Finished Project

Betwixt and Between other things today, I did get the mat, "Making Hay", finished--even the blocking and sewing on of name tags, etc. on the back. I began another right away because time is limited and I have to get to it, pronto....I made a few changes again, of course and the photo is here....I believe I should have put it on a wall to get a better shot...next time

Busy Day

Did some hooking today; hope to finish the mat tonight. Will post a picture tomorrow. Today was taken up, mostly, with baking a batch of Homemade Bread and Rolls. Of course there were toutons and molasses with some bacon for lunch. Yummy!! The weather turned sunny and warm in the afternoon. Here is a picture of my hard days work----

Success or Not

I'm not sure if I should say my day was a success or not. I started out bright & early this morning with my mat hooking and decided I didn't like MOST of what I had hooked yesterday....so I began to reverse hook, as is the term in the U.S.; for me it was taking out and re-hooking....so the result is here for you to see the changes. I should say "can you spot the differences?" as in the puzzles....

Fruitful Day

Had a wonderful day at my mat today. Too bad I didn't have a maid to do my housework, which is left undone...I arose at six this morning and began hooking. I think I will have a little rest now and be ready in the morning again. Great way to spend a 41st wedding anniversary. :) You can see my progress here....

Back Home

Well, I had an enjoyable few days with my family, sitting with my one year old grandson and helping with interior painting in between. While I was away from home, the weeds did quite well; Sure wish my flowers would have grown so well....grrr!!! My clock will be set for six o'clock in the morning to get to my mat hooking. I have to get this done {Hay Making} before August 19th in order to have it judged for admission in the Cupids, NL., Celebration and if I am lucky enough, it may be bought for a display in the new Museum that is being built there in 2010. Quite exciting. I hope to post a few pictures as I go along....

TIME

Have you ever pondered over people saying "I'm so bored" or "time is so long"? There are not enough hours in a day for me, nor have there ever been. People who are bored, in my opinion, are those who have plenty to do yet refuse to see what needs to be done or are just too lazy to do them. I had a full day again today enjoying my family's company to the fullest.

I will be gone from home for a few days and will not post; however, when I return I will do that and hopefully [no I WILL] post photos of the progress of my mat.....Making Hay.

Wonderful Summer

Even though I have not been able to attend to my mat hooking because of family visiting, it is an enjoyable time of year. I DO love mat hooking and will get back at it as soon as the visiting is done for this year. My flowers garden is becoming prettier {with plenty of green} because this summer has been exceptional with regards to warm and sunny weather. Today, however, we have the much needed rain for our vegetable gardens. Above is a photo of part of my flower garden, so you see what I mean by plenty of "green".
Please ignore the date on my photos. I have my camera fixed now... :)

Quality Time

I am not getting much work done on my mat at this time but who could not take advantage of this wonderful time of year and enjoy a little time with grandkids? Here is Alena running from the waves of the Ocean in a carefree manner and loving every minute of it. This is a great spot to go and spend some time at a place called Sandy Cove, a short distance from our hometown. I spent plenty of time there as a child and teenager and still love to visit there. Such a fun spot to be.

Garden Time

This is such a spectacular time of year when we can see the hard work of planting vegetables come to life. We got some well needed rain yesterday but could use more yet. My picture proves that nature is kind to us, indeed.

The Beginning of "Making Hay" mat

I apologize for not posting as I had said I would a few days ago, but I left town to attend a Big Number ONE Birthday celebration of my Lovely Grandson, Liam. The weather was swell in Paradise, Newfoundland and the company was great as well. Enjoyed every minute of it. I am posting a photo of the beginning of my mat as I had said I would. As you will notice, I have made a few boo-boos which I will fix as I go along...Wish I could spend more time at it.

Super Day

Such a swell day today with the sun shining and a slight breeze. Just enough to keep the flies away as I weeded my garden. Isn't it odd that weeds grow so well and has such a hold on the ground? They do persist. As I weeded, I was very thankful that I could enjoy life with no worries about wars, disasters, whatever. Guess we are very fortunate that we live where we do. Now off to a bit of hooking. Hope to post a picture tomorrow.

Busy Day

The weather is super today and I have been painting our walkways. Would much rather be hooking. I have begun to hook my mat, the first time that I have hooked in the summertime. I will post a photo as soon as I have it partly done. This one is called " Making Hay" and I can relate to it quite well as we make our hay the "old time way".

Great Weekend

We, my husband and two relatives, enjoyed a great weekend at Woody Island Resort, the Island being a resettled one from the early '60's. A wonderful spot for a break. I found lots of ideas for my mats in a small museum they have there. Such beauty on this little island. I am enclosing a photo just to show what I mean.

A Tribute to Newfoundland

Last week I was flattered to have my story and photos of my mats displayed on the "Rug Hooking Guild of Nova Scotia's" website. I was asked to do this through a group I am a member of called "The Welcome Mat". Here is the link if you would like to have a look.
http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=97477688044&h=B1e2v&u=QlWdh

My Mat Exhibit

I was very pleased and proud to have had two of my mats chosen by the committee of the Craft Council of NL., of which I am a member, to have included in the AME {annual member exhibit} at their craft store in Devon House, which is situated at 59 Duckworth St. in St. John's, NL. This exhibit began on June 21st and will continue until August 16th. My mats, which measure 24"x36" are designed and hooked by me using different sizes of strips of hand cut materials worked on Primitive Burlap. Each is an "Original". These are the two mats that were chosen, "When Cod Was King"--- the idea coming from a photograph of my father-in-law and his fishing crew with a full boat load of cod fish, a sight probably never seen in my day because of the demise of the cod today in the area where I live. The other is named "Women Spreading Fish to Dry" because that is exactly what it is. In my day, the men brought the fish, split, cleaned it and left it to the women to spread to dry to sell in the Fall of the year and indeed, to feed their families over the winter as well.

The Beginning of my Blog

I have begun this blog at the suggestion of my friend, Julie, who also has a blog which you can check out at "www.rjmsworld.blogspot.com". Such a wonderful day to begin on Canada Day---Happy Canada Day to ALL. Hope our country can continue to thrive and be safe. I am a Rug Hooker and hope to post a few pictures along the way. Right now my hooking is at a stand-still as my husband and I are avid vegetable gardeners and things are very busy but things are coming along very well already.. I will post a few photos as our garden progresses as well. For two days now I have been baking trying to use up some of the beautiful carrots we grew last year and had stored in our root cellar. Will make some marinated carrots in the next day or so. Also, the rhubarb is growing like weeds; however, we can benefit from the fruit more. I have made carrot muffins, rhubarb muffins, two varieties of carrot cakes, rhubarb loaves, rhubarb bread and the list goes on......