Dog Days of Summer

 

One of the things I can keep up on with weather apps on my phone, is what kinds of weather my friends and family are having. Today, its raining is Tucson, with thundershowers this morning. My son in North Carolina, chance of thundershowers this afternoon. As my husband says, we just get shade. We are on day 19 of over 100 degrees. When we start getting at this point in summer, I get happy we are going to start breaking records, and I am so thankful for air conditioning, because I can hook and hook to my hearts content. I finished Magdalena's Goat and got her steamed. It might be awhile before I get her bound though. You know due to the over 100 degree days. 

My goal for this rug was to use only worms from my stash. I thought in my mind that I would make a dent in those bags of worms I had from past projects. I was trying to think like Magdalena might have thought and used up what I had. Nope, I didn't even make a dent. I did dig though bags to find colors like the reds when I would run short but I think they reproduce on their own. I feel like I have even more worms than I did before. I would say that this rug tested me in every area of my hooking ability. I would look at pictures online and stare at the pictures, but try as I might, my own style comes through. Which really is that a thing? I don't know but I never could reproduce what I saw. So about from the neck up on the goat, I just hooked for me. I wanted to get to other rugs for fall. Which I already have a jillion of anyway, but I still like the fall color palate. 

I dyed wool on Wednesday. I think dyeing wool is like unwrapping presents. Every time I pull something out of the dye pot, its a surprise. I was dyeing colors for this rug. 

This is what I am working on now. Halloween Gothic by Therese Shick. I just loved the colors. It says on her Etsy page she is going to be at Sauder in August at Booth #H16. I would love to see her booth if I ever get there. Which I would love to go someday. Here are the colors I dyed.

I just enjoy overdying colors that I have that might have been for another project and taking out and having something brand new. I even went though all of my wool and folded it and straightened everything out. I have love everything about rug hooking. Hooking, designing and dyeing. I love binding too. There is just something so calming to my soul to have a rug to hook. 

I noticed this last week that Cammie Bruce reopened her Etsy shop. Baskets of Wool Studio. I was so happy. I have missed her. I ordered some rugs as soon as I saw her notice. 

That Polka Dot Pumpkin has been on my Pinterest for a long time. I loved it when she first showed it on her blog. I decided it was time I bought it. I bought Love my Black Dog, sort of in remembrance of Sasha. I was going to do it a long time ago, and now I finally have it, but we will see if I can. I just keep hoping this hole in my heart goes away at some point. All those voices in my head that tell me to just buck up and move on and quit being a baby, really are there. When I catch myself, looking for her. 

The house we stayed in in Tucson, had all of this Southwest art in it. I loved this painting and I don't know why I like it but you know not really what I have in my house. But I loved this. I would love to do a rug of it at some point. I just loved the colors and everything in it. It makes me think of those pictures  I would do as a kid where I would tear different kinds of paper to make mountains and glue pictures on it. Did you ever do that in school? I think it would be nice to do a rug like that. Another thing I liked was on I 10 there is this bridge and I love this sun.  

I just think it is so cool. I took pictures of that whole wall as we were driving by at 70 miles a hour. It just makes me happy to see it. 

Well its almost August. I have all of these lovely rug patterns to hook and so many nice things to think about and adjust. Thank you for stopping by. I really thought about doing a Twaddle post, but when I sat down, it ended up being about rug hooking. 

I hope your weekend is lovely, thank you so much for stopping by.

~Kim~

“The mullein had finished blooming, and stood up out of the pastures like dusty candelabra. The flowers of Queen Anne's lace had curled up into birds' nests, and the bee balm was covered with little crown-shaped pods. In another month -- no, two, maybe -- would come the season of the skeletons, when all that was left of the weeds was their brittle architecture. But the time was not yet. The air was warm and bright, the grass was green, and the leaves, and the lazy monarch butterflies were everywhere.”

― Elizabeth Enright 

 

The Desert Southwest

 We are home after a short vacation to see our oldest daughter and her family. We spent one fun filled, lovely time with our grand children. I enjoyed every minute. Of course time goes by so quick and its time to come back home. The monsoon's seem to have followed us, and we got up this morning to cloudy skies and rain. Very rare for July. We rented this lovely house in the hills above Tucson. You had to drive down this rocky, washed out looking road, really more of a track than a road. The whole time we were there, we only saw people once. One morning there were five coyotes in front of the house. Three teenager coyotes fighting and wrestling and a big Mom and Dad. Lots of wildlife. A funny lizard who thought the house was his, who barked at Ron when he came up on the porch one day. 

 That was the house, and it was made out of adobe. It was wonderful and cool. I am so glad to get back to my windows and light. Of course, green. I never think its that green here but driving home yesterday, its really green here. Ron is down there watching me because I am up on the hill exploring. It was higher than it looked from sitting in the living room. We were only 10 minutes from town. 

I don't post pictures of my grands very much just because I don't like Google having pictures of them and using facial recognition software on them. I bought some sewing kits and the older girls loved them. This picture made me so happy to see them all on the couch sewing. I am in the background with the babies. I would sit with them every so often and sew a bit. It was lovely. 

So it was just the best kind of trip. We have seven grand children there five girls and two boys. I always loved this age in my life. There are teenagers to talk to and the middle ones to laugh at the funny things they say, and the babies to rock. I was thinking about my daughter and this time of life really is the best. Nothing better than sitting with them all and just talking while rocking a baby. 

 

 

This was my sewing and hooking partner. Before we left, I knew I had to put her to sleep. I knew she was getting worse, and I knew she was coming to an end. She had cancer and I knew she wasn't going to get better. I haven't been able to blog, because every time I sat down it was all I could think about. This was by far the hardest thing I have done in such a long time. I have cried just going down the dog food aisle. I dreaded coming home to a no dog house. Especially this dog. I have had so many dogs in my lifetime, but never one like this one. That was her chair and we sat together every afternoon like this. I don't think I will get another dog. But we will see. Never in my whole life have I been without a dog. One of my first memories was of my Mom's dog named Chick. She was like a Border Collie, and she guarded me when I was at my grandparents. So having a first memory of a dog, its hard to think of the rest of my life being without one. But, after having the best dog of my life, why mess up perfect. 

 

I didn't get much sewing or hooking done. I hooked 7 loops. That's it. I had so much more to do like going outside to see sun sets and sunrises. To see the monsoon start rolling in about 3:00 and watch the light shows from the porch and finally the rain. I loved watching the birds come on the porch with the lizards to get away from the heat and the lighting and thunder. 

I hope you have a lovely new week. Its so nice to be home. We still have Max and how thankful for that cat. I thought moving was hard, I thought giving up my chickens was hard. But saying goodbye to Sasha was by far the hardest thing ever. Its going to take me awhile I think. 

Bye for now,

Kim

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

---Robert Frost---