Sunday, April 27, 2008

A Visit With Emma

On Friday, I went out to Neil's farm to visit with Emma and see how she's growing. She's three weeks old now.
She was out in the field grazing with her mom. Her brother was there too but somehow he didn't get into this picture.

Such a cute little face! She's getting a lot more fuzzy. Liz says she looks like a teddy bear!

Ooops! Where did Mom go?


I'll try to get some more pictures as the weeks go by...hopefully Neil doesn't mind me intruding on his farm!

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Thanks For A Great Day

Thanks to all who came to the hook-in in Saline today! We (me and DH Ken) had a fun and successful day...we are so pleased you stopped by my booth! It was great fun to see old friends again and share the enthusiasm and energy of happy, creative rug hookers! There were smiles all day long. Now I'm going to plop down (literally!) on the sofa and put my feet up.

I went to Neil's farm on Friday to see Emma....I'll post pictures tomorrow!

Thursday, April 24, 2008

"2008 Friendship Hook-In" Saline, Michigan

I'll be vending at the Hook-In in Saline, Michigan this Saturday at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds. The fun begins at 10 am and lasts until 4 pm. There'll be door prizes, a rug exhibit, raffle for a hooked rug.
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I'm bringing along 3 brand new Notforgotten Farm patterns!
Based on Lori's latest note cards, they were newly adapted this week and will make their debut at the hook-in.
Be sure to LOOK for them!!!
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I'm also bringing lots of wool, patterns, books, hooks, kits, pins, frames, roving, and much, much more.
Stop by my booth and say hello!

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Lumi's Big Day

Yesterday was sheep shearing at Liz Cowdery's farm. Liz calls it "an event", and I have to admit that it is quite an amazing process! All of us small fiber people who only have a couple of sheep bring our animals over to Liz's to have them sheared too.

Here is Lumi before shearing. She's quite shaggy and I'm sure it's very hot to be wearing a wool coat when it's 70 degrees and sunny.

Here's Doug starting out. He sits the sheep back on their butt and they can't go anywhere!

He's doing her tummy first. That wool is really dirty and matted and we throw that away.


Now he's working on her legs. That wool isn't good either and we discard it.


He's working up her hips and along her back.


He's shearing along her back and sides. This is the wool we want to keep.


Doug is almost done....only about 5 minutes have elapsed! Look at that gorgeous fleece laying there! When Doug is finished, he rolls it up into one big piece and we put it in a bag. Lumi has a fine wool with a nice crimp (lots of little waves in the fiber). OK, maybe I'm nuts but I love looking at a raw fleece!



Here's Lumi after shearing. She's soaking up the sunshine and I think she's happy that she gave up her wool. She's a good girl!






Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Introducing...Emma!

Isn't she absolutely adorable? This is my new little lamb, Emma! She was born on April 3, 2008, weighing 11 pounds at birth. She is one in a set of triplets and she's a white Wensleydale.
That's my Emma on the left. Isn't she a perky little gal? And the human is Neil Kentner who is a friend of mine and raises Wensleydale sheep here in Michigan. He has a beautiful flock!

Here's Emma and her mama.


Time for a nap!


I haven't decided yet if I want to register Emma...that means she would have a pedigree with papers and a fancy-schmancy name to match....but regardless of what I decide, she's always going to be little Emma to me!
We can't bring her home for a couple of months but my heart is smiling because she is so beautiful. There is nothing better than a soft curly lamb!
Stay tuned...I'll have to start a mini-series called "Growing Up With Emma"!!!





Saturday, April 5, 2008

Thank you to The Wool Street Journal



Have you seen the April 2008 issue of the Wool Street Journal? The cover features a Spruce Ridge Studios pattern called Mr. MacGregor, adapted from a design by Lori Brechlin from Notforgotten Farms. You can find it on my website by clicking on this link: Mr. MacGregor This cover version was hooked by Tina Ackermann. Isn't he handsome???











Here is my version of Mr. MacGregor. One of the reasons that I love rug hooking so much is that two people can hook the same pattern and you will get totally different interpretations. It's fun to compare Tina's dark background and my turquoise background...they both work wonderfully for this design.




Another Spruce Ridge Studios pattern was on the front cover of the January 2008 issue of The Wool Street Journal! Oh Glorious Day is another rug hooking pattern that is adapted from a Lori Brechlin/Notforgotten Farm note card. A perfect design to give you a BIG smile every day! You can find this pattern on my website by clicking on this link: Oh Glorious Day

This rug was hooked by Debbe Myers.