On the left:  This was a pillow top that I traditionally hooked with wool strips last year.  The pattern was developed from a design on an old piece of pottery by Ruby Hill Fiber Arts in Nevada.  I found it on Etsy and really enjoyed hooking it. 

On the right:  I wanted to punch hook the same pattern, using my own hand-dyed yarn rather than hooking it with wool strips.  So late last year I tried to buy it again on Etsy.  But after a prolonged and extensive search there and on Google, I could no longer find the company anywhere online.  It was as if it had never existed.  Finally I re-drew the pattern and changed it up a bit, and then punched it.  I just completed the finishing this evening. 

This developed from my interest in showing the difference between traditional hooking with wool strips, and punch hooking with yarn.  They are both very similar and very different.  I only wish I could have found the designer again and bought the pattern a second time, and would be happy to pay her if I can ever locate her.  I really enjoyed both projects.  But not the finishing.  I'm fine finishing a rug, but anything involving sewing is not fun for me and finishing pillows, of course, falls into that latter category.  Glad these are done!

Two years ago I started hearing about this show, which is only run every other year.

Because I was sick, I missed the 2017 show and was determined to get to this one.  I made it to Vermont today and am glad I did.  This show is held at the Pompanoosuc Mills home base in Vermont, a gigantic workshop building where their signature furniture is made and the location of their flagship showroom. 

Why a rug & fiber show there?  Because Ed O'Keeffe, the Showroom and Web Manager, is also a rug hooking artist.  Ed teamed up with Jennifer Davey, another rug hooking artist and a past president of the Green Mountain Rug Hooking Guild (GMRHG), to mount this show on an "off-year" from the big show that is put on biannually by GMRHG.  Because the Pompy showroom is simply immense, there is a lot of wall space.  It's the perfect place to hang rugs!  And hang they did--check out these wonderful pieces below.  Note that I did not get pictures of all the rugs, only about half of the ones on display.

I should add here that all these rugs came from the talented members of the Green Mountain Rug Hooking Guild.  I'm thinking that Jennifer and Ed selected them from the Guild's bi-annual show and curated them for this display.

Another of Dana's astounding rugs, Red Riding Hood, was also on display here, but I have already dedicated an entire previous blog post to Dana. Her Red Riding Hood rug is so spectacular that an Australian rug maker did a blog post on it that's in-depth and quite good.  Don't miss it!  You can find it HERE.  And to see more of Dana's work, check my previous post about her HERE.

Despite these many photos, there were at least as many, if not more, rugs and wall hangings on display (and of course, the beautiful furniture everywhere as well).  If you are in the area, this show is well worth a visit. 

Details on how to get there and the duration of the show are on the postcard at the top of this post.  Enjoy!

Today we had late-afternoon sun after nearly a week of heavy clouds and some rain.  Amazing the difference sun can make.  I've been patiently waiting.  Our autumn foliage is beginning to glow and when sun shines through the leaves it is just exquisite.  I feel totally lucky to live amidst all this. 

Trees are truly extraordinary creatures.  May we never lose them.

 And here below is what may be my oldest hooked piece.  I am guessing I hooked this in the late 80s or early 90s.  It's disintegrating now--the foundation is disappearing and unfortunately it won't be worth saving.  Although I actually began hooking a rug in 1969 or 1970, I was unable to finish that first piece.  It was a round rug I was hooking with wool roving as opposed to wool strips.  Unfortunately, I  lost it in the chaos of moving repeatedly from place to place during that time.  I didn't try again for about 20 years.  I began again in the late 80s and think that may be when I made the piece below.  I hooked it in a 3-cut, my least-favorite style.  It's a wonder I kept hooking at all after that.

What's barely visible in this small photo is the disintegration in the lower left and right corners.  I'm wondering if it's moth damage (unlikely) or if the original pattern was on burlap (more likely).  Burlap was commonly used back in those days but now has been abandoned by most hookers; it's inexpensive and easy to hook through, but it was actually made to rot.  Think of the burlap that's routinely wrapped around the roots of young trees waiting to be planted--the intention is that when the tree goes into the ground, the burlap will disintegrate.  It's the same when it's used for a rug foundation.  Bad idea.

It was nice to see this piece after all this time--I gave it to a friend and she brought it over this week to see if I could repair it.  I can't, but it was good to get a photo and take a walk down memory lane.

My form of church, that is. 

I left very early today to meet a friend and fellow textile artist on a rural road 45 minutes from my home.  Each with rugs in tow.  Our goal was to drape the rugs we brought over the stone wall that looks over a meadow and then down, down, down into a huge reservoir (part of which is just barely visible over the tops of the trees and under the surrounding hills) and get a decent photo.  I ran the resulting picture thru an iPhone app and got this.  I'm pleased.  It's a mix of a few of my rugs and a few of her rugs. 

This picture describes my spiritual life--the natural world plus a meditative form of craft such as traditional rug hooking.  

The light, the earth, the stones, the colors, the sun, the clouds, the wind, the water, the trees, the hills. 

I can't think of a better place to be on a Sunday morning in the autumn.

“The sun shines not on us but in us.”
― John Muir

No drawing happening because I've been doing this.

Yep, back to traditional rug hooking.  There is a lot more to this story, but I'll share that another time.  I'm really enjoying the process, as always.  I even have a space in my house reserved for this rug, assuming I like the way it turns out.

Ferocious thunder & heavy rain today while I was working on this.  Anything that clears out humidity is fine with me.  I'm concerned about those in the path of the Dorian hurricane however, and horrified about the Bahamas.  How will the Bahamas recover? 
(I am not in Dorian's path)

An "embedded letters" tile for Project Pack 06.  The "No Mistakes" pack.

Meanwhile, I think/hope my creativity is beginning to come back.  Finally some textile work, the start of a new rug.

A lovely calming meeting today with rug hooking friends Diana, Lynda, and Judy.

Hmmm, I appear to be working on a series of posts with titles named after Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  Yesterday was Grumpy, today Happy.

A good night's sleep makes all the difference (oh no--I can foretell a forthcoming post with the title "Sleepy").  That plus the fact that last year at this time I was still unpacking, and would feel terribly guilty if I tried to find the time to do anything creative when I felt I "should" be working on the house. 

If I know anything about myself it's that a day or two without time to do handwork or drawing renders me hyper-cranky and anxious.  I'm afraid I'm addicted.  It doesn't matter if the result is only mediocre; it's the act of creating that releases stress and puts me nearly into a state of bliss every time.

Today I was able to do some rug punching (for a pillow not a rug) and at the same time practice singing.   My singing was absolutely horrible, but who cares?  The combination was my idea of heaven.  Start of punched pillow is below.

Contrast this punched version with the identical but traditionally hooked pillow (see my post from December 27th) to see the difference between punching and hooking.  Both of which sound either violent or sleazy, eh? 

But they are the polar opposite.  So soothing.

In less than a week, 2018 is done.  I'm doing my annual review by re-reading my journal and reflecting.  It's always a bittersweet process.

That's not all that's winding up.  On the right is yarn I over-dyed yesterday, preparing for my next project.   I just finished winding it into this yarn cake.

Here it was in the dyepot just before I nuked it for the final time.  And yes, the lighting was different.  The color in the photo above is truer.  The original yarn, a worsted weight, was beige.  When I saw this in the dyepot It looked so much like spaghetti I couldn't believe it.

Also winding up--and now actually finished--is this hooked pillow I put together yesterday.  The pattern is from a vintage piece of pottery, and I'm thrilled with how it came out. 

The yarn I dyed above is actually going to be used in a twin of this piece--I will punch hook the same pattern, to illustrate the difference between traditional hooking and punch hooking.

Here's another short post on OTHER PEOPLE'S WORK (not mine).  My buddy Cheryl is a Rug Rescuer--she takes partially completed traditionally hooked rugs from people who cannot complete them (usually due to age, illness, or unknown reasons) and finds a way to finish them.  She's a genius at it! 

Here are a couple of her rescued rugs, then a 3rd rug that she hooked NOT as a rescue but just for fun for a grandchild.  And finally, a rug in progress from another wonderful rug artist, Cynthia (not a rescue--her own design).

I got to see these lovely rugs, and others, at our meeting last Friday.  It was hard to tell which was more fun--the rug hooking, the conversations, or the fabulous groan-inducing foods.  We met at Cheryl's amazing and stunningly decorated old Victorian house.

"When life gives you hands, use 'em to make stuff."
--Anon.

The beginning today:  I began designing another large rug.  It's too early by far to show anything, but I am pleased with the start.
The ending today:  After endless rain and then multiple overly-early snowstorms, we finally got all the leaves cleaned up.  It took all day.  Since I'm focusing on gratitude this month, I want to say how relieved I am that I no longer have to do this myself.  Because I live in a condo, someone else does it for me, and of course they have all the right tools & equipment, saving my old bones the effort.  Thank you, thank you.

Two small tangled pieces today...

Above is a black Zentangle® 3-Z tile with White Gellyroll pen and White General's Charcoal. The tangle is called XLnt and it's by CZT Jody Genovese (you can find it on tanglepatterns.com). This is my first try at it, and wowza, it was not easy for me to figure out. I like it very much though and think I'll be using it a lot. This was done for the "It's a String Thing #271" Challenge on Adele Bruno's website.

And this one is done on a tiny Bijou tile (2"x2") using Gold Gellyroll pen and A bit of White Gellyroll, with colors by General's Chalk pencils.  The tangle in the center is Zenith, and that was our assignment for the Gratitangles Project, day 25.  I mixed in a Footlites tangle on either side (same project, day 14).  Zenith is a tangle I always mean to use, and rarely do.

While working on these tiles I could not help thinking of things I am grateful for today:  For example, safe housing, with great caretakers who moved those leaves efficiently and who also take care of the snow and ice.  I'm grateful for the snow tires I had put on my car yesterday.  I am grateful that I even HAVE a car and the money for snow tires. 

I finally finished my "Red & Black" rug today.  This piece feels as though it's been underway for years. 

It's not a big rug, either; it's probably about 2'x3' at most. 
After I finished the binding and then the final steaming, I laid it down on my tile floor to dry and went into my journal to search for the starting date of this rug.  I couldn't find it, but it has to be either 2016 or 2017, early in the year*.

So in actuality, I don't know how long it did take me.  But certainly over a year.  Things got incredibly complicated when I bought the house, packed up after 40 years in one place, moved, started unpacking, and broke my wrist.

There were a lot of lessons in this rug, and good memories too.

I thought when I designed it (yes, it's my design) that I could use up all of my red and black wool.  Well, that didn't work out!  The wool apparently multiplied itself secretly overnight and I am left with what looks like the same amount of red and black wool as I finish the rug as I had when I began.  So one lesson is that wool you want to use up never fully goes away, while wool you are worried about not having enough of will ALWAYS run out in a crucial spot.  Guaranteed.

I thought hooking in straight lines would be a cinch.  Surprise!  Not so easy for me.  I learned I am not good at hooking in straight lines at all.  But...I kept on truckin'.

I started it while living in one place, and finished it in another.  I miss my Woolies so much...and at the same time am forging new friendships out here.  I feel fortunate to be making some new friends.  (But still wish my other peeps weren't so far away...)

I had to put it down and pick it up about a zillion times, with long delays in between due to packing, moving, unpacking, and my damaged wrist and hand.  There was a major lesson in patience and persistence to get it done. 

But I got it done.  That's the biggest lesson.

*Addendum:  Checking my photos of this rug, I see that I started it in January of 2016, so over two years from start to finish.  Yikes.  (I may have put it aside to complete at least one other rug in the meantime, however.)

One of the very kind Quabbin Rughookers invited us all to her lake house in Spencer on Sunday.  What a house!  And it has a wonderful history (too long to go into here but I delighted in hearing it).  Anyway, we sat in a lovely room overlooking a gorgeous lake in beautiful weather--every moment was enjoyable.  It was such a fun day.  Here are the rugs people were working on (photos by permission, of course).  With thanks to Diana for hosting us.

Wow, stunningly beautiful weather this last little while--sunny, warm (but not hot), and no humidity!  Today was lovely.  I drove to a friend's house for a rug hooking event, and we were able to work outside in her gorgeous backyard.  Perfect weather and no bugs!  We hooked on her patio while viewing her colorful garden and listening to the din from hungry baby birds and their parents in a birdhouse not more than 4 feet over our heads.  The birdy-parents came and went ceaselessly, trying to stuff food into the mouths of the kids.  And were those kids noisy and demanding!  Parenthood is never easy no matter who the parents are...

Here are some of the rugs I saw (of course I got permission for these pictures--thank you all!):

And now for something completely different...

Diana had just gotten back from babysitting for four days while family members took a short vacation to Aruba (something they had won!  What luck!).  They brought back this amazing object for her.  Even more amazing is the description of the artistic process that was used to create it--it may look painted, but it isn't.  See the photograph right underneath it describing how it was done.  I have never heard of this art before, but I love this little critter.  Isn't he (or she) a beauty?

Truly impressive.  I will have to google "mopa mopa," which I've never heard of before now.

I capped off the day by 1) treating myself to a wonderful documentary on David Hockney's 2012 and 2016 exhibitions of landscapes and portraits.  More visual delight! 

And then came home and finished a tense and good WWII-themed novel. 

All in all, a delightful summer day.  I am feeling fortunate indeed.

Two of my good buddies have been wanting to learn Zentangle®, so I went over to their place and did a class today.  They did great--have a look at these results:

 Really well done. 

Of course, I forgot the handouts I had carefully prepared and printed before the class.  It's been about two years since I have had a chance to teach tangling, mostly because of buying a house, packing, moving, unpacking, and then the Great Broken Wrist Adventure.

So it was truly wonderful to be able to refresh my teaching skills today with kind friends.  Mind you, I have NO idea what they thought about it, but I sure had fun, and am delighted with their results.  I hope they are also.

Much of what I've been doing in the last month involves embroidery with punchneedle and wool yarns.  Unfortunately, I can't really show it here because the designs I'm using, both of which came off t-shirts I own, are not mine and I can't reach the artist for permission.  But I'll show a portion of one of them...the back end of a horse.  Here it is.  I am really in love with working with wool yarns (these are lace weight and/or sock yarns) in my punchneedle.

The pink-ish background is a single ply hand-dyed Malabrigo lace weight yarn.  Really the possibilities are endless since sock and lace-weight yarns come in so many colors now.

One of the best things about this is that I can try out rug designs in punchneedle first, before going ahead with the dyeing for a large rug only to discover that the colors or the design are not working.  Better to find that out in a small punchneedle piece than after spending money for wool yardage or expensive wool rug yarn.

It seems Spring is scarce as hen's teeth around here.  It comes and then goes just as quickly.  Fortunately last Saturday we had one glorious spring day, coinciding with our rug hooking meeting in Connecticut at Ann's farmhouse.  The weather and sun smiled upon us; all of us were able to attend, and we had a blast. 

I have only a few pictures (since many of us have been working on the same projects for quite a long time) but they'll be worth seeing.

Well, of course--those of you who've been reading the rug hooking category of this blog will recognize Cheryl the Rug Rescuer's name and title.  Yes, this is ANOTHER rug rescue by our intrepid colleague.  I believe the designer's name is Denise Mitchell...see this close-up below:

Apparently Denise (if I have her name correct) was a rug hooking teacher who died recently.  Before her death she designed and hooked most of this rug, but was unable to finish it.  Another rug hooker who didn't feel able to tackle the job approached Cheryl, asking her to do complete it, and gave her the remaining wool for the rug.  Cheryl accepted the challenge and is basically done with the hooking now.  Someone else will take care of the binding, and then the rug will go to the woman who asked Cheryl to finish it.  Denise, wherever she's currently existing, would be proud to see her rug completed.  A better photo is below.

Elizabeth was punching away on this beauty:

And Kathleen had brought along this pattern to work on for the day (K is in the middle of two other very complicated gorgeous rugs, too large to carry around):

That's it for the rug photos, but wait until you see what is coming next.  Ann, our hostess, brought out a hand-embroidered tablecloth that had us all drooling down our shirts.  One of her relatives (grandmother?  uh-oh, I can't remember) had begun this, and I think Ann prevailed upon an aunt to complete it.  It is just stunning.  I took lots of photos.  Here it is:

Here are more photos of various motifs, and some close-ups.  What a labor of love.

You may be wondering (but you probably aren't!!!), "Where's your rug?"  My rug is so close to done that I've decided to wait until it is done to show the photo.  Since I am moving at a snail's pace--too busy to work on it much--that could be another month, but I hope not.  I'll try to get it done and on here sooner.

Instead, since Ann had been asking me about punchneedle, I did bring my latest punchneedle project.  I finished it this morning.  Still debating how to frame it.  Below you can see the original tee-shirt I've had for at least ten years, if not more, with this design on the front.  And next to it, my punchneedle version.  The tee-shirt is fading, and I've loved this redwing blackbird image for so long that I cannot bear to lose it, so I wanted to immortalize it in punchneedle.

The one problem:  I cannot find any contact information for the original artist, Rob McClellan.  I believe I've traced him to Ohio, and have even found a gallery there that sells some of his work.  But the most recent work they have is decades old.  I wrote to the gallery to see if they could help me locate him, but they wrote back to say they have no idea how to do that.  If anyone--anyone!--knows how to locate him (I suspect he may be long dead--I've found some photos of someone with that name on the internet but they too are decades old), PLEASE let me know.  Clearly I did this for myself only and will not be selling or profiting in any way from the piece, but I would love to find him and thank him and credit him even more than I can by doing this.

A lovely ride with new friends this morning to a rug hooking event at a church about an hour away.  Very well organized, and 165 people in attendance.  I only photographed a few rugs, but aren't these wonderful?

Good people, good food, good vendors.  What's not to love?  I even won a prize, and I never win stuff at these events.  All in all a very satisfying day.  We started out early in very cold weather and saw plenty of snow on the ground and gorgeous snow-laden trees.  Driving home, all the snow was gone.  Spring is on the way...if we can only hold out long enough!

Oh, this was fun to do.  It has been a long time since I've done any punchneedle embroidery, and I enjoyed every minute of this.  I've done a lot of my own designs but when I saw this pattern by Lori Brechlin of Notforgotten Farm I just couldn't resist. 

I recognize this sentiment as being universal to all rug hookers and rug punchers.  Here's a shot of the piece before it was framed:

After all, a hooker can never have too much wool.

Off I went today to a local b&b owned by one of the Quabbin Rug Hookers.  We hooked from 11-2 and really enjoyed ourselves at her unique and beautiful house on a gorgeous spring day.

And here are a few of the rugs-in-progress:

Judy was beginning this fabulous Bea Brock pattern and I love the colors she's using.  This is going to be a stunning rug.

Next (below), if you've been following the progress of Phyllis's "Zen Sand Garden" rug, here it is as of today.  She's almost done!  I'm loving this rug.  It's Phyllis's original design, and she's been improvising with great success as she's been working on it.

Although we'd brought lunch, Lynda served a wonderful tomato soup and warm bread (yum).  So filling.  During lunch I had a chance to speak with Jane, a brand-new rug hooker.  Here is Jane's maiden voyage (first rug); she was also testing out some frames today to decide which one she wants to buy...

I forgot to say that there were only five of us present today at Lynda's cozy house.  I totally enjoyed being there and meeting her dogs Kiwi and Harry. 

Here is the progress on Lynda's Peace Pagada rug:

With thanks to Lynda for hosting, for all the "eye candy" at her house, and for inspiration from the other Quabbin rug hookers.  Good food, good conversation, and good work today.

A page from my journal today.  Not a masterpiece but at least it got me tangling and drawing, and I completely enjoyed doing it.

And speaking of roses, kudos and roses to my buddy Cheryl the Rug Rescuer.  She has just completed a commissioned rug rescue for someone she knows who brought her a half-finished rug.  As I recall, there was no wool with it, just the unfinished rug, so Cheryl had to match wool as best she could.  The pattern, I think, was drawn by a rug hooking teacher who was unable to continue hooking, so I believe it's an original.  Anyway, I love this rug (below).  Let's first look at the rug on the floor of Cheryl's drop-dead gorgeous Victorian living room; then I'll post a closer view.

That's the rug in the foreground above, but isn't the entire room just so beautiful?  And here's a closer look at the rug itself:

What a beautiful design.  Very sad that the designer wasn't able to complete it, but at least the Rug Rescuer got it done!  Now here's the hard part:  She has to give the rug away to the woman who brought it to her.  I would have a lot of trouble giving something this lovely away.

Now Cheryl is working on this wide-cut rug below (a real departure for her as she's not enthusiastic about hooking with wide cuts).  I don't know whose design this is but it's very pretty:  And yes, this is another Rescue Rug, started by someone before it was abandoned and turned over to her.

Quite unusual.  I don't recall ever seeing this design before.  Go Cheryl!

I haven't seen either piece in person yet; another friend took these photos for me (thank you, Kathleen).  I'm hoping to see the actual rugs in person in a couple of weeks.

A few years ago I was fortunate enough to go to a hook-in in Vermont and met Dana Psoinas from New York, one of the most extraordinary rug hookers and artists today.  I had already been mesmerized by her "Guardian" rug in a photograph, and suddenly, there was the real thing, right in front of me on the floor in Shelburne Vermont. 

And there was Dana herself.  A more talented and nicer person you just cannot find.  She specializes in rugs that tell stories, usually stories from fairy tales or myths.

I was star-struck.  We hit it off and have corresponded occasionally since then.  Lucky me.

I am still star-struck by her work, and so will you be.  Read on! 

She recently showed me three drawings she has done--freehand, mind you!--on linen, to sell as patterns for other rug hookers.  One of them is at the top of this post, and the rest are below, along with a sketch she hasn't yet drawn on foundation.  

More information about Dana and her process is at the end of this post.

She sold these through her Etsy site--but please be aware that these patterns are NOT FOR SALE now.  They were/are one-of-a-kind.  She is busy with her own rug making and does not stock or sell patterns all the time.  There is a wonderful photo of her finished Guardian Rug on her Etsy site--please have a look to see just how phenomenal her rug hooking is.  She works in 2-, 3-, and 4-cuts to achieve her extraordinary rugs.

Check her site from time to time in case she does post something to sell...who knows,  you may get lucky!

If you wonder about her creative process and want to know a bit more about her, you can check this recently-written blog post with more photographs of her rugs.  Enjoy.

With thanks to Dana for letting me post this!

 On Sunday I went to my first-ever Quabbin Rug Group meeting.  It was just great.  No fewer than eleven people showed up--I was impressed.  Here are some of the rugs I saw.

I only wish I were better at catching people's names.  I'm terrible with names.  therefore, I was only able to attribute a couple of these in-progress pieces. 

Enjoy the eye candy!

I think this may have been by Judy Jewett (altho I certainly could be wrong)?  It is from a pattern she purchased.  Love the colors she is using.  She was at the binding stage, so it should be done very soon.

Isn't this one just the most fun?  I can see the face of the wonderful woman who's making it, but I cannot for the life of me remember her name.  Darn.  I already want this rug and she's not even finished with it yet.

This rug is by Linda Faye of Amherst and is her own design--it's a tribute to the Peace Pagoda.  You can see that she's begun by hooking the many prayer flags flying in the wind there.  The Peace Pagoda has a good website here.  I'll be interested to see how this rug develops. 

Linda also had a wonderful dog rug with her, but I was unable to get a photo of that.

Not sure whose pattern this is but I heard the woman who is making this piece say that the original designer intended for it to be done in a fine-cut.  However, she is more of a wide-cut person and is successfully doing it in a 6 or an 8 (probably an 8--I didn't hear that part). 

She was making the point to one of the other participants that it's possible to take a fine-cut design and do it in a wider cut.  It can be done with many (not all) fine-cuts.  The results will look very different, but as you can see here, it still looks great.

How stunning is this???  Wowza.  I believe the woman who is making this is named Sue, but I'm not certain.  I do remember her saying that this is her first-ever hooked piece.  Oh. My. God. 

I don't know if she designed it herself or if it is a pattern. 

(Hanging my head in shame--my first piece from years ago never looked anything like this one...)  I was drawn to looking at this over and over.

Isn't this the cutest thing you've ever seen?  I think this maker's name was Rebecca.  She was a guest at the meeting, I believe.  What really stands out for me about her--other than this truly wonderful folk-art rug which I believe is her own design--is that we were told she is "new to rug hooking."   Whaaaa-aaaaat???  I love these cats!

I heard her say that she's only been hooking for 18 months.  BUT...this is the 12th piece she has hooked in that short time.  So she's certainly not "new" in my book.  This is just great.

A talented woman named Penny (argh...I don't remember her last name either--was it Redfern?) sitting directly across from me was working on this rug, channeling Vincent himself.  Talk about an ambitious project.  I wish I had an off-the-frame photo of this; it's just wonderful. 

Last but by NO means least is this really beautiful and striking piece inspired by Japanese rock gardens.  Can I remember this woman's name?  No, of course not, but I love her work.  This is her own design. 

I get that "ahhhhhhhh" feeling simply by looking at the sinuous lines of the carefully raked sand, which she's captured beautifully here.  This is striking and I am loving the subtle colors.

I was definitely enchanted by all the rugs I saw.  We met at the Wool & Dye Works Rug Hooking Shop in Florence, which is a treasure in itself.

I'll finish off with a DRAFT of a triquetra knot, which I tried for the first-time today.  This says #3 because it's only my third try.  I have a lot to learn about these, that's for sure.

Yesterday I made a 5-minute stop at one of my favorite rug hooking shops, just to gather inspiration.  Even though I cannot hook at the moment (the broken wrist), I just wanted to connect with color, wool, and creativity.  I needed to ogle some rugs.  As it turns out, I was so glad I stopped by.  I found this beauty on their floor:

I'm guessing it's about 3-4 feet long and 2-3 feet wide.  The colors!  Oh, the colors.  Just wonderful.  So vibrant. 

About 2/3 of the rug is done, but as you can see there are two major central areas on each side that are still unhooked.  The backing looked to be in great shape.  When the shop acquired the rug, no wool came with it (no unhooked matching wool).  They've had it for some time now.  Here is a close-up of one of the to-be-finished areas, which includes the unusual finishing on one side; the original artist just folded over the backing and hooked through 2 layers to finish it.

I couldn't help wondering what happened to the original rug hooker--why did this get set aside when it was so nearly done?  I'm tempted to try to finish it myself!

BUT...Cheryl the Rug Rescuer, are you reading this?  This has your name all over it!  Are you interested in maybe finishing this rug?  If so, let me know and I'll put you in touch with the current owners.

Someone needs to finish this; it's on their floor and it's absolutely gorgeous.  I don't know how much they would charge for it.

Yes, I am in the back of a police car here.  You can see bars on the window (you can actually see them better in the reflection on the left side of the photo).
I was thrilled.
I think--I hope--this is the only time in my life that I will get to ride in a police car.  So why was I happy?  Because they were rescuing us.  Me and my buddy K.  We had set out that morning to drive to CT for a meeting of rug hookers at a good friend's house.  While leaving Boston we hit a pothole on the Mass Turnpike and shredded the tire on my friend's car.  Argh!!!  Nasty.

We limped along on the Pike with hazard lights on and got off at the next exit, which was close, fortunately.  I'll spare you the details of a long and somewhat harrowing wait for help (over an hour).  The tow truck driver couldn't take 2 people in his truck, so a kindly policeman agreed to ferry us to the garage, and did. 

I was in the side of the police car that was apparently for the hardened criminals--no door handle, bars on the windows, hard plastic seat (the better to hose off easily in case of unmentionable disgusting substances produced by anyone sitting there).  My friend K was in the opposite seat; her door had a handle and her window had no bars on it.  Between us (and also between us and the front seat) was a barrier of clear plexiglass, undoubtedly bullet-proof. 

I was so interested to see what all this was like!  It was the ONLY good thing about this adventure, trust me.  Of course I couldn't keep my mouth shut and told the kind officer that he was giving two hookers a ride.  Perhaps that is why I ended up on the "wrong side" of the back seat?  I wish you could have seen his face, until I explained I was referring to rug hooking. 

I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  The short ride was mind-bogglingly uncomfortable as we bounced up and down over every tiny bump.  Those hard-plastic seats are really torture.

I totally loved my ride in the Paddy Wagon.

After which we got the repair done and proceeded to CT.  We had to--we were bringing lunch.  We got to stay for only 3 hours before we had to go home, and had a great time as always, but I was so disappointed because we usually stay all day and the setting is absolutely gorgeous.  Oh well, another time.

Yesterday I was able to move out of my studio here, with the help of a very kind friend, and bring it 90 miles west to my new home.  We couldn't quite get everything in, but here is all that's left:

It will be a cinch to move these final things and I can just put them in my car.





Here is the most recent picture from my room-packing exploits:

Not too much left besides the kitchen, some clothing, and odds and ends.  It's all beginning to become real.  I'm curious to see what the next month brings, and how I will react to it.  Which reminds me:  it's time to meditate.

Lovely snow over the weekend, but oh-so-cold.  As I walked through my freezing kitchen this morning I spotted this guy out my back door.  I'll be thinking of him as the Snow Buddha from now on.  He reminded me to make the best of things, including the chaos I'll be experiencing for the next few months.

I doubt I can live up to his attitude.  But I'll do my best.

Meanwhile, in starting to pack yesterday I had to roll up one of the small rugs to make room for boxes.  This is a tiny rug I hooked a long, long time ago.  I haven't measured it in ages but I'm guessing it's something like 2.5 feet by 18".  That's probably way off, but you get the idea--it's small.  It's also a long-time favorite of mine.  This is just a partial view of it.  When I was making it, I was lucky enough to know and live relatively near to Pat Merikallio, a fabulously talented colorist, artist, and rug maker.  She now lives on the West Coast, but she was kind enough to help me with the color planning and I am a forever fan of her color instincts and all her rugs.  Thank you, Pat!

But alas, just look at the binding.  Yikes. I confess I've known for awhile that it was disintegrating and have been too lazy to address it.  Once I get myself moved I will make it a priority.  I may even have some of the original wool.

It occurred to me as I was writing this that adjusting my attitude and "fixing things" are common themes for me.  I was just reading this quote from Jack Kornfield about meditation, which has implications for both these themes:  "Part of spiritual and emotional maturity is recognizing that it's not like you're going to try to fix yourself and become a different person. You remain the same person, but you become awakened."

Which I certainly am not.  Maybe someday?