KARLA PATTERNS AND A BIT OF JUNKIN…

So the Karla patterns are finally listed – please email me if you are interested in any of these patterns. I think they would hook up fairly quickly (maybe in time for the holidays) especially in the smaller version 19 x 16 approximately and could be done in a mix of 6 and 8. Here they are again but you can find them in the online store along with the sizes and prices…

Red Shed

Wreath House
Sled

December Day

Yesterday Sandi and I went Junkin’ in Almonte (oh shhhhh I should not share that location 🙂 )… We got one heck of a haul. The last time I went with Diane I we spied this little shelf type thing in the corner but hmmm it was a bit more than I wanted to pay. WELLLLLL, it had been haunting me for weeks and sooooo of course, I went back and it was still there hidden behind the linens Diane had draped over it last time. When I picked it up I realized (of course this time I read the tag) that it was an old hand made wooden grain scoop with 2 handles – one for each hand. It has wonderful old red patinated colour and yup you guessed it – I bargained it down to a price I was comfortable with and it is now awaiting a hooked or punched piece and up on the wall it will go. I also got a wonderful old 3 tiered shelf painted in dirty old cranberry and teal paint and I know exactly where that will go – AFTER – Gord gets back and washes both pieces down. So here is a picture of our haul (Sandi bought way more than I did 🙂 )…

and now a picture of Anne’s amazing (and huge) rug…

SHEEE’S BAAAACK…

sounds like a scary movie!!! but oh thank God, somehow, once again, I clicked on a button (or should that be icon) I did not recognize and got my dashboard back! with allllll the usual icons! Yeahhhhh… so send in all your pix of your rugs – I know how to post them 🙂 . Of course I did lose alllll my bookmarks for all my favourite blogs and rughooking and art sites but I guess that is called “extreme house keeping”! anddddd  I have found new ones 🙂 to replace them!

We had company this weekend so we decided to head down to the Mulberry Waldorf School’s annual Holiday craft show on Friday night – it was lovely. We were almost the first ones there so it was not crowded and parking was great and we got to buy and eat before the real crowds arrived! I found an amazing potter – Amy Doole – and bought a beautiful teal nubby mug and a little star – which when we returned home and I was almost asleep I realized I did NOT REMEMBER UNPACKING. Searched the house, searched the car and nope it was not there! Turns out Gord had left it while he was eating all the goodies at the granola vendor’s booth! But we were able to retrieve the mug by emailing a few of the vendors and luckily our neighbour, who was vending, was able to bring it home and yeah, I had my first cuppa in it yesterday afternoon!

Helen and I then spent Saturday finishing off some punch needle pieces (yes I do still hook 🙂 )… So it was a wonderful (and productive) weekend…

OH OH…

I think I did a baaaaadddd thing!   Somehow I managed to delete ALLLLL my bookmarks including the one for my blog 😦 which is NOT a good thing. Without my bookmark I did not even know how to get into my blog – well I did find something obviously but It is totally a different set up from what I previously used so I may be messed up for a while…  Have to figure all this out and how to post pix!!!!

I reallllly should not touch buttons on the computer that I don’t understand 🙂 .

 

OHCG ANNUAL 2018… AND INTERNATIONAL RUGHOOKING DAY

The other day Lesley and Bev came to our guild and talked about the Ontario Hooking Craft Guild’s annual rughooking show  which will be held in Ottawa in 2018. It is sooooo exciting to have it so nice and close. If you have never been to the annual here is your chance – even if you come from afar – this event will stimulate you and excite you and get your creative juices flowing. If you are not a member of OHCG you CAN still attend on Sunday as that is the day the rug show and vendors are open to the public. For more details on location, time and classes check out https://ohcgannual2018.wordpress.com/blog/.

And…a few rugs to share:

On Tuesday I showed Tammy how to do a show binding at Stitch by Stitch and by the next day Primitive Posies was done – now to finish off the balance of her hooked pieces…
Louise sent me pictures of her beautiful commissioned Tea Cosies!… 

ANNNNDDDD … INTERNATIONAL RUGHOOKING DAY will be celebrated December 4 from 10 – 3 in Williamstown ON hosted by the Beaconsfield and Martintown guilds.  Bring your hooking and join us for a fun day – all are welcome!!!

A FEW NEW PATTERNS…

Ahhhhh snow is on its way – as is Christmas – so I thought I might add a few new Karla Gerard patterns to the list that have that wintery or holiday feel to them. Details will be available shortly…

LAST DAY AT STITCH BY STITCH FOR 2017…

Yesterday was my last day at the store. With the holidays just around the corner I won’t be back until the second Tuesday in January. In the meantime I will be working feverishly to finish a few projects for Christmas. But others are much faster than I seem to be these days so a few rugs to share…

Diana finished her Canola Goose as a bag… Shashtin punched with yarn Joni Blacks Market day…  Tom finished his (also Oxford punched) tumbling blocks… and Anne finished her version of Gefelte Fish…and at Stitch by Stitch we had a little show and tell…

Elizabeth finished 9 PM one of the Karla Gerard patterns I carry. I dyed the wool for the sky not knowing exactly how Elizabeth was going to hook it in but oh my I soooooo love how she hooked it. It has such a wintery feel to it!… Jill hooked this piece and I think it is wonderful – one of my kits based on a vintage rug I own – and again very wintery!!!… And she also hooked Winter Skate – one of my Shelly Atkinson patterns/kits… Tammy hooked Chilly …  Hmmmmmm do we have a theme going on here??? Snow snow snow!…NO NO NO!!! not yet!!!! Karen was working on her Camping poster based rug… and show binding Fish Tych…It was a fun and busy day!… 

WONDERFUL WEEKEND…

at Camp Iawah. We yacked, laughed, created, inspired and discussed asking the management to turn Iawah into a Hooker Retirement Home! oh and of course we ate! Lots of wonderful projects for show and tell so without further ado…

Sandi shared her beautiful Cheticamp rug…
Louise was appliquéing and stitching this amazing quilt… Chris finished whipping her African inspired rug…Elizabeth started a new rug…
And the queen of huge rugs, Susan, had these 2 to share with us (based on wonderful antique rugs)…and was starting this even BIGGGGGGER rug…
Andrea had attached this sweet Teresa Kogut cat punch needle to an adorable pottery bowl (if you look realllllly closely there is a little mouse in the lower right corner)… and had hooked this beautiful runner… Diane punched and attached her Fall Frolic to one of Vinces sheep-shaped hornbooks…and finished punching her wash line (which will now be attached to a vintage wash board)…Jill started (and almost finished) her Karla Gerard Crescent Moon…
I finished my Karla Gerard Blooming Birches…
Donna made a wonderful skinnnnny stocking…Betty brought along her standing circle projects…
Karen worked on her Van Gogh (lovvvee those colours – all done in yarns)…

Karen colour planning her sky… Sandi sewed together her stocking… Donna started Oxford punching with yarn a mini landscape… Chris working on her Santa (a Teresa Kogut pattern)… Andrea was hooking this wonderful Tumbling Cats (painting by Dahlov Ipkar)…Donna finished felting Gefelte Fish…Louise’s small rug – inspiration for her bigger rug…
Helen had finished a few punched projects…
Wendy was working on her Crow and Corn… Sandi was working on a DF poppies pattern in a multitude of wonderful fibres… Betty was working on her Maud Lewis… I finished a small Teresa Kogut Santa and head and tail for my fish bones… And Sheila was working on a huge and stunning wave…
and hmmmmmmmm, someone suggested this is how we should treat our deer for Christmas!!!!…

ON OUR WAY TO IAWAH!!!..

not IOWA 🙂 … This weekend is our annual retreat weekend at camp – yup hookers go to camp! It is a weekend we look forward to every fall for inspiration and companionship. We work, create, inspire and share alllll the burdens and wonderful high points in our lives. I love my Iawah weekends and this year with a lot of parental issues and hmmm other problems I thought I might not be able to go but schedules have been changed and I can can can! So I am packing my bags – nothing fancy in the way of clothing – pj’s all day! well I call them my comfy pants – all my friends call them my pj pants! But who wants to hook or punch in fancy pants! All my unfinished projects are making their way into the bag(s – as I have many unfinished projects) along with lamp, watch, bedding. This fall we are sleeping on real mattresses – not the rubber ones! Yeah.  My bedding does not slip and slide as much! So so so excited.

But it is also a very sad time for me as I lost a dear friend this week. A lady who inspired many people to hook and create; a lady who had a wry sense of humour and made us all laugh; a lady we will all miss but who left us doing something she loved. Ruby you have left a hole that cannot be filled – and Gord is still looking for those nickels!

Yesterday was workshop day here at the house – I taught mini punch needle to a group of 9 fun ladies who did extremely well and Wendo taught “gefelte fish” to a group of 8. What a fun day – thank you ladies for making the trip and making the day such fun.

And now a few rugs to share…

Jill finished her Folk Art sheep (one of my Karla Gerard patterns)…

Marylo finished her Mr. Winter (one of my Karen Thompson patterns)…

and Alice finished her Canola Tom Thompson Tree – I love the way this was finished at the bottom and top…

PATTERN SALE…

A number of kits are on their way to new homes! Thank you and hope you have fun.

I have also decided to sell a few patterns at a discount – for the moment it will only be my own designs that are in stock. So the following patterns are on sale 10% off.  You will be able to find dimensions and prices on my online store – let me know if you might be interested… and Thank you for helping clean up my studio 🙂 …

SALE!…

Another wet, drizzly day and so I am cleaning up the studio. All my shows are done for the year and I have tooooo much stuff! So I am offering the following kits 10% off for the next month. I only have one of each so if you are interested, please let me know as soon as possible. All kits are hand drawn on straight of grain on primitive linen with wool cut the appropriate size in either 8 or combination of 6 and 8. For most of them you can find the size and price in my online store (remember to discount 10% and if you are in the U.S. remember our Canadian dollar is much!!!! lower than your U.S. dollar so that represents an additional savings of around 25%)…