Walking Trail

About 2-1/2 years ago I started taking better care of myself, and I started walking 2, 3, or 4 miles a day. In the winter I get on my treadmill, but I love the warmer months when I can go outside and enjoy the fresh air. I walk down the street about a half mile and then hook up with a paved walking trail that goes for miles and miles - it's an old railroad bed that has been paved over. Once in awhile I'll ride my bicycle and go quite far!  This morning I brought my camera with me and snapped a picture of the trail - I can't believe there are still some leaves clinging to the trees - in the summer it's like walking through a green tunnel - nice and shady and cool.

I also walk by a spring-fed pond where there are usually lots of ducks and sometimes swans, but not today. Not even the fishermen were there!

Little Things & Authors

I still haven't  done any hooking lately, but I have been making a couple little projects with wool. I've made these three items: A Heart & Hand pinkeep from a Maggie B pattern that I stuffed with worm tails leftover from previous rug hooking projects, a daisy pinkeep from a Lisa Bongean pattern that I stuffed with ground walnut shells, and a darling little snippet bowl from a tutorial that Linda shared on her blog recently. They all worked up really quickly so I was able to feel a sense of accomplishment. FUN!

Last night I attended an event at my local library to see and hear the New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Chiaverini. Utah was the last stop of her current book signing tour of the country, and she said we had the biggest and friendliest crowd that she'd ever encountered. I've read nearly all of her books and enjoyed them. She spoke for about 30 minutes and then answered questions from the audience for about 10 minutes. After that people stood in line for who-knows-how-long to get their books autographed and visit with her, but I didn't stick around for that part since I don't own any of her books - I always get them at the library.

On another subject, I was at JoAnn Fabrics yesterday and was totally shocked to see my new favorite magazine on their stands - Primitive Quilts & Projects! I've subscribed to this since it's first issue and because it's what I call a 'grass roots publication', I didn't expect to see it at the mainstream retailers. Good for them! If you haven't seen this magazine yet, you might want to stop by and take a look!

Monthly Meeting

Last week was rug hooking on the day after Halloween and we had a great turnout of eleven people - it's always so much fun to visit and see what everyone is working on each month.

Marilyn brought these hooked cobs of Indian corn all finished up - so cute - and perfect to display during the harvest season. She got the pattern out of a recent issue of Create & Decorate.

Last month Tonia was working on a 3D sheep project, and this time she brought it and it's friend - both completely finished. The swirls give the illusion of curly sheeps wool - and she used twigs from her yard for their little legs. They have little rusty bells tied around their necks.

Jeanette found a wooden star with an opening that was just screaming for a hooked insert.

This is the project I've been working on - a penny rug that I started during the long drive to and from California last month. I'm using coat wool that felted up too heavy to use for hooking. It's pitiful, but I really haven't pulled a single loop all summer long - I need to get back to it.....and SOON!

Marliss had a lovely table set for our refreshments. Such a nice time!

The Giveaway Winner Is -

Rainbows in Wool! Congratulations! My son was in the same room as me ironing his shirt, so I asked him to pick a number between one and twenty-seven (that's how many entries there were) and he picked number 22. I don't know this blogger's name, but she has some nice quilts and rugs to share - I especially like the rug shown in her header picture - go check it out here.  I'd like to thank each of you who visit often and make blogging such a great experience for me!

Time for a Giveaway!

This giveaway is now closed, and the winner has been announced above.

I've been fortunate enough to win a fair amount of giveaways lately, so I decided it was time to give back to the blogging community by having my own giveaway. I think mostly rug hookers will be interested in entering because all these goodies are related to that. Here's a picture of all the treasures.

And some close-ups of the various items. A pincushion made from an extra hexagon block that was leftover from a little quilt I recently made. It's stuffed with sand and polyfil.

A pattern that I have already made for a hit & miss star rug - no sense having this just sit around when someone else can get some use out of it.

Here's a candle mat that I made when I taught a penny rug class to our guild a couple of months ago.

A little sheep to add to your collection - he has a tiny rusty bell tied around his neck and has clothes pin legs.

This is a cover for an iPod that's made of wool that will protect your screen from scratches.

A little tiny tote bag that is filled with a few pieces of yummy colored wool all rolled up.

Also included is a worm bed made of ticking where you can store your cut strips of wool and keep them organized by color and they won't get tangled before you need to use them.

Please leave a comment here on my blog and be sure there is a way for me to contact you. I will draw the winner on Saturday night or sometime on Sunday. Thanks to all of you for visiting and being part of the this blogging rug hooking community I enjoy so much!