and THE LAST OF THE PIX…

Hmmmmm Helen is a lot more controlled than I usually am – I think I usually take a few hundred pix!!! But I am sooooo happy she was able to share her pix with me and with you…

AND A FEW MORE…

 

 

A FEW MORE…

Since I will be leaving for a few days tomorrow I am anxious to share as many pix as I can before I leave so here is another taste of Green Mountain…

 

GREEN MOUNTAIN RUG SHOW…

This year was the first year I have missed the amazing rug show in Vermont I think I started hooking. I was so disappointed as it is always so wonderful to go and be inspired by the rugs on display (and of course spend a few dollars at the vendors!!!). BUTTTTT, my cousin Helen did go and took pix and shared them with me and I will share them with you so you too can live vicariously :-)…  This may take a day or two as we have to transfer them from iPad to Mac to be edited and then posted but here are a few to whet your appetite!!!

WOODSTOCK FLEECE FESTIVAL…

Well, we packed up the SUV Friday morning to head out for a 5 hour drive to Woodstock for Fleece Festival only to turn around 20 minutes later after hearing a few strange noises in the car. Nope, no mice in the engine but rather a transmission that was on its last legs. So after much squeezing and downsizing we were able to get everything into a much smaller Subaru. Could no longer see out the rearview mirror (oooops maybe I should not post that haha) or move the seats so with knees up around my neck we headed out – again. I am soooo glad as Fleece Festival was fabulous! and extremely busy! and a lot of fun.

However, the SUV is dead! Between a new transmission and a differential (what is that anyway?) we have decided to wait a while, take a few deep breaths and decide if this vehicle is worth repairing or if we should just look for something to replace it. So, between not having a car big enough to transport all my stuff and a few major hitches in our personal lives which are overwhelming Gord and me, we have decided not to do The Makers Hand Show next weekend or The Nick of Time show in December. I am so disappointed as I have wanted to do the Makers Hand Show for years and finally had the opportunity and was accepted. This is a major show – beautiful art work by amazing artists – so being accepted is a major coup! But when life throws you curve balls…

If you are in the area however, and want something fun to do the weekend of October 31 to November 2 visit the show in Picton. I am sure you won’t be disappointed…

MOOSE…

This amazing bigggg moose pillow was designed by Robyn Griff and is available through Baa Baa Bundles.  It was hooked by Susan:

OFF TO FLEECE FESTIVAL…

in Woodstock this weekend. This wonderful fibre show runs Saturday from 9 – 5 and is cram packed with vendors of all things fibre related – yarns, handspun, roving, felting supplies and yes! rughooking supplies. So hope to see some of you there.

Well believe it or not I actually cooked for Thanksgiving. In between visiting a number of stops on our studio tour I popped a little butterball turkey breast into the oven and set the timer (took us about an hour to figure out how to do that!). The box that the breast came in was big but what a surprise when we opened it to find that the contents only filled half the box. Hmmmmm there were 6 of us for dinner – would this little chunk of meat feed all of us. Surrrrreee – we would be fine – after all we had turnips and potatoes to go with it and a wonderful huge pumpkin pie for dessert. So off we went! Came home – hmmmmmm yup there was a bit of a smell – not that wonderful turkey smell that fills the house when you cook a REAL bird but at least we knew the oven had come on. But oh my, when I opened the oven door what did I see but a crunchy little turkey breast the size of a fat robin. So out came the box of stove top stuffing to fill the gaps that would inevitably be left by a little tiny turkey breast!!! However, I must admit, none of us left the table hungry – that bitty breast fed us all and turned out to be delicious! Of course there were no post Thanksgiving turkey sandwiches, no turkey soup – no leftover turkey at ALL!

A quick note – my friend Trish is selling her Janome 6124 QC (Quilters’ Companion) sewing machine together with a Janome quilting table. If anyone is interested please contact me and I will put you in touch with Trish.

 

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING…

Hope all our Canadian friends have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. This is going to be a very unusual Thanksgiving for Gord and I as usually we take part in the Westport Studio Tour and host about 8 artists and up to 800 + visitors over the weekend. It will be quiet and strange not to have the house full of friends and amazing art. However, I do hope to make it out to the various stops on our tour this year – something I have not been able to do for a long time. Hope you can make it to some of them as well in between delicious turkey dinners and closing up cottages and clearing out gardens. It is always an event and a great destination.

I got a picture the other day from Susan who has finished a wonderful rug (design by Martina Lesar) that I thought you might enjoy:

and yes I have been able to do a bit of hooking myself – just have not finished any of the 4 projects I started (yup 4 – usually I work on one until it is finished but somehow!!! I ended up with 4 unfinished). Did take some hooking with me to Scotland – two purse flaps – one done in brigghhhhhtttt dyed nylons – and actually managed to get them almost finished in one day while Gord was attending the Ryder Cup (for those of you who are NOT golf enthusiasts this is a big event every 2 years and Gord was thrilled to get a ticket! – and I was happy to have a day off from planning and map reading and just being able to hook and enjoy walks in Fife). So once these are complete and finished off and cleaned up I will post pix.

Again to one and all have a wonderful Thanksgiving Weekend – we all have sooooo much to be grateful for…not the least of which is a wonderful art form that brings together women (and men) in fun and companionship.

WE’RE BACK….

…from Scotland which was absolutely stunning. We had not been in 28 years (makes me realize how old we actually are when I can talk about things we did 28 years ago!) and some things had remained the same and some had changed. Scotland is a busy place – it has become a destination. So we tended to avoid the bigger cities and concentrate on small towns and off the beaten path places. The scenery is breathtaking as you will see in the photos below, the Scots are gracious and welcoming and wow I even understood most of what they said – althoughhhhhhh there were a few times I just smiled and nodded!!! Food was delicious as evidenced by the scale when we got home (despite all the walking we did!) – must have been too many full Scottish breakfasts and Haggis (well Gord ate the Haggis) and sticky toffee pudding! Oh and we accidentally found the Walkers Shortbread outlet store!!!!

We visited a lot of castles, islands, abbeys, coastal cliffs and walking paths so let me share some of the beauty of Scotland with you.

And did I spend money on goodies you ask – yup! although no wool! Wool in Scotland now is beyond my pocketbook! A lot of the wool is now being milled in Eastern Europe and other countries before being shipped back to Scotland to be made into the beautiful clothing etc. There are still some mills on some of the outlying islands that are weaving the beautiful Harris Tweeds and tartans but these have become very exclusive and pricey. So when we balk at paying our North American prices for wool – remember in Scotland it is running between 70 – 130 dollars a yard! But!!! I did see our suppliers running around in the fields – actually they don’t do much running – too busy munching! And I was able to pick a few pieces of sheep wool off some thistle bushes that I will hook into a rug (well it will have to be one darned small sheep though!).

Did we come back with an accent – no but at one point I caught Gord answering someone with an Ach Aye! What the heck was THAT.

Okay enough – pix now…

Oh and I thought I should mention – although the Westport Fall Colours Studio Tour will take place this coming Thanksgiving weekend – my studio will not be taking part this year. However, do visit the tour if you are in the area as we have a lot of new studios and amazing artists taking part.