California or bust

Well the time has finally gotten here---we are hitting the road tomorrow morning to drive to California.

I have my audio books and my hooking ready for the 3 day trip.  I am hooking two mid century modern style pillows for my daughter' s couch---I drew these and color planned them according to her wishes---bold and graphic.  I got a start on them before I left so I could make sure she liked what I had done so I could have the wool cut and ready.   While watching the Olympics I got quite a good start. Here is what I cam up with:

 and here is the couch they will go on...it is a chesterfield sofa sleeper and will be my bed for a few weeks---wish me luck!  I did buy a mattress topper at Tuesday morning---a 4" thick one on sale for $69.99---money well spent!

We plan to take the northern route across I 80 and will stay in Cheyenne WY the first night.



Now this next piece is more my style---this was a piece I hooked to reflect the class I will be teaching in Long Beach at the Atha biennial in September 2013.  The class will focus on designing your own paisley pattern in an 18 inch square from templates that I will bring along with a variety of wool colors to choose from as well as some antique paisley.  


Hope to see some of you there!

It is still very HOT---so I am looking forward to some cooler weather. 

I'll post some pictures of the pillows when I get to Oakland so you can see if I finished them on the road---I think I will!

Hopefully I can blog to say hello while I am there.

Anita

Some Catching up to do

I can't believe it  is the 9th of July already.  I have been in the dye pots for the last three days---the dehumidifier is sure sucking a lot of water out of the air.  Enough of this heat!

We went to the lake last Friday but ended coming home on Sunday---it was just too hot.  We decided we weren't having fun.  I did manage to get some hooking done.  I needed to complete my
sample teaching piece for the ATHA biennial in Long Beach.  It is done except for finishing the binding.  I guess I need to find out if I can post pictures of it on my blog.  If I can I'll do that next time.  I guess it is safe to say that it has something to do with Paisley.

My husband has been doing some more projects around the house.  The half bath remodel is now complete---hard to get a picture but here is what he did.  I like how it turned out.  The wood frame goes up around the mirror and has a light fixture mounted on it---couldn't get it in the picture.

The next project he tackled was adding pullout drawers in the under cabinets in the kitchen---now it is easier to get to the stuff in the back.  From the looks of thesen pictures I still need to do some cleaning out of stuff I really don't need.

He is taking a break from projects in our house as we are driving out to California to help our daughter and SIL Noah do some work on their new home in Oakland.  It was be a an interesting few weeks...it is a 1920's bungalow and is in need of some restoration.  I am planning a two week trip and not sure how long he will stay---depends of how things go.  We are fortunate to have his sister house sit and take care of Fred---he hates going to the kennel---barks constantly.  I am not looking forward to the three days drive although I have not travelled the I 80 through Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah and Nevada before so am hoping for a nice change of scenery.  Sitting in a truck for three days is worrying me a bit though.

The keys to home ownership

the happy couple taken the night they got the keys

I have been enjoying riding my bike in the mornings---much easier that running!  I have signed up for two fall races---one 5 K and one 10 K so I am hoping to get some running in while I am in California.

Here is yesterdays tub of wool that I dyed...

I plan to hit it again today and that will be it until I get back from California.  I am trying to get a jump on my fall camps before I go.

I will be in Green Lake Wisconsin in September and Buckeystown MD in October.

Really looking forward to both camps.


II am trying out new multifocal contacts this week and am very happy with them---I tried them about 6 years ago and wasn't happy with them and went back to mono vision, but decided to give them another try---they are working great!  My midrange view is much improved.

Well that is it for this morning...time to get out before it heats up again!

Fun finds at Belle Patina

I had fun this morning at the Vintage Market---I was glad I got there at 8 AM and beat some of the heat.

Here was the extent of my purchases.

Two quilts, a small stool---perfect for a hooked top, and a small longaberger basket---couldn't pass it up at $10.

The old red trunk is already mine.

I did make it out to Greenwood earlier this week.  We are having a sale at the shop so go check it out!

My wool and rug hooking stuff is not on sale but other things in my booth are 15% off.



Since I was on the Missouri side I had to make a trip to Trader Joe's to pick up a few things---dark chocolate and a few bottles of wine made there way into my cart...along with some good cheese.

My California kids are closing on their first home in Oakland (allendale) next week---I think I'll probably find myself making a trip to California in August to help do some work on the house---not concrete work though!!!

Any rug hookers in the area???

Anita

Still HOT in Kansas

Woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep.  This morning I am heading down to the First Friday Vintage Market in Kansas City.  It is a once a month event and is so much fun!  I'm going early to try to beat the heat and hoping to find some things for my shop in Greenwood.

I did get into the dye pots yesterday to dye some light greens for Jennie and also got some Cupboard Pattern backings cut and serged and ready to draw.

It has been hard to get enthused about running but I did manage a two mile run followed by a 3.5 mile bike ride and another 7 or 8 mile ride another day---riding is certainly easier than running in this weather.

I have been enjoying some great tomatoes thanks to Kate and Richard---YUM!

I need to get busy and get some photos of my project for the ATHA biennial in Long Beach CA in September 2013---due in a couple of weeks---yikes!  I have the ideas in my head but need to get them on paper and foundation.  I will drop the hint that it will have something to do with paisley---no surprise there!

I also need to get started on my project for Teacher's workshop.  I will be doing a Grenfell class.  I just got in the book Silk Stockings Mats so have been reading it and doing some planning for the class but still need to hook my sample.

My daughter got her living room put back together---well sort of--still need to go back and do some trim work but not quite ready to go back over there yet---still planning on the best way to do it.  She sent me a picture but you can't even see the floor in the picture so I'll wait till I get a better picture before I post it.

The paisley rug on the left is a rug I started about five years ago and recently finished.  It is a pattern I use that students can personalize and add detail to the large paisley shape---this one was done with all textures and paisley.

Stay cool! 

Almost back to normal

Today was another day of rest---I think by morning I'll be back to normal.

Here is a picture of the floor after the sealer went on---looking better!

Another great window at Bloomingdales bu my daughter Chelsea---love it!

Camp e-mails went out today for my students at Green Lake in September---it is a great camp---not too late if you are looking for a fall camp in a beautiful lake setting.  You can check it out at mfwoolens.com.

Getting ready to watch "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close"  get out the hankie!  Yesterday we watch "I bought a Zoo" and enjoyed it.

Keep cool!

Anita

Recovery

Well the whole floor thing turned out to be brutal---much harder than I ever imagined.  Concrete work is not going to be in my future ever again.  I spent two days working HARD and have the battle scars to prove it---raw skin on both knees, a burn on my left forearm, aching legs and a sore butt and chest---found muscles groups that I didn't know that I had.  I did not do the Color Run and as I could hardly walk yet alone run.

I am feeling some better this morning so thinking I might recover---today is the day she will put the sealer on so we can see how the whole thing is going to look.  There is trim work that will need to be done afterwards---changing the floor thresholds and adding floor trim---still trying to figure out how best to handle that but I know that this will be a job for my husband---I have done my share and he is more of a wood guy.

Here is are a couple of pictures that I took---hard to tell what it will really look like until the sealer goes on so I'll post a picture of that in a few days.

this photo was taken while the residue was still on

This one was taken after we had washed the residue off---many times...the back right corner was already dry---hence the color difference.  I am hope ful that it will look good when finished with an area rug and furniture.

This is a close up of one spot---we like to think of it as artistic...hmmm!

I am really tired of this hot weather---awaiting a cold front!  We are not going to the lake for the fourth--staying home sounds like a much better idea.

Have a happy fourth of July...happy hooking!