Perspective

I know we are all used to looking at rugs “straight on” like this……

….but I went outside this morning and tried a few shots from different perspectives…..

Your perspective on everything colors your life…..in the picture above I see the rug and how much I have left to hook and I also see all the new growth of the hostas and other plants……

if I showed this to my husband he would see areas in the hosta bed that he needs to weed.

That’s what I mean about perspective….

we can all look out the same door on the same day and see something totally different. 

We can all look look at a rug pattern and see totally different outcomes and possibilities.

I got down on the ground……

in this close-up shot above I can better see how much progress I made yesterday on hooking my background at the hook-in yesterday,

rather than how much I still have to hook.

 

In the shot below I see a beautiful day unfolding ahead of me….

glad I got up fairly early and took my rug outside to take some “artful” photos,

thinking of what I can enjoy and accomplish today.

I like these shots where I feel like my rug echoes so many of the colors that are in the back yard. 

I’m trying to use up a lot of my stash of recycled and as-is browns and grays in this rug….

I now see the grays echoed in the weathered fence and the statuary.

 

In the picture above, I also see our tree in the corner behind the jug fountain….the one that the little birdhouse is hanging on

and think of how sad Kenny is that this beautiful tree has started dying and how sad he is that he is either going to have to top it off or have it removed….

can you see how the top of it has died?

There is a ring of holes from woodpeckers….

not sure if the woodpeckers killed it from there up or if what they were pecking for was the problem….

regardless it’s sad, because it had such a beautiful shape to it.

 

Would you have noticed that if I hadn’t pointed it out?

Probably not…..

see how easily it is to let someone else change your perspective from seeing something beautiful to seeing something sad?

You really have to guard yourself against that every single day…..

…choose to look for beauty…

 

 

The border color on this rug is echoed in the leaves of the tree below….

I thought the greens I dyed were going to be “too bright”, but I see them echoed in the pictures as well.

What perspective will you choose today?

Did you get up early?

……to see this……

I did…..woke up at 5am to see Kate’s father walk her down the aisle……

….and then wait for this…..

I especially loved Pippa’s dress!

Now this commoner is off to hook in Warsaw, Missouri at Saltbox Primitive Woolens.

Have a royal day,

Tammy

Trying

Has it really been a week since I blogged?

Yup, I guess it has.

Well, I’ve been hooking a little bit…..hooked a few more tree rings and also set in the border of my rug…….tried…..

 

and tried…..

and tried….

 

to get a picture of the rug in progress, but the dogs just kept following me and hanging out on the rug….they like to do that!

I even got up on a chair to get a “bird’s eye” view…….but they still wouldn’t get off the rug!

Oh well, you get the point……

I really need to get going on putting in some of my background color as I hook this rug so I won’t end up with JUST background left to hook.

I pulled out the dye pots the other night…..I haven’t dyed wool in about a year….can you believe that?!

I’m REALLY trying to use up a lot of my “on hand” wool for this project, my “stash busting” project….so I gathered up some yardage, as well as bits and pieces of greens and yellows to overdye.

Here are pictures of the swatches I bought in Florida, and some potential ProChem colors that I used to overdye with…..

So how did my wool turn out…..well, some was a little brighter and some was a little more drab than my swatches, but that’s okay….I’m going to use the brighter wool and add a little more of a “leaf green” dye over the drab pieces and see what happens….I’m trying not to stress about this rug…..I mean, it’s going in the utility room for goodness sake, but I still want it to look good…..I’ll share pictures of what I dyed later with you.

“Go forth and be creative”

Tammy

Maybe just a “little” hooking going on

Last night a few of the girls came over to rug hook and have dinner.  I got a few pictures, but not a lot.  Now that I go back and look at the pictures……we are pre-hooking…….do you know what that is…..looking at books, chatting it up, having a cocktail…… “Skinny Girl Margaritas” that Sheri brought…..we had to sass them up with a little Grand Marnier….

 

 

Renee has been working on a rug for a for gentleman who’s wife (a rug hooker) passed away….it was a rug she (Barb Melton) started, but unfortunately, never had a chance to finish.

Sheri is working on hooking a purse…..it’s darling and I can’t wait for her to finish it, so she can show it to you on her blog.

Sandy is working on a rug for her grand-daughter, Aspen…….I actually got a few pictures of it to share with you.

The leaves are prodded and the eyes are going to have these cute little fabric covered brads in the middle…..

I love all the texture in the trunk of her tree….

 

…..and this is what happens ANY time you put a rug down on the floor…….Lonnie wants to get on it!  Caught him in the act of making his way over to put his head down on it!

The best homemade ice cream

“You can’t buy happiness, but you can make ice cream, which is kinda the same thing”

As promised, here is the recipe for the most wonderful homemade ice cream!

I whipped this up for my friend Reba’s birthday,

(it was kind of a surprise, which is why I couldn’t post about it yesterday when I was making it)

but also made a batch for Kenny.

Cream Cheese Ice Cream

Ingredients:

 

• 5 cups half-and-half or 5 cups light cream
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 beaten eggs
• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese (Neufchatel) or 3 (8 ounce) packages low-fat cream cheese, softened (Neufchatel)
• 1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

In a large saucepan combine 3 cups of the half-and-half or light cream, the sugar, and eggs.

Cook and stir constantly over medium heat just till boiling.  Then take the pan off of the heat.

In a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese with an electric mixer till smooth, gradually beat in hot mixture.

Cover and chill thoroughly……about 4 hours.

Now take some time, to do a little kitchen clean-up.

Once your batter is chilled,  stir in remaining half-and-half,

 

lemon zest,

 

lemon juice,

 

and vanilla.

(I used vanilla bean paste….never heard of it? Neither had I, found it at Marshall’s and thought I’d give it a try)

Freeze in a 4- or 5-quart ice cream freezer according to the directions.

I’m not sure how big my ice cream maker is, but I have to make mine in 2 batches...

there is no way it would all fit in one batch in this little Cuisinart ice cream maker.

Freeze for 4 hours before serving.

Honestly, this is the creamiest ice cream ever!

Enjoy what you have

When you don't know what you want,

it's probably time to begin enjoying what you have!

I wish I could say I accomplished a jillion things this weekend, but for me, it was just kind of a lazy weekend…….I don’t think there is anything wrong with that every now and then…..isn’t that why we work during the week, so we can just loll and enjoy the weekend?

I watched “Sara Plain and Tall”…..had never seen this movie….loved it!

I also made home-made ice cream last night….will share that recipe with you on my next blog.

Have a great Monday!

Blossom

“There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud

was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” 

~Anais Nin~

The wisteria is blooming in the side yard and a lot is happening in the garden.  Kenny spends hours and hours there after he gets off work…..

tending,

pruning,

raking,

digging,

mulching,

planting,

moving. 

It’s love, it has to be, for someone to spend that much time and effort. 

Making things of beauty takes

time,

diligence,

commitment.

I feel the same way about making rugs.  Does it bother me that it’s a slow process?  I think not.  Watching a rug come together,

from dyeing the wool,

drawing out the pattern,

sorting through the wools to pick colors that make you smile,

pulling up loops,

sewing on binding,

….it’s kind of the same….

in the end you wind up with something beautiful.

Something for your home that is uniquely you.

Ahhhh, hooking

I got off work today and was greeted with cold, rainy weather……NOT what you generally want to see to start your weekend……however, when you are a hooker it gives you a good excuse to just hook the night away!
So lucky that Kenny is a great cook…..he made some divine pizzas…..
2 buffalo chili pizzas on cornmeal crust….his specialty that I love!


A vegetarian pizza,

a cheese pizza, and a pepperoni deluxe…..YUM!

After supper I sat at the dining room table and started hooking….started with coffee (with a little Bailey’s) and ended with wine and a pile of wool scraps and odds and ends…..and the iPhone so I could text and hook and keep up with e-mail…..YIKES! That iPhone is going to be the downfall of me!
Here are a few pics of my progress…..in the big picture it doesn’t look like I accomplished much….

Does this close-up look any more impressive?

I must say I’m enjoying this rug….using up lots of my gray and brown stash for the tree rings……love seeing those wool piles getting smaller and smaller! Plus, I enjoy moving around the rug….trying to spread out my colors so that when I start to run out of something, hopefully it won’t be apparent as to WHERE I ran out!
As promised….gratuitous pics of my darling Cleopatra…..what a sweet girl!