Have you heard of Tabata?

Have you?  It is has been dubbed the 4 minute exercise.  It is supposed to be as beneficial if not more so than a 60 minute aerobic exercise.  Hmm, let me see, 4 minutes of exercise vs. 60 minutes.  I know what I'm going to choose.  

Actually, I've done it Tabata and it is hard and intense. I hopped on my elliptical and did the workout and let me tell  you it literally wiped me out for the rest of the night.  You don't need any equipment to do Tabata though.    Google Tabata and you'll find all kinds of information on it.  Here are a couple of articles from reputable fitness magazines, Shape and Men's Health,  to purview and decide for yourself.  I'm going to keep it up every other day to see if I notice any difference in my metabolism.   I'd love to know if any of you have tried it.  Maria

Heart Inspiration Day 14

 Whew!  Fourteen straight days of posts....I didn't know if I would make it. 

 It has been fun searching the internet looking for heart themed ideas to inspire you.  I hope I gave you a few things to think about and some rugs to challenge the designer in you.  

These sweet hearts are from Kelley Bellfast.  You can find her blog here

The next three hearts were hooked by Sara and you can see more of her work on her blog 

Look how she finished off this heart.  Very creative and clever.  Think of how you could use this technique for other projects.

The beading in this heart makes this design so special.

Again, look how Sara used to two wools to create a unique finish.

Thanks for joining me over the last 14 days.  Til tomorrow or maybe the next day!  Maria

Heart Inspiration Day 13

Today's rugs are a little more colorful than previous posts.  The vibrant colors used in this rug are right up my alley.   What really speaks to me in this rug is the border.  You can find the rug here

The next rug comes from the Merry Hookers website and you can find it here.

This is a great pattern to use all those worms. Til Tomorrow, Maria

Heart Inspiration Day 12

Its hard to get past the wonderful design of this rug to see the hearts.  This is a great old rug both in the design and color.   Don't you just love the red mane, tail and feet of the horse?  This may be my favorite rug in this "Heart Inspiration" series.   How about you, do you have a favorite?

I was checking to see if the Goode Wife was on tonight and I happened upon Masterpiece Theatre and ended up watching a show called Downton Abbey.  Boy was it good.  I've DVR'd episode 7.  If my mom is reading this post, I know you are smiling right now!  Til Tomorrow, Maria

Day 11 of Heart Inspiration

Today's rugs both come from the Canada Textile Museum found here. Again, this rug shows you that you can make quite an impact with just a few colors.

Yes, this rug has hearts in it but I love the background and border of this rug.  Just think about how many worms you could use hooking a rug in this manner.  I'm not wild about the duck in this rug but picture another motif in its place.  What an impact with a cat, horse or dog motif.  You can find the original rug here.

Want an easy craft project to do with your kids?  Aren't these little wire yarn hearts cute? You can find a tutorial here

Til Tomorrow, Maria

Day 10 of Heart Inspiration

The first rug is a Woolley Fox  pattern called Shenandoah Valley Eagle.

The picture of this rug does not do it justice. I've seen it in person and it is spectacular.  Katy Hartner hooked the rug to make it look old and worn and boy did she accomplish it. Her wool selection was terrific.  

Here is another beauty offered by the Woolley Fox. This pattern is Tennessee Heart. Gloria Ault of Shelby Ohio hooked this lovely rug.  The neutral colors in this rug make my heart go pitter patter.

Another piece of jewelry to share with you from Etsy.   I'm a big fan of the hammered look and love this sweet little ring.  

I'm going to enjoy a Christmas gift tomorrow.  One of my friends arranged for a spa day for me, her and two other friends.  Life is good...hanging with friends, being massaged and pampered!  Enjoy your weekend!  Til tomorrow, Maria  

Heart Inspiration Day 9

This rug is wonderful.  I love everything about it.  It sold at auction at THIS auction house.  How much do you think it sold for?

$9,800.00 Can you believe it?  It is beautiful.

I chose this next rug because of the heart border.  What a great way to incorporate hearts into a rug.  The patchwork background of this rug is fun and would be an instant way to antique a rug.

I'm working on a Valentine giveaway that should be ready by the weekend.  Til tomorrow, Maria

Heart Inspiration Day 8

I couldn't resist starting this post with this sweet little photo of the kittens.  Too cute!

Today's rug inspiration was a rug hooked by Alice Frazier and you can find her blog here

She hooked this Woolley Fox pattern at our annual trip to Barb Carrolls home. Isn't it lovely?

   

One of my weaknesses is jewelry and I just love this silver leather combo bracelet.  Swoon!  Maybe you could drop a hint to your husbands and significant others to inspire them to purchase for Valentine's Day.

Til Tomorrow, Maria

Heart Inspiration Day 7

Todays rugs offer  a lesson in the use of neutrals.  The first two rugs are from the textile museum of Canada and are powerful examples of what can be hooked using very few colors of wool.   I love how this hooker took two simple shapes and made a great graphic rug.  The way the hooker played with the outlining of the flower shapes is terrific and really makes a statement as does the alternating strips of blue and white in the hearts. 

 I've been hooking a rug with a very similar background wool and have been struggling with what to do with the hearts in the background. I'll post a picture next week of my rug to show how this rug influenced the color palette of my new rug.   

Grey and Yellow are the hot colors right now and I love the colors in the rug below.  Cream, gray, yellow and black wools will definitely find its way into a rug of mine.  It's like the new neutral!

This next rug can be found on this blog: winterwillowprimitives-underthewillow.blogspot.com   This is a remake from an antique and like the rug yesterday, this rug demonstrates how powerful a two color palette can be.

Thanks for stopping by, til tomorrow, Maria

Heart Inspiration Day 6

Look how powerful two colors can be.  Blue and white.....love this hooked rug by farmhouse-primitives.

What a sweet little heart?  The rickrack at the bottom of this heart is darling and the button flowers are too cute. I could so see this hanging from a little girl's dresser draw.  Check out her blog Here.

You can find this next item on  ETSY.  I'm a big fan of felted soap and may try my hand at making some in the future.  For now, this gal has some sweet designs. 

Thanks for stopping by. Til tomorrow, Maria

Heart Inspiration Day 5

Welcome to day 5 of Heart Inspiration.  Today's inspiration is a sweet little Karen Kahle rug that I turned into a pillow. To finish the pillow, I proddied the edges.  The colors in this pillow make me smile.

In addition to hooked rugs, I thought I would share a few more heart inspirations.  These come to you Diane at www.createdby-diane.com

Lemon Scones

Her website made my mouth water reading over all her wonderful scones and cookies.  I have a soft spot for scones and would rather eat a scone than a cookie....well not a peanut butter cookie!  My love of scones is due to my mother's heritage.  She is from Scotland and when we were young, we would visit my grandparents in Scotland.  It was during this time that I discovered and developed my love of scones.

While cruising Pinterest today, I came across her blog and recipes.  And wouldn't you know, she cuts her scones into heart shapes so it was perfect for this post.  I have a soft spot for anything lemon and made the lemon scones today. Yum!    Check out all these other sweet looking scones and cookies!

Lemon Poppie Cookies

Til tomorrow,  Maria

Day 4 of Heart Inspiration

The first rug was hooked by Cammie Bruce and it makes my heart go pitter patter.  I just love the neutral colors in it.

The next two rugs are based after on an antique rug. When I first looked at these rugs, I thought they were the same rug.  But on closer inspection, they are different  not only in color but composition.  

I love how the hooker added the subtle hearts in the top border of this rug.  

Which one do you like better?

Enjoy the weekend.  Maria

Heart Inspiration Day 3

Today's rug is a rug that I hooked several years ago.  I love the colors in this rug and the geometric nature of it.

 My inspiration for this rug was a tin panel from a painted cupboard.   The pattern for this rug will be available on my new website which will hopefully be up in a few weeks.  I designed and hooked this rug about three years ago after returning from camp at Barb Carroll's home. The rug I hooked during camp had the most wonderful wool in it so I used the extra wool for the hearts and star. Thanks for stopping by.
 Til tomorrow.  Maria

My Website is down....

due to technical difficulties.  Years ago when I first built my website, I went through a company called U-Maintain-it which was sold to DIYeStores, another do it yourself website builder.  When DIYeStores took over my website, I had to switch over to DIYestores hosting which I never did.  My guess is that the problem lies with the fact that my website is still hosted by u-Maintain-it and the company has shut down my access to it.

 *********UPDATE********** I just received information that the UMI server was completely shut down as of Feb 1, 2012 and all old websites deleted.*******

 I'm in contact with DIYestores and will start the process of rebuilding my website with them.  Honestly, I have no idea how long this will take me to do it.  Of course, I'll work as quickly as I can but I'll be at the mercy of the company hosting my website.  I'll keep you updated on my progress.  Thanks to all who notified me that there was a problem with my website.  Maria

Heart Inspiration Day 2

Today's inspiration is a rug that I designed using the antique rug from yesterday's post as inspiration.

  I changed up the abstract center of the rug and hooked a star rather rather than the circle.   My goal with this  rug to achieve a more neutral palette. I'm not sure I achieved it but will continue to work hooking in this manner in 2012.  Don't worry, I'll still hook my primitives but every once in a while I like to shake it up a bit and try new colors.  This pattern is for sale on my website.

Heart Inspiration Day 1

This punch needle pattern was punched using an antique rug for inspiration. Here is my punch needle version of the antique rug.

Here is the antique rug that inspired the punch needle. 

My friend Lori Rippey punched this pattern in a more neutral color palette.  Isn't it lovely?

The talented Kris Miller hooked this adaption of the antique rug. I have talented friends, eh?

For tomorrow's post, I'll show you a rug that I designed using the antique rug for inspiration.