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