A Witch's Walk

I love when you share your finished rugs with me.  Here is a wonderful example that was sent to me the other day.

Pat Cross from Charlottesville, Virginia hooked this beauty, A Witch's Walk.  This is a Notforgotten Farm/Lori Brechlin adaptation.  Pat calls her little witch "Gertie" which I think suits her just fine.  I love Pat's choice of colors, just perfection for a Halloween rug.  Don't you just love the combination of purple and green?  I also love the houses on the hill.  The roof tops look like rusty old metal.  Another thing to love?  The way Pat hooked similar values and textures to create movement in her night sky.

Thanks for sharing your hooking talents Pat!

Color On The Wall

Registration for the 2013 ATHA Biennial in Long Beach, California has begun! I am teaching Color On The Wall on Saturday, September 28th. This is going to be a fun workshop full of creativity! Create a wall pocket/hanging cone. You may design your own or you may hook one of my designs (there will be more than just a Santa design). The class kit comes with a pattern and all the wool you need. We'll also discuss how to sew up your cone and add the hanger. Use sheep curls, roving, felted baubles, sari ribbon. Explore quilling and needle felting on your hooking...plus much more!
Wouldn't this Santa cone look great hanging on your mantel next Christmas?  You could also fill it with candy and give it as a gift to someone special.  Make a Halloween cone to fill with bittersweet vines, or a Spring cone to fill with chocolate eggs or your favorite flowers.  The possibilities are endless!
Sign up, get creative and join the fun! There are still openings available.
Go to www.ATHArugs.com and click on the Biennial tab at the top of the page for more information and registration.

Meet the (Farm) Family

A recent comment from my friend Saundra made me think that I'd like to write about my wooly family here at Spruce Ridge Studios.  She asked if the picture posted on 1/24/13 was "Stinky."  No, Saundra, that is actually Emma peeking out from the back of the livestock trailer as she was taken to be sheared one spring morn.  She really looked like she was saying "Woe is me!" 

~~~

Since Saundra has given me this idea, my first "Meet the Family" post is about Stinky.

Stinky's real name is Sampson.  We named him Sampson because he is one of the hairiest Angora goats I have ever seen.  Sometimes he grows little curls right on the edges of his ears.  While most goats have their own unique "goat smell", Stinky earned his nickname because he is...well...just really more funky smelling than all the other goats.  I have been told that in the goat world, the smelliest boys are also the sexiest boys and the girl goats love that.  The only thing I can say is that it must be true because the two youngest girl goats follow him everywhere like a harem of beckoning maidens.  Somehow they haven't figured out that he is neutered. I guess he is like a rock star to them! 

Stinky is sort of small for a boy.  He is the only goat in my herd that will bite at the other goats if he gets annoyed, not typical for a goat.  When he was younger, he used to sit like a dog, which is another non-typical goat behavior.  Here he is, caught in the act:

Here's another picture of Stinky in the spring, before shearing.  Poor guy can barely see out of all that hair! You can see what a totally hairy guy he is!

We just love Stinky.  He is actually very friendly, good natured and loves to be cuddled...if you can put up with his "natural cologne!"  That ain't Polo he's wearin', honey!

Great News!

The Spruce Ridge Studios web site is back up and running!  Thanks for your patience while the bugs were worked out.  

Woe Is Me!

Yes, that's right...woe is me!  The Spruce Ridge Studios web site is having major technical problems.  My peeps are working on it but it could be several days before it will show up again.  In the meantime, please contact me if you have any questions about patterns, supplies, schedule, etc.  You can also stay tuned right here to my blog and the Spruce Ridge Studios Facebook page for any additional updates.

Thanks!

The Full Monty

I want to share a comment from my last blog post that didn't show up in the comment section.  It is from my friend Saundra who wrote:

"Kris, you're a big tease and can't wait to see the "full monty." 

 Well, Saundra, here is the full monty!

This is my Boy Scout rug.  It is an adaptation from an antique rug that I saw years and years ago on a trip to an antique market in the Adirondack Mountains.  Way back then, I was just a newbie rug hooker and couldn't afford to buy the real thing.  My husband and I asked permission to photograph the rug and the seller agreed. I have always wanted to hook my own version of this rug.  I love the simple charm of the design.  A cabin in the woods in winter.  Perfect.  I started hooking the road and fence line.  It was easy because it was all straight-line hooking.  Then my poor design sat for years because I became frustrated with trying to reproduce the lovely wonkiness of the rest of the rug.  In December, I had time to hook and decided that this neglected project deserved to be finished.  I am delighted that it came out looking fairly similar to the antique rug.  It's been a long journey.

PS:  I swear if I ever run into the old antique Boy Scout rug again, I will buy it on the spot!  But what are the odds of that???