Fall Cats Done!

Hi all!  Glad you decided to come back and visit!  Not sure if anybody would still be on board after I introduced "His Royal Orangeyness" the other day!  Yep, that's what I look at day after day around here.  I don't have an automatic dishwasher either.  But I do have one who comes around now and then when I  get too far behind on the piles of dirty dishes.  His name is Dave.   With the weather cooling off as it is here now I don't mind sticking my hands in the hot and sudsy beast everyday either.  It actually helps to soothe these old arthritic hooking hands!
Look at how the Fall Cats pattern by Kelley Belfast turned out!  I couldn't be more pleased.  I am really getting addicted to these larger strips and hand tearing the majority of strips for the background. I like the uneven and more primitive look it gives. Below are the wools I used in the background.  I think there is a darker bronzy one I used a smidgeon of that didn't make it in the photo. 
The rug measures 12 by 22 inches and looks good every single place I put it in my house!  I am on a quest now to get my hands on more patterns by Kelley Belfast!  Maybe a Christmas one is in order.  Do you all have a favorite one of hers that you have hooked?  Thanks for that give-away Kel!  I'm comin' to talk to ya!

Smokey Says It's Time Mom! Come Clean!

You're Still the One!

What's In A Blog Name?

(warning-may contain clues)
Slightly over a year ago I washed up the nerve to start this blog. It was draining to say the least. I was so very nervous about a lot of things pertaining to the soapy business of writing a blog. I didn't want to end up just another dish rag on a stack of dishes. I was determined to stand out in the crowd. So for quite some time I became a lurcher. You know, blog hopping, eaves dropping, commenting a time or two. All the while thinking that when the day came for ME to finally hit the old publish button...what was I going to NAME MY BLOG??

It was crystal clear that I needed a name that was different. Yet I wanted it to reflect a little of what I was all about. My love of antiques and primitives came to mind. Also my rug hooking hobby was something I wanted to share. And there's this little secret soaking in the background that I haven't really touched on much in my blog posts. I am a closet interior decorator. OH YES! I love to design and decorate homes, rooms, bathrooms, studios, kitchens (clears throat).. Those blogs that feature room makeovers and crafty bloggers doing it on a budget really get my water running! So I am just now coming out of the closet on that.

Now as for the color orange. I never really considered it one of my favorite colors. I'm getting in deep water here. I have always had to have a touch of red somewhere in the house. I can live with a little red. Another favorite color is green. I also adore white, as in soapy bubbles white.

Oh and we mustn't forget photography, my new hobby. Taking after my mentor and sweet husband Dave....I have developed a fascination with picture taking. I have to admit sometimes it's easier to let a good photo do my communicating. I like to play with words but know at times I sound like a leaky faucet(drip) so rely on a good photo to keep my blog lively.

One thing that just blows my sprayer is seeing that I have 75 followers now! Okay, one is myself and a couple are my friends who I begged to follow when I first began. But seriously I have a gaggle of rug hookers and true artists who are following me. It puts the pressure on a girl. I want my blog to have content, more than just a few morsels of leftovers hanging around the bottom. In the days ahead I hope to take you with me down the pipes of my imagination. It's a place I need to explore so hopefully the Universe is listening and you faithful out there will slosh around a bit with me.


So, if you haven't thrown in the towel yet and are still following me, I hope to put all this in perspective and reveal why I chose this insinuative name for my blog. I promise you from the deepest basins of my heart, you won't be disappointed. If you can check back tomorrow ( LOL) my lovelies, old Orange Sink is finally going to COME CLEAN!

( I found the hand made crochet dish cloths in the photo above on Etsy- click here

A Sunny Sunday with Some Fall Cats

Started the pattern I won from Kelley B's blog KanknChester giveaway! I hooked and reverse hooked a little already as you can see around the flower. Using a little of this and a lot of that! Some wide hand torn and odds and ends from my worm basket! I struggle with the primitive and my colors always end up.......well.......a little more Orange Sinkish! Ya think?!!
I'm lovin' this pattern Kelley! Thank-you sweet girl!

This Came To My Attention: Someone Needs Encouragement!

This evening I came across Laura's blog and read her post.  She is a  young rug hooker and enthusiastic artist who could use a lot of encouragement......and today is her birthday! Click HERE to go to her blog. I worry about people who are suffering because of this economy and it's affecting our young people in ways we can't imagine.  They are so vulnerable when trying to follow their passions. I am most worried about their mental well being. Perhaps a few words of encouragement from some fellow rug hookers would help to mend her heart!

Thank-you so much!
Cathy G

Many Thanks and Answers to your Questions!

On our recent trip to Bayfield I snapped these photos of a cat and dog scarecrow on a front porch. I thought they were adorable and must have been a lot of work to make! I have a thing for scare crows I guess!

Thank-you all from the bottom of my heart for your sweet comments on my last post! It warms my heart how so many of you understand and show so much concern for a fellow blogger! A wonderful circle of friends you are! I had some questions about the width of the strips on the little oval mat and the size of it. Lauren and Kathy(Woolfind), the strips are from 1/2 inche to 3/4 inches wide. I usually tear a piece of wool 1 inch wide and then tear that in half. It's not an exact science in fact a slight variation gives the rug a more primitive look. Some wools don't rip very easy when you are trying to tear a one inch piece in two, so those types of wools you will have to cut by hand. I forgot to measure the rug before I gave it to Sue but I think it was about 16 inches long by about 11 inches wide. If you are reading this Sue, perhaps you could comment with the measurements. We'll see how good of a guesser I am! LOL

Corinne, For the pattern I just started at the outside and kept changing strips every few inches(vary that too) and hooked around the oval. It went pretty quick with the wide strips.

Sharon(Moosecraft), about the little white pumpkin. Isn't he a quirky little guy? A couple of years ago I found him in two different sizes at a primitive shop about 15 miles from my house called Country Cabin. I went back to purchase more and she had sold out. She has promised to try and get them again for next year. I have seen them in orange on some primitive websites but haven't seen the white ones. I was inspired to design a little mat based on this white JOL for my very first post when I started blogging. Click HERE to read it. It's kind of funny any way! I was so scared to click the publish button...... Now look at me, can't shut me up!! LOL

Better Late Than Never!

• 

I'm in the middle of helping my Mom sell her house and buy another. It's all very complicated and at times I retreat to my studio and tear apart a wool jacket or skirt. It does help to settle my nerves! Do you ever wonder why everything seems to happen at once? Why after sitting on the market all summer with nary a soul even looking at it, my Mom's house suddenly received an offer from the first people who looked at it? Then, out of the blue, my neighbors who live a couple of doors down the street decided to sell their house. Just so happens it is a lovely house the right size for my Mom and the price is right. She had to sell her house first to be able to afford to buy it. So we settled on a lower selling price for my Mom's house to be able to buy this one before it officially went on the market. Surveys, septic inspections, etc. etc. etc. are now in progress. My head aches and my body aches. Stress has dealt me a low hand.




I've been wanting to share these pics of a rug I completed in Sept. A special little hit and miss primitive oval mat hooked with wide hand torn strips. It was for my friend Sue's birthday. Her birthday was in August. I think she'll agree with me when I say "better late than never!"

Tickled Pink! A Tribute

I have a request. Click on this link TicklePie   and go over to Carols blog for a special post! If you remember Carol is one of the rug hookers who won a pattern in my blog give-away last week.  The post has a nice tribute to Sheri at ShabbySheep . And since Oct. is breast cancer awareness month her post is wonderfully timed. I'm glad I found her blog and looked back at some of her older posts!  Wowie!  Some fabulous rugs are being hooked out there in hot Arizona.  Carol, please send a little of that heat out this way in a few weeks okay?  Gotta LOVE that pink wool.

Elvis Canned at Greunke's Inn

  If you're ever in Bayfield WI, DO NOT neglect to stop at Greunke's Inn. Besides having the best down home style food you'll have visited a favorite destination for countless celebrities and President John F. Kennedy. People all along Bayfield's quaint downtown still talk about Kennedy and his son John Jr. who frequented Greunke's Inn with friends while kayaking the islands and bays on Lake Superior. 
   The walls are plastered with signed photos and what have you from rock and roll stars to movie stars! Speaking of rock and roll stars, after a delicious breakfast and a few cups of coffee it was time for me to visit the ladies room. Keeping in mind this building is one hundred years old or more, the bathrooms are tiny and cramped with barely enough room to turn around. Clean as a whistle though! 
  Upon opening the door I was greeted by a life size cardboard statue of Elvis. In Elvis's unmistakable southern drawl the cutout announced "Hi! I'm Elvis!" Fearing I would be caught talking to a cardboard cutout in the ladies room I decided not to reply (I'm a little shy that way LOL) So while sitting there tinkling and giggling I wondered what else Elvis might have to say. After washing my hands and gathering myself I turned to exit the door. The Elvis voice spoke up "Thanks for lettin' me talk to ya!" I cracked up! The cleaning lady with scrub brush in hand was just exiting the adjoining men's bathroom and said to me "Was he in there talking again?" I said "I didn't mind as long as he kept it short and didn't start singing "You ain't nuthin' but a hounddog!" After all, a lady's got to have some pride!"    























The decor changes on a regular basis and you never know what you'll find on the walls  at Greunke's. (pronounced Gronk-ees).  Memorabila galore!  The owner has a tremendous collection of old rock and roll records, photos and collectibles.