10 Minute Challenge Update

I've been really consistent in keeping up with the 10-minute challenge. This is a pattern called "Water Nymph" that I must have started over ten years ago and had about 1/5 done. I kept trying to get the background darker and in so doing ended up felting the wool too much so it was very difficult to pull through the burlap. To top it off, I was using a #6 cut which is HUGE for me. I remembered that I had bought a Hartman hook back at Cape May so I dug that out and voila! It was much easier to do. Now that it's done, I kind of like this rug!

10 Minute Challenge

I finished the Fall leaves mat at the end of January. It felt good to be hooking with a #3 fine cut again. It is much slower going but certainly more control in shading.

The next project I picked up was one with finches on a fence that had not been started.  I started hooking a couple of flowers but for some reason was just very unhappy with them and finally set it aside.  This is the point when I probablywould have tucked my hooking away and not get around to starting anything new.  But having taken the 10 minute challenge I begrudgingly forged ahead.

I pulled out a piece called Water Nymph which I started quite a few years ago- probably more than 10. I put it away because in dyeing the background, I kept trying to get it darker so dyed and redyed until the wool felted too much. It is very thick - almost blanket-weight -and somewhat difficult to work with. When I was at Cape May a couple of years ago, I picked up a primitive coarse Hartman hook with a wide shaft and that has made the job a bit easier. Here is how it looked when I picked it up February 9.  This is in a #6 cut and is moving along fairly quickly.  How exciting!

Ten-Minute Challenge Update

Despite an incredibly busy schedule these past few weeks, I have kept up with the ten-minute challenge and am particularly grateful for this commitment now. More days than not, the ten minutes are just that – ten minutes – but it keeps me moving forward. A great thing about all this is that I'm dealing with some really old UFOs or Un-Finished Objects. Without time to choose and color plan a new project I find myself picking up projects that were started in the past.
This is what I've been working on. It is from a mini-class I took at Rock River Rug Camp back in IL in 1988. We picked up some fall leaves, traced around them and hooked them. I had hooked about 4-5 strips – and in a #3 cut – that translates to 3/32" strips! I have no idea what wool I was using but I left those few strips in (on the tip of the large maple leaf). I've been using some shibori dyed wool that I never thought I would find a use for! Bright orange is not something I ever dye – thanks to Wanda Kerr for encouraging me to stretch during an online dye class she did last Spring.

10 Minute Challenge

Amazing what can be accomplished when one simply makes the commitment to give a certain task attention for a small amount of time each day. I have completed the "Wood Rose" project, a pattern designed by Laura Pierce. Having taken the 10-Minute Challenge on September 21, I forged on when frustrated by trying to match dye formulas (note to self: take even better dye notes!), when I might not have otherwise done so. I was pleasantly surprised to find some yarn for whipping that perfectly matched the background wool.

Now I need to settle on my next project – perhaps one of those UFOs (Un-Finished Objects) I have stashed away in the back room. Heading into a busy time at work, I am tempted to take a break from the challenge, but just like going to the gym, I know it's easier to keep going than to take a break and try to start again!

Imagine what could be accomplished in every area of life if we just gave it a little bit of attention…

10 Minute Challenge Update

Continuing my commitment to the 10-Minute Hooking Challenge has been…a challenge. I am grateful that I made the commitment during sabbatical in order to establish the habit before my return to work. While the 10 minutes is now closer to actually being 10 minutes than the 90 minutes it was turning out to be, I still see progress and it keeps me motivated. I must remind myself that much of my inspiration for Sunday talks comes when otherwise engaged in creative pursuits such as hooking, quilting, etc. Why do I always seem to make "work" be difficult?
So here is the current project that I started November 9. It would have been completed over a week ago had I not had to struggle with dyeing more background. After several tries, I got some that was just a tad bit lighter – it worked well in the center of the piece. Today I redyed some a bit darker to use around the edges. I think this will work…hooray!

Finished!

This past week I completed the "Perfect Harmony" hooking. This was such a fun project. Glad to have the cording, whipping, and binding done. I may do a bit of embellishment at some later date – maybe some beads for shirt buttons….not sure…will see what transpires!
So it was time to start a new project in order to continue my 10 minute daily commitment. This pushed me up against my primary challenge – initiation! How to start a project so quickly…what to hook…how to color plan…what cut do I use??? Help! These are the times when I really miss having a hooking buddy or two nearby or access to a teacher – it is a tremendous help with motivation and inspiration.

Finally I decided to just pick something and do it – who says I have to continue with the same project, right? And if I don't like it , I can always do some "reverse hooking"! I finally chose a pattern by Laura Pierce – sweet little piece called "Wood Rose". Her patterns are lovely – wonderful high-quality backing. Grabbed some wool I dyed last Spring that really wanted to be background…going with very simple color plan and see what transpires.

10 Minute Challenge Update

I have such good intentions about posting things on this blog…and somehow the days zoom by and it just hasn't happened. Ah well, there are no blog police….are there??

I have been faithful with the 10 minute hooking challenge since starting September 21. A lot has been accomplished over the past month! I've posted "Rufous" – this is a piece I hooked last April in honor of my sweet weiner dog that passed on August 2008. Upon finishing, I couldn't find any yarn that would even remotely match the background for whipping. The background was an "oddball" piece I picked up at Friends by the Sea and I had to stretch just to have enough for the hooking – nothing left over for finishing. And it's an odd blue – rather turquoise in most light. All the yarn in my stash and at our local yarn shop clashed terribly so I rolled up the hooking and tucked it away. This past week I decided to make another trip to the yarn store and this time they had some wool that at least coordinated with the background. So my challenge minutes were mostly spent finishing this mat. It's about 14X14. I did all the dyeing for the fur…

Also got most of the hooking done on "Perfect Harmony" and am posting a closeup photo of one of the girl's hair. This was a fun piece and I hope to get the finishing done on it this next week.

10 Minute Challenge

Here's this week's progress….once I got started on the border, it went pretty fast. Now I need to redo some of the clothing and give a few kids some hair….almost there!

10 Minute Challenge - Week 2

Here is progress after the second week of participating in the 10 Minute challenge. I am just squeaking by with wool for the sky - I have some much darker and lighter values remaining. I am realizing that I tend to use mostly middle values in my hooking. I've noticed that the #3-5 values always get used up first and I have lots of 1, 2, 7, 8 and some 6 leftover (a swatch is generally dyed with 8 values of a specific color formula). Yesterday was spent dyeing primary colors for the border...more about that later!

10 Minute Challenge - Week One

Wow! Amazing what can be accomplished with the commitment to spend 10 minutes each day hooking. This exercise has really reinforced the fact that my major obstacle is initiation - once begun, a project grabs my attention and away we go.

Here is the progress on "World of Harmony" after one week...