New Ideas, New Year

I realize I haven't posted in a very long time but this last year has been a really hard one for me. I have finally been diagnosed with Fybromyalgia and the medication is helping so much.

With the lessening of pain comes more creative ideas and lately I have found that I am drawn to 1800 reproductions and the more primitive colors. I have ordered several new Civil War era fabrics online and I can't wait to get them. The colors will work so well with wool.

Another adventure that I can now accomplish, thanks to feeling better, is dyeing more wool. My daughter Jenny and I are going to completely redo my studio to accommodate dyeing. My Christmas gifts consisted of items needed to make dyeing much easier like a frying pan, utility sink, and cook tops. I already have everything else we need, except a lot more wool!

One designer I find so inspiring is Kim Diehl. Her color choices and fabrics are so appealing to  me.

Simple Graces , Kim's latest book, was the first book of hers that I purchased. I love everything about it. So much so, that I'm purchased two others.

Just look at the Bear Paws in this quilt. Who would have thought....Oh, Kim did!  I love he use of color, applique and piecing in her quilts. Kim Diehl is absolutely my favorite designer...right now anyway!

I am so very excited about the designs in my head for Woolin Rouge and the fact that I can actually feel like doing something with my ideas. Traci and I have some great designs coming so watch out 2012, here we come!

Best Gift Of All

The Holidays are filled with so much joy and sometimes sorrow. One of my dearest friends has felt the sadness and heartache of losing three family members this year. Although this can make the Holiday season seem hard to manage, it can also be a time to take a closer look at our many blessings.

I have had my years of sadness for the ones lost but this year we have an unusual blessing. On December 22nd my daughter Jenny and her husband Mike will be adopting two children. I can't even explain the joy I feel. The two children have suffered so much sorrow and now we are all blessed with so much love.

 In one year Mike and Jenny went from a family with one child to a family of five children. Danny, the oldest won't be legally adopted but he will always be a permanent part of our family. Lori, with her hands in the air, and Scott, in the gold, are our new members. Kenzie, holding David is their natural born, and David is a foster child we love with all our hearts.

Notice the look on their faces. What a beautiful family. This Christmas, even though we are exchanging the normal gifts and celebrating in our usual fashion, we will all be celebrating the love God has allowed us to pass on to our newer larger family.  Blessings don't get any better than this.

Penny Rugs

While traveling this summer I found myself in a place I have never been. Without a project to work on. All the projects I brought with me were finished in record time and I was panic stricken at the thought on my hands sitting in my lap, empty, without needle or fabric.

The next day I made plans to find a fabric store with wool. Luckily, the owner waited for me to get there and I bought a project and some small pieces of wool for a penny rug.  The project hasn't been touched yet but I had so much fun with the pennies. I found objects in the 5th wheel in three sizes and proceeded to draw circles.  I then found the Valdani Pearl Cotton I had purchased at the Woolen Needle and started stitching.  I never knew sewing circles could be so enjoyable. I'm quite certain it won't be my last penny rug.

This cute little pattern from Reets Rags to Stitches was my latest set of projects. One I made for Traci Marvel, and one for myself. I reversed the pattern pieces quite by accident but it certainly didn't deter from the design. These adorable little shephardesses were so fun to make.

This adorable little basket mat was made from a pattern by Primitive Gathering. It is one I finished while on vacation. I didn't put the stars on the baskets like the pattern.

My Summer Vacation

My husband Alan and I have been on our one month vacation for about two weeks now. Before I left home I made a list of all the places I HAD to stop to see. One of my "must see" places was The Woolen Needle in Williamsburg Iowa.  http://thewoolenneedle.com  During my planning stage I used MapQuest to get the location, then I used the satellite version so I could actually see what it looked like and found parking around the corner for our 5th wheel.

While I was still in the planning stage of our trip, I had already chosen The Woolen Needle as a destination when I was looking at a pattern for a wool quilt that had been given to me by Traci Marvel thinking I might get it prepared to work on while traveling. The pattern is For Every Season. I noticed the background had an amazing dip dyed piece of wool that went from white to green to fall colors for the seasons so I looked to see who made the pattern and guess what! It was The Woolen Needle!!! Now I not only knew I had to stop there but I had something I knew I had to buy!

I was so excited the closer we got to Williamsburg Iowa. I just knew this shop was going to be wonderful and I wasn't disappointed. My husband graciously sat on the husband chair while I walked around in a daze. Even though the shop is small, it was perfectly filled with the most beautiful hand dyed wool, unique projects and stunning quilts and kits.

After soaking in everything, I finally remembered my specific piece of wool I needed. I found that piece and a few more I couldn't go home without, picked out some Valdani Perle Cotton, and I even got a free t-shirt!

Summers End Quilt and My Rug

So far I have two projects done form my bedroom redecorating. The rug, as I posted earlier, is my first rug and an original design.  The quilt pattern is called Summer's End by Primitive Gatherings. I purchased the pattern last summer at Quilt Market in Minneapolis. Wool was, of course, the choice for the applique but it is also the background and backing. My love of wool grows with every project I use it in.  The quilt really isn't misshaped, but since I am vertically challenged it seems that way when I take the photo from a lower angle.  The rug isn't misshaped either. I just stood at the end and snapped the picture. I've never claimed to be a photographer.

The quilt that is going on my bed has been a years work also. It too is wool applique but with a cotton background. My husband chose the pattern Applique Affair by Laundry Basket Quilts but after completing all the blocks I realized it wasn't near big enough for the bed so I added 11 more blocks from the book by the same company called Hop To It. With only 3 blocks left and a few of the border blocks to applique I am very close to being finished. This has been a quilt that even though I am excited to see it finished, the process has been the real pleasure.

Big Black Dog Rug

 

The Big Dog Rug is my next rug project. It is an original design by Joan Strausbaugh. I spotted it one day while reading my blog favorites at http://woolfind.blogspot.com/ . I sent an email to Kathy, the blog owner, to see if it was a commercial pattern or an original. Kathy lead me to Joan. I simply HAD to have this design! It was just so perfect and it reminded me so much of my son's black lab Buck. Joan had made this rug of her nephew's dog for his wedding gift. What a special gift!

Joan immediately emailed me that it was her own design and she did not sell her designs commercially but she graciously offered to copy the design on linen for me purchase. When the rug arrived I was a little surprised at the size.It is HUGE! Hence the name Big Black Dog. It didn't seem quite as big in the pictures. It is however, the perfect fit for the foot of my bed, which is exactly where I wanted it to go.

With rug hooking, I am finding that the craft is filled with wonderful, gracious, giving people who are so willing to help one another. Quilting is the same way. I believe it is women sharing and caring, just as they have been doing for centuries. We need each other for companionship, and what better way to get together than through our arts and crafts.

A am so grateful to Joan for this design. I'm almost afraid to start hooking. I think I have enough wool to start so I guess  I should get with it.

First Rug Hooking Finished

The border I chose for my rug is a very simple one. The first row is a pinkish tone from my very own hand dyed wool. The second row is one of the "as is" wools I used in the rug and the rest is mainly solid black with hints of 3 different tones used in the background of the rug.  I chose to go simple because I felt everything else I thought of was very distracting to the center of the rug.

One of the things I changed in the original hooking was that I added some of my hand dyed green to the centers of the leaves. I felt there needed to be more contrast and there needed to be a darker green in there. A lesson I learned from this is that the rug is viewed from at least 5 feet away so the colors really need to show up at a distance. I also wish I had done the center flower in opposite order with the dark on the inside. I'm going to leave it the way it is however.

The next step is to steam the rug. Steaming the rug will make it more even. With the rug laying back side up, I will get a wet towel and hot iron and steam the rug in small sections a few seconds at a time. After I am finished steaming I will let it rest for 24 hours.

To finish the edge of the rug I decided on a whipped edge. There a three types I chose from. My choice to whip the edge with wool yard is based on the fact that wool yarn is readily available where I live. Cindy Gay has exceptional directions for this on her blog as well as the steaming. When the edge is complete I will steam the rug once again.

I am so happy with this rug. It's been a dream of mine to hook a rug for so long. I'm especially happy that the first design was an original of mine. 

 
My only problem now is that my husband wants a rug for his side of the bed. I am trying to decide what to make for him. I'm thinking something from his childhood on Lake Michigan, or a geometric.