A Woolly Winter Holiday to You...

Wishing you all a warm & safe holiday season to share with your loved ones. And remember those who are not as fortunate by giving a little back in some way.....even the small things help.
Thanks to my wonderful friend, Charly, every year I have the good fortune to be involved in adopting a needy family in our community who otherwise might not have much at Christmastime. Thank you Charly.
My decorating for the holidays consists of pulling out a few of my favorite things.... simple, not much fuss, and usually involving wool of course!
Do you remember this post....
A Blank Canvas
Well, he now graces my mantle along with a few beautiful pots and a lovely painting by my studio mate, Suzanne D'Arcy.

This girl is out for the first time....my first attempt at doll making. She's not perfect but she has a great personality.

Getting in the Spirit.....

Just now home from a couple of weeks of non-stop family gatherings, Thanksgiving, traveling and the wonderful wedding of my niece, Michelle, at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama.
I also got to pay a visit to one of my favorite hooked rugs....this little guy now resides with my brother and sister-in-law in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

I fell in love with many houses on Mobile Bay as I walked along the beach beyond the hotel....wouldn't you love to decorate this little beach shack for Christmas!

Of course, it doesn't hurt that this is the view from the front porch.

(Doesn't show up well, but the weather vane has a flying crane atop it...I love the little details.)

And I couldn't resist sharing this photo of Michelle and her father (my darling, smart & bratty little brother, Jack).

Proddy Workshop with Gene Shepherd

I'm so fortunate to be a member of the Wine Country Rug Hookers, an ATHA guild based in the lovely region of California where I grew up. There are many reasons to appreciate this guild.....not the least of which is the varied and talented group of hookers I've come to know & love.


Another reason is that, at least twice a year, we host well-known teachers from around the country to come & share their expertise with our members. For some inexplicable reason, we don't have much difficulty getting teaching commitments from these great teachers. I wonder why???

Last weekend, we had a visitor from not-too-far-away, the inestimable Gene Shepherd from Anaheim, California (otherwise known as the home of Disneyland). Gene spent a very busy day and a half teaching us proddy techniques to enhance our hooking. It was great fun and Gene is a great teacher. He's thoroughly researched his subject and has worked hard to develop neat ways of prodding realistic-looking flowers. He's also quite personable, tells a good story and kept us laughing.

The hookers in our group have a broad range of styles and, as a result, there were a great many interpretations of Gene's proddy flower techniques. I took two pieces that I had put a lot of work in to before the workshop. The first is a Primitive Spirit design, Almond Blossoms, which I had completely hooked but left spaces to add the proddy blossoms. The top photo is how the piece looked after the workshop. I spent the whole first day cutting out the blossoms and adding them to the piece.
While I was very happy with all that I learned, I did find that I was not completely pleased with the colors of the blossoms.....somehow the brighter pink just didn't go with the overall muted colors of the mat. I have since made a few changes and additions and am much happier with the total effect.
I welcome your opinions on which you like best.....the first version with the brighter blossoms or the second version with the more subtle coloration in the blossoms?

This mat will be used as my demonstration piece for the Pillow Construction Workshop I'm teaching in my studio next month.....I rather like the idea that I'll be using a piece that Gene helped me to learn from to help others learn some of what I have to offer.

The second piece that I worked on is my own design.....you'll see the finished version & the pattern at a later time but, for now, I just wanted to share the flowers I added using Gene's techniques & guidance. This piece makes me very happy!







Notice the wonderful vintage Bakelite buttons I used as centers for two of the flowers? I have quite an extensive collection of vintage & antique buttons and it's fun to find such a great use for a few of them!







Keep Hooking.....

Midnight in the Studio

Working very late in the studio one night this week, I just happened to snap this shot as I thought about photographing lots of new hand dyed woolens for my website. As I took a better look at the photo I realized that my studio mate, Suzanne, and I share our studio with some rather odd characters!

Happy Hallowe'en to all.......

Spooky Time of Year

Seems like a good time to bring this old friend out for a visit....he's based upon a pattern available in Rug Hooking Magazine a few years ago.
He hangs out in my studio most of the time and scares off the goblins & ghosts!

We had a great time at the planning session for the Pillow Construction Workshop in my studio last weekend. I'm sure I talked way more than was necessary but my lovely class participants were very kind. I'm so encouraged by their enthusiasm and the projects they are planning! We'll have several beautiful new pillows to share the end of November.

If you'd like to join the class we still have a little room and I'm giving a make-up class on Sunday, October 25 in my studio. You can click HERE for more information.
All of you good witches and wizards stay out of trouble~~~~

Pillow Construction for Rug Hookers

Well I sure didn't mean to be gone so long! Life just has a way of getting in the way of blogging.

I'm busily preparing for the pillow workshop I'm teaching in my studio this and next month.... I've spent years making beautiful custom pillows for the interior design trade and thought it would be fun to teach some of the professional tricks I've developed to my rug hooking friends. We're going to have great fun making lovely pillows.

I still have room in the class for a couple more people.... come and join us! Click here for more info:

Classes and Events at The Merry Hooker Woolens Studio

I'll post pictures of the class and the pillows they make when we're done.

I made these great (big!) pillows for a favorite client in Silicone Valley a few years ago. Big fluffy pillow inserts and attention to all the details make them just perfect. It wasn't easy getting the Greek Key trim perfectly placed for the boxing strip of the two big boxed pillows but I was pleased with the way they turned out. And, more importantly, so was my client.

If you click on this picture you can get a better look at the trim details....the trim on the knife edge pillow has incredible red glass beads combined with the tassels and the textures of the fabrics are wonderful. I especially love the old green velvet in the center.

Wonky Houses

Geez, it took me awhile to finish the sky on this rug! I'm still not entirely thrilled with it & will probably rip out a few things before I put it on stretcher bars.
I tried a few new (to me) materials.... hand dyed silk ribbon that I got up in Oregon the last time I visited my son at school, and some of my own hand dyed fleece, Starless Night. It was great fun trying out new materials......