if interested, email me or comment here!!

This weekend, son Ted and family came to the lake for Thanksgiving. When they left on Friday, Tad went home with them and grandson, Luke, stayed with us (our car is small and we couldn't get Tad, Luke and the cat all in the backseat)! And one of the things we did was go to Pemberville, about 20 miles west of us, to their annual Christmas festivities! We took a carriage ride with this nice horse, Eli ~ while Sonny was taking this picture, Eli kept head-butting Luke!! We went to the local Historical Society house and watched a lady make socks on an antique sock knitting machine and yes, I bought a pair! I have a rug hooking friend in Montana that has made a couple of pairs for me ~ I love them! It was really interesting to watch and Luke thought so, too. In the back yard was a smoke house where they were smoking sausages that they sold on a stick ~ yummy! And an old one room school house kept toasty warm with a an old potbelly stove! On Friday night, we went to Sandusky's tree lighting ceremony ~ had free hot chocolate and cookies ~ and went on a tour of the Follet House Museum. It was in a huge old Sandusky home complete with a fourth floor widow's walk ~ we went up this skinny little stairway to look out over the city at night ~ we didn't stay long ~ it was cold and windy up there! So Luke had his fill of history and free cookies and punch (they were serving everywhere we went this weekend) and he was a great weekend guest! We also played a card game called Nertz ~ google it for instructions! We used to play it years ago and it's a fun thing to pass some time! We even played before breakfast yesterday!!

I hope you all had a good holiday weekend, too ~ and now it's time to get ready for Christmas! On our drive home last night, there were lots of houses already lit for the season ~ I love Christmas lights!! Have a good week ~
Alice

Have a great day, wherever you are ~ whatever you're doing! It has been a challenging year to say the least ~ and yet, we have so much to be thankful for and unending gratitude for all that we have! Enjoy your day!
Alice

SATURDAY'S RUG RAVE ~ ~ ~

Here is our little band of Rug Ravers ~ Pam & Heidi holding Heather's Birthday cake ~ Charisse, myself, Lauren and Carol! Our friend, Danese, popped in after the picture ~ we were so glad to see her! We really did have a nice day ~ we hooked (a little), looked around the house at my rugs and all the stuff that makes our house a home, looked at what each other was doing, ate a really nice pot luck lunch (potato leek soup, Carol's wonderful cranberry and sauerkraut meatballs, Watergate Salad, and old fashioned banana salad, pumpkin spread on vanilla wafers, and cake, cupcakes, & pumpkin roll). We looked at an antique rug that Carol brought along to show us how she is going to repair it ~ we helped Pam plan a little rug of a 'silky' chicken for her granddaughter (I should say a 'memorial' rug for the silky chicken ~ sad story there!) and just had a relaxing afternoon!

Heidi brought Heather a special cake for her 65th birthday! Heather, we didn't really sing to you but we talked about it ~ singing got voted down! We also never got around to trying blind hooking but we talked about it! We just really had a nice day in your honor and feel privileged to be able to help out. Yesterday, in a magazine, it said 'be generous in hard times' ~ our little band of ruggers was very generous and I am so happy to report, we collected $230.00 for Rug Aid. I will make the group's donation thru PayPal and any of you reading this that would like donate, can do so thru PayPal as well. If you go to the Rug Aid website, it will direct you on how to do that! It will be so interesting to see how much was generated on this one day all over the world.

Pam is modeling her purse that she made here in our class a while back! She did a great job on it, made it her own and looks so stylish, doesn't she? Pam didn't really want to be in the photo but she's so nice, she couldn't say no!

So, a good time was had by all! It's good to share and it's good to spend time with like minded people ~ Saturday filled the bill on both accounts!

Take care and have a good week! Thanksgiving is right around the bend!
Alice

CAROL'S CRANBERRY & SAUERKRAUT MEATBALLS

1 bag of frozen meatballs - thawed

1 sm. can jellied cranberry sauce
1 sm. can sauerkraut
3/4 c. chili sauce
3/4 c. brown sugar.

Mix last four ingredients and cover the meatballs. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees. You will love these!!!

RUG RAVE TOMORROW ~ ~ ~

Yes, it is almost here!! Rug Rave for Heather! Our numbers are small ~ seven ~ but no less sincere in the support we want to show for our English friend and her Rug Aid program! If you're close by, give me a call and come on down, up or over ~ we have lots of room!

My "Whatnots" rug is almost finished ~ I thought it would be done by tomorrow but once again, my sense of how much I can do in an allotted amount of time is not so good. But I'm liking the look although I might change the border. On the upper left corner I have hooked a very subtle border ~ on another corner I'm going to hook the background wool as the border and I think this will work better. I think a borderless rug tends to look older and this pattern lends itself to an antique rug feel. Tomorrow will tell the tale!

This is the result of one morning's dying ~ a nice dark green ~ very mottled!! I let it sit in the pot all day ~ so easily, do I get sidetracked and later in the evening, I remembered it sitting out on the deck!! Yikes!! I would like to get a pot of red going today, but we shall see! I'm organizing the hooking room, making soup, and washing wool that just arrived yesterday ~ and blogging, of all things!! Tonite, we're going to the Holiday Fair opening at our local Art Center - lots of gift items made by artists ~ and rides in a carriage with a horse named Nick!! Sounds like fun!! Nick belongs to a friend of ours and last night, he told us that Nick kind of ran away with a cart this summer!! I don't think I'll be able to go in the carriage tonite!

Here we are! Some of my favorite people!! I have other favorite people who weren't there but these are our lake friends at Paper Moon Winery last Saturday afternoon ~ mid November in Ohio and we were outside on the lawn sipping wine and dipping rosemary bread in oil!! A great day with friends! Our friend, Mike, lassoed some lady to take our picture ~ she had just arrived and wanted to go drink her wine ~ we had to hurry!! I tried to get in the back row so all you could see was my head ~ but there wasn't time!

Last evening was our annual Homebuilders auction with the proceeds going to adopt local needy families! It was a rousing evening of bidding on huge gift baskets, a huge lantern and wreath, a HUGE bear, and lots of Ohio State stuff! I bid on this nice "Girls Night In" basket put together by my daughter-in-law, Cheryl. Very cute ~ in an ice tub ~ martini glasses, liquid to put in them, a chic flick, two pairs of cozy holiday socks, muffin mix, popcorn, candy, cocktail napkins and a game of Pajama Party Charades!! We bought a lighthouse quilt throw and a primitive tin angel ~ lots of auction bounty for us! Rather than donate all those dinners like last year, we contributed in a different way this year! The auction earned $4200 ~ in this economy, and all our members are in building related industries ~ we feel quite blessed to be able to earn this much cash to help out so many! A good time was had by all for a great cause!

Before I go, I have to get on my soapbox ~ for just a minute! This week, some task force somewhere has come out with new guidelines regarding mammograms and pap tests! And I think they're ridiculous!! In a time, when there seems to be more cancer than ever, to encourage women not to do self exams, and stretch out the time between testing is just horrendous. Women ~ we need to be in charge of ourselves ~ and regardless of what these task forces say ~ we need to continue our yearly check-ups and testing and self exams ~ we need to do all we can to protect and insure our own health ~ not give women an excuse to let these things slide!! Okay, I'm done now!! Thank you for listening!

Have a good weekend and come to the Rug Rave, if you can!
Alice

AKRON HOOK-IN ~ ~ ~

It's been a week since I posted ~ time goes by so fast ~ it's like the world is spinning and I'm trying to catch up!!

Last Thursday, I went to the monthly hook-in in Akron so I'll do a quick run through for you! This rug is being worked on by various members of my friend, Donna's guild ~ it will be raffled off next year at their hook-in ~ very nice start, don't you think? I love the colors!





This is Linda and her horse head!! She took a class recently and the pattern was custom designed for her by the teacher ~ I think the rug will be a gift for someone near and dear to her! She's doing a wonderful job of shading with a wide cut ~ so many colors and she's doing the color planning herself!!

Judy started her elephant rug at Sauder Village this summer in a class with Diane Phillips!! She's almost done! If you focus only on the yellow, it seems very bright ~ but the overall effect is really a soft, muted look. A little factoid about Judy ~ she and her husband are cyclists ~ she rides her bike all over the state ~ and last year on a Bike Ohio trip, she rode past our house ~ and that's FAR from her house!!

I love sheep rugs! Karen's patriotic sheep is well on it's way! She had another rug there waiting to be bound ~ Karen hooks a lot, me thinks!!

GIVE THANKS! That's what Arlene's little turkey says. Again, her colors, each on their own, seem bright, but the overall effect is really muted and kind of antiquey looking. Arlene is so productive ~ she has a new rug going every time I see her. She and her husband are cyclists, too ~ this summer she emailed me photos of them cycling in Croatia, of all places!!! I think there's something to this biking ~ both Arlene and Judy are like little twigs ~ maybe I oughta (is that a word?) get my bike out!!!!!

Thursday was the first time that Shirley and I met and we discovered that we have a mutual friend, Lana! Shirley is hooking this Bev Conway pattern of this cute lady with a beehive ~ literally!! This is going to be such a cute rug!

Candy is the happiest lady ~ always smiling and laughing! She finished stitching this stocking together at the hook-in ~ it's for Gavin ~ his name is at the top but my photo is a little dark! She joined the wool backing to the hooked front with a blanket stitch done in yarn ~ it really makes a nice finish!

This nice tote bag is Candy's, too. It was a pattern by the Buckeye Guild and has Ohio's state bird, the cardinal, some proddy flowers and I'm just guessing the flag is Ohio's state flag ~ I'm just guessing! It's a good looking piece and very functional ~ Candy is a good hooker!!!


This black bear is being hooking in a fine cut! It is sizable and it is beautifully done by Tommy ~ another gal that I met for the first time on Thursday. Akron is an hour and 15 minutes from here, so I don't get there every month ~ I would love to ~ these gals are all so talented and very sharing. It's inspiring to see what they're doing!

Laurel's peacock rug is really gorgeous! It's her original design and she's doing a fabulous job on it! I had a photo with she and Donna and Judy holding the rug but this one showed it off best! Laurel was in the Sauder class with me this summer ~ she hooks beautifully and her color planning is top notch!! Donna was hooking that day but her rug is a 'secret' rug, so it couldn't be shown ~ more to follow!

I'm getting ready for the Rug Rave on Saturday ~ we have nine coming as of yesterday! I've been washing windows inside ~ I want the gals to be able to see out!! Right now, I'm heading for Kohl's ~ I have a 20% coupon and gotta get those Kohl's bucks ~ I have a few presents in mind! Have a good day and thanks for stopping by!
Alice

LAST WEEK'S RUG RETREAT ~ ~ ~

I don't know if retreat is an appropriate name ~ that's what I called it ~ Barbara Carroll calls it a 3-day mini as in mini workshop! We had a great time ~ this is "WhatKnots", a new Woolley Fox pattern and Barb's first time to color plan this one. It's turning out great ~ I'm hooking it for our bathroom where there are pieces of old and new yelloware ~ hence the yellow pitcher. I think the rug is looking kind of old so it will be a nice decorating addition to that room. I have hooked up a storm since we returned last Wednesday and hope to have it finished by the Rug Rave on the 21st! There are a lot of elements to this rug and there are some that might need a re-do but those will wait till the rug is finished and we'll see what the overall effect is!

Here's Donna ~ our ringleader ~ I mean the organizer of this trip!!! Her red Henney Penney is going to be fabulous!! The wool she used in the tail has a glow that is just going to make this rug! I bought some to use in mine that is on the backlog of patterns waiting to be hooked! I just realized Donna's eyes were closed ~ she does hook with her eyes open!!

You won't believe it but Judy is behind this huge rug ~ it was either get Judy in the picture and miss part of the rug or have her hold the rug way high so we could see it all. Judy hooked the animals before we got to class and then used Barb's expertise to color plan the background ~ this is a good size rug and it's hard to believe how much background area there is and how many different wools they used. It's really going to be a great neutral rug.

Miss Maria ~ what can I say? This woman is a hooking machine ~ she hooked this rug in two days and with a little help from yours truly, braided her border! Maria has a very distinctive color palette that she uses on her own rugs and let Barb guide her in choosing wool that makes this rug look very old. And not one to let any time be wasted, Maria had some small things drawn up and hooked a colorful little horse on the last day!

Last, but not least, is Mary and her Aunt Tillie's Garden rug ~ this rug, too, is huge!! And she, too, is a hooking machine! She and Maria hook very wide and Mary's style is kind of loose, so they cover a lot of ground in a short time. Good thing we don't live close by each other ~ we could get in a lot of trouble!! One night, we ended up in a Chinese place that didn't serve adult beverages ~ so we ordered our meal ~ bid our tablemates adieu ~ and went to the adult beverage store in the next block to purchase a little fruit of the vine! When we returned ~ our appetizers were waiting ~ and happily, so were our friends!!! (I just realized that I neglected to mention that they encourage their customers to brown bag it)! Mary and I first met on the England trip but didn't spend much time in the same spot ~ we were in different classes and stayed in different places ~ so only met in passing! Thanks to Donna inviting us both on her Woolley Fox week, we get to see each other once a year!

Ligonier has some great little shops and we try to get to most of them. Maria and I bought some great yarns to incorporate into rugs ~ I've been trying to add various fibers and sweaters, etc. ~ you can really give a rug a unique look by expanding your horizons a bit. I also bought some Smartwool socks ~ very comfy ~ you can get them at sporting goods stores or online ~ my new favorite thing!!

Another new favorite thing is the fluorescent light the old guy put in my closet!! There was a two-light fixture in there and I kept telling him I could hardly see ~ I guess I said it enough that while I was gone, the new light magically appeared!! It's like daylight in there!! I LOVE IT!! I wear a lot of black so everything kind of looks alike ~ it hasn't helped me find my favorite black sweater though ~ I wonder what in the world I've done with that!!!!

The weather has been spectacular here in Ohio! On Sunday we had the kids over for what has to be our last weiner roast of the season. And Sonny washed the second floor windows ~ I swear you could hardly see out! Yesterday, I did the ground floor windows with that Windex Outdoor All-in-One system ~ you put a soapy pad on the long handle, spray the windows, scrub the windows, spray again and they dry themselves!! I love it ~ they should pay me for advertising for them ~ it's a great product! So, we're almost buttoned up for winter here in the gravel pit ~ the holidays are right around the corner ~ and there will be a whole new season to prepare for!

Hope you're having a good day wherever you are!

RHM ~ ~ ~ and RUG RAVE ~ ~ ~

Rug Hooking Magazine just arrived and Gene Shepherd's article about his 'blog hook-in' is in there. Great article with great rugs! Just wanted to share my version of that rug ~ Connie Litfin's Coxcomb Basket ~ she is the original designer of the Noel pattern that was in RHM last holiday season and this was one of her 'tweaked' versions. I really love the combination of paisleys and sparkly wool set in the antique black background. I eliminated the squiggly line around the basket as it looked kind of Victorian to me ~ I have some of Connie's patterns to sell, if anyone would like to hook them ~ one of the Star Basket and two of the CoxComb Basket ~ let me know!

Two weeks from today is Heather Ritchie's Rug Rave that I'll be having here in my home studio ~ so far we have eight hookers attending!!! It will 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., I will furnish soup and beverages, everyone bring a dish to share ~ bring your hooking or you can order Heather's Rug Aid rug that I show in my October 1st post (ordering info is written there), and we'll be making a group donation to Rug Aid. Your donation will be confidential ~ bring cash ~ we'll put it in an envelope and it will be in the name of our group "Alice's Friends". Hope to see you November 21st!

Shortly, I'm leaving for a little road trip with my friends, Heidi and Danese, up to Marblehead to this wonderful yarn shop's Open House ~ they have the most unusual fibers to add to rug hooking and of coure, knitting (I hope I can stave off getting hooked on that ~ I would love to learn to knit socks!) ~ I've got a little collection of odd this and thats and I'm sure I'll find more today!

I've been hooking up a storm since I returned home Wednesday evening from our trip to the Woolley Fox ~ I'll be posting about that and show you my rug later today ~ I hope later today! It's a beautiful day in Ohio ~ yippee!!! Have a fun day!
Alice

BAA BAA ~ ~ ~

What I mean to say is Bye Bye ~ for a few days ~ not forever!! I'm going hooking!! Rug hooking!! My friend, Donna, takes a group of friends every year to the Woolley Fox in Pennsylvania and this is the third year for me with this group! Fun gals ~ lots of late night hooking ~ lots of good food ~ and just maybe, a little wine! We'll have fun for sure and Sonny will be Mr. Mom and hold down the fort for me here at home! This little rug is a Woolley Fox pattern that I recently finished ~ it was one of those that I would pick up here and there when I needed something to work on without a lot of thinking! The border is all out of the scrap basket ~ kind of a little challenge to do it all out of there and not cut into new wool!

Friday night, we had friends in for dinner and yesterday, Miss Jordyn (of the green hair Halloween costume) called to see if she could come 'hang out' with me for a while!! Sure ~ who could resist that! Her brother Logan was already here 'hanging out' with Grandpa! And last night we went out for Mexican with daughter-in-law, Miki and Luke and Luci ~ dad, Teddy, is 'hanging out' in a tree in a woods somewhere looking for deer!!! We had a fun weekend and now I'm off for more fun!! I hope your weekend was a good one, too!

See you Thursday!
Alice

HAPPY HALLOWEEN ~ ~ ~

Aren't these scary looking? I LOVE Halloween ~ maybe it's "my" time of year!! I can be pretty scary sometimes, you know!! The pumpkin faces are antique paper mache and were purchased years ago at an auction along with the noisemakers that are on the ends of the mantle. I feel pretty lucky to have the paper mache pieces since you don't run across them very often.

The porch is all dressed up for the holiday, too! The witch is a piece I bought from Dan Dipaolo at a wholesale market ~ there is a similar pumpkin lady in the house. I paid dearly for those pieces of artwork ~ and now I see him with smaller versions much more affordable!! Guess we all have those things we thought we HAD to have!! There's some bittersweet and gourds to add to the porch decor.

The table centerpiece turned out pretty good ~ as I've said before, for me, it's more about the food than the table so I have to really make an effort to do something a little interesting. Actually, I figured this out yesterday ~ which is a big deal for me! Usually, I'm scurrying around when the guests are about in the driveway, throwing something together! So yesterday, I went to the woods ~ picked some nice thick moss which I left outside overnight (one year, I brought it right from the woods to the table and holy crow! bugs were crawling out of it ~ before the guests arrived ~ thank goodness!). This morning, I lined an antique bread rising board with the moss, put mini pumpkins on it and little battery operated candles ~ looks pretty good, me thinks! I have these apple napkin rings that I got at Pottery Barn a long time ago on clearance that go perfectly with my mom's Franciscan Ware Apple dishes. As a kid, we didn't have much, but my brother bought her these beautiful dishes that she just loved ~ and now I have them along with more that I was able to pick up at auction ~ now, there's service for twelve and I love them, too!

Well, once again ~ I make myself laugh!! I told you all about the centerpiece but forgot to mention that I had a luncheon group here today!! It was too much to re-type it or move the words around ~ my cart was before the horse ~ which is not so unusual! There was a great group of gals here today ~ they started their annual quilting retreat weekend here with lunch and a house tour! Last year, they came to shop in the wool room and this year, they added lunch to their day! I fed them rosemary lemonade, chicken pepper pot soup, muffins, Carol's broccoli quiche, frosted jello and black forest cake!! They left stuffed and planning to return! What better compliment could there be?!

Last night was Trick or Treat ~ this is Logan and Jordyn all ready to go ~ a half hour early ~ they were so anxious!! I missed getting Luke and Luci's picture ~ I was there too early and when we went over for our annual Halloween supper, they were out of their costumes and knee deep in candy!!! Which they shared with their Bobo and Pa!! That was a bonus! After 10 years of trick or treating with the kids, that phase is over!! Luke is too old now for his grandma to go along and Luci is into her girly friends! So, with salad in hand, we went over for chili and grateful for the years that I got to go up and down the neighborhood streets and carry discarded gloves and masks for the little people I hold so dear!!

While I was writing this, I have been watching Patrick Swayze's wife, Lisa, talk to Oprah ~ her first interview since Patrick's death. One thing she said that rang so true with me, is that before his illness they lived in the 'future' ~ what they were going to do, where they were going to go, etc. ~ and once diagnosed they learned to live in the moment. I don't know why ~ but Sonny and I really do live in the moment ~ we always have. Maybe because we're a second marriage ~ maybe because we like to have fun ~ maybe because we don't want to have any regrets when we leave this planet! Not to say, that sometimes maybe we've been too much in the moment ~ we never really thought that we would actually get old and not be able to work like crazy ~ but we do the know the value of living in the now! That's my wish for you today ~ live in the moment ~ because all we have is right now ~ today is a gift and that's why it's called the 'present' !!!!!!!!!!

Happy Halloween ~
Alice

WEEKEND FUN ~ ~ ~

Friday night fun ~ we went out to eat and then stopped at a local spot to listen to The Island Doctor ~ he sounded like James Taylor ~ we enjoyed him a lot and the old guy and I danced up a storm! But the highlight of the evening was this girl and her parrot!! She was there most of the evening ~ she danced ~ Muffin danced (that's the bird) and they were quite entertaining! Muffin sat on people's arms and you could pet her ~ she was very well behaved to be out with all these folks and loud music! Really, there's nothing like a pretty girl and her dancing bird to get the attention of a bunch of people catching the last bit of Fall fun! We ran into a couple we know from town and they introduced us to a fellow who, as it ends up, is our neighbor across the street here at home!!! He said he has wonderful parties and will invite us!! We'll be waiting!!

This motley crew ~ John and Karen in the middle and her brother and sister and spouses ~ dressed in their Halloween finery! This group went to Kelleys and six of us did not!! I can hardly believe it but it was cold and blowy and we decided not to brave the elements and stayed on the mainland!! I hope I'm not getting old!! I really couldn't believe that I opted out of Halloween fun and I told them next year I won't be such a weiner!! Yes, that's what I called myself!! But those of us who stayed behind had our own kind of fun, of course!! Went to a little place over on Catawba for some supper ~ ran into people we knew ~ and some that we didn't but made friends with anyway!! Then went to Mon Ami to listen to music and we danced some more!!! Ran into people that knew my son, Ted ~ she said 'you have to be Teddy's mother, you look just like him'!! Oh, he will be soooo happy!!

This was Karen's centerpiece and a nice pumpkin roll in front of it!! That was gone in short order!! They wined us and dined us with a mummy cheese log, crab roll ups that were to look like snakes ~ so yummy! Turkey tetrazini and chinese cookies ~ I had a late night craving for something sweet, so they gave me permission to take their key and I went in before they got home from Kelley's and had a cookie and some chocolate!! Good neighbors!!

Karen made each of us a little favor to take home ~ cute little tombstones with funny sayings and something to munch on!! Anyway, it was a fun afternoon and a great weekend overall! As I've said before and I'll say it again ~ I'm so grateful for all our friends up there ~ we have a great time ~ we're like a little lake family!

So, here we are, back at home ~ cutting back the garden and getting ready for a group to come on Friday! I better figure out what I'm serving ~ of course, I have several days to work on that!! Something nice and soothing for this Fall weather!

I did some hooking this morning! I brought home the rug I was working on at the lake ~ and decided since I haven't done a very good job of going down to hook every evening, that I would try it in the morning!! I hooked for an hour while watching The View so I definitely made some progress!

Have a good week, everybody!
Alice