Rainy September

What a rainy cool day! 

I feel some stirring to prepare for the upcoming Winter already.

I have a new client from 7-9 every morning;

a super schedule that pays well and gives me the day!

Today I returned home, made a cup of tea and lit a fav candle.

Here’s a plug for my fav candles:

 I used to buy Swan Creek exclusively but my tastes have changed.

We

Gable House Goodes turns out more primitive, homey scents.

The lit one is a clove molasses scent.

The Olde Salem candle small like all the good things

in an old house.

My K Creations bargain of a frame arrived and 

I love it.

I took it to the first booking meeting of the year last night

and my friend, Ute, presented me with a cover she made!

Wasn’t that thoughtful? 

And it fits perfectly! 

We had some interest shown in our home which has 

been on the market since June:

Here’s hoping!

Happy Humpday

Cozies

Atlantic Canada got Dorian-

Here in my town we had strong winds and 2 inches of rain.

In other parts they had 5" of rain and category 2 winds.

Apparently Nova Scotia is 80% without power.

The storm brought cooler air too, so out came these:

My wool socks from Briggs & Little mills nearby.

I have 4 pair and they are toasty.

I've also been working on cleaning yellow stains off a 60 year old quilt.

Much came off with OxyClean, both from soaking and washing,

but a friend recommended this Italian soap and I was lucky to

find it locally.

(My friend used this to hand clean a yellowed wedding dress and

she couldn't believe the difference.)

Here is the quilt, a twin size plus and hand stitched. 

A client gave me this quilt while I was helping

her declutter. 

She was disgusted to find it so stained

and asked me to keep it or pass it to the thrift store.

I decided I'd try to remove the stains and then

offer it back to her.

As it was made by her mother she may want it but in good repair.

I've also been making lasagna today to take to a family 

who just lost their elderly mom.

The house is filled with the delicious smells of sauce and meat.

I handed off the guild project rug to someone else and now

I will turn to my own for hooking again! 

Warm socks, baking and quilts--

all cozy representations of domesticity.

Happy Week...

RV Life

One week in rv camp and I must say we love it.

Days spent by the river or in the river

Or hunting frogs

Lucy only killed one frog 

She likes the chase and will do it for hours.

With  a bathroom and tv we are 

hardly roughing it...

The only thing I have missed is hooking 

on a rug.

I decided that my hooking stuff would take up

too much room and be more of a hassle on this first foray 

into camping.

Now I am more familiar with the space we have.

And I have  gotten a fold down frame 

and put in an order for a travel Bolivar with 6 & 8 heads.

Anyway, this rv park is small and friendly.

It’s run by a couple who sold up everything in BC 

and came east three years ago.

This weekend we have community cards and camp fires 

and a corn boil.

And yes we have Labor Day weekend here in Canada as they do in

the States. 

May your Long Weekend be a good one!

Cleaning Up

Cleaning out a wool room is no fun

But when you HAVE to clean it out it’s a real drag

It’s forcing me to separate my colours into huge boxes.

Try sorting oranges from golds when there is little difference.

And showing me that I have-brace yourselves- too much wool.

If I hooked every day for the rest of my life I would use a quarter of it.

Maximum.

But some forgotten treasures have popped up: extra red dot, two UFOs,

long forgotten patterns (I used to sell on eBay), Sharpies, hook books, a

punch needle.... the list goes on.

I had to stop working mid day when I decided to clear out

a box of my son’s.

I reached into the dark recesses and came

out with a fishing hook embedded deep in my pointer finger.

The other barbs were attached to a lunch bag and two T-shirt’s.

It was quite a sight until I cut off the extras.

I took a pic later but will spare you.

Our Canadian ER is notorious for six and eight hour waits so my neighbors

took me to their doctor nearby.

The office is closed to new patients UNLESS you happen to

walk in with an STI (formerly STD).

We joked that I could tell them I’d drop my pants after

they removed the fish hook.

But no need, they took me and an hour later I left with

a tetanus shot, a bandaged finger and a tube of polysporin.

Just when I want to complain about our healthcare they do something

extraordinary.

This is hubby Erik and Lucy. 

Lucy loves rides on anything:

 wheelbarrows, kayaks,cars.

Such a sweet old furry face!

And I was up in Erik's office yesterday and had forgotten

that I had lent him one of my rug's for his decor.

Here it is, hooked about four years ago.

Wonky camera angle.

I was surprised that it has faded so much.

Well, I'm off to test the new rv today.

The hitching and unhitching has me unnerved.

Here is our new toy:

And I turn 49 soon.
Scary fast this life is!

August Waning

Rug hooking groups don’t meet in summer?

Bring a hooker to you.

I threw a pot pie in the oven and set a vase

of garden flowers and some Chardonnay

on the back deck and viola!

 My German friend, Ute, and I had a super

couple of hours of hooking, eating, and catching up.

Last week hubby and I went up to northern

New Brunswick.

 In our 12 years here, we'd never been

and we wanted to look at rvs along the Bay of Chaleur.

The word "chaleur" refers to warmth but certainly it

must apply to the people and not the water temps.

Brrrr... not a soul was swimming but fishing and beach combing.

 Rugged and raw beauty!

 There were these huge piles of debris

along the water, guess they will be bonfires soon.

I have a part-time decluttering job.

Look what I discovered today at her home:

This is a small 10" x 12" (ish) mat attached to a stool.

Guess who hooked it? Doris Eaton! 

My client won it at a political function years ago.

I love the beautiful simplicity...

Time is flying and there is much to do before we depart 

on a one year rv sabbatical and tour of the US. 

The house needs to sell.

Say a prayer if you're so inclined.

August Musings

So I’m saving my pennies and hoping for a house sale soon

to purchase the travel Bolivar cutter with a number 6 and 8 head.

I’ve done little hooking over the last few weeks

 but what I have done has been part of a group project.

Our Evening Matters rug hooking group calls this Gisele’s Rug 

after our wonderful leader who

died unexpectedly a day before her retirement.

It’s actually an RHG design called

 Chicago T33 and is approximately 26”

X 38.”

Gisele had done the colour planning and had the bulk of the wools.

We have been hooking on it in hopes of raffling it off- 

with proceeds going to the New Brunswick Registry, a project dear to Gisele.

The registry is a historic recording of rugs hooked in the province 

over the last 25 years.

Professional photos and data are taken of each rug and stored and shared

on a website. See http://www.mats-tapisnb.com/  

Obviously the 25 year window changes each year so more and more are added.

And though our home has yet to sell, we are trusting that the timing will be just right.

The morning and evening temps already feel cooler.

My hollyhocks are passing peak and echinacea and

bee balm are making their appearances.

It is the garden with its squirrels and goldfinches, it’s chickadees and pigeons,

it’s robins and juicy worms which feeds my soul and gives me relief

from the world’s troubles.

May your week be wonder-filled.

Colds and Cutters

Writing from a state of achey body lethargy.

Summer colds are worse than winter colds

cuz everyone else is outside playing!

Supposed to be at a beer fest trying 

New Brunswick ciders 

I never had a taste for beer.

Soooooo I’ve found myself in the position 

of needing a new cutter.

I’m drawn to the less expensive Bolivar

but the BeeLine/Townsend looks super too.

I’m googling from my sick bed to compare them.

What about y’all? Preferences? Other cutters?