Cindy Gay and rug finishing techniques

http://cindigayrughooking.com/fold-forward-rug-finish-whipping-the-edge/

There are several great finishing tips, especially for corners, which can be problematic.... Found this article via Pinterest. If you finish rugs, I think you'll enjoy looking at her suggestions.  If you haven't tried out pinterest yet, you really should. If you need an invitation ask around and you should be able to easily find a friend who is already on there.

Happy 4th of July. I'll be sewing for a couple of months now. Houston, under a rug in the summer is just too HOT! :)

I Believe Pinterest Is a Positive Diet Tool for me

Although I have been losing weight, I think that Pinterest was a positive tool in that transformation. So far down 30 lbs.

I have two boards, one is called 2012 goals and the other is holiday treats, which helped me to reaffirm my goals everyday, (sometimes several times a day) :)

As I sat looking at the kaleidoscope of pins, I could eat the desserts with my eyes, and meanwhile pin them to my holiday treats board. I am a recovering overeater, and will be the rest of my life. I do better knowing that I can choose any luscious treat in that folder for bringing to a holiday get together.

Another interesting thing to me, is that after an hour or so of pinning, I'm either famished or feel like I couldn't eat for a week. Having a small snack scheduled at the times of mid morning and mid afternoon, just as I start viewing pinterest is another habit, is another way it has been supporting habit change. It has been fun to look at all the wonderful things people find, and repin them for possible use later...

Anyone looking in at my pinterest folders currently, would wonder about the validity of this post. I'm not having much luck changing the folder if pinning to Ipad, so gave up trying. Best intention is to go back in and edit(sometime)....don't hold your breath! ;)

Know what is better than ... Mermaid Rug

I miss having my Playlist on Blogspot, but it apparently doesn't work anywhere other that playlist now. I've been hooking more than doing the computer, so I haven't a clue why. But such is our world hear today, gone tomorrow. My regrets that I can no longer share it with you, or have the fun of selecting a new version. :(


Buying a cutter that cranks out 6 beautifully cut strips with just a few turns of the handle?

Why-- hooking up a rug using those strips!  Promising a photo of a work in progress soon...

Mermaids will survive global warming! :)

The sky portion of the rug is hooked in various shades of my own formulas called "©Crawfish Boil" in my ©TX Palette  using the rug dyeing Techniques described by April DeConnick in The Wool Palette. The various shades of blue green in the oceans are the shades of my formula called "©Gulf Shores" in a variety of shades of blue green, and her tail showcases most of the shades of purples called "©Wine Cups"  named after another of my favorite roadside wildflowers in TX.

Know what is better than buying a new pair of zip up the front jeans?

Finally having the courage to try on a favorite old pair of jeans you loved and just couldn't ever throw away....and they are on the big side! Smiling nearly from ear to ear!

A Wish/Dream come True!

Now if you have been reading my blog this spring, posts few and far between, you might expect this posting to be more news on my declining hip or weight. Ho hum!

Nope, this week a wish or dream I've had for quite awhile came true. After lots of saving, was finally able to purchase my brand new Bee Line - Townsend Wool cutter from LavenderWool on ebay. First off, a thanks to Sally who was so great to deal with after I made a rather typical type of goof up for me. While happily clicking the Buy It Now Button and then not seeing the size I went back and bought a second #6L cutter! YIKES!!! But the ladies understood and we resolved the order quickly back to what I really wanted. Not every Ebay dealer would have canceled such a goof up, so want to recommend them for being so understanding and helpful.

The cutter arrived and I couldn't open it that afternoon because of time constraints. AAAARGH!!!

Next morning, I was up brighter and earlier than usual, and rip raring to open that box and start cutting wool strips. Reading all the directions, I started to open the assembly and it wouldn't budge. I am a huge chicken when it comes to new things, and believe me, didn't want to do anything to damage it further if there was a problem. Call placed to Beeline, where a very helpful Sherrie? Sherry? answered my very distraught call. Oops, there was a screw on top of the part that swings easily to the right once the screw is raised just the tiniest bit. Of course, until talking with her I never even noticed that screw!!! She was so kind, as I was both embarassed and joyful to have solved the problem myself. Thanks heaven for 800 numbers!

Next I popped in the #8 cutter head and cut piles and piles of wool for the rug I'm currently working on. A Lori Brechlin/Kris Miller design called Mermaid. By last night, I'd cut and hooked more strips in a few hours than since January. Yep, it is a dream come true!

Update and a great find from Pinterest

Before I forget, Happy Easter! Remember that the meaning behind the celebration is mind blowing. God incarnate, executed, buried, arisen...

I found a wonderful blog http://craftystorage.blogspot.com/   on Pinterest, full of storage ideas for crafts.
The main blogger has a new job, but lots of wonderful pictures and ideas...

Finally, a bit of bragging, straight up. First, my zip front jeans... and now my BMI has dropped by 2%. Not to diminish that in any way, the fatter you are the faster that BMI can trend downward. But this gives me plenty of reason to be happy.

I had forgotten this website! for viewing the stars...

http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/visible-planets-tonight-mars-jupiter-venus-saturn-mercury

If you enjoy gazing at the stars, but have forgotten a lot of what you used to know and haven't used much recently   Earthsky.org is a great site. It gives you a head up on what you can look for, and what you are actually seeing. Those are both great things if you have young children or grandchildren around.

Even here in Houston, but at its northern reaches, you can see quite a bit of the night sky. But my best sky viewing ever was in Colorado on the western side of some mountains... amazing to actually be able to view the Milky Way.  White Star Campground near Aspen where we camped for a couple of nights when our daughter was a freshman in high school.

Karen Kahle's Spiral Chairpad Hookalong

http://primitivespirit.wordpress.com/2012/03/09/hook-a-spiral-chair-pad-with-me-part-1/


I'm starting to leaf out and bloom(at least today) with Spring! I've gotten into working on a rug, Mermaid pattern I got from Kris Miller at Spruce Ridge Studios.   Hooking it for our Kirby Hookin this June, and gonna have to be busier than I've been with my hook.

But eventually I want to try one of the hook and miss spiral chair pads that Karen Kahle has described on her blog... (linked above). Just a quick drop by to post about this great tutorial and project. I learned of it from my one of my other North Stars Kanknchester in An American Primitive Group...

Zentangle and the Art of Pinterest

I love Pinterest, but do try to limit my time over there. I've tried several ideas I saw over there with varying success, mostly due to the level of time investment I was willing to put into presentation over process. This is an ongoing tug o war in my creative life, as process and new ideas are far more entrancing to me than "fancying it up". Usually, my ideas though bountiful, are way more involved than most sensible folks would even speak aloud. For example, when I wanted to update a Raggedy Ann doll for the 20th century, Her name ended up Crystal, she had piercings, a belly button jewel, and several tattoos, although just a  single heart tattoo might have been sufficient. I gave her cornrowed hair, with quite an exotic colored yarn mixed in with the hair color I'd chosen, and even created a grandmother Pearl that shared the hair color, some of the features, but no tats or piercings. I made both of them a small quilt as part of the listing.

Both sold for their opening price, in their first listings, and both of them sold for under $20. plus shipping. Barely covered the cost of the materials used, let alone the time. But I was happy, because they were really both more like prototype dolls, than the beautifully finished ones that go for close to $100. occasionally. Didn't make very many other dolls to sell, because like a dragonfly, I flew off in another direction to explore.

I was still teaching school in those years, so the summer was my unpaid vacation time, and one of the few times I could work on things other than schoolwork, without feeling guilty. One of my main criticisms for the job, would be, that there was ALWAYS more and more intrusion by the job into my time for family. By the end, not only was I expected to spend the working day with in excess of 25 children(2 groups of them a day), do tutoring(which I enjoyed) and check work(in the evenings) but the additional expectation of "data mining" reared its ugly head. Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs couldn't have kept up. Don't get me wrong. LOVED being a teacher, most days, and kept at it for 35 or so years, so couldn't have been that unhappy. :)

Now, back to Pinterest. I've discovered several great techniques that I wouldn't have even known about, but also discovered that many times the pins don't hook back to the original info. I'm sure folks who think up an idea about a special way to decorate a cupcake, may not want everyone and their cousin to try to do them in the same way. So then they remove the photo, or rename the page.

So then, I go looking around for other options where the pins don't lead me... in doing that I discovered that You Tube has a number of tutorials on making Zentangles. So, for all of us that learn better by watching and doing. Get some paper, a black fine line marker and click below.

Yikes, it is already March!

February was a busy month for us, as our granddaughter had her 4th birthday. This year our "leapling" had her party on Saturday the 25th, but the celebrations continued until the following Wednesday when there was a pizza party for her classmates, and cake... There can never be too much cake! Don't cha know!

My first pair of zip up the front jeans made an appearance at her birthday party. Okay, I did have to lie on the bed to get them completely zipped up, but I could still breathe and the legs had plenty of extra room in them - which kind of surprised me (in a good way!)

I've been working on a surprise for her. Her hooded towel for swimming this year has a monkey theme. So one day I was looking at it and thought that the middle monkey needed some "monkey britches". Not because I'm a nut about clothing naked animals...but her nickname from me is Monkey Britches. These monkeys were fun to add some bathing suits to, and picking out the fabrics to use was fun as well. I added a shiny bow to the monkey face on the hood, and then had to add some dragonfly charms to the back as well. Time to quit. :) No need to add one thing more. Except some warmer pool water. Before long our pool days will start another wonderful summer!

A Quick update :) Motivation is the key

It is almost a month since the last time I posted, and I'm doing well on my new goal. My dh and I have been dieting together, isn't that always easier? He's continued to lose more than me, but I've broken through the plateau that always spelled the end of weight loss for me. I generally get to that weight, hang out a pound or two above, hit it, and have even gotten a pound or so under, then bounce back up. Of course, most of the time, I was the only one trying to diet. So my dh gets my heartfelt thanks this time.

But the real motivation is getting that surgery done. As my body mass goes down, I'm sure the pain will too, and that might make the motivation slip away as well. Hope not, because this is the turning point for what the rest of my life will be like. A decade or more of health or sliding into poorer and poorer health. :) or :(

New Year ~ New Goals ~New Hip~New Me

Funny how my spirit rises to "adversity", but slowly sinks when all seems calm and well...

I am "ready" emotionally to have my hip replaced, but after a visit to the surgeon, I learned the path is a little longer and needs to be uphill. (slight incline is acceptable) :)  You might think this would have made my spirits sink. Au contrare dear reader... I used to have a mini poster (Hallmark fold out card) in my classroom that read Kites fly higher against the wind...   Lots of untold stories about that. :)

Anyway, I truly belief that what we need most in any moment is generally placed within easy reach, but we need to look around, sometimes wake from our dreaming through our life and reach, stretch, touch our toes. :)

My legs are swelling, so until that is under control, no surgery. In the next four months, my posts should be about that focus which will include resources like the one I found this morning. I've been pinning things for a month or two, and drooling over what I've thought of as food porn, oooey gooey this and that. but this morning one of the pins lead me to this site.

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/02/baked-potato-soup.html   This blogger posts recipes for common favorites that she has redesigned to keep her family healthier. Now I haven't a clue how accurate her nutritional info is, if you are a dietician you may find her right on target, or missing by a mile, but I don't do this kind of information well. I intend to try some or maybe lots of her recipes.

I went back and have now pinned, saved, and printed out a number of her recipes. I may make this site my homepage for awhile. :) But the reason I came back to add to my post, was to tell you about more about this wonderful site. On the right side bar she has another way to access her recipes. Numerically, by points per serving, which could be AWESOME for meal planning to balance and still easily keep track of points... And by course, you know the traditional ones like Appetizers, soups, etc. Yep, seriously thinking it needs to be my home page. :)

Hope you'll check it out, cause all of us can get healthier in the next year...especially if someone else did the heavy lifting. :)