Vacation 2026

 Last week I went on a vacay with my son and his three kids. We went to Georgia, then Kentucky. The boys wanted to camp. It was pretty hot in Georgia so he rented a yurt instead. It had AC. 😁. 

It was right beside a lake. So pretty. The geese came right up to the site. I figure they were begging for food. No pictures, but we went to the Georgia Aquarium and I did see Stone Mountain from the road.

Next stop, Kentucky. Here we were tent camping. I haven't camped in a tent for 50 years. It turned out just fine. We made s'mores by the fire, went to the caves, and swam in the pool. 

My stalagmites,

And stalactites.

We went to a couple of different caves. Each had their own highlights. 

Lexi had my phone as it has a nighttime setting for the camera. I got lots of Lexi selfies. Lots.

As the saying goes, it was good to go and it was good to be back home.

Sue

Yesterday's Hook & Thread 🧵

 Another great day. I do enjoy our get together. Plus I'm getting more hooking and finishing of rugs done. I don't ever plan on taking my monster rug to a Hook & Thread or to a hook in. It's just too big and will be getting heavier every time I work on it.

Well, maybe one hook in. I worked on the monster rug in my Jenny  Smallridge class. I plan on going to her fall fling in October. I hope to have enough done to show her and ask any questions or work through any problems I run into. 

These are from yesterday. 

Valerie is still working on Santa. It's been slow going, but should be done in time for the holidays. 

Barb is still working on her flag girl. She's added more stars into the background for interest.

Michelle finished her Notforgotten Farm bee and was working on the backing.

Jo is working on a cow, or is it a goat,? Or a sheep? His eyes were too "white" and will be rehooked. He's going to be cute.

Sheila was working on binding her heart rug. She had a huge loss last year and said "her heart has a hole in it".  And it's got a unique shape. Love it. Sheila dyes using the spot dye method. Her wools are lovely.

More of Sheila's spot dyes used in this antique reproduction. I too am working on this pattern.

This is Lauren's that she started in our Jenny Smallridge class. They picked out some great colors. 

Show and tell. Jo brought her R/W/B items. 

Lauren brought her finished America rug. 

And a peek of last week.

Have a great day. Sue

 

Rug Camp with Jenny Smallridge

 I'm at rug camp in Millersburg Ohio. The teacher is Jenny Smallridge, she runs the Wooly Horse. I had her last summer with our guild, saw her at Spring Fling, and now this week. Jenny is a very inspirational teacher. Not only has she helped with my rug, she has discussed various topics such as backgrounds, borders, using textures, dyeing to name a few. I am enjoying the class. I am not enjoying that I smurfed up my back on the day before camp and I'm hurting. Right now I'm back at the hotel resting and Lauren is still hooking and having fun. 

It looks like I've not made much progress. This rug is huge, 4 foot x 5 foot. I want to replace some of the less desired motifs with something that has meaning to me. Jenny has helped to redraw some of those motifs. I added my two dogs, a cat, an American flag, a couple of bunnies. I may make more changes but this is a great start.

I have moved around the rug hooking those parts I was more sure of. And then one of the discussions was about hooking a large rug. One lady who's done large rugs said to completely hook the center. She said once the edges are done you'll not be able to get your arm under the weight of the rug to work on the center. I'm sure glad to get that tidbit now. 

This was the end of day one.

I already had hooked the yellow house and tree. So just part of the buttermold, a bird, a bunny, and a little on a horse.

This is the end of day two. Not much progress. A kitty and the red house. 

It's a beautiful day here in Ohio. 

Sue

Hook & Thread

 Our little group meets twice a month at my local library. Small group of 4 today. It's such a fun group and has been a great place to form new friendships. 

These first three are Lauren's. She has been on a red, white, and blue kick. This eagle is gorgeous. 

She changed this America rug up just a bit by inserting the 1776 and 2026. I love her color selections. Nice and dull, just like I like them. 

Lauren said this paper pattern literally fell off a shelf while searching for something else. Boy that sounds like my craft room. Yep, on a R/W/B kick. 

Next up is Barb. No progress was made on her flag girl, but it'll be done before next July 4th. 

And this turkey sitting on a pumpkin will definitely be done before fall. At least I hope it is. 

This is Karyn's. Slowly getting done. I asked her if she liked hooking with such a small cut. NO was her answer, but she inherited her mum's stash and is trying to use it up. 

And me. My dog rug is turned and secured. Now to make the binding.

This is a small piece. I picked up the kit from the thrift store for a couple of bucks. It had red and green wool with the kit, but I decided to use more primitive colors. 

The smoke seems to be gone. I'm so glad. It was messing with my sinuses. Gotta get all my chores and packing done tomorrow. Camp starts Tuesday morning. I've had Jenny once before. I'm excited to have her again. She's an all around delightful person. 

Sue

Time is flying by

 The time just seems to go by so quickly. When I was a young mom I thought time would slow down as I got older, as I had less to do. I do have less to do, but time seems to go by so much quicker. 

I finished hooking my reproduction antique dog. He turned out so cute. I steamed it this morning and now see I have two berries/flowers that need a bit filling in. 

He turned out so cute. Even cuter than I had imagined. I started this rug last month in a class with Katie Hartner. I was unsure I wanted to do this rug in class. It's not as primitive as most the others were hooking. I had to use some #6 cuts in some places. I asked Katie the Friday before class, she said to go with it. I even considered buying a pattern from her booth once I got there. In the end I'm glad I hooked it. 

We've been struggling with the Canadian smoke for several days. It's better today, but not gone. I try to stay inside as it just makes me cough. And cough and cough and then some more. 

Next week I have another class. This will be my annual Millersburg class. The teacher this year is Jenny Smallridge from the Wooly Horse. I had her last year when I learned her scrappy rug technique. This year's theme is how to make a great rug. Or how to make a rug great. Should be another great class. Lauren is rejoining the Millersburg class. It'll be good to have a pal there. 

Sue

New Hooker

 My grandson has been asking me to teach him how to hook. Today was the day. He didn't catch on right away and got frustrated. He is only eight. We'll try again another day. 

I got the snowman all hooked, trimmed, zigzagged, and turned under. I still need to make and sew the binding on. 

It's so hot. 92 and stifling in the shade. Even hotter if out in the sun. Not fun. 

Sue

A gift

 My friend's birthday is coming up next week. Both of us are at that age where we really don't need anything and pretty much just buy for ourselves whatever we want. Well, up to a point.

Anyways I decided to hook something for her. I offered her a pumpkin or a snowman. She chose the snowman.

I have a good start, but I don't know if I'll be done by her birthday. 

 Have you seen the forecast for next week? Extreme heat with extreme humidity. 

Sue

That was a quick two weeks

 Today was another Hook & Thread Society day. Another fun day. Enjoy the show.

First up is Barb hooking a patriotic angel, or lady. She's not going to hook in the wings. She said she was stuck on her face, hands, and feet colors. She'd tried a couple and it didn't look right. I have this great checked wool that hooks up great as skin. So I ran home and got some for her. Bev Conway had me use this wool probably 10 years ago. I found more of it last year at a primitive show and quickly purchased it. I even shared some with Lauren. Looks good.

Michelle is hooking a Notforgotten Farm bee chair pad. I told her the eyes were uneven, she said it's drawn out like that. Hmmm 

 

This is also Barb's. Just finishing with the binding 

Shh. Valerie did not want this posted with his "black eye". She said this piece of black will be replaced with an appropriate color when she's ready to tackle his eye. I really like the gold she used for his coat and hat.

This is Lauren's Indian Eagle Flag, a pattern from Woolley Fox. Lauren and I attended a three day class in Pennsylvania last week. Katie Hartner was our teacher. What a great time. Lauren has a great eye for primitive colors.

And this is mine. Another antique adaptation of a dog. He's so ugly he's cute.

Last week's rug camp was one of the best I've ever attended. Debbie Curtis planned it. It was held at an inn. We filled all the rooms, so it was just hookers there. The rooms were decorated around the months of the year. Lauren and I had #12, Christmas. 

The staff was wonderful, the food delicious. The teacher ever so helpful and so kind. Yep, a great camp.