Just hooking...

Instead of my normal evening routine of blogging and emailing, I'm
hoping to get lots of hooking done. With any luck I'll be finished
hooking this purse by tomorrow night - fingers crossed!

a room with a view

Whoosh! I can't believe how quickly the weekend went by....it seems like one minute I was frantically trying to get organized to leave on Friday, and a few minutes later, I was on my way home again - only it was Sunday!


Wendie and her husband, Rick, were perfect hosts. There was lots of chatting, laughing, knitting, reading, eating, relaxing, and sleeping....and a little bit of walking, sunning, boating, drinking. The only pictures I took were these ones, taken from the balcony outside "my room", the same morning I woke to the call of the loon. I'm a little disappointed that I didn't make time for my first swim of the summer (this year is going to be one of the latest I can remember)...but the rest of the weekend was so great, it more than made up for this small omission.


One other thing that I didn't do was hook. Not a single loop was pulled, but that's just fine. We were far too busy doing everything else. I made some certain progress on my February Lady sweater....


and I'm pretty confident that I'll be wearing it this Fall - or maybe even this summer, if the cooler weather prevails!

For the curious, the yarn is Cascade 220 (100% Peruvian Highland Wool) in colour 7807 - a nice purple base colour, overdyed with the following recipe....


I'm really happy that I kept (and found) notes on my dyeing methods, colours, and quantities. It can only serve to help me when it comes times over-dye all of the skeins of green I bought a months or so ago to knit another sweater - but that's a post for another day....

Away for the weekend

I'm so excited to be leaving momentarily for Wendie's cottage. I know
we're going to have a terriffic weekend....and I'll be sure to tell
you all about it when I get home. Have a great weekend - fingers
crossed that we all get to see the sun ( and better yet a clear blue
sky)...

Feeling a little February in July....

....and not because there's snow! (the sun is finally back and today was quite warm)

Wendie and I were chatting on MSN today, and eventually the conversation fell to our February Lady Sweaters. Mine has been sitting in the basket for several months - abandoned after I discovered a mistake a few rows back....and she just frogged hers. I know that it will be Fall again before we know it, and I also know that when it's all finished that I will wear it often.....so it was really time to pull it out, rip it back and re-memorize the two basic pattern rows. A perfect distraction from the craziness of my day.

Since I got home from work today, I've accomplished the first (and successfully picked up all of the stitches!) and half of the second task. I'm off to to memorize the second row right now...

workshops

There's been a flurry of interest in workshops and teaching in the last few months.....and I've been remiss in updating my schedule. I've added a few things tonight, and there are a few more for Fall 2010 that will be added just as soon as they are confirmed.

Looking at the list makes me feel very excited about what's to come....albeit a little nervous about how I'm going to fit it all in with my regular life (and my job!). I surely won't be bored ;-)

Organizing My Dye

Once I started using Majic Carpet and Pro Chem dyes, I slowly acquired all available colours of each brand. (Pro Chem has since added a slew of colours to their line...but back then there were only 26 known to me). I always have a hard time trying to match the name with the resulting colour of wool....so to help guide me about what the various colours actually look like, I dyed a sample piece of each of the colours using a consistent measurement of dye (1/8 tsp of dye on 1/12 yard of Dorr natural). I think I've mentioned before that this was the best use of dyeing time ever - it's helped me a lot and I still refer to it almost every time I dye. I just wish that I'd kept up the practice with the new colours I've purchased since that time....

I keep all of my dye in two red Coke crates (a little taller than the little jars, leaving some room for storing bags of citric acid, swatches, glauber salts, etc.)....and so I'm always looking at their lids. To help speed up the process of finding a certain colour, I cut small pieces off my swatch set and glued them to their respective lids. These original lids were all white, so writing on them was easy.


When I started ordering my dye direct from Pro Chem, their jars come with black lids. I bought some round stickers and wrote the number and name of each colour on each jar. When I dye - and pick up jars with wet gloves - some of the labels start to lift off. Over time, some of these same labels have disappeared or worse yet, drifted onto other jars. Just as I was starting to feel exasperated, I remembered the silver Sharpie I'd received as a bonus a while back. It worked wonderfully and I was able to write directly on the black lids. It still doesn't solve the problem of a lack of swatches though....but at least I know what number I'm picking up!


Whenever I empty one of my dye jars (after rinsing it out the the dye bath), I immediately recycle the bottom of the jar and then set aside the lid. Not only can I easily keep track of what I need to order, I also can re-use my same mini-swatches....and the lids take up a lot less room that keeping whole jars!


How do you organize and store your dyes and dyeing equipment? Do you have any tips to share?

new purse - day five and day six

I hooked like a fiend on Saturday.....to the exclusion of almost everything else. When I finally called it a day, I couldn't believe how much I managed to get done. I finished off the first side and hooked about half of the second side - in one day! A full day, mind you....and so the next day my thumb was really quite tender, so I hooked just a bit -- only the two brown skeletons on the left side got done.

Since it's already so late in the day, I'm going to give my thumb another recovery day and focus on my PST return instead (yuck!)

First Side

Second Side

new purse - day four

I didn't get nearly as much hooked last night as I was hoping. I think there were a few reasons for this:

1. too much watching, not enough listening (In Treatment is wonderful...and I'll be sad when it ends later today)
2. too comfortable on the couch (I think I'm going to haul out the floor frame today...and try sitting in a chair for a while)
3. my thumb hurts (the one that works under the frame - and the same one I hurt a couple of weeks ago....hopefully Advil will help with this one!)

Back soon with another update....have a great weekend!

new purse - day three

Well I've decided that watching "In Treatment" and hooking on my new purse are a great way to spend an evening! ;-) I think that if I can get a full evening's worth of hooking done tonight, I might be able to finish the first half before bed....

I've already decided that I'm not going to bother hooking a flap on this one.....and instead of using the leather buckle (since I don't have one in stock that's brown), I'm going to just use the magnetic closures to secure it.

Wendie asked about whether or not I've already chosen the handle colour....and the answer is yes! I knew already before I started hooking that the handle would be brown - very similar to the brown used in the flower skeletons. I'm also thinking that I will trim the opening in a similar brown, too.

Now that I've finally started hooking again, I can't wait to get this purse finished and onto the next one. In fact, I've already started hooking my next purse (in my mind, of course) while I work on this one. Do you plan and/or fantasize about future projects like this - when you're working on something else entirely?

new purse - day two

I hooked some more on my newest purse last night. I knew on day one that I didn't want to continue the tealy turquoise background across the whole bag, but I wasn't really sure what to do. (I'd already deviated from my original plan by hooking the turquoise in the way that I did).

I really love the coral/turquoise colour combination and scarlet/jade, too. Since I'm (mostly) working out of my bins of cut strips....and I don't use a lot of either coral or scarlet, I had to do a bit of a modification....and like our forebears, just made do with what I already have.

I'm happy with the way it's turning out, and I think it makes a more dramatic statement than some of my other bags. One funny thing about the summertime is that I tend to be drawn to stronger colours than usually appeal to me during the other 10 months of the year. Weird, eh?

Lately I've been noticing that my photography skills have a lot of room for improvement. Part of me - the part that wants a new camera - is convinced that it's my camera's fault....but deep down inside I know that most of it is caused my being hasty. I often find that I have to choose between being in focus and having accurate colours.....and my choice varies each day. I took a couple of pictures this morning - one was taken outside (overcast) and the other one was taken indoors. I think the colour in the indoor picture is more true...


Does anyone have an camera recommendations in the under $500 category? I need to be able to take close-ups of rugs, and I'm a big fan of Canon (but will consider others). Thanks in advance for any advice you'd care to share....

visitors a plenty...

Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians. We're pretty lucky to live in such a great country, eh? ;-)

• • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Back at the beginning of December 2008, I installed Google Analytics on my blog. Prior to this, the only way I knew if anyone was reading my blather...was if they told me. I don't have any real goals I'm trying to establish with my blog. There's no number of visits I expect to receive or anything like that....it all comes down to my natural curiosity. I'm curious about where people come from (46 countries so far, but most people come from either the US or Canada...and strangely enough, slightly more from the US than Canada) and how they find me (35% direct - from a bookmark or typing my address into their browser, almost 50% are referred from other sites and blogs - thanks guys!, and about 16% come from search engines like Google).

Speaking of search engines, Analytics also reports on what keywords people have used to bring them to your site or blog. Here are some of the more amusing (and curious) inquiries that have brought people here...

fish eye balls for earrings
arrived late for meeting
worm in fish eye?
worms in rugs
cheap fish rugs
artest "henry pom"
rugs with eyes
my little pony rug
"sick with the flu"
curry hills sheep
fish eye injection
green stuff over the fishes eyes what is it
little pony eye

Clearly some of these people did not find what they were looking for on my blog....but I hope you do! ;-)

I'm off to do some hooking on the new purse, while I start watching season I of In Treatment. I've really been enjoying season II on Sunday mornings....and it will be good to get caught up on everything that happened last season. Back soon with a progress report.

yesterday...

For many years, a group of almost 10 rug hookers gathered at AJ & UBs for a week of rug hooking, chatting, and eating (lots and lots of eating). We hooked down in AJs studio whenever we wanted to, and sometimes went on little field trips into town to visit local artists and artisans, go shopping, and occasionally ate out for one of the dinners. Everyone would be responsible for a meal - bringing all of the food, last-minute prep and clean-up. As our numbers grew, some people doubled-up....and there was always plenty of delicious food to eat. It was somewhat like rug camp, only better! The four or five days we were together always seemed to pass too quickly....but lots of friendships were made, in spite the short, annual gatherings.

Yesterday I dashed out at lunchtime to go and meet with two of these rug hooking friends, Joan and Dorinda, over at AJs. The quick lunch break wasn't nearly long enough for us to catch up, but it was great to see them, even for a short visit.

Dorinda is recently back from a workshop at Deanne's and brought her work-in-progress to share with us. I think it looks really great -- I snapped a couple of quick pictures on my way out the door, and here are some close-ups...


I really enjoy seeing people combining styles to make things their own. Deanne has a very recognizable style...and Dorinda has combined some of Deanne's materials and methods with her own colours and technique. Awesome!

Dorinda had asked me to bring some textured wool and supplies for her group to use in their landscape projects this Fall....and so I played around in the dyepots again on Sunday. Here are the results....


Dyeing the slub is so much fun. Every time I think of the big box of skeins waiting to be dyed, it makes me feel happy. In all of the craziness that is going on in my little world these days, having things that make me feel so excited is pretty swell.

Dear Mr. Ripley....

Believe it or not, I did some hooking this weekend! I didn't get a lot done, but at least I've started. I was really loving what was happening when I was working on it, but after I spent some time staring at it, I was a little less sure. I am going to have to change my plan, but I haven't yet decided what the solution will be.


In the meantime, I'll just be gazing at it, mulling over few options....and trying to get the rest of the boring part (the flower skeletons) hooked...

more knitting....

I'm really enjoying this new rhythm I've developed with my blog posts. Trying to post every weekday seems to be working -- hey I've only missed one day in the last three weeks (Tuesday this week, if you're keeping track ;-) )

I still haven't yet started hooking - all talk and no action in that department, I'm afraid. Truth be told, it's been pretty hot and humid this week....and it's hard to feel like hooking in this weather.

Instead I've been knitting....another of the same, but with some modifications and this time knit with two different balls of Noro Silk Garden Sock Yarn. I'm hoping to cast off soon, but the rows are taking longer and longer to knit each one....and with 250 stitches right now, it seems like it takes forever. I'm really loving how the colours are coming together on this one and I predict it will be worn a lot this coming Fall....


Have a great weekend....hooking pictures for sure next week, I promise!

you've got mail

I love getting mail. Not bills - that's not mail. I like getting the fun stuff: magazines, cards, letters, little notes enclosed with cheques...and most of all, parcels!

Do you ever notice that once you see something that you like (or really notice something for the first time), you often see something similar again very soon? Earlier this week, I read this post and I was reminded of how nice it is to use multiple stamps on one envelope. (it also reminded me of my stamp collection from back when I was a nerdy kid....and of all of the times I go to the postage and ask specifically for "fun stamps"....and of all of the stamps I must have squirreled away somewhere from all of the times the mail rates went up...) Fast forward to today, when this envelope arrived in the mail.....


What a coincidence - and a treat! ;-)

I also received a couple of parcels today. One was rug warp from Dorr - including a 10 yard bolt for my mum (to replace that which I borrowed this Spring in preparation for the Annual). The rug warp itself isn't really too exciting - apart from the enormous potential that exists in the remaining 30 yards. I'm sure that at least a few of the projects it yields will make me very happy. I love the little note that Nancy included...adding a personal touch.


The second parcel was the most exciting one. I've been waiting for it to arrive for a couple of weeks, and now that it's finally here, I'm really wishing that I'd not only started but finished my new purse. All I want to do is to dive in and start playing around with the contents of this box - but I know that once I do, it will be quite some time before I get back to hooking on purses (and I really need to get these purses done so that upcoming workshop participants have more to choose from....). I'm not ready to share a lot of details quite yet, but I will give you a little hint....


All this talk of parcels has reminded me of another parcel I received not too long ago. I reconnected with Jane at the Annual, and she shared with me a helpful tip to speed up the process of sewing the leather handles onto purses. 18 gauge syringe needles. Pop the syringe needle through the punched hole in the leather tab, then push regular needle through the syringe needle. No more searching and struggling to find the punched holes! I think this is a brilliant tip, and I can't wait to try it (must really get hooking on the new purse...) Thanks again Jane!


I wonder what surprises the mail will deliver tomorrow?

the importance of saying thank you

In the busy-ness of our crazy lives, we don't always take the time to do the things that we should. Making a point of saying thank you is one of those things I've noticed lately has been dwindling. Proper etiquette seems to apply only for big events such as weddings and showers.

When I was a little kid, writing thank you notes following every birthday and Christmas seemed like a chore - one that I dreaded. I still have a difficult time with cards in general, and I don't think that I am alone in feeling inadequate when faced with writing inside a greeting card - regardless of the occasion. I even have a hard time picking out a card, even when the sentiment is conveyed in a pre-printed message.

Sometimes so much time passes that it's easy to feel as though it's too late to say thank you. You've procrastinated too long....and it will only remind the person how long it's been - does this ring a bell? When this happens to me, I try to remind myself that it's better late than never, and think of the times that I did not receive a thank you. I'm still waiting for a few and some of them still sting - mostly because the gift was special. It was handmade.

There's an old adage about never knitting a sweater for a boyfriend...have you heard it? It's something to do with the fact that you always break up with the boyfriend by the time the sweater is finished. So much time, attention and love go into making the sweater that it's unlikely the boyfriend will ever be able to show enough appreciation. IMHO, gifting hand hooked items also has the potential to ruin a relationship. Gift with caution.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

A couple of weeks ago I received a surprise in the mail. My cousins sent me a nice thank you card and a gift card for a local shop, encouraging me to "pick out something beautiful." Chris and Lorrie have always been very profuse with their thanks and appreciation for anything that is handmade. Each of the stockings I've made over the years for their three children was always received with genuine enthusiasm and I have no doubt that they are treasured. I'm sure they told me no less than 6 times how much they liked the last stocking I made (for baby Tyler). Although the gift card was unnecessary, it was definitely not unappreciated. I picked out a beautiful necklace with a butterfly...and I will think of them every time I wear it (which seems to be about every-other day lately ;-) )


Speaking of saying thank you....I wanted to let you all know how much I appreciated your comments, both in person, in e-mails and directly on the blog. It's great to receive so much support for something that I derive so much enjoyment from doing. Thank you.

finally home!

I've been on the road all day today - to Toronto and back, to Algonquin Park and back, and to Dorset and back. It's great to be back at home ;-) I was really hoping to post before now, but technically as it is still Monday, I'm not really "late" ;-)

I visited random.org and the number that spit out was #4....so Alice will receive the books.

The weekend was busy, but not terribly productive on the crafty side of things. I will try to take a few pictures tomorrow to share...

ouch!

I caught my thumb in a filing cabinet drawer at work this week - in the heavy-duty fire-proof one, of course! While it's finally stopped throbbing, I'm convinced it's left the largest blood blister I've had in 36 years (you can kinda see it in the following picture).

Since it's still quite tender, it has provided me with another excuse for procrastinating the start of my next purse. I'm a little worried that by the time I actually get around to hooking on it, I will have used up all of the momentum and ideas that I've had over the last few weeks and I'll "over it" before I get started. So, I'm really going to try to get going on it this weekend -- I know that once I start, I'll be finished before I know it.

I already have a good idea for my 4th purse, but I'm making myself wait until I finish #3 before I start that one....


In the meantime, I've been knitting away on my shawl this week. I keep wavering between liking it, loving it and hating it.....but still I keep going because I've decided that when it's finally finished, if I still don't like it, I'll just overdye it. We don't have this luxurious option with our hooking, do we? But just as with hooking, every row I add seems to change the look of the whole....so I won't really know how I feel until the very end.

Have a great weekend....I'll be back on Monday.

getting the hang of it...

I think I might have mentioned that I did a little bit of dyeing on the weekend? I've now dyed just 8 skeins from my jumbo box....


My technique is slowly evolving....and this, the 8th skein dyed, is definitely my favourite so far.

Since the box still looks just as full as when it first arrived, I'm sure that there will be lots more "favourites" in my future dyeing sessions...

limited editions nearing retirement...

There's been a little flurry on purse pattern sales lately, and if you've had your eye on one of my limited edition patterns, you might like to know that I am down to the final 3 patterns of each of the following...

Two Owls

Gossip

Bar-Jello

No additional patterns will be printed for any of these designs....so to avoid disappointment, please contact me for ordering information.

Edited to add: there is now only one more Two Owls pattern remaining....