HAPPY TO BE BACK & SIGNS OF PROGRESS.

Back in the studio--at last!  I cannot believe how happy this makes me.  I started my current rug, Micmac, the first week in March of this year.  "Starting" is defined as beginning to color plan it., not actually starting to pull loops.  By March 20 and 21, I was actually beginning to hook.  Here is how it looked then:

On the left, the pattern before I began.  Middle:  Fooling around with colors.  I loved those colors, but couldn't make them work throughout the rug.  On the right:  How I started the center motif.  So...that was back in early March.

I worked on the rug pretty steadily for the next 4 months.  See my blog post answering the question, "How long did it take to make that?" here.

In July and August it was too hot in the studio to do anything will wool, so no further hooking got done.  In September it was still very warm but the bigger obstacle was my wonky back, which made even driving to the studio impossible.  Walking?  Unthinkable.

Finally two days ago I got in there for 90 minutes.  And today, for three hours!  And I walked.  I'm very excited.  So here is the rug now, after basically 4 months of work (24x42", aka 61x107cm):

Today I was able to finish off the motif in the lower left border, and then I was able to add the motif in the upper border (center top).  Here's a better look at the start of the top border that I completed today:

Feeling good about how this is turning out. 

The background is Jeannie Benjamin's fabulous hand-dyed wool in a color called Old Underwear, (!!) and I love the way it sets off the rest of the rug.  Check out Jeanne's website and wools at New Earth Designs.

While I was hooking today I was listening to the Mindfulness Summit recordings and was, frankly, beside myself with enjoyment.  My back is beginning to heal completely.  To add to all of this, the weather today was perfect:  sunny and cool but not chilly. 

How lovely to have a day like today.