I failed. Or did I?

You may not believe this, but I lost my blog!! Seriously, I couldn't remember the URL for the longest time and for some reason, the search engine didn't bring it forward when I tried searching for it! That's sad, and pathetic. Obviously I google too many things that involve "hooking" in the description.

So, failure. Yes. I have failed at my planned project of #18in2018. Why? Well, I could make excuses. But first let me say that I finished another three projects for Christmas, cowls and a sewing piece, but neglected to take pics because I didn't want to post pics to social media and ruin the Christmas surprise. So I think I rounded out at a solid #12in2018. Excuses, well the biggest being that I didn't have a job when I set the goal but I did two weeks in (albeit, part-time). 

Sometimes in life, or most times actually, it's good to set a goal and fail. Sounds odd? We learn so much from it, and frankly if I hadn't set that goal at all I probably wouldn't have completed any of those projects. So I can't look at 12 finished pieces as a failure. Would you agree? 

I feel lighter having these materials and half-made projects out of the way. Yes, there are a couple of glaringly unfinished, aging projects staring me in the face, which may or may not happen in 2019. 

I have an exciting rug project in mind as well. I've just completed my pre-dyeing for it yesterday. So I intend to jump into it today or tomorrow. I will share some pics as I go along. For now, there's nothing to see here. 

Wishing you all the best in 2019. Try something new. Set a goal. Fail. It's all good for us. 

wee #9

Not every UFO completed can be a huge accomplishment. Sometimes it's the smallest project that just eats at you. Every time you walk by it, sitting there waiting to be completed...it's almost like they can speak to you! "Finish me!" "Why are you ignoring me?"

I'm the first to admit that it's ridiculous that it took months to get around to hemming these jeans. Guilty. As I say though, the smallest projects are sometimes the biggest hurdles. 

So, they're done. Since it's an item of clothing, they qualify as fibre. Which means finishing this hemming job qualifies as #9 of #18in2018. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

What matters is that they're done. They are wearable and there's one less item in the To Be Done pile!  

a summer finish

With a deadline of April 2019, I surged ahead to finish this piece anyway. 

Many of you may be aware of the project undertaken in New Brunswick, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of L'église historique de Barachois which will be celebrated in 2019. They are looking for 200 hooked cushions to line the pews of the church. The timing is also tied in with the World Acadian Congress in 2019, with celebrations happening in summer 2019.  The 2019 WAC theme is « la Mer Rouge qui nous rassemble » ( "The Red Sea, which unites us").

I love New Brunswick and have visited this unique, beautiful church in the past for a rug hooking exhibit. It will be an amazing display of hooked cushions from, literally, around the world. If you want more information or would like to see some of the completed pieces, visit the group's Facebook page. There are specific dimensions provided for the cushions to fit the space, so it's important to register with the organizers and get the details. 

You'll see that I took the Congress theme and used it for inspiration. Once hooked, I began the process of making my piece into a cushion. 

Here's the finished project....

Across the top it says "la mer rouge" and across the bottom, "the red sea". The strait between NB and PEI is referred to as the red sea because the red dirt eroding into the waters sometimes lends it a reddish tinge. You'll see that I've exaggerated that! One of the wools i used was even named "PEI Dirt". Nice to find a use for those wools that never seem to get used. 

This was a lot of fun to work on, and I'm excited to deliver it in person this August! I'm really looking forward to seeing some of the other finished cushions. They still need more cushion donations, so if you're a hooker go to that Facebook page and sign up! You have until next April to complete and deliver a cushion, and to be a part of this amazing rug hooked endeavour!

Happy Canada D'eh!!

No finished projects to report. It's too dang hot to do anything in my "making" room. Of course, that's my excuse that really only covers the last couple of days (ahem) but I'm rolling with it. Actually there is a project almost finished, so maybe a report will be forthcoming soon.

In the mean time.... I interrupt this dead silence with a brief hurrah for one of my greatest loves: Canada!

Sure, we've had our bad times, we've had our screw ups. Many of them. And we won't forget about them. However, today is about embracing all of Canada, all of our people and saying "you're awesome, every last one of you". 

What I especially love, is every nook and corner of this country. Here's a few to share. Have a great day, everyone!