Holiday Sale This Week!

I'm enjoying some extended family time after the Thanksgiving Holiday...so save room on your Holiday shopping list for Spruce Ridge Studios' Holiday Sale later this week. 

Thursday December 4th

From 11 am to 6 pm EST

For purchases up to and including $55.00, you will receive 20% off your entire purchase. You'll get 25% off your entire purchase of $55.01 or more!  Buy more and save more!

Discounts will apply to everything on the Spruce Ridge Studios website EXCEPT Eurosteam Irons. Shipping and MI sales tax is extra. 

Woolly Little Flash Sale

Today only!  A warm and woolly flash sale on a cold, gray November day!

Here is Wool Ewe Be Mine, a design adapted from Notforgotten Farms and offered by Spruce Ridge Studios.  I hooked this little sweet mat a few years ago, using neutral textures with a lovely red heart. You don't need a lot of different colors to make this look great! I used quillie circles in the sheep's body but you could also just hook little curlicues for the fleece.  I hooked the background in straight rows to simulate boards.  It's a nice contrast to the curves of the heart. The size is 16" x 14" so it hooks up quickly and I think it would make a great Christmas gift for someone special!

Again, I drew up too many of this pattern because I thought it was so adorable, so you get to profit from my exuberance!

This woolly little Flash Sale lasts ONLY today, Thursday November 13th (lucky number 13!) and runs all day (9 pm EST) or until I run out of patterns.  It is only for the Wool Ewe Be Mine pattern.  

This flash sale will offer 4 monks cloth patterns at 30% off (deeper discount for all you monks cloth fans) and 6 linen patterns at 25% off.  First come, first served, in the order that your order is received.  Shipping and sales tax (if you live in Michigan) is extra.

Here is a link to my website in case you need any more information:

Wool Ewe Be Mine 

That Time of Year!

Yes, it's that time of year!  Time for Holiday shopping and Christmas shows...and here is my favorite!

All The Trimmings Holiday Show in Chelsea, Michigan

It takes place Saturday December 6th

 from 10 am to 4 pm.  

(I'm giving you lots of time to mark your calendar)

 It's really a lovely, cozy little show with handmade items from Michigan artists, including wood carvings, jewelry, antiques, collectibles, felting, honey, folk paintings, pastels, counted cross stitch, textiles, rug hooking, and fresh greens. I personally do some of my own shopping at this show.  We purchase our Christmas wreaths and greens (they're always SO fresh!) and I've gotten some wonderful gifts too (earrings, fresh roasted coffee, wood carvings, and antiques).  I've heard some first time attendees say "Wow!  This is a GREAT show!"

The town of Chelsea is also having their Hometown Holidays celebration, so you can shop all day in the quaint town of Chelsea...and if you didn't know, the actor Jeff Daniels lives in Chelsea and founded the Purple Rose Theatre there!  The Common Grill is a special and favorite place for those who are looking for a tasty bite to eat!

Did I  mention free parking, free admission, and free refreshments?

If you are planning on attending, send me an email with your address and I will mail you a postcard with a discount when you shop in my booth.

I hope to see you there!

A New Old Friend

I vended at Harvest At The Mill in Holly, Michigan in the beginning of September.  It was the first time for me and as my husband and I walked through the gym on "set-up" day, I knew I was in big trouble.  There were so many wonderful primitive antiques, all of them in the rustic farmhouse kind of style that I love!  It was really hard to contain myself and at the end of the day, I had supported my fellow vendors very well.  I came home with a honey colored old cubby shelf and a wonderful old painted cupboard.  For those of you who know me, I have a uncontrolled love affair with old cupboards.  I always say that I have no more room for them, but somehow they come home with me, just like a good old familiar friend and we manage to find a place to make it work.  I just can't say no!

We finally put the new cupboard in its spot, cleaned it up, and checked it out like a newborn baby.  

I had been originally looking at an old bucket bench but then this caught my eye.  Double doors and double drawers.  The hardware worked great and the doors were straight and strong. The side boards on the top are original (all one piece of wood on the sides) but someone has shaped and modified it.  It sort of looks like a bucket bench but it's not.  And the streaky gray blue paint, all chippy and half worn off.  It made my heart skip a beat!

 When my husband opened the left hand drawer, he said "looks like the mice were chewing in there." Sigh.  I love that.  It gives it more character.  It has a story.  Just as long as they're not in there now, I'm good with it.

The nice thing is that it looks like no one used it as a tool bin or stored greasy stuff in it.  All it needed was a nice brushing out and a little vacuuming.  I said to my husband "Smell this thing...doesn't it smell good?" and he said "just smells like old wood to me."  It's not musty, just a lovely old smell, like sweet warm wood.

Now, can you imagine us bringing this home along with all our other merchandise from our booth?  My van was filled literally to the roof (with some stuff stuck inside the cabinet to make room)!  But where there's a will, there's a way, especially for a fanatical cabinet collector!

Old Tom

After I posted on Monday about Old Tom, I started hooking my own!

I decided to make a few "rules" for myself as I was gathering my wool.  I was only going to use scraps of wool that I had laying around.  Not necessarily from  my worm pile, but I wanted to use up some of my 3-6" pieces that have been accumulating, left over from other recent rugs.  I dug around and it seems I have a lot of those!  I wanted my turkey to have a bluish gray head, just like the real ones I've seen in our yard. I found a scrap of gray/brown pebbly wool that would work perfect for the tail feathers, so that was a "must" to use, too.  I'm using reversible black stripe for the background-it was the only wool I used that wasn't a scrap.

I can only hook about 2-3 hours at a time before my finger starts getting sore and achy.  I've only hooked on Old Tom for about 8 hours so this is a real quick and easy mat to work on.  I think I may ask my hand therapist if I can get a split to wear so I can hook a little longer!

The only thing I would change is that dark red strip at the top of the wing.  It didn't stand out so much in person but the photo makes it look a little out of place.

New Patterns

A big thanks to everyone who participated in the Flash Sale last Friday.  Your packages are in the mail and on their way to you.  If you missed the Halloween Flash Sale, don't despair.  There will be another flash sale on a different pattern in the near future.  So stay tuned!

I recently added two new patterns to the Notforgotten Farm collection. 

Here's Old Tom, a wonderful turkey pattern in a size that will hook up quickly.

I haven't ever hooked any turkey rugs so I think I want to do this one...in fact, the more I look at it, I might just take my Daisy rug off of my frame and start it tonight. I think I can get it done before Thanksgiving!

I do have a little inspiration for a hooking a turkey rug. We have had a group of turkeys hanging around our property all summer long. I think it is a mom and her chicks.  We have watched them grow and now I can't tell the mom from her babies.  They get close to the house sometimes, so I have gotten a few pictures. I love to watch them and see the color of their feathers.  Sometimes they roost in our pine trees in the evening.

 

The second pattern is called October 31st.

I love this pattern because it is not a typical Halloween pattern and has a very Fraktur-like feel to it.  It's a great design to hook in basic neutral textures...but you can still play with a few colors in the flowers.

Both patterns can be seen on my website and are available for immediate shipping.