~*Back 'At It'*~

Hello Dear Friends! Well, the school bus was here on time this morning... so that means I am back 'at it'! Well, maybe I wasn't fully 'at it' before the Christmas Break... but I'm still trying to be anyway. I have almost finished the sampler that I started right before Christmas. There are a few spots I want to re~do... that happens a lot when working freely & making it up while stitching. I do hope to have it finished and ready to offer as a pattern for the February Market in Nashville. Here is a lil' sneak peek...

While stitching, I was inspired by my Great Grandma. Those are her initials & year of birth. The other day, while visiting with my Grandma (her daughter), we chatted about Gram. She passed away when I was only 9, but I have always admired her and remembered her fondly.

So, I should be stitching more to prepare for market... but what do I do? Pull out a rug I've been working on. I started this rug a few months ago. I had the house only partly hooked and didn't care for it. So last night, I ripped all those loops out & re~hooked. I actually have more hooked from just last night than I had from earlier. Yes, my loops are all 'hickety~pickety'... but I like them like that sometimes. This rug is inspired by the lil' house, the original farm house, that is here on our property. I still want to use it as a studio someday... but that is still a long way in the future.

I re~scribbled on the linen last night too. Originally, I wanted to hook the rail and front porch. I've decided against that because I'm not sure how it would hook... and then the front door would have been missing because it is on the side of the porch (into the room with the peak).
Hopefully the rug will hook up looking good & olde... simple & prim. The year '1857'... if you haven't read me write about it before... is the year Americus (our small town) was founded. It appears over and over again in my works.

We are still cold here in Kansas too. We have gotten more snow on top of snow... and are expecting even more tomorrow. This is more snow than I have ever seen this time of year here. Normally our heavy snows are in February and March. We are surviving... and keeping our outside babies warm & inside. We have a heat lamp set up for the cats in the lil' house and another heat lamp in the garage for Brownie. (He does love to get out to run in the snow... but is so happy to run back to the garage when he is done. He is one spoiled pup!) Here is the snowman that Tony and Trinity built together last week. He has been covered with more snow after construction... and seems to be loosing an arm... but he is still standing. (This photo was taken from inside the house ~ through the kitchen window... it was too cold this morning to carry the camera for a photo shoot outside!)

Wishing you all warm smiles...
Betty