Just Part of the Flock

Just 2 more days and I'll be on my way to Mississippi! Yikes! I'm STILL hooking on my sample rug but I think I can see light at the end of the tunnel (so I'd better not spend too much time on my blog and get back to work). I worked up this little sheep pillow as a sample for the same class so the students can see what it would be like to use some quilling on their little sheep.

Besides the quilling, I used beading around the border of the pillow. Isn't she sweet? I was having trouble sketching a sheep, so I used a photograph of Emma to draw the body...this is really and truly Emma, personified on my pillow!

Maria Barton has also begun to hook a sheep mat and incorporate quilling. Check out her blog here. I think it's really interesting to compare our individual styles. We each have our own "look". I can spot Maria's hooking style from a mile away.... I love her primitive palate and I'm a HUGE fan of her style and designs. She makes everything look so whimsical and yummy!
Back to my hooking....I'm working with roving....more about this later!
See y'all when I get back!

New Year, New Design, New Rug

In just about 2 1/2 weeks, I'll be heading down to Canton Mississippi to teach another fun rug hooking workshop. The gals who took my Emma's Garden workshop last year asked me to design another pattern for their 2010 class. I have been happily hooking away on my newly designed rug and I'm having a lot of fun in the process!!!
Here is a sneak peek:

The new pattern is called Have Ye Any Wool and features a sheep, goat and rooster standing one on top of the other. The techniques I'm teaching this year include: quilling, hooking two different kinds of eyes, hooking houses, hooking letters, hooking with roving, and hooking stars and giving them nice crisp points (If you've been following my blog, you are already privy to my lessons on hooking letters and houses ~ lucky you!). There might be a few more tips and tricks, depending on what I can think up between now and then. I'm still waiting for my background wool to come in, so some of my hooking progress has been put on hold. In the meantime, I've taken the sheep motif and made it into a smaller pattern...I'm hooking a smaller mat and I'm going to make it into a pillow. This will allow me to demonstrate some alternative techniques for hooking sheep. And maybe do some beading around the edges...this is just so exciting and I'll be showing you more soon!
I love when a plan (and a new rug) starts coming together!

Quite Frosty .... but Beautiful!

I think these pictures say it all....

Don't you love the color of that sky? Gorgeous!

I hope your week-end was spent somewhere cozy and warm...and perhaps working on a creative project that inspires you!
These are the days for hot tea and soft warm wool.
I've started hooking on a new design.....

Did I break a New Year's resolution ALREADY?!?

Happy New Year! I've been reading other blogger's entries and de-cluttering seems to be a common theme amongst most of us in this young new year. There are times that I feel like such a pack rat and I decided that it would do me good to re-organize and de-clutter a little. Yes, that's what my resolution should be ...and throw out or give away all that stuff that just sits around and doesn't get used like it should. And really be selective about what I drag back home....
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Yesterday, Ken and I headed up to Frankenmuth, Michigan to take some lovely Corriedale fleece to the woolen mill for processing. It's about an hour's drive so we always try to do some other fun things along the way. After dropping off the fleece, we headed to Zehnder's for lunch. They are famous for their fried chicken dinners, but the best kept secret is downstairs from the restaurant where they have a bakery and cafeteria. I love to order their Michigan Cherry Salad with chicken. It's like THE perfect "woman food"...trust me, it is THAT delicious. You'll be dreaming for more.
Then we passed an antique store that I hadn't really noticed before, so we decided to stop and take a peek.....
and I found this:

Gorgeous old bent rug hook. This baby looks really old. I had to have it. Justification: I collect rug hooking stuff. It wasn't too expensive. It's not big at all, and it can fit in a drawer.

Cute tiny little children's book. I have to have it. Justification: I collect sheep stuff, don't I? It was pretty cheap and it's small. Won't take up too much room on a shelf.

Old cast iron holly candle stick holders. I have to have them because they were 1/2 off! Justification: They will look great with red candles next Christmas. They aren't big. And they were 1/2 off.

Marvelous grungy galvanized box with two handles. I have to have it. Justification: It was super-cheap. I love how unusual it is. Maybe I can put something in it. Maybe I can use it to display something when I vend at a show.....

Yikes! Be still my heart!! A vintage shoping cart with wire baskets (OK, it came with just one but I have plenty of other wire baskets that will fit perfectly). Yeah, it's yellow...so what? I have to have it!!! Justification: I've been looking for one of these babies for a while. Sure, the wheels are missing but do I really need them? Maybe I can find replacement wheels? Maybe I can use this to put stuff in when I vend at shows!!! It was really, really inexpensive! It folds up so it won't take up too much room to store it.
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Darn! There goes my de-clutter New Year's Resolution, right out the window!
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After the antique store, we did make another stop at Pottery Barn Outlet. I was a very responsible shopper there. Look what I got:

Lovely rattan baskets that fit perfectly on my desk. I cleaned up my odds and ends and stored them in the baskets. That would be my start for de-cluttering.
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Maybe I'd better stick to my resolution of binding all of my hooked rugs that have their edges "temporarily" pinned in place....