Inspiration List

Now that I’m beginning to see the light at the end of

the tunnel with the Redbud Runner, my mind is running

amuck of what I might want to start on next.

Here are a few finds from Pinterest:

1.

Love the odd shape of these pillows….

these could be knitted or contructed from

recycled sweaters…..hmmm, could you hook

something and then sew it up this way as well?

One of those pictures that makes my mind go in a

million different directions at once!

2.

This is cute and I think you could make a pillow like

this but use wool selvedges instead.

3.

Dreamy! I think you could use wool selvedges or

t-shirts….not sure about the sewing part with the

leaves, but I think I could manage that, even with my

limited sewing skills. There is a tutorial for this one HERE.

4.

How fab is this? Always wondering what to do with those bits of

beautiful wool that don’t make it into a rug! 

5.

I love all the colors in this painting, along with

the motion it evokes…..

6.

Have odd scraps of burlap or linen left over?

This could be a good use for them…..also I think it

could look really shabby or prim if the frayed edges were

showing….hmmmm…..

7.

I really think this is the next project that I see

in my future.

Mood

Sharing this, because I like the lighting and the

mood in this picture of Lonnie.

Something soft and comforting about it.

Lonnie likes to lie on the bed and keep vigil for any

cats who should dare go by the windows.

When they are bold enough to go by, he raises quite

the ruckus

and then Cleopatra climbs up her little stairs to join him

in scaring off the felines with their ferocious barking.

 

The weekend is fast approaching…..I’m looking forward to it…

I’m going to be on vacation….or should I say, stay-cation.

Anything planned? Hmmm, not really, but I do hope to

COMPLETELY finish the big runner that I’ve been working on

this past year, perhaps make a trip to Pottery Barn and of course

head up to Lenexa, KS for the big hook-in!

Snow

Finally……

Just a nice coating to make the garden look special….

instead of dead….

Thanks snow, for whispering at me to come outside

and look at the garden in a new light.

What treasures you keep nestled about…

Whimsey

secrets

softly spoken

precariously balanced

Immersion

Today, I spent the majority of my time immersed in my hooking.

im·mer·sion   noun \i-ˈmər-zhən, -shən\

Definition of IMMERSION

: the act of immersing or the state of being immersed: as a: baptism by complete submersion of the person in water b: absorbing involvement <immersion in politics> c: instruction based on extensive exposure to surroundings or conditions that are native or pertinent to the object of study; especially: foreign language instruction in which only the language being taught is used <learned French through immersion>

Hours of hooking

Sitting in my favorite spot

Here’s a great tip that I got from Abby Vakay a few years

ago when I had her as a rug hooking teacher.

When you are working on a certain area of your rug…

say, for me, the tree rings….pin smaller pieces of those

colors on a pin, then you have them at the ready as you

go from one color to the next.

This also works well if you are shading an area, put all

of those related colors together….that way you’re not

constantly having to dig through your pile of wool for the entire

rug to find what you want.

Plugging along

Still working on the big rug….getting closer to finishing!

Ahhhhhh

By working on my list yesterday, now I have some free time to do

ME STUFF

I do still need to list at least one item on eBay, but I’ve got the laundry

COMPLETELY finished.

Folded Clothes (clipped to polyvore.com)

 

My taxes completed and filed.

My summer clothes put away and my closet organized.

(this is not my closet)

Today I’m going to HOOK!

(handmade hooks from Searsport Rug Hooking)

List maker

Are you a list maker?

I always have some sort of list going….whether it’s on paper or in my head.

I just list EVERYTHING

Do I always get to “the list”…..yeah, not usually….I am a huge procrastinator

by nature.

However, today I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed, so I thought I’d share the big things on my list today…..that’s way more fun than actually getting off the computer and tackling it!

"Today's list"
* Pack away summer clothes (I know, it’s February, but I still haven’t done this)
* List at least 1 item on eBay (so many things to get rid of here)
* Order Turbo Tax to start taxes
* Go to antiques show (this is the fun thing on the list, that I know will get done)
* Organize clothes closet, boots and shoes

Tackling the clothes and closet is the one that always BITES….going through everything

and trying to cull out what you want to keep and what you want to get rid of.

But, on the up-side…I always feel so much better once it’s finished!

If I get all of those things done, then here are my other things “to do”

Paint fireplace surround…..yes, now that we have the dark slate on there, the white is just TOO WHITE

Clean out my 2 “junk” drawers

Laundry….yes, that’s always on the list!

Are you a list maker?  Do you have any hints for getting things done?

To comment…..or not….

I had an interesting discussion about commenting on blogs with one

of my fellow bloggers on Tuesday.

I thought it would make for an interesting conversation here on my blog.

If you have a blog and someone comments on your post, do you feel like you

have to reciprocate and comment on their blog?

Are you a person who reads lots of blogs, but rarely comments?

Would you be put off if there were no place to leave a comment?

My truth…..

• I read several blogs, but rarely comment
• I like when people leave a comment on my blog
• I like it that I’ve been out and about and lots of people have stopped me to tell me that they read my blog….even though they don’t leave comments
• If I don’t comment on your blog, it doesn’t mean I don’t like your blog, it just means I don’t feel like I have anything pertinent to add to the conversation
• I rarely do the “reciprocal comment”….who has time for that? Okay, maybe some of you do, but I don’t feel like I do…..plus, I think that’s a little manipulative or perhaps “overly polite”.  I guess what I’m saying….I don’t comment on people’s blogs, so they will come over and comment on my blog.

Comments anyone?

Easy and de-lish!

The coconut macaroons were good…..are good….yes, there are still some left!

(Lauren, I did give some to the guys working on my fireplace )

However, I have to have a lot of self-control….I love coconut!

yes, I had to eat one as soon as they were cooled!

See that little empty spot?

They got a little more toasted than I would have liked, but they were still good!

The recipe was really easy….

Coconut Macaroons

1 bag of coconut

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

(mix all that in a bowl)

In a separate bowl add

2 egg whites

1/4tsp salt

(whip with electric mixer until stiff peaks form)

Then fold egg mixture into coconut mixture and drop by tablespoons

full onto cookie sheet (use parchment paper or silpat mat otherwise you’ll

end up with a sticky mess)

Bake at 350 for approximately 25 minutes….I cooked both cookie sheets at once

and rotated them half way through the baking time. I had them on the convection setting,

so if I did it again in the convection oven, I think I would bake them at 325.

Let cool and then dip the bottoms in melted chocolate if you wish or drizzle chocolate on top.

I thought they were pretty darn good just plain and cooled.

Will keep covered in the refrigerator for 2 weeks…..yeah, like they will ever last that long here

at my house!

The fireplace is finished…..so glad to have the “hole” filled in….YAY!  Isn’t it nice to have a

project completed…..whether you’re the one who completed it or not?!

It used to have burgundy tile, and it just didn’t feel like “us”.

This is the same slate that we have in our kitchen.

Pic of old fireplace surround…..

The original plan was to have some iridescent lime green tile….I spent a lot on

it (the tile) and then it turned out horribly and I had them rip it out….I didn’t take pictures of

all of that, because it was rather heartbreaking

I also stopped by the library to return a few books, so I couldn’t

resist picking up a few more to have in the wings.

I’ve really been on a reading spree lately….it’s just such fun to escape

to an entirely different world for a while.

Time standing still…..have you noticed that?

When you are reading or hooking or doing something you love, time seems to stand still

and then you look up and you’ve been doing what you love for hours?

Love that!