Rooted in Mississippi

I will tell a ghost story. It may not be scary, but it is my only ghost story.

My best friend Jane’s mom died from breast cancer when we were in high school. It was a slow and painful process. Mamie was a lovely lady and a very caring mother. After she died, Jane’s father decided to ship her off to boarding school in another state, which was very traumatic. While she was away, he sold her childhood home and moved into a big new house across town.

I remember the first time Jane came home for the holidays and I went to visit. We both checked out the new house, which was cool, but not her mother’s home. I remember being fascinated by the JennAire cook top. After sneaking out for a smoke, probably one of the many reason her father disliked me, we settled in for the night. Each of us was nestled in a twin bed, chatting and catching up on all that we had missed by being separated.

A little while later, I woke up when someone came into the room. I looked over and it was Jane’s mom, she was sitting on the edge of her bed. She turned to me and put a finger to her lips, to keep me quiet. It was comforting, not scary. I watched her watching Jane for a while, until I fell back to sleep. I never doubted what I saw, but it did take me a while to tell Jane the story, because I did not want her to think I was crazy.

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I dropped Oscar and Louie off at the vet for their dental cleaning and annual vaccinations this morning.  Then I went to “P is for Primitive”  and had a good time.  I got a lot of work done up there and will post a photo of my progress tomorrow.  It was very pleasant and I got to know a few of the regulars a little better.  All I can say is, I really REALLY like the rug hookers!

When I got to the vet, they called me into an examining room, instead of just sending me to the back desk, so I knew something was wrong.  During his dental cleaning, they discovered that Oscar had a lesion under his tongue and five bad incisors, all of which had to be removed.   They also told me that Louie tested faintly negative on the heart worm test and they were having to send his blood to an outside lab for confirmation.  He has never missed his heart worm treatment, in fact, there was one month he got two when Oscar spit his out. Needless to say, it was not exactly what I wanted, or expected, to hear.

Anyway, they are both home and resting comfortably. Now all we can do is wait and hope that it was a false positive on the heart worm test, which he said was a possibility.

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I had a great day Saturday up in Canton at “P is for Primitive.” I pulled out all of the black wool around my sheep and started again, because I finally get how it is supposed to look. Lisanne wanted me to leave it in, but I decided it looked funny next to the packed stitches I had done over the last few days. I do not mind having to pull out my work, it is part of the deal.

I have redone less than half of what I ripped out and outlined some of the background areas, where I plan to use triangular shapes for textural interest. I also decided to try something different inside the swirls, and used a tartan. I still have two more to go, but you get the idea.

While I was up there, I got to meet some more of the regulars. I also ran into someone from Jackson who knew me from this blog. She did not come over and introduce herself, but maybe if she reads this, she will comment! I am jealous, because she was talking about going to Kentucky and getting a degree in fiber arts. What a fabulous and fun thing to do.

I have been spinning some fiber from Delia at the FiberDenn on the Ashford Traveller. Man, that stuff is really a dream. It is so soft and so easy to spin. It’s like butter! I am ashamed that it has taken me so long to spin it.

Well, I can’t leave you without some random doggy cuteness, so here are a couple of pictures of Rudy and Princess.

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I am pleased to announce that the latest issue of CQMagOnline is up and available for viewing.

In this issue, we are featuring an article by J. Marsha Michler on hand-piecing your CQ blocks.  Our main focus is on crazy quilting style and ideas for gift giving. I am also excited to announce that  Barbara Blankenship has proposed a challenge for readers; so, be sure to read her article.  I sincerely hope you will decide to take up the mantle.  With three of our staff members on their way to Houston for the Quilt Market, you can look forward to more information and product reviews in upcoming issues.  We want our website to continue to be a repository for articles related to crazy quilting.  We know it is a well-used and valuable resource. We can only do that with your help.

Please check out the latest issue at http://www.cqmagonline.com!

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We need the rain, so I should not complain, but you know me, I will anyway. The dogs hate wet feet and they are resistant to going outside. The bad part is that it got cold all of the sudden. I mean it went from t-shirt to sweatshirt weather overnight. I am looking forward to my husband getting home and making the fireplace work again.

Yesterday, I woke up and was compelled to start charting some things, but I did not stitch. However, I did work on the rug hooking project. I decided to redo a lot of the loops, but have made some headway. I am too new at the technique to be quick and efficient. I hope I can get up to Canton tomorrow for some hooking and some feedback from Lisanne.

I went to Kroger today and came home with lots of tea and soup, which is a direct result of the weather. I also saw this little cake and had to buy it. I know, I know, but it was so cute, that I caved into that sweet tooth.

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Speaking of noisy shoes…I saw this puzzle on JigZone this morning and could not resist sharing. I just adore clogs, which I suppose I can blame on the Dutch part of my ancestry.

I was thrilled to get an email out of the blue from a high school friend, Deidre. She was in my AP English class with Clint Schaum and we had a lot of memorable moments over Perrine’s Literature. She said she knew it was me, when she read the answers to the 7 things meme. I am glad that I am so easy to locate through search engines. It is always so interesting to catch up with old friends. She is a literary agent, author, and mother. I wanna be her when I grow up!

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Here are the rules which you must abide by if you are tagged.
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

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1. Since getting thyroid disease, I do not like anything against my throat. Short necklaces and high collars pose a real problem for me, which sucks, because I have always loved chokers!

2. I do not like to compete, even when I think I have a good chance of success. I have a very hard time submitting things for competitions and juried events. I always scored well on standardized tests, but I did not like competing for anything.

3. I am a good mimic. I love to imitate accents and voices. When I was in high school, I was selected to be a narrator for our class Mardi Gras skit three years running. I remember being terrified during the performances, even though the narrators were not center stage and the spot light was on the actors. Oh, yeah, and my mom had to buy me a full length navy blue velvet skirt for the performance. I also remember being crushed when I was not selected as narrator my senior year.

4. I like making noise. I like jewelry that jingles, wooden shoes that make clomping noises, and bellydance costumes with coins. One of the things I love about bellydancing is all of the trilling and yipping during performances. I like to sing out loud, drum my fingers, do the Tarzan yell, do the Xena yell, rug my wet sneakers along the floor, etc.

5. I have five half brothers and three half sisters, but I was the only child between my mother and father. Unless I am doing something like this, I have always just referred to them as my brothers and sisters. I was the youngest of my mother’s five children and the oldest of my dad’s biological ones (he adopted a boy and girl during his first marriage). As close as I am to my siblings with whom I was raised, I have very little relationship with my siblings through my dad. I have not seen Robby or Cory since we were very, very young children, although I tried to contact them in college. I can’t explain what happened with my younger brothers, because I thought we had built a working relationship over the years. I can’t get one to return my calls, even though he lives in Jackson, and the other recently got married without inviting me.

6. I love cats, even though I am allergic to them. I will never forget the argument I gave the allergist until he did the scratch test and cat was what gave me the worst reaction. Maine Coon cats are my favorite and I miss my Fuzzy very much, but will never get another one, since I can not tolerate a cat in the house.

7. Generally, I don’t like sweets and avoid sugar, but I have had a terrible sweet tooth lately. I was compelled to buy a yellow baby cake (think big cupcake that is iced and decorated like a birthday cake) at Kroger and brought it home to split with my husband. I thought giving into the craving would alleviate it, but just the opposite happened. It was so good that we made a run to Kroger for dessert after dinner  Friday.  I also ate a piece of Halloween cake at Lisanne’s shop.  Trust me, this is really out of character for me!

I hate tagging people, but I am curious about the answers. I am tagging y’all, but don’t stress if you do not want to play.

1. Cynthia
2. Lisa
3. Cindy
4. Rhonda
5. Marty
6. Jenclair
7. Madame Purl

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Lisa, Cyn, and I drove up to Canton to take a rug hooking class at “P is for Primitive.” I was too dense to get that we would buy kits, so I brought my own stuff. I drew a sheep on a linen background and brought a mix of yarns I have spun, roving, scoured locks, and wool fabric. I got most of this done during class on Saturday. The best part is that I can go back during the week to keep working on it under Lisanne’s watchful eye!

The beginner rug hooking class was a very pleasant experience and well worth the $30 class fee that covered lunch and snacks. If you want to learn to hook rugs and live within driving distance of Canton, I highly recommend taking this class when it is offered. My only recommendation is that you pick out one of Lisanne’s recommended patterns and let her help you with colors to create a truly one of a kind custom kit.

I actually liked hooking with yarn and roving better than fabric strips, but that might be because my linen burlap was a much tighter weave than the other girls were using. It was a lot of fun to hook with different materials and get a really textured sheep. I look forward to finishing the project and spending some more time at the shop.

And now, for the mandatory doggy cuteness. Princess really enjoys ripping up the bunny, one of Rudy’s favorite toys.

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Lisa, Cyn, and I are supposed to meet up at my house this morning and drive to the square in Canton.  We all signed up for the beginning rug hooking class with Lisanne at “P is from Primitive.”  I have bagged up some wool fabric, some wool roving, and some of my homespun yarn, plus the gripper frame I bought last week and I am ready to explore a different kind of rug hooking.

As soon as my friends show up, we will make the trek north to Canton.  I promise a full report tomorrow.

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I got my flu shot the other day and have been whining about my arm hurting ever since. Last night, I noticed it was bruised at the injection site and very swollen. Oh, well, better luck next time! It takes about two weeks for the shot to be effective and the flu has already been reported in my area. I just hope it offers me some protection. I have had enough fun with the three colds and bronchitis that I have had since Labor Day!

We are getting much closer to publishing the next issue of CQMagOnline. I just have a few things I am waiting on to be emailed to me and posted, before we can go live. I am really looking forward to that! I finally got a PO Box in Jackson, so I can use it for the magazine. That puts me that much closer to making the transition complete.

I have done almost no stitching, although I did spin and ply two skeins of yarn.  I stretched the canvas that I bought at P is for Primitive, but I really need to get off my backside and cut strips.  I thought about starting a smaller project using the carpet punch I bought, but I have had absolutely no motivation at all.  I hate it when I get the creative blahs…but this time it is just full throttle blah…basically, I do not want to do ANYTHING at all.  Well, I am still eating and watching television. I have had the worst sweet tooth lately, which is very unusual for me.  I have been craving cake and ice cream, which is really out of character for me.

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