Pillow #4 and the G20

Thanks to the miserable weather this weekend, and the G8 and G20, I got quite a bit done on pillow 4. Here is a progress shot.

I have really enjoyed hooking this one - not sure why - I guess the motifs are smaller and you change colours more frequently, but this one truly makes you keep going so you can see what the next "plus sign" will look like with the others.

I took my hooking upstairs this weekend and watched the coverage on CBC and shook my head in disbelief at all of it. It was kind of like a train wreck unfolding and you couldn't look away. But the media kept playing the most sensational clips over and over, so putting my head down to hook didn't make me miss a thing.

The fact that the more militant protesters were still at it after everything was over said it all to me. I felt extremely sorry for the peaceful folks who were there to truly support what they believed in.

Rick and I took a trip to Toronto last Thursday for Rick's cracked filling and then had dinner with the kids, so we got to see the downtown core without anyone in it. Thought we would be caught in the motorcades heading to Huntsville on our way back north, but we must have been behind them, because our trip was even a bit faster than usual.

Another big event last week -  Fedex delivered the pillow forms that I ordered online, which I guess I hadn't noticed in the shipping info. Rick nearly fell over from shock that they would come all the way out here. LOL

So this week, I'll finish hooking this last one and begin the assembly of all 4. I hope to have them finished before the kids arrive on Friday for the long weekend. I'll share a picture of them all as soon as they are.

A Lesson from Pillow #3

I finished my third pillow yesterday and when I was done, took a picture to send to Jenn. She's always so excited to see other people's work, or as she calls it MP by OP (my patterns by other people). 

This one is called "Simple", but ironically, I found it the toughest thus far - with one more to go.

I think it's because of the size, it's only 12 x 20, and the small number of squares within squares. Colour planning was very tough. Unlike a bigger piece, you don't have the real estate to balance it all later. Oh well, by the time I had used the colour pencils to do a few grids, and hooked the last square, I was happy.

As soon as I took the picture, I could see a couple of things that needed fine tuning. Not big things, just individual strips that were blurring the lines between the outer squares and the inner squares. Jenn saw a couple of others. Once again, this reinforces the value of moving back from your work, with either a reducing glass (peep hole) or a picture on your computer screen. 

It astounds me that such a small "just a loop here and there" change would have such a big impact. But see for yourself. As soon as I changed the questionable strips, the inner squares became crisper - no more blurry lines.

I put little red ovals around the areas I changed and you can definitely see the difference it made. I zoomed in a bit so you can see.

Now I'm off to grid pillow #4, which will have smaller motifs and more of them within the pillow-sized area. Hopefully, it won't present the same colour challenges. 

Happy First Day of Summer

It's hard to believe, after the incredible May and parts of June we've been having so far, that this is in fact the first day of summer. Summer here in my new "hood" is amazing! For those of you who know this area, you know what I mean. For those who don't, here's a taste.

Friends were visiting last week, and just like everywhere else you live, when friends visit you tend to do the things you wouldn't on your own. So we did two of the local features last week. First was the 30,000 Islands Cruise. We were so spontaneous, no one had a camera with them, but luckily their website had some great shots.

This is the Island Queen, which is the cruise boat. Because it's not high season yet, there weren't too many people aboard and we had no trouble getting upper deck seats. The weather was perfect and the whole 3-hour trip a wonderful experience. Here are some of the things you cruise by:

As you can see, the scenery is spectacular. You go through some very narrow channels and other places are vast and, as far as the eye can see, filled with islands. We learned that there really are 30,000. They are all numbered and to get a number, must be at least an acre. So they don't count the little ones that fill the in-between spaces. The guide said that the islands start at over $1,000,000, so that explains some of the spectacular places we saw. All water access only.

You can see what inspired the members of the Group of Seven and this beauty rolls by the entire time you are out there. We think that there could be Georgian Bay cable channel (like the fireplace channel) and you could just watch the scenery go by for as long as you liked if you couldn't get here to see the real McCoy.

As if that were not enough, we decided to do another local favourite - Henry's Fish Restaurant, which is near Sans Souci. It is accessible only by boat, water taxi or float plane. And since we don't have a boat on the bay, or a float plane, the water taxi it was. Not an inexpensive choice, since we were the only passengers, but another wonderful trip on the Bay, albeit a lot faster.

Henry's has been a destination for as long as we have had our cottage - we just never got there before, so this was all new to us. And definitely worth the trip. Here are some pictures that I found online.

Again, since we were ahead of the season, there were not nearly this many boats tied up. And we didn't have to line up to get in. They serve simple, delicious food. And we had pickerel and chips, since the perch wasn't available yet. The prices were more than reasonable, which helped offset the heft price tag for the taxi. All in all, it was definitely worth the trip. And we would do it again.

It's easy to see why the population here goes from 6,500 to 35,000 in the summer. It truly is one of the most beautiful places in the world. And it's the perfect place to be this time of year. We think it is in the winter too, but we've yet to be here for an entire one. Stay tuned for that post in February or March.

Pillow Talk

I am in the process of hooking four pillows for the brown leather sofa and love seat in the great room.

Thanks to Jennifer's fabulous Matrix Mats, I am able to do four coordinating pillows that are all based on her 1" grid. And, just as she promises, they go quickly. I have nearly finished two and the second one I will have finished in a week (with only a bit of hooking each day versus dedicated stretches of time).

I will finish the second one today and then grid off the third and fourth, for which the colour planning is already done. These are mostly hooked from leftover wool from other projects and I have bags of #8 cut worms in my studio. 

If you check Jennifer's blog (if you're not following it already), you can see the fruits of her design at work in a room-size rug. Wow, what an undertaking. But, as she promises, you can't wait to see what the next motif will look like - not unlike the stair staining. There's gratification at every step in this process.

Although you can't tell from these pictures, my pillows will be 12 x 20 and will sit at the arms of the furniture versus the backs. When my friend Elaine helped me stage the house in Toronto, she loaned me rectangular pillows and I LOVED how they looked. I think it means I will have to create my own forms, but I haven't looked online to make sure yet.

When I am done, I will work on some more studies for my sketches series, which will be at the totally other side of the hooking spectrum. And isn't the variety what it's all about? But in the meantime, two more to go.

Hopefully, I will have the third finished in time for next week's post. 

Another Before and After

In anticipation of my first northern hook in this past weekend in Powassen (which was fabulous), I made some revisions to my giant 6-foot x 2-foot project "Maximilian Moose". For those of you who have been following along, this strangely-shaped mat is being hooked to cover the side of my stacked washer/dryer in my main floor powder room. It is probably 90% complete.

Max has been rolled up and put away for quite some time now, interrupted by more time-sensitive projects as well as the move. When I unrolled him for the first time in ages - to show Jennifer Manuell the progress - she made some constructive comments, which I incorporated this week. The biggest change was to his snout. Jennifer suggested that he looked like a platypus (a tad harsh in my opinion LOL), but she was right that it needed a little change. So I changed the shape and rounded it out a bit.

I also realized that the light value outline was totally out of keeping with the other elements in the rug. So I changed that to black. Amazing how a single row of hooking - changed to what it should be - can affect an entire piece.

Here is the before:

And here is the after:

I am much happier with the change. 

And the entire experience reminded me of something a very smart art teacher said to be a long time ago. When I was unhappy with progress in a painting, he said to put it away for a while and then take it out again with "fresh eyes". It always works - I had just forgotten.

Now that the nose is better, I have realized a couple of other things. Since you only see half of Max, he obviously only has one leg - but boy, is it close to the centre! I will move it over a bit to the left although I am restricted by the little chipmunk who is just out of frame. Now that I'm in the moose renovation business, why not?

And as I posted this, I had another eureka moment. Poor Max has no ear!!!! How did that happen? Yikes. Another correction required for sure.

Anyway, I am always intrigued by how much each rug teaches us. Whether it's about perspective, our own hooking, or our own habits - it's always enlightening.

I came to the conclusion this weekend that if I were to describe what kind of hooker I am, my answer would be "curious". I'm still very much at the "what if" stage of my hooking - hungry to try anything and everything. And my head is filled with a very long list of what I want to try next. Hence many notebooks laying around to capture all the crazy notions.

I will try to devote some time this week to finishing Max, but I think this is going to be a busy work week. grrrr. But I'll update the progress for sure.

Weekend Gardener

One of my first impressions of living at the lake full time would be that weekends would disappear. Life would become one long weekend. So far, that hasn't happened. And I think it won't ever - because other people still have weekends - like our kids. Matt was here for this weekend and it's been great having each of our two kids on our own for their first visit to the new cottage "home".

Also, while I am still doing "work work", some things still need weekends - like gardening. It's amazing how many hooker/bloggers are also gardeners. I was inspired by many of my blogger friends who shared pictures of their horticultural works of art, so I am too.

With this warm weather, it's incredible how far ahead everything is here. And it makes me feel even further behind. I have a special perennial garden on the road side of the cottage that is mostly visible from inside the cottage (see, I still call it "cottage" - gotta get over that.) I call it my secret garden. Here's a picture so you can see how huge these plants are. This perspective doesn't show height - those  centre ones are already over five feet - normally this early they would be less than half this size.

On the lake side, there is a garden that has been evolving for the 18 years we have been coming here. Since the trees have gotten so much larger, the light has changed and the plants along with it.  Plants that thrived when the big pine was small have now disappeared. But it's still a wonderful place to spend hours weeding and tending, and this is the view from the deck.

Since I am an "accidental gardener" it is always a work in progress and I need to add, move and reinvent on a continual basis. But it's such good therapy. And besides, how would the bugs get their pound of flesh if I didn't spend time out there?

This year we also had to figure out what to do with our planters from the city. Because we were only here on weekends before, and not able to water regularly, we didn't bother with planters on the deck. I didn't want to re-create what we did there, so I came up with a new scheme for here. A little red-white-red idea evolved and we have three rectangular planters and one square one that share this planting.

And my son insisted on some herbs, so we did one pot of the usual suspects and the empty- looking one has green onion bulbs inside. These are definitely an experiment - since we've not done bulbs before. I've already used some of the basil in a salad and this should be a wonderful resource. The rosemary plant was so huge when we bought it that I anticipate having to trim it for Christmas.

I spent a couple of hours fighting with some grass in the black-eyed susan garden closest to the water, but will wait until the bruising subsides before I share any pictures. Anyone who doesn't think that gardening is a great workout should pull out grass for two hours. Yikes.

So here's to keeping weekends - a special time to spend doing things that you can't get to during the week, like gardening. And for having your loved ones visiting and helping you get those things done.

A Background Lesson.

This past weekend, I received a request to write an article for our "Ask a Teacher". I decided to write about backgrounds, which everyone knows can make or break a piece.

Ironically, I was working on this little name sign and using a wonderful piece of wool from Christine Little's dye book 'SkyBluePink with a Green Smell'. The intent was to create a Monet type garden around the letters and do some proddy flowers in the corners. But, wasn't working as a background behind the lettering - for all the reasons I wrote in my article.

The wool had too much of the same colour as the lettering - and even when I put in a dark line next to the lettering, the background wool was just too busy. I realized that this was not only a background lesson, but also a spot dye lesson. With a strong spot dye, you need to use it sparingly and in the right place. I realized that it would be much better behind the leaves in the outside border.

So I ripped out both backgrounds and switched them. It's amazing how quickly you can undo several hours of hooking, isn't it? But the moment I put a few strands into their new positions, I knew I had made the right decision.

Here's the before.

And here's the after.

Quite the difference, isn't it?

I am much, much happier with the result. The lettering is so visible and the little splash of Monet garden behind the leaves is perfect!

I will keep these pictures as a demonstration to go with my Background article in the future.

They really are worth a thousand words, that's for sure.

And a lesson well learned. 

Look at me Hook.

Well, as this picture will demonstrate, I am over my hooking moratorium. In fact, I think I will coin a new phrase and category for me that is (no offence to anyone with the real disorder) ADHD - attention deficit hooking disorder.

Since I have picked up my hook again, I have been completely scattered. Like a starving woman at a buffet, I run from project to project, unable to focus on one thing. Truth be told, a few of the items in the picture were time sensitive. The item "under" my frame has a June 30th finish date - it's my secret stocking for the RHF challenge to be revealed at Circle of Friends.

The piece on the frame is a name sign for a new cottage baby "Ava". What's not in the picture is the sign I hooked and already gave to her new baby cousin Jakob. I forgot to take a picture before giving it to his parents. I will get them to send me one.

Under the frame and next to the mystery stocking is the beginning of my first-of-four Matrix pillows I am making following Jennifer's Amazing Matrix instructions. I am off to a really good start and will get back to that later today.

What's so amazing about this picture is that I seem to have my hooking mojo back. I'm adjusting to my new hook and my new life here at Salmon Lake. My days have gotten a rhythm that is a good mix of work and play and a lot of variety. I sort of do what I want, when I want, which will take some getting used to.

My daughter was here for the weekend, so the days changed to do what she wanted. Lots of physical stuff which was good for me. First kayak paddle. First paddleboat ride. And for Laura and her Dad, the traditional May 24th dip. Not for me!!!

So as we roll into our fourth week, I am starting to feel more of a full-time connection. As the cottagers all roared out last night for the trek home, and we sat and listened to the quiet, we felt good about our decision. We will have a few months of enjoying this. Maybe not so much in November.

But thankfully, hooking is a-seasonal, so I can continue my ADHD habit for as long as I like.

Week Two.

Well, my first not-unpacking week was a busy, productive one - filled with things I needed to do and things I wanted to do. Good balance.

On the needed to do side, here are my studio stairs, which have been stained (2 coats) and varathaned (2 coats). If you have never stained anything, let me tell you it is quite an experience. First of all, the grain in the wood emerges as if it has lain dormant the entire time until you release it. No two boards are the same, so it's exciting to see what the next one is going to look like. (As I was staining, I was trying to think of anything else that changes so drastically with a simple step, and I kept coming back to roast vegetables versus raw - not sure why.)

Staining is also therapeutic because your mind is free to wander. I guess it's a bit like hooking that way. You get lost in it - the rhythm of the brush strokes is kind of like pulling loops. So I don't find it tedious work.  The prospect of staining the entire studio is a bit daunting, but I plan on letting the wood age for a year first anyway, so I don't have to burn that bridge just yet.

Anyway, the second picture is my favourite board, because it definitely looked like two eyes staring back at me - in a good way. Since our home is log and pine, there is a LOT of wood and I must confess to having favourite boards here and there, in just about every room.

On the wanted to do side, I am happy to report that after 5 weeks of no hooking, I'm baaacccckkk! And it feels wonderful. Not only did I get two things on my frame, but also went to a hook in at RUG in Barrie on Saturday, so got to see lots of folks. It was great.

I also picked up a new hook to work on my Matrix Mat pillows that I have started - if you haven't heard about the Amazing Matrix Mats, go to Jennifer Manuel's blog and you can see for yourself. Because they are hooked on a #8 on rug warp, I found that none of my hooks was really doing a good job of pulling loops, so I invested in a wonderful new one that is perfect! It will take some getting used to, since my tension is very different with this hook, but I'm sure it will become more even in time.

That was not my only purchase - I more than made up for missing the Annual. A purse pattern and handles from Jen, some rug warp and patterns and birthday gifts for my sister - the book and some wool so she can start on a Matrix Mat. Hopefully, I will have pictures to share of my first pillow in a while. (The other project I have started is a big secret until after the reveal at Circle of Friends, a gathering in July, but hopefully I can show it after that.)

The sun emerged yesterday and we managed to find a couple of hours in the middle of it when the blackflies and mosquitoes were at bay and got a bit of yard work done. So, as this new day begins with the sun reflected on a mirror-calm lake, I'm sure I will cobble together a day of this and that, which is a nice start to week three.

Welcome to my Studio

Well, after a whirlwind week of unpacking at Olympian speed, the house is pretty much set up.
It's amazing how well everything from the city integrated here. We basically upgraded everything and each room looks much better than before. Including my wonderful, cozy new studio space.

I knew that the collection of leftover  pine pieces from the rest of the house would work well down here - I just didn't know how well. I love them all and they do manage to house nearly all my hooking gear. Although I still need to put my rugs on display, things are pretty much in place. And the room seemed to grow to fit the furniture. I took some pictures last night (after a wonderful Mothers' Day - our first reverse trip to Toronto to spend the day with the kids).

Here's what it looks like at this point:

Lots of dressing up still to be done, and my friend Elaine assures me that I will move everything a few times before deciding it's in the perfect place, but the boxes are all unpacked and the wool is on display.

That's my student table with the cups full of colour pencils. It will also be my 'everything else' table, including sewing, designing, etc. And it's special because it was my very first woodworking project. It's fitting that it ended up down here.

That first shot also shows a giant, ancient TV that is hooked up for DVD and VHS, so hooking to a movie is a possibility - although I'm really enjoying the sounds of CBC 2 coming from the stereo unit inside the chimney cupboard.

The drop leaf table with the cutters on it can also serve as additional space for people to sit, should I ever have that many people in here at one time.

The wire cube shelves are perfect for the wool. This dedicated wall allows me to have even more than I do now - and that's after buying everything there was at the local Canadian Tire.
I'll have to look for another box in Barrie on Saturday after R.U.G., since my yarn is all still in bins in the furnace room.

The pie safe holds most of my shoeboxes of worms, although more had to go on the bottom shelf of the wire cubes. They may have to be re-located so they can all be together.

And the bottom picture shows my little "real work" station, with my wonderful new imac. Since I am technically on payroll at G+D until the end of June, I will be spending quality time here doing paying work for the next while. And since I can gaze out the window at the lake for inspiration, that won't be so bad.

The plan is to put up curtain rods with clips around the room to display the rugs, rather than putting holds in my beautiful pine walls. This wonderful idea is Elaine's and it's the perfect way to not only change the rugs on a whim, but to also display student work for critique. I have many, many curtain rods left over from the days when we had them dividing rooms in the cottage, so as soon as I can get to them in the back of the furnace room, I'll put them up.

First job is the stain and varnish the incredible stairs that the carpenter built. We were expecting "contractor" stairs that were going to be carpeted. Instead, he built the same beautiful, pegged stairs that are everywhere else in the cottage. Much too nice to be covered up.

Oh, by the way, that pole in the centre - unfortunately, it is a support post that couldn't be moved, but it will soon be boxed in - using the same 8" pine boards that are on the wall.

So, still much to be done, but I couldn't wait to share.

And now that the lion's share of settling in is done, I will actually be able to pull some loops this week - the first in over a month. And I'll be able to do it in my new, amazing studio.

We're here!!!

This is my first official post as a full-time resident of 319 Salmon Lake Road. Wow!

The move went without incident on Friday and took much less time than I anticipated. I'll tell you, nothing  says "you're moving" like a 30-foot van in your driveway. Four chipper fellows arrived a half-hour early (always a good sign) and went about their business like a well-oiled machine.

Once we were loaded, Rick came ahead with the truck. I stayed behind to do the final clean, with help from my daughter. It was a pretty emotional day. Our son came after his night shift to say a final farewell. I think he may have been the saddest, although Laura's emotions are always closest to the surface, so it's a toss-up. This is the only home they know. After one final,  teary walk through a very echoey house, I too said my good-bye's and wished the house a long and happy life with its new owners.

And then the trek to the "new" home. By the time I was near Horseshoe Valley, I felt my shoulders relax, and enjoyed the rest of the drive. The mover-bees did a speedy unload and then left us with all our old things in new places and a sea of boxes.

We have quite a job ahead of us. I started on the kitchen at 7 a.m. yesterday and by 4 p.m. had it under control. The thing about moving into your "cottage" and making it your "home" means that you have duplicates of everything. So for every incoming item, there is something outgoing. Sort of like two moves in one. We are filling boxes for the Salvation Army at almost the same rate as we are emptying the ones we brought.

My new studio space is awesome! I was really hoping to see it before it was totally filled with stuff, but that was not meant to be. In fact, not only is all the furniture that is supposed to be in there, in there. Everything that didn't have a specific place is also in there. So with all the furniture and boxes, it looks more like a warehouse than a studio.

But the bones are beautiful. It's not exactly as the contractor and I discussed, but it is a bit cozier and still has lots of space. And I hope to get at least the perimeter set up this week, with the furniture in place. I will have one long wall that will be a hodgepodge of the pine chests and sideboards that didn't have a designated place. Antique file cabinets and tables too, so it will be fun to figure out the function for each one.

But alas, the studio will have to wait until the principal rooms are done. And I don't mind, since I can hook elsewhere in the meantime, provided I can find my "rug hooking box" that has my frame and hooks, etc.

In the meantime, I took this picture of a little piece of art called "Moosecapades" to show you at least some of my new pine walls. He's sitting on a shelf that was built out over the concrete block and goes all around the room. It will be the perfect display place for all my many "moosies".

I figure since it took us a good month to get everything packed, I shouldn't expect it to be much faster to unpack. Although I think I'm even more motivated to get things set up than I was to pack them.

And since I'm at least semi-retired and don't have to head back to the city unless I want to, I have all the time in the world to do it. And I'm very happy to be here.

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