Another Swap? I couldn't resist!

It's true! I gave in! I signed up for another Disappearing 9 Patch Swap, this time over at Jane's Fabrics and Quilts! Click HERE or on the button below if you want to sign up too...there's still room!




Jane was clever about this swap. She allowed everyone to vote on the block and the colors. So the D9P block won, and the color combination will be Red and Aqua! What a combination! This will definitely mean searching out a good fabric shop and doing a little shopping! Maybe that's why I couldn't resist signing up for this one...I needed an excuse to hunt down a fabric shop!

Anyway, that's the latest thing added to my to-do list. My knee seems to have fixed itself after two days of rest, ice and elevation and two nights of some wonderful something that my doctor prescribed. I'm still curious as to what caused such pain though, so I think I might just keep the appointment with the orthopedic specialist and see what she says. But I am so thankful to be mobile again and am working on getting caught up with projects to share here at Hooked On Needles.

The school schedule is in full swing here as well. My oldest, Elizabeth, has started college and loves it. She was not able to complete her Babette before beginning her classes, but she only has a few more rounds of the border. She is hoping this long weekend will provide her with enough free time to get it done.

My little first grader Sean loves school and talks non-stop all the way home from school every day about the fun he had. The horn worm that I shared from my garden the other day is now a science project in his classroom. It will be interesting to see if the wasps mature. I'm just glad I won't be there to see it if it happens!

Grace, my 4 year old, is finding all kinds of fun and creative ways to entertain herself during the day while her best friend and play buddy is at school. It's really quite cute.

Do you welcome the routine of the school year in your household? What kinds of things do you look forward to once the summer comes to an end and the pace changes? Football season, cool weather, apple picking, more time for handwork, having a schedule...these are all things I like about it. How about you?

Happy Stitching!

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Summer Gardening

Here in New England we had a very wet and rainy spring and most of summer. We were optimistic however, and went ahead with planting our little gardens for summer vegetables. The extended wetness did a number on most of the tomato plants in this area, ours included, and they ended up looking pretty terrible. But we didn't give up on them.

This past Sunday afternoon, I went out to pick some tomatoes and carrots to have with dinner and found some interesting things besides. I usually just save these kinds of pictures for my private collection of family photos and email a few to parents and siblings, but since my knee decided to be uncooperative since Sunday night, I have not had the opportunity to work on Hooked On Needles material as much as I usually do. So here's a little glimpse into our gardens and their fruit...


This interesting character was found Sunday afternoon just as you see him here, sitting on this dead branch of a tomato plant with all these little white pellet looking things all over his back. It must be some sort of caterpillar that will turn into a beautiful butterfly, but I don't get the white things. They look like some kind of parasite. Strange. We checked Tuesday afternoon and he was still in the same place and in the same condition. I don't really know what to think about this. I'll let you know if anything further develops. (Read the comments below to find out what this is! Nasty! Totally nasty!)


Just below the plant with the caterpillar I noticed this weed which I thought was quite pretty. I was just coming to the decision to leave it there and see if it would flower when my husband came over to look at the caterpillar. He noticed this and a few other weeds and started yanking them out of the ground. I guess I won't be letting you know about any further developments on this one!


This was our first harvest of carrots. My little 6 yr old Sean loves to plant carrots every spring, and then pick them late in the summer. We break off the green tops and throw them down the hill, bring the carrots inside and give them a good scrub to get the dirt off. No peeling required since they are fresh out of the ground and have no dry skin on them. I wish you could smell their aroma fresh from the garden. There is just nothing like a fresh picked carrot! They were delicious that night, steamed, then served with just a little butter.


And here are four of our tomatoes that were picked Sunday afternoon. These were ripened right on the vine and were so delicious.


But this one was the prize winner! It was HUGE and RED and SO JUICY! You just can't beat tomatoes picked right off the vine! In fact, I'm enjoying a slice of one in my turkey sandwich as I write this! Delicious!

My notebook where I write all the things I want to do for my website has quite a list in it right now, so hopefully very soon, I can start working towards getting some of those things done and posted here for everyone. I have a few things in the works: the granny square afghan I showed you the other day, another oddball baby blanket called Tiny Dancer, my swap gifts for the Friendship Bag Swap and the Stitcher's Angel Swap, and an art smock for my favorite little carrot farmer who needs it for his art class at school. Plenty to do and show, so stay tuned!

Happy Stitching!

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Sweet Liberty Crocheted afghan almost finished...and my new rug!

Just over a week ago, I showed you the area rug that I would be receiving from CSN Rugs. It was delivered yesterday by FedEx and promptly took its place in front of the fireplace.

How do you like it?


My two youngest were having a good time dancing on it this afternoon, and loved how soft it felt between their toes. I have to agree with them. It does feel nice! It appears to be very well made and the binding on it seems to be very secure. Loose binding on an area rug is one thing I do not like about cheaper rugs purchased at my local mass merchandiser. And this rug was made right here in the the USA.

I was also impressed with the customer service I received from CSN. The contact I had with the company was always pleasant and productive. I had a feeling that I had dealt with them in the past, so I went searching through my old emails and sure enough, found evidence that I had indeed purchased from them before. When we were looking for outdoor wooden rocking chairs for our front porch, we found their beautiful Outdoor Charleston Rockers and we just love them.

So that's my plug for the CSN companies. Now after looking at this fireplace picture, I was reminded that I never did clean out the fireplace after winter was over. But if our current weather pattern doesn't change soon, I'll have to light up that log in the fireplace just to dry out the house!

I have been busy with other things though. The project that has been taking up most of my rainy day handwork time is the Sweet Liberty afghan I am crocheting for that upcoming memorial golf tournament and raffle I told you about recently. As soon as I hit the publish button on this post, I am going to sit in my chair and finish off the last round of the border, and it will be finished! I'll show you pictures of it complete in the next day or so.

And of course more preparations have been made for the Children's Quilting Class at the library, so I'll be updating you on that as well.

Now off to complete my first finish for the month of July!

Happy Stitching!

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Have you ever made a rug?

Latch hooking is something I've done a few times, and making a braided rug is something I've always wanted to try but never have. But real honest-to-goodness rug making is something I know I'll never do. And I'm ok with that!

Up until a few years ago, we had no wood floors in our home so I did not need area rugs, but we finally had beautiful real hard wood floors installed in the front half of the first floor. I have purchased a few small rugs since then and have not been too pleased with the selection at stores close to me. Recently I was contacted by someone from CSN Rugs offering my choice of an area rug to receive in my own home and review on my website. I was a little hesitant at first since I really do try to restrict my content to needlework related topics that are somewhat educational and of personal interest to me, but after looking at the extensive selection of area rugs on their website, I just couldn't pass up this offer. So here is what I picked...


This rug is machine made in the USA and the one I picked is small, 23 by 39 inches. I just love the rich colors and the bold design. I am thinking about putting it in front of the fireplace in the living room. But these colors would also look very nice in our master bedroom. We have yet to extend the wood floors to the second level though, so I'm thinking it will remain on the main floor for now.

I am looking forward to receiving this rug and using it in my home. I will be sure to give you all my thoughts on the rug and my experience with the company in case you are looking to purchase rugs online. It's always nice to deal with a company whose reputation can be verified by people you trust. Hopefully this company will be one of those! I'll let you know.

Next up will be a little video on a crochet stitch used in a baby blanket that I think you will like. It's super easy and can be done in a solid color, or I found out also looks lovely crocheted in several different colors. This pattern would also make a warm and cozy scarf. You won't want to miss it!

Happy Stitching!

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First Harvest of the Season

You'll figure this out soon enough, so I might as well just tell you. This post has nothing to do with needlework of any kind! There are so many things that we all love to pick, like yarn colors, fabric designs, patterns, and new projects to do. But nothing is quite as satisfying as picking the first strawberry of the season...


This is my first harvest of strawberries this season, right from our own little strawberry patch. Have you ever seen anything quite so scrumptious looking in all your life? They tasted every bit as good as they look too! I wish I could have shared them with each one of you.

Now back to our regularly scheduled subject matter...needlework! In my next post, I'll share with you a little project I made for my sister, the sister. That's what my husband calls her anyway! She's my oldest sister, who also happens to be a nun, and for whom I made this tote bag last Christmas. Her feast day is coming up shortly and I always like to make or give her a little something special. Here's a little hint...it has beads incorporated into it in the same manner as the PINK PIF bag that I made for Jane, only teeny tiny! Stay tuned!

Happy Stitching!

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More Crocheted Cords to come...

It's been another busy weekend around here, but this week I will be showing you a few more ways to knit and crochet cords. For now, take a peek at the big events of the weekend...


My daughter (left) and her best friend had their hair done together for prom Saturday night. Such a fun girly time that was!


Some of the girls met for pictures before heading up to the prom. Don't their feet look just lovely?


And I opened the Idaho Spud that I received as part of my Think Spring Swap gift. The outer coating was chocolate with coconut, and the inside was a sort of gelatinous substance with a flavor that I couldn't place. It was interesting.

Now I am going to cook our first hamburgers on the grill for the season. After all, it's a beautiful spring day at 56 degrees and sunny and breezy. Perfect in my book!

See you all soon for more exciting needle and hook fun! I'll be announcing the winner of the 300th post giveaway soon so be sure to sign up before it's too late!

Happy Stitching!

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Fascinating and Amazing!

A friend sent me a link to this amazing website that I just have to share with all of you who are in any way interested in knitting. It's called Bugknits, and browsing through it has given me a whole new appreciation for my size 10 1/2 knitting needles! The woman's name is Althea Crome and she lives in Indiana. You can read about her on the site. While you are there, take some time and look at each of the galleries listed on her sidebar. She knits in miniature, but not just normal everyday miniature like a little sweater to use on a stuffed teddy bear or to hang on the Christmas tree. She describes it as "dollhouse for a dollhouse scale" and you have to see it to believe it. Make sure you watch the short video that is on her main page. Truly amazing!

Another fascinating article I want to share with you is this one from a newspaper in Kentucky from last September. It has absolutely nothing to do with needles or hooks or yarn or fabric, but I just thought it was so clever and artistic that you might enjoy seeing it too. I love a new Sharpie as much as the next guy, and this guy apparently had quite a thing going with a few of them!

And now on a more relevant topic for Hooked On Needles, did you all know that Myra over at Blue Meadow Designs is offering another mystery quilt? It's true! Remember the Criss Cross Applesauce quilt that I did a few months ago? That was from Myra's site. This new mystery quilt uses a charm pack plus a few yards of other fabric. I was lucky enough to win the charm pack prize drawing that Myra did from all those who sent pictures of their completed Criss Cross Applesauce top and I've been looking for a project where I could use it. I think I've found it!

My 2009 Project List is getting a little more Red every week or so lately as I finish projects that have sat idle and begin others. I've started working on one of my Pay It Forward gifts which uses a knit stitch that I will be sharing with you shortly. But I just discovered that Mary Maxim is having a Knit and Crochet Contest with the grand prize winner receiving a total of $2000, so I just might have to finish up what I'm working on and get busy creating a winning afghan design. I'll let you know if I decide to enter the contest, and of course you'll know if I win!

Happy Stitching!

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Not Much Needlework This Weekend!

It's finally November and of course my mind turns to preparations for the upcoming holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas. This is also the time of year in New England when we feel just a little bit of pressure to finish up the Fall Yard Cleanup before the first snowfall. I know it has nothing to do with Needlework of any kind, but take a look at what I did this weekend, with a little help from my two favorite little workers, and then you might understand why not much needlework got done...



The three garden beds got some much needed attention. The last bed still is loaded with strawberry plants which will stay there all winter. I gave the bed a little hair cut by trimming all the runners that had grown over the edges. Last year, that bed was only half strawberries, and on the left end there were a few tomato plants. So this year, there was still some room at that end and I planted some peas which were quite plentiful. We did notice later in the spring that a rogue tomato plant was growing up from the middle of the strawberries, so I let it go since the strawberries were close to being finished. It grew unbelievably huge and produced loads of cherry tomatoes. I spent a good deal of time this weekend picking out green and dropped tomatoes from among the strawberry plants so hopefully we won't have the same thing happen next year. Of course if we do, now I know it's best to pull them up before they take over!

The middle bed was loaded with tomatoes this year, mostly sweet 100's which were so totally delicious, along with one red pepper and one yellow pepper. All those got pulled up and tossed over the hill and the trellises removed and put away for the winter. Then I got out my handy dandy sifter that I had made years ago out of 2 by 4s and some chicken wire and I sifted all the dirt in that bed to remove all the dropped tomatoes and other nasty stuff that ended up in the bed over the summer. I raked it smooth, all except for the one corner with the chive plant still going strong. I will cut those and freeze them to use over the winter and they will grow back bigger and stronger next year.

In the first bed, the green bean plants were ready to come up and be put to their final rest, so they were all pulled up and tossed over the hill too. On the right side of this bed, you can see there are still some carrots in the ground. I'll pick those as I need them over the next few weeks until they are gone. The carrots did so well for us and were so delicious too! Who knew that a carrot fresh out of the ground could taste so different from the grocery store variety? That was a nice surprise! That bed got the shovel treatment, all the dirt turned over and then raked smooth.

Now they are all ready for a long winter's nap before being put to work again in the spring to grow us another season of delicious fresh fruit and vegetables. If you like the looks of these raised planting beds, here is where we got the instructions for building them.


The next job I tackled was the flower bed around the mailbox where we have two butterfly bushes, some daisies and some cone flowers growing. These plants are so perfect for us and for this spot because they love the sun and they don't need much attention to do well. They did great this summer which meant that they required quite a lot of cutting down to get ready for winter. Sometimes we don't cut the butterfly bushes down all the way, but they were so huge and unruly this summer that I decided to let them have a fresh start next spring and cut them back almost completely.


And now we can see the mailbox! And poor George the mailman won't get attacked by the butterfly bush every time he tries to deliver the mail! That mailbox was a fun little project I painted about 5 years ago. I found the pattern in one of my craft books and just had to do it. It cost me the price of the mailbox from Home Depot and the cost of a few bottles of paint from Michael's, and it took me exactly the span of one of my then-newborn son's naptimes to do it from start to finish. Fun project!


I also picked up and put away all my little outdoor critters that I had made in ceramics over the years and that come out to decorate our yard every spring. Of course you don't see them because they are resting comfortably in their box in the shed for the winter! But this is what's left...the pumpkins that my little ones picked out at the apple orchard a few weeks ago, and the beautiful red mum plant that my sister brought up from Pennsylvania when she visited a few months ago. It has bloomed so beautifully and really brightens up the front steps. Thanks Sarah!


And before I finished for the day, I put out the new fall doormat I had picked up at our local Target off the clearance rack. I think we are ready for Fall!

So that was my "hand" work for the weekend, and my hands are still feeling it! I did spend some of my outdoor time with thoughts of needlework though. It's amazing how productive your brain can be when your hands are so busy! Here's what I have planned for needlework in the near future:

My Election Day Project - probably another Special Olympics scarf to work on while working at my local polling place tomorrow

Myra's Criss-Cross Applesauce Mystery Quilt Project - if you love a mystery and quilting, check this out!

Another Tote Bag - a Christmas gift for one of my sisters ... shhh ...don't tell!

Some sewing for the school Holiday Fair from donated fabric that I haven't seen yet and the fair is in three weeks! Wish me luck! I did find lots of apron patterns I might look through to use up some of the fabric. Or perhaps I'll make lots of tote bags or other "Hold It" type of things using patterns from my favorite bag book. I'll have to wait and see what kind of fabric I get.

Happy Stitching!

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