New Carpetbag Design...

At long last, I have completed my latest carpetbag design... and I think it's my best yet. It's just become available on my website as a pattern on linen with complete instructions for making the bag. A wool kit, hardware kit and beautiful bag handles are available too.
You can find it here:
Irish Beach Carpetbag








This was a new path for me with respect to color... I've always turned to more subtle and muted colors. The interesting thing is that, by pushing myself out of a comfortable place, I've found a new appreciation for colors I've never considered.
So you can teach an old dog some new tricks!

Just a Bit of Knitting...

Life's been hectic... I needed a bit of "no-thinking" work for my hands.
This Westknit Mystery KAL on Ravelry was just the ticket. And I'll look forward to wearing it this fall to the Wine Country Rug Hookers Harvest Hook-In!











Okay... I confess, I enjoyed it so much that I knit a second one.

Taking Green to New Creative Heights...

Last Saturday was our regular monthly meeting of the Wine Country Rug Hookers which is always a lovely time of hooking and talking with friends. This month, Nada & I left a little early so we could stop by an Open Studio event at the Sebastopol studio of our fellow WCRH member, Nancy Winn.

Nancy takes the meaning of green and recycling to heart and creates the most whimsical and fantastic papier-mache creatures out of found and discarded paper and fiber. (And she's a wonderful rug hooker too!)




 

This is Milli Vanilli....


Nancy's card reads "Milli Vanilli's fur is made of paper and fibers including mohair, wool, alpaca and a recycled mop from the Legacy thrift store." Doesn't she warm your heart??

If you click on these images, you'll get a much better look at the detail and the kinds of materials Nancy's used in these creatures.

 

Nancy's an inspiring, positive role-model and her work delights!

You can see more of Nancy's art at galleries in Northern California and on her website:
NancyWinnSundawg.com

A Scary Before... With an Organized After!

Earlier this year I started an online class with one of my favorite rug hooking artists, Deanne Fitzpatrick. Sadly, I was not able to follow through with most of the class because soon after the class started, my world was thrown into chaos because of the sudden life-threatening illness of a young family member.
Before this happened I did manage to spend a blissful two weeks working on a few of the exercises Deanne gave us.

She presented us with the task of sorting, cleaning up and arranging our stashes.  Now I have a vast quantity of wool, most of which is for sale through my website. For sanity's sake, I pretty much keep that part of my studio tidy and presentable.
But climb up this ladder to the little loft where I keep my personal stash and be prepared for a shocking mess! (And watch your head....if you're any taller that 5'3" you can bump your head on the rafters.)







Such a mess... Boxes, wool tossed everywhere, a sleeping bag (yes, sometimes I spend the night in the studio), no organization whatsoever!
No wonder I never get any hooking done.

So I got to work for about two days sorting, reorganizing, throwing away a few things and, most importantly, re-shelving the wool in some semblance of color order and folded so that I can now see what is there.






What a wonderful difference....thanks Deanne!



And I did manage to hook this tiny free-form study.

The Beeline Townsend 14" Orbitor Rug Hooking Frame...

As a distributor for the wonderful Beeline Townsend rug hooking products, I've been anxiously awaiting the debut of the new Beeline version of the Townsend 14" Orbitor Rug Hooking Frame. Being a bit of a tool snob, I'd hoped it would not disappoint.
The long-anticipated shipment of frames finally arrived in the studio about three weeks ago  and I confess that I am suitably impressed!

I had it out of the box, set up and in use in about 5 minutes. It's very intuitive in its function & set-up.... one knob adjusts the floor stand, a one click-pullout button adjusts the frame top angle, one knob adjusts the height and one knob loosens to allow free rotation of the frame top. When the frame top is in the desired position, a gentle twist of the knob tightens it into place. Or... you can allow the frame to rotate freely for maximum ease in turning your work. Free rotation on an incredibly stable base....my personal rug hooking dream come true. 

Other details I've taken note of as I've used the frame:

• The large rubber knobs are especially easy to use and won't hurt your hands.
• The grippers hold my linen foundation tightly and release it easily when I pull out and lift the linen.
• There is ample clearance between the top of the frame and the support structure underneath allowing me full access to hook without anything getting in my way.
• The frame folds up easily and will take up very little space if I want to store it in the closet....not that that's ever going to happen!
• When folded up the frame will roll easily on two rubber wheels but, when set up for use, the wheels are off the floor again providing a wonderful stability.
• •The blue heavy-duty, elasticized, canvas-type cover with the Bucky Bee logo is sturdy, practical and easy to use.
• Best of all, when I'm hooking I'm not thinking about my frame at all; no fiddling with two or three knobs to rotate the frame, no irritating slipage of the angle I spent 2 minutes adjusting.....just hooking in the zone.

 For a limited time, I am offering this wonderful frame with FREE SHIPPING  (a $40 value) to addresses in the USA. You can find more details here:

Beeline Townsend 14" Orbitor Rug Hooking Frame

New Quilly Workshop Added to My Schedule...

I've just added a new session of my Quilly Workshop to my studio schedule...

Workshop Date: Sunday, June 24th, 2012 from 11:00 AM - 3:30 PM

Join me in the studio for a fun day learning to create quillies (or standing wool circles) and use them to embellish our hooked rugs. We'll share ideas for their use and learn to attach them to our rug backings. Basic rug hooking and simple hand sewing skills are necessary for this workshop.
For more information or to sign up for the workshop, check the
Classes and Events
page on my website.
Hope you can join us; it's going to be fun!

A Big Rug Finally Completed...

More playing around with the camera.....I finally finished binding this rug. It's wonderfully big & deserves a good spot in my home (if I can keep Tigger from deciding it's her's!).

Bears & Pottery

I love my iPad....
just playing around with my newest app, Snapfish.

The sunlight was playing over two of my favorite pieces of Ephraim Faience one recent morning so I grabbed the only camera I had available at that moment...the iPad. Sadly, the results were less than stellar.

But, in learning to use this new app, I came up with this moody rendition of a photo....


The large piece (and it's very large) is one of only 5 made in this design and I'm fortunate to have it in my collection.



New Patterns!

I've just added several inspiring and fun new patterns to my website! These are just a small sample......


"Ballerinas"

  These joyful dancing sisters are as light as air.....


"Naughty Dolly"









And, do you wonder what Dolly has done to merit such a look?

Both of these designs, so full of life, are designed by Sharon Smith.
A link to Ballerinas
And a link to Naughty Dolly

"Sheep Houses & Moon"


And this is my current project....
"Sheep Houses & Moon", a Karla Gerard design. His Quilly hairdo is inspired by the many bolts of natural textured wool that I keep in my studio for dyeing my custom line of hand dyed rug hooking and applique wools.
He's currently pinned to my design board patiently watching over the studio because life has gotten in the way of rug hooking lately. I'll get back to him eventually!


Quillies Inspired by Natural, Undyed Wools

Save The Date..... October 27, 2012!

Wine Country Rug Hookers

Harvest Hook-In & Rug Show
                                                           ….In the Heart of the Wine Country

When: October 27, 2012 from 10:00 AM until 4:00 PM
Where: Liberty School Community Center, 170 Liberty School Road, Petaluma, CA
What:

• VISIT with old and new rug hooking friends while spending a joyful day (or weekend!) in the wine country.
• HOOK in a spacious setting with tons of good light; there’s even a lovely open patio area to sit outdoors and enjoy our spectacular fall weather.
• LOOK at beautiful fall and harvest- themed hand-hooked rugs (bring your rugs to display in the rug show!)
• SHOP for wool, supplies, gifts and special TBA surprises from our vendors.
• EAT tasty food.
• WIN door prizes

More information to come!

Contact our co-coordinators for more information & registration (we’ll even suggest lodging in case you want to spend the weekend in the Wine Country):

Nada Ferris Email: 1987enc@comcast.net
Marita Friedman Email: maritasews@earthlink.net