Another Wool Chair Pad

Okay, so you know how I’ve been slowly working on a set of woo rug-hooked chair pads for my Mom, right?  Well, get a load of this one:

 

Chair pad measures 15″ across. I’m making my mom a full set for her dining room chairs . . . . One pad at a time.

Yeah, too cute huh?  I think this is now my favorite.  I’ve been doing a different design on each pad.  I’m using up whatever wool i have lying in my stash, which is a real crazy variety of colors.

I’ve learned that for wool rug-hooking there are preferred qualities of wool.  The loosely woven wools that I suspect have some polyester woven into them, when washed will not felt up at all – – these are junk and fall apart when cut into the narrow strips needed for rug-hooking.  Oh, by the way, I’m cutting my wool strips less than 1/4 inch wide.  The very high quality wool that is quite thick, when washed, felts up quite thick.  These strips are harder to pull thru the background fabric, so i use these sparingly even though I have gorgeous marbled colors in them.  My preferred wool is the middle of the road wools, that when washed/felted, are what baby bear would like “just right”.  They cut and pull thru easy.

My wool stash consists mostly of shirts, skirts, scarves from thrift stores . . . . so while one might think “wool is pricey”, it doesn’t have to be.  There are lots of wool garments at thrift stores for pennies by comparison.

. . . . . . and my work goes on. =)

 

Surprises

Today’s ‘lil post is about little surprises that seem to pop out at you when you aren’t expecting them.

Surprise #1:  I like my coffee.  And so with coffee comes potty breaks each morning.  At this morning’s first potty break, I received my first little surprise of the day.  As I pulled my pants down (as one must do to properly and cleanly go potty) I glance at my underwear . . . . . . . . . . which were inside out!  WHAT!  How did this happen I quickly ask myself, knowing exactly how it happened, I mean duh Julie, you obviously held your undies inside out and pulled them on this morning . . . . but I got dressed in the light.   Hmmm.  Guess I need to hit the coffee prior to getting dressed.  So, inside out undies is surprise #1. . . . . . . oh, and I know how lovely it is to have an image to look at while you read, but in this instance I’ve made the bold decision NOT to include a pic of my undies.  Insert all of your “thank you’s” here.

The Hog. Though, some folks may call it a printer

Surprise #2:  I get here to the office to do a little printing to start the day.  We have lots to print as the new Monthly Mini 8 series patterns are rolling out the door beginning today to quilt shops across the country.  Minutes after I turn on the printer, it decides that it is just too pooped to party today and tells me it has a fatal print error.  Sweet.  “I wonder if I can use that excuse sometime”.

And so, I predict my Surprise #3 today will be:  The printer tech dude will call and inform me he is on vacation, backed up, or some dumb excuse why he cannot drive his little electric car over here today to fix this hog of a machine . . . . . oh please let there not be a surprise #3 today.

Love is in the air

Its Saturday morning here in the wurzer clan cave.  The temps outside are something ridiculous like negative 8. Which makes me wonder again this winter, why in the hell we live in Iowa, at least thru  the winter.  So whats a mommy of two little squirts to do?  Well, going outside to play will NOT be an option, no matter how a much Lewie begs.

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So with a brand new set of Monthly Minis just getting underway, I suppose i should finish the set of samples I make for my mom’s shop. (www.image. Today, I think I’ll make a goal to finish the February sample.  “Love in the Air” is this one.  I have the words all embroidered, now I need to finish the heart stems, put on a bow and ribbon on the gifts and it’s ready to deliver to gramma tomorrow when we make our weekly Sunday gramma visit.  She is a speed demon at putting on bindings so she said she’d happily do that last step.

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I really love this design, no pun intended. most of the work is done on this so perhaps my goal isn’t over ambitious . . . . Then again, I have two toddlers under the age of three, a messy house, coupled loads of laundry, and not enough coffee in my system. . . . . Hmmmm.  Well, shoot for the stars and hope to land on a pile of laundry, right?  Happy Saturday to you where ever you are.  By the way, if you live somewhere warm, do not leave a comment noting the sunny temp to  torment me.  Ha.

Taking my babes to the sitter

brrrrr.  These winter mornings sure do shiver.  I bundle the boys all up as if they are headed outside for a 3 hour play date in the snow.  And it’s all just to make the 5 minute drive to the sitter.  Well, we live in the sticks and I plan for the worst.  Like if we were to slide into the ditch between home and our sitters home.  Oh please god don’t ever let that happen.  But if it does we will be prepared to hoof it to the nearest farm house which would not be more than 1/4 mile.

but still, we bundle.  and besides, why carry it when your kids can wear it?  Right?

anyway, I snapped a photo of my precious Angels this morning on our way.

 

I stopped to take the pictures, in case you were wondering.

lewie looking cool in his shades and Jack has clonked  out in just a couple short miles.

oh what cutie pies of mine.

Wool rug hooked chair pads

I’m a creative kid at heart.  I’ve been drawing, painting, crafting and sewing for as far back as my memories reach.  I get it from my mom.

The Christmas before Lewie was born (uh, 3 years ago by now) I cut a photo out of a craft magazine which showed rug hooked chair pads which I  thought were too cute.  Actually, it was an ll bean catalog if I recall correctly.  Anyway, they caught my eye as a great gift idea for my mom for Christmas.  Now I should tell you, I find that thinking of great Christmas gift ideas  for my mom is hard.  I mean she buys anything she wants and she is the queen of great gift giving.  So I challenge myself to think of great gifts for her.  Well, as I said it’s a challenge, but I saw the “whah haah” bright light, cue the music vision of new handmade chair pads for her dining room table.  Not purchased from that catalog, no way.  Buy chair pads when I obviously could figure out how to make those  myself, are you nuts!  Oh, did I mention I was 8 months pregnant?  Yeah I’d have time to make 8 wool rug hooked chair pads.  Insert reality check here?  Nope, not yet.

so I’m ambitious and I set off to make them.  I even took my frame to the hospital when I went in labor to have Lewie.  Oh so ambitious.

well, here I am 3 yeas later and I’m still working on her chair pads one at a time.  so far I have I think 4 made and given to her.  Here is one more I’m finishing.

Each time I give her another chair pad, I laugh joking that it’s the gift that keeps on giving.

the best part is she loves them.  And I love giving them to her.  Now time to get going on the next one.

oh and by the way, no I did not actually work on anything while in the hospital after having Lewie via emergency c-section.  Yes, now you can insert the reality check.