Oh That Penny Rug Adventure ...

The adventure of the Early Style Penny Rug continues ...

I spent a bit of time this past weekend putzing with it ...

re-arranging and re-arranging until it "spoke" to me ... actually it YELLED at me ... "ENOUGH already -- go get your needle!"

Notice my hand dyed cotton floss ball --- oooooohhhhhh la la, it turned out

wonderfully!!!! My best batch yet I'm thinking ...

As you can see, I listened to my Early Style Penny Rug when it told me to grab my needle ... the first penny is blanket stitched ... and the adventure continues ...

My very first blog award ...

YIPPEE!!!! I've "arrived"!!! My very first blog award!!!!

I received this lil beauty from my friend, Pam aka GoldieLoo, and you can

find her awesome blog at:

http://goldieloowoodworks.blogspot.com/

Thanks so much, Pam! You're AWESOME!!!!

Once an award is received, the rules are as follows:

1. Put the logo on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3. Nominate at least seven other blogs.
4. Add links to those blogs on your blog.
5. Leave a message for your nominee on their blogs.

My nominees are:

Kim @ http://kimsprimsandwhimsies.blogspot.com/

Cathy @ http://hazelruthes.blogspot.com/

Jill @ http://thefruitofherhandstudio.blogspot.com/

Sharon @ http://homespunheartprimitives.blogspot.com/

Pam @ http://farmhouseprimitives.blogspot.com/

Judy @ http://thespicecupboard.blogspot.com/

Brenda @ http://myfathershouse4.blogspot.com/

The Early Style Penny Rug adventure begins ...

Brewing up some hand dyed cotton floss. This will be the only thread used in my Early Style Penny Rug ... and oh my gosh, it turned out GORGEOUS! This was my first attempt at dying cotton floss with this particular "brew" ... and it sure won't be my last!

All the applique pieces are traced on freezer paper ...

and then ironed on the wools dyed right here in the kitchen ...

This step is my favorite part of making penny rugs -- cutting the pieces out with my sharp little scissors (notice the big holes ... perfect for my fat thumb). I'm loving how primitive the animal shapes are and how they seem to come to life once they're cut out ...

Newest offering on the website ...

From Aunt Polly's wooly worm basket ... a hooked hit or miss mat ... and a one of kind linen thread pocket ...

From the dye pot ...

I spent a quiet afternoon at the dye pots ... today I actually opened some antique dye powders that I've been saving ... saving for that perfect rug ... today was the day I did it ... I tore that dye open and began dying wools for my Early Style Penny Rug ...

Gorgeous colors in the dye pot ...

My "perfect background" wet ...

My "perfect background" is even MORE perfect dry!!!!!

A good day at the dye pots ... several colors that I will use in my Early Style Penny Rug ...

An old hooked rug project that I began in 2005 ... it's a whopper ... 3' x 2-1/2' ... it weighs a ton ... and it's not finished ...

This is all that remains to be hooked ... WHY can't I just finish it? This rug has been my friend, a constant companion, rolled up and moved from place to place. The time as come to finish it ...

Today I dyed the "perfect border". I LOVE how this red turned out! I'm going to finish this rug!!!

New handworks ...

A sock doorstop bottle doll ... her name is Cora ... made from a pattern from Stitches in Time by Sweet Liberty Homestead ... all decked out in antique indigo and blue homespun ... and her sock doll kitty friend, Bezzie ... pattern off the cuff of my good friend, Terri ... a little something she just whipped up ...

A farmer's wife pinkeep in grubbied gray/blue and a birdie pinkeep made from special reproduction calicos in pinks and browns ... those pinks and browns just "sing" to me ...

Here kitty, kitty ... another sweet lil' pinkeep pattern from Sweet Liberty's book Stitches in Time ... made from stained flax cloth ...

My first attempt at hooking flowers ... my friends Jackie, Terri, and I hooked up three each and I think they all turned out beautiful ... their leaves are cut from a thick army blanket threaded on to rusty wire ...

I finished it!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so proud of myself!!! My first attempt at binding a round rug and also my first attempt at using rug binding ... I have always whipped the edges of my rugs and mats ... it was all sooooooooooo much easier than I thought it would be ...

Some new garden pics ...

The lilies are STUNNING this year ...

those wave petunias are doing their "thing" ...

my stepping stone ... made a few years ago from a kit I bought at Michael's ... it has held up unbelieveably well ... I leave it out through the hard northern Illinois winters ... the first year or so, it looked "like a kit", but the last few years, it has aged nicely ... I think I'll buy another kit this year ...

the old-fashioned roses are struggling this year ... does the bush just plain old get old or something? I had to cut away lots of dead branches this spring ... I'm happy to see a few blooms as I thought they were goners ...

the dill (before today's harvest) with orange and yellow lilies in the background ...

the new hostas this year ...

the coneflowers are just beginning to open ...

my poor rose bushes ...

I love, love, LOVE these lilies ... no birds moved in this year ... we DID have a robin build her nest in the bent part of our downspout ... too high to be able to see what happened in there ... the nest has been abandoned for a couple of weeks now ... time to pull it down ...

Harvesting the herbs ...

Today was the day ... the first harvesting of the Attic's herb gardens.
Today's harvesting included: dill, fennel, lemon balm, lemon mint, lemon verbena, lime mint, orange mint ...

oregano, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, and sweet basil ...

The harvesting began last evening with a good watering to wash the herbs. I was up and out the door early today with my morning coffee ... big, floppy gardening hat on my head and an antique wood bowl holding my harvest scissors, kitchen string, paper labels, and permanent marker.

Tomorrow I harvest the last of the lavender, pull the radish remnants, and plant the second harvest of green beans ...

Dumpster divin' ...

You gotta love a good dumpster dive! Oh yeah!!!! I was walking into work, past the dumpsters, and there it was!!!! A metal sculpture of a tree!!!! A student project left behind ... I was dragging that beauty out of that dumpster in the blink of an eye. It was mine!!! It was MEANT for me!!!! I just knew it was MADE for my shade garden (aka the boys' old sandbox) ... and now it has rusted to perfection. My neighbor wants it ... she can't have it ... it was meant for ME!!!!

A super long weekend ...

I've just returned from a 4-day trip to Indiana with my good pal and travel mate, Terri. We went to visit another friend, Jackie, and her husband, Benny. We spent the entire time crafting, talking, and laughing and laughing and laughing. What a GREAT getaway! (Jackie, if you're reading this, I love ya!!!) I love Jackie's house -- it's so peaceful and tranquil there. Many times we'd just sit and listen to the different birds twittering and flitting from the branches in the woods that surround Jackie's house. Jackie loves the birds. Her yard and the woods behind her house are filled with birdhouses and birdbaths. Terri and I took a little time on our last day to walk down to the river and take some pictures.