O, What a Beautiful Morning!

It's glorious here in Greenport today.  The hot and humid weather of the weekend broke around midnight last night.  It's 60 degrees and sunny right now -- just perfect.

We spent the weekend tearing up the front yard -- which we are redoing -- and painting the attic, which will become by new studio.  I feel a little like Goldilocks trying out the three bears' beds.  I started in the garage, which was lovely for years, but is now too wet for any sort of fiber art.  Pete will take that over for his ceramics.  I moved into the new basement, which is really dry and has radiant heat, but I hate being underground -- even though we have over-sized windows.  We are going to turn that into a music room and studio for Clara when she is at home.  So -- the attic is the last place I can go and I am loving it.  It is a little smaller, but I will keep my light table and non-hooking craft supplies in the old basement.  I'll get lots of exercise walking up and down two flights of stairs.  I will post pictures as soon as it is set up.  I am stripping paint off an old desk I bought to fit a specific space, so it may be awhile yet.

In the meantime, here are some more photographs from Ireland.  That trip has just stuck with me.  I have been reading some Irish thrillers by Benjamin Black, which I found in the library totally by accident.  They take place in 1950s Dublin and it so fun to read about places I have been . . . .

The view from our room at the Burlington

A leprechaun

A Hen Party  (the woman in pink is the bride-to-be)

A fabulous green cowhide-covered chair at Monart

The salon in the manor house of Monart

The hallway into the modern addition at Monart

A stone stile near Wexford

The Samuel Beckett Bridge.  Ann took this photograph with her iPhone upside down in the back of a taxi.  I think it is fabulous, as is the bridge.

Some Rug hooking . . . Finally

Seems like forever since I've posted about rug hooking.  Life has been full of graduation and gardening.  I want to get the yard in shape now that the renovation is complete.  We are having a party in a few weeks to celebrate all the good things that happen this June: Clara's graduation from college, her 22nd birthday, and our 25th anniversary.  (I wanted a cruise down the Nile, but Pete thinks I'm kidding.  I'm not!) So the yard and the house need to be in tip top shape.

I have been working on a rug -- forever!  I am finishing a rug for my lovely friend Lucille, who cannot hook anymore.  I posted about it over a year ago -- listed it as one of my ufos.  I struggle to hook other people's patterns.  I don't know why I find it so difficult.  And to finish a partially hooked rug is almost worse.  I hook much tighter than Lucille, so I re-hooked a lot.  She didn't have enough wool for all the elements or the background, so I had to match that as best I could and integrate it into what was already hooked, which meant ripping and re-hooking once again.  It is nearly finished now, and I think she will be pleased with it -- even though it is a year late!  I cannot wait to hook one of my own new designs again!

One of the Many Reasons I Love June

Peonies! 

They are my all time favorite flower: full and frilly and fragrant.  I found the ironstone pitcher at a church rummage sale on Saturday and bought it on the spot, knowing the peonies would look perfect in it.  I wish you could smell them . . .

Memorial Day in Greenport

Thanks to the kindness of my friend Barbara, Peter rode the magnificent Mackinac, a Tennessee Walking horse, in our local Memorial Day parade.  He's been up to the farm to take riding lessons a few times and felt ready to brave the crowds. 

Here he is coming:

and going:

Barbara's husband Ron lent Pete his cowboy hat and helped saddle up Mac and his brother Star.

Barbara rode Star.  (Star is Clara's soul mate.  Barbara's been kind enough to teach Clara how to ride, too.)

Here are some other scene's of Memorial Day in Greenport -- small town life at its best! 

Happy Memorial Day!

Sad News for Rug Hookers

My best and most favorite rug hooking tool -- besides my hands -- is my Townsend cutter.  To call it the Cadillac of cutters is not enough -- it is the Ferrari, the Astin Martin, the Lamborgini, the Rolls Royce, of cutters.  I own several Frasers, Bliss' and Rigbys, have tried the Bolivar and the Honeydoo, but nothing compares to the Townsend.  The ease of changing the heads and the length of the long cutter heads which cut twice as much fabric as the other cutters, is phenomenal.  The blades cut by pressure and never need to be sharpened and Townsend's service is impeccable.  I love my cutter.  So I am saddened by the news that Bob Townsend, the owner of the company, passed away in February.  I am also saddened to hear that the company is closing its doors on June 17, 2010.

A quick call to Townsend on Monday confirmed that they had stopped manufacturing more than a week ago, and they were all out of cutters and cutter heads.  Word travels fast in the rug hooking community, and most of the major sellers of Townsend products are out of stock.  I expect there will be some wild auctions on ebay if someone lists a Townsend item.  I am wishing I had bought a few more cutter heads -- I only have three sizes right now.

There is some good news -- I read online that someone who is both an engineer and a rug hooker is negotiating to buy the company.  I hope it works out -- she'll have me for a customer, for sure.

I send my sincerest condolences to Mr. Townsend's family, along with many thanks for an innovative and fine piece of machinery.

Congratulations Clara!

 

My brilliant and beautiful daughter Clara graduated from Skidmore College on Saturday.  The 658 students in the 99th graduating class marched into the Saratoga Performing Arts Center  accompanied by the Schenectady Pipe Band.  Three people received honorary degrees and eloquently addressed the audience: Sir Clive Gillinson, director of Carnegie Hall, Gwen Ifill of PBS, and Gregory Williams, author of Life on the Color Line.

Our weekend was filled with food and friends and family and was a whole lot of fun.  We helped Clara pack up and clean and headed for home on Sunday afternoon.  I'll miss my regular visits to Saratoga Springs, but I'm happy to know that I will have Clara at home for awhile before she heads off for her next adventure.

Congratulations, Clara!

Hallockville Fleece & Fiber Fair

Long Island Fleece and Fiber Fair

Saturday, May 22, 10 AM to 5 PM

6038 Sound Avenue, Riverhead, NY

 

Click here to read more about it: Hallockville

 

I wish I could attend this event at Hallockville this weekend, but Clara is graduating on the same day!  The Peconic Ruggers will be there, and will give a formal demonstration at 2 pm in the Chicanowitz House.  They'll have frames and hooks available so you can try your hand at rug hooking.