Little Lulu Left Home

I finally finished the Welsh Terrier pillow and mailed it off to New Mexico today.  It is not the same piece I posted last time.  I sent an-in process photo of the mat to the person who ordered it and she wanted me to make the dog's coat more brown than orange and more grizzled than black.  Rather than ripping out what looked to me like a perfectly good terrier, I opted to start over.  I think both are successful rugs, but I prefer the first one, with its sharper contrast, better.  I used artistic license to make my color choices.  The colors in the border are bold and the dog had to be able to stand up to them.  I explained to my customer that rug hooking is folk art, not photography, and certainly my rug designs are pretty simple.  Anyway, I hope she is pleased.  Just after I pulled the last loop on Lulu, someone emailed me and asked if I would hook a West Highland terrier . . .   I guess my business has gone to the dogs . . . .

I am getting ready to vend at the Eastern Long Island Quilt Guild Show this weekend.  If you are in the neighborhood, come join us.  There's a native plant sale going on at the same time, so you can kill two birds with one stone.  Here's the scoop:

“Around the World in 80 Quilts”

ELIQG 33rd Annual Peconic Quilt Show, June 7 & 8, 2014

Hours: Saturday, 9 AM – 5 PM & Sunday, 10 AM – 4 PM

Suffolk Community College, 121 Speonk-Riverhead Road, Riverhead, NY

Admission: $10, children under 12 free, 2 days $18

Eastern Long Island Quilters Guild Quilt Show

The ELIQG quilt show -- in its 32nd year -- will take place this Saturday and Sunday at the Riverhead campus of Suffolk Community College.  This year's theme is "Handmade from the Heart."  Barb and I will be vending there for the first time.  Actually, it is our first time vending at any quilt show.  We think there may be some crossover between the two crafts.  In my mind, quilters and rug hookers are kindred spirits.  I know that I will never be a quilter the way I am a rug hooker, but I vowed long ago to make at least one quilt in my lifetime.  (And, yes, I have started it -- just the cutting, not the piecing.)  And I love quilts, even though I am not a maker of them.

So come on out to Riverhead and join us this weekend.  Looks like it will be rainy and cool -- not beach weather at all.  Click here for more information: Eastern Long Island Quilt Guild

The Smallest Sheep & Wool Festival Ever

I spent a sunny, breezy Sunday afternoon demonstrating rug hooking with my guild, the Peconic Ruggers, at the Sherwood-Jayne Farmhouse in Setauket, New York.  Part of the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities, the farm is off the beaten path, nestled in a pretty residential neighborhood.

Four sheep milled under the old trees, waiting to be sheared.  Several other guilds were present, including the knitters, the quilters, and the spinners. A couple played lovely, lilting music on a dulcimer and a fiddle throughout the afternoon. 

I managed to get some hooking done, despite chatting away with our illustrious president, Louise, and members Margaret and Susan.  We met lots of interesting people and our work was well-received.  Late in the afternoon we succumbed to ice cream cones from Mr. Softee -- I don't think I've had a Mr. Softee ice cream cone since I was 12 . . . and, boy, was it good!

At home, Pete and I are trying to keep up with the weather.  We were so cold over Memorial Day weekend we had the heat on.  Four days later it was so hot, we put the air conditioning on.  Today is glorious -- cool breezes, bright sun and dry air.  My dryer is making funny noises, so I hung the wash out on the line to dry this morning.

The cool weather has made for a long lettuce season.  We have been making magnificent salads for dinner every night, and giving away bags of lettuce to all of our neighbors.  Today, Pete picked the scapes off his garlic crop and I will be making garlic scape pesto for dinner tonight.  The first time I made it I thought it would be too sharp to eat, but when it hits hot pasta, the garlic flavor is transformed.  I found the recipe here: Dorie Greenspan

Last but not least: Barb and I will be vending at the Eastern Long Island Quilters Guild 32nd Quilt Show this weekend.  Come join us at Suffolk Community College in Riverhead for a day of fiber fun.