Interesting thrift store find , but what is it?

I couldn't pass up this little wooden item for 25 cents. I have no idea what it is though. My husband thought maybe a candle holder that can hold any size candle; just turn the handle to adjust tension on the candle. Sounds good, but I'm not sure. Any ideas?

Cardinal Mat Progress

Well here goes nothing. I'm attempting to post from my phone, but this thing
is a pain to type on so this will be short and sweet...and probably full of spelling errors. : )
Here is the progress I've made on my cardinal mat. I bought a skirt at Goodwill which is the perfect color for the background. I didn't follow the rules about cutting, because I couldn't remember them, so I have some fraying going on. First hooked rug, not worried about it.

I'm a hooker and a dyer!

I love rug hooking, but the only hooking I've done was with wool yarn and one small square in a Yahoo Groups rug with wool strips, and those both were about 2004! I've had a Bliss Model B since 2004 as well, bought used on ebay by my hubs for me. He bought me a beautiful frame as well that year for my birthday. And it all just sat there. I know I've blogged about this before, about how I wanted to use my goodies.

So I went to the local rug hooking group last week. It was on the day after I worked the weekend and my hours are crazy. I work until 3 a.m. so I didn't get to the group until 2 p.m., lol. The hooking group is from 10:30 to 3p.m.  Ha ha! I'm just not a morning person and I don't get up until at least noon the day after I work until 3 a.m. I'm sure you understand. : ) 

I'm so glad I went! The ladies were so nice and helped me draw a simple star on my monks cloth to get started. There were a few primitive gals and a few who were doing fine cut floral work. I became fast friends with Kimberlee who loves primitive in a 9 or 10 cut. I've never seen anything that wide and it was beautiful! We got to talking and then this week we have had a blast getting together. Monday we drove to Berlin, Ohio, on a last minute trip to Country Craft Cupboard. It's a rug hooker's dream! I bought a yard of primitive linen, a primitive 8mm Hartman hook, a pattern, and two Cushing's dyes (mulberry and spice brown). Tuesday I took my Bliss to Kimberlee's and she helped me clean it and oil it, and it works sooo nice now! I could barely get the handle turned before. It has been sitting for more than six years and still had some wool fuzz from the last owner. Wednesday, yesterday, we got together again (lol) and dyed some wool and she got me started on a pattern I have been looking at in Create and Decorate Magazine for four years! Yes, I am the Queen of Unfinished Projects and the Queen of Procrastination, lol!

Cardinal rug from Create and Decorate Magazine

We had so much fun dyeing. We tried to follow a formula in a book for a light tan color for me to use as the background on my cardinal rug. Well, we got a very dark brown. It's a beautiful color, just not what we were expecting. So then I tried my spice brown on a new piece of white wool. Love it! I think it's a tad darker than I wanted for the background, but it will work just fine.


Spice Brown on new white wool. It's darker in person.


Next we through some mulberry dye and some bright red wool in the pot just to see what we would get. Beautiful! I am a prim girl and this bright red wool was never going to get used by me. Again, beautiful mottled reds!


Mulberry on bright red wool. Again, darker in person.

 Poor Kimberlee was trying so hard to find the perfect color for her snowman rug and wasn't getting it. Too dark, too yellow....I told her I had beginner's luck.

We had a delicious lunch of chicken salad and pita bread, and got to hooking. I just love her house. It's a new house, about five years, but it's so prim. Hooked rugs, penny rugs, wool applique.....so many things to look at! Here is what I have done so far. I started with the cardinal wing and probably hooked too closely. Then I started outlining the body of the bird. I soon switched to my primitive Hartman hook because I was having trouble pulling the strips with the regular hook I was using. So much better! Even though I'm only using a #8 cut, the Hartman hook was so much easier. I was really struggling with the other hook and my finger was getting sore. I thought rug hooking was supposed to be relaxing, lol! The right side is where I was struggling and the left is when I switched to the Hartman hook. You can definitely see the difference. I might even re-hook the right side.

My progress so far on the cardinal rug

 Okay, off to get some cleaning done before work because I've been ignoring it the last few days. : )

Hi.

Just a quick note to say hello to the world. I have the winter/holiday blahs. I can't really say winter now can I?!?! It's about 50 degrees and raining....in Ohio....on December 15th.

I got to chat with Alice and she reminded me of a local hook-in, so I'm going. I'm actually looking forward to it! I've heard about it before and just dragged my feet and never made it. I'm determined to use some of my craft supplies (which include a wonderful frame, Bliss cutter, and some wool) and do something useful with them. Four years ago I bought some monks cloth (I think that's what it is) intending to make a rug for my sister's wedding. I will give you one guess where the monks cloth is. Yep, in the bag from the store.

My son had hand surgery on Monday and is still in some pain and bored out of his mind, but is hanging in there. He broke a finger badly during basketball practice a few weeks ago. We didn't realize it was broken and didn't get to the doc as soon as we should have. That's the downfall of working in a hospital. Kind of like that story of the shoemaker's children. So one pin and one screw later, he is all wrapped up and on Vicodin. Unfortunately he is missing an entire week of school (bad planning on my part) and next week starts winter break, so I guess in his mind he is lucky....though he is not happy about having to make up a week's worth of work over break.

I better go check on the patient. Have a good weekend all and hopefully I will have a picture of something hooked next time I stop in. : )

~Michelle

November: A good month to be thankful

Two posts in the same week?!?! I must be turning over a new leaf. : )

Since November is the month of giving thanks, I thought I would start a few new habits this month and try and shake this looming depression. I have so much to be thankful for that it's silly to be so depressed.

I already gave up my morning coffee months ago and was only getting a cappuccino and fruit snacks (they have like 300% of my daily vitamin C so they are vitamins, right?) on the days I work at the hospital at night, but I just gave that up too. I can get a free coffee in the cafeteria at work (much less fat and sugar than the cappuccino) and will be buying the fruit snacks in the small packets and just have *one* as a treat. This will save me about $10 a week and I think that's significant. Just think of all the neat things I can get at the thrift store with $10! lol!

I'm also going to stop wasting so much time. This is a hard one for me. I find myself looking online at everyone's crafting projects and home decor projects, and then never getting around to my own. Enough is enough!

My family deserves more from me and I deserve to feel better. I hope I can stick to it. They are small changes, but I think they will make a huge difference in my life and the lives of those around me.

I started stitching again and this is the first piece I've finished. I'm very proud of myself for getting it done so quickly. I'm the queen of unfinished projects (ADD + a little OCD = nothing getting done). Thank you to Christine at Preferably Prim for the cross stitch chart. It was just right for me.

Back to the thrift store!

Oh I have missed the thrift store, my local Salvation Army to be exact. I haven't been blogging or doing much of anything for a long time. I got sucked into something else and ignored my crafting. I have to admit the depression bug hit me and I was having a hard time dealing with some family illnesses. Fall is my favorite time of year and I seem to have gotten a little second wind when normally this is when the fall/winter blues start for most. Of course I'm not like everyone else, lol. Last Thursday I got the itch to go to the TS. One day late of the Wednesday 50% off sale that they always have. I figured I would take my chances as I know I don't have the same tastes as most people as I'm looking for items I can prim up. Here is what I found. So excited!



Isn't this adorable? I never find anything already my taste. This is a small plate, probably about 4 inches or so. I don't have to do a thing to it! It's perfect.



Wood slat basket, a little drawer with dividers that I will probably use in my craft room for buttons and such. The long wooden box says 'recipes' on it, but it's going to get a paint job and will be used as a table centerpiece I think. I found these three daisy doilies and couldn't pass them up for 99 cents. The only problem: they are starched. I washed one and it didn't really get much better. Is there a secret to removing starch or is it impossible?



3 recipe boxes. I just love the metal! I love the look of the box on the left, but not the words. I don't know what I'm going to do because I love the color of the box. Hmmm. The other two will probably get painted and a punch needle design on the top or front.




A tiny shelf. Really tiny! Probably 5 inches wide. It's a nice burgundy color so it just needs a little sanding and staining to age it a bit.



This isn't handmade, but I couldn't pass it up. The cork is in good shape and there is a picture frame spot at the top. The glass will get removed and I will add either a punch needle piece or a wool applique of some sort.

 So I got all of this for about $8! I'm so excited. It was blue sticker day so everything with a blue sticker was 50% off, so I got the little 'plant love' plate for 25 cents! Steal!

Happy Halloween!

Cat owner lesson of the day:

Don't leave your ice cream bowl on the fireplace mantle because the cat will find a way up there and it will come crashing down at 3 a.m. and scare the you-know-what outta you. : )