Witchy Woman, Floral Pillows, and Denver Hook-In

I finished hooking Witchy Woman designed by Susie Shepard of Shepard's Hook Rugs

She is a pretty big stuffed witch and I love the way she turned out. I copied Susie's colors as much as I could. Almost all of the wool used in her is had dyed by me. 

Debra Inglis and I had the pleasure of going to the Denver Hook-In. It was my first big hook-in and I was honestly overwhelmed at first . It took me awhile to soak it all in with so many fabulous vendors and such wonderful women. I got to see Sheri Matz who I had met at Prairie Rose Rug School two years ago. It was so good to see her!

I didn't get a very good representation of all the vendors but like I said. I was a bit overwhelmed. 

One of the highlights was meeting Theresa Rapstine. She and Debra are friends and I thought she looked familiar. Then I was told she had her rug Vintage Blooms in Celebrations and that was it! I had seen so many pictures of her with that rug on the internet and her rug was one of my absolute favorites in Celebrations. Talking with her later Debra mentioned a Blue Flower pillow kit of Theresa's and that she wanted the kit. Without even seeing the pillow I wanted one too because it was taken from her famous rug that I was in love with. We met with her later and she had two different pillow kits.

I picked Blooms and Debra picked the Blue Flower.

Debra did a fantastic job on her pillow. Theresa uses a pretty wide cut in her rugs. I used a size 9.5 in mine and I'm not sure what Debra used, a 9 or 10. 

I have ordered the Blue Flower kit now, after all, I need a set!

Carrie Martin was one of the Vendors at the Denver Hook-In and it was such a pleasure to meet her. I instantly bought her Coffee rug pattern. 

Debra has known Carrie for a long time and has taken classes from her. We had been trying to figure out a rug school here in Cody for a little while and Debra thought that Carrie would be the perfect person to start it. Sure enough, as soon as we asked her she said, "absolutely!" It has now become a reality and we will be having the first Old Faithful Rug Hooking Getaway at the historic Irma Hotel in Cody, WY. It will be from May 27th until June 1st. 

Teachers will be Diane Stoffel and Carrie Martin. If you would like more information contact Carrie Martin at mart3285bellsouth.net or 985-893-3285. 

The Irma Hotel was built by Buffalo Bill Cody for his daughter Irma so it will be so nice to stay and hook in the middle of so much beauty and history. 

Halloween Black Cat

I have been having so much fun making Halloween decorations.

This little cutie is a design I got from Heavens to Betsy. She hooked up quickly with a size 9 1/2. I tried quillies for the eyes and shirring for the ruffle on the hat. I used the bead stitch for the hat band. The whiskers are embroidery floss that I soaked after attaching with liquid starch. 

I save all my snippits and use them to stuff all my hooking projects. It is amazing how quickly those little things add up. I'm making a large stuffed witch and I think I'll have enough snippits to stuff her with too. All my pillows, chair pads, everything hooked, gets wool stuffing. I'm so cheap.

After my witch is finished I think I'll move on to Christmas. Maybe I need to do a pumpkin first. Oh dear. The addiction just keeps on going. 

Halloween is in the Air

It may be July but I'm on a Halloween kick. It all started with a witch which I haven't started hooking yet because I need to dye the wool, but I ordered I've Got You My Pretty from The Old Tattered Flag and hooked it in a week. I used an 8 1/2 cut so it hooked up quickly.

I am not quite finished binding in this picture but I wanted to show you my clips. I saw them on facebook and immediately ordered them to try. Talk about cutting out steps! Instead of basting the rolled edge by hand, I just rolled it, clipped it, and started binding. Of course I did zigzag the outside edge first. The clips are called Wonder Clips by WowCrafts and there are 50 of them in the little jar. I bought mine from Amazon but they also have them at Searsport Rug Hooking

Another pattern I bought was from Betsy Reed at Heavens to Betsy that is a black cat with a hat pillow. It is almost done so I'll be showing it soon!

June Project

I took an online class, Wonky House Ikea Stool, from Cindi Gay. The stool is from Ikea and it is chair height which makes it perfect for extra seating as well as putting your feet up. I changed my house. Hers was a white house and I didn't want that much white on the top of my stool.

 Yes, it would have been easier to get one picture of the pattern laying flat but I forgot so you get all four sides. She taught the perfect way to sew the side seams together.

 The designs wrap around the corners so her technique for sewing works perfectly for this design.

 I like the fact the the cover just slips over the Ikea stool and I can easily take it off if I ever need to clean it.

The class was very inexpensive. I'm taking her color planning course too. I have already learned so much from it. Cindi does Live Webinars every week that are incredibly educational and you can watch the edited versions HERE. I use her technique for binding since the beginning of my rug hooking. What a wonderful giving person to so freely give out all the wisdom she has amassed in her years of rug hooking. Thank you Cindi Gay.

Some Finished Rug Hooking Projects

I have had so much going on in my life. My husband has had a series of strokes, pneumonia, and heart failure. He is doing so much better. He can now walk with a walker which is a HUGE blessing.

I had ordered this footstool kit from Searsport Rug Hooking and I was so glad I did. At the time I couldn't get away long enough to go to my studio to color plan so having the kit worked out so well. The wool was beautiful and I enjoyed hooking this cover so much. At night I would cut wool enough for the next day and since this project was smaller I could use a hoop so I was able to take it to the hospital to work on everyday.  I was glad I ordered the stool too. I got the kit, but you can order a completed stool. You can remove the cover to change with the seasons, or what I like is that it can be easily cleaned if necessary. 

 30 Mile Stage Stop is a design by Two Old Crows that had the word Temperance at the bottom. I changed the name to honor my Great Grandfather Buckey who ran the stage stop between Roundup and Billings Montana.

I ordered the bunny and bunny pillow from Ali Strebel, The little eggs I drew myself. At the time I hooked these I was driving back and forth from the hospital 2 hrs each way. Motel cost was killing me. I had just a little bit of time at night but these designs let me complete a project that was small and attainable at the time. 

The rest of the time I was at the hospital I knit a scarf. A really long 6 1/4 foot scarf. I can't just sit so when my husband was being taken to Billings in the ambulance I grabbed clothes, yarn, and needles. I know the drill all too well.

 

Last Rug of 2016

I had seen the rug Antique Floral by Maggie Bonanomi on Pinterest and had always thought it was such a great design. Then I saw it hooked by my friend Debra and knew I had to hook it.  After much searching and buying her books, which didn't have the rug in them, I finally ordered it from Maggie.

Even though I REALLY wanted to hook the rug in the same colors I had seen before, I chose to do red flowers and switch it up a little. I'm so happy with the way it turned out. The teal blue leaves are what made it come to life to me. The red isn't quite right in the picture but I'm not known for my photographic ability.

The chicken chair pad is a design by Lynne Gill. I changed the wing shape but I just love this design. I decided to do a proddy fringe to add pizazz.

This blurry picture is the pattern called Temperance by Two Old Crows. It is a copy of an old Tavern Sign. I decided to change the word Temperance to 30 Mile Stage Stop. My Great Grandpa ran a stage stop, post office, and saloon 30 miles between Billings, MT and Roundup, MT. I thought this would make a nice tribute to my family heritage.

2016 was a great year for rug hooking and friends. I can't wait to see what 2017 brings.