Sunday, July 27, 2014

Summer Sunday



Lazy Sunday here in Greenport.  Looks like it will storm soon.  We're short on rain this year, so it is welcome.  

I seem to be stuck in vacation mode, even though we haven't gone on vacation yet!  We've been swimming a lot -- nearly every day.  What a joy.  We're lucky to be able to walk a block and dive in.  Pete's garden is starting to produce lots of produce, so we are eating well.  Some nights we just eat what he picks --  zucchini, cooked on the grill, or green beans sautéed in olive oil with a little garlic.  Delicious.

I was inspired to try my hand at homemade ricotta cheese -- recipe courtesy of Julia at Of Petals and Wool.  I even bought raw milk to do it.  It's easy and delicious, although the raw milk cost a small fortune.  Julia has a dairy farm, so she has a lot of raw milk at her disposal!  Thanks for the inspiration, Julia!

I'm going to spend the afternoon reading on the porch, listening to the rain.  Enjoy your weekend.

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Learning to Butt Braids with Kris McDermott


My rug hooking guild, the Peconic Ruggers, sponsored a class with rug hooker and braider Kris McDermott.  Kris, along with two of her friends, cowrote Combining Rug Hooking & Braiding: Basics, Borders, & Beyond.

She does amazing things with braids, and is an amazing teacher.  Her visual aids are great, she arrived completely prepared, and is as nice as she can be.  





Kris works with lots of interesting fibers, such as taffeta and banana silk.  Look at that sparkly stuff in the rug pictured above!  It's great to see someone venturing into new territory.

Kris had us bring two 6 inch hooked pieces to class, one round and one square with an unhooked circle in the center.  I hooked some paisley, of course, although I used a 4-cut, instead of my usual 8.  I love the way the circle looks, but  think there's too much going on in the square piece.  I'm going to quiet it down by replacing the three-color braid with a one-color braid so your eye has some place to rest.


These pieces were hooked with my sister Barb's hand dyed wool.  This combination is called Moroccan Mosaic.  (Contact her at thimblefolk@comcast.net if you are interested. Or thimblefolk.com)

It was a fun way to spend two days -- both jam-packed with information -- our hands were never idle, which is just the way I like!  For more photos tootle on over to the Peconic Ruggers.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

The Renegade Rooster/Rest in Peace

Back in May, my sister Barb sleepily shuffled into the kitchen for a cup of coffee, grumbling about the rooster living in my yard.  "Rooster?" I said. "I don't have a rooster."  She answered, "There's a rooster in your yard and he's been crowing since 4:15."  Sure enough, there was a rooster running around the neighborhood.  Neighbors knocked on each other's doors, querying the exhausted occupants about the rooster on the loose.  Although a couple of people keep chickens for eggs, none acknowledged owning the renegade rooster.  

I caught sight of the rooster once in the yard behind ours.  I spied on him through a hole in the fence.  He was on the small side, mostly white with some speckles.  A search on the internet led me to believe he was a Delaware.  When I knocked on the fence he scampered quickly away.  I spent many pre-dawn hours listening to him crow, trying to figure out how to catch him and what I would do to him if I did.  Summer people from Manhattan stopped by to introduce themselves and ask what to do about the rooster who taken up permanent residence in their rented yard.  We suggested they go to Agway and ask some professionals.  They said, New Yorkers to the bone, "What's Agway?"  That made me laugh, even though I was completely sleep-deprived.

No progress was made -- the rooster continued to run around the neighborhood, crowing night and day.   I started going to bed earlier, and using those wakeful early morning hours to get chores done.  This went on for weeks, until one morning, when Pete and I were working in the front yard, and several neighbors migrated over to talk to us, the guy next door drove up in his convertible and declared the rooster dead and gone.  He had seen a pile of feathers by the side of the road and figured a raccoon got him.  While we do have some pretty large raccoons here and may have wanted a chicken dinner, I'm not putting it past the young Manhattanite in the summer rental.  At any rate, the rooster -- and the neighborhood -- now rest in peace.

Monday, July 7, 2014

Happy 4th of July . . . Just a Little Late

I'm a bit late with birthday wishes because we were too busy celebrating to even look at the computer.  We had a houseful for the weekend, with a big big cookout on Friday that was moved indoors, thanks to  Hurricane Arthur.  Saturday and Sunday were stellar days -- breezy blue skies and lots of sun.  We had a fabulous time -- lots of cooking and eating and swimming and clamming and fancy cocktails.  We loved having Clara home and our close friends here for the weekend.  Today is laundry day -- lots of sheets and beach towels to wash and dry.  In between I will sit and hook and take it easy. 

I hope everyone in the Maritimes are safe and dry today.  Looks like the hurricane caused a lot of power outages in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

Here's a question for all you rug hookers who like to dye.  One of my readers is looking for a source for Majik Carpet Dyes.  She's tried Rittemere-Hurst and hasn't received a reply.  Does anyone in the United States sell Majik Carpet?  Shoot me an email at pasileyrugs@gmail.com if you have a source.  Thanks.

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Happy Canada Day!



I love Canada.  Vancouver, Montreal, Halifax, and all the open spaces and cities I have yet to visit.  What rug hooker doesn't love Canada?  Rug hooking is practically a national sport there, particularly in the Maritimes. Some of my favorite customers live there.  I was lucky enough to spend a week at a rug hooking conference back in Nova Scotia in 2005.  Although based in Halifax, my sister Barb and I were able to visit Peggy's Cove, Lunenberg, and Mahone Bay.  It was a great week in a great province, and I'm thrilled to say that my husband and I are heading back there in August.  We are even renting a house owned by a rug hooker who runs a rug hooking shop in Toronto.  I am looking forward to a week rich in wool and creativity at Deanne Fitzpatrick's studio, Encompassing Designs, Cheticamp, the Rug Hooking Museum of North America, London-Wul Fibre Arts and any other rug studio I can find.  Of course, because I'll have my husband along, I'll also go biking and fishing and out to dinner, too.  I can't wait!

So to all my friends north of the border: Happy Canada Day!  I'll see you soon!