Spooktacular!

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A surprise and a prize arrived in the mail yesterday!

It is easy to surprise me lately because I forget so easily. Hahaha. As soon as I saw it I remembered my mother telling me about it and even sending me an email.....sheesh.

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My talented mummy made this Spooktacular runner!

 I love the material and especially the spooky scenes on the back.

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She's so ghoul!

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I also received the very sweet Rose of Hope pattern from Casa Pearl's give-a-way at Stitching in Lobster Land. She has had several give-a-ways for Breast Cancer Awareness. Check it out, I think she has a couple more.

Thank you CP; I plan to get started on this sweet little piece this weekend.

With the HOPE of a quick finish.

^v^    Keep on stitching.    ^v^

P.J.

P.S. Welcome to my newest follower!

Winterport Rug Hookers

Saturday was a beautiful, sunny autumn day. It made the drive all the more enjoyable as I headed to Winterport for the Saturday session. I get so excited about spending time with this group. I find such inspiration from these very talented ladies. I was especially excited to bring my first show and tell; I brought my snowman and my very first piece, the blue berries. They are very encouraging as I continue to hone my skills.

Here are some show-n-tell pieces from the very talented Deb. I just admire how neat, NEAT her loops are. Practice, practice, practice I know. I love her bold color choices in her whimsical pieces. She is currently working on a fabulous, far out cat for her great-niece; from Whimsy Rugs. It is fun and funky!

Speaking of cats she finished this piece. Isn't it adorable.

Along with Santa and a sheep. Just zoom in to see those neat loops.

 

 

 

Deb, I have to tell you when I showed my husband this piece he really like it. That really surprised me; as I was not sure if he would dig the bold colors. I showed him some of her other designs and he likes this one because of the lake. I may be picking up this design in the near future.  This pattern is a recreation of the art work of Karla Gerard who is a local artist in the Waterville, ME area. She has got  some really cool, bold pieces.  Deb did an amazing job on this; I love the swirls in the trees and circles around the moon. And especially the dingy. ;)

The ladies present yesterday were all busy little hookers. And some of them get some serious hooking done. I hope I get to share some of their show-n-tell on my blog, when they are done. Just amazing.

I was pretty productive yesterday with my own hooking. I am working on a simple piece for more practice before I start The Moose project. I do need to finish up my color planning on him. This is Whale by Cherylyn Brubaker of Hooked Treasures in Brunswick, ME. I picked this up at the Ellsworth Hook-In in January.

I may work a little bit on it this morning, then it is off to clean house and get some stitching in while the crockpot simmers with our Sunday super.

Hope everyone is having a delightful weekend.

Keep on stitching and hooking.

P.J.

Super SUR-Prise!!

Did not get any stitches laid or loops pulled this past weekend as I was thrown for a big loop when I walked through the door Thursday night after work and found these lovely people on my couch!!!

 

Our dear friends all the way from Kansas.

The sneaky Misters have been planning this since February for this weekend get-a-way! He even scheduled me to have Friday off and I had no idea! I was overwhelmed with emotions as it sunk in that they were really sitting in front of me...took me a minute. And then it was like, "OH CRAP!", I need to clean the house...hahaha. Good thing I got most of the big stuff on Sunday.

The weather was perfect for their Maine weekend getaway! I quickly came up with a game plan and our theme was lobster, wine & cheese and they brought the goodies for our popcorn and a movie tradition. I am just giddy that the guys thought and planned this all out. It was such a special
weekend.

Dragonfly Winery

 

 

 

 

 

 Belfast

 

 

The Misters

 

 

 Morning around A Stone's Throw

 

 

Bar Harbor

 

 

 

On our way to Bar Harbor I asked the Hubby to make a surprise side stop on Verona Island at Searsport Rug Hooking; as Mrs B had voiced her interest in this handwork. She used to stitch many, many moons ago and thought this would be fun to try. I knew they would have some nice starter kits to choose from if she wanted to give it a go. She picked up a super cute Snowman kit and tried out a few hooks to find the right fit. Julie was very gracious in giving a quick tutorial and letting her give it a try on one of her works in progress. I am excited for her to get settled in, cozy by the fire, this winter and work this sweet little project.

 

We are headed out to their place in several weeks for their 35th anniversary celebration! Which has been planned for a few years. So we are making up for the three years past since we last got together. We all agreed three years is too long!

I feel very fortunate to have several very good, dear friends in our lives.

Good friends are a special gift.

 

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Many things were in the back of my mind during their visit as I had learned of the news of Cathey's passing; whom I had met only through blogging. We shared several emails about her past travels to Maine and how she loved the fall in Maine. She has inspired me in such a personal way and I celebrated her privately while I carried on with our Autumn adventure. I have been chosen as the lucky recipient of Casa Pearls giveaway Rose of Hope. This will be sweet piece to stitch as a tribute to Cathey.

May we all cherish the special gifts in our lives.

Keep on stitching.

P.J.

Honoring Cathey

Rest in gentle peace.....

Winding and binding....

During our visit to Halcyon Yarns in Bath, Maine I picked up a skein of Victorian two ply wool in a nice Navy to finish off Jack. I sat down Saturday afternoon to wind my yarn....

I was winding and....

 

Winding.....

 

And winding.

 

It took me an hour to wind this yarn.

It is a thinner gauge, but I love the way it looks. So then it was time to bind.

 

Jack all pinned and ready...

I was binding....

 

And binding.....

 

 

And binding.

It took roughly seven hours of work to bind this baby. Because the gauge was small it took more to cover. I did double my strands in my needle.

I am so excited to have my first major rug project complete!!!  Now I just need to label it and add a hanger sleeve across the back.

Here is Jack!

 

 

 

I am very pleased!!

 

Haulin' apples ---- loving all things Autumn

 

 

 

Keep on Stitching and Hooking.

 

P.J.