Wishing You A Very Merry Christmas !!!

 A few of my favorite Christmas treasures .  A few childhood decorations and pieces my Mother made thru the years , Then my husbands lighted house row . My hooked Candy Cane matt , it is a Woolen Memories pattern . 

                      Hope you have a Very special Christmas with your family and friends . 

A Wonderful Class with Katie Hartner !

 A few weeks ago Katie Hartner came to Hudson , New York . Betsy Reed had her Wonderful Holiday Hook In . Before the Hook In Katie taught a fabulous class to a nice group of women . She asked us all to choose a design to hook a chair pad in a Magdelina style . She was going to teach about Values . We all brought in a one pound bag of assorted worms . We dumped them all on our table ....our whole table was   a wonderful mess of colors piled high , for all of us to share. 

She started out talking about how colors can change . She said warm colors advance , cool colors recede. She talked about making accents in your hooking . Use different widths of wool , small pieces , hook your strips sideways , add yarn and other fabrics. She told us to be careful with solids , they can stop the action of movement . Choose your background colors first , then the colors of your motif.  Learn to train your eye to see the values by squinting at your piece or take a black & white photo. It was fascinating . She had several of her own rugs we could examine and it was just amazing all the little bits of colors thru all of her pieces. They just blended together beautifully . 

This was my very first real class and I learned so much . Lots of great tips and different ways she binds her hooked pieces. We all learned a lot from her . She was so easy to talk to and had a great sense of humor. I felt as though I knew her forever. 

I chose the Dog pattern to hook . I have to say I did a lot of reverse hooking  ! I may still do more tweaking . I have been so busy lately I have not been able to pull a loop until today . 

I would highly recommend taking a class from her , she was so interesting . Her patterns and rugs she hooked were just beautiful . I wish I had more pictures to share . If you check out Betsy's Hook In  on Face Book she had great pictures of our class and her really fun Hook In . 

My Farkel Family is looking to move to there forever  homes !

They are all made of 100 percent wool and stuffed with wool snippets. Their eyes and mouths are old buttons or snaps  they have antique keys , square nails or shells for their noses. They each have a personality of their own . They range from 7 inches tall to 11inches tall. They are on a base that is an old spool , spindle or hog scraper. I had so much fun making these . They are $45.00 a piece , shipping is not included , but we prefer to ship using UPS . They are Labeled by a letter . If anyone is interested in adopting you can send me an email . 

 I forgot to post a pattern I hooked and finished ! Saundra wants to see it completed ! It is Chicken and Ducks adaptation of an antique. I loved hooking this and was really sad to finish. It is one of my favorites. I purchased it from Sandy at Woolen Memories . 

 Then I bought another really cute pattern from Sandy at Woolen Memories , called Salt Box Pumpkin. I wish I had it finished , but the Farkel Family was just too much fun . I did make a few changes to her design . 

 I have been busy making some wooly goods for a craft fair we always do in November . It is The Old Deerfield Holiday Sampler . 

I want to introduce you to The Farkel Family !!!! They are made from old bits & pieces ...I have had so much fun making these silly faces . 

 I recently visited Woolen Memories for a Wool Fix !!! I have always Loved this pattern that Sandy had called Chickens And Ducks . It is an adaptation of an antique. A friend hooked this a few years ago and I loved hers . I am having so much hooking this !!! It's more fun than cleaning

the house or trying to pull all the weeds that took over after all the rainy days we have had ! 

My latest hooking project ...

 A good friend asked me for a green colored bench with a hooked design for the top . She is an amazing gardener . She grows her vegetables from seeds , some saved by her Father every year . She has everything from lettace , tomatoes , corn and potatoes to pumpkins ! I knew to hook a design with those on the top of the bench would be another fine cut project ! I drew my design to show her what I was thinking and luckily she was so excited about it . 

I needed a little brake from hooking . I recently purchased the new Smart Punch Needle tool from NotForgotten Farm . It is great ! There is an indentation for your thumb , so you always have the needle in the correct position. 

Still hot & humid here in New England and today it is pouring rain .....a good day to play with my threads & think of a new design to hook ! 

 Happy July !!! It is Hot , Humid & very Hazy from the fires in Canada . Sounds like the fires could continue to burn for a while . 

Today I finished hooking the Hydrangeas for the top of one of the nice benches my husband makes.  My sister-in-law just Loves it ! My brother will give it to her for her Birthday . 

Hope everyone has a Happy & safe 4 Th of July !!!! 

 My Sister -In- Law asked me to make her a blue bench and hook Hydrangeas .for the top of the bench .  I could not say no to her , so went to Pinterest for ideas , then asked my rug hooking friends for suggestions .  

My first idea was to use linen that was dyed a nice blue color to hook on , so the blue linen could remain visible for the background . Then I bought a pretty Sari Ribbon with the colors of hydrangeas thinking I could hook pedals with that ....well that was not easy to do and I didn't care for it . 

Another friend suggested I use a # 6 cut for wool strips . but that just looked funny to me too ....so I went thru my very old worms that I first learned how to hook with ....#3's & #4's ......I never thought I would be using these again , but they really worked well . 

So here are my results .....

My plan is to hook a basket , the leaves and the background all in a # 9 cut .  This was very challenging and I hope she will Love it !!!  I can't wait to hook with my wide cuts again !!! LOL 

I will post this again when it is All Done !!!!

Stool , Benches and Frames to display your Hooked Pieces !!!!

 My husband has been busy designing these great items to put my rug hooking pieces in . I showed them to my friends and they ordered them for their hooking projects too ! This Saturday we are taking them to The Quiet Corner Rug Hooking event in Woodstock , Connecticut . They will be in Woolen Memories Booth !!! Sandy just Loved these too and asked me to bring them ! We will have a few at this show and will take orders . We are excited to see people's reactions. 

My design , for the large stool 

My Bee Skep design that fits inside this frame . We used double sided tape to adhere it to the frame & can be removed to put in a different design ! 

The large stool is Woolen Memories Neat Flag design , the small stools are my designs I created for each season of the year ! 

These are what the small stool and large bench look like without the insert for your hooked piece . You can purchase a board that you attach your hooked design too and fits inside the top . There is a lip around the edge of the stool and benches to hold it in place . We offer many colors to choose from . 

These are different frames we have to offer to insert your hooked design in ! These can be changed for other design you have hooked ! 

This is what the frames look like empty. Again we used double sided tape to adhere your hooked piece !!! 

I have been busy !

 I have joined a great group of women to gather twice a month to do rug hooking . It has been so much fun and inspiring . We all hook differently and just share tips and help each other with color planning . Some hook in 3 and 4 cuts and a few of us do 8's and 9 cuts . Most of these women have been hooking for years and have taken classes from famous teachers , like Barb Carroll and Jan Hester and Betsy from Heavens To Betsy . They have great stories ! 

This pattern is my current project . Summer Basket by Woolen Memories . I Love Sandy's patterns . She doesn't live too far from me, so I buy her patterns and she has the nicest

over dyed wools that are all washed and ready to go ! 

The fnished pattern is from Heavens To Betsy , it is called Early Morning , this was a pattern by Payton Primitives . The needle punch design are both Lori Brechlin's from Not Forgotten Farm I made a few years ago . 

These gals have gorgeous rugs they have hooked and introduced me to a Wonderful World of Hooking !!! I will have to show you in an upcoming blog post  !!! 

Back to hooking !!! 

Happy Valentine's Day !!!!

 I have been busy hooking hearts ......my favorite motif ! 

The Mittens are a pattern from an old Kindred Spirits magazine . Saundra Porter from Woodland Junction and I both hooked them last year. This year when my sister in law visited , she had mine hanging around her neck as she was leaving !!! I had to make a few more !!! LOL  .She has 2 Cmas gifts ready for 2023 !!! 

Then I hooked a favorite pattern I have always loved ...simply called "Hearts" by Heavens To Betsy . It was a pattern by Payton Primitives. 

Hope you are having a day filled with Sweets & Love from family and friends ! 

Rows of Tiny Houses

Last year my husband created these rows of houses. The houses are all about one inch tall. He even created fake snow for some of the houses. We sold some at a nice local craft fair in November . If anyone is interested in them let me know !