Hungry Hook Primitives

Quickie

2012-02-17T02:18:00.000-05:00

Hello there my prim pals. Just a quick post today since I am still sooooooo far behind from my little escapade with those dreaded hives. Being out of comission for a week can really throw a wrench in a good plan.

I did want to let you know that the selling group to which I belong is updating all the new goodies for sale today. I got a sneak peek at what the other gals are selling and OOOOOOOOOH are the sweet...you just have to stop by and check out them out at www.primitivehandmadesmercantile.com.

Here are the ruglets I made ...

I love how my little chickadees came out. If anyone wants to purchase them as a kit to hook yourself just let me know. I guess I should add them to my "Rug Hooking Kits For Sale" tab...It will have to wait till tomorrow since its already after 2 am and I SHOULD get to bed.

I am working on items for my 1 year anniversary giveaway in March...More details to follow.

Grace to you,
Margie

I Love Thrift Stores

2012-02-11T12:22:00.000-05:00

I just LOVE thrift stores...where else can you get such terrific deals ? My first stop of the day was the Salvation Army where I got 12 wool skirts for a little less than $30....HOORAY !!! I also scored a Woolrich stadium blanket for $3.00...I am debating on selling it on eBay since it should fetch a decent amount and then I can roll that moeny into more wool for my rugs.

Then I was off to my local Goodwill store and look what I got... My very first firkin for $2.00...Sure it's missing its lid (and believe me, I searched those shelves for the lid with no luck), but I figure I can maybe make one...any advice on that ? I cant wait to paint and distress this gem ! I hope it's the first of many. I know they are pretty expensive and you all kow how frugal I am so I was doing the happy dance when I spotted this one !

Next, a short walk across the parking and I was at one of my all time favorite places.. Habitat Humanity Restore where I got all this paint, stain and sealer...All the quarts are very similar shades of cream, so I will probably mix them together for one even shade. I got an almost full gallon of the best shade of a colonial blue...for $1...How cool is that ? I also got 2 almost full cans of gloss sealer ...lots of projects ahead for me.

I also picked up some vintage kitchen tools ...total cost at Habitat ? $8.00 AWESOME DEAL

Then once I came home and was trying to find new places to store all my goodies I found something I had completely forgotten about. This child's easel style chalk board was my grandmothers and I had forgotten that my mom had given it to me last year....it got put in the corner of the basement with some other projects that need a little work and I completely forgotten about it.

It has a place for paper at the top...I can remember playing "school" with this as a kid. I need to fix the chain on the one side and I am debating on painting it. I think this is the original red paint, but I am not wild about the shade. Guess I shouldve waited till the chalkboard dried before I snapped my pics, but you all know I am not a patient person, haha. I am thinking of putting it outside on the porch once the weather warms up.

Speaking of weather....we finally got SNOW in western Pa. Hooray !!!! I absolutely LOVE winter, well I actually LOVE all the seasons and having 4 distinct seasons, so I am a happy girl even if the snow put a little dent in my plan to do more thrifting today (I dont like to drive in the snow folks...its a great day to stay indoors and work on projects). I had almost decided to put away all my snowmen the other day since it has been unseasonably warm here.

I picked up some pieces of linoleum awhile back and i am thinking of trying my hand at a few floor cloths...I will let you guys know how they turn out.

Well, I am off to start a few projects. Have a blessed day.

Until next time...
Grace to you,
Margie

Chandelier Finished

2012-02-06T12:14:00.000-05:00

Well, it looks like this week is going to be better than last week. Yesterday was my first HIVE FREE day and you wont believe what we found out....Well Saturday night shortly after the hubs got home from work I started itching again and I was having a hard time breathing. Now, at this point over the last 8 days I had already been to the doc, Urgent Care and 2x to the ER, so I was very hesitant to rush out to the ER again...I think the docs there think I am a hypochondriac. But I have had 3 pulmonary embolisms and I get scared when I cant breathe. It kept getting worse and worse until it literally felt like someone was sitting on my chest...I made sure I was not hyperventilating etc and off we went. So, they hooked me up to all the machines, got an IV, gave me some steroids and ran more tests...I have had a CT, a nuclear scan, an EKG and many others...Everything's clear...After a few hours I am able to breathe perfectly, so we figure I needed that shot of Prednisone. When I first got the hives we made sure I hadnt eaten anything different, used any new products etc...I hadnt changed ANYTHING.

OK, so we leave and I kid you not, we are not out of the parking lot and it starts happening again. The hubs and I are dumbfounded, but it's the EXACT same feeling. I jokingly said maybe I was allergic to the hubs but I said that wouldnt work since he was with me at the hospital, but the hubs, brilliant man that he is, says, yes, but they have a super duty air filtration system and much of the time I was away getting tested. I said it was impossible to be allergic to a person for pete's sake. Well then we started thinking about it...My initial hives happened once the hubs came home and it got way worse every night when he got home. It never dawned on us that maybe something HE was using could cause me to break out in hives...The hubs had run out of shower gel and used my sons AXE he had left when he was home. Now this crapused to give mea terrible headaches when my son used to use their cologne spray.

Well, it turns out it coincided perfectly timewise...he had used it a little over a week. All the way home we are thinking, "no way", but hello, I was itching like crazy by the time we got home and my chest was heavy and couldnt get a full breath. So, the hubs put all his clothes in the laundry and took a shower and grabbed a bottle of Old Spice shower gel from the cabinet...I have been itch free and hive free ever since. I may have a heart attack when I get the bill for all those unnecessary tests, but at least I wont be itchy. I do know my lungs, heart and head all checked out ok, so I guess I have some piece of mind for my thousands of dollars. It literally never dawned on him that HIS shower gel could effect me. It hadn't dawned on me because I use a different body wash than him...I am grateful we figured it out, but I am overwhelmed at how much its going to cost us. I am a very frugal shopper, but that has to be the MOST expensive shower gel on the planet !!! Can you believe it ? I am still in shock over it. We both feel sooo stupid...how could we have missed it ?

Well, now that that's out of the way I can show you the before and after pictures of my chandelier...Remember several months ago when I bought this tacky brass chandelier at the Habitat for Humanity Restore for $20 ?

Well, my father in law rewired it for me and after a can of spray paint and some glue and stain on the candle part, I think I have a winner...I had seen one in a shop in Volant Mills that was the same size for almost $300...Of course I could NEVER afford that, but look how great it looks now...I am sooooo happy with how it turned out.

I am so super psyched about it...I love it when a plan comes together so nicely. So, if you see a cheap chandelier, think makeover !!! I do still want to makeover the actual bulbs so that they look more like a candle, but I need to run to Home Depot and get some caulking..maybe I will do a step by step of how to make those kind of lights !

Well, like I said, this week is starting out sooooo much better than last week. I am also working on a couple new ruglets....here's what I have done so far...

I like having 2 projects on my frame at a time because when working on a smaller project theres no waste this way. I am trying to decide the color scheme for the other one...Maybe really , really pale yellow for the chicks and a watery blue for the background ???? Not sure...still piling up different wools and trying to figure out what I want to do !!!

I do want to take a minute and thank all of you who prayed for me and encouraged me through all this mess with the hives. You are so precious to me and I am so thankful to have such wonderful, caring people in my life. You guys are the best.

Okie doke...I am going to go get busy finishing up some more projects and get some bread baking.

Grace to you,
Margie

Wow, will this ever end ?

2012-02-02T11:47:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post today...ended up in the ER again yesterday, so I apologize for being away from my emails...All of you who have ordered wool, I am on it and your invoices should be waiting in your inboxes. I have added some gorgeous hand dyed mustards and dirty brick reds that are just lovely, so please check them out if you get a chance ! I am here today, finishing up my chandelier and hopefully will have pics to put up later. It hasnt turned out exactly like I planned, but its ok. Maybe once I get the pics up some of you could advise as to what I could do to make it better.

OK...still itchy, still grouchy, still sleepy...someone, please make me laugh today. I am taking life WAY too seriously.

Hugs to all my prim pals,
Margie

Time to Build Your Wool Stash

2012-01-30T16:30:00.000-05:00

Well, I sure hope this week is going to be a better one than last week. I should say though, that even with the sewer back up and the 4 day drama with the hives that involved a doc visit, a trip to the ER and yesteraday a trip to Urgent Care, that I did have at least one bright spot and that was my swap gift from Linda over at Country Pickins...she went WAY overboard and it couldnt have come at a better time, thats for sure. Look at all these lovely prims:

I just love this little prim sheep plate with the stand...It's absolutely perfect !!! Next up is this adorable little ditty bag

And guess what ? The package smelled soooooo good caue stuffed inside tht prim ditty bag were all these great candle tarts and even some yummy soap and a face scrubby

Can you say YUMMY...also got a sweet little hanging heart and I just LOVE this next item...a snow mama with her snow baby

I just love her...she's just too sweet. And last but not least in this cute littlesheep sign

So a big, gigantic THANK YOU goes to Linda for being the ONE and ONLY bright spot of my week.

I am hoping that this week is a good one. I am only partially covered with hives now after a horrid day yesterday where I literally was purplish red from head to toe with very little unred skin showing through...I couldnt move without crying so the doc at Urgent Care gave me a mega-mega does of Prednisone and some type of medicine for the itch thats stronger than Benedryl which did absolutely nothing. So, as long as I can keep from scratching and take multiple oatmeal showers I should be fine...YIPPIE !

But I am trying to stay busy and focused today and I listed a BUNCH of individual pieces of wool as well as many wool bundles. It's definately a great time to build your stash. I decided to do the individual pieces since many of you are not hookers but need piece for pink keep backs or penny rugs etc, so now there's something for everyone. You can build your own bundle.

I decided to make dinner early just in case I am a giant itching machine when the hubs gets home this evening and cant bear to move...He has been so sweet and as always, very attentive when I am having any kind of bad day. I have no idea if or what he really ate the last coupls days. He patiently put up with all my tears and best of all...he scratched me every time I asked him. I know they say not to scratch cause it makes it worse....well if you have a small patch of hives that might be true but when you only have a small patch of skin that doesnt have hives, trust me, you will scratch and it will feel heavenly...Of course my skin is kind of raw right now cause I got a little carriued away a few times with my hair brush...I literally felt like I was on fire and going to die...I have had hives 3 other times altogether and been hospitalized for them and they were NEVER this bad. OK, enough with my pity party. Done. No Ore, Promise.

OK, so I am very new at gardening...I put in a little garden right outside my kitchen door last year with some herbs, pepper and tomatoes. This year I am wanting to do a larger garden but I have limited space so I bouyght a bunch of long planters and patio planters at a yard sale last year and I am planning to do lettuce, spinach, onions, potatoes, carrots and maybe some strawberries. I also have lots of blackberry bushes down by my shed but I can really get to them during their season becasue of the other plants that are in the way...Does anyone know when would be the best time to transplant the blackberry bushes ? I really would love to be a little more self reliant this year. I have spent a lot of time stocking up a good pantry just in case the economy tanks or the hubs loses his job...I dont think he will, he's been there a long time and he's doing fine, but anything can happen in a down turned economy and I would rather be safe than sorry. At least we wont starve or freeze to death since we got the wood burner last year. Thats about all we can do since we are not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination. I know lots of us in Prim Land are stay at home moms...which I guess I cant say that anymore since the nest is empty, but my heart reallly goes out to all you gals who do have to work outside the home, I did it at differnt times during my kids growing up years when we needed some extra money, so I get it. OK, back yto the gardening for one more second (I know, I am a bit scattered today, cause I am itchy and jumping around a little)...Should I start my plants inside in egg cartons and if yes, when and if no, why not ? I know some of you have beautiful fersh produce and flowers and I have been in awe of your talents...hey maybe I will even plant some lavendar and sweet annie on the hillside by the pool...wouldny that smell yummy as I am floating around on the lazy days of summer ?

Well gals, I am going now to get a few things into the mail so be safe and be well and thanks to ALLL of you wonderful girls who sent all those well wished to me...I so loved reading your encouraging words.

Grace to you until next time,
Margie

Man oh Man

2012-01-27T13:53:00.000-05:00

Quick post...If those of you who pray would do that for me today I would so appreciate it. I woke up this morning covered in hives from head to toe. I have had them so badly in the past that I had to be hospitalized because I wasnt able to breathe. None of the docs I have seen in the past can figure out why I keep getting them (This is the 5th time in 4 years). They are very itchy obviously, but the thing thats the worst is that they are very large hives and very hard & thick so its painful to walk (they are on the bottoms of my feet) and the largest ones are near my elbows and knees making it hard to bend since the areas are so swollen. The hubs says I look like the elephant man...I forgave him since he kissed and told me how much he loved me even if I did look like something out of a horror show...Gotta love the guy !

Anyway, went to doc's first thing this am and they shot me up with some Prednisone and some other stuff but I am really feeling crappy.

I do have lots more wool to put up for sale, but I think it will have to wait till this evening. I will be checking my email frequently though so if you have questions about the wool, just ask. Since you know I hate to post without pic...here is the newest kit I have available...

You would actually get 3 heart patterns drawn on monks cloth and all the wool to hook them...then you can embellish them anyway you choose like I did with the old rusty keys.

Ok...I am going now
Grace to you,
Margie

Up all night

2012-01-26T07:49:00.000-05:00

Well I have been up all night ....again...GRRR I really hate this but at least I got something accomplished last night !!! I got almost all my wool listed that I have been promising for weeks now. I think I listed 10 or more bundles and if you see something you like and need more of it, shoot me an email as I may have it, but might have not listed it...Does that make sense ? It sounded ok in my head, but now that I am reading it I dont know. Oh bother...(now I am quoting Winnie the Pooh ???) Oh dear me, I NEED sleep.

Oh and I ma so excited that all my stuff sold out in 2 days on the new selling blog...HOORAY, which is wonderful since my goal is to make that new car payment ...I HATE having a car payment again but I do love the new wheels and since we sold our truck when we moved back to PA its nice to have a vehicle thats big enough to dumpster dive or garage sale larger items...I mean theres only so much you can get in the back of a Dodge Intrepid (I did get a queen headboard in once...Had a bugger of a time getting it out, but thats another story altogether and a good thing the hubs doesnt read my blog...not sure he knows about that one). Anyway, having an SUV is so convenient and I am loving it.

Hey, awhile ago I saw a chandelier make-over where the gal had made her own little candle sleeves that she made her own "drips" out of hot glue or caulk or something and then she painted the lamp itself black...Does anyone know who did that makeover ??? If you do could you let me know cuz I want to get my chandelier all done and I thoght I had written down who did that so I could go back and check once I had it rewired...now I am just anxious to get it painted and up in the dining room.

Well guys and gals, thats all for now since I am actually getting a little sleepy...Maybe I will post again later and do something with pictures...I dont like to post without 'em !

Grace to all my primmy pals,
Margie

Holy Cow

2012-01-21T13:37:00.000-05:00

Holy Cow...Thats what I keep saying over and over again. The selling group that I joined is doing amazingly well and if you all havent checked it out, you really should pop over to www.primitivehandmadesmercantile.com . You have until the 27th to sign up for an AWESOME giveaway with LOTS of yummy prim items donated by several of the artists. Just look at all the primilicious things you could win !!!

I have already sold all four of my hooked hearts with the old keys...happy dance time ,which is not a pretty sight really...that 15 pounds I packed on over the last few months jiggles around and could possibly hurt someone and is soooooo unattractive ! Dont you just hate when you roll over in bed and your tummy hits the mattress with a "thud" and you hear the sloshing sound of , well, I am not sure actually what makes that sounbd, but you know what I mean ??? What ? That never happens to anyone but me ? Well, ok it might just be me...oh, if I could just stop eating chocolate or adding homemade whipped cream to my daily coffee or end my torrid love affair with cheese...Cheese...there isnt a cheese I dont love. I actually had to talk to myself, OUTLOUD, at the grocery store last night when I saw this roquefort colby blend on sale. I almost had to yell at myself since it was close to $30.00 per pound...I kept trying to do the math in my head to figure out what it would cost to just buy a sliver...Finally summed up the courage to walk away, well truth be told, I kind of jogged, (which I feel should actually count as exercise) because I knew if I stayed one more second I would pick up the cheapest package they had on hand ($9.50) and eat in all on the way home (what ? you never ripped open a package of cheese in the car or, like me, in the parking lot ??? Well thats just sad).

Thank heaven I found the strength to resist THAT temptation though, because I fell victim to the the subtle seduction of the York Peppermint Patty calling my name at the checkout stand fulfilling my desire for something yummy . It actually brought a double wammy of contentment since it was only fifty cents (in my mind I just saved $9) and it is the candy bar with the least amount of fat & calories !!!

Well if I could give up my food obsessions I could probably lose 50 pounds, but seriously, what kind of life would that be ??? A life without chocolate, whipped cream or cheese ??? Dont even get me started on butter or gravy...YUM ! Well for me it would be devastating...These items fill a deep hole inside me, they nurture me...NOT, no they dont ! I just LOVE good food. I could/should/will totally learn to live a life of moderation...someday. For now I will cut back the whipped cream in my coffee..its a baby step that I can manage !

OK, OK, I guess I should get serious here for a minute. It is finally snowing here in western PA and I couldn't be more excited....I love the snow !!! It finally feels like winter has arrived. So I am nestled in and doing the last of my wool dyeing and I decided to do a clearance sale of sorts on much of the wool bundles I have already listed to make it easier to clear out room for all those new yummy wool bundles I have been working on over the last several days/weeks. So pop over to my "Wool For Sale" page and look for the items in RED for savings. Also, if you purchase, please, please send me your shipping address when you order so I can invoice you MUCH more quickly.

Alrighty, well you know I HATE doing posts without lots of pictures, so I thought I would show you these great half sized jars I got at the thrift last week..I have never seen these little guys before and just had to have them...aren't they sweet ??? Haven't figured out what I am going to do with them yet, but I am sure I will think of something although I always love your suggestions. Does anyone know any history on these type of jars ? The lids dont fit tightly so I am wondering if there is maybe another piece that I dont have like a seal of some type ???? I am sure one of you terrific gals knows the answer...please share, pretty please ?!?!? I have a larger one but it seals pretty well, so I am just not sure what the deal is with these.

Well ladies, I am off check the tv and see who is in the lead in the South Carolina primary race and grab some lunch. Obviously I have made myself hungry...I am thinking fresh mozzarella cheese layered on top of a slices of tomato, atop some crusty homemade ciabatta bread and then broiled to crisp perfection then slathered with a little homemade basil mayo...Oh YUM !!!

Until next time,
Grace to you,
Margie

Check out the Mercantile

2012-01-17T13:23:00.001-05:00

Hi gals...I am so sorry for not posting for so long. I have been frantically (Is there any other way I ever do things ?) finishing up my items for the new selling group, Primitive Handmades Mercantile. Be sure to not only check out my items for sale, but also all the other primsters fine hand dids. And guess what...the gals over at The Mercantile decided to pull our resources and lots of us our donating items for a big grand opening drawing, so be sure to go over and enter . We open for business on the 20th, but you can still browse around now. Here's what I donated for the giveaway...A sweet little hit or miss style hooked heart that measures 8.5" long and will be perfect for cabinet doors, doorknobs or even in your window.

Here's a picture of the newest "ruglet" that I hooked yesterday...

I have had such a hard time staying focused on one task at a time lately and yesterday I decided I would have work on one thing and one thing only and not pick up one other project until that one was completely done. So with talk radio playing in the background, I hooked my heart out (no pun intended...my brain is about fried, so dont expect my normal sarcastic reparte today gang).

I also made this hooked heart with an old key and rusty bailing wire that I just LOVE...

So I hope you will on hop over to www.primitivehandmadesmercantile.blogspot.com and see what the other gals have up for sale.

Today I am focused like a laser on finishing up my items for The Heart of Winter swap that Amy from Bumble Bee Lane is hosting. I am HORRIBLE at waiting till the last minute to finish the items. I am great at starting them...GRRRRRRRR. I just cant believe its the 17th of January already...For pete sake I still have the Christmas tree up in the man cave ...and its a REAL tree. Gosh those needles are going to be a mess to clean up !

As soon as I get my swap items mailed I will finish taking the pictures of all the new luscious wool I have bundled up and ready to sell...I know I have been promising and I really should have learned by now to not promise something until its done...Go ahead, yell at me (um, its a blog, so I cant hear you but if you're really mad at me I guess you could post a comment in all caps, but seriously, I still wont hear you).

OK, can you tell how punchy I am ???? Still working on VERY, VERY little sleep. The docs gave me a new sleep med to try...nothing, nada...counting sheep for hours on end. Am I sleepy ? Oh, you betcha (that was my Sarah Palin impersonation). So after one month, they said I could double the dose...Hooray, so we will see if I sleep tonight !!! I mean I know I will crash eventually, but the sooner the better as far as I am concerned.

Well my prim pals, I will have lots more time by the end of the week to devote more time to the posting here and reading your blogs, which I LOVE to do too. I get so much inspiration from you all and am so grateful for your input in my life.

Grace to you,
Margie

So Much To Tell

2012-01-09T14:22:00.000-05:00

Oh my goodness, where do I begin. I have so much exciting news. Well lets start at some of the remarkable goodies I got. Of course I am a bit late on this, but Marie from Prmitives by Old Lady Morgan...we did a terrific swap and of course, she sent way more than I anticipated, but she's like that...such a sweetie. Isnt this snowman just a riot ? I love his wild eyes and long nose !!!

She also sent this guy which is , I think, my all time favorite snowman...Its just like me...a little unusual....She sent 2 more that are snow ornies but my legs are hurting too badly to go all the way down to the family room and take the pics (Yes, I still have one of my trees up...I just havnt gotten around to taking it down yet...I know, I know, I am pathetic, but it just cant be helped this year)

Anyway, isnt he just so cute looking ? So, Marie...THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU again.

Well a few days ago the hubs had a meeting near where my bestie lives so I tagged along for the hour long drive and he dropped me off so we could finally do our Christmas. Now my friend Penny is the all time best gift giver...she could be a professional gift buyer. In fact, most of my all time favorite prims are gifts she has bought me over our 25 year friendship...someday I will do a post of all the things around my house that she's gotten me and you will be amazed too. OK, so I didnt take pics of the different teas she got me (I love tea) or the silicone baking mats she got me for all my cookie baking (she didnt have a clue what they were or what they were for but she knew I wanted them, so she got them...thats how she rolls) and she got me this adorable kitchen towel...dont you love it ?

Look at those little snowmen & little lamb !

She also got me this totally adorable snow man that I just love.

His hat says HOPE which is what we both need since we have had so many health issues

Then today when I went to the mailbox I saw this puffy package and I knew, I just knew it was from Linda from Parkers Paradise even before I got it out of the box. Sure enough it was from Linda, which blows me away because she just sent me a beatiful pillow in December. I was sooo excited I literally tore into the pkg right there in the doorway...Yes, I am that immature. Lookie what she sent....isnt it just the most darling pillow ??? Cant wait to find the perfect spot for it.

A big thank you to Linda...One of my wished for the new year is to be more like Linda !!!!

I also am super excited, and completely honored to have been asked to join a brand new selling group. We will all be up and selling on January 20th so please check us out at www.primitivehandmadesmercantile.com . I will be offering some yummy Valetine themed hooked hearts and I know some of the other gals have some awesome items planned too. I cant tell you how overwhelmed I am that folks think my crafting/art is worthy of being showcased in that way. What a wonderful feeling !!!

Well I had one more piece of good news, but I think I am gonna save that little gem for later. I should get back to work finishing up my swap, finishing up my items for the mercantile and finishing up posting all my new wool bundles.

So, tootles for now !

Grace to you,

Margie

As the holidays come to a close and we begin a new year...

2012-01-02T12:03:00.000-05:00

Oh my goodness my primitive friends, I have missed you all so much ! I am looking forward to catching up on all your blogs now that the holidays are finally over and things are (hopefully) settlling back down into some sort of order. I never actually meant to take a blogging vacation over Christmas, but from the moment my youngest came home on Christmas eve with just minutes to spare to make it to church, life has been chaotic and just a tad out of control. We did have some exciting news though...my youngest son got engaged on New Years Eve to his high school sweetheart. She is a super sweet and very pretty girl and I am determined to be just "The Best" mother in law ! I cant say that I think getting engaged at 19 is the best thing to do, but I did the same thing 25 years ago and have never had a single regret about marrying the hubs...you guys all know I am over the moon for the man and he feels the same way about me, but I still wish they would wait a little longer, but I have decided that it's their life and the best thing I can do for them is to pray and try to encourage them and be a good example. Here's a picture of them from last night...

In looking over all the pictures taken over the last couple weeks I realized I didnt get a single picture of us as a family or of me with the hubs...which was a good thing since I have packed on 11 pounds since early December...UGH. Guess its time to stop using the exercise bike in my bedroom as a clothes rack and actually get on it and move the pedals...UGH, UGH. I can tell you exactly what packed on those pounds though...hershey kiss cookies. I only bake them for Christmas (unless I am properly begged) and I have ZERO willpower wheres these delicious little gems are concerned, zero. I thought by putting them in the freezer that would help...um, nope, I found out they taste even BETTER frozen. I made lots of goodies as gifts this year so I had tons of cookies on hand ...Oh did I mention I didnt start baking until just a few days before Christmas ? Yeah, I planned food gifts and then waited till the last minute...yep thats how I get myself into so much trouble. Well, since I kept eating those cookies I had to bake more for the gifts I had planned...TWICE because I just couldnt stop sneaking one cookie here, one cookie there and like magic...the cookies just disappeared and then re-appeared on my hips. I was already stressed out and I am a stress eater (is that a real thing or just my excuse I wonder). I was already in one of the WORST muscle flares I have had in over 3 years which means I am notmoving as much or as rapidly and I think I tried to console myself with those doggone cookies and now I had to dig out my fat jeans...ok, my fatter jeans if I am being honest. .

Well, enough about the woes of an overindulgent, overwhelming Christmas...HAPPY NEW YEAR ! I really am excited about the new year and hope to add lots of new fun stuff on my blog and hope to get some new followers too. I will be doing another giveaway, listing more wool for sale, adding some new lessons in my rug hooking tutorial series and putting together some new rug hooking kits. As the promise of snow looms near I am trying to think of some great projects for spring and summer. Since finances for so many are really stretched this year, I will be offering more "ruglets" and ruglet kits for sale since they are smaller and more affordable. If anyone has any requests or suggestions, let me know.

Well gals, I look forward to catching up with you all and I hope you all had fabulous holidays filled with love and laughter.

Grace to you,
Margie

Pleasantly Suprised

2011-12-10T15:11:00.000-05:00

Wow...what awesome trips to the mailbox the last few days...I got some of the sweetest things in the mail from some of the sweetest gals in all of blogland. First up I need to tell you about the awesome ornies I got from Bumble Bee Lane's Christmas ornie swap...I lucked out and got Amy herself and she sent one of her yummy smelling waxed Santa ornies (hooray and thank you Amy)...

And then to my delight I got a beautifully wrapped pkg (sorry I was too excited and I just tore into it) from Patti from Raspberry Lane and she really spoiled me and sent 3 yummy smelling ornies (Thank you Patti)

Then , to my suprise, I got a package in the mail from dear sweet Linda from Parker's Paradise...I have no idea why she decided to send me something other than she is just the nicest person...Can you believe she sent me this beautiful pillow ??? How does she ALWAYS seem to know just what to send...she always knows when you need a little pick me up doesnt she ???? What a blessing and I want to send a big cyber hug out to Linda and say Thank You...

I am happily finding homes for all my sweet orbies and the pillow...The hubs and I decided to make it a small Christmas this year...getting these extra "presents" has made my holiday extra special. Oh and I got the sweetest card form Lil Raggedy Angie too...which is great since I think soooo many people arent doing cards this year...which is a shame cuz I love hanging up all the cards and look forward to catching up in a non-digital way. ANyway...thanks Angie, you're a doll !

I have made a few little extra ornies myself to fill in on my downstairs tree since it was fatter and fuller than what we usually get and my house smells so yummy from all the cinnamon...

I also have been tweeking a few things and just finished up this little sleigh last week and I got the little tree at the thrift for .59 and I dressed it up with some homespun and bells...looks kinds cute right ?

I have been a decoupaging fool and am literally adding these winter labels to just about everything...Here are a couple little displays that I still dont have just right, but they are coming together...

I also have been practicing my blanket stitch (you guys know I dont sew much) and think I am definately getting better...

I have found that doing these little projects are very manageable with not feeling well ! I just wish I had enough energy to get my house clean, bake some cookies and get the gifts purchased....I have only boought one present so far...I dont think I have ever been this far behind except the year I had my other blood clot (it was December then too). Oh well...Christmas will come on December 25th regardless of how much I have done. I have decided just to bake my kids MOST favorite cookies this year...maybe I can get away with 4 kinds and call it quits.

Ou tree's look pretty nice...just cant seem to get the lighting right to show just how pretty they really look but here goes....

Okie doke gang...I am off to wrap the gifts for our church giving tree (I did manage to get those purchased at least, so thats progress....right ?) since they are due at church tomorrow morning !!! I will try to post again later in the week and I have silently been "lurking" on many of your blogs, but just havent been commenting....sorry gals, I promise to try harder !!!

Grace to you,
Margie

Free Tutorial & Christmas Labels

2011-12-04T13:36:00.002-05:00

Well folks I have had such an overwhelming response to my last post about the santa hat box and all my Christmas boxes that someone actually asked for a tutorial. Well, as usual I am a little pressed for time, since I spent last night in the ER with what they think might be another blood clot (yuck). I am fine and we are keeping a close eye on things, so no worries gals.

On to the more important things in life...decorating for the Holidays !!!. Well I dont have another octagonal box, but I am going to give the simple steps to transforming ANY box into a prim work of art for literally pennies with stuff you probably already have around your house. These boxes also make wonderful gifts when you stack them in set of 3 and put little goodies inside. You can use any shaped box you can find...this will change the way you look at your "trash" ladies...todays tampon box could be tomorrow's beautiful prim decor item.

OK, so you dont want to use a tampon box ???? You can use any box...like how about a USEDDD Priority mail cube box ? Just please be sure not to use a NEW one as it is a federal crime ot use Priority boxes for anything other than priority mail. Well if you dont want to use a tampon box or run the risk of a federal crime ( cuz I know some of you are already contemplating breaking the law...tsk, tsk) Dollar Tree has these 2 pc sets of boxes in their gift wrap section for $1...Here's what they look like ...

Then I just base coat them in the colors of my choice which today were black &barnyard red and I also had one more slightly larger box that I painted yellow...I think it was a left over gift box from last Christmas that I then painted a golden straw color.

Then you just decide on the pics you want to use...Now some folks just print the pics out on those awesome kraft paper sticker labels, which is awesome and easy, but kind of expensive and it means unless you have those little buggers on hand you cant just do this project at the last minute, which as most of you know, is how I roll. So I use good old Mod Podge shown here...

But I have also used good old Elmers school glue with a little water added and gotten the same effect, so literally, this is a really easy project. Next you will need the actual photos you want to use. Now here's the fun part cuz you can use just about any image you want...anything form old Christmas cards, old calendar pics you name it. I used some vintage style labels I have saved on my computer which I am offering for you to use today...simply copy the pics and then you can size it to your liking using your favorite resizing program...I use Picasa to crop my pics and then make them look older using their "sepia" tone. I then can print them in a myriad of sizes from wallet to full 8x 10 which is what I used for the large santa box. These labels will be about the right size already depending on the box you're using. Here are the pics I chose...

As you all know, normally my photos are copyright protected, but today you can use all 3 of these labels in any way you wish...for your personal use or if you want to make 1000 boxes and sell them at a craft show...well, God Bless ya, you have my blessing and express permission. Go forth and create !

Uh, er, well, now that I got that little overly exuberant theatrical experience out of the way (because yes, I actually said it out loud)...um, on to the tutorial.

Ok, so now you want to print out your pictures and trim them down so no white edges are showing from the paper (I, being very frugal just use regular old copy paper but you can use any kind you want...I wont tell). Here's how mine looked after I cut them down...

Next you're going to paint the mod podge all over the front of the box. I usuallu go in both directions to get good coverage. Then place your item where you want it and paint the mod podge (or watered down glue) over top of it. Be sure to press out any bubbles as you go and smoothing them out with your fingers...if you have a stubborn bubble simply pop in with a pin and add more glue. Then let it dry which takes about 10-15 minutes.

Next I add some stain or antiquing medium...frankly its which ever I have handy. I have used regular minwax left over stain or the little bottles or craft stain as shown here. It's Folkart brand Antiquing medium #810 but you can also use watered down brown paint for the same effect.

For light colored boxes I just brush on a few random splotches and then either rub in with a rag or add a water laden brush to disperse the stain.

For the red box I like to add a TINY bit of black paint in the same manner....

And then just use a watery brush to feather it out. Repeat until you get the desired effect. When adding the stain, just be sure to be ready to immediately wipe it off (gently) from the pictured part of your boxes. Once it's dry I either spray with a sealer or just mod podge again for a final sealant. Let dry completely and voila....awesome Christmas decorations for next to nothing...

This same process works on wood and glass too so the possibilities are endless. Here are a few other examples...

I hope this was helpful and as always, feel free to email any questions. Just think of all the BIG boxes you could do up and place on top of your kitceh cupboards or under a tree...oh the possibilities are endless. I would LOVE to see what you gals come up with so please be sure to share your final projects !

Well, I am off to to put my legs up and take a short break.
Grace to you,
Margie

It's Beginning To look Alot Like Christmas...

2011-12-02T16:47:00.001-05:00

Well, I am finally feeling like I have some holiday spirit. The hubs and I went and got our trees, yes trees...we get 2...one for the main floor and one for the downstairs family room ( aka the guys Steeler man cave). I know I am quite spoiled, but I am a Christmas junkie and I need my tree fix. I will get some pics up after I am done ...just got the lights on so far.

Of course I would have gotten the trees all done if I hadnt decided to repaint my china hutch. Remember when we got the hubs gramma's stuff and I painted it blue ? Well, I just wasnt happy with it, so I redid it last night and I like it much better...Havent gotten all the "stuff" put just where I want it yet, but I do like the boxes on top...just gonna add some white lights.

I have had these boxes for ages and they have patriotic pics on the other side but I figured I could easily have them do double duty and put Christmas/wintry labels on the other side...pretty thrifty, right ?

Also i got this old hat box from the hubs gramma and I just KNEW I could make it beautiful...what do you think ????

I love the way it turned out...It was fun to paint, distress, decopauge and stain and see this wonderful ginat box come to life....figured I would have paid close to $50 in a prim shop (which of course I would never do because thrity is my middle name).

I got so inspired by redoing the hutch that I decided to work on the small buffet...Hiked this all the way up from the garage all by my lonesome too...Yes, I work out (well, that WAS my work out). Anyway...here's how it looks...

DO NOT enlarge the picture PLEASE...my floors are very dusty and my baseboards havent been cleaned in forever ! hahaha

Well to round out all my crafting escapades, here are some ornies I made while watching Christmas movies the last couple days...

I had tons of fun hooking the little stockings and making the snowmen with some old wire I have had sitting around for who knows how long...and I love my checkered ginger...I had some wool that just wouldnt hook well and I figured it would be great for some gingers. Tomorrow I am planning on some cinnamon applesauce ornies, baking some cookies and finishing my trees.

I do still have several wool bundles left if anyone is interested along with some rug hooking kits. My first post of the new year will have another rug hooking tutorial...I decided we are all too busy right now, but feel free to keep those questions coming. I am enjoying answering all of them.

Well, guess that about all thats new right now. I have an aching back at the moment, so off I go to take a break and watch yet another Christmas movie....I record them ALL and love watching them...even all by my lonesome !

Grace to you,
Margie

It was like Christmas...

2011-11-28T12:34:00.001-05:00

Oh my goodness gracious I have soooo much catching up to do with you all. First of all I truly hope everyone had a wonderful, peaceful and restful Thanksgiving. Mine was wonderful since 2 of my 3 kids were able to spend the holiday with us. Having our Marine home was awesome, although it wasn't nearly long enough. Now this is the baby of our family and typical of the baby boy, he pretty much has always just signed his name to whatever his brother or sister did as gifts for most of his life and sent me to get most of his girlfriends gifts over the years (Thank goodness for camera phones) so imagine my suprise when he had our Christmas gifts with him that he picked out and purchased HIMSELF !!! It was so sweet...he bought me a beautiful necklace with these beautiful charms with each kids birthstone and , if that wasnt enough, he also got me the dvd of The Christmas Shoes...the 2 of us ALWAYS watched Christmas movies together starting the day after Thanksgiving so it was an extra special, very thoughtful gift ! Oh how I wish he could be here for the whole month of December but he's not even sure if he will be home for Christma which is killing me. He wont know until Dec 23 when he gets back from the field...GRRRR !

It was wonderful to have both my boys at home with us and the inlaws were with us too and we had a wonderful turkey dinner and then played cards and it was just a blast. Thank goodness I had that extra week (wink, wink) or I would never have been ready. I did finally get all those apples cooked down but ran out of time to get them canned so I figured I would send it over to the church along with my turkey and dressing that I was making for the outreach dinner. Well we all sent over our turkey drippings too so they could make gravy. Well imagine my suprise when I went down to the church kitchen after church on Sunday to pick up my dishes and one of the gals asked if I knew what happened with the gravy...One of the gals mistook my giant container of homemade apple sauce for gravy and added the entire tub to the gravy...Oh my goodness...she said it tatsed ok, but I think she waqs just being nice since I thinbk it would have had to have been ruined !!! I felt so badly about it but I cant understand for the life of me how she didnt smell the apples and cinnamon, especially since I sent my drippings in a mason jar !!!!

Well, now I have to tell you about the exciting swap presents I got in Friday's mail. Melissa from over at Libbies Home was my swap partner for Bumble Bee Lane's Christmas in The Cabin swap and oh my goodness, when I opened that box I was BLOWN away...Look at all the packages...

I was literally squeeling with delight ! My son came running upstairs cuz he thought I got hurt...Nah, just doing the happy dance with all my goodies. Melissa really did a fantastic job ...

Look at all these primtastic gems...I was in prim heaven. I have some close ups to show you each thing individually except I forgot to take a picture of the sweet magnetic grocery list with the prim snowman on it, which was great cuz I just used my last list !!!

I collect rolling pins and this little one is a beauty and Melissa made this sweet little wrapper for it too !

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this snowman pillow...how cute is he ???? Perfect addition to my snowman collection !

Isnt this grater and candle just divine ? I found the perfect spot...now I just need to get it hung.

Look at how swwet this mason jar is ? Her attention to detail was so sweet and so thoughtrul. I just LOVE it all.

I think this star is my favorite thing...it's just so perfectly prim.

This lovely candle holder has a wonderfully smelling battery candle in it so its perfect for a place with no outlet.

This little grunged candle smells SOOOOO good and isnt that a sweet little braided mat ?

Last but not least, look at all these sweet Christmas distressed tags. Melissa really went all out and I really felt like maybe I needed to send her another package because she really went above and beyond. If you ever get a chance to be her swap partner...well, you will be as blessed as I am...she did all this while grading papers and holding parent teacher conferences. Isnt she wonderful ???? Yes, she is !

Well, I guess thats about all for me. I am so excited to get my decorating all done...the hubs and I are going on Wednesday to get our trees...Hooray ! I love it once the house smells all piney ! Oh and I am committed to getting those Christmas red and wine wools listed this afternoon...in fact I will be adding them right after this post so if you are in need or the BEST Christmas red wools, be sure to check out my wools for sale page.

It's great to be back online and I will be trying to stop by all of YOUR blogs to see what you've been working on...I have to admit that since I had so much to do and wanted to spend every minute I could with our sons, I didnt even so much as check my email until late last night. I am looking forward to hearing from all of you...You gys are just the best and I appreciate those of you who "checked in" to see if I was ok since you hadnt seen any new posts from me...You really are such wonderful friends and I am truly thankful for you.

Ok, I really am going now.

Grace to you,
Margie

Proof Postive that I am an IDIOT !!!

2011-11-14T11:24:00.000-05:00

Well if you read my post from yesterday, you know that I have been overwhelmed with WAY too much to get done before Thanksgiving. Last night, not too long after I wrote my post, I was frantically trying to get everything done and in the midst of the insurmountable task the hubs reminded me that I also volunteered to write out 15 thank you notes for him (he has yucky hand writing) for people who had participated in his black Friday sale from last year and invite them to the one this year...So, in the midst of all the other things I was trying to finish, I sat down to write them out. He had a memo from home office with the verbage they wanted used. Well imagine my suprise when I read that they needed them sent by Monday Nov. 14 with a follow up call no later than Monday the 21st. OK, yes, idiot Margie actually used up valuable energy by running downstairs to the hubs man cave (he was watching the Steeler game of course) and said "Um, honey, why on earth would you send these out and then call them AFTER Thanksgiving to remind them...that's just dumb...I hate your stupid company, they make you do the dumbest things and never have their info right ! Shouldnt you have mailed these LAST week and called tomorrow since Thursday is Thanksgiving ?" Well of course my husband is smiling now...smirking perhaps, and said "Babe, you do know Thanksgiving is NEXT week right ? You know ...its the last Thursday in November...been that way your entire life " He was now chuckling and I was getting really irritated. I KNOW he told me Thanksgiving was this week and hello....I have been running around, baking cookies, painting porches, refinishing my buffet, etc saying things like "Oh my gosh, I am running out of time and I need to get all this stuff done by Thursday" and he never said a word...NOT ONE WORD!!! I mean, its not like I have random Thursday deadlines to meet for pete's sake ! Well to be fair, I couldnt stay irritated long ... he hugged me and with a handsome smile said I was adorable and that I "just needed to not worry about getting everything done, that the house looked fine and no one would notice dust bunnies when they were licking the gravy off their plates to get the very last little bit of a delicious turkey dinner followed by a great piece of pie ! Feed people and no one cares what the house looks like honey"....So, the moral of this story ? Marry a great man and BUY a calendar ! Hahahaha. I figured I didnt really need one since the kids were all gone and, lets face it, the hubs works so much that I dont really have much of a social life. Its pretty much church, groceries, thrift store, repeat and who needs a calendar for that right ? Well apparently I do since I cant get my national holidays straight !!!
Well, its a yucky, rainy day here (ugh...that translates to achey, achey joints) but I do want to report I finally got some zzzz's last night...SIX HOURS all at once ! HOORAY ! Thanks to all of you who have prayed for me...it was greatly appreciated ! So between getting sleep and now miraculously having an additional week to get things done, I am off to prioritize and tick things off my list one by one. I got up early this morning and mailed some cookies out to one soldier. Last night I listed my new ruglets (a day early) and even some new wool for sale. Right now I am working on some absolutely awesome red wool bundles and hope to have those up this afternoon...they are really great and I had so much fun perfecting my favorite red dye recipe which I may share in my dyeing tuorial. Its perfect for prim crafts...rich and dark...great for houses, barns, samplers and santa's.

Well friends, off I go. Many thanks and hugs to you all.
Grace to you,
Margie

Finally Finished

2011-11-13T16:35:00.001-05:00

Hi there my prim pals...Well, I am finally done hooking a few Christmas projects...Now on to binding them, which you all know is just my favorite thing to do (yeah right). But I did get the mug rugs all bound...here they are...

They will be up as kits for sale by tomorrow along with the other 2 small ruglets (Cute, right ? ) They aren't really full size rugs or full size runners, but they're not candle mats either. They are great for hanging on a cabinet door or over a door or in the skinny place where nothing fits...Well, I guess I should show them to you. I am binding the feather tree in red and I haven't decided about the snowflake...White might be nice or should I stick with the blue so the edges kind of just disappear ?

At just 18 x 6 and 18 x 4, they hook up in a breeze and are just so festive. I love all the different blues in the snowflake ruglet but I will offer any background color for the kit.

Well, I am trying to get my swap presents finished for Bumble Bee Lanes "Cabin In The Woods" Christmas swap...I have had soooo much fun making all sorts of little gifts to put in my swap box. I adore doing swaps and am so excited to send mine and to see what I am getting too !!! I have several wool bundles to get added to my wool for sale page too and oh, did I mention Thanksgiving is at my house ? And my Marine son is coming home ? (HOORAY) And I signed up to make some grub for our church's outreach Thanksgiving dinner, Feed The Need? Oh and I have a bushel of
apples that need canned like yesterday ? Oh and I have cookies to make to send out to the troops ? Does anyone else need an extra week before we sit down to our Thanksgiving meal ??? Forget about the fact that many stores will be open on Thanksgiving day with pre-black Friday deals ??? I have my list ready to go but still need to gather my coupons and coupon codes. I think something's gotta give this week and I have decided I am cleaning my house with the legally blind in mind ! Unless it jumps out at me and screams CLEAN ME...its not getting cleaned this year...maybe by Christmas I can clean off the top of my fridge !!!

Well, I am exhausted since I spent yesterday painting my porch, yes, its November and I was out on the last decent day, painting my porch. Why ? Oh well , thats easy...I am NUTS. Well, I had removed all the ugly carpet that was on it and got it scraped down (well, not really good enough) and decided I had a little bit of porch paint left over from the back deck and decided it would look better than seeing all the yucky colors and chips etc. Yeah, well its passable, but I have already started my spring projects list of the MUST DO things around the house...I adore the hubs...you all know that I feel I have THE BEST husband in the universe, but he is NOT handy and he works retail management which is 75+ hours per week ....if only he got paid by the hour, it wouldnt matter if he was handy or not because I could afford to just hire someone, but alas, that is not reality, so the list goes up and I will be devouring the DIY channels for the newest How To's.

OK, I am really tired and HOORAY, Sleepy !!! Those of you who know me know that I have a problem sleeping...a great little residual of the dreaded West Nile Virus. Well on top of a busy week, I have only slept approximately 12 hours since last Sunday....I am yawning...Pray that I can catch a few ZZZZZ's.

Hugs & Grace to you all,
Margie

Wools For SAle in New Place

2011-11-04T18:04:00.000-04:00

Hi guys...no time for a long chat today ! Just a quick note to those of you who were asking...I have put up some new wool bundles for sale on their own page ...Look to the right...Yep, there it is , right above my Rug Hooking Tuutorial pages...Just click on the WOOLS FOR SALE and see whats new. I will be adding more wools as I have them bundled. Anyone who needs anything specific...just ask. I may or may not have it, but I can always look. I will take down the pics as they are sold, so only current wools will be listed...Hope that makes sense.

Ok, gotta skedaddle,
Grace to you,
Margie

Winner Announced

2011-11-01T17:37:00.000-04:00

Hello all my prim pals...it was a busy, busy weekend getting my son moved. I am exhausted from all the CLEANING...Good Lord in Heaven, what a mess !!! I love him dearly, but nope, he can never move back home, hahaha...I truly had forgotten how messy boys really are.

I want to say a HUGE thank you to all of you wonderful folks who enetered my Fall Fun Giveaway. I tabulated a grand total of 127 entries and got several new followers !!! It took me 3 hours last night to write all the names out but since I dont sleep much, at least I had something to do at 3 am right ? I always have the best of intentions and say I am going to write out every slip as the entries come in, but I dont...GRRRR, I am so dumb (or maybe a little lazy ?) !!!. Well, the hubs was going to pull the winning slip, but he fell asleep long before I got done writing everyones entries and cutting all the little slips etc, so into my giveaway tally box they went and out I pulled.....drum roll please...Susan from Glen Oaks Primitives. Congratulations Susan !!! She has opted for the finished mat shown here...

and I will get it off to her tomorrow so she has time to enjoy it for the whole month ! If you get a chance to stop over at her blog http://www.glenoaksprimitives.blogspot.com/ you will be in for a real treat since she makes it her mission to list as many giveaways as possible ! You can spend an entire afternoon entering all the current giveaways listed on her blog. And dont get discouraged if you cant find the button to become her follower...It is WAY down toward the bottom.

I wanted to show you guys this great salt glazed pie plate I got at a farmers market with the hubs last week...I am salt glazed obsessed and was thrilled to find this to add to my collection. I love it when I find things that are salt glazed and are different, you know, not just a crock...

Isn't it just awesome ? Want to know what was even better ? It was only $7.00 HAPPY DANCE TIME !!!

OK...I gotta skadoodle !

Grace to you,
Margie

Making room for Christmas

2011-10-28T16:19:00.000-04:00

Well, I need to make some room in my cut up little home. I have NO idea what the builders were thinking when they designed the homes in our neighborhood back in the late 1940's. All the homes on our street are cape cod, story and 1/2 houses with no front door...but 2 side doors. Let me try to explain...Here's a picture of the front of my house

The first door leads into what was our very small living roon and the second door leads into our kitchen. Well, I have big guys in my family (my boys are 6'3 and 6'5) and the kitchen just wasnt big enough for a table and there was no dining room. To the left of that window are the steps to go upstairs and behind that tall bush to the farthest left is another window that was my Marine sons bedroom.

Here are some pics from the inside...we decided to make the living room into a formal dining room and we made a family room in the basement (the guys Pittsburgh Steeler man cave). This is when it was the living room the first Christmas after we moved in...look at that hideous mauve carpet...the 80's called and wanted in back so we ripped it out to see hardwood floors !!!)

I also ditched the 80's couch...I let the hubs get those monstrous, totally NOT prim sofa's that have recliners on both ends...matches the hideeous very BIG scrren tv down in their man cave...gotta be comfy on game day I guess ! I will ahve to take some pics of their room and show you guys sometime...Its, well, um, manly and um, well, big in scale...just not my cup of tea, but I digress.

So here's the wall I want to knock down ...I think it will really give the house a more open feel,

Right on the opposite side is my sons old bedrrom...only bad thing is since my youngest left the nest in March, his room has become a resting place for everything I havent wanted to take down to the basement...Plus I let him paint his room black & gold...can you say WALL PAPER or I will be painting over that black for days....

Oh my...I should be so embarassed, but its just life. Now I need to move all the stuff downstairs into my other sons bedroom...then move the bed from this room across the hall to our guest bedroom which right now just has a twin bed (actually part of the boys older bunk beds, which I want to put on craigslist along with my dishwasher and a brand new snow board I won a few years back...I'm getting exhausted just thinking about it).

Of course, we had a mold issue downstairs in our sons bedroom (we have an addition off the back with its own entrance...our older son lived there until last October and apparently he had left the windows open and water got in and soaked the carpet without us knowing. A few months ago I was downstairs doing laundry thinking what's that odor (I have a VERY delecate nose) ? I opened up the door to the addition and thought YUCK...After looking around I saw some mold on the wall near the basebaord. I am very susceptible to mold, so out I went. When the hubs got home he said needed to take out the trim and wall board...well, that wasnt enough, we had to take all the carpet up !!! Hubs said there was mold growing everywhere under the carpet...gross. So, now I have cement floors down there. Guess I will be learning to tile ! Someday I want that to be my studio/wool shop. Its the perfect place...Huge room, private entrance, private bath and close o the laundry so i can wash/dry all my wool.

OK, but back to the present. We used to put one Christmas tree in the front window (even now that its the dining room)

And then one smaller tree down in the man cave where we traditionally opened gifts etc.

Well, we put a wood burner in after Christmas last year and now I dont think I can squeeze in a tree, the table/chairs, my new hutch and the wood burner, so I think we HAVE to tear down that wall, dont you ???? Forgive the picture...I had snapped it as a "blank canvas" with none of my decorations up at all...BORING

That way I can put a tree up in that room ...otherwise it just wont feel Christmassey enough. I love Christmas and would have a tree in every room if possible. Hubby and I go out every year on the Sunday after Thanksgiving and pick out a couple tree...Hubby says they get bigger every year and has to constantly remind me that we dont have 10' ceilings (oh how I iwsh we did).

SO, I have a few favors to ask of all my prim pals..

1. How hard do you think it will be to take down that wall...there's no electrical outlets or anything like that.
2. Do you think the hubs and I can do it with a little help from my father in law (he's remodeled his basement and hung drywall etc)
3. Can I get it done by Thanksgiving ????
4. Am I crazy to add all this stress ? Should I just do 1 tree down in the man cave ???? I'm frowning right now...can you tell ?

OK gang...I am gonna scoot. My son is moving into a smaller apartment (roommate bailed on him and left him stuck with all the rent a few months back...grrrrrr) and I promised I would help him pack and clean the old place tomorrow and then he and the hubs will move the furniture on Sunday and I will help him get stuff set up in his new place...Sounds fun, right ? Yeah, no, I am not looking forward to it. We are supposed to get a snow strom overnight...BRRRRR. I dont "do" cold weather really well, so I know I am going to be paying for this, but I love my son, so , well, we just do what we have to, right ?

By the way...dont forget about my Fall Fun Giveaway which ends Oct 31.

Grace to you,
Margie

Fall Fun Giveaway At Hungry Hook Primitives

2011-10-24T17:48:00.000-04:00

Well, as usual, I am behind on getting my giveaway up. I had wanted to do it for my 50th post, but that post came and went, so I am just doing a Fall Fun Giveaway. I was trying to think of what what might be fun and decided to give folks a choice of giveaway prizes. First choice will be for the Hungry Hook Primitives original hand hooked
" Crows Take A Break " candle mat (12.75 x 15.5) shown here...

Now, to make it more fun, I decided that you can choose the mat already hooked, as shown above, or you can get it as a rug hooking kit and hook it yourself ! The kit will include the pattern on monks cloth and all the wool you will need to complete it.

You need to respond to this post and let me know you want to be entered. You will get an additional entry for each of the following...posting to your side bar, putting it on your facebook page or tweeting about it. You will get 2 extra entries for doing an actual blog post about it, so you have 7 chances in total. Entries must be received by October 31st and the winner will be announced November 1st. Please be sure to leave your email address if you dont sign in using your blog name...that way its much easier for me to get in touch with you if you win !

You have to be a follower and its only open to those folks in the US due to the high cost of shipping internationally.

OK...that's it. Oh, and please be sure to check out the wool I still have left from my last post...there are a few good deals left and I am adding a couple more bundles and pieces.

Grace to you,
Margie

Wool Stock Up Sale

2011-10-22T18:11:00.006-04:00

Now is a great time to stock up on some primilicious hand dyed wools for all of you who hook, do penny rugs or wool applique. These wools are absolutely beautiful and I had so much fun dyeing them and putting them together. If you see something you would like to purchase, please send me an email at hungryhookprims@aol.com with "wool" in the subject line . Prices do not include shipping, so I will need your full address to calculate a combined final price. I will then invoice you through PayPal and will ship within 2 days of receiving your payment.

Ok...lets get started.

Pumpkin Spice Starter Pack $10.00

Bakers Dozen (13 pcs) 12" long by 2-3" wide

Pumpkin Spice Bundle $7.95

Herringbone 4 x 16

Mottled Pumpkin 4 x 17

Pumpkin Spice 4 x 23

Cinnamon Toast 3.5 x 18

Burnt Pumpkin 2.5 x 14

Spiced Melon 2 x 15

75 Pumpkin Spice Strips $5.95 14-15" SOLD

Mud Pie Wool 3 pc Pack $3.75 SOLD

3.5 x 11.5

Leafy Green Trio $4.25 SOLD

Deep Leafy Green 4 x 12

Mottled Brownish Green 3.75 x 11.75

Medium Mottled Green 4 x 11.75

Vintage Dirty Red Bundle #1 $6.95 SOLD

Large plaid 3 x 17.5

Checkered Plaid 4 x 15

3 pc variety mottled reds

4 x 15

2.5 x 16

3 x 12

Vintage Dirty Red Bundle # 2 $6.95 SOLD

(color is more true in photo in bundle #1)

Plaid 2.25 x 26

Mottled Red (2 pcs)

3 x 17

3.25 16

Solid Red (2 pcs)

3.5 x 17

3.5 x 15

Sugar Plum Prim Bundle #1 $6.95 SOLD

Mottled Plum 5 x 13

Plaid Plum 3.5 x 24

Solid Plum Wine 3.5 x 25

Herringbone Plum 2.75 x 14

Solid Plum Wine 2 x 16

Sugar Plum Prim # 2 $5.95

Plaid 3.25 x 24

Mottled Plum 3.25 x 25

Dirty Plum 3 x 16.5

Solid Plum Wine 1.75 x 25

Santa's Scarf Bundle $6.95 (color is deeper) SOLD

Watch Plaid 4 x 20

Tiny Plaid 3 x 24

Solid 3.5 x 21

Lighter Mottled 2.5 x 23

Mottled 2.5 x 17

Red Starter Pack $8.50

12 pieces 2-4" wide by 12-15" long

Green Starter Pack $5.50

10 pieces

1.5-3" wide x 11-15" long

Blue Variety Pack #1 $5.50

10 pieces

2-4" wide x 11-15" long

Blue Variety Pack # 2 $5.50

12 pieces 1.5 x 11

Blue Variety Pack # 3 $6.50

12 pieces 1.5-2.5 x 17

ONE POUND Penny Rug Scrap Bag $15.50 each Only 1 left

Multiple wools trimmed to squares and rectangles

Primtive Rug Hook $7.50

Pendelton Red/Blue Plaid

Piece # 1 (21 x 7.5) $3.00

Piece # 2 (20 x 16.5) $4.50

Pendelton Blue Plaid

Piece # 1 (7 x 24) $3.00

Piece # 2 (25 x 25) $8.50 SOLD

Pendelton Solid Blue $3.00 SOLD

6.75 x 24

Pendelton Black Wool $6.00

11.5 x 26

Woolrich Gray Wool (blanket weight) $4.00 SOLD

13.5 x 28

Pendelton Evergreen Wool $3.50 SOLD

8.5 x 25

Pendelton Red Wool

Piece # 1 $2.25 (17 x 6.75)

Piece # 2 $2.00 (17 x 5.5)

Houndstooth Wool $3.00

(13 x 11)

Tiny Plaid $3.00

( 9.5 x 22)

Green & Blue Plaid $4.75

(8.75 x 24)

Red/Black Plaid Wool $5.00

20 x 22

Auntumn Plaid $3.00 (6.5 x 24) SOLD

That's it for today gals....let me know if you need more of a certain wool...I may have extra that I did not list.

Grace to you,

Margie

Catching Up...

2011-10-20T04:41:00.000-04:00

Hello all my primilishious friends. I have still been battling the cold from helsinki, so I am WAYYYYYYY behind on giving a big shouting THANK YOU to Lauren over at Rugs & Pugs. She was my swap partner for the Bumblebee Lane "Prairie Swap" that Amy hosted. This was Laurens very first swap and let me tell you...you're going to hope she's your next swap partner cause she knows how to spoil a gal !!! Of course, I have the patience of a newly potty trained 3 year old who really has to pee, and I saw that box and just tore into all the gifts, so you all are missing out on how pretty she had everything wrapped. She had this adorable vintage newspaper and everything was tied with twine...Oh so sweet ! Of course I have told myself over and over to take a picture BEFORE I open everything, but what can I say ? I was too excited (which might mean I have a very dull life, but thats another story).

OK...drum roll please....Just loook at all the sweet goodies.

I just love the wooden bowl filled with dirty little gourds...they are wonderful and isnt that pumpkin mat just so sweet. She's very talented and I think that its punch needle ???? All I know is its really adorable...havent decided yet where to put everything since I have been ubdet the weather. The little pin keep is adorable too...oooh and do you see that necklace ???? It says "rug hooker" and has a little tiny sheep on it...SWEET ! Now, I must confess, much to my shame, it took me a little while to figure out the scrabble letters..I know, I know...It shouldve been easy, but guys, seriously I have had like, nooooo sleep and have been taking cold meds along with my pain meds since when I get a cold my body just does NOT cooperate...all the residuals of West Nile. Lordy Hannah I wouldnt wish West Nile on my worst enemy. Ok, enough boo-hooing from me...I'm just saying I had legitimate reasons for it to take me almost an hour to figure it out ! No joke..I kept thinking well gosh, its not my name, or primitives or October and then DUHHHHHHH...it hit me ! I chuckle every time I look at it now. Gigantic hugs to Lauren !!!

So, here's where I put some of the loot..

Let's see....The bowl, pin keep and gourds are from Lauren, the corn cob beeswax bowl fillers are from Amy at Bumble Bee Lane . YUUUMMMMMMM they smell so good...wish I wouldve bought more sine I have 2 in my table center piece too. Oh and the pumpkin is one of the ones I swapped with Maire over at Old Lady Morgans. I painted the little round box and put a copy of a vintage Thanksgiving card on the front and all those wooden sewing spools are another thing from the hubs grammas that the family was going to pitch !!! I think they look nice in the mason jar with the old doily on top. I picked up the runner at Goodwill awhile back for $1 along with the Kraft cheese box, also $1.

Ok, so its 4:30 am and I am getting tired and hopefully sleep will come to me soon, but let me ask a quick gardening question first. I am a gardening newbie (most plants I have ever touched have died so I was quite pleased when the mums I planted last year actually came back up this year, but they are so doggone big that they are falling over...any ideas ? They just are sort of falling over. Should I tie them up with something ?
ALso...look at how brown some of the red blooms are ...is that normal or did I get to close and now they are ready to die on me ?

One more funny thing before I go try to get some sleep...As I was trying to do at least some fall decorating the other day I took this picture of one of my hooked tugs laid over a basket....notice anything ????

Other than the fact that I seriously need to move the furniture and vacuum behind the sewing machine...Look to the right...Yep, thata a SNOWMAN sitting in my crock ! No, I am not super early getting my winter decor out...I am LATE. I guess its been up all year. I walk past this everyday....several times a day. It's right at the bottom of the steps and never saw it. Wow, when did that happen ? I used to move my furniture around almost weekly. I was always fixing and fussing over every little thing in my house and now I am lucky to get ALL my winter deor put away beofre it starts snowing again. Yikes ! I gotta get more on the ball.

Well, I guess I should go. Oh, this was my 50th post, so I will be doing a giveaway, but I am too tired to tell you all the details tonight, so stay tuned. I will get it up by Friday for sure along with lots of wool...I am still clearing out some of my excess wool and have made up some nice "stash starters" for rug hookers or penny rug makers.

OK...sleep may finally be coming..

Grace to you,
Margie

How "Hungry Hook Primitives" got it's name...

2011-10-15T04:08:00.001-04:00

Hi my prims pals....Just a quick blog post since it looks like one more insomniac nigth for me. I was thinking about what to write since I am missing all of you very much, but havent gotten a chance to take any pictures (I dont like to post without pics...silly I know, but I guess I agree that a picture's worth a thousand words. I am really hoping to get lots of pics taken tomorrow since I got a great swap in the mail this week from Lauren over at Rugs & Pugs and she spoiled me rotten. I, of course, was a little late sending mine out, but she should have it tomorrow. Also all of my mums are in full blossom and being a newbie gardner, I have a couple questions for you guys that seem to do it so effortlessly...but I digress, those are questions for another day.

Back to my post...I have had several people comment on the name of my blog and are curious as to how I came up with it, so I figured now was the perfect time to explain. I grew up listening to all the stories my mom and her sisters told about growing up in the hills of Pennsylvania and the plains of Ohio. You see my grandfather worked heavy construction so he needed to be where the jobs were and wanted his wife and 4 daughters with him, which meant lots of moves.

Both of my grandparents grew up a few hours north of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania in the tiny little coal town of Timblin...its not even a dot on the map, its that small. There's one church, a park, a few houses and a library, although I am told it was a little bigger back in the day (i.e. the 1940's). Today it boasts 151 residents according to the last census record. The closest town of any significant size is Punxatawney. Now you may be familiar with that name since each February there's a big nationally televised event to see if the ground hog, lovingly called Punxatawney Phil, comes out and sees his shadow...If he does, well six more weeks of winter ! Some of you may remember the Bill Murray classic movie Ground Hog Day but I bet ya didnt know that it was NOT filmed on location in Pa, but instead shot in the picturesque village of Woodstock Illinois...I know because I lived not far from there back in the 90's.

Well this little tiny town was near and dear to my mothers heart and like I said, she told stories of living there and going to visit her grandparents, even spending several summers there. Almost the entire town was at one time of German descent, so my mother's stories were peppered with bits of Pennsylvania Dutch sayings, like "redd up the house" which means to tidy it up or and the constant omission of the words "to be" in a sentence , like "My bed needs (to be) made" My hair needs (to be) cut etc.

Well, my mom was a great storyteller to be sure and she always talked fondly of when they lived in a place she called Hungry Hook. I had always assumed it was it's own little town near Timblin somewhere, but it turns out it was just the name of their street. The picture at the top of my blog is my mom & aunt playing out front at Hungry Hook ! She would tell of having to use the outhouse when they lived there and it just seemed their was always something so old fashioned and quaint about it that it just became a sort of fairytale, post depression legend in my mind I guess...I am an only child and spent many hours imagining the details of the stories my mom used to tell. It conjured up pictures in my head of this tiny clapboard house with a porch swing and old wash tubs where my grandma would do the laundry outside. She told me of how the ladies of the town would judge a woman's cleanliness by how quickly on Monday morning they had their laundry on the line. She told me stories of the men going to work in the mines nearby and how my grandfather started in the mines at just 10 years old and wasnt allowed to even finish school because the family needed his money to be put in with the households just to scrape by in those days.

My grandmother died when I was just 5 or 6 and I wish I had paid more attention to each and every story that was ever told because now my mother is aging and often her stories get mixed up. I truly wish I would have written them down years ago.

Now you may all be thinking that all those old fashioned ladies must of done some rug hooking...well, not a one of them to my knowledge. My great grandmother was one fine quilter with stitches so tiny and straight it was unbelievable and she could bake the best pie you ever tasted, but no, I 'm the only hooker in the family (haha). It's just that I wanted to honor the memory of the women in my family who came before me. My creativity and thrift were passed down to me from this long list of interesting women. I'm not sure what all Hungry Hook Primitives will include someday...for now it seems to be mostly decorating and rug hooking, but perhaps I will add some family recipes and a tale or two from time to time. Most of all I just wanted to have a connection to the past and naming my blog and business after a romanticized story from my youth seemed like a good fit.

So there you have it folks.

Grace to you all,
Margie

New Tutorial Up...Saving some cash on recycled wool !

2011-10-11T05:04:00.001-04:00

I just want to say I am sorry for not posting for an entire week...Grrrr, I had a really bad sinus/head cold/felt yucky all over thingy, but I seem to be much better now, but even a head cold can throw me in bed for week since having that stupid West Nile...I think, above all of God's creatures, I hate the mosquito the most !!!

Well, at least I did manage to get the next tutorial up and I think you guys will enjoy it if you've been following along...it's all about tearing up old woolen clothing to make spectacular rugs...Now how fun does that sound ?

I also want to say how much I have enjoyed reading all your terrific blogs and all the sweet comments you all have left for me while I was resting in bed. Your kindness has meant so much to me. I am putting the final touches on my items for my swap with Lauren from Rugs and Pugs...we both signed up for the Prairie Swap that Amy over at Bumble Bee Lane is hosting...I am so excited, but I cant show you what I made until Lauren sees it first.

Nothing else really new right now. I have some pics to get up in the morning...er, well I guess it is 5am right now...Oh man, its 5 am...I have been blogging all might long. Oh dear, thats not good. I am going to sign off now and crawl in bed with the hubs and snuggle in for some well deserved sleep before the sun comes shining through my windows.

Until later today,
Grace to you,
Margie

Rug Hooking Lesson # 4 And Swaps

2011-10-01T18:20:00.000-04:00

I wanted to let everyone know that the rug hooking tutorials now have their own space on my blog. Look to the right and you will see individual lessons you can click on to view those individual lessons. Lesson #4 is up and it covers finishing/binding your rug or hooked project. I will adding more as I get them done. Since we have gone over the basics, I will be doing lessons on over-dyeing wool with chemical and natural dyes, some of my favorite dye recipes, garment deconstruction, perhaps a glossary of rug hooking terms...Let me know if you have other topics you wold like to see covered or as always, any questions !

Just a quick apology for not having the lesson up sooner...I accidently deleted my photos and had to at least start finishing another piece to show the steps along the way...GRRRRR...That amount of time was NOT in my plan !! Anyway..that's my excuse, such as it is. Forgiveness...please ??? I thought for sure I had already downloaded them (sigh).

I also have had some really terrific swaps recently and I just wanted to show everyone what I got and give some credit to the gals who I swapped ...They were sweet enough to take WOOL instead of CASH and I just LOVE that.

First I got this beautiful dust pan & cover, done penny rug style, from Gina over at Cat Nap Inn Primitives...isnt it darling ???

I also got these terrific pumpkins from Marie over at Primitives by Old Lady Morgan...in fact they were so awesome that I swapped a second bag of wool for 4 more pumpkins (wiping her out of pumpkins...wink wink, but I dont think she minds).

And finally I got this sweet combo pack from Patti over at Raspberry Lane Primitives. It has the sweetest Raggedy Ann notepad, some SUPERBLY scented cinnamon room spray, some tart warmers and some scented potpourri that is really yummy smelling...very spicey!!!

Well, guess that's it for now.

Grace to you,

Margie

More Wool For Sale REVISED

2011-09-27T15:54:00.005-04:00

Hello...I am so excited about all the wool I have to offer you all today. I have been busy, busy, busy in the kitchen dying that huge haul of wool I got last week. I am thrilled with how evereything came out. I have to admit something...I was so excited with the new batch of pumpkin patch wools that I just had to see how it hooked up so I hurriedly hooked up this great candle mat that's a Hungry Hook Original pattern called "Crows Take A Break" and the finished size (when I get the binding finished...ugh, I really dont like binding) will be 12 x 14.5...Here's a peek...

So, first up I have your choice of pumpkin patch wool strips...

100 Pumpkin Patch Strips $8.95 (15-18") SOLD OUT
Assorted pumpkin, brown/tan & green
OR
100 Pumpkin Patch Short Strips $7.95 (10-12")
Assorted pumpkin, brown/tan & green SOLD OUT

Autumn Harvest Wool Pack $12.95 Burnt Orange 2" x 16" SOLD
Perfect Pumpkin 3" x 17"
Winter Wheat 3" x 20"
Rich Earth Brown 3" x 16"
Harvest Brown 3" x 17"
Deep Leafy Green 3" x 15"
Mottled Olive Green 3" x 15"
Mottled Light Stem Green 3" x 15"
Sunflower 3" x 15
Goldenrod 3" x 17"

100 Autumn Harvest Strips $8.95 (approx 16")
Assorted greens, pumpkins tans & golds

Now onto some yummy holiday colors..perfect for those Christmas penny or hooked rugs !

Santa's Coat Wool Pack #5 $8.95 SOLD
Textured Cranberry Wine 2" x 15"
Deep Cranberry Wine 4" x 14"
Cranberry Wine Plaid 3.5" x 15"
Mottled Cranbery Wine 3.5 x 15"
Cranberry Wine Herringbone 4" x 14"

Santa's Coat Wool Pack #4 $8.95 SOLD
Textured Cranberry Wine 2.5" x 20.5"
Watch Plaid 3" x 20"
Deep Cranberry Wine Solid 3.5" x 20"
Cranberry Wine Herringbone 3.5" x 16"
Mottled Cranberry Wine 3.75" x 15"

100 Santa's Coat Strips $8.95 (15-20" long)
OR
100 Santa's Coat Short Strips $7.95 (10-13")

Christmas Eve Wool Pack $8.95
Checkered Wine 2" x 20"
Christmas Plaid (green) 2" x 17.5"
Old English Gold 2" x 19"
Christmas Plaid (wine) 2.5" x 12.5"
Deep Cranberry Wine 3.5" x 20"
Santa's Coat Wine 4" x 14"
Starry Night Blue 4" x 16"

Christmas Present Red Wool Pack $8.95
Mottled Ruby Red 2" x 16"
Mottled Deep Christmas Red 3" x 17"
Buffalo Plaid 3" x 24"
Tiny Plaid 4" x 16"
Watch Plaid 4" x 19"

100 Evergreen Pine Strips $7.95 SOLD
Assorted greens & plaids 16" and up

Evergreen Medley Wool Pack $8.95 SOLD
4 Assorted pieces 3" x 20-24"
The picture doesnt show the color differences very well.

Patriot's Blue Wool Pack $8.95
Light Plaid 1.75" x 22"
Mottled Light Patriot 2" x 14"
Tweed 2.5" x 25"
Tiny Check 3" x 23"
Speckled Blue 3" x 27"
Deep Patriot Blue 3.5" x 18"

Well, that's it for today's listing. I will gladly combine shipping on multiple purchases. If you need more than one of any wool pack I may have enough tyo accomodate you...just ask.

Grace to you,
Margie

Some new goodies

2011-09-20T13:58:00.000-04:00

Just a quick post today since I am trying to get a new batch of wool dyed and bundled. I have gotten a few little yummy things at the thrift (besides my gigantic wool haul) over the last few days.

I got this great piece of Pfaltzgraf with their folk art pattern...Not sure what is is though (any idea), but since I am trying to collect this line again I figured I would pick it up. I sold my entire Pfaltzgraf folk ark collection years ago when I got sick to help pay for my meds and oh how I miss it. Grrrrrrr...Oh and I got this piece for just $2 HOORAY. When I think of all the pieces I had to sell it makes me sooo sad, but I am grateful I had those things to sell. I guess the Pfaltzgraf pieces were good investments since I sold them for WAY more than I paid . I am trying to remember that I can have fun hunting for more pieces to add to my collection.

Also I love this salt glazed candle holder that I got for just $1 and am figuring out where to put it. Lastly I got the jar with the paddle in it with a plunger...It has measurements on the side and am thinking it may be for butter or to whip cream ???? Anybody have any idea ? I dont know where I am going to put this either since it doesn't really "match" with my colors since its more aqua blue...who knows maybe someone will want to trade for it ??? Let me know.

Well guys, thats about it for today. I am also trying to find a great recipe for hot pepper jelly. My inlaws gave me a big bag of hot peppers and I always buy hot pepper jam/jelly but would love to make my own...anyone have a good recipe ? I am really trying to make alot of gifts for Christmas this year and think a basket of jams, butters and spiced nuts along with a fresh loaf of bread and a small hooked mat (to be used as a hot pad) would make a lovely gift for people who have everything since we all still have to eat, right ?

Ok, I am gonna scoot now.

Grace to you,
Margie

Rug Hooking Tutorial # 3/ Another Wool Haul

2011-09-16T16:48:00.002-04:00

Sorry it took so long for me to get this next lesson up. I could list all my excuses, but I wont...let's chalk it up to a hectic week.

This lesson will be on how to hook the perfect star. Now before I tell you how to hook a star with perfect points I want to remind you that it is never a necessity to have perfect stars guys...Look at the old vintage rugs and you will see lots of rugs with rounded stars, mishapen stars, uneven stars and so on, so dont get too hung up on doing "The Perfect Star" in ever rug. Sometimes though, when the star is a key feature you do want nice crisp lines and points. There are lots of ways to do it out there, but this is the way I like best. I outline the star first with my background color and then fill it in....Here's how.

If you are following along with the rug we are making, "My Sampler Square", you should have outlined your box with your star with your trim color like this..

Now you will want to use a strip in your background color, NOT the color of your star. Pull it up in the corner of the star like this...

I know you cant tell that easily, but I am on the OUTSIDE line of the star. Go from the inside corner to the point...when you get to the point, use your finger on the UNDERSIDE of the piece to kind of hold that last loop in place...now you are going to change the direction of your hooking like this

Now you can see the black line and how close the hooking is to it. So now that you held that loop with your underside hand and changed the direction of your hooking just continue to the next corner and do the same thing like this...

Do you notice where I added a new strip ? I try not to add a strip on an outside point, so I may take a loop or two out to accomodate that.
Now just go all the way arounf your star, adding strips as needed and it will look like this...

Notice how perfect and sharp the point are on the INSIDE of the star that hasn't been hooked yet ? You have succesfully given yourself an easy perfect point star to simply fill in with your star color.

I always start in the point and put one loop in sideways and then make another loop[ in the very next hole down going the other direction (even with the outer row). I go down each side and then fill in the center of each point, stopping at the bottom of each point.

Then I fill in the center of the star and voila...perfect points. Now you can continue with your background strips and fill in following the direction of the stars points until its all filled in.

Once you have done all the stars you are done hooking your project ...You do have a few more steps to finish it, but for now give yourself a pat on the back ...you hooked a rug !!!

You will notice this mat is different than the one I did in Americana colors or the one I did in the rusts/beige/blacks. This was one I did with all LEFT OVER pieces of wool...little strips left over from other projects.I think it turned out pretty nice...

Ok...now the part most of us rug hookers dont like...finishing it !!! Today we are just going to get it ready for "finishing" which is called "blocking" and for this you need a damp cloth (I use a tea towel) and a hot iron. Be sure to check your mat and see if your hoops are all fairly even (nothing really out of line) and remove any stray pieces of thread. Place the damp cloth over the back side of the hooked piece and set your iron on the outside edge...DO NOT IRON, just lay your iron on each section and pick it up and set it on the next section until you have gone over the entire piece. Then turn the piece over and do the same thing on the front side. This will help your rug to lie flat and it also sort of "perks up" or "wakes up" your wool. Now set your rug someplace where the kids or pets (Or hubby) wont move it. Let it lie flat until dry...I usually let mine dry over night.

The next lesson will be on the different ways to finish your rug...There are MANY options out there for this, but I am going to show you the way I like best. But I will tell you about the other options too and you can decide how you want to finish your rug.

I got a HUGE bunch of wool the other day...

42 items in all...I got it all cut and washed and you can bet I will be in the kitchen dying more bundles of wool in some yummy colors for fall and the holidays ...I will be listing those bundle packs over the next few days, so be sure to check back.

I also wanted you to see that pumpkin piece I showed you last week...the one where I showed how you can use scrap pieces of your foundation fabric (mine was monks cloth) and sew them on a smaller piece to make it fit your frame/hoop...Well, it's all done and I just have to block it and add my rug binding, but I really love it...Moral of the story...dont throw away those pieces of monks cloth !

Alrighty guys, until next time...

Grace to you,
Margie

More wool fresh from the dye pot...

2011-09-12T11:57:00.004-04:00

Hi gang...As promised, here's the newest batch of wool packs I did up over the weekend. Let's get right to it.

Autumn Splender Wool Pack $9.95 SOLD
plus travel
Mottled Autumn Green 2.5" x 19"
Golden Plaid 2.75" x 12
Toffee Spice 2.75" x 14.25"
Soft Caramel 3" x 17"
Double Trouble Green 3.5" x 12.5"
Double Trouble Brown 3.5" x 12.5"

Christmas Eve Pack #1 $9.95
plus travel
Checkered Wine 2" x 20"
Christmas Plaid Green 2" x 17.5"
Old Gold 2" x 19"
Christmas Plaid Wine 2.5" x 12.5"
Cranberry Wine 3.5" x 20"
Santa's Coat Plaid 4" x14"
Starry Night Blue 4" x 16.5"

Christmas Eve Pack #2 $9.95 plus travel SOLD
Wine Plaid 2" x 20"
Christmas Plaid Green 2.5" x 17.5"
Old Gold 2" x 19"
Christmas Plaid Wine 2.5" x 12.5"
Starry Night Blue 4" x 16.5"
Cranberry 3.5" x 20"
Herringbone Wine 4" x 11"

Christmas Textures Pack $9.95 plus travel SOLD
Deep Plaid 2.25 x 15
Soft Plaid 2.5 x 18
Watch Plaid 3 x 16
Tiny Plaid 3.25 x 17
Mottled 3 x 23
Herringbone 4 x 15.5

Houndstooth remnant $5.95 plus travel
12" x 13"
awesome fall colors

Dont forget to check and see my other packs...If it's marked sold I may still be able to make you up a pack in different sizes.

I will be in the kitchen dying more wool today and finishing up the next tutorial lesson, so stay tuned.

Until next time...
Grace to you,
Margie

Silent Auction Winners/Computer Problems

2011-09-11T22:07:00.000-04:00

Hi guys...I am so sorry about not announcing who won our little silent auction until now. I had some major computer problems. My entire blog disappeared for a bit, then it came back, but completely messed up, so it took me some major time to figure out what happened...well, I still dont know what happened, but I redid everything, but it took every spare minute of my time the last 2 days, so no rug hooking lesson until tomorrow or Tuesday. I do have more wool to list and I promise that will be up tomorrow, unless there's a catastrophe.

OK, on to the silent auction winners. I am happy to announce that the winners of the wool for penny rugs are Marie from Old Lady Morgan Primitives who bid $21.00 and Sabrina from Fallining Leaf Woodworkers & Primitives who bid 15.00. Thanks for playing ladies.

I just love America where capilatism and the free markets really do work so well. I had NO idea how much to charge (if some of you hadn't asked, I wouldnt have even know anyone would want my wool scraps) and so by playing our little silent auction game, I let the market dictate the price ! Could there be a better example of how our system works...basic supply and demand. No stimulus needed !

Okay, okay, that's the last bit of any type of politics you will hear...it's just exciting to see it happen right in my own life. Hubby's the one who actually saw it that way...I was just doing the happy dance when he got home and said "You are never going to believe what those pieces of wool sold for honey"...He didnt think anyone would even place a bid, but I got several and was just dancing all over the house I was so excited. Of course, as much as I adore the hubs (and you all know I am over the moon for the man), it is so extremely rewarding to be RIGHT !!!!!!!!!!!!! Although I must admit, he is ALWAYS my biggest fan, but he IS right so often it gets annoying.

Okay, seriously, I will stop now. But you gotta admit, if you were me, you would have been dancing too.

So, thanks ladies. I will be emailing you soon.

Well, it is getting late, the hubs is coming to bed and I am going to relax...I had the inlaws over the game and the Steelers lost BIGTIME, so everyone was grumpy, but they were still hungry, so I am tired.

Until next time,
Grace to you,
Margie

Ahhhhh, It's Friday night

2011-09-09T19:12:00.000-04:00

From my back deck I can hear the band warming up for the big game tonight...Yep, it's officially football season and I am sad. Why ? Because for the last 13 years, football has been the one constant in my life (other than family, duh). We have lived in 3 different states in the last 13 years, but every fall our lives have revolved around football. Both my boys played since they were 8 years old and the helmets looked bigger than their little bodies. Every fall was filled with fundraisers, muddy uniforms, treats for tired players, long rides to far away games, freezing my toosh off on metal bleachers, selling raffle tickets, yelling till my throat hurt, listening (ad nauseum) to how "unfair" something was, cleet shopping, manning the refreshment booth, football banquets with BAD food, concussions , torn ACL's, trips to the physical therapist and many more fond, fond memories. Even last year, when both boys were playing in college and I didn't have to sell anything or wash anything, our lives still focused on football for the autumn months and they came home to watch the Steelers, bringing their buddies with them.
This year my youngest son is in the Marines and my oldest son is out on his own so it's the first season where I dont have a child playing football... somewhere. I'm not sure if I like it or not. Even when I was sick and couldn't make it to every game I can remember the hubs carrying me from the car to the chairs he set up near the end zone (only place we could put chairs) so I could watch for awhile. Even then I missed our normal spot on the 50 yard line.

I guess today I am just feeling a little sad at the realization that those times are over. Even the anticipation of the Steeler's first game on Sunday is a bit sad. My boys always had a crowd here for the games. Sure, the inlaws are still coming over, but my oldest is having his friends over to his house for the game, so it's just us. Now before you all think I am a football fanatic...let me tell you that I'm really not. I learned what position my kids played and know the general rules of the game and since I'm from western Pa, I bleed black & gold and always, always root for the Steelers, but mostly I just loved watching my boys play, or making a mountain of food for the boys and their friends when the Steelers played.

I am just stuck on sad today. I am really trying to figure out what I am supposed to do now (sigh). My whole adult life has been spent as a mother and now my nest is empty and I just dont know what to do with myself. I am sure God will shine a light on the situation, as He always does, but it's still sad...Like when you finish the last page of really terrific book where you feel you KNOW the people in the book. You stay up reading all night because you want to see what happens, but it's almost sad because you know the story is over. Thankfully in life , this chapter might be over, but perhpas a new book is just beginning. That's the way I am going to try to look at it anyway.

Here are a few pictures of my guys in high school and college (sigh, again)

Kirk in high school

Kirk at college

Kyler in college

Kyler & Ashlee on Senior Night

Our house decorated for the game

Well there you have it...my sweet little boys are all grown up. I need to dig up all their little kid pictures from football...they are too cute, but I didn't think I could stand that today. I am surprised at how emotional I am over this...silly me.

OK, gotta go get dinner started. It's after 7 and the hubs will be getting home soon.

Grace to you,
Margie

Wool for Penny Rugs...Let's have some fun !

2011-09-08T21:53:00.001-04:00

Wow, do I have a new respect for all you gals who make penny rugs. Since a few of you asked if I would be selling "scrap" wool for penny rugs, I decided to oblige and went straight to my scrap bag. I had no idea, however, that it would take me HOURS to sort and cut all that wool into manageable pieces. I have 2 bags to offer up for sale tonight.

Each bag contains 42 larger pieces approx 3" x 4.5" , 54 squares measuring 2" x 2" and 38 squares measuring approx 1.5" x 2".

Now ladies, I have no idea how much to even ask for these, so I thought to myself, "Let's just have a little fun with it" and do a silent auction. The two highest bids will get the wool. You will need to EMAIL me your bid (please dont post it here, cause then it wont be silent) and then, well, that's pretty much it. Lets say the bids need to be in by 4pm on Saturday afternoon. I will see who bids the most and let you guys all know Saturday night...fair enough ?

Alrighty then...I am off to watch some TV and work on that next rug hooking lesson.

Grace to you,
Margie

Pattern Time & Makeover

2011-09-07T18:25:00.006-04:00

Before I get to those patterns I promised, let me show you a sneak peek of my china closet that's almost done. Remember the one from hubbies gramma...the one NO ONE wanted cuase it looked so bad ? Well, in case you cant remember, here's some "Before" pictures from our garage...

And, even though I still have to finish the legs and buy some trim to put over the holes where I took the doors off, I am pretty pleased with how it's turning out. I am NOT liking what I have on top yet...still messing around with that. I love the flags, but not sure about the other stuff.

I am not sure if I should paint the inside...the wood is very pretty up close. Also I wanted a china closet FOR my china, but now I think I would rather have it for display cause I dont like the dishes in it (at least not yet). Hmmmm...still thinking !!!

Ok, on to the patterns. Well, thanks to all you lovely gals who have been ordering up the wool as fast as I can list it, I have not had as much time to list the patterns. Well that and maybe me working on the china closet, hehe. I am listing at least a few patterns today, and will add more over the coming days and weeks. I will also be listing more wool for rug hooking and will be making some grab bags full of wool for penny rugs (as requested by several of you). Just post a comment or email me at hungryhookprims@aol.com if you want to place an order.

But for this post I am going to list the following patterns from some of my favorite rugs. These are all Hungry Hook Primitives original rugs designed by moi, your humble reporter...wait, I'm not a reporter, but that did sound kinda neat, huh ? Not so much ? OK, well , here you go then...

"Lone Star" mat (12" x 12" finished)
Pattern on Monk's Cloth $18.50
Kit w/pattern on monk's cloth & wool $35.00

"Pennies From Heaven" runner (12" x 20" finished)
Pattern on Monk's Cloth $26.50
Kit includes monks cloth, wool & instructions $55.00

"Speckled Sheep" Rug (2' x 3' fnished)
Pattern on monk's cloth $59.50
Kit w/monks cloth, wool and instructions $115.00

"Star's & Stripes" Coaster set of 5
Pattern on monks cloth & instructions $15.00
Kit w/monks cloth & wool $28.00

"Crows Take A Break" (14 x 11.5 finished)
Pattern on Monk's Cloth $26.50
Kit with monks cloth, wool and instructions $55.00

"My Sampler Square" (finished 12 x 12)
Pattern on Monks Cloth $16.50
Kit w/pattern on monks cloth, wool & instructions $28.00
Please identify what color scheme you would like

Well, that does it for today's patterns, but I might sneak in some wool bundles if the hubs works late tonight.

Until then,
Grace to you,
Margie

Wool For Sale...Patterns Coming Later

2011-09-05T16:00:00.004-04:00

Hi gang. Well, am I glad this weekend is almost over. I am wiped out. Thanks for all the prayers though....I made it through all the company and their multitude of dietary needs. But as soon as I list this wool, I am taking a well deserved break and I am gonna make some burgers and snuggle in for some TV with the hubs.

OK, the first wool pack for sale is...

Patriot's Blue Wool Pack $9.95
Steely Plaid 2 x 22
Mottled Blue 2 x 14
Tweed 2.5 x 25
Tiny Check 3 x 23
Dark Speckled Blue 3 x 27
Rebel Blue 3.5 x 18

Santa's Coat Wool Pack $9.95 SOLD
Christmas Plaid 2 x 18
Herringbone 2 x 18
Solid Christmas 2.25 x 24
Mottled Christmas 2.5 x 24
Deep Christmas 3 x 20
Deep Plaid 3 x 19
Deep Wine 3.5 x 17

How Green is My Garden Wool Pack $9. SOLD
Dark Stem Green 2.5 x 22
Granny Smith 2.5 x 21
Brownish Green 3 x 15
Mottled Herringbone 3.5 x 14
Leafy Green 3.5 x 15
Dark Herringbone 3.5 x 19
Deep Olive 3.5 x 20

Christmas Red Pack $4.95
2 x 16
2.5 x 24
3 x 17
3.5 x20

Pumpkin Patch Strips $6.95 SOLD
50 assorted green
75 assorted pumpkin
50 assorted brown

I will be lsiting more wools Tuesday & Wednesday, along with Hungry Hook Primitives original patterns, monks cloth, rug hooks etc. Please tune in and dont forget our next rug hooking tutorial lesson will be this weekend !!!
Remember if you need your wool cut or have a request of more of a certain wool or you need a specific color range, let me know and I will try to accomodate.

Grace to you,
Margie

Rug Hooking Tutorial Lesson 2

2011-09-02T15:57:00.003-04:00

OK gals (and gents if there are any following along), its time for the second lesson in our rug hooking tutorial. We will be covering color planning and yes, we will actually start hooking. First off, one of the things I like most about primitive rug hooking is that when it comes to color or scale, there are no rules. It's common to see a prim rug with a cat that's bigger than the house. Perhaps the cat is a deep purple or vivid red. These are not colors that happen in nature in these items, yet they are playful and fun and add a true Americana Folk Art quality to each rug. I love this because I can make a rug that is truly original. I'm a little on the conservative side, but you can choose any color you like. Primitive rug hooking is not meant to be literal but more of an outline. If you want heavy, intricate details where you can see each wrinkle on a mans face, try traditional rug hooking. Primitive hooking harkens back to the day when the women and girls of the home, who may not be artistic at all, made rugs out of scraps of wool. They drew what they saw...horses, houses, flowers etc. Sometimes the rugs look simplistic....a simple ABC rug might have been done by a young daughter and more complex designs done by the truly more talented.

Just for a little background for you. Originally rugs were hooked on old burlap feed sacks with bits of left over or used up clothing. Wool was a common fabric known for it's durability, so when someone outgrew a pair of pants or something could no longer be repaired, it would be cut into strips for use in a rug. Patterns were drawn on the burlap with ash from the fireplace by using a partially burnt piece of wood ....no wonder there's not a ton of detail. By the way, most ordinary folks didn't have a huge color palette of ready made wool from which to choose, so they used berries, weeds etc to dye the wool. It really was a time consuming task to say the least. There were no ready made dye's to use like today. One common way to over-dye wool to tone down a strong color which is still used today by rug purists is called onion skin dying. We will cover dying in an upcoming lesson, but I just wanted you to have some back ground. Often times their version of a rug hook was simply a bent nail. We all have it sooooo good now, dont we ?

So, you have a pattern, either one you purchased or one you drew and you want to transfer it onto your foundation fabric. I use Red Dot Tracer which is a see-thru, filmy, almost papery product that has red dots equally spaced. You simply place the Red Dot Tracer over your pattern and trace, which transfer it from the pattern to the Red Dot. Then you place the Red Dot over the foundation and using a permanent marker, slowly go over the lines to transfer.

You will want to pin or tape in place and be very careful to line up the Red Dots on the straight line of the weave. You may need to touch up some lines after you remove then Red Dot Paper.

Even if you only have a small pattern you can make a large rug simply by adding a border, as shown here in my rug "Speckled Sheep". I drew my sheep, then planned a large border. This was the first full sized rug I made several years ago...I have learned quite a lot since then. The great thing with the border is you can add words, stars, circles, stripes...whatever you like. You can add a family name or even a scripture...I have down both for gifts and it is such a personal touch which is always appreciated.

Once you transfer your design, you need to serge or zigzag the outer most edges so it doesn't unravel while hooking. When I first started hooking I just used masking tape on my ends. Then you need to sew a straight stitch right next to the outside of the pattern like this.

This stitch keeps your hooking edges straight and keeps you from veering off the pattern. Next you need to sew another straight stitch about 1/4 around that stitch like this...

Notice how the point of my star is right on that white line ???? That will also help your rug stay on track.

So, now your pattern is ready to hook. If you purchased a kit, you have the wool needed to complete the rug. If you purchased or drew your own pattern, then the next step is to decide what colors to use. Again, let me stress, there are NO rules here. If you like it, it's right for you. That being said here are a few tricks to making sure you have a rug that most OTHER people will like. First of all decide if there's a specific place you want the rug. If that's the case, you will want to stay within the color palette of your room. I have already shown in lesson #1 how the same pattern, hooked in different colors, can take on a whole different look. One way I decide is by placing strips (cut or uncut) in a pile.

Now I like how most of these colors look together. I decided to use some leftover wool for a more "hit or miss" look to yet again the same sampler pattern. Now I like how these colors are all kind of mellow except ofr the yellow. Sometimes a stand-out color looks good in the right place.

But it didnt' take too many loops to see I didn't like it in my stripes, but it will make awesome stars. So, I just pulled those loops out and will continue with my other muted colors. Sometimes it is trial and error. The good thing is, nothing is permanent. I have had rugs finished and on my floor and decided something bugged me...I took out the loops and replaced with something I liked better. Dont be afraid...it's just wool, not paint.

Now you probably want to know how much wool you will need for a project. Well, everyone hooks a little differently. Some people hook closer together, some hook with taller loops, but a good rule of thumb is 4 to 5 times the area of the pattern.

So once you pick the wool you want it needs to be cut as discussed in lesson one. Again, most primitive rugs are hooked in a size 6 to a size 10. If you have a machine cutter you just need to use the appropriate blade. If using a rotary cutter and a ruler, here are the measurements you will need :
#6 is equal to 3/16"
#7 is equal to 7/32"
#8 is equal to 1/4" (This is the MOST common size for prim hooking)
#9 is equal to 9/32"
#10 is equal to 5/16"

More on wool cutting in the future lesson on garment deconstruction.

Next step is to take your foundation piece and place it face up in your STURDY quilt hoop or frame, making sure to pull it straight and taught. You should be looking at the right side of your pattern from the top side of your frame/hoop. Now, now finally, you are ready to plunge your hook into the foundation and pull your first loop !!!

I want you to put the hook in your writing hand and place it on top of the pattern and place your left hand underneath the pattern , directly below where you will be starting to hook. I like to start in the middle of a pattern and work out. Let's start by outlining the center box on our pattern. I never start on a corner since I dont feel it holds the point as well, so just start half way in the middle of the middle box. The trick here is to hook INSIDE the lines. You really wont ever be hooking ON the marked lines of your pattern. This keeps your entire pattern from shifting and becoming bigger or lopsided.

So put your hook into the fabric like this

See how I am in the hole next to the line . That's excatly what you want. Now look at what you hand that is underneath looks like

Every time you start a new loop you simply plunge the hook into the hole, and keeping the strip flat between you thumb and finger, slide it over the shaft of the hook like this...

except on the UNDER side of the fabric. I just brought it above to show you in better light what it looks like. Once the srtip is flatly laying over the hook , lightly pull up in the same hole...pull all the way through until you have about a 1-2" piece on the TOP side of your frame, like this...

You have one half of a loop done...now sit back and breathe. This is not surgery and no one is gonna die if you make a mistake. This is a VERY forgiving craft. I know some of you are following along and holding your breath !!!

Ok, now go into the very next hole, and do the same thing, but this time dont pull your strip all the way through. Just kind of roll your hand up away from you about and inch or so and pull back down toward you with the hand underneath. Most folks need some practice at this before their loops are a uniform height, but you get into a rhythm. The rule of thumb on height of your loops is they should be as high as they are wide...So if you are using a #8 cut they should be 1/4" high (no need for a ruler here, just eyeball it). You need to keep repeating this process hooking in a straight line, but after that first loop, just go into every other hole or your work will become really crowded and it will be very hard to pull the loops up. It should look like this ...

Here's a side view. Now , feel free to practice doing these steps until you are comfortable and then come back to the lesson.

When your strip is at the end, you want to pull it through to the top, just like that first loop (just dont pull too hard or you may pull out the entire row...even happens to old timers). It will look like this au from mthe topfter you pull a new strip up in the SAME hole you ended in. So down again with the new strip, just like you began the process...pull it up on top so 2 "tails' are waving to you from the topside of the piece, like this:

Now continue hooking that strip and so on and so on, adding strips as needed. Now when you get to the corner you will want to stop 2 holes (or so) BEFORE the pattern marks like this

and you will begin hooking in a different direction. This gives a nice crisp edge to your square.

This is a picture of how your fingers just hold the strip flat beneath the pattern. You never want to twist the wool. You always want to make sure its flat.
Continue hooking all the way around the center square and when you've completed the square just clip off the "tails" from the top of your the piece. You can clip these whenever you want...they bug me, so I clip them every so often, but it's up to you.

This is what it should now look like....

Hooray...you have outlined your first square. Congratulate yourself, take a bow, you did it. Now I want you to outline your entire piece if you are following this pattern. We will get to those stars, but not today, but I do want you to be able to see some more progress. After you outline, choose an empty square, and following the photo for direction, I will explain how hook straight lines of the corresponding colored wool like this

If you are using one of my kits, I have included enough wool for you to play around with how you want your srtips...you can go every other color in single file, or do a few of each color...It's YOUR rug, so YOU get to decide. Here's the one of the 2 options I did again where I alternated the colors.

When you bring that second color up you want to use the same theory of not over crowding. You want the strips to be "friendly" with each other, kind of shoulder to shoulder, but not in the hole immediatelt beside the last row .

Here is a picture of what the UNDER side looks like one you're down and take it off the frame.

See how there's room between the lines ? Thats\'s what you want.

Now remember, you may have to adjust your pattern on your frame/hoop. You may need to pull it taught if it gets slack or more the pattern as you go. For now, feel free to work on all the empty squares and in the next lesson I will show you how to do the stars and fill in around them.

Hope you enjoyed this lesson !

I will have more kits/wool/patterns listed on Monday.

Until then, grace to you,

Margie

Winners Announced !

2011-09-01T13:22:00.000-04:00

Well, first let me say thank you to all who entered my giveaway and all of you
reading the tutorial. I have received 100's of emails with tons of questions and comments. You all have been so kind and encouraging...those of you asking about the possibility of a rug hooking instructional book...well I am looking into that !!! I have MANY more lessons planned for the blog and the next one will be up later tonight.

Okay, okay, I know you tuned in to see who the lucky winners are and believe me, I spent the morning feverishly adding all those last minute entries from yesterday...

And good thing to, since the 1st place winner was Primitives By Old Lady Morgan...Congratulations. She will be getting the rug hooking kit which includes the pattern, "My Sampler Square", a Hungry Hook Primitives original design on monks cloth plus her choice of wools in the Old Glory Pack or Cinnamon Sand Pack.

2nd place prize goes to Jean over at Primcrafts and she will win the pattern on monks cloth, but she will either need to buy some wool from me (wink, wink) or get her own wool to finish the project.

3rd place prize goes to Patti over at Raspberry Lane Primitives and she will receive the original pattern on Red Dot Paper which will allow her to transfer the pattern onto the foundation of her choice.

A note of caution to all the winners...This pattern is a Hungry Hook Primitives Original and cannot be reproduced for sale. You are welcome to use the pattern for personal use, but you may not sell the pattern. Of course you can sell the finished product, but please remember to give credit to the artist and not take credit yourself...Not that I think any of these sweet gals would do that, but the hubs says I need to protect my hiney, so now I am covered !!!

Ok...so those of you who were biting your nails and pacing back & forth hoping to win...well, I haven't forgotten about ya !!! As promised I will be offering the kit above for sale for $33.00 which includes the pattern on monks cloth, all the wool you will need to complete it and even includes shipping . You will just need to tell me what color scheme you want. If you would like something different, like maybe a Christmas color scheme, just ask and I will try to make your rug hooking dreams come true...Ok, perhaps that was a bit over the top, but you seee what I mean...I want you to have colors you like.

OK, so the complete kit for "My Sampler Square" is 33.00 and if you just want the pattern on monks cloth it will be $18.50 (shipping included). Just want the paper on Red Dot ? That's gonna be $5.50.

Now, some of you wanted to know if I would be offering other kits, wool, pattern etc. The answer is YES. I will be posting those later on today, so check back.

Also the next tutorial lesson will be up this evening. Until then, keep those questions and comments coming. Future lessons include "Color Planning my Rug", "Texture's The Name of The Game", "Garment Deconstruction", "Into the Dye Pot" and more.

See ya later today folks...
-Margie

LAST CHANCE to ENTER

2011-08-31T10:55:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone...Just a reminder that today is the last day to enter the rug hooking kit giveaway (see previous posts for info). I am working like mad getting wool and some addditional kits ready just in case any of you who dont win would like to purchase the pattern, wool, or the whole kit. So, I am busy in the kitchen dying the lovely haul of wool I got on Saturday when thrifting. I hit the mother-load and got a cartful of Pendelton wool skirts and have taken pictures for a future lesson on how to properly deconstruct garments to get the MOST usable wool. I will be showing skirts, pants and jackets...Now if I just knew the exact right order to put all these tutorials in I would be SUCH a happy girl ! I am working on having "buttons" to click on that will allow you to choose the lesson you want etc, but as many of you long time followers know...I am NOT that tech savvy. I am on a need to know basis with my computer etc and sometimes it takes me awhile to firgure out the best and "easy" way to post...Anyone who wants to email a quick tutorial on how to do that...I would LOVE you forever...Okay, well maybe LOVE is too strong, since I may not even know you, but you get my drift.

Here's the wool I got....isn't it just yummy ???

There was even more basic black and a few others, but I couldnt get it all in the pictures. So I decided to use these wools for the dying lesson too, since you guys will be familiar with them, so its taking a little longer to get it dyed since I have to keep stopping and take pictures...I think I need an assistant..hehe ! I only spent about $35.00 for an entire laundry basket full of wool AFTER I had deconsrtucted it , so yards and yards of usable wool. SO glad frugality is making a comeback (I guess I was politically incorrect since I have been thrifting since before it was cool).

Well, I better get back to the kitchen and check on those dye pots ! Next lesson will be color planning and we will be pulling loops together, so be sure to tune in and bring your friends.

Grace to you,
Margie

Rug Hooking Tutorial Lesson 1

2011-08-25T18:53:00.003-04:00

Hope you signed up for the Rug Hooking Kit Giveaway that coicides with this first tutorial...If not, read the previous post and join in the fun.
Ok my prim pals, this is the first in a series of rug hooking tutorials I am doing. In this first lesson we are going to cover the materilas needed to begin rug hooking. You will need wool, a way to cut it into strips, a foundation material to hook into , a hook and some type of frame or hoop, scissors, a needle and thread and a pattern. I will be going over the things I think are most critically important to have and the things you can purchase over time as you see how much you want to invest into your new hobby. If you're anything like me, you'll be "hooked" in no time. I got into rug hooking out of necessity. Well, maybe necessity is too strong of a word. I loved the look of primitive rugs but couldn't afford them, so I needed to figure out how to make them myself. I have found ways to keep the cost of rug making fit in my VERY tight budget...I hope my frugal ideas help you.

OK, lets start our very first lesson. The obvious place to start is the star of the show...the wool !!!
Now of course, you could buy all your wool from me since I will have it all cut into strips like this ready for hooking (wink, wink)....But,

over the long haul you will want to build your own stash of wool to have lots of choices. Building a stash is easiest by just walking into a shop and buying everything right off the bolt that you love (and there will be lots to love)...but in this economy I doubt whether most of you can afford this method since new wool off the bolt can run $20 and up per yard. In addition to that, places like Joann Fabrics and Michaels dont carry much, if ANY
wool at all.

Now, some of you may be lucky enough to have a quilt or wool shop near you...LUCKY YOU. Most of us dont have that luxury. Now, if you're reading this tutorial you obviously have access to the internet and it will afford you MANY choices of wool suppliers that have reasonable prices right here in blog land and on ebay.

But folks, the EASIEST and LEAST EXPENSIVE way to build your stash is to hit the thrift stores, tag sales or ask family members to look in their closets for wool clothing. You are able to purchase quality wool at low prices if you are willing to do a little digging and take a few precautions.

First and formost...make sure it's wool. Not everything that looks like wool is 100% wool. Luckily for those of us who love to use recycled wool, all clothing that is 100% wool is clearly marked that way by a universal tag located on the clothing pieces themselves. Sorry for the quality of the picture, but my camera would just NOT cooperate. Now even though this symbol will let you know it is 100% wool, it may be worsted wool or gaberdine, which really aren't suitable for hooking. You will probably make some mistakes along the way, but it's part of the learning process. Once you hook for awhile, you wont even need to look at the label because your hands will tell you whether or not you can use it in a rug.

Sometimes though, an item wont have a tag if it's homemade or someone may give you a piece of material they think is wool. I dont usually risk more than a buck or two unless I am SURE its wool. But hey, if its FREE, well then here's a little test you can do to check. Snip off a on inch square piece of the wool and place it in a bowl and cover it with bleach...go to bed and if in the morning the wool has disappeared someone stole your wool....NO, I am just kidding. If it disappeared you are in luck because it's 100% wool and you can use it in your rugs. Now, if there's a tiny bit left in the bowl it's not pure wool, but its probably still good enough to use. But if there's more than a tiny bit left, use if for another craft project. Trust me, it just wont cooperate with you.

Now, when I purchase wool clothing I try to go for skirts because they yeild lots of bigger pieces of usable wool, although I look through the pants and even the ladies suit blazers although remember when looking at suit jackets you will probably only be able to use the back panel and the sleeves because there's usually interfacing on the front, so again, unless its CHEAP (like $1) I usually pass on blazers and stick with skirts. Another trick...check the plus size section. Generally at thrift stores the prices are the same for all skirts (like 3.99 at my Goodwill) so it pays to get the largest size available.

OK, so you've purchased your wool...Now you have to get it ready to use for hooking. Whether you buy wool to recycle or buy it off the bolt, it will need to be "fulled". (Most people who sell you wool for hooking will tell you if its been washed, which is most likely has been if they have dyed and cut it).

So, just a note of caution when using recycled wool. You will want to keep it in your garage or trunk of your car until you have a chance to wash it just in case of any little critters like moths ...You certainly wouldn't want to bring home a big haul of wool and have it ruin your stash because you failed to realize you had a critter. Ok, now I dont like bugs etc and I have yet to ever see one in all my wool journeys, but it can happen and you dont want to risk it. I generally am so excited to see how it turns out that I rush right home and get busy. First thing I do is a little deconstruction...Using a skirt I first cut off the entire waist band and hem and then rip open the seems (be sure to check pockets because I have found a few tissues and gum wrappers...even found a $20 bill once..YIPPEE)...then into the washer it goes. Now you will want to wash light and dark wools seperately since the darker colors sometimes bleed a bit.

I use a small amount of mild detergent that does not contain any bleach or bleach alternative. Lots of people insist on a specific brand, but I am too cheap and have found my Purex to work just fine. The magic of fulling happens during the washing/drying process. I like to wash in HOT water and rinse with cold. I set my washer for the longest cycle since its the agitation that helps the process along, but I usually check on it periodically since I just want it to "full" and not "felt". We just want to tighten up the weave so it wont unravel when we cut it. Once the wash cycle is done its off to the dryer where the real transfomation begins. Next step... toss in the dryer with a big fluffy towel and a dryer sheet and wait about 20 minutes or so. I check on my wool because I dont want to overdry it and get it all wrinkled. I usually take it out when its just barely damp and smooth it out and either hang it or lay it flat to finish drying.

Once it's dry you are ready for your wool to be either dyed or used as is and cut into strips. And for that you will need something with which to cut the wool into uniform strips.

Now you could go out and buy a very fancy pants cloth slitter like the Townsend which is about $400 or you could be less fussy and buy a Fraser Bliss for about $175, but my suggestion for newbies is to just use a ruler and a rotary cutter...IF you fall in love with hooking, THEN, yes, you surely will want to purchase a cutter. I myself, being frugal, scoured eBay for a used Frazer Bliss and bid on everyone for a max bid of $50.00 'cause thats all that was in my budget. Guess what ? Took about a month of bidding, but I finally won one and I have used it for the last several years and have only had to replace the cutting blades once. I have a #8 blade which cuts the strips in 1/4" widths which is common for prim hooking. So, if you are just trying out hooking...use a rotary tool and cut at 1/4" or purchase your wool pre-cut.

Now, what else will you need ? A foundation material to hook into and there are lots of options here...

Lots of rug hookers insist on linen (the center piece) because it is soft to work with and will stand the test of time, but it's VERY pricey, up to $50 a yard which makes for a VERY expensive project in my book.. Many rug hookers use Monk's cloth (on the right) since it is a little less expensive, around $20 a yard. It is easy to work with and has 2" grids woven into it which makes it nice for laying out your design. Be sure though you dont go out to Joanne Fabrics and buy monks cloth though...the stuff they carry is actually for Swedish weaving...Be sure when you buy monk's cloth you clarify from thr seller that it is intended for rug hooking, otherwise you will get VERY discouraged because it's just too loose to hold your wool strips.

Now even though monk's cloth is my preferred foundation, lets not count out burlap. It's definately the least expensive (although burlaps have diffferent grade too, so go for the higher priced if using burlap). I have gotten it online for about $8 per yard. Now before you dismiss the idea of burlap lets remember that back in the day (Colonial times up through the 1940's) women made hooked rugs out of old burlap sacks. They were recycling LONG before it was "in" or "politically correct"...It was just LIFE ! That's one reason you see so many vintage rugs of the same approx size...they used up those burlap feed sacks. Now, if you are really strapped for cash (I have been there and done this) you can use burlap sacks today for FREE or VERY CHEAP by simply ASKING at your local coffee shop ...Coffee beans still come primarily in burlap sacks and can still be made into beautiful rugs. Will it last 200 years ? I dont know...It depends on how you treat it and how your family treats it after you are dead and gone. It wont matter to you by then, so dont get hung up on the "heirloom quality" of every project. Sure, some projects might call for using the finest of then finest and hey, if you can afford it, by all means, buy the linen, buy your wool off the bolt, order a Townsend cutter and be sure to get a great, top of the line frame too...Or, cut some costs where possible WITHOUT sacrificing the beauty and integrity of your finished project.

Here is a great piece I did on a piece of burlap many years ago.

Will it last forever ? I dont really care. I started making rugs because I loved them but couldn't afford them. So please, dont let the high and mighty opinion of others keep you from being able to enjoy a wonderful craft that will bring a great sense of accomplishment AND beautify your home AND make wonderful gifts. This little rug will never be put on the floor, so it wont see any traffic. With care, even this little rug will be able to be passed down for many generations.

But, I am getting off track, but I am sure you can tell how passionate I am about being able to enjoy this craft and if the start-up cost is $100's, I know many of you wont be able to enjoy it too.

OK, back to the lesson. Once you have your wool, have it washed and cut, have gotten a foundation you just need a few more supplies. Next up : a simple rug hook (about $6 on line) and pair of scissors...a regular pair will do until you can afford an offset pair like this...

These scissors make it easier to snip off you wool strips. There are lots of expensive hooks out there...this is the original one I bought and have used for every rug I have made. If you are lucky enough to have the opportunity to try out different hooks, by all means, do so and pick what you like.

Ok...now you need some way to stretch out your foundation fabric so you can pull your wool strips through it. Lots or rug hookers, even famous ones like Polly Minnick, use heavy duty quilt hoops like this

And I did use this hoop when I first started, but to be honest, I just never felt it held things taut enough and so when I was able, I got a lap frame. I asked for a gift certificate to a wool shop over 100 miles from my house for Christmas one year and Ooooooooh was I excited.

I got this lap frame for $80 and I LOVE it. It tilts every direction and has gripper teeth that hold the fabric in place. But maybe you dont have $80 or even the $15 for a quality hoop. Dont fret...you can still hook a fine rug by getting an old wooden picture frame and a box of push pins and simply stretch your fabric over and pin in place...Thats how lots of folks did it in the old days, it's just more labor intensive.

Now that you have all this are you ready to hook ??? Well, one more thing. Unless you purchase a foundation with a pattern already on it (which I will happily be selling, wink, wink) you will need to get a pattern on that blank monks cloth, linen or burlap. You can purchase paper patterns on line from many different sellers on ebay, use designs from magazines like Create & Decorate or draw your own...I use a product some of you crafters may be familiar with called Red Dot tracer paper (which is more like a weird see thru fabric). You can trace any pattern you like and then simply place the Red Dot pattern on top of your foundation (be sure to line up the dots for straightness) and use a fine point permanent marker and draw right over top of the Red Dot and it will bleed through to the foundation. I always tape my pattern down to the foundation so it doesnt slip. In our next lesson I will show examples of how to work with patterns, but for now, here's a picture so you can get the idea.

OK, folks, now you know all the necessary tools to hook a rug. In our next lesson we will cover pattern transfer, color selection and we finally get hooking ! Dont forget about the Giveaway and you could hook along with me !!!

Until next time...
Grace to you,
Margie

Rug Hooking Tutorial KIT GIVEAWAYS

2011-08-25T18:49:00.000-04:00

OK guys, I finally have my rug hooking tutorial ready to launch. As an incentive I would like to drive some business to my blog. So, in addtion to launching my first tutorial right after I make this post, I am doing a few rug hooking giveaways. We will be using the following pattern during my rug hooking lessons sooooo...

I decided it might be fun to do a giveaway to coincide with the tutorial.

The 1st place winner will receive a kit in either color choice. The kit will include the pattern on monks cloth and all the wool (cut and ready to go) you need to finish the rug.. and you can follow right along with the lessons.

We will havea second place prize too...It will be this rug mat on monks cloth, but no wool (if you follow my tutorial you will have plenty of wool in no time).

The third place prize will be this pattern drawn on Red Dot Tracer ready to be trandsferred to the foundation of your choice.

I really want to get some new followers, so for those of you who are interested...here are the rules.

1. You have to be a follower (newbies are fine) in the US or Canada
2. You must reply to this post AND the first tutorial post
3. You must write one quick post about the tutorial AND the giveaway on your blog
4. You get an extra entry for each person you send over who is a new follower
5. You get an extra entry for posting on Facebook or your own web site

That's it. Last day to enter is August 31 and ther winner will be announced September 1st.

Thanks gals and good luck !
Grace to you,
Margie

Rug Hooking Tutorial On Its Way

2011-08-05T13:23:00.000-04:00

Hey girls...just a heads up that I will be closing my blog yard sale on Sunday evening at 7pm, so please get your orders in before then. If you are ordering wool and an item you wanted is marked SOLD, contact me because I might be able to put together another pack in the same colors, wools etc. I did do a pretty big batch of golds and pumpkins the other day, plus I have loads of other colors for those who have specific needs. If you need strips cut, let me know. Also, if you could please send your address in your initial email it would speed things up so I can calculate the shipping right away.

By the way, due to the overwhelming response to the wool sales and the many rug hooking questions I received, I will definately be selling more in the near future. I will also have the Rug Hooking Tutorials up by the end of the month. I would love to hear from those of you who are interested. If you could post a comment and let me know what experience you do have and how far along you are in being ready to hook it would be a great help to me so I know specific thinges you want to know. I plan to cover everything from selecting wool, to hooking to dying your own wool. I will have an emphasis on rug hooking the frugal way, since thats how I roll. I will try to keep it light hearted and EASY to understand. I am also thinking of offering a starter kit for sale that will include the pattern printed on monks cloth, rug binding tape and all the wool necessary to complete the project with your choice of color scheme so that you can follow along the actual piece I will be working on in the tutorial....what do you guys think ? Would that make it easier ?

Here's a picture of of the pattern I am thnking of using since it hooks up beautifully in several color schemes and has a variety of things to learn, like how to get a great point on a star ! It's a finished size of 12 x 12 and perfect for a first project.

I havent bound it yet, but I at least wanted to get your input at this point. I will be telling you all my tips and tricks that I have picked up through the years. So, what do y'all think ??? I REALLY wnat to hear your thoughts.

Grace to you,
Margie

Blog Yard Sale MORE WOOL FOR SALE

2011-08-04T17:43:00.005-04:00

Here's my latest additon of woolens for sale....Fresh from the dye pot !!!

Pumpkin Patch #3 $8.95 SOLD

75 Pumpkin Patch Stubby Strips (#8 cut to approx 10" ) $4.95
25 assorted green
25 assorted brown
25 assorted pumpkin

Pumpkin Patch Strips (#8 cut primitive ) $6.95 SOLD
25 assorted brown
50 assorted pumpkin
25 assorted green

Pumpkin Spice Pack # 1 $8.95 SOLD
Watch Plaid Spice 4.5" x 22
Mottled Spice 4.75" x 22
Tiny Plaid Pumpkin Spice 5" x 20"
Textured Spice 5" x 20"
Deep Dark Spice 5" x 18"

Pumpkin Spice Pack # 2 $8.95 SOLD
Solid Cinnamon Spice 2.5" x 14"
Watch Plaid Cinnamon 2.5" x 19"
Tiny Plaid Pumpkin Spice 3" x 21"
Mottled Cinnamon 3" x 24"
Textured Spice 3" x 16"
Checkered Spice 3.5" x 24
Deep Dark Spice 4" x 24"

Sunflower Garden Pack $8.95 SOLD
Golden Mustard Seed 1.75 " x 20"
Light Mustard Greens 2" x 18"
Dark mustard Greens 3" x 17"
Sunny yellow 3" x 14"
Golden Musrard Seed 3" x 15"
Warm Yellow 3" x 20"
Golden Plaid 4" x 20"
Garden Green 4" x 17"

Mustard Pack $6.95 SOLD
Light Solid 3" x 18"
Light plaid 3.5" x 20"
Dark Mustard Solid 3" x 22"
Dark Plaid 3.5" x 21

Pumpkin Patch Pack # 2 $8.95 SOLD
Solid Pumpkin 3.75" x 21"
Herringbone Pumpkin 3.5" x 21"
Green Stem Solid 4'x25"
Green Stem Herringbone 4" x 18"
Brown Plaid 3.5" x 19"
Brown Speckled 4" x19"
Caramel 4" x 20"

Blog Yard Sale WOOL EDITION plus my Bat story

2011-08-03T16:08:00.004-04:00

Wow...what a crazy few days. I really thought I was going to get all my wool listed days ago, but my life just did not cooperate. After the company finally went home last night and I settled into bed with my laptop in hand, all ready to list my wool...A BAT FLEW RIGHT AT the me and the hubs. Needless to say, my night went from bad to worse in 2 seconds flat. I am laying under the sheet, screaming and crying and the hubs (my hero) bravely started chasing this thing through the house. It would have been funny if it wasn't so scarey...there'e the hubs running around in his boxer shorts with a giant beach towel ready to battle the bat for me. I locked myself in the bathroom and shut the door and window, stuffed a towel under the door and just cried (apparently I am NOT good in a crisis). By the way, we dont have central air, so I was suffocating in the bathroom, but NO WAY was I leaving the safety ...u til hubby yells he needs help. Help ? From me ? I dont think so dude. But after he said he had trapped it behind my crock stand and unless I wanted to risk every one of my crocks being broken, I would get my patootie out of the bathroom and get down there and open up the doors and windows. Well, in that case, I had to do what I had to do...these were my favorite crocks after all !!! I ran past him, opened the doors and windows and was back in that bathroom before he knew what had happened. I havent moved that fast in years !!! Well, the hubs did manage to get the bat outside without breaking any of my crocks but I still haven't been to sleep. I am not sure where this thing came in but we closed everything up and went to bed. Hubby was a little shaken, VERY sweaty (but still pretty cute) and went to sleep within the hour...How do men do that ????

Ok, now that I got that off my chest I am ready to list my first batch of wool for sale. It has all been washed and "fulled" and is ready for all your crafting/rug hooking needs. Some is as-is and some have been hand dyed by me. So whether you are a new rug hooker looking to build your stash or a seasoned crafter, I know you will find something you like.

First up...

Good As Gold Pack $6.95
Good As Gold Plaid 3" x 23"
Gray & Gold Plaid 6" x 17"
Solid Gold 5" x 24"

Black Check Fat Quarter $5.95

Perfect Match Pack $11.95
Pendleton Plaid 7" x 21"
Navy Night 6" x 22"
Green With Envy 6" x 22"

Christmas Red Pack $4.95 SOLD
Each pc approx 4" x 23"

Gray Days Pack $9.95 SOLD
Hazy Gray 5" x 20"
Black Tiny Plaid 5" x 18"
Black Tiny Check 5" x 24
Hazy Black 5" x 24"
Black & White 4" x 22x'

Textured Pack $11.95 SOLD
6 pieces ranging 3.5" - 5.5" X 18"-25"

Fat Quarter Red/Blue Plaid $5.95

Fat Quarter Tan/Red Plaid $5.95 SOLD

Black Plaid Fat Quarter $4.95 SOLD

Pumpkin Patch #1 $8.95 SOLD
Solid Pumpkin Spice 3" x 20"
Herringbone Pumpkin Spice 3" x 22"
Solid Stem Green 2 1/4" x 24"
Herringbone Stem Green 3" x 22"
Caramel 3" x 21"
Brown Speckeld 3" x 18"
Drak Brown Plaid 4" x 19"

Pumpkin Patch Strips $5.95 (# 8 primitive) SOLD
75 assorted pumpkin spice strips
50 assorted green strips
50 assorted brown strips

Fat Quarter Pendelton Blue/Green Plaid $5.95

Well, that's it for now...
Margie

Blog Yard sale update

2011-08-02T10:08:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone...Just wanted to let you know that my posts for wool are coming. The hubs threw a wrench in my plan. He's normally off on Wednesday's but he decided to take today off and go to the Steelers' football training camp with our son and his folks, which is terrific execpt he also invited them for dinner and HELLO, the house is a DISASTER right now. So, I gotta move all the blog yard sale stuff into the spare room so I can close the door, clean the bathroom and run to the store to get something yummy to make etc. So, that means I wont get to lkist the wool until later on today. Also, I lowered the prices on a few of my items...Ok, gotta scoot, hubs is saying we gotta go to the store NOW...Ooooooh, I love him and he's fabulous, but after 25 years you would think he'd know that inviting company at the last minute when the house is a MESS really frazzles me. Of course he says..."Leave the house like it is, my parenst dont care if the house is clean"...Yeah right !

OK, I am going now guys.
Margie

Blog Yard Sale List 3

2011-08-01T12:32:00.004-04:00

Here's the next installment...Be sure to check the Blog Yard Sale List 1 post for additional information. This is my next to last listing...I have one more that will primarily be wool and fabric.

Beautiful Vintage tablecloth $ 12.95
Mint Condition/vibrant colors

54" x 47"

Pfaltzgraff Coffee Cup $3.95

Wool Street Journal magazine April 2007 $4.95

Vintage Valentine Postcard Lot of 12 $5.95

Mustard Tin ABC Plate $3.95 SOLD

Barnwood Angel $6.95

Wool Street Journal Oct 2007 $4.95

Rug Hooking Book $6.95 SOLD

Wool Street Journal July 2007 $4.95

The Secrets of Finishing Hooked Rugs $6.95 SOLD

Rug Hooking Magazine $2.95

Gorgeous BRAND NEW table cloth (I have 2 total) 7' x 5'
Perfect as is for table, or make into draperies or even recover something...it's heavy weight
$14.95 (Huge sacrifice)

Vintage Coty "Paris" perfume bottle
$3.95

I have one more post to make and it will be primarily wool. Please , if you have already purchased something,, let me know when you are all done shopping.

Until next time,
Margie

Blog Yard Sale Listing 2

2011-07-31T21:46:00.004-04:00

Sorry I didnt get this up yesterday...I had some interruptions, but here we go...

Life, Liberty & Happiness Bowl Fillers $3.95

Older Fireplace Bellow with leather (which has had an old repair) $6.95

Burpee Garden Box $5.95
11.5 x 8x 5

Country French Clock $9.95
13"

Set of 6 Vintage Birthday Postcards $3.95

Coleman's Mustard Tin $3.95

Star candle holder w/grubby candle & berries $ 6.95

Vintage 20's postcard $1.99

Vintage USO postcards $1.99

Chippy paint basket $6.95
10" x 5"

I have lots more to get listed...things like WOOL, more rug hooking mags/etc. I will also add all the measurements asap, but I wanted to at least get them listed...My son the new Marine just texted me on someone else's phone letting me know his BRAND NEW I- PHONE got ruined from "water damage" when he was helping someone during a monsoon and he needs me to take care of it asap....GRRRRR. I seriously thought after he became a Marine thinhgs would get easier...NOT !

BLOG YARD SALE List # 1

2011-07-30T13:06:00.004-04:00

OK gang...I gotta make some room in my little home (and make a little cash too), so I am going to be selling a few things and have my first ever Blog Yard Sale !!! I will only be shipping to US addresses and you gotta pay in full via PayPal. Prices DO NOT include shipping charges. I was an ebay power seller before I got sick, so I am pretty good at knowing the cheapest ways to ship. Bigger items will go UPS, all others via the Post Office. I will be happy to combine shipping if you buy more stuff...which I hope ya do !
I will be making several posts over the weekend, so be sure to let me know when you are done shopping and I will tabulate the total and send you a PayPal invoice. Be sure to email me at hungryhookprims@aol.com with what you want and please include all your shipping info. Items will be sold first come/first served. Feel free to email any questions. All items are sold as is.

Okie Dokie...here we go...

Pottery Mini Pitcher $4.95
3" tall SOLD

Wool Street Journal Magazine October 2006 $4.95

Wool Street Journal Magazine January 2007 $4.95
SOLD

Handmade Americana Doll $6.95

Wool Street Journal October 2002 $4.95

Distressed Colonial Blue Spice Rack $7.95
10" X 12.5"

Hand Hooked Americana Runner $59.95
12" X 24"

Tea stained Flag Bunting $11.95
34" wide

Vintage Bordern Malted Milk Pail 6.95
approx 9" tall

Liberty Bell Box $2.95
Girl w/Flag Box $2.95
3.5" x 3"

Lye Soap Box $5.95 3" x 7"
Beacon Hill Coffee Box $6.95 4" x 9"

Cutting Board with Vinatge Postcard Decal $7.95
12" x 4.5"

Vintage Carton (North East , Pa) $4.95
3" tall

Approx 24" tall

Angel $9.95

Bona Ami Tin $4.95 5" tall
Mennen's Tin $4.95 4.5" tall SOLD

Recipe Box $5.95
5.5" x 6"

Vintage Grater $2.95
10" x 4.5"

Double Arm Sconce (candles not included) $9.95 each ( I have 2)
16" x 10"

I will be listing more items later on tonight, so stay tuned !!!

So sorry...

2011-07-17T01:36:00.000-04:00

Hey there my prim pals, I hope you all had a great Independence Day. I apologize to you all since I had promised a great giveaway for the 4th, but unfortunately I was just not well enough to get that done, or even blog at all. I am so sorry and am wondering if starting a blog was even a good idea since I HATE letting people down !!!

As some of you know I had West Nile Virus back in '03 and still have ongoing complications. I had a major flare-up that landed me in bed. Usually I am still able to work on rug hooking and other stitchery projects...in fact, that's one reason I started those hobbies since I could manage them from bed. This one was bad though and I had a hard time using my hands. I hate that I have let you guys down and I hate that a stupid mosquito bite 8 years ago is still negatively affecting my life...although I am doing much better than I was then and I am trying hard to keep that in perspective. I am/was a type A personality...I used to get accomplished in a single day what now would take me at least a month. I am trying not to let this bother me and get depressed about it, but it is and I am.

Perhaps this is not the place to unload...this is , after all, a craft blog, not a medical/illness/support blog, but I felt I owed you an explanation. Also, I know lots of you are women of faith and I am asking for your prayers. I am tired of this disease kicking me in the patootie...every time I think I am DONE with it, it sneaks back up and wacks me back down. I have never been a patient person so it isn't suprising that God has chosen to use this illness as a series of teachable moments for me. I want my life to be an example of His love and His mercy and right now all I am is an example of is a whiney, pathetic crab whose letting this illness beat me AGAIN.

I am and will continue to try to get something done to be able to blog about. Again, I beg for prayers and forgiveness. I have sooo many projects that need to be finished and some are evry cool and I really think you all will like them. Perhaps this summer heat is just not the best time for me to blog, so I may take a bit of a break and get a few things lined up.

I am working on that rug hooking tutorial (since that I have been able to do from bed). Its all organized and I have a few of the lessons completed and will schedule it to launch soon.

Until then, I will be browsing your blogs and dreaming of the projects I have yet to do. You all are such inspirations to me. I hope I havent offended anyone with the unprofessional nature of this post and do hope to be back in blogland soon full time !!!

Until then, many blessing and grace to you,
Margie

Wow....What a Week

2011-06-24T16:17:00.000-04:00

Well my prim pals I got just about NOTHING done this past week. I have been completely drained and not feeling well at all. I did manage to get my newest rug completed...a gift for my cousin Brock and his wife Nui ...They just added a baby girl to their family ...little Dainya Aree !!! Here's a picture of the rug...their nursery colors were browns and pinks and have kinda minimalist/modern taste (really NOT my normal thing)...Sure hope they like it. !!!

I also got my swap in the mail from Michelle over at Grannies Pantry...look at all the adorable things she sent for The Seasons of Friendship Swap held by Amy over at Bumble Bee Lane.

Wasn't she a sweetie. I love, love, love the penny rug runner. I dont have any and now I will have 2 different ones since I also just won the giveaway over at Thistlehouse Primitives !!! Here's a picture of what I won....cant wait to get that one too !!! It's like Christmas everyday when you win a giveaway or get a swap, so I encourage all you gals who havent done so yet to give both things a try !!!

I mailed out my side of the swap with Michelle, but since she hasnt gotten it yet, I dont want to ruin the suprise by showing what I sent, so you will have to check out Grannies Pantry in a few days...Hopefully she will show you what we swapped !

I did manage to get a few new patterns drawn for some new rugs, but I usually take a break over the summer from hooking since I DONT have central air, but DO have a pool, so I will probably work on some bigger painted furniture items that I need to be outside to do....then I can jump in al cool off !!! At least that's the plan...We also are working on re-making our Marine sons bedroom into a sitting room...will show you all the pics as soon as we start tha project but it includes knocking a wall down...Yes, I said knocking a wall down...Here's the game plan...

See that wall on the other side of the stairs...We want to open that up and make a small sitting room. We have a small cape cod and since the kitchen was just too small in my opinion for a table (remember when my sons enter a room they COMPLETELY fill it...Kirk is 6'5 and Kyler is 6'3 and the hubs is 6'1 so just toooooo crowded). So, we moved eliminated our living room (the room above with the tree) and made that our dining room...here's another view

See how its open to the kitchen...OK, so we have a family room downstairs but I have let the guys sort of take over...they picked what I consider offensive furniture (read, BIG, leather all reclining...definatley NOT primitive) in addition to letting them throw up every single Pittsburgh Steeler thing they own...Oh its a site to see...maybe I will take some pics...Anyway, thats where we entertain...which is the main reason we dont entertain much unless its summer (we have a nice covered patio and the pool...havent really decorated out there, but its not offensive either, haha). So I want a nice PRIM place to sit and chat with friends...Knock down and wall and voila, instant sitting room ...or it will be after I repaint and add in all my boxed up prims from our other homes. This house is so "cut-up" with windows and doors that I have lots of stuff I havent even unpacked yet (and we've been here 3 years). I am gonna need some major primer though because some crazy mom (that would be me) allowed her son to paint his room in certified Steeler colors...That's BLACK and GOLD for those of you who dont follow football, which is almost sacred in our home...haha. Anyway, I dont know what I was thinking, but Mama's got her head on straight now and Prim is it !!!

Okay, taking all comments and advice...more pictures to follow for sure. I have missed you all this week as I spent too many days in bed watching some great old movies, way too much news (isnt the world depressing right now) and one too many Lifetime movies. I need to get back to "life" ! Thanks for your prayers, they keep me going when I feel so lousy !!!

Grace to you all until next time,
Margie

And The Giveaway Winners Are...

2011-06-15T10:29:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the delay my prim pals. I finally finished writing out all the entries VERY late last night and we drew the names before the hubs left for work this morning...

And the grand prize winner of the the hand hooked sheep runner is....new blogger, Jennifer over at The Country Mouse. And as promised, we pulled a second name for those of you who sent me NEW followers for my suprise giveaway...and that winner is Wendy over at Ravenwood Whimzies. Since it's a suprise, you wont know what I made for you until it arrives in the mail and I do hope you will blog about your win when it arrives !!!

I want to thank ALL of you for entering my giveaway...you gals are the BEST in the blogosphere !
My next giveaway is right around the corner for the 4th of July and you will not want to miss out...it's gonna be a doozy !!!

Grace to you,
Margie

I'm Back...

2011-06-14T13:18:00.000-04:00

Well guys I am finally back to the blogosphere ! Even though I returned on June 8th, my son was still on leave until the 13th, so needless to say, I never once even checked an email...I was washing all those disgustingly filthy camo's with socks so stiff they felt like they still had feet in them !!! I had to wash those uniforms 3 times to get all the dirt out of them !!! His dress uniforms looked immaculate, but when I opened his sea bags the smell made me almost (hehe) not miss the boy !!! Then of course, we had a little get together with his friends and some family who couldnt make it to graduation and then I made all his favorite meals that were too elaborate to make at the vacation condo...you get the idea...trying to spend every second I could with him because he has 59 days of infantry school and then ???? Afghanistan ? Libya ? Who knows and I selfishly wanted every moment I could get with him and never picked up my rug hooking, never pulled a stitch on a project, never glanced at my or any other blogs...My spare minutes were used up secretly crying and worrying, which could almost be categorized as a second hobby of mine !

So, I have been dead-dog tired, but now that my son has safely reported for duty at Camp Leguene, I am back in action too ! I have not forgotten about my giveaway. I will be drawing the names tonight as soon as I get them all typed out and will post that asap. I know I set a pretty high goal and didnt make it, but you guys are all so terrific and after having spent all morning reading all your sweet comments that I wish I could make each one of you a hooked gift. I will try to get all your posts answered as soon as I can too. Truly you are all just so wonderful and I have really missed you. I am so anxious to see what y'all (hehe, guess my trip rubbed off on me) have been up to since I have been gone.

Oh and for those of you who wanted to know how my trip to Savannah went and eating at Paula Deen's place...here are some pics and then I will give you the details.

I was sun burnt sooooo badly and of course hubby took the photo AFTER we ate so I look 20 pounds heavier...GRRRR...And we forgot to take pics of the food or the gorgeous gift shop that she has where you can shop while you wait. We had to get in line to put our names on a list at 9:30 am IN PERSON and were able to get the LAST seating for lunch at 3:00...so, if you plan to go, they dont take reservations, so stop in as close to 9:30 as possible to get your name on the list.

OK, first of all the place is HUGE, I am talking 3 full floors...we had to take an elevator to get to our table. We all opted for the buffet with her famous fried chicken, which was fabulous by the way, beef stew, collard greens, black eyed peas, sweet potatoes and on and on. Her hoe cakes and cheese biscuits were yummy. I had to get an order of fried green tomatoes too, since every time I see them on her show they look sooooooo delicious and I have never had a fried green tomato (loved the movie too). Everyone ate and ate and ate...cant say we got our monies worth though because I am on the frugal side and dropping a hundred bucks on any lunch that doesn't include steak seems pretty pricey, but hubby reminded me that it was the EXPERIENCE, not just the meal...isn't he great ???

Now, let me tell you though that I was a little disappointed though and here's why. I had been dreaming of going here for years. I just love the woman behind the business, all of her gumption and her truly American story of starting her life over in her 40's with just a few hundred dollars and building a wildly successful empire...she's been an inspiration to me and I so completely agree with her philosophy that a little butter makes everything taste better. I guess I had it built up that is was going to be the BEST meal of my life. Now, it was delicious, no doubt about it, but the best meal of my life ? Nope, sadly no. But did I receive one of THE BEST compliments EVER that day ? Yep, happily yes. When the meal was done and everyone finally ate their last bite of their delicious chocolate gooey butter cake (which was THE BEST thing on the menu in my humble opinion since it consists of 2 of my favorite ingredients...butter and chocolate), I looked around the table and asked the family what they thought ? They said it was really good, but not what they were expecting either since I had been talking about how this was definately going to be the best meal they had ever eaten. Now, I know this sounds like bragging..., well , um, HELLO, I am bragging here, but they said it was a wonderful meal, but that was just like the everyday meals they get at home when we have Sunday dinner. Good Lord, my family thinks I can cook as well as the queen of comfort food herself !!!! Of course I started to cry...it had been one heck of a sentimental week already and this was just the icing on the cake for me ! Never in my life would I have thought my cooking was even in the same league with Paula Deen's.

I am glad we went to The Lady & Sons and would encourage everyone to go if you're in Savannah. My hats off to Miss Paula who has helped make me the cook I am today. But in the future, if I am going to drop 100 bucks on lunch it will be for a type of food I dont know how to make or is pricey to begin with like steak and lobster perhaps. But I think that having my family give me that nice of a compliment might just have been worth the price of admission. WOW, what a trip !

OK, guys, you;re probably all sick of hearing all this stuff that has nothing to do with the Prim world, so I will go for now...will post the giveaway winner later and give you the details on the largest thrift shop I have ever been to later on and share my wool score !!!

Until then,
Grace to you,
Margie

Giveaway deadline Fast Approaching

2011-06-06T03:53:00.000-04:00

Just a quick reminder to get your entries in for my hooked rug giveaway...I will be returning from vacation in just a few days, 3 to be exact (sigh), so sign up and remember to send your friends to be entered in the bonus giveaway !!!

I must admit I have not done much hooking or blogging. Its been a wonderful trip and seeing my youngest graduate from the Marines bootcamp at Parris Island was a huge highlight and quite a tear-jerker. I dont normally post much about my personal life, but I am gonna share some pics from our trip.

This is my sons friend Andrew, my son Kirk, my Marine son Kyler, me and my hubby Jim

Andrew, Kyler & Kirk

We are having a great time and even got a chance to hit some thrift stores here on the island...got some great wool for my rugs !!!

Well, I need to run...we are heading into Savannah Georgia tomorrow to see the sights and eat dinner at Paula Deen's Lady & Sons...YIPPEE

Grace to you,

Margie

Patriotic Freebie & Follower Glitch Fixed

2011-05-30T11:17:00.000-04:00

Just a quick update to let you all know that the glitch in the system that had my followers all disappear seems to have been fixed, so now you can send those new followers over for my giveaway !

I know some of you have commented on the patriotic themed pics I use in some of my boxes and other crafts so as a little gift in honor of our service men and women I am adding a few pics to my blog posting today that you can feel free to copy and use ! Hugs to all of you and have a blessed Memorial Day !!!

Grace to you,

Margie

Enter my "While I'm Away" Hooked Rug Runner Giveaway

2011-05-27T10:48:00.000-04:00

Hi there my primitive friends. I am finally ready for my next giveaway. In honor of my upcoming vacation I am doing a "While I'm Away" hooked rug giveaway. The rules will be pretty simple and you have a chance to sign up from today until I get back from vacation on June 8th !!! The winner will receive this hand hooked wool sheep rug runner that measures 23 x 13 and is a Hungry Hook Primitives original.

The gist of this giveaway is to get at least 125 more followers while I am away on vacation. You all blew me away the last time helping me reach my first 100 followers in record time ! So right now, I have 127 followers and I would love to be well over 250 by the time I return from the beach. I will be blogging from vacation and I will also be hooking away with a second place "suprise" giveaway just like last time for an additional drawing.

Rules for the Sheep Rug Runner :

You must be a follower of my blog...newbies are always welcome to enter, but you must have a blog of your own to win. This giveway is open to residenst of the US and Canada due to the high cost of shipping

1. You will get ONE entry for commenting on THIS post

2. You will get ONE entry for being a follower

3. You will get ONE entry if you post this in your sidebar

4. You will get TWO entries if you actually blog about this giveaway.

5. You will get ONE enrty for EACH person you send my way

**Please let me know in your comment on THIS post which of these things you have done**

Rules for the Suprise Drawing :

This is for those of you who send me those NEW followers. I will have a seperate drawing just for you folks. IN addition to doing all of the above, you will get THREE entries for each NEW follower you send over, so be sure you let them know they need to tell me they are a NEW follower and that YOU sent them over. So your chances for this drawing is unlimited and I promise you wont be disappointed with your prize. Here are some pics of what my last "suprise" winner received...

Hand Hooked coasters/candle mats

In a nice little painted box

Ok, my primilicious followers, there you have it ! Best of luck to all of you !

Swap Pictures

2011-05-25T13:18:00.001-04:00

Here are some pics of what I sent my swap partner...Figured since she already received them, I could go ahead and show you all since I already showed you the lovely things Allison sent me. OK here goes :

I sent her a sweet little patriotic sheep candle mat, some of my stacking boxes, a little lidded basket, 2 patriotic picture re-makes and I even tried my hand at some little stitched bowl fillers and a stuffed heart hanger that I decopaged with a sweet little patriotic girl with a flag !

I am really LOVING doing these swaps. Its fun to make things for others AND going to the mailbox and getting a suprise to keep !!!!

Grace to you,
Margie

More Goodies in the Mail

2011-05-20T11:48:00.000-04:00

I just had another great mail day !!! I knew when I heard the postman leave a box on my porch that it was going to be like Christmas again...I just LOVE doing these swaps dont you ? My swap partner, Allison, from Sew Many Girls, made me the most wonderful patriotic themed items.

She made a beautiful flag runner, a cute little doll, a bag or rag balls, this sweet little box, some homemade candles and an awesome wire heart filled with potpourri...Now to find where to put them...

I love this heart and it smells so good !!!

This is a great place for the star box !

I forgot to tell you about this tiny flag with a twig pole...LOVE IT !!!!

I REALLY need to get working on all those great pieces in my garage so I have more places to put stuff...Didnt she do a terrific job ??? I will wait to post what I sent her, since she might not have received it yet !!!

I am thinking of adding shelves above all my main floor doors and windows...anyone else do that to add display space ? My house is so cut up that I dont have much wall space so I am thinking that might be helpful. Of course, now that both my boys have moved its probably safe to do so since there wont be anyone slamming the doors !!!

I am getting so excited for my youngest sons Marine graduation...June 3rd !!! I havent gotten to see or talk to him for 3 months and it has been excruciatingly hard ! I am counting down the days at this point ! After graduation we are spending several days on the beach in Hilton Head for a much needed vacation ! Both our sons will be there plus my youngest's best friend (who is like another son) ! I havent planned anything for the trip except to relax on the beach...oh and go to Paula Deen's restraunt The Lady & Sons...gotta go down to Savannah while we rae that close. I will keep you guys posted for sure !!!

Grace to you,
Margie

Awesome mail day !!!

2011-05-17T12:59:00.000-04:00

Wow...look at all the wonderful goodies I got from Amy over at bumblebee lane...Can you believe how lucky I got when I entered her summer swap ???? She has such impeccable taste, I knew I wouldn't be disappointed, but she really blew me away.

My house smells scrumptious now from the wonderful room spray. Now I just need to find the perfect home for each of these primilicious goodies. The little lantern has a battery operated, grunged tea light inside that is just adorable !

I also received my giveaway win from Hearthside Happenings...its even prettier in person !!! The little rusted star is just the sweetest touch !

A big thank you goes out to both ladies for their wonderful generosity ! I do have to say I am so sorry for not posting in awhile. I have had some health issues but am regaining my strength and will post more as I am able. I am also planning our trip to SC for my sons Marine graduation, which has cut into my "free" time. I appreciate all of you who still read and post and promise to have more goodies in the near future. I know I promised another giveaway for the month of May and I have not forgotten. I am putting the finishing touches on an item and will be announcing it in the next few days.

Prim hugs to all of you,
Margie

Hooray ! I WON

2011-05-02T15:11:00.001-04:00

WOW...I won my very first giveaway from Heartside Happenings...Cant wait to get this pretty little sampler ! A big thank you to Jacki for offering some really terrific giveaways !!!

An hey, be sure to check out there new giveaway for the month of May..its a GORGEOUS candle with pipberries...You gotta enter to win...so head on over to Hearthside Happenings...you can click the link on my sidebar...it's so easy !

I know my chances are slim to win this little great giveaway, but, man oh man, I just LOVE it, dont you ????

OK, gotta run. It's raining AGAIN today !!!

Grace to you,
Margie

Boxex, boxes, boxes

2011-05-01T14:51:00.001-04:00

OK, so I have been working on lots and lots of stacked boxes and if the weather would just cooperate (think QUIT RAINING) I might get the varnish to dry soon !!! Hahaha. But seriously, I am trying to get things on to show you all, but I have been hampered by the weather and my own laziness.

Ok, so here are some of the boxes...

I have one more to add to this set making it 6 boxes in all. Haven't decided yet whether to add painted stars or maybe some advertising logo's...what do you think ????

These one I am just thrilled with how these 3 oval boxes turned out so far...I am planning to stencil the words (starting with top box) Life, Liberty, Happiness.....I was going to list these for sale, but I know I will be keeping them for sure...GRRRR, at some point I need to let go of some of this stuff !

And finally, here's a cure little recipe box I picked up at the thrift store for .49... I think the only thing I will add is a little knob right in the center...Wont that be darling ?

I hit a few estate sales yesterday and got some awesome wool to recycle, TONS of old bottles that are just begging for some vintage labels (next weeks project), an old colonial fireplace bellow and a bunch of candles that are screaming to be all grubbied up...Dont you just love how all these items "talk" to me...they are like kids, just begging and screaming...LOL

Tomorrow I hope to be able to post the pics of a GORGEOUS shelf I redid the other day...again, it's still tacky because of all this rainy weather, but I just LOVE it...So nice. OH, and I will be posting my May giveaway by the end of the week...it's a nice one !!!

Until then,
Margie

Getting back to business...

2011-04-25T11:14:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been a long week and I thought I would have WAY more done. Hubby took some vacation time last week and I got so behind on just about everything, although I did LOVE getting to spend time together. He works 70+ hours a week, so I gladly put all my crafts, blog, laundry, etc. aside to spend as much time as possible together (He's my best friend after all).

OK, on to what I did manage to get done this week... Here's a great little before and after project !

Here's the before picture of some older little frames

And here's the after pics, newly painted and updated with new patriotic inserts

Dont you just love them ? I sure do. I am such a fan of re-inventing things you already have or can pick up inexpensively at yard sales or thrift shops. It's amazing what a little paint and time can do for an outdated piece. So, if you're feeling badly in this economy that you dont have anything "new" for your prim home...go look through your stuff you have slated for your own garage sale and see if you can breathe some new life back into it with a mini-makeover !!!

I also picked up this oblong trencher style prim painted wooden bowl at a little store near me ...cant figure out if I like it laying horizontally or vertically...I think I may go back and get another one, cause I just love it !

Well, I am still working on a few rugs, but dont have enough done to show you right now. I am trying to finish up a swap gift and a baby present, so hopefully I will get those doen and get some pics on this week, not that hubby's back to work and Easter is over...Hope everyone had a great Easter !!! I am also working on a stack of 7 stacking boxes...cant get them exactly to my liking, but as soon as I do, I will be sure to share.

Until next time,
Grace to you,
Margie

OOOOOOh I love presents and a makeover too

2011-04-19T12:17:00.001-04:00

OK, so my BFF and I are known for celebrating Christmas and our birthdays months after the actual events...it used to be because we lived 1200 miles apart, but it has continued now that we only live a little over an hour from each other. We joke about it every year, but now I think we actually enjoy extending the holiday, which brings me to todays post....just look at the beautiful new crock and prim pretties my BFF Penny blessed me with on Sunday...I LOVE everything, dont you ?

She is THE best gift giver...always finds the perfect gift !!!! I love you Penny !!!

Well, I have been working on a few projects, but not getting much done since hubby is on vacation and we are working on stuff around the house etc. Going inot the city tomorrow to see the new Benjamin Franklin exhibit at the history center...cant wait !!!

Ok, now on to the makeover....aren't these little tiered shelves too sweet ????

Before

After

Cant find the "before" for this one, but I am so pleased with how it turned out.

I almost have enough things done to start listing some for sale...Hooray !!!

Also look at these terrific cutting boards I am working on today ...

Before

After....I just need to add some jute rope to hang it and its all done !!!!

Well gals, that's all for today . I am sooo sorry I haven't posted in a week...its been very hectic. I promise to post more later tonight !!! I have been working on stacked boxes, a wall pocket and some little projects I think you'll all like.

Grace to you,

Margie

New rug finished plus some prim boxes

2011-04-11T21:56:00.001-04:00

I am so excited that my new hooked rug/mat is all done...well, except for binding it, but I wanted to get you all a picture since I was just too excited...I think its my favorite project yet. Lemme know what ya think...I might even sell this one !!!

I also just finished a few cute stackable boxes. I just love them and cant wait to figure out where to p[ut them.

The color on the blue one didnt show evenly on the picture...the lid and box matche perfectly...looks like there was too much light in the flash...GRRRR

I also worked on several prim hang tags and some really awesome prim gift bags...but you'll have to wait till they're done. It's been super busy around here...hubby had his 45th birthday on Sunday, so I am running a little behind, so this is gonna be short today, but I promise more to come...

Until then,
Grace to you,
Margie

The Keeping Room Giveaway

2011-04-09T01:29:00.004-04:00

Hey all my prim pals...Lori from Make Prim Happen is having a giveaway on her selling blog, The Keeping Room. When they get to 100 followers the winner gets a suprise package worth $40 from their shop...isnt that terrific ? Now, I know just how fast you can get to 100 when we all send our friends, so lets help Lori & Heather out.

http://the-keeping-room.blogspot.com/2011/04/keeping-room-giveaway.html?showComment=1302326493971#c4539632257331124439

Winners Announced

2011-04-08T01:27:00.000-04:00

Well my primitive pals, I figured the followers would trickle in and I would have lots of time to go and check out everyone's blog before I reached 100...but you all blew me away, so first, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart ! I promise to check out everyone who entered, it just may take me a bit longer than I thought !

Now, onto the lucky winners. The first name drawn was for the hand hooked penny rug and that winner is Tina from Tina's Primitive Attic. The second name drawn was for the suprise hooked item...which I am keeping a suprise, but hopefully Jean over at Prim Crafts will put a picture on her blog once it arrives at her home !!!

Congratulations to both of you and thank you very much. I will be doing another giveaway in May, so be sure to check back !!!

Grace to you,
Margie

Almost there

2011-04-07T17:56:00.002-04:00

Well, we are almost there folks...just 3 more followers to go until I pick the winners. No pictures today since I am trying to answer all the posts and such. I will be posting over the weekend for sure. This whole giveaway went MUCH faster than I anticipated...you guys who follow are the BEST in the blogosphere !

Grace to you,
Margie

Hand Hooked Wool Rug Giveaway

2011-04-06T02:52:00.000-04:00

Hey there all my prim pals...I've been promising a giveaway and have finally settled on what I want to do. Right now I have 34 followers...help me get to 100 followers and I will draw the name of the first place winner. That winner will receive this primilicious hooked wool penny rug. It is a Hungry Hook Primitives original that's been hand hooked on monk's cloth and made exclusively from hand dyed recycled wool. It meassures 24 x 12 and is the perfect size for your table, over a cupboard door or even on the wall. I'm sure you have the perfect spot for this little gem.

Ok, now for the rules. First you need to become a follower of my blog. You will get one entry for responding to this post only and be sure to leave your email address so I can let you know if you win. You can get an additional entry for posting this in your side bar, another for mentioning it in your actual blog and yet another if you send a friend, but make sure your friend tells me who sent you so you can both get credit. So really, you have at least 4 chances to win...you get more if you send more friends over !!! Be sure to include all the info in your post please.

Now, it gets even better. I will also be giving away a suprise hooked item of some kind to another lucky follower. You will automatically be entered for this drawing simply by doing ALL of the above ! So good luck and thank you so much for helping me reach my goal of 100 followers !

Grace to you,
Margie