Rug Group Day At Loch

You can see Chris's grandchildren rugs on the wall behind me.

Today Anne, Katherine and I (Robyne) took a trip to Loch for our get together in Chris's lovely home near the gorgeous hills of Western Gippsland. It's always a nice drive and this autumn weather was just perfect.
Chris worked on her big (huge) rug, clocking up hundreds of hours so far. It's going to be amazing when she at last detaches it from it's frame. Note to self: Be there when she does, with a loud hooter or some drums! And cake!
Katherine began her Magpie Rug with a lesson from Chris, and me butting in the whole time with helpful advice. I blame the cups of coffee I'd fortified myself with after the drive. And it's great to be back at Group Days such a long time away with family committments. Combo. Katherine has her newly constructed PVC pipe frame off and running too and seems to have her hooking sorted! Being a knitter, she has tension wel ingrained.
Anne Will Finish Her Hooked Carpet-Wool Rug At Some Point! Just as I Will Finish My Footy Rug! We at least work on them at our monthly gathering.
Unfortunately one of Joy's family had the bad manners to be born on this date, probably years ago, so she was forced to celebrate with them and was missing from action. A poor excuse!
I brought my new Penny Rug (just cut out) along for advice from the Gals. Who were very helpful. I couldn't see for looking anymore, to make decisions.
It's a design I have for sale on Etsy. However, my original version (as seen in the Etsy pic) was made with some inferior felt and it literally fell apart with use! I have dyed a few pieces of woollen blanket for the backgrounds and we lay it out in varous combinations. I can take bits on the train to stitch and use up some stash at the same time (bit hard with hooky's). We agreed with which colours to use, so that made me feel better. Feel free to share your thoughts! They both look good, but I'm thinking the plum-brown with the green peeking out from under will suit our bedroom. Both look good I think. We think.
It's lovely to share our food and company. We welcome any newcomers or old usuals. If you are interested, please put a comment on the blog or email r.m.square@bigpond.com.
More photo's to come too. Of all of us. xxx

New Deluxe Hanky Box

Here is the newest Hanky Box. I love hankies and have way too many for the last box, so I've made a bigger version. I have used an old Book of Cats I bought years back (Op Shop) for just this purpose, i.e. crocheting together.

The beads are made by rolling up paper, around a tooth-pick, then gluing the ends.

It's hard to photograph, because of the plastic covering.

This was a card I gave my Dad, after his big operation 5+ years ago. Thanking him for staying with us. He gave us 4 1/2 years after it. Thanks Dad xxxxxxx
The blue patterned base is  from a heavy cardboard box I kept my water-colour pencils in for years and didn't have the heart to throw out. Using such a strong base makes the box very stable.

Follow the label Tutorials, at the bottom, for some help as to how they are made.