Not looking for answers

Join me and put your feet up and or your head down!

Which ever suits best.

Rout it Out!

I've been spending some time going through my clothes.

You know what "they" always tell you. If you aren't using it during one year, do you need it?

So out went things I was hanging on to that I never wear. Also the worn out, the ugly and the ill fitting.

I also had a group of clothes that needed a little something something, I like to wear them but they needed help, a neck restyled, a few added belt loops, a waist nipped in, stuff like that.

This pile was a long lived one. I'd been stacking it up for quite some time. But yesterday I fired up the old Janome and got to work.

Before I was hooking I designed and made clothing for my living.

I slowly rejigged my life for hooking, and I thought I'd never sew another thing. At the time that felt good, I was sewn out.

But it was FUN yesterday to restyle these items to make them more useful and wearable.

I'm still interested in construction and garments! What good news!

Right on! Give me fabric or give me death!

Calling The Big Black Cat

This is me tempting The Big Black Cat to come out and claim her prize!!!! I would be fully clothed though, I promise!

This painting is called Virgin and Black Cat by Hiroaki

To see more wonderful work by Japanese artists go here.

New Do Weathers the Night & Fog

Allyson commented on the lack of photo for my hair do! I was alone and had no one to record the momentus do!

Today I remembered the photo booth on my Mac.

So here ya go! Straightened in this photo I can let it go curly too.

This is after a night's sleep, a foggy walk, a wind blown car ride.

And it is still ticking!

The mark of a great cut!

I am so vain about my hair it is pathetic. Really.

A Big Splash

Today I had the best time.

I went to a GREAT hair dresser, The Chop Chop Shop! She likes having fun with my hair as

much as I do.

I went in looking R-O-U-G-H.

I despaired of warm weather taking away my ability to wear a hat!

Back in the day I made unusual clothes and Kym was a great customer.

I cannot tell you what a great job she does.

Now I can go out with a big splash and hold my head high!

On another note I just got the last two editions of Splash. These are "the best" of watercolours edited by Rachel Rubin Wolf.

I have the entire set of these books and every single page is a treasure trove of inspiration!

I think it is very important to keep well stocked with eye candy!

Ain't it Grand?

I am so chuffed!

Today is the wonderful day I've reached 100 followers and you know what that means don't you? Yes a draw for 1 yd of wool, a big beauty called Summer. You can cut it up, you can hang it on the wall and baby that ain't all, you can wear it too!

Using a random number generator # 49 came up.
Counting backwards from 100 the follower who won is thebigblackcat.
If I don't hear from her in two days ( I sent her a private message as well) I'll be doing another drawing.

Under the weather/ RHM -A lot goes into it

Artist: Joseph Desire Court 1829

I've spent much of the last week in bed or on the couch. I pretty much looked like that lady. I was prone for such a wearisome length of time my hair grew that long too.

I had/have a dread and wickedly ( Allyson had it too and that's the way she described it) debilitating flu. I'm just now coming out of it. All I can say is holy cow, wash your hands and sneeze into your sleeve please.

During this time I had a deadline for my dyeing column. Part of the week it was about 30˚C with a humidex of 40. That's really hot, you can see how I conquered that problem is the post before this.

I don't know about you but I don't like dyeing in the heat.

Not one bit.

You would think I would smarten right up and knowing my deadlines years in advance I would do all the dyeing for these columns in the winter. Yes, the winter when moisture and heat is more than welcome here, an invited guest even.

But I don't.

A failing, I believe.

The dyeing is only a small part of this article preparation.

There is the recording and writing and proofing and correcting.

Look at my notes! This week I don't understand them!

Then there are the multitudinous attempts at accurately coloured photography to show you the truest colours I can muster.
This step is so full of agony for me I cannot tell you. Warm colours I hate you! I finally scanned them.
It comes down to not having sensitive enough sensors. These are available at about $4,000. I'll be waiting awhile for that little camera set up.
Then I try to take a title photo, one show casing recipes in this case.
Here are some of the rejects:

Moon over Butter Inkshuk

Gold Henge ( Man can sort light and dark)

Stacks of Bullion

I fell down

The rabbit protects his gold.

It all kinda fun though, ya know?

BTW

I'm still at 98 followers? I got wool burning a hole in my pocket, don't you want to win it?

Tell your friends for sheep's sake!

Scenes From an Outdoor Dyeing Adventure

When at home I don't dye outside. But with a deadline looming and a humidex of bleventy bleven I decided to take matters outside. Due to the lack of dedicated outlets I had to have only one pot on (actively heating) at a time. So I let it rip to roiling boil ( no harm came to the wool) and then turned it down, that combined with the hokey pokey and some intuition I finally solved the problem of getting yellows to take up while in a dye bath. You can read about it come this November. I made 1 dz. easy, delicious yellows for you.

This Guy

This guy really put a bird on his blog!

Click to read about this artist.

Did More Ripping Out Than Hooking

Today while channeling Private Benjamin on a 14 mile hike I decided the best thing I could do for my hooking project is do it right.

So I ripped out to start fresh on my water glinting sunlight extravaganza...

I often do this, like when I made my self portrait I just thought I should put the hair in willy nilly. Well that kinda thinking never pays off for me because when it doesn't look like it should I get pissed off. Better to do what's there in the first place, save some time.

Here is a site I found that is quick fun for photos. I was reduced to surfing tonight for entertainment because my ankles are broken see above and I hook with my feet of course!

My originals - both photo and subjects

Here I turn them into an old photo with aviary.....

Cool.....

Wanda Hooks

As you can see by the date on this photo, it was some years go. I did hook today for the first time in over a month and unable to photograph myself I'm settling for this photo.

I don't even know what I was hooking! I mean way back then, I'm not that far gone that I can't remember this afternoon. I love hooking in my studio from about 4 until 7 each day, the light is outstanding and rich. To bad people like to eat around then eh?

Let them eat wool!

Blooming Great!

My front yard garden of weedin'

It's rained so much here it looks like Ireland.

When the bee stings

This cracks me up!

Here I go, I'll put a bird on it too!

And it is so true!

New Spot Dye

Spring Spot - a new recipe developed for the online beginner dyeing class and now this week's new recipe on The Welcome Mat!She is a beaut! Which leads me to think about my followers.... are we ready for a Big Beauty draw yet?

This is me

There shall be no finishing today.

I'm exhausted, see self portrait below.

Here's what my boy friend had to say to me about this.

"Only one who devotes himself to a cause with his whole strength and soul can be a true master. For this reason mastery demands all of a person." Albert Einstein

The little pep talk was bad enough but then with the face pulling annnd then he called me a he?..... OY what a heartless fatherless child.

Really what is demanded is my mastery over the snooze button.

FINISHING And Abandoning

I'm here to tell you finishing and keeping your nose to the grindstone is starting to tick me off.

I console myself:

Maybe if I wore these pants while I finish I might be more enthusiastic!

I'm going to go down to the studio now and root around for today's finishing task.... imagine me like french pig looking for truffles in the oak forest, but with these pants on. I got IT going on!

And now a brief word from Man:

Don't lay all your big ol' turkey eggs in one nest and then get too scared by the screaming to come back to it.

I feel this is pretty sage advice. See what you can do to follow it.

Otro día Quince Una Hecho

The pile of undones grows smaller. I frequently don't like to bind landscapes so this one is sewn back with minimum of fuss. I'll be adding a thin wool tape to the folded back edges.

Día Once

This little rug took less than two hours to hook.... and several hundred to whip. What's wrong with this picture?

The best thing I've said in awhile ? I'm all done!

Diez Día-Finalizar o Post

You are going to have to put on your rose coloured glasses and look elsewhere for entertainment.

I'm a tired girl tonight, and I have a choice, finish something or post. You lose.

Día Nueve

Tan cerca!!!! Arrghhhh

As prescribed by Doctor Caryn Aka Gracie, I have not spun except in dire need. I do solemnly swear. I call this one Candy Store.