Taking time to say "Thank You" to All who are making our Selling Blog Primitive Handmades Mercantile a success! New Artists have recently been added. Why not stop by to take a look and see the Beautiful things they have made. I took a look the other day, and things are selling :). Also some will be featuring their first pieces on the 3rd Friday in February.
My mind is constantly thinking of what I will be doing next.... Perhaps this is the year that we ALL will be thinking "Made in America", "Buy Handmade", and supporting all the wonderful Artists who are out there. I know I will. Time to stop and appreciate the talent, and give a heartfelt-handmade gift to that special someone.
Taking time to stop by and view all the wonderful items is so much appreciated. Here's hoping that something will catch your eye and keep you coming back month after month.....
Monday, January 30, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
2 Full Days~~
I think my posts are getting longer and longer. I had 2 full days of hooking and having fun. What more can a girl ask for? :).
Thursday's hook in was fun as usual. We missed some that usually come, so we hope all is well with them. By the time I got to the shop, there were people hooking away. On the table for all to see was Joan's rug completed! Isn't it wonderful?
Joan was busy working on some chair pads.
Nancee Completed her rug. Just Super!!! She was starting another piece.
Diane making great headway on her flying rabbit. Next week I will get a full shot so you can see how far she has come with it.
Diane picked up Nancy to come hook with us. She hasn't been here in quite some time. Great to see her and she is doing a fine job with her cat rug.
Joan was giving some great tips to Nancy and Sue on how she keeps her circle shape.
Sue is a new hooker, and her husband came with her and was helping with the cutting.
Deb is I "think" finished hooking her piece. I'm not sure if I heard her say she had something else to do on it or not. But she is already starting her next project!
Genny keeps her hands busy at nights while watching tv with her husband. She created these hearts to give to her daughter and daughter in laws. Margo made the cookies :) !
Another piece of Genny's.
Cathy stopped by too!! Another one we haven't seen around in a while. She brought her friend Sandy to get some dyed wool for an applique she is doing. Love the turkey Cathy is doing!!
Now Sherri didn't want me to take this shot. One for the cookie in her hand lol, and the other with all the red markings on her piece she drew up. But I wanted to show that no matter what you draw on your foundation, you can Always change your mind!! I love her piece :)
On Friday (geesh, it seems like days ago lol), I went to our dye group at Joan's house. I was late. Slept through the alarm. (late nights at Grantstreet !) Louise and Jewel were busy pulling and tieing strings in a piece of wool that Joan had sewed. They were gathering the wool. didn't get a shot of that part.
Joan had decided we were going to try something new that she had read about. It was called Shibori. It is a Japanese word for a variety of ways of embellishing textiles by shaping cloth and securing it before dyeing. The word comes from the verb root shiboru, "to wring, squeeze, press". The common English translation of the this word is "tie-dye"; however, a more accurate translation is "shaped resist dyeing, ". the special characteristic of shibori resist is a soft or blurry-edged pattern. There are different techniques for this. We did 2 yesterday. I could go on and on, but just took little pieces from the print out that Joan shared with us on the history of this technique. It was fun. We used wool, where in the book they had used silk.
The one technique was the sewing and gathering and the other was scrunched around a piece of pvc pipe that Joan had drilled holes in the bottom for the string that was then wrapped around the sleeve of wool as it was pulled down. Definitely team work for this project :)!
Here Louise and Jewel were snipping the gathering strings.
Isn't it Great?? And as gracious as Joan is with her wool, she was going to cut this so we could each have a piece. We said NO!!!!! I hope she uses it for something real special :). it was a grey/beige piece of wool and she used Pro Chem Turquoise as the dye. Sorry my camera did not capture the correct color.
And here Jewel is untieing the wool from the pvc pipe. Again, same dye.
Another interesting effect. Only this one didn't take the dye like the other one. We were all thinking it wasn't wet enough to absorb it. All a learning lesson, and that's why we do these things.
The result!
All that dying before lunch and then some shared their pieces of our group project. This one was started some time ago. We all dyed the wool, and then got to choose our swatches.
Jewel is very creative with her finishing. Just beautiful with the prodding around the circle. It's made into a pillow.
Louise is still working on hers. The rule of the dye group is when the first person finishes theirs, the rest of us have a month to complete ours before we move on to something else.
So feeling the pressure when I got home last night, I pulled mine out. I had the center done, the petals done and one leaf done. I started after dinner and just kept on going! All I need to do is press and whip. It will be whipped with the dark maroon color wool that I am buying from Linda. Realized I didn't pay for it yet lol.
Thursday's hook in was fun as usual. We missed some that usually come, so we hope all is well with them. By the time I got to the shop, there were people hooking away. On the table for all to see was Joan's rug completed! Isn't it wonderful?
Joan was busy working on some chair pads.
Nancee Completed her rug. Just Super!!! She was starting another piece.
Diane making great headway on her flying rabbit. Next week I will get a full shot so you can see how far she has come with it.
Diane picked up Nancy to come hook with us. She hasn't been here in quite some time. Great to see her and she is doing a fine job with her cat rug.
Joan was giving some great tips to Nancy and Sue on how she keeps her circle shape.
Sue is a new hooker, and her husband came with her and was helping with the cutting.
Deb is I "think" finished hooking her piece. I'm not sure if I heard her say she had something else to do on it or not. But she is already starting her next project!
Genny keeps her hands busy at nights while watching tv with her husband. She created these hearts to give to her daughter and daughter in laws. Margo made the cookies :) !
Another piece of Genny's.
Cathy stopped by too!! Another one we haven't seen around in a while. She brought her friend Sandy to get some dyed wool for an applique she is doing. Love the turkey Cathy is doing!!
Now Sherri didn't want me to take this shot. One for the cookie in her hand lol, and the other with all the red markings on her piece she drew up. But I wanted to show that no matter what you draw on your foundation, you can Always change your mind!! I love her piece :)
On Friday (geesh, it seems like days ago lol), I went to our dye group at Joan's house. I was late. Slept through the alarm. (late nights at Grantstreet !) Louise and Jewel were busy pulling and tieing strings in a piece of wool that Joan had sewed. They were gathering the wool. didn't get a shot of that part.
Joan had decided we were going to try something new that she had read about. It was called Shibori. It is a Japanese word for a variety of ways of embellishing textiles by shaping cloth and securing it before dyeing. The word comes from the verb root shiboru, "to wring, squeeze, press". The common English translation of the this word is "tie-dye"; however, a more accurate translation is "shaped resist dyeing, ". the special characteristic of shibori resist is a soft or blurry-edged pattern. There are different techniques for this. We did 2 yesterday. I could go on and on, but just took little pieces from the print out that Joan shared with us on the history of this technique. It was fun. We used wool, where in the book they had used silk.
The one technique was the sewing and gathering and the other was scrunched around a piece of pvc pipe that Joan had drilled holes in the bottom for the string that was then wrapped around the sleeve of wool as it was pulled down. Definitely team work for this project :)!
Here Louise and Jewel were snipping the gathering strings.
Isn't it Great?? And as gracious as Joan is with her wool, she was going to cut this so we could each have a piece. We said NO!!!!! I hope she uses it for something real special :). it was a grey/beige piece of wool and she used Pro Chem Turquoise as the dye. Sorry my camera did not capture the correct color.
And here Jewel is untieing the wool from the pvc pipe. Again, same dye.
Another interesting effect. Only this one didn't take the dye like the other one. We were all thinking it wasn't wet enough to absorb it. All a learning lesson, and that's why we do these things.
The result!
All that dying before lunch and then some shared their pieces of our group project. This one was started some time ago. We all dyed the wool, and then got to choose our swatches.
Jewel is very creative with her finishing. Just beautiful with the prodding around the circle. It's made into a pillow.
Louise is still working on hers. The rule of the dye group is when the first person finishes theirs, the rest of us have a month to complete ours before we move on to something else.
So feeling the pressure when I got home last night, I pulled mine out. I had the center done, the petals done and one leaf done. I started after dinner and just kept on going! All I need to do is press and whip. It will be whipped with the dark maroon color wool that I am buying from Linda. Realized I didn't pay for it yet lol.
So now that I feel like I've accomplished something, it is time to hook on one of my other 2 projects I have going on. I did get to hook some of the antique rug at the hook in. Took pictures of everything else, but didn't get that one! I will share pictures of that tomorrow I'm hoping. Will work more on it today and then switch over and hook some of the Old Nutfield.
The last 2 days have felt like a whole week to me. Time to put my feet up after I pick up around here and get some more hooking done. I don't need to go out anywhere. I like those days :).
Hoping you all have a Wonderful weekend and get to do something you truly enjoy.....
I just want to add that I have tried to leave comments on other blogs, but they are being wonky lately. I am keeping up with all of you, I just can't seem to leave the comments. Hoping the bugs work themselves out soon!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Keeping the hands moving ~~
Even with threats of snow, Rug hookers push through it all to get to their favorite hook in and keep their hands moving. What a busy Thursday it was last week. Some people who usually come later in the day, decided to come early to get their "fix" of hooking. Nancee came early and showed us what she finished on her cat rug since that Sunday. Love it!!!
Patty stopped by too! We haven't seen her for a while. Was wonderful to see the progress of her rug.
Isn't it great??
One of our newest hookers Amy making a mistake that many of us have done in the past. I had to get my camera out quick for this one lol. She's doing a great job on her sheep!
And finish she did! She was shown how to do the whipping that day and was just about done by the time she went home. I showed her how to use the wool strips, and shared with her all the different ways of finishing a rug.
The Whipping Woman came back toooooo. Haven't seen her since Christmas! Joanne was busy working away finishing up her basket of hooked pieces.
Linda was busy all day helping people. Deb watches on while Linda helps color plan a rug for another new hooker named Linda.
Here's a close up. Just beautiful in person!
Diane is making such great progress on her rug. She sits at the end of the table in her own little world with all her baggies of worms and just hooks and hooks. It's going to be great!!!
Genny finished this punch needle piece at last weeks hook in. Her husband made the frame for her. What a terrific piece!!
I was able to get some hooking done that day. Of course I always think I'm going to do more than I actually get done. But I was able to get this much done on this Antique piece that was chosen and drawn up by Kelley Belfast. Group leader of our AAPG group on line. I don't have the whole thing laid out in my mind, and sometimes that can be a problem, but i'm having fun with it. Kelley is going to pick an antique rug every quarter to keep us motivated. I'm thinking if I choose to do the next one, it will be punch needle lol.
And since we had snow this weekend, it was a good time to do some hooking on my big rug. I can look at it all I want while it's laying on the floor, but it's not going to get hooked unless I pick up the hook and do it. I am so happy I have the largest elements finished. I have thoughts for other colors, but nothing set in stone yet. Not feeling well Sunday morning, I was starting to feel better by the afternoon. I've never had much heartburn before, but I woke up with it about 3a.m. A very strange burning sensation. After some antacids, I was happy it passed. I ended up just sleeping on the couch instead of tossing and turning in bed and waking George. I was thankful to be able to finally fall back to sleep. I'm thinking it was something I ate the day before. (then the next morning I see an article about heart attack symptoms!) Glad I'm not a hypochondriac, but will keep an eye on it.
It's so foggy out right now. And there was ice this morning. So nerve wracking for me when my husband goes to work, and now my daughter drives a good 45 minutes to school (on a clear day).
Patty stopped by too! We haven't seen her for a while. Was wonderful to see the progress of her rug.
Isn't it great??
One of our newest hookers Amy making a mistake that many of us have done in the past. I had to get my camera out quick for this one lol. She's doing a great job on her sheep!
Deb and Amy watching Marilyn finish hooking her first piece.
And finish she did! She was shown how to do the whipping that day and was just about done by the time she went home. I showed her how to use the wool strips, and shared with her all the different ways of finishing a rug.
The Whipping Woman came back toooooo. Haven't seen her since Christmas! Joanne was busy working away finishing up her basket of hooked pieces.
Linda was busy all day helping people. Deb watches on while Linda helps color plan a rug for another new hooker named Linda.
And here is Deb's first piece. She had already picked something out for her next piece and was also picking out wools for it.
Judith is another one we haven't seen in a while. She brought her rug and hooked for a bit before heading out. First picture is fuzzy, but I like to get a face with the rug.
Here's a close up. Just beautiful in person!
Diane is making such great progress on her rug. She sits at the end of the table in her own little world with all her baggies of worms and just hooks and hooks. It's going to be great!!!
Genny finished this punch needle piece at last weeks hook in. Her husband made the frame for her. What a terrific piece!!
I was able to get some hooking done that day. Of course I always think I'm going to do more than I actually get done. But I was able to get this much done on this Antique piece that was chosen and drawn up by Kelley Belfast. Group leader of our AAPG group on line. I don't have the whole thing laid out in my mind, and sometimes that can be a problem, but i'm having fun with it. Kelley is going to pick an antique rug every quarter to keep us motivated. I'm thinking if I choose to do the next one, it will be punch needle lol.
And since we had snow this weekend, it was a good time to do some hooking on my big rug. I can look at it all I want while it's laying on the floor, but it's not going to get hooked unless I pick up the hook and do it. I am so happy I have the largest elements finished. I have thoughts for other colors, but nothing set in stone yet. Not feeling well Sunday morning, I was starting to feel better by the afternoon. I've never had much heartburn before, but I woke up with it about 3a.m. A very strange burning sensation. After some antacids, I was happy it passed. I ended up just sleeping on the couch instead of tossing and turning in bed and waking George. I was thankful to be able to finally fall back to sleep. I'm thinking it was something I ate the day before. (then the next morning I see an article about heart attack symptoms!) Glad I'm not a hypochondriac, but will keep an eye on it.
And here we are Monday morning already! Time to get my day going. I have to run to the post office to mail a package, and then I am meeting my friend Vicki for lunch today. Hopefully I will have some good light to pick some more colors for one of my rugs. I do not like having so many projects going on at the same time. It starts to eat at me after a while. So I'm trying to just do a little on one and then a little on the other. maybe they will get done around the same time. I don't know.
I also measured the area on the wall of where I will be putting yet another piece I haven't even started yet. I will be taking the Susan Feller class at Grant Street Woolworks in just a couple weeks. She is going to be teaching us how to Design our own Fraktur. I am looking forward to that. I'm not sure if the class is full or not yet for sure, so if you are thinking about doing it, you can get in touch with Linda 717-860-4628. It's filling up fast, but I hope we see some new faces!!
It's so foggy out right now. And there was ice this morning. So nerve wracking for me when my husband goes to work, and now my daughter drives a good 45 minutes to school (on a clear day).
Safe travels to everyone out there. And here's wishing a very productive week ahead for everyone!
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Take a quick peek before Friday! Our Update~~
Hi everyone! I will be away tomorrow at the hook in at Grant Street. I'm usually there late and like to sleep in just a little on Friday lol. I didn't want to miss reminding you of the update.. So I need to get this blog out tonight to remind you all about the Selling blog that I've joined. PrimitiveHandmadesMercantile. Click on the link here, or at the top of my side bar to see the New blog, and what the Artists are selling. There will be an update every 3rd Friday of each month. Right now if you click on it, you will see that we are having a Grand Opening GiveAway! If you sign up to recieve the monthly Newsletter, you will automatically be entered. It's only going on for one week, before the name of the winner is picked. You can see what the prizes are too in the picture above the details. So why not hop on over and take a peek at everything. There might be something there that interests you. Book mark it and stop back on Friday to do some shopping :)! Valentines Day is coming, and there is lots to choose from ! Wait till you see :) !
I have to thank Teresa Miller and Robin Leushen for all their hard work in bringing all of us together so quickly, and making everything look so wonderful! This group of women are so very talented, and I'm happy to be a part of it.
Thanks for stopping by here and at PrimitiveHandmadesMercantile. I always appreciate your comments and love reading them.
Wishing you a Blessed weekend..... Stay warm and be creative!
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Lake's Birthday
Friday the 13th this month Lakein turned 26. Her mom and I talked through messaging, and I found out that Lake likes my coffee cake. Sooo we had a pizza party with her and her Mom and Dad and friends. Kind of hard to decorate a crumb topping, so I just arranged 26 candles to form the number.
I'm thinking she is wishing many, many wishes.....
And I'm sure they will all come true after blowing out all those candles!
What a fun night it was with the family. I'm hoping the upcoming year brings many good things for her and Craig.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Hooking the Big one ~ Hook in fun ~ Rug Hooking class with Susan Feller
What a fast week this has been. Helped out at the shop for 2 days this week, and on Wednesday I was able to finish up hooking a piece for the selling blog. The update will be Next Friday! Check back for more details as time gets closer.
Thursday was the hook in, and wow, was it a hopping day! Love seeing Linda's shop full like that. I whipped my the mat I finished hooking the day before, and then started the outline for the Big one I'm doing. I outlined in an 8.5 cut and will do the inside in a 9 cut. I'm excited about it, and will be working on that today. (there is an NCIS marathon that starts at 1:00 today lol).
Two new people came to the hook in to learn how to hook, so Linda set them up with something to give them a feel. Before they left, they had a pattern, some wool with it cut and were ready to do some hooking at home. They said they will be back next week. Amy on the left with her mom Marilyn on the right. Hope I got the names right.
Barb had 2 of her friends there. The one on the right is teaching an applique class, and the one on the left is one of the students. Sorry I forgot their names. They were busy for a while picking out some dyed wool.
Joan and Linda talking about Joan's piece and boy oh boy, as the day went on, those 2 got so giddy. Love the laughter :) :)....
Tanya in the bottom corner of the picture above surprised us yesterday. She had some work in the area and made sure she had her hooking in the car :). We were real happy to see her! This is the piece she is working on now. Love it!
And Nancee finished yet another piece! This piece and the one above are both from the same designer. Anne Nichols from Annetiques. Can't wait to see what she will be hooking next week!
More silliness. Genny went to the farm show this week with her grandchildren and had to have the hat lol. She brought her rocking chair that she bought at a sale and then hooked the back and seat for it. Way to go Genny!!
And here is the punch needle piece that Genny finished that evening. She didn't have much more to go. Great job!
Now that Diane finished her pig rug, she has started a new one. I think she is really enjoying it.
Thursday was the hook in, and wow, was it a hopping day! Love seeing Linda's shop full like that. I whipped my the mat I finished hooking the day before, and then started the outline for the Big one I'm doing. I outlined in an 8.5 cut and will do the inside in a 9 cut. I'm excited about it, and will be working on that today. (there is an NCIS marathon that starts at 1:00 today lol).
Two new people came to the hook in to learn how to hook, so Linda set them up with something to give them a feel. Before they left, they had a pattern, some wool with it cut and were ready to do some hooking at home. They said they will be back next week. Amy on the left with her mom Marilyn on the right. Hope I got the names right.
Barb had 2 of her friends there. The one on the right is teaching an applique class, and the one on the left is one of the students. Sorry I forgot their names. They were busy for a while picking out some dyed wool.
Joan and Linda talking about Joan's piece and boy oh boy, as the day went on, those 2 got so giddy. Love the laughter :) :)....
Tanya in the bottom corner of the picture above surprised us yesterday. She had some work in the area and made sure she had her hooking in the car :). We were real happy to see her! This is the piece she is working on now. Love it!
And Nancee finished yet another piece! This piece and the one above are both from the same designer. Anne Nichols from Annetiques. Can't wait to see what she will be hooking next week!
More silliness. Genny went to the farm show this week with her grandchildren and had to have the hat lol. She brought her rocking chair that she bought at a sale and then hooked the back and seat for it. Way to go Genny!!
She brought her sister Dot to try and get her to finish the project she started to hook.
And here is the punch needle piece that Genny finished that evening. She didn't have much more to go. Great job!
Now that Diane finished her pig rug, she has started a new one. I think she is really enjoying it.
And now a little bit about Linda having a class in February taught by Susan Feller. It's a class on designing your own fraktur to hook. I will be taking the class and am looking forward to it. If anyone is interested, or you have some questions, you can contact Linda directly at 717-860-4628. It will be a 3 day class at Grant street Woolworks. Would love to see some New faces!! As I receive more news about it, I'll give an update ~~
The weather certainly has gotten colder the last few days, and I'm happy that I don't have to go out at all this weekend. Well, church tomorrow, but that is it!
Last night we had family over for Lake's Birthday. Will share a few pic's from that perhaps tomorrow. We had a great time. I cleaned the house real good yesterday (1 1/2 hours on my hands and knees cleaning the kitchen floor) . God I can't wait till we get a new one...................... So I deserve the day off today to get some crafting done :)
Enjoy your weekend everyone, and stay warm! I'm off to start another piece for the selling blog. Can't decide on cross stitch or punch needle. Decisions, decisions.....
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