Gifts to my brother

Thursday, September 30, 2010:
After I got off work, I went by Bullocks (the oldest BBQ restaurant in town, I believe) and picked up some chopped BBQ, sliced BBQ, slaw, and blackberry cobbler to take to my brother's house for supper.  Also, I wanted to show him my locker hooked rugs so he could pick the one he liked the best.  I also took the two hot pads/coasters I had hooked.  We had our supper and Steve liked everything.  The 2nd  rug, tans/browns, looked perfect in front of his kitchen sink and, if I had tried, I could not have matched his counter tops any better - perfect!  Then we went to his bedroom and believe it or not, the colors in his striped bedspread were exactly the colors in the #3 rug of curves!!  He preferred to hang this rug on his wall as a piece of art rather than use as a rug.  I am so happy that he liked them.  Of course he offered to pay me for them - but then it wouldn't be a gift.  Now I have to figure out how to sew a strip on the back for the rod that it will hang from; how wide, how close to the edge, etc. 

It is so nice when another person really likes your creations and Steve has always liked mine. He showed me a beautiful piece of handmade lace that I had given him a few years ago - exquisite if I have to say so myself. It is a circle, similar in appearance to a round snowflake, very ornate.  I made handmade lace for a while, it was extremely tedious and quite a challenge.  I still have all my bobbins and materials needed, but I don't think I will be doing that any time soon. 

I also tried tatting - no more though; however,  I did manage to tat an heirloom doily (8-10 inches in diameter, I think), which I gave to my baby girl, Sharon (baby now age 34!) and she treasures it.  I will try to get photos of these two items to show on my blog.

I have started back to work on my wool rug hooking, seems slow and it took a while to get the rhythm again. I want to locker hook but know if I start on one, I will never finish my wool rugs.  We'll see how that works out.

Meanwhile I'm also working on the fiction book. I have edited through my first 16 chapters, of course still in draft form. Now I plan to start writing the rest of the story. 

The rain has ended for a while, some areas received 6-12 inches!  It is much cooler, so I believe fall has finally arrived - my favorite time of the year.  In fact, in the next few weeks, I plan a little trip towards the mountains because I need to see a city that is included in my book so my descriptions can be somewhat accurate.  Till next time.
/Deb