The website name is still the same

In my last post I told you that I got possession of www.cindygay.com back. That does NOT mean that the domain name has changed. You can still reach my site using www.cindigay.com or www.cindigayrughooking.com. I also own several misspellings so there are other ways also. The important thing is that I can now announce to a group that my domain name is cindigay.com and I do not have to spell it out because I own all the spellings. It's a technical web thing, if you have my website on your list of favorites, you do not have to change a thing. And thank you for visiting the site.
Tuesday I attended a sales tax seminar. yawn...... but I used the time to doodle and I am getting closer to the design of the major border for my room-sized rug.

No hooking last week at all

So much for my commitment to hook 1/2 hour a day. Life got in the way. I still believe that consistent time at the frame is the fastest way to complete a project and I will get back to that as soon as I can. Like dieting, one bad day or a bad week should not keep you from the final goal. The likelihood of having this rug complete by August, however, looks doubtful.

Mom is doing somewhat better. We still don't know the source of the pain in her hip caused by a strain the week before and then falling last Tuesday. Her fever has been diagnosed as MRSA. They removed her chemo port as soon as the diagnosis was made. Today is day 8. Hopefully we have MRI results today.

I know this is not exciting rug hooking information, but many of my regular students and friends tune in. Thank you for your patience and kind words. Special thanks to Kim for reminding me that I will not be able to take care of anyone if I go down. I have the morning shift, Dad comes in to sit with her in the afternoon, and my husband pampers me when I get home.

In the meantime, the hospital is filled with graphics and great ideas for designs. I carry my tiny journal everywhere.

Use and Abuse of Hand Hooked Rug

I use my hand hooked rugs as rugs. It is remarkable how well they hold up. Wool is one of the very best fibers for rugs. It does not accumulate dirt and because I hook on rug warp, my rugs can take what my animals dish out. Watch the movie below to see what I mean.



Luckily, Jack has never damaged shoes. He prefers the shoe laces, but leaves the shoes alone. When he gets excited, nothing works like a tennis shoe. I think he is enjoying the rug shifting on the floor. When the rug is finished, it will have a rubber mat below it to hold it in place. This is mainly for safety, but I will need it to keep the rug from being plowed into the wall.

This was taken when I had the rug downstairs to mark the holidays (gaps in the hooking). I am finally done with that, but I still need to get the gaps hooked. The last few weeks were lost in holiday (Christmas and New Year) activities and my husband being home. For the last several days I have been getting my project for Teachers' Workshop finished. My report is due soon even though the class isn't until March. Here's what Jackson thinks about it:

Elephants - David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust

I got the best Christmas gift idea last year during a trip from the Atlantic City Airport to Cape May. Linda told me about the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. We stopped during our drive at Lucy, the Victorian era 3-story elephant on the Jersey shore. I was very excited because my granddaughter, Alaina, loves elephants. I wasn't disappointed. The gift shop had great elephant stuff.

That's when Linda told me about the baby elephant she adopted. It sounded perfect for Alaina. So last year for Christmas, Alaina got her elephant stuff and a printout of the current Sheldrick newsletter. She sat in a corner and poured over it. Soon she was on the computer picking out the baby she wanted to adopt. My daughter said this process took several days.

This year my daughter and her husband are taking the kids to Disneyland over the New Year's holiday. I planned on giving the children cash for the trip. I do not know if Alaina would prefer her elephant adoption this year. I decided to leave it up to her.

Here's a link to a show about the elephants on the CBS website. A new 60 minutes segment is planned for this Sunday. You can get more information at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust website. Fair warning -- you can get lost for hours on this beautiful site.

Day 372 Rug Hooking Progress and Jack

I've been home a little over a week and I am back at the rug hooking frame. I am concentrating on hooking the center of the rug. As soon as I have it completed, I will check for holidays. What this means is that I examine the back of the rug and look for large blank spaces. I will then mark these spaces with a piece of junk (acrylic) yarn because it is cheap and a plastic canvas needle because it is easy on the backing.

Marking them all first and then taking the rug to the frame is absolutely necessary on a rug this large, but I mark the holidays this way no matter what the size. It is an extra step but in the long rug it saves a lot of time and a lot of flipping the rug back and forth. I have a philosophy that I would rather do something pleasant for a long time than something unpleasant for a short time.



As you can see, Jack is settling into the studio. His favorite place to sleep is in the cave created by the rug. Earlier this week, I looked all over for him only to find him deep in the folds of the rug sound asleep. He went to the vet today for his second puppy visit, 15 pounds and counting. Doc thinks he will be smaller than expected because the rule of thumb he uses is to take their weight at 4 months and double it for his expected adult weight.

Meet Jackson, my new puppy

We went to family reunion in West Virginia. We needed ice so we went to Wal-Mart. In the parking lot was a sign, "Free Puppies." Enough said.

Jackson is part boxer and part so something else. We are still trying to figure that out, but he has been very trainable so far. He meets the trainer Monday.

Sauder Village

The rug retreat at Sauder Village in Archbold, OH was another great week. This is a picture of my classroom. I am supposed to be sitting in the corner of the room between Pam and Jan who are hard at work. I just had to get closer to the wool table to be sure I did not miss something so I took a picture while I was over there. My teacher was Anita White and I used the week to work with paisleys for the first time.


This is a small piece of the "show and tell" held one afternoon later in the week. Notice the oak tree on the left. This is not a real tree but a sculpture by an artist. It is the backdrop for our breakfast every morning.

If you are interested in Sauder for next year, get on the mailing list. In November you will receive a postcard that announces when the site will be up for registration. On that day there is a mad dash to print and fax it in. You can now register right on line also.

What did I hook? A new pattern that I designed called "Antique Rose Basket." This pattern is currently available from Spruce Ridge Studios in two sizes. I am hooking the larger one.



The colors are a bit softer than I normally use. The hit and miss is in all medium tones. I will hook more of this before I make a decision about how to hook the rest. I may revert to my "old ways." The border is a hodgepodge of ideas. On the left I hooked the spiral in just anything to hold it and hooked the border background at one of my hooking gatherings, just to have something to hook.

I loved "Mamma Mia!"

Ignore the critics and take your girlfriends to see Mamma Mia. I saw it first with a girlfriend and called my daughter on the way home and asked her to go with me. The second time around was just as good as the first time.

Many of the critics are critical because it is not as professionally sung as the Broadway version. Well, I think that is exactly what makes it so fun. Pierce Brosnan is so baaaaad, but luckily he is very good to look at and you forgive him easily. What is important is that you will leave the theater with a high that lasts. It reminds me of the fun found at a showing of the "Rocky Horror Picture Show." In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you soon see scarves and dance moves in the theater.

It is a beautiful movie and I am anxiously awaiting its release on DVD so I can see it whenever I want. Sue Ellen, who saw it with me the first time, has also seen it again.

Note: The soundtrack keeps the fun going. Some tracks are even better than the ABBA original (which I also have). I love the soundtrack version of "Take a Chance on Me."

Leaving Monday for Sauder Village Rug Retreat. I'll post some pictures from there.

Greetings from Manistee, MI

This week I am in Manistee Michigan at the 8th annual Manistee Rug School. The camp has moved to a new location at the new high school and we have all the room we need. My classroom is on a corner with a wide hallway just outside the door. I can spread out the room-sized rug there and really see it. I will take a picture tomorrow and post it here. I hooked a bit more of the circle border before I left and thanks to the long drive up here, I have some new inspirations that I need to draw up.

The other teachers at this camp this year are Pris Butler, Cynthia Norwood, Jon Ciemiewicz, and Wanda Kerr. I will also be teaching at this camp next year. See my website for more information.

Several weeks ago I was in Wisconsin teaching my pine tree method to the Cream City Guild. A special thank you to everyone involved. It was a long week, but I enjoyed every minute of it, including the tornado warning at the end.

Thanks for voting

The contest ended Easter morning and Amanda did not win. The winner was chosen by a panel of judges. She did have the most votes, so thank you to everyone who took the time to vote.

Tomorrow is a big dyeing day. My granddaughter, Alaina, is staying with me for a few days and we will be dyeing up a storm. We started folding and organizing wool in the studio tonight. She wore me out. She actually likes to straighten and organize the wool. She even sorted each color family from light to dark. I will have to take new studio pictures before I mess it all up. I will try to remember to take pictures tomorrow so you can see us dyeing.

No new rug hooking to report

I have been away from the frame for too long, but I refuse to file another extension on my income taxes. I've done that for the last few years and this year I will be on time. The last few weeks have been filled with paperwork.

As an update to the rug hooking world.... My thoughts and prayers go out to Kim Nixon. As many of you know, her breast cancer has returned after 10 years. It was a real blow, but Kim is still in business. In fact, I ordered patterns before she had emergency surgery. They are less than 1 week late. Kim has help and someone is drawing the patterns under her watchful eye. You can place an order and be confident that you will receive it. Kim needs our support, order those patterns!

Go to www.undertherug.com.

New Website Name! cindigayrughooking.com

Thank you to everyone who emailed their opinions on the website name. A special thanks to Sunnie Andress of sunnieandressdesigns.com. The majority of you thought my name was an important part of the website name. Sunnie suggested www.cindigayrughooking.com. Perfect!

I purchased that name AND www.cindygayrughooking.com. I am now back to a name that reflects who I am, what the site is about and I don't have to spell it every time I give it out.

I am still on the computer a lot, but I am making some rug hooking progress. I have moved everything back to the studio upstairs because I now have 19 boxes of Bellawood Brazilian Mesquite sitting in the kitchen ready for installation in the living room.

I might have some progress shots this weekend if we can line up a nailer. . .

P.S. That is Gracie, my new kitten, keeping me company while I hook. The rug has gotten so big that the pile of it behind the frame and in front of my Ott light is just the right size for a comfortable cat bed.

I need to rename my website, please vote.

In November I had a billing mix up with my web host. As a result, I lost the rights to www.cindygay.com (Cindi with a y). My website is still OK because I use www.cindigay.com (with two i's). Before I realized what happened, a porno site picked up my name. Just a day or so later, I saw an article on the Internet about how this is happening quite often. I haven't had the courage to visit the site (there is an opening warning about the content) so I don't know if there is (ahem...) a legitimate reason for them to pick up the name.

For the last five years I have been telling everyone that my website is www.cindigay.com and if they entered www.cindygay.com they still got to my website, so the spelling was not important. Now it is. I reserved the following names. Which do you prefer? Do you have something else in mind? I'd love to hear your ideas. Please email them to me at rugmail-blog@yahoo.com.

• www.cindigay.com
• www.rughookingexplained.com
• www.rughookinglessons.com
• www.rughooklessons.com
• www.rughooksupplies.com

Enjoying the weather in Florida

Sorry for the lack of posts. My parents were vacationing in Florida between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I decided to join them for a little more than a week in Little Torch Key. We were about 25-30 miles north of Key West. I missed the worst week of weather so far. Yeah!

We went on the ghost tour. What fun. It was dark, and the stories were great. The one that really freaked me out was a story about Robert, the doll.

Before I went home we stopped at the museum just outside the airport that "owns" Robert. I wanted to buy a t-shirt for my son, Bob. The back of the t-shirt has a picture of the doll Robert and says something like "Robert did it." It was a slow morning at the museum and my mom chatted with the clerk about why I was buying the shirt.

The clerk looked up and smiled. "You want to go back? I won't charge you." OMG! Well, what the heck. I said, "Sure."

She led me back and I noticed that my parents stayed in the lobby. So much for parental support. She pointed down the hall and said, "He's in that case. Do you see him?"

When I turned back to answer her, she was gone. OMG!!!!!!

I took a quick picture and skedaddled out of there.

Not much rug hooking, lost in Computer Land

Sorry for the lack of activity. I haven't been hooking all that much. My goal for this winter is to rewrite my website, www.cindigay.com. I started this website almost 7 years ago and it has become disorganized and needs an update.

I have to learn new software and I've been playing around with adding video. You have seen some of that in the past posts. I'm beginning to understand how to get it on the internet - I still don't know how to make me look better on film though. I contacted a webmaster that was willing to work with me. He would do the heavy lifting and I would decorate. He hasn't responded to my newest emails or voicemails so I think I am on my own. I do need help with testing and that's where you come in. If you are interested in seeing what is going on before the "public" does, send me an email. I will send you links from time to time to look at. You will send me an email with your comments. Your feedback is very valuable to me. I need users of all types, PC, Mac, novice and experienced.

A Day Off

Yesterday I traveled to Columbus with my daughter, Jenny. We went to the From our Hands show. It was great to see everyone.

On the way home, we made an impulse decision to go to Home Goods. This store is not in NW Ohio and we had passed it up many times on our way to Easton. Well, quite some time later, we were ready to head back home. We found many great treasures, including a white ceramic pomegranate.