A BOLT OF LIGHTNING? NO, A BOLT OF DORR MILL WOOL

My new Motto for 2011 is JUST DO IT.  I have followed that advice from a Rug Hooking Daily friend who once said to me,  JUST DO IT when I told her that I have been contemplating starting a blog but never even tried. Even my daughters wanted me to start my own blog but I thought that I had nothing interesting to say. So now I have this blog that you faithfully read and I am humbly thankful for your faithfulness. It has brought some great friendship and hours of pleasure and has taught me  how to do many things on the computer  that I didn't know how to do before and I visited many of your homes. It has made me laugh and has made me cry. Many thanks...

So on that note I just took the bull by the horns today and JUST DID IT again by ordering a bolt of Dorr Mill Natural off white wool for dyeing.  It is being shipped tomorrow. I"m just thinking $$$, lots of it.  Not only a yard or two but a bolt. And for a second time today I JUST DID IT again. I joined April DeConick's Virtual Rug Camp Group on Palette Dyeing on Rug Hooking Daily. This is a huge commitment for me as I've been putting it off for about a year now. At least this is free. Thanks April for your generosity. This should be an interesting adventure for me.

 Another first for me, in mid January, I'm flying to Ottawa to be with my daughter who is expecting at the end of January and I need to buy my air line ticket. I was always accompanied when I flew before but this time I'll be by myself. It would be nice to have someone I know sitting beside me in the plane though. Don't worry, I won't pilot the plane, not this time any way. I'm very lucky that I live only several minutes from the airport. I can't wait to see my grandson. I pray for good weather for flying and also for the trip to the hospital.  The weather is so mixed up lately that I worry about traveling in the winter.

One good thing I learned today is that I will not have to buy another compression sleeve to fly as I can use the same one that I used when I flew to Scotland. That one cost me $125.00 around five years ago and I was told that I should have a fitting if I lost weight and had to fly. I lost weight but I grew muscles.  I had some lymph nodes removed from my armpit  in 2002 and to avoid getting a swollen arm for the rest of my life  I have to wear a compression sleeve  when I fly.  It's only a two hour flight. The compression sleeve was so tight that my arm looks like a big sausage when I wore it. Not very comfortable at all.

I'm not sure how long my stay in Ottawa will be but I don't want to overstay my welcome. I'm thinking a couple of weeks at the most. The baby may be two weeks early or two weeks late.  It depends on the circumstances but my husband think that I'll be there for a month. That's what he's telling his friends.  Humm... Is that wishful thinking on his part? lol...
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. Sorry, no pics this evening.  JB

JAN,2,2011 UPDATE ON CHILDHOOD MEMORIES RUG

I guess that I'm turning a new leaf but it's not my Hooking Bible yet. I actually worked on my rug today and got a small progress to show. I didn't removed the lint but you will see what I've been up to.

I managed to hook the swimmers after I had the flesh colored wool ready.


 I always keep a small burlap bag of onion skins with zippers that my basmati rice comes in. I used some vinegar as mordant this time because when I used salt last time, the color was a dirty grayish tinge and not suitable for flesh. I did this before going to work and hung the wool swatch up on a plastic hanger on the ceiling near a ceiling fan and the wood heat dried the swatch by the time I was ready to hook this evening.

Here is the swatch of flesh color dyed with onion skins.

Here is how much onion skin I needed to get this beautiful flesh color.

This photo was taken after the color was reabsorbed in the wool after the vinegar was added and simmered for 30 minutes.

Here is the girl (me) on a blanket looking at the cloud formation. This was hooked a few days ago. It was one of my favorite pass time as a young girl. I could see so many objects in the clouds.  Things are really getting crowded here on my rug. I may have to redraw the school house in red Sharpie. I'll think about it. I need to buy a red Sharpie.

Thanks for your visit. JB