Last week I met with the hooking group in Salt Lake City and we had a nice time - shared treats and goodies and enjoyed each others company.
Myra brought two of the five pillows that she has made as gifts for her daughters - I can't remember who the designer is - but she especially like the pattern because it wasn't 'just' for Christmas, but could be displayed all winter long.
Nancy showed us her finished rug and told us about some sticky stuff she puts under her rugs so they won't slip on the carpet - I'm going to try and look for some of this and use it for my rugs too.
She also showed us some ornaments that she hooked using a pattern in the most recent Rug Hooking Magazine. Just needs to get the back finished and they'll be ready to hang on the tree. She wanted to add some metallic touches, but instead found some irridescent beads that added a bit of sparkle to them. Cute!
And I actually started a new rug so I had a project to work on too! Scrappy - it'll be for my dining room table.
All over blogland, talented people are sharing photos of their beautiful homes all decked out with Christmas finery - but not me! For some dumb reason, we decided to get new carpet about a week ago and the house is in terrible disaray. We're making a bit of progress at getting things put back together, but it's slow going since we're thinning collections and weeding out old clothes and other stuff - what a huge job! Anyway, I've had emails from a couple of concerned folks who were worried about me since I hadn't posted lately, so I'm sharing these disgraceful pictures to show you what I've been doing. Hope to be back to normal soon!
About 2-1/2 years ago I started taking better care of myself, and I started walking 2, 3, or 4 miles a day. In the winter I get on my treadmill, but I love the warmer months when I can go outside and enjoy the fresh air. I walk down the street about a half mile and then hook up with a paved walking trail that goes for miles and miles - it's an old railroad bed that has been paved over. Once in awhile I'll ride my bicycle and go quite far! This morning I brought my camera with me and snapped a picture of the trail - I can't believe there are still some leaves clinging to the trees - in the summer it's like walking through a green tunnel - nice and shady and cool.
I also walk by a spring-fed pond where there are usually lots of ducks and sometimes swans, but not today. Not even the fishermen were there!
I still haven't done any hooking lately, but I have been making a couple little projects with wool. I've made these three items: A Heart & Hand pinkeep from a Maggie B pattern that I stuffed with worm tails leftover from previous rug hooking projects, a daisy pinkeep from a Lisa Bongean pattern that I stuffed with ground walnut shells, and a darling little snippet bowl from a tutorial that Linda shared on her blog recently. They all worked up really quickly so I was able to feel a sense of accomplishment. FUN!
Last week was rug hooking on the day after Halloween and we had a great turnout of eleven people - it's always so much fun to visit and see what everyone is working on each month.
Marilyn brought these hooked cobs of Indian corn all finished up - so cute - and perfect to display during the harvest season. She got the pattern out of a recent issue of Create & Decorate.
Last month Tonia was working on a 3D sheep project, and this time she brought it and it's friend - both completely finished. The swirls give the illusion of curly sheeps wool - and she used twigs from her yard for their little legs. They have little rusty bells tied around their necks.
Jeanette found a wooden star with an opening that was just screaming for a hooked insert.
This is the project I've been working on - a penny rug that I started during the long drive to and from California last month. I'm using coat wool that felted up too heavy to use for hooking. It's pitiful, but I really haven't pulled a single loop all summer long - I need to get back to it.....and SOON!
Marliss had a lovely table set for our refreshments. Such a nice time!
Rainbows in Wool! Congratulations! My son was in the same room as me ironing his shirt, so I asked him to pick a number between one and twenty-seven (that's how many entries there were) and he picked number 22. I don't know this blogger's name, but she has some nice quilts and rugs to share - I especially like the rug shown in her header picture - go check it out here. I'd like to thank each of you who visit often and make blogging such a great experience for me!
This giveaway is now closed, and the winner has been announced above.
I've been fortunate enough to win a fair amount of giveaways lately, so I decided it was time to give back to the blogging community by having my own giveaway. I think mostly rug hookers will be interested in entering because all these goodies are related to that. Here's a picture of all the treasures.
And some close-ups of the various items. A pincushion made from an extra hexagon block that was leftover from a little quilt I recently made. It's stuffed with sand and polyfil.
A pattern that I have already made for a hit & miss star rug - no sense having this just sit around when someone else can get some use out of it.
Here's a candle mat that I made when I taught a penny rug class to our guild a couple of months ago.
A little sheep to add to your collection - he has a tiny rusty bell tied around his neck and has clothes pin legs.
This is a cover for an iPod that's made of wool that will protect your screen from scratches.
A little tiny tote bag that is filled with a few pieces of yummy colored wool all rolled up.
Also included is a worm bed made of ticking where you can store your cut strips of wool and keep them organized by color and they won't get tangled before you need to use them.
Please leave a comment here on my blog and be sure there is a way for me to contact you. I will draw the winner on Saturday night or sometime on Sunday. Thanks to all of you for visiting and being part of the this blogging rug hooking community I enjoy so much!
