Saturday, February 26, 2011

SATURDAY PROJECTS

What do you think of when you look at the face of this tulip?....I dream of being in the tropics.... lazing in a hammock....smelling of coco butter....flip flops dangling off my feet.... and sipping margaritas from a glass with little pink umbrellas in it........ soon I glance out my window and quickly recover....I am brought back to reality....Dear Husband is still digging us out.... but decide today is a good day for UFO'S otherwise known as unfinished projects.... This rug was my first attempt at primitive rug hooking. This design was inspired from an antique rug design found in an old catalog and adapted for me by my good friend Deb Arcaro. "Rocky and Bullwinkle" were a pair of calf's given to us by friends who own a dairy farm down the road. It was love at first sight for me....how I enjoyed making their bottles.... feeding....cleaning their stall.... however....little did I realize what I was getting myself in for....the calf's grew quickly....soon it was time for the elastic band neutering....hoping to train and use the steers for working in the woods....hauling logs to the sawmill. Those two steers quickly became quite the escape artists ....once off their tether they devoured laundry off the clothes line.... wreaths off the door.... lick the windows on the house....their sign of wanting my attention....Soon it became apparent they were too much for me to handle....one sad day they were loaded on a truck and taken away....I never inquired as to where they were heading....I felt I had let them down....but it was a great learning experience .... to this day I eat very little meat....
So today I cut wool....

steamed this "May Basket" runner....

finished hooking a small springtime mat....

and began an another....

waxed a shelf....

I like to use powered milk paint in my wood projects....milk paint dries quickly and is easily sanded down for the "grunging" process...

an application of Brixwax....

once dried it quickly finds a place on the wall....
This shelf I stained in "Puritan Pine"....the same shade found on most of the woodwork in our home.


once the first coat is dried I'll apply another application and off to the wall it too will go....no "grunging." My Dad has been quite busy in his Island workshop....thank you Dad....keep those projects coming!

13 comments:

Pondside said...

What beautiful work you do.
One of my aunts, in Cape Breton, is a rug hooker and I treasure the little bits of her work that I have.
When I look at that tulip I think of the warmth of the sun on the top of my head and look forward to the days when I have to wear a hat to ward off the strong rays!

Farm Girl said...

I love all of your projects, you will have to explain making milk paint. I have read about it in my old books but I never saw it done before. I love your rugs and all of your new projects. I thought your experience with calves was so funny.
Last year the people brought some in to eat their pasture. They were quite destructive. I never knew that about them.

Jacque. said...

Warmth is what crossed my mind with the photo of the flower. Nice story of the calves...LOL. WOW, you've been very busy! Good mixture of things, too! Looking forward to seeing more hooking.

The Barn Door said...

Love the hooked cows! Guess they are better hooked than pets! Same thing happened to me only with goats!!

Gail said...

Wonderful projects.

Eve said...

You are going to run out of wall space for all your dad's works of art!!! Then off to the hen house they will go!!! I love all your UFO's Julie! If I found the energy to mop the floor I'd be getting somewhere!!

Anonymous said...

WOW: You sure have been busy, everything is just beautiful. Can't wait to see the finished products.

Larkrise garden girl said...

What wonderful rug hooking. I love the cows.All your rug hookings are wonderful!!! I especially liked your story of your cows. It looks like you keep busy with your wood projects. I hope Winslow is doing good.

Rugs and Pugs said...

You did a great job on your UFO's. I love finally getting things done and crossing them off "the list"!
Pug hugs :)
Lauren

acorn hollow said...

Love your projects. I did get to escape the winter for just a week we are in Florida I smelled like tanning lotion, and I am still wearing flip flops. Have a great week
cathy

Julia said...

Wow, you are really getting a lot accomplished. I've never heard of milk paint before.

I know what you mean by calves growing really fast. It's almost unbelievable. JB

Rowan said...

I love to see the hooked rugs etc that you make,it's a craft that attracts me but I don't think I'd have the patience to do it. It's very much an American craft too, I imagine that it's possible to buy the base material and the rings etc but you certainly don't see them in most craft stores. I love your woodwork too, you have a very clever Dad!

Peacemom said...

You are very industrious! I'm tired looking at all you've done in a day. We got 7 more inches of snow yesterday and today it's raining, worrying about the power going out with all the weight on the branches. Ice storms are no fun as you know! We're beyond buried down here too...sigh...ready for spring, I am. Take care, and give Winslow Homer a little scratch behind the ears...the picture of him on the previous post is cute as can be. ~Vonnie, NH