Hooked sampler mat

Today I pulled out my Ashford Country Spinner to start working up some roving from Abby, our Jacob ewe. When I prepared to run the leader through the orifice*, I found my lost rug hook (see previous post). It was stuck through the hole along with a strip of black wool. No wonder I couldn't find it! The handle is the same color as the wheel and I'd never put it there so never thought to look there. DH thought I might be right when I asked if he put it there. For safekeeping, he said. Uh huh.

So the way my mind wanders, I went from sitting down at the wheel to working on the border of my hooked sampler. It was just as well since we've had strong winds of 25-30mph all afternoon and into the night. Holly dog likes to be close to her humans when bad weather hits. She usually squeezes under my chair when she hears the least rumble of thunder and with gusts up to 60mph, the windows are whistling and rattling to beat the band. This way I could pull the rug frame right up next to her basket so we were both comfortable. She doesn't like a spinning wheel near her when it's in motion.

Holly dog is looking especially clean today as she wallowed in the mud this morning and had to have a bath before lunch. Fortunately it wasn't windy then and the outdoor temperature was almost 60F. so DH gave her a bath in the washtub on the back deck. Holly is not known for appreciating bathtime and we've learned the hard way not to attempt to bathe her in the bathtub. It's either the back deck or the garage for Holly's ablutions.

I set out to make myself a sampler to show how different weave patterns will look when hooked. Since I like functional samplers, this one is destined to be a mat on the top of a little 4-drawer dresser I use as a side table in the living room. It's proving very helpful as several of the fabrics have turned out different from the way I imagined they would look when hooked. Good to know when I start planning my next hooked projects.

The hooking frame by The Purple Crow was a Christmas gift from my mother-in-law a couple of years ago. I also received another base that lets me support the frame above my lap if I'm sitting in a chair where use of the floor frame is impractical. The head frame has stainless steel grippers on all four sides that make repositioning easy but hold tight while hooking.

I especially like the way I can maneuver the frame around chair legs and even the footstool while not having to worry about frame legs to the side getting in the way. I have a needlework scroll frame (think small quilting frame) that I like but it's only useful if I want to sit in a straight kitchen table-style chair. Even the narrow wingback chair I favor in the living room won't allow me to pull that frame close-in while I work.

Hoping to finish this mat before next weekend so I can start another hooking project -- perhaps a top for my large footstool or chair pads for the kitchen chairs. I keep vacillating between traditional rug hooking and locker hooking. There are four main chairs and several extras we only pull out as needed. Maybe I could make a different type of pad for each?

Well, that's the least of my worries right now. I just need to concentrate on finishing this sampler.

*Are both the openings termed the orifice? I've always called the one to the front where the fiber enters (perpendicular to the floor) by that term but when I went to describe it here I was caught up short. The hook was in the opening behind that first entry point. The second orifice?