PICTURES OF HOOKED THINGS ~ ~ ~

Yes, I actually have done some hooking ~ I have a show Saturday in Columbus ~ the From Our Hands Show ~ you can look at the website www.fromourhands.com and check it out! This is a pattern that I drew freehand on a piece of hand-dyed wool that has a more open weave ~ I call it hookable wool ~ the flower stems are needle-felted yarn ~ I used my Babylok embellisher that doesn't get as much use as it should! It's a great way to do something quick since you don't have to fill in the background ~ this is a pillow top and will be a pillow by Saturday's show! The show is at the Aladdin Temple across from Easton shopping complex and is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ~ great hours and some really great folk art, rug hooking and some antiques! We'll go down Friday and make a night of it ~ after all, it's Halloween ~ there should be something 'brewing'!!

This little star mat was made for the top of this little old milking stool ~ I left the rough finish alone ~ they make a nice combination. The tan wool really comes off looking whiter than it is due to the camera flash.

Last week, I spent more time on this than I should have and finally took it off the frame so I would leave it alone. It's for my great niece, Isabella, who recently celebrated her first birthday ~ I copied her picture onto fabric and am going to hand stitch it onto the foundation and hook right up to the edge of it ~ she'll look like one of the little flowers!! Margo White is the designer ~ I loved the simplicity of it for a baby's room ~ last year I did another of Margo's patterns for the big sister, Ariana, and I also stitched her picture into the rug ~ it's a nice touch and the parents loved it!

One of the blog readers, Diana, asked if I knew the designer of the chicken runner that is in my Sauder Rug Show post of August 21 ~ if anyone knows the answer, would you post here on the blog ~ we'll try to get an answer for Diana!

In the midst of everything else, I dyed about 9 yards of wool today ~ started at 4 p.m. ~ I swear I'm going to work on getting better organized!! We did have a funeral to attend today so that's why the late start ~ but if you've read much here at all, you know I just get into gear when faced with a deadline!! Tomorrow and Friday ~ I'll be like a white tornado!! I have the last dryer load to empty and then I'm calling it a night! Sleep tight!
Alice

HALLOWEEN FUN ~ ~ ~

On Saturday, our lake friends, Karen (newly retired and loving life as you can see) and John, invited us all for a scary luncheon. Lots of good food and all done in a Halloween theme!



This bag o' bones was the centerpiece ~ wonder if it's anyone we knew?
This was truly 'finger food' ~ cute, isn't it? Carrot fingers with radish fingernails ~ Karen's sister JeanMarie is soooo talented!! I might add, Sonny and I served lunch on Friday ~ it consisted of crab soup and four bottles of wine!! It wasn't fancy but they seemed pretty happy when they left!! In the evening, we went to Mon Ami and ate some more and danced to Eddie and the Edsels ~ fun for old people!! And some of us are older than the rest!!!
This was our motley crew as we got ready to leave for the Jet Express ride over to Put-in-Bay! Some dressed up and some were just glad to be there!! There were three witches in our crowd (sadly, the pointy part of my witch hat was drooping) ~ a hippie ~ the Phantom of the opera ~ a couple dressed as really old people that never went out of character ~ and a guy that thought he was a bathing beauty!! We had a fun night over at the Bay ~ dancing to the Bomb Squad and The Menus ~ and seeing all kinds of crazy costumes and crazy people wearing them!

And this is today's reality in Ohio ~ snow ~ the same picture as my last post!! It actually has melted now and I'm off to lunch with friends!! Yippee!! Of course, I should be working ~ but I can't turn down an opportunity to visit and eat ~ friends help soothe the soul ~ and I'm so grateful for mine!!

FALL AROUND OUR HOUSE ~ ~ ~

Not a lot to write about this evening ~ just wanted to show some fall photos around our property! The dark red foliage to the right is oakleaf hydrangea ~ as pretty in the fall as when it's in bloom.
By the garden gate ~ a conglomeration of mums and odd pumpkins ~ the white is a lumina pumpkin, the dark orange - a cinderella pumpkin ~ and I can't remember the name of the lightest orange one. There is a place north of here that my son calls "the funky pumpkin patch" where we get the unusual ones. The rest came from an Amish farm in the area ~ great prices ~ helped to make up for the prices at the funky patch!


Just a primitive guy carved out of a big chunk of wood ~ and a little pumpkin nestled in one of the summer planters. And leaves ~ we have trees and leaves galore!
I put little mini's in the transoms above the doors ~ it's a good thing as long as I remember to remove them before winter ~ one year, I just didn't get around to it and with the freezing and the thawing ~ well, use your imagination!! It wasn't pretty!!


There's my Mr. Kitty looking out the window ~ he's waiting for 'Chipster' to appear ~ that's the name my friend gave those little critters that run rampant around here!
These two photos are just little vignettes on our breezeway ~ I love fall decorating ~ love the colors of fall ~ including this one last geranium that I couldn't discard ~ not just yet!

I wrote this posting last night so I wouldn't spend half my morning lining up words with pictures and figuring out what words to say (it takes me forever!)~ now, I'm off to do laundry, office work and the hooking room ~ there's definitely lots to do around here! At the beginning of this post, I said there wasn't much to write about ~ but I sure managed, didn't I!!!
Have a good fall day, wherever you are ~ enjoy the sunshine ~ enjoy your life!!
Alice

KELLEY'S ISLAND REVISITED ~ ~ ~

These pictures are from our recent trip over to Kelley's ~ Carol just emailed them to me and since there's not a lot to write about today ~ here we go! This beautiful spot was at the end of the road that goes past the Winery. Our driver ~ Sonny ~ decided we needed a tour and this is where we landed ~ this beautiful rocky shore on this small island in Lake Erie ~ beautiful, isn't it?


Carol ~ the photographer ~ and Bill ~ our lake friends ~ out of the four couples who planned to go that day but only the two of us made it! We had a fun day for sure!

Here's us ~ Sonny, the golf cart driver extraordinaire and his co-pilot! This was just such a beautiful spot that we all had to have our pictures taken here!
This is ABSOLUTELY my favorite place on the island (it ranks right up there with the Village Pump and their famous brandy alexanders!) ~ The Glacial Grooves! This formation was left by the glacier that moved across this continent eons ago ~ much of this was lost to the stone quarry on Kelley's before they knew exactly what this was. It's all guarded by chain link fence with placards and pictures along the path that surrounds it ~ to me, it's kind of a spiritual place when you realize how very long ago the glacier was travelling across this land where we now live. On our property here at home, there are formations called 'puddingstone' which were also left by that same glacier ~ pretty amazing! So every time we go to Kelley's, I campaign to get a cart and ride out there ~ obviously, they never change but I just love it there ~ and Carol does, too ~ now I have a Glacial Grooves buddy!!

This beautiful sunset marks the end of our day as we ride the Kelley's Island ferry back to Marblehead ~ lots of fun things happened in between these pictures but you don't really want to see us eating German food and slugging down wine! A good time was had by all and thanks to Carol for sharing her pictures!
Alice

AND THE WINNER IS ~ ~ ~

We just returned home from an overnight in Cincinnati celebrating our friends, Cliff and Margo's birthdays at their daughter's ~ they were wonderful hosts ~ it was like being at a resort!! We had to hurry home to have THE DRAWING ~ well, we had to hurry home to get their dog out of the kennel before 6!! I put all the names on a piece of paper ~ cut them up ~ and Sonny boy drew the name of ~ ~ ~ .
Can you read it? Look closer!!! It's JOJO ~ who is a faithful reader and frequent commenter!! Thanks to everyone who reads this craziness and to all of you who entered! JoJo ~ email me with your address and I will send your little package off tomorrow! Hope you all had a good weekend!
Alice

LAST SUNDAY'S FUN ~ ~ ~

Six little grandpeople sitting on a log ~ last Sunday was so beautiful here in Ohio, so we planned a wiener roast down in our gravel pit ~ well, it used to be ~ now, it's a nice green meadow where we pile all our limbs and twigs for just such an occasion! There were 15 of us ~ a couple of local ones were missing and of course, the Seattle family is way too far away! Grandpa and I furnished the fire, the hot dogs, cider and chips and the girls brought a smorgasbord of yummy food!

Bobo (that's my gramma name) thought it would be fun if the kids carved pumpkins ~ seems like only the tops got cut and the insides got scooped out and then they were done!! And I made a huge bunch of pumpkin cut-out cookies and frosting and bought sprinkles so the little people could decorate them and take them home! The little darlings decorated only what they wanted to eat and left the rest for me to finish!!! We have a great property with lots of hills and trees and rocks and all the kids really want to do is run and climb and play ~ which is great!
When the moon came up thru the trees, I took this picture through the smoke of the fire and it came out pretty spooky looking, actually (see the orb)!! It was time for all the big kids to gather up their little kids and head for home with their half-carved pumpkins and plates of cookies! It was a fun evening and this gramma headed straight for my bed!

The next day, I delivered some cookies to a couple of friends ~ at my first stop, her cat bit me ~ at the second stop, I resisted the urge to pet the dog!! It's been a busy week which included a trip to Cleveland and the next day a trip to Columbus to the wholesale market! I've been doing a little hooking on a rug for a great niece ~ I should be hooking for my upcoming show! Guess I'll work on that next week! Have a good weekend!
Alice

P.S. Enter the give-away on last Friday's blog if you haven't already!

BLOG AWARD ~ ~ ~

Once again, that sweet Trudy bestowed a blog award on this blog o' mine!! Trudy has a fun blog herself ~ Bits of Wool ~ on the list at the left! It's too hard to pick out my favorites ~ they're all award worthy ~ please take a minute and check out the ones on my list ~ there are others I need to add as soon as there is time!

Thanks, again, Trudy ~ you're always so complimentary!
Alice